Echoes of Harmony

Chapters

Changeling Kingdom
New Hippogriffia
Dragon Coasts
Griffon Order
Avis Colonies
Everfree Forest
Castle of the Two Sisters
Together

Changeling Kingdom

Twilight stood anxiously, quadruple-checking that she had everything needed in her satchel. She’d already confirmed repeatedly that she had before even leaving her room, including all of her notes, presentation materials, and reference texts just in case she needed to look up or double check some detail in her imminent meeting, and the contents of her satchel hadn’t changed at all since she’d last checked less than five minutes earlier…but the pins of needles of anxiety made her second-guess herself nonetheless.

She also fretted about whether or not her appearance was suitable for whom she was about to meet, and kept looking over her dark chitin for any blemishes or imperfections. There were none though, as her chitin bore the usual glossy sheen of a healthy changeling. Likewise, her gossamer wings were also sparkly, crisp, and clean, with her purple elytra similarly spotless. Even the distinctive holes in her legs were all in precisely their usual places. Not there would be much reason for them to not be, but it didn’t stop Twilight from fretting she’d somehow gotten their placement wrong last time she shapeshifted, even when reminding herself it didn’t work that way. Still she wished there was a mirror she could use while waiting outside the throne room entrance.

Speaking of, was she being made to wait for so long deliberately? Was it to make her second-guess herself into giving up and going away? If so, it was admittedly working a little, but Twilight resolutely forced herself to not back out. This matter was too important. She knew she and the queen didn’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, but there was still a reason the queen had chosen her to be in charge of the Archivum over other changelings—Twilight generally knew what she was talking about more often than not. She believed this was another one of those times. Now she just had to convince the queen of that.

Speaking of, it was at that moment that an armored centurio arrived, stepping through the large beetle-wing doors. “The queen will see you now,” he informed her, motioning for her to step through.

Twilight made one last check that she had everything before taking in a deep breath. “Informis Una auxilio mihi tribuit,” she murmured to herself in the native changeling tongue before trotting on through the door and into the corridor beyond.

It swiftly led into a large circular room ringed by resin columns and lit by the traditional green glow common throughout the capital hive. At the center was a large circular table. Next to it, a large throne carved out of a dark ancient stone stood on a pedestal where one could oversee the whole room with ease. Seated upon that throne was a female changeling twice Twilight’s size, power, and authority—Queen Chrysalis herself.

As was the tradition, Twilight approached the base of the throne’s pedestal before bowing respectively. “Queen Chrysalis,” she greeted as evenly as her nerves would allow. “Thank you for granting me this opportunity to speak with you.”

“Hello, Twilight,” Chrysalis greeted back with cool contentment. Luckily, Twilight seemed to be catching her in a good mood. She stepped down from her throne so to stand at Twilight’s level and motioned for her to rise with one of her holed hooves. “What brings you before me this time?” She eyed the research-filled satchel strapped around her subject’s barrel. “I assume you’ve found something else in your unending studies that you wish to share with me?”

“You know me well, your highness,” Twilight replied as she straightened. “But I believe this particular matter to be of potentially grave importance, quite possibly for this entire continent.”

Chrysalis raised a cautious brow at that claim. “I will be the judge of that,” she reminded, but nevertheless motioned for Twilight to continue. “But by all means, do elaborate.”

Twilight nodded and lit her horn, pulling out her materials and placing them on the nearby table. “You recall, of course, that I’ve been studying the collection of ancient texts that recently came into the kingdom’s possession a few moons ago, correct?”

“Yes, a minor prize my structors uncovered while building a new outpost near the northern border,” Chrysalis hummed idly as she watched. “I was under the impression the texts were only historically significant though.”

“Admittedly, I had thought the same,” Twilight conceded before holding up a text in particular. “But then I started reading through this old Equestrian text, Predictions and Prophecies, and came upon one entry in particular that I find alarming.” She gazed resolutely into her queen’s eyes. “Are you familiar with the story of Nightmare Moon?”

Chrysalis immediately scoffed. “Nightmare Moon is ancient history and of no concern to me or my hive.” She gave Twilight’s snout a soft, reprimanding, tap. “Nor should it be for you.”

Twilight scrunched up her face at the tap, rubbing her nose with a free hoof. “According to my research, it was Nightmare Moon’s grab for power that resulted in the rapid collapse of the nation of Equestria that shortly followed,” she countered in a grave tone. Her gaze remained deadly serious. “A nation which was, at the time, by far the largest and most dominant political power on this continent, if not the known world—it wasn’t a nation to be dismissed so lightly. And Nightmare Moon, a single creature, brought it to its knees.”

“Yes, but that was all, what, nearly a thousand years ago now?” Chrysalis retorted in turn, still not sharing her concern. “And Nightmare Moon was also defeated, so why should she be relevant to us now?”

“Not defeated, your highness,” Twilight swiftly corrected, turning to a bookmarked page, “Imprisoned. And like all prisons, it can still be broken out of in the right circumstances.” She tapped a particular passage with her holed hoof. “According to this, Nightmare Moon was magically sealed within the moon itself and indicates such a sealing cannot last forever. It will eventually degrade enough for her to get free again. It even gives an estimated timeframe, saying that she will escape on the longest day of the thousandth year of her imprisonment.” She looked back at Chrysalis again. “It’s interesting you point out this imprisonment took place a thousand years ago, because by my calculations, the date this books suggests Nightmare Moon will return on is slightly more than two weeks from now. So if true, and I believe that likely, then we are facing the very imminent return of an extremely powerful enemy to our world.”

Chrysalis’s brow had furrowed as she thoughtfully considered what she was being told, but was still clearly skeptical. “I still don’t see what this has to do with the Changeling Kingdom,” she began by admitting. “And besides, I’ve always been distrustful of the art of divination, and this…prediction…of yours seems entirely too similar. So what proof do you have of this?”

“I thought you might ask that,” Twilight said, having anticipated this while switching to some of her other research materials, spreading them out so Chrysalis could see for herself. “I’ve already cross-referenced all of this in as many credible texts that the Archivum and the kingdom on a whole currently have access to. Only Predictions and Prophecies gives this exact timeframe for her escape, but numerous other texts collaborate that she will eventually escape too, with many suggesting, albeit more vaguely, that her escape can be expected around a similar timeframe. Additionally noted is a number of forewarning events said to take place in the build up to her return. Things like changes in tidal patterns, unusual animal migrations, even shifts in the positions of certain stars in the night sky.” Twilight spread out a new swath of research for the queen to see. “All of which I have found collaborating evidence they’ve indeed been happening as predicted and with increasing frequency the more her predicted return draws closer. As such, I feel confident in saying that, even if Predictions and Prophecies is off on when the escape happens, it is safe to assume that escape will still happen and soon—very soon. And I feel we should prepare for it now while we still have the time.”

Chrysalis looked over the vast amount of research laid on the table, but Twilight was dismayed to see her queen’s eyes starting to glaze over it all, and that mixed in with her being clearly skeptical from the start didn’t bode well. Finally, the queen changeling shrugged. “Let’s assume,” she began, putting deliberate emphasis on the latter word, “that you’re right and Nightmare Moon will be returning. So what? Would this mare even still be alive after so long a time?”

“She’s a powerful alicorn corrupted by extremely potent dark magic,” Twilight replied flatly, a little frustrated by Chrysalis’s skepticism—she’d known there was a good chance of it, but this was hardly the time for it. “Further, the stasis-like nature of being sealed inside the moon alone would be enough to keep her alive without aging.” Twilight raised a hoof pointedly. “In fact, it’s quite possible she’s not fully aware what has happened since her banishment. That’s part of my point, though. Your highness, what do you suppose she will try to do upon returning?”

Chrysalis, to her credit, did pause to consider the question. “As I recall, her modus operandi was using her dark magic to bring about an eternal night,” she offered, her tone suggesting she thought it a rather poor evil plot.

“And the conquering of Equestria, placing herself as its sole ruler,” Twilight added.

Chrysalis frowned at that. “But there is no Equestria anymore.” She pressed a concealed switch on the circular table beside them, resulting in its surface lighting up with a magical green glow and forming into an accurate map of the continent they lived on. She then waved a hoof at the color-coded outlines marking the nation boundaries that existed now. “When it collapsed, the other creatures of the world—such as ourselves—came and took that territory for themselves. There’s barely even a pony populace in this part of the world anymore.”

“Exactly,” Twilight said, eagerly jabbing a holed hoof at Chrysalis and grinning a little. “Nightmare Moon will come back expecting to find Equestria ripe for the taking only to instead find, what would be to her, invaders on land she wants to claim as her own.” She motioned to the map too. “So what do you think will happen then?”

Finally, for the first time, Chrysalis seemed to consider the matter with some seriousness. She surveyed the map for a long moment, taking in the five major political states covering most of it. “Depends,” she finally answered, glancing back at Twilight. “Where do you think Nightmare Moon would ultimately return to?”

Feeling put on the spot, Twilight reviewed her notes briefly while considering the matter. She gave her wings an anxious flutter as she did so but soon had an adequate answer. “Difficult to say for certain with the information I have,” she said, turning back to the map, “but I would assume near the same spot where she was originally banished, which would, presumably, have been the capital of Equestria at that time.” She pointed with her hoof towards the center of continent. “So I think somewhere in here.”

Chrysalis rubbed at her chin thoughtfully, clearly planning something. “That could easily be within the territory of the griffons then,” she remarked, motioning to the pale blue patch on the map covering most of the continent’s northeastern side. That patch stretched from the coast and into its center. A cruel grin slowly inched its way onto Chrysalis’s face. “And being forced to fight off Nightmare Moon would certainly push them into political instability, probably dragging the Avis Colonies in with them.” She motioned to the creamy white patch sat to the immediate west of the pale blue patch, both sharing a border. Intrigued now, she turned away from the map, glancing at Twilight as she did. “Perhaps enough to give us a chance to expand our own borders a little while they’re otherwise…preoccupied, hmm?”

Twilight didn’t share her malicious glee, not seeing the benefits of such an incursion. “The griffons and the parrots are also both vital prey to us for feeding, your highness,” she stated pointedly. “Leaving them to suffer whatever fate they face with Nightmare Moon could easily be to the Changeling Kingdom’s detriment, and that’s just for starters.”

Chrysalis only seemed to be half-listening though. So while she went to a series of cubbyholes near the base of her throne, pulling out some documents, Twilight glanced at the map, eyeing the distinctive green patch marking their territory further south on the map. It was nestled between the southern border of the Griffon Order, the Arimaspi Ridge marking the western border they shared with New Hippogriffia, the edge of the jungles controlled by the dragons to the east, and down to the edge of the mostly unclaimed and unwanted Bone Dry Desert in the far south. In all, the changelings had, over the generations, expanded their territories fairly significantly beyond the Badlands they’d originated in…but geographically, they still possessed a fairly small share of the land in comparison to other powers.

With that in mind, Twilight tried another approach. “Your highness, I know it is your ambition to try and expand our territory however and whenever you can,” she conceded in an attempt to placate the queen, turning to face her. “And I can see how Nightmare Moon’s return would cause enough chaos to seemingly give opportunity to do so, but please consider this—once Nightmare Moon is done exacting her revenge on wherever she returns at, what do you think she’d do next? Do you really think she would not try attacking any other political powers that could potentially challenge her?” She made a sweeping motion at the map. “Like it or not, your highness, this is a threat that concerns all creatures, including the changelings, and it should be treated as such.”

“So what do you propose instead?” Chrysalis challenged in a warning tone. “Actually aid our political enemies in saving themselves?”

Twilight hesitated. Her plan actually had been exactly that, but she was no fool, she could tell Chrysalis did not like that idea. And one never wants to make an enemy of Chrysalis. “If you so wish,” she carefully deflected instead, so to leave that call to Chrysalis.

Chrysalis scoffed again, trotting back with her documents in tow, sorting through them as she walked. “I do not,” she affirmed resolutely, in a tone making it clear it was final. “I have no interest in enacting any plan that ensures our enemies are better off than before, especially not by our own hooves or when we could use that chance to seize control of them and thereby eliminate them as enemies.”

“Then at least let me recover the means to defend ourselves against Nightmare Moon, should her wrath turn our way,” Twilight pleaded as an alternative.

“You?” Chrysalis inquired, taken aback by the idea of a changeling like Twilight personally carrying out such a project, but before Twilight could explain her reasons, she went on. “And what means of defense are you talking about? Is this something like a weapon?”

“Of a sort,” Twilight conceded and held up her research again. “All accounts of Nightmare Moon’s defeat say it was done with something called the Elements of Harmony which were then hidden away until needed again, meaning they’re likely still out there.”

“And what are these…elements?”

“My research is too limited to be totally certain, but they seem to be some sort of magical artifact of great power, enough to at least even the odds in a fight with Nightmare Moon.”

“So whoever has these element things would be the ones with the advantage,” Chrysalis didn’t phrase it as a question. She stepped in front of Twilight and used her taller form to loom over her. “Do you know where they are?”

Twilight winced, biting her lip. “…not as such,” she reluctantly admitted. When Chrysalis scoffed for a third time and started to turn away, Twilight scampered to recover. “But that’s why I wished to meet with you at all! I want your permission for me to go and investigate some leads! I’ve exhausted about all the resources I can here in the kingdom, but surely our neighbors have texts of their own that could tell more, if I can just get access to them, even briefly…”

“Absolutely not,” Chrysalis declared firmly, returning to her throne to sit down. “I will not send any changeling on what would clearly be a wild goose chase with no guarantees of success, let alone you.” Her gaze grew weary as she stared down at the crestfallen changeling. “Twilight, you a praefectus, a changeling working an administrative role in charge of the kingdom’s information archives, a little bookworm who spends too much time with her snout in books than anything else. You are not a centurio, a legionarius, or even a venator. You have no experience in combat, hunting, or really anything beyond our borders. As I recall, you have never even been outside the kingdom before. You are not the changeling for that job.” Chrysalis sighed and turned her attention back to the documents she was perusing. “Besides, unlike you, I have faith in this kingdom’s ability defending itself against whatever threats come its way. That this Nightmare Moon, assuming she actually does return at all, isn’t even likely to do so anywhere near our territory makes it simply not our problem. So I intend to leave it to others to worry about until such time that this changes, if it changes.”

“But…” Twilight started to object, approaching the throne.

“You are not, under any circumstance, to leave the borders of this kingdom,” Chrysalis cut her short to stress. “Do I make myself clear?”

Twilight hesitated, but clearly fighting this would only get her in deep trouble, so letting her head sink in dismay, she nodded. “…yes, your highness,” she relented softly.

“Good.” Chrysalis reached down to give her a condescending pat on her purple elytra. “I think we’re done here, so I’ll let you get back to more important concerns at the Archivum. But thank you as always for bringing this matter to my attention, Twilight.” She then motioned her to collect her things and leave. “Now off you go.”

She then proceeded to ignore Twilight while she sadly collected her research, returned it to its satchel, and exited the throne room, dejected. She chose not to return directly to the Archivum or to her solitary room but instead wandered around the corridors aimlessly in an introspective daze, reflecting on the dilemma this left her. Eventually, she arrived at an open promenade arcing around part of the capital hive, and stopped to gaze through one of the many open windows looking outside.

It actually gave her a stunning view of Capitalis, the principal city at the heart of the Changeling Kingdom housing the seat of its government. Normally, the sight of dozens of twisting spires and numerous changelings buzzing about and carrying out their business was motivational for Twilight, reminding her of how much her species had not only built for themselves but also how far they’d come since their early history living mostly underground in squabbling, disunited, groups of scant numbers, poor resources, and seen more as myth and legend by other creatures. Now they were a notable political power, recognized and known across the continent, and their strength respected enough that most made it a point to try and keep their distance from them, in a sort of “you leave us be, we’ll leave you be” sort of arrangement.

Which only went so far, since the changelings still needed to harvest love and other positive emotions from them in order to survive. But after learning the hard way that these creatures typically didn’t respond well to invading and taking those resources by force, the changelings generally strove to obtain it more stealthily, swiping it when creatures weren’t looking or at least not expecting it. That is, unless, their queen saw a chance to obtain a section of land left vulnerable enough it wouldn’t be unable to resist them, which was generally how the kingdom had expanded its borders in the past.

And as such, Twilight supposed she shouldn’t be surprised Chrysalis saw Nightmare Moon’s return as an excellent chance to do it again, taking territory that had otherwise long been too secure to seize before. It matched Chrysalis’s style of rule to the point that Twilight, in the past, hadn’t really questioned it—it was just how things worked here. But the thought left a sour taste in Twilight’s mouth this time around, if only because it now felt grossly short-sighted. Not only was it needlessly cruel of Chrysalis to exploit another creature’s misfortune and suffering like that, she’d expand their borders only fleetingly until Nightmare Moon decided to push back on their incursions…before probably leading an incursion into their own territory after that, one they would be poorly equipped to resist.

It made Twilight fear that the prosperous changeling city she now overlooked would all end up being lost or worse by the end of it all.

…Unless she did something about it.

Chrysalis had ordered her not to, of course. Or at least, she had ordered her not to leave the kingdom or alert their political rivals of the oncoming danger, but she might as well have ordered not to do anything about it, as Twilight couldn’t see any way to defend against Nightmare Moon without doing either of those things. Because in order to find what was needed to do so, she needed more information and more resources…neither of which she could find here. Both lay beyond the Changeling Kingdom and she knew it. But as she continued to watch the hustle and bustle of Capitalis outside, the more she knew she couldn’t possibly stand by and do nothing when there was something, anything, she could do to potentially save her fellow changelings from needless danger and harm.

And so, in that moment, Twilight made the conscious decision to ignore Chrysalis’s orders and leave in search of the tools needed to hopefully ward off Nightmare Moon.

One didn’t just disobey a direct order from Queen Chrysalis, though. The queen of the changelings was many things, but she was no fool. The moment Twilight went missing, she fully expected her queen would put two with two and take immediate action so to try and stop her, probably by force if necessary. Twilight knew full well this could even be ruled as traitorous and she could very well end up in a dungeon if not worse once this was all over. But that was a risk she was willing to take.

Careful planning was nonetheless called for though, but as Twilight was always a careful planner in most everything she did, this was the easy part. Even though time was limited, she chose to spend her first day after meeting with Chrysalis as if following the same routine, in hopes this gave the impression she was obeying commands. To the other changelings she interacted with—not that there were terribly many as Twilight had never been an especially social changeling—she was doing what she usually did, going about the capital hive with her snout buried in a book and trying to learn everything about some random topic.

In reality, she was discreetly gathering materials for her voyage. She would, most likely, have to travel by hoof or by wing solo for most of it, at least until she reached neighboring New Hippogriffia, her first planned destination. That meant collecting her research and getting carrying bags, blankets, a travel cloak for bad weather, money to pay for any unanticipated things if needed, and most important of all, food. To that end, she managed to convince the messores to spare her a share of the love they’d harvested on the excuse she needed it for an experiment she was researching. As this was perfectly in character for her and assuming she had the queen’s permission—as she typically had in the past—they hadn’t questioned her on this.

Finally, by the day’s end, she had everything she needed. She waited until the thick of night, when most everyone was asleep, before sneaking out, hoping her departure would go unnoticed until at least the following morning. She seemed to be successful, because she swiftly managed to cross all the way to the Changeling Kingdom’s southwestern border without anyone trying to find and stop her. And when she did reach that border, secured by patrols of legionarii, she shapeshifted into a fellow changeling solider bearing falsified orders authorizing her to leave the kingdom on an intelligence gathering assignment. The legionarii bought it and let her through without protest. A part of Twilight didn’t like deceiving her fellow changelings like that…but she told herself it was for a greater good.

And by the time any of them would get word otherwise, she would already be miles away.

Author's Note

So this fic is proof that I can write a full-length story within the space of roughly one month...but I don't know if I'll be doing it again anytime soon. :rainbowlaugh:

~~Also, as a head's up, I'd have to call this fic only~~ mostly ~~edited. I did a fair bit of it on the fly while writing and then again in skimming while uploading here, so hopefully that caught most of the typos...but there~~ might ~~still be one or two I missed. Normally I do one final read-through of the whole fic from start to finish so to catch those, but this close to the deadline, I don't want to risk delaying this fic any longer.~~ (EDIT: a final round of editing and tweaks have now been done, so hopefully typos are now down to a minimum--let me know if I missed any though!)

Speaking of, ideally I'd post this across the space of a few days, but because I'm cutting it pretty close to the eleventh hour getting this up, I'm just going to go ahead and post it all at once and be done with it. So enjoy!

New Hippogriffia

In the end, entering New Hippogriffia was easier than Twilight expected. Despite knowing the hippogriffs weren’t ignorant of the danger of intruders from the neighboring Changeling Kingdom, those in the first small country town she entered didn’t really question her sudden arrival and willingly gave her the benefit of the doubt. Of course, Twilight had by then shapeshifted into what would be herself if she were a hippogriff—resulting in a lavender-colored creature with a sapphire blue mane—and that probably helped.

But while Twilight was certainly no beginner shapeshifter—all changelings learned at least the basics of shapeshifting—she still wasn’t a professional and had her limits, and fretted over whether or not this form was enough to avoid detection. But so long as she was nice to them, the hippogriffs responded in kind, so Twilight continued doing exactly that while heading to the town’s local station terminal.

She supposed she shouldn’t be so surprised by the warm welcome, since the hippogriffs were famed for being neighborly with other creatures. But since changelings weren’t usually so quick to trust like that, it was still mildly perplexing to Twilight. Why weren’t they questioning anything and everything that seemed even slightly suspicious, like back home? But at least this meant food wasn’t in short supply for her—the hippogriffs gave off positive emotion so readily that she didn’t have to try very hard to get enough. And since it was all given freely, she didn’t even have to take it by force as per changeling habit.

She found herself wishing all changelings could always feed like this as it’d solve a lot of problems, but for now she was content with having enough for herself. Which was good, because despite the hospitability of this little village, her journey was only just beginning—her best chance of finding what she needed was to head into the more densely populated part of the nation closer to the coast, hence her use of the aerial tramway, New Hippogriffia’s famed transport system of moving open gondolas by suspended cables.

That part of her journey went smoothly enough, at least. But though Twilight thought the tramway’s engineering impressive and the views it afforded of the actually rather pretty country magnificent, she felt this mode of transport somewhat unpragmatic. Nevertheless, it got her where she needed to go, soon delivering her in the coastal city of Ouenetoi. It in of itself was a rather picturesque location, having been built around a prominent central river and featuring artificial canals branching off from the river and spiderwebbing throughout the city, ensuring that one never very far from water (likely so to accommodate the seapony side of the hippogriff population). It further featured cable cars scuttling back and forth that transported the inhabitants over the cobblestone roads running in-between or alongside the river and canals, which suited Twilight better as she, like many changelings, didn’t like swimming.

It was all fascinating and interesting, and were she here under any other circumstance Twilight would’ve loved to explore the city in more depth…but she was on a mission. So she instead focused most of her stay at the place she felt most likely to help—the city’s Thalatte Public Library. It was one of the largest and most expansive libraries in this part of the world, so if Twilight was going to find any new information about Nightmare Moon, hopefully it would be here. She just needed to uncover it from wherever it was hidden inside the texts stored within.

But after spending several days researching and cross-referencing the library’s many rows of books, even enlisting the very helpful library staff to assist in tracking down some relevant texts, all she found was everything she’d already learned. This at least helped reaffirm her earlier research and make her more resolute that Nightmare Moon was indeed returning soon. But this still didn’t reveal how to stop her or where to find the Elements of Harmony critical in doing so, let alone what they even were. It was possible that information was still hidden in some obscure corner of the large building—as impressive a library as it was, Twilight was dissatisfied by how the books were only organized by subject and title instead of by subject, title, author name, and date of publication as she would’ve ordered them—but finding it could take several more days, and she had another week at best to both find a solution and a plan of action before Nightmare Moon returned and began her attack. And that wasn’t counting the travel time needed to get to the probable spot of that return.

So as impressive as it was, without the promise of finding a definite lead anytime soon, Twilight just couldn’t justify continuing to waste time searching here. “I’m going to just have to move on to look somewhere else,” she concluded halfway through her second day in Ouenetoi.

What she’d probably need to do now, she thought to herself as she left the library for the last time, was to head further northeast, into the Griffon Order. Not only was that most likely around where Nightmare Moon would return, it was also where key parts of the Equestrian nation had existed before it collapsed—if the answers, information, or even these Elements of Harmony she sought were anywhere, it was a good chance they would be somewhere near there. In fact, the only reason she hadn’t gone straight there in the first place was because one: she was trying to make it easier for herself when inevitably facing judgement for her disobedience from Queen Chrysalis by at least avoiding breaking the queen’s desire to not alert their enemies of the oncoming threat, and two: the Griffon Order was much further away, too far to travel to on her own without some additional form of transport.

With the latter thought in mind, Twilight abruptly shifted course to start towards the Ouenetoi docks, thinking she could secure passage on a sailing ship heading in the same direction as her. As she crossed through the busy streets, she was mentally double-checking she still had her hippogriff disguise in place (not that she’d hardly lowered it at all since entering New Hippogriffia) and planning out what she’d say to prospective shipmasters when one hippogriff within the crowded street unexpectedly caught her attention.

Colored a butter-yellow with a flowing pink mane draping down past her shoulders, she was the only one in the sea of friendly hippogriff faces that wasn’t standing at full height. Instead, she was stooped low to the ground and, even more interestingly, walking backwards. Confused, Twilight moved around another hippogriff standing between them to get a better look at what she was doing. The reason swiftly became apparent—the hippogriff was carefully escorting a family of ducks through the street, trying to clear a path for them as she quietly murmured instructions to the line of waterfowl.

“All right little ones, this way,” she was telling them sweetly. “Please stay close to me.”

Following the hippogriff’s path showed she was likely taking them to a nearby canal. Bemused, Twilight watched the curious sight move past her for a moment, wondering why this creature cared so much to go to the trouble. For she definitely did—Twilight could sense the hippogriff’s friendly love and care for the ducks even from here—but the exact motives were lost on Twilight. Nevertheless, as the small parade of creatures slipped free of the thickest part of the crowds and stopped near the canal’s banks, apparently so to give each duck a final and heartfelt farewell before sending them on their way, it seemed that the hippogriff had the matter handled. So Twilight started to continue on her way.

But then she saw the cable car heading down the street towards the hippogriff and her charges sitting in its path. Twilight hesitated for a second, thinking that surely they’d see the approaching cable car and get out of its way, but it was quickly apparent the hippogriff was so focused on the ducks and the ducks on her that both were ignorant of the approaching danger. The sounds of the cable car blending in with the noise of the busy street probably didn’t help. Worse still, Twilight could see the operator inside the cable car had been distracted tending to a passenger and hadn’t seen the obstruction on the tracks either. And by the time they did, the cable car was moving just fast enough it wouldn’t be able to stop in time to keep from hitting them.

Any other changeling probably would’ve done nothing, as acting would’ve only brought unwanted attention to it at a time when it wanted to be unnoticed. It’s not my problem, Twilight even tried to tell herself, forcing herself to turn away.

But she hadn’t even finished a complete about-face before instinct took over and she dove for the oblivious hippogriff. “Look out!”

The hippogriff’s head whipped up in time to see the cable car nearly upon her, her pupils shrinking, before Twilight bodily slammed into her and shoved her out of the way, the two creatures hitting the pavement and rolling once before coming to a stop safely out of the way. The cable car, meanwhile, rolled right on past them without incident, a number of passengers hurrying to the side facing them to see if they were all right. Several other onlookers had stopped to ogle the scene as well. Twilight, seeing this and not wanting to draw a crowd, hurriedly motioned that everything was okay.

“Don’t worry!” she called to everyone listening with a sheepish grin, “we’re all right!” The onlookers starting to disperse then, she turned to the hippogriff she’d just saved, trembling in a huddle on the ground beside her. “Right? We’re all right, right?”

“D-ducks!” the hippogriff sputtered instead, visibly alarmed, her eyes first locking onto the retreating cable car before darting around the street. “Where did the ducks go? Oh no oh no oh no, they weren’t hurt, were they? Where did the ducks go?”

“Uh…” Twilight hesitated, having not even stopped to think about the ducks and hadn’t seen where they went. There wasn’t any immediate evidence that they had been run over by the cable car, but…

Fortunately, before she could finish that morbid thought, they both heard a loud quack and turned to see the family of ducks regrouping behind them, unharmed. The hippogriff made a relieved squeak and leapt to her feet, checking over each duck. “Oh thank Ziz, you’re all okay!” she breathed giving the ducks a quick hug before ushering them the rest of the way into the canal. “Now hurry along, all of you, into the canal where it’s safer for you to be,” she instructed as the birds all entered the water with small splashes. “We wouldn’t want any of you to nearly get run over by a cable car again.” She paused, as if suddenly realizing something. “Or for me to nearly get run over by a cable car…oh…oh my, I nearly got ran over by a…a…”

Sensing her growing distress and seeing the hippogriff’s knees wobble, Twilight hurried to her side in time for her legs to give out and bodily collapse against the disguised changeling. “Oh, uh, easy, easy…ah…” she half-heartedly soothed, unsure what to do about the hippogriff slumped against her and hurriedly looked around for inspiration. “Let’s…let’s get you sitting down real quick so you can…take it easy.”

She quickly escorted the lightheaded hippogriff over to an outdoor diner, setting her down in the chair of one of the tables. Visibly shaken, the hippogriff slumped over until her head thumped onto the table, weakly fanning herself in an attempt to calm herself. When a waiter saw what was happening and hurried over to investigate, Twilight handed him a couple of bits and asked him to bring the best calming drink they offered. He returned shortly with a cool glass of fresh vegetable juice and, thoughtfully, a straw.

The hippogriff took a moment to sip the drink and recollect herself, fortunately recovering fairly quickly. “Oh dear,” she finally mumbled, the volume of her voice softening to a quiet and sheepish murmur, “I’m so sorry about that…I didn’t mean to put you in such an awkward situation.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight quickly assured her, who’d hung around long enough to make sure she would be alright. But now that she had, she looked for a way to politely excuse herself. “Just…trying to help, you know?”

“Well thank you,” the hippogriff nonetheless pressed. “You…you didn’t have to…do all this.”

“Yeah, I know.” In fact, Twilight wondered why she had done it at all, when logically, given she was lying low, not getting involved would’ve been better for her. She supposed she just wasn’t that heartless. In any case, Twilight waved the matter aside. “Don’t mention in it, at any rate. I was just in the right place at the right time.”

“Well, thank you anyway,” the hippogriff insisted, pushing her now empty cup aside. She was looking much better, though somewhat shy and, like Twilight, unsure how to react to this other creature she’d crossed paths with. “I’m Fluttershy, by the way. If…you know…that interests you.”

“I’m Twilight. Glad to see you’re going to be okay, Fluttershy.” Thinking that as good a time to part ways, Twilight started to turn, ready to give a final goodbye, but curiosity made her stay a moment longer. “If I can ask…why were you concerning herself with the ducks so much anyway?”

“Oh, well,” Fluttershy said, straightening in her seat, “they had gotten turned around looking for food and needed help getting back, so…I told them I would escort them there, and they…well…agreed.”

“They agreed?” Twilight repeated, momentarily confused, before realization lit up her face. “Oh! Are you an oratimalis?”

Fluttershy frowned. “A what?”

Twilight hesitated. She thought that was the proper technical term for it…but then again, etymologically speaking, it did seem likely it was of entirely changeling origin. “You know, you can talk to animals?”

“Oh,” Fluttershy made a small shrug as if to downplay the significance of the, honestly rather rare, magical skill. “I…suppose I can…at least a little.”

Not convinced, Twilight pointed at a squirrel on the restaurant’s awning that was chattering away. “What’s that animal saying, then?”

Fluttershy looked up at it. “Oh, he’s just commenting aloud how that lady’s fries smell good and how he’d really like to have one.”

The female hippogriff in question, sitting at a nearby table and munching on some cheese-covered Prench fries, looked up in surprise upon overhearing this before glancing a wary eye the squirrel too.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re an oratimalis,” Twilight concluded with a smug nod, glad to settle that.

“Oh…well, all right then,” Fluttershy relented before shaking her head and turning her attention back to her rescuer. “Anyway, thank you again for…well…saving me. Is…there any way I could maybe repay you? If you don’t mind, I mean.”

“Oh, you’re very kind, but no, you don’t need to do that,” Twilight quickly assured, more interested in just getting back to her mission. “Seriously, it’s okay. I don’t need any kind of reward or something.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy curled in on herself a little. “Okay. It’s just…you did kind of save my life.”

Twilight considered the idle speed the cable car had been traveling at earlier. “Well…I at least saved you from some expensive medical bills,” she reasoned. “But seriously, you don’t need to do anything to repay me.” She snickered to herself. “Not unless you’ve got a boat you can sail me up north with.”

Fluttershy, however, looked thoughtful. “Well, actually…as it happens…”

It wasn’t an especially big sailing ship. More of a private yacht, really, and it was clear it’d seen some years of continuous use. But as far as Twilight could tell, it seemed seaworthy. She didn’t really have much reason to suspect otherwise, as she sort of doubted Fluttershy would’ve brought her all the way down to these docks if she didn’t actually have a ship to meet the conditions she’d specified.

“And this can sail as far as Horseshoe Bay?” Twilight asked again, still feeling a little hesitant.

“Oh, certainly,” Fluttershy assured with a nod, standing next to Twilight on the pier running beside the moored little boat, “I’ve often sailed all over the Celestial Sea so to help care for my seafaring animal friends, so sailing up to Horseshoe Bay won’t be a problem.” She glanced curiously at Twilight. “Why Horseshoe Bay though, if I can ask?”

“I need to head to the Griffon Order for business,” Twilight covered, which wasn’t a lie, she was just omitting many of the details. “As there isn’t a direct train line from here to there, going by boat would be faster than trying to fly there myself, and Horseshoe Bay will be close enough.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said with a nod, though she still seemed unclear about it. She fingered the magic pearl shard looped around her neck with her claws. “I suppose that would be easier than just…you know…swimming there yourself.”

Twilight merely grunted and didn’t comment. As Fluttershy thought she was a fellow hippogriff, she didn’t know Twilight couldn’t just switch to a seapony form and swim. Well, as a changeling, she could, but not in the same manner as Fluttershy. Besides, Twilight disliked swimming, and typically made it a point to avoid putting herself in a situation where she’d need to. And as she wasn’t certain she was practiced enough a shapeshifter to hold a form and swim in water at the same time…

But she’d be staying dry in a boat for, hopefully, the whole duration of this voyage, assuming the ship really was as sound as claimed, but the more Twilight looked it over, the more she believed Fluttershy’s claims that it was. It was rather small though, enough that neither of them would get too much privacy, a potential problem as Twilight wasn’t sure she could really maintain her disguise non-stop long enough to sail all the way to her intended destination…but careful planning and timing could probably be enough to work around that problem and she was good at that much.

“How long would it take to sail there anyway?” Twilight asked next, running through the logistics of what she was considering.

“To Horseshoe Bay? About a day, maybe two if the seas are rough,” Fluttershy answered. “But it should be fairly calm between here and there for the rest of the week until the next major storm is expected to blow through.” She watched Twilight thinking this through for a moment. “Are…you thinking about accepting my offer then? Because you don’t have to if you don’t want to, you know. I would understand.”

“No, no, you’re fine,” Twilight quickly assured, giving the hippogriff a soft smile. She’d noticed Fluttershy seemed to have a bit of a self-esteem issue and continually talking down about herself, but at least it wasn’t to a crippling level. “I actually am considering it, because as I explained, I need passage up that way, so if you can actually give me that…” Twilight hesitated for another moment before deciding to just go for it. “…yeah, yeah let’s do this.” She turned to Fluttershy. “How soon can we leave?”

“Oh, well, right away if you want,” Fluttershy replied, hopping from the pier and onto the deck of her boat so to begin prep. “As it happened, I already had plans to head out myself to check up on a fish migration that’s taking place. That’s why I was working with the, um, ducks earlier. I was making sure all of my animal friends here would be okay while I’m away.” She looked to Twilight. “I, uh, would just need to make a few final preparations and then we can…go. So…if you really want to go with me…”

“Yes, I think I should,” Twilight assured with a nod. If Fluttershy was already prepared to go now, then she was very lucky to have crossed paths with her when she did so to be able to tagalong. She didn’t think she would’ve gotten such a good deal from any of the other shipmasters she had planned to approach instead, so this made the coincidence all the more happy. With a more tentative leap, Twilight stepped aboard too. “This seems like it’ll be a perfect arrangement for the both of us…if you’ll really have me, of course.”

“Oh no, I’m happy to help,” Fluttershy readily assured, and for once, this seemed like something she was perfectly confident of. “So…um…welcome aboard, Twilight.”

Fluttershy hadn’t been exaggerating about how ready to sail she was, for she already had her boat fully supplied. All she really needed to do was make sure everything was in place, and then they were underway before the next hour was even out. At first Twilight enjoyed the sailing, for the air was fresh and it gave her a wonderful view of the New Hippogriffia coast as they moved away from it. But then they transitioned out into more open waters where things were a bit choppier and Twilight quickly discovered seasickness was a thing. Fortunately, she was able to get her head over the side of the ship in time for the nausea to hit full force, and Fluttershy happened to have an herbal tea aboard that helped soothe her tummy.

“Don’t worry about it,” the hippogriff had assured her gently as Twilight tried to get it back under control again, “Seasickness gets the best of every creature, even hippogriffs.”

Twilight, of course, wasn’t actually a hippogriff, but she kept that detail to herself, more thankful that Fluttershy didn’t suspect anything. She wasn’t sure if her shipmate would really still be this kind if she found out how much she was deceiving her, but hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. Still, to play it safe, Twilight opted to remain below decks in the boat’s single all-in-one cabin until her changeling stomachs decided to settle down.

She’d stayed there for most of the rest of the afternoon, but as dusk neared, she’d felt recovered enough to return above deck in time to see them sail past Mount Aris, the original hippogriff homeland before they’d started expanding sometime after Equestria had collapsed and freed up the mainland. Twilight had once seen an illustration of the iconic mountain island in a book back in the Changeling Kingdom, but she found no illustration could compare to seeing the majestic sight in person. Even Fluttershy, who wasn’t originally native to Mount Aris but had seen it plenty of times, had to marvel a little at the sight.

After that, the trip continued rather routinely. As promised, the seas were fairly calm, making for easy sailing and helping Twilight to keep her meals down. The fact Fluttershy was producing enough emotive energy for her to discreetly make up for what she’d lost earlier also helped. Fluttershy spent most of it keeping the boat on the needed course, but it eventually grew late enough that, since Twilight didn’t know enough about sailing to take over for her, she docked them at a floating platform anchored to the seafloor where ships could temporarily dock when needed. In their case, it was so they could safely call it a night and get some sleep without fear of the ship veering way off course in the meantime. They slept in separate cots, where Twilight found curling up entirely under the covers gave her the privacy she needed to drop her disguise for a bit and relax in her natural form with minimal fear of Fluttershy seeing, allowing her a peaceful night’s sleep.

The following sunrise they were off again, with their trip progressing same as before. Twilight initially spent her morning with another bout of seasickness, but knowing what to do this time she got it under control again better. Having some hours still before they even neared Horseshoe Bay and with Fluttershy consistently staying busy above deck, Twilight decided to spend most of her morning pulling out the research she’d collected thus far and keep studying it, in hopes of puzzling out new details she hadn’t already, or at least get a clearer picture of what awaited her still on this mission.

She probably would’ve kept at it all the way until they arrived at their destination, but she was instead drawn out of her work far earlier than that upon hearing Fluttershy declare “Oh dear!” in alarm up above and, hiding her work in her bag again, Twilight went back above deck to investigate.

She found Fluttershy at the ship’s wheel as usual, but instead of looking ahead of the ship, she’d instead turned to look up in the sky behind them. “Something wrong?” Twilight asked as she joined the hippogriff’s side.

“Oh, well, I don’t want to alarm you,” Fluttershy said with a small wince before pointing a claw up at the sky. “But it appears some dragons have taken an interest in us.”

“Dragons?” Twilight repeated in alarm, turning her gaze where Fluttershy pointed and seeing a trio of, not quite fully mature, dragons flying high in the sky. They were still trailing behind them but rapidly starting to close the distance between them, and it was clear they were deliberately closing in on their ship. “What are they doing out here?”

“Well, we are traveling not far from the Dragon Coasts,” Fluttershy reminded, motioning to their portside where the mainland was faintly visible. Though it was more than a mile or two away from them, the thick jungles covering the colony the dragons had long ago claimed were still easy to see. “They are probably just making sure we aren’t threatening their territory. The dragons will do that sometimes, but if we leave them be, they should leave us be, generally speaking.”

Twilight, however, was feeling rather tense about this unexpected development. The changelings and the dragons weren’t really on the best of terms traditionally, due to past attempts by the Changeling Kingdom to invade and the dragons responding in kind. If these dragons found out she was a changeling hiding aboard this ship, she feared they might try and attack just out of spite. And when the trio of dragons swooped down towards them in a divebomb, Twilight feared exactly that was about to happen. But when the three dragons pulled out of their dive at the last second, shooting virtually right over their heads, Twilight sensed something unexpected about all three of them and realized this was much, much, worse than that.

“Those aren’t dragons,” she blurted aloud as they watched the trio come about for another pass.

“What?” Fluttershy asked, confused. “They look like dragons to me…”

“Trust me, they aren’t,” Twilight said, her brain whirling as fast as it’d go while desperately seeking a plan in the matter of minutes to seconds she had. “Fluttershy, I’m sorry, but I’m going to need to you trust me and follow my lead on this, no matter what happens.”

“…okay?” Fluttershy said, uncertain. “Twilight, what’s going on?”

Twilight watched the dragons start to come in for a landing this time, aiming for the ship’s aft where there was the most room to perch. “Do you have any way to make this ship go faster?” she breathed quickly, knowing it was a longshot but probably still their best chance.

“…Well, I do have a pump-jet that a griffon friend of mine had convinced me to install…but I don’t really like using it because it’s hard to control, particularly with the sails still up, and it only works in quick bursts anyway, so…” she was cut short when the three dragons landed on the ship’s deck with successive thumps, drawing her attention back to them. Nervously, she and Twilight both gulped before Fluttershy timidly stepped forward. “Um…hello there! Is…is there something we can help you with…?”

“We have no quarrel with you, hippogriff,” the lead dragon interrupted to tell Fluttershy firmly. “So I’d advise you to stay out of this.”

Fluttershy responded by whimpering and obediently backing away. Twilight however, knowing she wouldn’t be given the same advice, took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Please leave her out of this,” she told the trio firmly, taking control of the conversation. “I don’t know how you tracked me down, but you and I both know it’s just me you’re after anyway.”

“Quite,” the lead dragon said, folding his arms and focusing on her before getting right to the point. “We have orders to take you back where you belong, preferably peaceably.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “And if I refuse?”

“We were told to then use force if necessary.” He sneered at Twilight. “I’d highly advise you to not make us do so.”

Twilight made a half-hearted snort, trying to act tough as she cautiously moved closer to the three. “What makes you so certain I can’t still handle three centuriones?” she made a show of challenging. “I mean, you may be some of the queen’s best of the best, but…”

“…but you are a mere praefectus, Twilight, and one a long way from home,” the lead “dragon” stressed, confident of his chances. “You could not even begin to know what you’re getting yourself into by choosing to fight.”

Twilight breathed a sigh, steadying herself. She had an idea, but it wasn’t a great one. “Pharynx, isn’t it?” she prompted, deducting his identity from pheromones and sound of his voice. Pharynx didn’t respond so she continued. “Look, you have to understand, I didn’t leave without good reason. What I’m doing out here is important, done out of protection for our kind, its kingdom, and our combined interests.”

“The queen strongly disagrees,” Pharynx responded. “She sees what you are trying to do as a great danger, and thereby you must be stopped.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Now…will you do the smart thing and surrender peacefully, or is this going to have to get ugly?”

Twilight hesitated, glancing back at Fluttershy, who had slowly been inching away from the confrontation. She hated that she’d gotten the innocent hippogriff into this situation, and knew giving herself up would probably spare her any more trouble or even harm. As well as quite likely spare herself from having to explain the truth to her. But with Nightmare Moon about to return, it would potentially only be for the short term. If she had any chance still of potentially preventing that, she still needed to take it…right?

In any case, Twilight made her choice, bracing herself. “Well, you’re right that I’m not a trained fighter like you all are,” she relented to the three come to capture her. “But I’m still well-read enough to know a few good tricks.”

She then abruptly revealed her changeling horn out from under her disguise, lit it, and cast a spell at her would-be attackers before they could react, slamming into them like an invisible shockwave and sending them hurtling off the ship to splash into the sea. She then whipped around to face her companion urgently. “Fluttershy, go!”

Fluttershy, having discreetly moved back to the ship’s controls while this was all going on, immediately whipped around and fumbled with a control placed next to the ship’s wheel. Something underneath the deck rumbled before, with a spray of foamy bubbles, the pump-jet engine Fluttershy had mentioned earlier sprung to life and pushed the ship forward at high speed, enough to make Twilight stumble under the acceleration. The “dragons,” dropping their own disguises and revealing themselves as changelings, attempted to paddle after them but were much too slow—though it was clear the ship had never been built with this pump-jet in mind due to how much it rattled and shook under Twilight’s feet, it still got it moving too fast for a swimmer to catch up with.

Nevertheless, they still tried to stop them by firing their own spells after the fleeing ship. Twilight watched one rip a hole in the sails before, knowing Fluttershy had already seen her reveal her own horn, deciding to go for broke and fire back with some suppressing fire of her own. Ultimately, it was range that ended the firefight. As the two parties started to put enough distance between them, it became too difficult to reliably aim at each other, making it no longer worth the effort.

Relieved her crazy idea appeared to have paid off, Twilight turned to Fluttershy, struggling to keep the boat going in a straight line. “Okay, that should get us out of immediate harm’s way for the moment,” she started to tell the hippogriff, “but we’re not out of the woods yet, because they’ll…” She was cut short when she heard a distant pop and spun around in time to see the attacking changelings had pooled together their collected magical power into one large bolt of energy and flung it in their direction, sailing up into the sky and back down towards them like a large green meteor of raw magical energy. She whipped back to Fluttershy, who’d turned to look as well. “…Evade! Evade!”

But it was too late, the blast plowed into the ship’s side with a boom, knocking it hard to port and throwing them both to the deck. The pump-jet was heard sputtering before going silent, the ship drifting to a halt again. The ship’s list however didn’t correct itself, and Twilight knew the damage must be bad enough that the ship taking on water below decks was almost guaranteed.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” Fluttershy bemoaned as she picked herself up and started to hurry about, trying to save her boat. “I’m not sure I can repair this, and…look out!”

Another blast of energy fell out of the sky and crashed down upon them, dealing more damage to the boat. Twilight knew for sure it wasn’t going to recover from this. Worst still, she could see in the distance the three changeling attackers starting to catch up with them again since they were now sitting ducks. So it was then, spying the magic pearl shard about her cohort’s neck that Twilight made another choice. “You’ve done all you can, Fluttershy, get out of here while you still have the chance!”

Fluttershy’s eyes bulged, hesitating. “But…”

“It’s me they’re after and not you, so go, get to safety!” Twilight urged, pushing her to the side of the boat. “I’ll manage on my own!”

It was clear Fluttershy didn’t believe that, but she didn’t argue as she begrudgingly jumped overboard and vanished beneath the ocean waves already lapping alarmingly high up the side of the sinking ship. Once she was gone, Twilight turned back to face the oncoming changelings, not sure what she was going to do now, but knowing she had to at least try. She lit her horn as Pharynx arrived, hauling himself sopping yet out of the sea to stand on the edge of the ship’s aft—the best he could do with his insect wings too wet to fly.

He nonetheless stared Twilight down, knowing he still had the advantage. “Getting ugly it is, then,” he concluded sternly.

Twilight chose to stand her ground—it was the best she could do. “If it helps, I’m sorry it came to this,” she told him. “But I do genuinely believe I’m doing the right thing here, for the good of us all.”

“I suppose I’m sorry too,” Pharynx simply tsked. “But I guess you made your choice nonetheless.”

He fired a final spell into the deck beside Twilight before she could react. The resulting explosion tossed her into the deck railing, winding her. She had enough time to look back at Pharynx to see him jump back into the water before realizing the entire deck of the ship was tilting rapidly even further to port. She managed to gulp down a breath of air before it capsized and flipped over, dumping her into the cold and salty ocean underneath. The liquid immediately seeped into the magic of her disguise and, already weakened as it was, it flickered a few times before giving out completely, reverting Twilight back into her natural changeling form.

The sudden shift in forms caused her to flounder uselessly in the water for a moment, not helped by the fact that she wasn’t a very strong swimmer due to her dislike for it. But even when she managed to get coordinated enough to try kicking towards the surface, she found the capsized ship in the way, keeping her trapped under the surface. Growing alarmed as the air started going stale in her lungs, she tried to blast her way through the sinking ship, but the water weakened her blind shots and didn’t make any meaningful difference. She realized her best hope now was to try and find her way out from under the ship again before she drowned, but she couldn’t tell what way to go and doubted she had enough time to figure it out.

She was actually just starting to think that at least she’d given all this the best shot she could when something big and warm suddenly grabbed her and pulled her away from the wreck, heading deeper into the water. Twilight’s first instinct was that it was Pharynx and the other two changelings, but realized this creature was too big to be any one changeling. With a jolt of fear, she thought some aquatic predator had caught her so to drag down into the dark depths and devour. But then the creature nosed upwards and before she knew it, Twilight’s head burst out of the water again where she gasped in a much desired breath of fresh air.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you!” a familiar voice said in her ear as she kept them both afloat.

“F-Fluttershy?!” Twilight gasped out, coughing up water as she thankfully wrapped her holed hooves around the hippogriff-turned-seapony. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t just leave you behind!” Fluttershy argued gently as she started swimming in the direction of shore off on the horizon.

“Why not? I got you into this! I lied to you about who I am, what I was doing!”

“Well…yes, but…” Fluttershy averted her gaze. “…you also did save my life before. Twice, even, if we count what just happened, so…you can’t be all that bad.”

Twilight decided she was too thankful to argue right now. She turned her attention back to where the hulk of their ship was still sinking, overturned so all that could be seen was its exposed belly. She couldn’t see any sign of their pursuers, but she knew they still had to be nearby, still wanting to capture her. “Wait, wait, there’s one last thing I should do,” she told Fluttershy, getting the seapony to stop swimming long enough to line up one last shot at the boat, exploding part of it and setting the rest ablaze. “There, hopefully that’ll cause enough of a distraction to keep the others off our tails.” As they resumed swimming though, Twilight stared back at the burning wreck with regret. “Sorry about your boat.”

“Oh…well…better it than us, I think,” Fluttershy admitted, more focused on getting them back to shore. “I’m going to dive again, so please take a deep breath.”

Twilight obliged and experienced the unpleasant sensation of getting dragged underwater again. But Twilight knew why Fluttershy was doing it—she was also trying to shake the others off their trail by taking routes where they’d be harder to see. She also managed to cover some good distance doing so, because by the time they surfaced again, what remained of the boat was now several hundreds of yards away from them. And there was still no sign of Pharynx and his cohorts. As they also had the disadvantage of having to swim for it, the ocean just not being a changeling’s natural environment, Twilight felt confident they had given them the slip for now, allowing Twilight to turn her focus to other things.

“I hate swimming,” she muttered as they went, above water now.

“Not a good swimmer, huh?” Fluttershy asked.

“Changelings aren’t meant to swim, we’re too vulnerable in the water,” Twilight explained. She then winced to herself. “…does it really show that obviously?”

“Well, I had been wondering why you didn’t have your own pearl shard ever since we first met,” Fluttershy admitted simply. “And why you didn’t seem quite as familiar with hippogriff or seapony culture as someone posing as one probably ought to.”

She said it all so innocently, but it still made Twilight feel guilty. “I…probably owe you an explanation, don’t I?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy agreed immediately, “You do.”

Dragon Coasts

They managed to reach the safety of shore without further event, Fluttershy dragging both Twilight and her seapony body onto the sandy beach before using her magic pearl shard to revert back to her hippogriff form. By that point, the shock of what just happened settled in enough that Fluttershy had another panic attack and could only stand on unsteady legs as a result. Twilight, however, found her own body too waterlogged from the swim to successfully shapeshift, leaving her stuck in her natural form until she dried out. That caused her to panic a bit too, since walking around undisguised in foreign territory was potentially very dangerous for a changeling.

Fortunately, at the edge of the beach they found a cave to hide out in until Twilight dried out and they both recovered their wits. They spent the first few minutes there mostly in silence, doing what they could to try and shake the loose water from their bodies.

Fluttershy watched Twilight groom her glossy wings, currently floppy and useless from their swim earlier. “So,” she finally began, breaking the silence, “you’re a changeling.”

Twilight looked up from what she was doing and made a sheepish chuckle. “Yeah, kinda,” she admitted before sighing. “I’m…sorry for deceiving you. But most creatures don’t generally react well to encountering a changeling.”

“I suppose I can understand that,” Fluttershy conceded. Her brow furrowed with confusion. “But why did you come out here on your own in the first place?” She motioned vaguely outside the cave to the sea they had just escaped from. “Clearly you have…well…enemies that want to stop you.” She frowned. “Who were they anyway?”

“They were centuriones,” Twilight answered. Then, realizing she probably wouldn’t understand the changeling term, proceeded to elaborate. “Basically, they were specially trained soldiers fiercely loyal to the queen of the Changeling Kingdom.” She lowered her gaze with a sad sigh. “I…didn’t exactly get permission to come out here in the first place, so they were sent to…take care of it.” She then gazed out of the cave herself. The sea visible through the opening was calm, with no sign of trouble on it now, but she was certain Pharynx and his cohorts were still out there somewhere. “Hopefully we’ve escaped them for now, but they’re not going to give up that easily, nor do I think they’ll believe we went down with your boat.” She winced and looked back at the hippogriff. “Again, I’m very sorry about that.”

Fluttershy idly poked at the cave’s gravel floor with one paw for a second. “Right now, I think I’m just more interested in knowing why,” she admitted. She looked Twilight right in the eye. “What was so important for you to do all of this, if it was going to cause so much trouble?”

Twilight sighed again. “Ironically, it was to try and prevent even worse trouble from befalling us all,” she admitted. She bit her lip before deciding to start from the beginning. “Have you ever heard of a mare called Nightmare Moon before?”

“Nightmare Moon?” Fluttershy’s brow wrinkled in further confusion. “Isn’t she just a legend?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think so,” Twilight explained as she reached to check on the research in her satchel, having managed to stay on her side despite everything. As it was magically enchanted to be water resistant, the papers inside were thankfully only mildly damp at most, still perfectly useable and, more importantly, legible. “And that means the threat she potentially presents goes beyond just the changelings.” She then shook her head and looked around at their surroundings, trying to get her bearings again. “But it won’t matter much if I can’t get to the Griffon Order in time. So…where are we exactly, and how far away from Horseshoe Bay are we still?”

“Oh…quite a few miles still, actually,” Fluttershy admitted with a wince. “And this beach would have to be the shoreline for the Dragon Coasts, so…” her wince deepened, “…this isn’t exactly friendly territory we’re in, I think.”

“Particularly for a changeling like me,” Twilight added with a wince of her own. “Dragons and changelings have…a history.” She took a deep breath. “Still, I don’t see much other option at this point—we’re going to have to try and go the rest of the way by ourselves, on foot or by wing.”

It was clear Fluttershy didn’t particularly care for either option. “The jungles here are supposed to be really dangerous for those who don’t know how to navigate them though,” she pointed out. “And I don’t know about you, but, um, I don’t really know the layout of the land here at all.”

“I don’t either,” Twilight admitted. “But without a boat, going by water isn’t going to be very practical, so we’ll just have to take the risk and…”

She cut herself short when they suddenly heard the sounds of some creature approaching from deeper within the cave. Huddling together in alarm, they peered down the dark tunnel to see a light faintly cast itself upon the walls where the tunnel bent around a corner. As they watched, the light slowly grew stronger as the sounds likewise grew louder. At one point the source of light, appearing to be from a fire, moved positions and caused the shadow of what held it to be cast, revealing the distinct outline of a dragon. And they were clearly coming their way.

Fluttershy winced. “What should we do?” she whispered to Twilight. “If it catches us intruding on dragon territory without permission…” she let the thought hang unfinished.

Twilight bit her chitinous lip. “Run, maybe?”

“But that wouldn’t stop the dragon from just chasing after us, would it? And what if they can move faster than we can?”

“The only other thing I can suggest then is to hide…but this cave was the only place we could hide on this beach,” Twilight argued back. She jumped when the dragon still just out of sight was heard bumping a small rock which clattered nosily. It and the light it carried were still closing in and would surely come fully into view in just moments. “It’s either that or hope we can reason with them.”

“It’s a dragon,” Fluttershy whimpered, huddling closer to Twilight in terror. “When they’re angry, reasoning is supposed to be just about the last thing you can do.”

The debate was halted when, having stalled for too long, the dragon finally rounded the corner and stepped into view, halting a split second later upon seeing the two other creatures also in the cave. She was a dragoness, roughly analogous to them in age (or so Twilight reflexively estimated), bearing immaculate scales of a near perfect white except for her underbelly, which was colored a pale cornflower blue, and the crest of long spines atop her head as well as the inside of her wings, both of which were a moderate indigo color. Upon spying them, she raised the ball of magic dragonfire she held cupped in one paw up higher and stared at them with her blue eyes just long enough that both changeling and hippogriff thought she would unleash her full draconic rage upon them at any moment.

Instead, she broke out in a friendly grin. “Why hello there, darlings!” she declared surprisingly cordially. “Whatever brings you two ladies out here?”

Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged stunned glances, not having expected this reaction. “Uh…” Twilight managed to utter, scrambling to form a coherent response.

“I mean, I assume you two didn’t come into this cave just because,” the dragoness prompted in amusement when she didn’t get an immediate answer.

Fluttershy was trembling by Twilight’s side, uncertain the dragon wouldn’t still attack. “W-w-why aren’t you angry about us b-being here?” she asked in a shaky voice. “A-aren’t we in-in-intruding on your territory?”

“You mean this old place?” the dragoness asked, motioning to the cave they stood in. She scoffed. “Oh, most anything interesting was picked clean from here ages ago, darling. I mean, sometimes you do still get lucky and find the odd sliver of a gemstone that was overlooked…” As if to prove her point, she suddenly stopped to pick a shard of crystal from a crack in the wall and popped it whole into her mouth to crunch upon. “…but mostly I just use it as a nice little shortcut out to the beach and not much else.” She pointed a claw nonthreateningly at the other two. “But I trust you two are here for rather different reasons. I assume you shipwrecked, yes?”

Twilight blinked in surprise at her accurate deduction. “How did you figure that out?”

The dragoness chuckled and motioned to their figures. “The fact you’re both frazzled and wet like you had, for starters,” she observed. “But that’s usually why non-dragons like yourselves would suddenly turn up on the shores of the Dragon Coasts anyway.”

“Well…you’d actually be right,” Fluttershy concluded. She tried to make an apologetic grin, but it came out as a wince. “…sorry.”

“Oh no, no harm done that I can tell,” the dragoness reassured and closed the gap between them, towering a full head taller than even Fluttershy who, as a hippogriff, wasn’t exactly short herself. “These things happen sometimes, after all. The more important thing here was if anyone was hurt and if you need assistance getting back where you belong.”

Fluttershy and Twilight again exchanged glances. “Well…we could use passage from here to the Griffon Order border,” Twilight conceded, deciding they might as well take advantage of the dragoness’s unexpected offer of assistance. “That was where we were heading when our boat…sank.”

“Since you’re offering and all,” Fluttershy added. Since it seemed they weren’t going to be ripped to shreds for now, she slowly started to relax again, releasing the tight grip she’d unknowingly put upon her changeling compatriot.

“We’re just surprised, is all,” Twilight continued. “I…would’ve thought you’d have much more issue with us being here.” She motioned to herself. “Particularly me as a…you know…changeling.”

“Well, I do find it odd a changeling would be here and also not disguised,” the dragoness said, raising a puzzled eyebrow at Twilight. “But since you’re in the company of a hippogriff, I presume there’s a good reason.” She pointed at Fluttershy. “Is she your prisoner or something?” she asked the hippogriff.

Fluttershy’s eyes bulged. “Oh my, no!” she quickly countered. “She’s with me as…” she hesitated for a split second, shooting a side-glance at Twilight, “…as a friend.” Twilight wrinkled her snout, not sure she agreed with calling it that, but kept silent as Fluttershy continued. “Actually, it’d been my idea to team up anyway, as I’m the one with…well…the boat to get us there. Or…at least I was the one with boat…” She looked sadly out the cave’s mouth at the sea where its waves had swallowed up her lost ship.

Rarity harrumphed at this, seeming taken aback at this detail. “A changeling being friends with anyone?” she mumbled aloud, clearly finding the idea odd. “That’s certainly new.”

Twilight decided to not dispute the point and instead take control of the conversation again. “Anyway, I’m not in disguise simply because I’m too wet,” she explained to the dragoness. “We were trying to dry off when you found us.”

The dragoness furrowed her brow. “Changelings can’t stay disguised in water?”

“Well, no, we can, it just takes extra effort because the water causes interference, and I’m…” Twilight turned sheepish, “…not practiced enough at it. I, uh, suppose that’s what I get for learning the theory but not putting it into practice more.”

“Oh, well then, if that’s all,” the dragoness said before drawing in a deep breath of air.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she realized a second too late what she was about to do. “No, wait—!”

The dragoness released a cyan blast of fire directly at both of them, fully engulfing the two. Twilight cried out and attempted to shield herself against the heat of the flames while Fluttershy simply flinched away with a whimper. However, though they felt an intense heat fully surrounding them, the flames never harmed them. And once they faded away as quickly as they’d appeared, the only thing the two noticed different was their bodies having been blown dry by the heated air. A quick pat down by each of them and the dragoness’s smug grin quickly made clear that had been the intention.

“There, that should solve that problem for you both,” the dragoness proudly remarked before pointing at Twilight. “Now I recommend you disguise yourself as something that’s not a changeling, because I cannot guarantee other dragons will react to your presence as kindly as I have.” Then, without waiting for Twilight to comply, turned and motioned for the pair to follow her. “Now come along. I don’t know if I personally will be able to escort you as far as the Griffon Order border without first checking with the Dragon Regent, but I can at least still get you settled somewhere more comfortable until that’s sorted out.”

She then started back into the cave the same way she’d entered from. Fluttershy, uncertainty still visible on her face, silently gave a questioning look to Twilight. Twilight, reverting back into the hippogriff disguise she’d been using before, simply shrugged, unable to think of any good reason not to follow, and trotted after the dragoness. Fluttershy hesitated a second, but not wanting to be left behind, quickly hurried to stay by Twilight’s side.

“My name is Rarity, by the way,” the dragoness said as she led them through the cave. It quickly proved to be a tunnel, open at both ends, and it wasn’t long before they were reaching its other exit. “What are yours?”

“I’m Fluttershy,” Fluttershy introduced before motioning to her companion. “And this is Twilight.”

“Twilight?” Rarity asked, glancing back at the disguised changeling. “Just Twilight?”

“That’s right,” Twilight confirmed, raising an eyebrow at the question. “Why?”

Rarity shrugged her shoulders. “It just seems like the sort of name that should have a second part to it, like…Sparkle or something.”

“Nope, just Twilight.” Twilight decided to change the subject before they went any further down that odd rabbit hole. “Anyway, we appreciate your generosity helping us like this,” she said. “We weren’t sure we’d really be able to find the way on our own.”

“You almost certainly wouldn’t,” the dragoness replied confidently as she snuffed the ball of flame in her palm, no longer needed. She incidentally said this almost the same moment they exited the tunnel and entered the jungles further inland. They were thick and intimidating to her two charges, and though they could hear the constant sounds of other wildlife in the distance, they couldn’t see much of it. “The Dragons Coasts do tend to be quite dangerous for those who don’t know what they’re doing here.” Almost to prove her point, a snake suddenly lunged from the dense foliage and at her throat. However, almost without looking at it, Rarity casually grabbed it out of the air with one paw, whipped it over her head like a lasso, and then hurled it back into the bushes with ease. “Fortunately,” she continued as if nothing had happened, “I’m quite adjusted to it. You’ll be safe so long as you stick close to me and do as I say.”

“…sounds good to me!” Twilight swiftly agreed, cowed and astonished at the capability their guide just demonstrated.

Fluttershy spared an apologetic wince the in the direction the snake was thrown before finally changing the subject. “So…why are you helping us?” she asked as they hiked through the jungle. “I’ve only ever seen dragons from afar before now, but…I had always been told dragons are fierce and mean to strangers.”

“Historically, they are,” Twilight agreed. “According to legend, they were the ones who drove the ponies from this part of the continent when coming to take it for themselves, and retaliated against anything that they thought might take it away again once they had it. The changelings certainly have had that demonstrated to them any time we’re caught infiltrating their land, at least.”

“Foolishly, I might add,” Rarity couldn’t help but point out.

Twilight opted not to acknowledge that point. “In any case, you haven’t acted like that towards us.”

“Not that we’re complaining, of course,” Fluttershy swiftly added before they inadvertently gave Rarity any ideas. “You can go right on acting as you have.”

Rarity made a twittering laugh at that before going on to answer the question. “Truth be told, I was once exactly that sort of dragon in my youth, particularly just after my molt,” she admitted more solemnly. “I treated any non-dragons with contempt, anger, and even violence, as I’d seen other dragons do while growing up. I never really stopped to question it…until I crossed paths with one young creature who’d lost his way. Initially I was going to treat him the same as I had any other outsider…but then I saw how innocent, young, and helpless he was and realized that being mean wouldn’t help anyone. Instead, what he needed was help getting back on course to where he did belong, which I did. More than that even, I somewhat helped him get established as a successful trader who comes through here every now and then to trade with dragons for various gemstones. In fact, I believe he is due to pass through here again rather soon…” Rarity pondered that detail for a moment before shrugging, deeming it irrelevant to the conversation. “Anyway, after I did all that, I decided to make it a point to be more a service to outsiders than a hindrance. I’ve found that’s all most of them need, much like yourselves.” She then made a serious side-glance back at them. “That is unless such outsiders are seeking deliberate harm to me or other dragons, in which case, I assure you, vengeance will be swift.”

Twilight and Fluttershy both audibly gulped at the implied threat and jointly made a note not to get on the dragoness’s bad side.

“So why are you two heading for the Griffon Order, anyway?” Rarity then asked, using her claws to thwack aside some vines barring their path. She eyed specifically Twilight as she continued. “You’re not planning to spy on the griffons living there or anything like that, are you?”

“Oh, no, no, no!” Fluttershy quickly assured, taken aback by the suggestion.

“Just because I’m a changeling doesn’t mean my every action has an intended subterfuge behind it,” Twilight added hotly, a little annoyed at the stereotyping.

“My apologies,” Rarity assured. “But while I prefer not to judge a creature by their skin these days, just because I am giving you two the benefit of the doubt does not mean you have my full trust just yet.” That point made abundantly clear, she then prompted again, “So if not for that, then why are you heading there?”

“Um…well…” Fluttershy began, uncertain, “We’re heading there because Twilight is hoping to stop…”

“…I’m hoping the Griffon Order has resources for a project I’m independently researching,” Twilight swiftly interjected without giving specifics, hesitant to entrust Rarity with the truth if the dragon really still had doubts about them.

Unfortunately, the dragoness was no fool. “All right, that is it,” she announced suddenly, halting and about facing so to block their path, preventing them from continuing. “You two are trying to hiding something, and I’d like to know what it is before we go any further with this arrangement of ours.”

Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged glances, with the latter silent motioning she’d like to know the full details too, before Twilight sighed and nodded. “What do you know about Nightmare Moon?” the disguised changeling asked.

“Nightmare Moon?” Rarity repeated, rolling the sound of the name around her tongue. “Nothing! I’ve never heard of any…Nightmare Moon.”

Twilight sighed a second time, this time more wearily. “Then this is going to take a bit of explaining.”

She spent the rest of the hike explaining the situation to the two creatures she’d managed to inadvertently team up with, laying out what she’d uncovered, her conclusions, and what she hoped to do about it. By that time, nearing their apparent destination, evidence of other dragons living in the area became more visible. Some were occasionally swooping in flight above them, but most were keeping to themselves in the dwellings they’d made for themselves, visible even from afar. Most lived in simple caves, but some had settled in the ancient temples or other structures left behind by their original creators after the dragons had colonized the area. Rarity’s own dwelling was made out of one of the smaller of these structures—a single-room stone building placed in the opening of a large crevasse atop a hill and partly overlooked the valley seeming to be the center of the dragon population. Twilight finished her explanation as they reached the entrance of this dwelling.

“So ultimately what you’re trying to do is stop this Nightmare Moon,” Rarity summarized as they entered, before adding, “Do watch your step, by the way. I use my spare time making jewelry out of the scrap metal and gemstones not worth eating to trade with other dragons, but I suppose I’m not very tidy about it.”

Twilight and Fluttershy looked around to see most every available surface of the dwelling covered with pieces of thin metal in various stages of being twisted into decorative shapes and embedded with small insignificant gems. “Right, I’m hoping to stop Nightmare Moon before she can cause too much harm,” Twilight confirmed as she and Fluttershy carefully avoided stepping on any of Rarity’s projects.

“But just what makes you so certain that this mare is about to return, or even exists at all?” Rarity questioned, giving Twilight a skeptical eye. “After all, her banishment was apparently a thousand years ago, long enough that it all could just be a story…”

“I’m done my homework on this, I promise you,” Twilight assured, reaching into her satchel to pull out all of her extensive research, holding it up for Rarity to see. “I can definitely confirm Nightmare Moon existed and gathered plenty of evidence suggesting she will indeed return, likely soon. The best account I’ve found suggests she should return in less than a week’s time now.”

Rarity took Twilight’s research to skim through, wanting to see it for herself. Fluttershy, meanwhile, had been reacting to the explanation very thoughtfully and attentively, though there was also a growing worry underlying it once the full scope of things became clear.

“And…you’re saying that if you don’t, then when she comes back, Nightmare Moon will likely try and take everything for herself?” the hippogriff summarized somewhat uneasily while they gathered near a large pile of valuables stored at the back of the dwelling. When Fluttershy reached out to touch a particularly large ruby sitting on its edge, her paw was slapped away by Rarity without comment.

Twilight nodded, pulling Fluttershy closer to herself, so to give the dragoness’s belongings a respective perimeter. “By force, if necessary, but I think if I can recover what was used to defeat her a thousand years ago, I can stop her again before she gets very far.”

Pacified by Twilight’s research, Rarity handed back the papers before rubbing at the underside of her snout for a moment. “But your queen doesn’t want to do this?” she asked, sounding incredulous, “Enough to send soldiers after you?”

“She thinks she can use the chaos of Nightmare Moon’s return to stage her own attack on her enemies and expand her territory,” Twilight explained apologetically. “I didn’t approve myself.”

“Can…she do that?”

“…probably? But I’m not sure it’d matter, because even if she succeeds, once Nightmare Moon is done with the more immediate political powers, she’ll eventually turn her attention to the Changeling Kingdom too.”

Rarity raised a questioning eyebrow at that, suspecting the changeling’s motives again. “So you’re saying Nightmare Moon is enough of a danger to the changelings that you want to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Twilight nodded again. “But it’s not just the changelings. The hippogriffs, the griffons, probably even the dragons and others are all likely endangered by Nightmare Moon’s return too. If the stories about her intentions to bring about an eternal night are true, and I suspect they are for reasons already discussed, then her return potentially affects the whole of our world. Meaning anything that stops her would be to everyone’s mutual benefit too.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened slightly at this implication. “So, um, basically,” she concluded, “what you’re trying to do is…save the world?”

Twilight blinked. “…I guess so? I…hadn’t really thought about it that way.”

Rarity laughed at the idea. “Well, look at that, a changeling actually trying to save the world for a change,” she remarked. “That’s not something you see very often.” She gave Twilight an impressed look. “I suppose that would make you a truly unique changeling indeed, darling.”

Twilight sheepishly averted her gaze before shaking her head, turning apologetic. “In any case, I’m sorry I’ve dragged both of you into this.”

“It’s all right,” Fluttershy assured her. “I was the one who offered to help you in the first place.”

Twilight locked eyes with the hippogriff. “You didn’t know what you were getting into at the time.”

“Maybe so, but…I still wanted to help you after you’d helped me, so…even though it’s gone like we planned, I probably still would’ve offered anyway.” Fluttershy then shrugged with her feathery wings. “And now that I know your intentions for doing this are good…I’d think it’d be wrong if I backed down now.” She glanced in the vague direction of the sea. “Besides, I don’t really have an easy way back home at this point, so…since I’ve already put myself all in…I guess I might as well see it through.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” Twilight reminded.

“You aren’t,” Fluttershy assured her. She shrugged a second time. “With respect…you probably need all the help you can get anyway.”

Twilight made an amused snort at that. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“I suppose I will assist as well,” Rarity also offered, picking out a gem from within her hoard and popping it into her mouth. “I already said I would try to get you safely to the border at least, and I don’t see much reason to stop now since I would seemingly stand to gain.” She looked at Twilight. “Though, assuming you even do find these so-called Elements of Harmony, how exactly are you going to use them and what happens to them afterwards once you do? Will you try to keep them for yourself?”

“I’m not sure I can even if I want to,” Twilight admitted. “That’s why I’m trying to get to the Griffon Order. Not only will Nightmare Moon likely return somewhere within their borders, I’m hoping the missing links I’m looking for lie somewhere there as well, because as it stands now, I barely have any information about what they are or where to find them.”

“And you think the Griffon Order has that information?” Rarity asked with a scoffing laugh. “The griffons can barely keep their own business straight, let alone something from a thousand years ago!”

“Yes, but their territory contains the most major locations Equestria held before it fell, so if that information is anywhere, it’s gotta be there!” Twilight huffed. “Look, I know it’s a gamble, but given I haven’t found what I’m looking for elsewhere and having a limited amount of time left, it’s the best hope I’ve got.” She motioned to the dragoness. “That is unless the dragons happen to know anything on the matter, but considering you didn’t even know who Nightmare Moon is…”

“Well, I don’t know about these elements specifically,” Rarity began with a shrug, “But there were a lot of magical artifacts scattered all across this land when we dragons arrived here. They’re now collected in the relic depository for safe keeping, as a sort of group hoard for all dragons. If we have anything like these elements, they would likely be there.”

Twilight perked up at that. “Is there any way I can get in there and look around?” she asked eagerly.

Rarity snorted a small cloud of smoke and shook her head. “Not likely. The depository is where some of the most valuable items in the Dragon Coasts are, so no non-dragon will be allowed to enter.” She then paused, regarding Twilight for a moment. “That is unless…Twilight, since you’re a shapeshifting changeling, I don’t suppose you can also achieve a dragon form?”

Twilight raised her brows for a second, intrigued by the challenge. Then in a flash of magic she took on a dragoness form paralleling Rarity’s own lean build but in her own purple hues. She then held out her claws in a presenting manner. “Would this work?”

Rarity made a toothy smile, revealing the tips of her fangs. “Quite,” she said, turning to walk over to a large and weathered crate she’d presumably recovered from some past shipwreck, tipping it over and emptying it of its contents. “Now Fluttershy,” she continued as she looked to the hippogriff, “how are you with tight spaces?”

Fluttershy claimed she could deal with tight spaces so long as she felt safe within it, so soon all three of them found themselves heading up the steps of a particularly prominent ancient temple placed near the center of the Dragon Coasts. The bored dragon standing guard at its entrance barely glanced up at the two dragonesses, one white and the other purple, carrying a large crate between them and motioned them right through without a second thought once Rarity explained that the crate contained a new magical artifact the Dragon Regent had ordered be delivered. Once inside, they swiftly entered a massive chamber filled with stone shelves, all laden with a vast array of magical artifacts. Better still, they had the chamber all to themselves.

“Wow, I didn’t think there were so many artifacts found in this region,” Twilight remarked in awe, taking in the sight as she and Rarity set the crate down on the floor.

“Yes, it seems ancient creatures had a penchant for hiding these things here, under the assumption they’d stay safe,” Rarity explained casually. “It’s my understanding many of them were safeguarded by traps and such when we dragons found them.” She waved that matter aside and motioned Twilight forward. “But never mind that, darling. Go ahead and look around, see if any of these match what you’re looking for.”

Twilight hesitated a moment, uncertain where to begin given how many there were and no apparent organizational system they were placed under (to her annoyance). But eventually she picked a shelf at random and started circling around to briefly examining each artifact and its apparent properties. She began using her wings so to reach the higher shelves once she dismissed all of the lower ones.

The crate they’d brought in lifted its lid after a moment, allowing Fluttershy hidden inside to peak her beak out. “Can I come out now while you’re doing that?” she asked cautiously.

“Mm, better not, darling,” Rarity advised sympathetically. “I expect Twilight won’t take long at the rate she’s going, and then we’ll need to sneak you back out anyway, along with any artifacts on the off chance Twilight does find something. Speaking of, I’ll still need you two to sit tight while I speak with the Dragon Regent for her okay to escort outsiders to the border, otherwise I might get in trouble if I am caught doing so without permission, and then where will you two be?”

“I suppose,” Fluttershy said, watching Twilight circling the room. She really was making quick progress, but it was also clear the disguised changeling was growing frustrated the more she didn’t find what she was looking for. “Who is this Dragon Regent anyway?” she then asked so to make small talk.

“The Dragon Regent is the leader over the Dragon Coasts,” Twilight answered from higher up the room, having overheard the question.

“Well, more like the representative for the Dragon Lord ruling back in the Dragon Lands,” Rarity clarified. “For the Dragon Lord rules over all dragons, no matter where they are, but as he can only be in so many places at once, the Dragon Regent is appointed to oversee general affairs on his behalf on our side of the Celestial Sea.” She noticed then that Twilight had stopped close to the very last shelf and seemed to be hovering there. “Find what you were looking for, Twilight?” she called.

“Yes and no,” Twilight responded, flapping back down with the object carried in her disguised draconic arms. It was a large slab of decorated stone, likely salvaged from one of the ancient temples scattered throughout the jungles. “It’s not the Elements of Harmony, but I think it does give me some new information about them. See this?” she pointed to a prominent mural painted at the center of a stone, depicting an alicorn pony and six magical objects encircling her, linking their respective magics together into one powerful beam.

Rarity nodded her head at the depiction. “Are those supposed to be them, then?” She asked, “The Elements of Harmony?”

Twilight nodded and tapped at a section of text written next to the image. “According to this Ancient Equestrian writing, there were apparently six elements, often used as a weapon of last resort by those worthy to bear them when all else had failed to preserve Equestria from a given danger. They appear to feed their power directly into the user, allowing them to then use it directly against their targets.” She looked up at Rarity and Fluttershy peeking out of the crate, appearing optimistic. “It’s not as good as finding the elements themselves, but it at least gives me a better idea of what I’m looking for.” She then hefted up the slab to go return to its spot before pulling out a spare slip of paper and a quill from her satchel she still carried. “This is too big and heavy to take though, so just give me a moment to note some of this down so I can refer to it later.”

“No hurry,” Rarity assured her calmly. “We seem safe to take however long we need, so…” she then jumped when an unexpected commotion echoed into the chamber from the depository’s entrance, followed by hurried footsteps moving in their direction. “Actually no, I take that back,” she hissed as she quickly shoved Fluttershy’s head into the crate and thumped its lid back in place. “Twilight, hide quickly, someone’s coming in here and—Dragon Regent Ember, what a surprise!”

Twilight had swiftly landed back on the floor, scrambling to stuff her notes back into her satchel when four dragons entered the chamber and she swiftly ducked behind a supporting column to hide. The dragoness leading the way was tall, lithe, cyan-colored, and all business as she sternly marched inside like she owned the place. And considering she carried with her a formal-looking scepter that Twilight recognized from her studies as a symbol of dragon political power, she was likely the very Dragon Regent spoken of by Rarity. This in of itself was potentially bad, but Twilight was more concerned by the three dragons accompanying her, which she recognized all as the same “dragons” who’d attacked and sank Fluttershy’s boat.

“Pharynx,” Twilight murmured to herself, knowing that her being in disguise wouldn’t save her from being detected if other changelings were here too.

However, the Dragon Regent, Ember, didn’t seem aware of the true nature of these dragons accompanying her. “Rarity, isn’t it?” she more demanded than asked from dragoness, the only creature in her immediate view upon entering. “The guard out front said you’d be in here, delivering an artifact.”

“That’s right, Dragon Regent,” Rarity quickly kowtowed to her leader, attempting to appease her enough so to still slip out of here without incident. “In fact, I was just finishing with that, so…”

“Then why,” Ember continued sternly, interrupting, “did he also say you were ordered by me to deliver it here, when I have no recollection of ever giving such an order?”

Rarity, caught in a lie and knowing it, didn’t reply right away. Meanwhile, the other three dragons started to survey the chamber, no doubt looking for signs of wrongdoing. “R-really?” she asked of Ember, trying to feign innocence, but the beads of sweat forming on her brow probably weren’t helping her be convincing. “I don’t know what to tell you then, Dragon Regent. Maybe this is simply a failure of communication on some dragon’s part or…”

“Also,” Ember again interrupted, folding her arms as she stared Rarity down, “the guard said you’d entered here in the company of another dragon.” She motioned to the chamber, appearing devoid of other creatures but clearly she didn’t believe it actually was. “So…where’s that other dragon?”

“Other dragon?” Rarity repeated shakily, eyes reflexively bouncing from the crate with the cowering Fluttershy inside, holding her breath in fear of being detected, to the column she saw Twilight duck behind out of the corner of her eye. “There…must be some sort of mistake then, because it was only me and me alone who entered the depository, so…”

Ember motioned for her to be silent. “Rarity, these three dragons are from the Dragon Lands and they’ve alerted me of a changeling intruder hiding somewhere in the Dragon Coasts,” she explained. Twilight, listening, didn’t know whether to scoff or show pity for the partial lie Pharynx and his crew had deceived the Dragon Regent with. “You know that means anyone or anything could potentially be a changeling in hiding until we either find it or ensure it’s been chased away.” She pulled out a ceremonial stone dagger, intricately engraved with runes up and down its blade. “That also means, since you can’t verify otherwise, I have to make sure you aren’t that changeling.” She loomed closer, holding up the dagger. “I advise you to cooperate.”

Rarity heaved a big sigh, but seeing the other three dragons had all subtly taken positions so to block attempts at escape, she relented and nodded her head, holding out one paw. To her credit, she only made a small flinch when Ember sliced the dagger across her palm, drawing blood. Twilight, familiar with what was going on from her reading, winced but otherwise knew Rarity wasn’t in too immediate danger. The dagger was just being used to test if she was using a magical disguise—not only did it take a split second for any changeling’s disguise to adapt accordingly to a freshly opened wound, creating brief anomalies that would give it away, Twilight also knew the dagger would be enchanted in such a way so to further mess with the disguise’s magic, making those anomalies more pronounced.

As Rarity demonstrated none of that though, Ember was satisfied and lowered the dagger. “So if you truly are a dragon,” she continued, looking Rarity in the eye, “then why are you actually here?”

“And just who have you brought here with you?” said one of the three “dragons.” Twilight immediately recognized his voice as Pharynx. “Are you aware they’re potentially a changeling? Because if you have knowingly smuggled such a changeling in here…”

“I know nothing of any changeling,” Rarity boldly declared with as much confidence she could muster.

But Twilight knew Rarity’s word wouldn’t be enough, not with three other changelings in the room. They’d probably already detected Fluttershy through her emotions—Twilight herself could sense the hippogriff’s terror from here—and maybe even Twilight too through similar means, they just hadn’t chosen to reveal it yet. Knowing she and her allies needed a way to escape then, Twilight racked her brain for any ideas while Rarity was buying her time. Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of any plan that wouldn’t also force her to reveal herself, potentially making things worse.

Meanwhile, Ember’s attention had moved past Rarity. “What’s in the crate?” she asked after a beat of silence, nodding her head at it.

“Nothing,” Rarity replied without missing a beat.

“Then why is it here?”

“I had used it to carry the artifact, but now that I’ve delivered it, it’s empty.”

“Then you won’t mind if I open it and double-check,” Pharynx stated and, without waiting for any response, approached the crate to do just that. He already knew what was in it, of course—this was just an opportunity to reveal it without also giving himself away as a changeling.

Which was when Twilight came up with what she knew would be the best idea she’d get. Dropping her own disguise so to allow full use of her horn, she hurried out from behind the column and faced Pharynx just as he was bending down to open the crate. “I’m sorry, Pharynx,” she paused long enough to tell him before firing a spell right into his chest, knocking him back and forcing him to revert into his natural changeling form.

“WHAT?!” Ember bellowed upon realizing she’d been deceived, lunging herself at Pharynx before he could recover.

Twilight meanwhile exploited the confusion to fire the same spell at another of Pharynx’s changelings, revealing him too. At the same time, Rarity jumped the third and final one, kneeing him between the legs before hurling him into another column with enough force to knock him out, also causing his disguise to collapse. By that point, chaos fully broke loose as dragon and changeling started hurling attacks of both fire and magic at each other, giving Rarity and Twilight enough cover to reclaim the terrified Fluttershy from the crate.

One of the changelings tried to tackle Rarity from the behind while they did this, but he was only ripped from Rarity’s back and hurled in Ember and Pharynx’s direction before, with one fluid movement, she flipped the now empty crate in the same direction and lit it aflame with her firebreath. As they then retreated, Twilight further added to the confusion by firing a spell that made a blinding and loud bang, further clouding the senses of those still in the chamber. They quickly ran to exit the temple without waiting to see how the rest played out. The guard at the entrance scrambled to try and stop them, but Rarity knocked him aside with one punch to the face.

“You two stay close to me,” Rarity commanded as she unfolded her wings and launched herself into the air.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” Fluttershy was repeating to herself as she struggled to keep pace on Rarity’s left while Twilight, still undisguised, followed on the dragoness’s right.

They had barely gotten a hundred feet away from the depository before a scratched and bruised Pharynx burst out of the building and gave furious pursuit, firing blasts of magic at them and trying to shoot them down. In his anger and desperation, his aim was wild and imprecise, but it still made all three of his targets work to evade them as best they could.

“Rarity, I’m going to climb onto your back!” Twilight declared before planting herself backwards on the dragoness, using her as a base to steady herself and return fire. Her aim was slightly better and thus kept Pharynx from closing the gap between them.

However, they also weren’t shaking him. “I’m not going to be able to shake him off our tails long enough to get you two to the border!” Rarity declared after a moment of this. “And what’s the point if he can just keep chasing you into the Griffon Order?”

“So what do we do?” Fluttershy cried, her eyes squinted almost entirely shut as she pumped her wings as hard as she could. She yelped when one of Pharynx’s shots narrowly missed her.

“Twilight, you have magic, can you teleport us to safety or something?” Rarity asked, glancing at the changeling sitting on her back.

“Changelings don’t teleport, we use fire portals!” Twilight explained as she focused on countering Pharynx’s attacks. Despite everything, she was at least successfully keeping him out of arm’s reach.

Rarity snorted hotly. “Then use one of those!”

“It won’t do any good—I only have enough power for short-range portals, too short to escape Pharynx for very long!” Twilight ducked as one of Pharynx’s shots narrowly missed her too. “To go any useful distance would mean having way more thaumic energy in my reserves than I’d have even on a good day, and this obviously isn’t a good day!”

However, Rarity’s face suddenly lit up. “I think I have an idea!” she said, then, realizing how much of a gamble it was, amended, “I pray I have one at least! Hold tight and stay close!” She grabbed Fluttershy’s paw and proceeded to bank into a turn. “Hard right!”

She swooped around then down towards a gap in the jungle canopy below them. As they shot closer to it, it became clear the gap was caused by a patch of boggy swampland. Rarity raced towards it like she planned to ram into it for long enough that both Twilight and Fluttershy shouted for her to stop, but at the last possible moment she pulled up to skim low over the muddy ground. Pharynx, staying right behind them, also pulled up at the last possible moment, but it was soon clear Rarity was expecting him to, as she then lured him between a series of vines she shot through with practiced skill but he could not and immediately got ensnared within them.

“That won’t hold him for very long!” Twilight warned as Rarity then pulled out of the swamp and sped to the northwest.

“Yes, but hopefully it’ll hold him for just long enough!” Rarity said back, clearly having some kind of destination in mind.

They kept flying for a few tense minutes, eventually reaching a spot in the land where the jungles thinned but didn’t vanish entirely. During that time, they heard a distant explosion that Twilight was certain Pharynx violently freeing himself, but he nonetheless didn’t immediately reappear. Knowing time was short either way, Rarity was anxiously scanning the ground as they flew, clearly looking for something specific.

“Please be here, please be here, please be here,” she kept mumbling to herself as she did this. She made a relieved gasp upon spying the dark speck of a creature pulling a cart before shooting down towards it at high speed, pulling the others along with her. “He’s here! Oh, Spiiiiiiike!”

The creature pulling the cart swiftly proved to be a preadolescent diamond dog with a greyish mulberry coat of fur and floppy ears, wearing a diamond-studded collar and a dusty green vest and matching flat cap. Appearing to have been lost in thought as he hiked, he startled upon hearing his name and looked around for the source before finally looking up once Rarity’s shadow passed over him as she came in to land.

His face brightened upon seeing the dragoness, clearly recognizing her. “Well, hey, Rarity, long time no see! Didn’t think you’d be this eager to come see my trades again, but I’m sure not gonna complain. And you’ve brought friends too, but more the merrier for—” he stopped short upon realizing one by one who the creatures accompanying Rarity were, eyes widening in shock. “Wait, is that a hippogriff? What’s a hipp—is that a changeling too?!”

Rarity cut short any further comment by grabbing his face by the cheeks and forcing him to look her right in the eye. “Spike, darling, this is very important! Do you still have that artifact I gave you a couple moons ago?”

“Huh? Oh, oh yeah, I do!” Spike assured, his grin returning and pleased he could be of assistance for…whatever this was exactly. “I can’t get rid of it, in fact. Nobody ever seems to trust it enough to want it, even though I keep telling them that it’s pretty much—”

“Where is it?”

“Oh, well, in my cart with all the rest of my stuff, though it’s probably kinda at the bottom because—whoa!” He stumbled to one side as Rarity, in her desperation, pushed past him and lunged upon his cart, digging through its contents for the item in question. “Uh, okay, go for it, I guess, just don’t break any—”

“I’m sorry, who is this?” Twilight interrupted at this point, feeling just as confused while pointing a holed hoof at the diamond dog.

“Remember that creature I said I had helped?” Rarity asked, her front half most of the way buried into the cart. “This is him!”

“Hello!” Spike greeted, taking the chance to shake Twilight’s extended hoof despite not really understanding what was going on either. “My name’s Spike! It’s nice to meet you. I’ve never met a changeling before, so—”

“Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you too—what’s he got to do with anything?” Twilight replied, trying to keep them on subject while anxiously peering back in the sky for any sign of Pharynx or other pursuers. Thus far still nothing, but she knew they were pressing their luck the longer they stayed here.

“I gave him a magic artifact I had found not long after we met and that you should recognize,” Rarity explained in a rush while continuing to dig through Spike’s cart, now so deeply into it that only her bottom half was visible. “At the time I didn’t have a use for it and nobody else wanted it, but now I think it’ll help get us out of here!”

“Get out of here?” Spike repeated, brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the situation he’d been involuntarily thrown in the middle of. “Are you three on the run from some—” he trailed off when Fluttershy suddenly pulled him into a hug from behind, wrapping her forelegs around his middle. “Uhhh…”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized as she squeezed him. “But I’m very stressed at the moment and I could really use something soft to hug.”

“…well, I am huggable,” Spike relented, grinning as he was again just glad to be of service.

At that point Twilight spied a small black dot shooting across the sky towards their location. “He’s coming back!” she alerted the others. “Whatever we’re going to do, we need to do it now!”

“WAH-HA-HA-HAAAA—I FOUND IT!” Rarity declared suddenly as she victoriously thrusted the glowing object out of the cart and into the air. She then spun around to face her changeling companion. “Twilight, will this help you with the fire portal thing?”

She tossed it to her to hold. Twilight’s compound purple eyes bulged at the sight of it. “Is this a changeling mana container?!Balani, how did you even get—?”

“But will it help?” Fluttershy pressed, tightening her grip on Spike enough that the diamond dog wiggled free for his own well-being.

“Informis Una auxilio mihi tribuit, yes, absolutely!” Twilight declared with wide eyes as she used her magic to check on the container’s contents. “There’s enough to power a portal jumping all of us from here directly into the Griffon Order!”

“Even better!” Rarity declared.

“But that’s a lot of thaumic energy to cast all at once!” Twilight pointed out with a wince, continuing to examine the container. “I’m not sure I can do it without overstraining myself, and—”

“Hey, is that another changeling?” Spike suddenly asked, peering up in the sky as Pharynx drew close enough to be able to identify. “Why is there another change—?” He jumped to one side when a blast of magical energy hit the ground near his feet. “They’re shooting at us! Why are they shooting at us?”

“Twilight, whatever you have to do, just do it now!” Rarity commanded as she turned and spewed a ball of fire at Pharynx closing in. Pharynx proceeded to dodge it almost lazily, but the ball detonated at the peak of its arc, releasing a shockwave that nonetheless sent him spiraling out of control.

Throwing caution to the wind then, Twilight magically transfered the container’s energy into herself before turning around and using all of it at once to cast the single most powerful fire portal she’d ever done, the portal forming as an oval of swirling green fire a few feet ahead of them. But no sooner had she done that did nearly all of Twilight’s strength leave her and, feeling dizzy, she started to collapse to the ground, eyes rolling up into her head.

Fluttershy caught her before she hit the ground and began dragging the limp changeling towards the portal. “Please, let’s go now!” she called to the others, seeing Pharynx’s flight recover and turn around to resume his charge.

Rarity grabbed Spike by the collar of his vest and charged for the portal too. “Wait, my cart—!” the diamond dog started to protest, waving his oversized paws at the cart they were leaving behind.

“I’ll get you a new one!” Rarity promised before shoving Fluttershy and Twilight the rest of the way into the portal then throwing Spike through and swan-diving into it herself.

She did so just in time for the portal to collapse upon itself and vanish, just moments before Pharynx could fly into it himself, forcing him to instead veer upwards back into the sky in anger.

Hundreds of miles away though, the portal’s other side spat its travelers out into an open but grassy clearing where they all thumped together into a heap. After the portal collapsed, they all laid there panting and attempting to recollect their wits again. Finally, Spike was the first to stand up, straightening his hat.

“Okay, does somebody want to explain what’s going on now?” he all but begged, feeling extremely confused now.

Author's Note

You know, it was actually kind of fun finding the right balance between Rarity's usual self and the typical attitude of dragons. :raritystarry:

Griffon Order

There was initially some confusion as to where exactly they’d ended up, as no one readily recognized their surroundings and they didn’t seem to be near any immediate signs of civilization. After stopping to bandage Rarity’s paw Ember had cut earlier, Fluttershy eventually settled the matter by flying high enough to sight Foal Mountain to their south and the Neighagra Hills to their north. As they were notably closer to the latter than the former, Fluttershy deduced that put them somewhere around the center of the Griffon Order, which was good because that meant, having been here before, she knew roughly where the nearest town should be in relation to them.

“And if I’m right about that,” she said upon explaining all this to the others, “Then I have a friend living in that town that I think might be able to help us.”

And they definitely needed help, because as she’d tried to forewarn, generating the fire portal had sapped Twilight of so much strength that she could barely keep her eyes open, let alone stand, leaving the changeling a limp lump lying on the grass.

“I think she’s suffering from mana starvation,” Spike surmised as they all attempted to check the changeling over, only to struggle as none of them knew particularly much about changeling biology. “That’s when you cast so much magic you pretty much drain yourself of more than you can give and your body just gives out.”

“How do you know that?” Fluttershy asked, curious.

Spike jabbed a claw vaguely to the southwest. “There are some magicians near where I live at Ghastly Gorge,” the little diamond dog explained. “We diamond dogs do a lot of trade with them for rocks and gems with magical properties, and over time you pick up a couple of the basics of casting, even if you don’t do it yourself.”

“But how is she, though?” Rarity asked uncertainly before, without waiting for an answer, looking down at the changeling lying in the grass. “Twilight, how are you feeling?”

“…tired…” Twilight managed to slur out, scarcely able to talk. It was frankly miraculous she was even still awake.

“Will she be all right?” Fluttershy asked Spike instead, since he seemed to know something about the subject.

“I think so,” Spike replied optimistically. “Once she’s had a good night’s rest, she should be right as rain again by morning, assuming this works for changelings the same as it does for those magicians.”

Rarity gazed at the horizon, where the sun was starting to migrate down towards it. “Well, night is drawing near,” she observed. “If we want to find shelter before it gets too late, we probably ought to start traveling now.” That decided, she picked up Twilight and gently tossed her over one shoulder to carry like a sack of potatoes. Twilight let out a soft “oof” at this, but otherwise didn’t complain. “Fluttershy, darling, you’re the one who has the best idea of where we are, so you’d better lead the way.”

“Um, okay,” Fluttershy said, feeling put on the spot, but after a moment to regain her bearing, she started forwards. “So, uh, this way, then.”

They started hiking without event. “Soooo…” Spike said after a moment of them walking in silence, “…just what is going on here anyway? What brought all of you together like this, and why were you being chased by another changeling?”

“Well…Twilight really ought to be the one to explain, because she was the one who…um…started it, I suppose,” Fluttershy began, looking back at Twilight draped over Rarity’s shoulder.

Twilight only mumbled incoherently in response though.

“But, um, since she’s not really in a position too,” Fluttershy then concluded with a small wince, “I, uh, guess me and Rarity will have to try our best to do it.”

They proceeded to fill Spike in on the situation as best as they could. Fortunately, Spike didn’t seem to need much to catch on or be swayed to Twilight’s cause.

“Wow,” he remarked by the time they’d finished, the sun was starting to set in the distance. “Twilight’s putting herself through a lot for this.” He looked sympathetically at the changeling who’d spent most of the walk thus far fading in and out of sleep. He then blinked and looked at the other two females. “So are you two, in fact. You’ve really put yourselves out there and for a creature you’ve only just met.”

Rarity nodded contemplatively at that assessment. “I suppose I will have to do a lot of explaining to the Dragon Regent once this is all over,” she admitted with a heavy sigh. “Assuming she will actually give me the chance.”

“You’d have to get back home first in order to do that,” Fluttershy pointed out before turning contemplative too. “Just like me. I mean, I’ve traveled out this far before, but…not under circumstances like this, where I don’t…exactly…have a guaranteed way to get…you know…back.”

“I guess I’m kinda in the deep end now too,” Spike admitted, kicking at a pebble as he walked.

“To be fair, though, we did sort of drag you into this without your permission,” Rarity admitted.

“For which we do apologize,” Fluttershy added before looking at Twilight. “I know Twilight feels guilty for just getting us two into the mix, so I imagine she feels the same for you. Don’t you, Twilight?”

“Mm…hmm…” Twilight managed to mumble out in the affirmative.

“You know, you really should just relax and sleep, Twilight,” Rarity said, giving the changeling draped over her shoulder a nudge. “You’re not going to be much use to anyone all drained out like this.”

“Can’t…stuff to do.” Twilight muttered.

“None of which is going anywhere in the meantime,” Spike pointed out to the changeling, falling back a little so he could see the changeling’s face. “You’ve still got…what was it again? Four or five days until this Nightmare Moon character is supposed to come back? That’s still enough time to get some sleep, and even if it wasn’t, Rarity’s right. Avoiding the sleep will only make you less able to help stop it, not more.” He shrugged. “Besides, that’s what we’re here for now, right? We can cover for you. And I won’t vouch for the girls here, but…now that I’m all up to speed…I’d like to assist to the best of my abilities.”

Twilight managed a weak grin at that. “Thanks…” she mumbled, “…I’m…sure you’ll be a…great assistant.”

“Aw,” Spike said, flustered. “I’m just trying to help.”

“We all are,” Fluttershy added.

Twilight’s grin grew a little. “I think…you all will.”

And that thought must’ve been enough to get her to relax because she dozed off entirely not long thereafter, this time staying asleep.

They kept walking. Eventually, Fluttershy asked about Spike’s story so he decided to return the favor and fill them in. “There’s really not all that much to tell,” he admitted. “Diamond dogs such as me like to collect gems. We’re kinda like dragons in that regard, except we don’t eat what we find. Anyway, I personally decided to go out and trade for them from other creatures that don’t want or need them, and began wandering around the land doing so. I met Rarity for the first time not long thereafter when I accidentally took a wrong turn near the Rambling Rock Ridge and ended up crossing into the Dragon Coasts instead of heading for home at Ghastly Gorge. She was kind enough to get me back on course, so in return I make it a point to come back and see what she and other dragons are willing to trade.” He grinned proudly. “Turns out dragons are always interested in some potential gemstones, no matter who they’re coming from.”

“But you seem so young,” Fluttershy observed, noting the diamond dog’s youthfulness in comparison to the rest of them. “Should you really be traveling so far on your own?”

Spike shrugged, indifferent. “Wouldn’t be the first diamond dog my age to do so. Besides, so long as I always make it back home again, it doesn’t really matter much, right? And anyway, I’ve been doing this long enough that I like to think I know what I’m doing.”

“Barring instances of wandering into foreign lands where you might not always be welcome, of course,” Rarity couldn’t help but tease.

“Yeah, but I learned from that,” Spike pointed out. “And so long as I can keep doing that, I think I can manage.” He then playfully bopped Fluttershy on her shoulder. “Besides, it got me in the right place to help with you all here and now, right? And honestly? By the sound of it, you guys could use all the help you can get when it comes to fighting off…well, that.”

He motioned at the horizon where the moon had begun to rise into the sky, the markings of the Mare in the Moon upon its surface very visible in the clear evening sky. They all stopped to watch it rise for a moment, realizing what that mystical face on the moon truly signified for the first time.

“Well, it’s certainly surreal to think that will soon be coming back down here,” Rarity mumbled aloud with a note of dread. “I mean, if this Nightmare Moon was so significant to leave a mark like that on the moon…well…”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said with a small whimper, “No wonder Twilight is so anxious about stopping her.”

“Well…good thing we’re here to help pitch in, huh?” Spike remarked with a positive grin.

Fluttershy made a small grin too. “Yeah,” she agreed.

“Indeed,” Rarity said, before shifting Twilight’s weight on her shoulder. “Now, Fluttershy, how much further until we reach…wherever it is we’re heading?”

“Um, I’m not sure,” Fluttershy admitted, “but it can’t be too much further.”

She ultimately proved correct as it was only a few minutes later they reached the peak of a hill and found a small griffon-built village nestled within the valley beyond. Fluttershy recognized it as the one she was hoping to find, Griffonton. Now knowing exactly where to go, she led them straight to a humble enough house on the edges of the town, where it was easy enough to approach without being too readily noticed by others—after everything they’d been through lately, they were eager to avoid drawing too much attention for now.

Once they’d gathered at the door, Fluttershy politely knocked. “Oh, I hope she isn’t already asleep for the night,” she fretted as they waited for any sort of response.

“So you definitely know this griffon, right?” Spike asked while they waited.

“Oh yes,” Fluttershy assured as she politely knocked a second time. “We met some years ago when I first sailed up here for special flying lessons. I…wasn’t a very strong flier back then. Since then, we typically get in touch whenever I happen back into the area.” She gave the door another gentle knock for a third time.

“And she can be trusted, right?” Rarity asked, concerned.

“Well…she’s never given me any reason to question her trustworthiness,” Fluttershy responded simply, which was answer enough for her.

She started to knock for a fourth time, but Rarity, tired of beating about the bush, reached over her and loudly pounded on the door a few times with her fist. They heard shuffling behind the door almost immediately following.

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you, just chill for a second, will ya?” a female voice sassed from the other side of the door. “Sheesh!”

The door swung open a moment later to reveal a mildly annoyed griffoness. She bore a pale cerulean coat that faded to a bluish-white on her belly, front, and up most of her neck towards her dark grey beak. Her wings and tail tuff were colored a darker blue-grey, but the tips of both her tail tuff and crest of feathers on her head faintly faded to varying colors of the rainbow, giving both a prismatic look. She had a very casual look to her, the only garment she wore being a loose slate grey scarf wrapped about her neck (incidentally held in place by a pin stylized with a cloud and rainbow-colored lightning bolt design) and had the back part of her crest tied back in a sort of pseudo-ponytail. She also looked like she had been about to doze off for the night before being pulled to the door…which probably explained why she didn’t react to the guests at her door right away.

She blinked for a second before she finally taking in the hippogriff standing at the front and squinted her tired eyes at her. “Wait…Fluttershy? The heck are you doing here? Normally you write way in advance of you visiting, not to mention you also don’t knock on my door…this…late…” she slowly trailed off, her brow furrowing as her eyes went from Fluttershy to the diamond dog standing to her side, to the dragoness standing behind her, then to the changeling draped asleep over the dragon’s shoulder, before back to Fluttershy. “….right then. Explain please.”

“It’s…kind of a long story,” Fluttershy admitted sheepishly, rubbing one foreleg against the other.

The griffon pinched the bridge of her beak with her grey talons. “Short version then.”

“Okay, so…I met a changeling, first of all.”

“Did you now.”

“Uh-huh. She’s trying to find these magic artifacts that will help her stop the return of Nightmare Moon.”

“Wait…the gal from pony folklore?”

“Uh-huh. But we were attacked by other changelings trying to stop her and we shipwrecked at the Dragon Coasts. So then I met a dragon and a diamond dog, who both helped us make a magic fire portal to come here.”

“Really.”

“Uh-huh. And…and then that brings us to here and now, I guess.”

The griffon had started to rub at her eyes in tired frustration by this point.

“Can we crash here for the night?” Spike then tentatively asked.

The griffon responded by heaving a heavy sigh, looking reluctant.

“Please, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy pleaded.

Rainbow huffed, eyeing each of them in turn again. “If I say no,” she began in a tone that suggested she already knew how this would play out, “you’re just going to give me that pleading eye look until I cave and say yes anyway, aren’t you?”

Fluttershy hesitated, dipping her head slightly while not appearing to know what Rainbow meant. “Um…I guess I could try to do that…if you want me to.”

“Don’t bother, you’re already doing it.” Rainbow rubbed at her eyes again and heaved one last sigh. “…it’s way too late for this.”

But nevertheless, after giving the group one last look over, she silently held her door open and stood to one side, signaling them to enter. Rarity and Spike hurried inside before the griffon changed her mind, their first order of business being to select the couch as the place to put the sleeping Twilight.

Fluttershy watched them while entering last before turning to her griffon friend. “Thank you, Rainbow,” she said genuinely.

Rainbow grunted as she slammed the door shut. “You know, you’re going to explain this more in the morning, Flutters,” she stated flatly.

“Oh, okay. I…think we can do that then.”

“Great. Fine. Just…don’t let them make a mess, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Right. I’m gonna go to bed now.” Rainbow turned and started out of the room again, just wanting to put off worrying about it until tomorrow.

“Good night, Rainbow,” Fluttershy called after her.

Rainbow mumbled something of an incoherent response, half-heartedly waving a wingtip back at her before vanishing into her bedroom. Fluttershy then turned around to look at the others now settled in the living room, Spike and Rarity watching these proceedings with bemused interest.

“I like her,” Spike announced after a moment, grinning.

Fluttershy made a small grin and looked back in the direction her griffon friend had gone. “I like her too,” she agreed. “She’s a good friend.”

Rainbow proved to be a bit more proactive about her unplanned guests by the next morning once they had all rested up—save Twilight who slept late—and a bit quicker to take issue with their presence and anything they did she didn’t approve of…but she never once went back on her word. Over a haphazard and mismatched breakfast, they worked to explain the situation more fully to her. She didn’t seem to share their faith in Twilight’s quest though, even after they pulled out some of the changeling’s own research to show her.

Had Twilight known that when she finally did wake another hour or so later, feeling better but a little disoriented as to where she was now, being greeted with the sight of the griffon looming over her might not have been as surprising for her.

They stared each other down for a moment, Rainbow expectantly, Twilight confused. “…and you are?” the latter asked finally.

“Rainbow Dash,” the griffoness replied matter-of -factly. “Top flier, aerial acrobat, and aspiring sky racer.” A pause, then she added, “Also Fluttershy’s bestie.”

“Right, the one she mentioned last night might be willing to help,” Twilight said with a slow nod. “I take it she was right then.”

“That depends on how you answer some of my questions.”

“Which are?”

“Well, who are you, first of all?”

“I’m Twilight. A praefectus and researcher of the Archivum—that’s a sort of archive or library of collected information where I come from.”

Rainbow Dash nodded her head. “You’re also a changeling.”

“I think because I’m not currently disguised at the moment that this goes without saying.”

“I’ve heard stories about you changelings. How do I know you’re not actually deceiving anyone with this…Nightmare Moon stuff I was told about?”

“I can show you my research on the matter.”

“I don’t want your research.” Rainbow leaned closer. “What I want is to make sure you aren’t doing anything to hurt my friend.”

Twilight furrowed her brow at the griffon. “Well, aren’t you just full of loyalty,” she observed semi-sarcastically, but she could sense Rainbow was genuinely concerned about it, and given circumstances she supposed that was fair. “Well, I suppose I could start by pointing out that, if I had really meant harm to any of the creatures accompanying me, I would’ve done so well before I crossed paths with you.”

“But what if you’re just playing the long game here?”

“One of those creatures is a dragon. And don’t let her polite and proper demeanor fool you—I’ve seen for myself that she could beat us both to a pulp with ease if she suspected anything. And I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not exactly a powerhouse of muscle myself.”

“Yeah, you are kind of a stick figure.”

Twilight ignored the jab. “Further, if you’re concerned about the possibility of me draining any of you of emotions, I’ve found since leaving the hive that I don’t need to in order to stay fed. I can just skim the excess sent my way, so long as I stay friendly and kind. That means I have motive to stay on your good sides where possible.”

Rainbow folded her forelegs. “That still doesn’t rule out you keeping any secrets.”

“I can only assure you then that I am not. Whether or not you believe me at my word is entirely up to you.” Twilight sat up on the couch so to now be the one leaning into Rainbow’s face. “But I promise you, what I’ve determined about Nightmare Moon is true and she is not only set to return, I expect her to do so within or near your nation. I need to speak with your government officials so to both forewarn them as well as ask if they have or know where I can look for any more information on the Elements of Harmony, magical artifacts that can be—“

“Yeah, yeah, I already had that part explained to me,” Rainbow said, cutting her short. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her beak. “Look, Fluttershy trusts you, and despite her…timidness…I’ve found she’s actually a pretty good judge of character. And I guess you haven’t given me any reason to not trust her judgement. But you gotta admit…this whole story of yours is bizarre as all Tartarus.”

Twilight snickered at her bluntness. “I won’t deny that,” she admitted. She then turned more genuine. “But…I promise you…at the end of the day, despite the reputation of my native kingdom and species…all I’m really trying to do here is help protect creatures from a very powerful villain that’d mean us all harm, regardless of what we are. And I suspect you’d want to do the same thing, if you were in my position.”

Rainbow scowled. “You’re reading me like a book.”

Twilight smirked. “It comes with being a changeling.”

Rainbow sighed again, gazing heavenward before relenting. “Fine, I’ll see if I can’t arrange for you to meet with Lord Goldstone, let you make your case to him. If anyone can point you towards what you’re looking for, it’d probably be him.” She straightened, motioning to the rest of her home’s interior. “And the sooner the better, because I don’t really want to keep entertaining houseguests like this.”

Twilight looked around and saw Rainbow’s point. In one corner, she had Fluttershy seated neatly in an armchair and quietly flipping through a magazine, but in another she had Rarity attempting to continue making her jewelry by taking what appeared to be silverware and twisting and melting them into the desired shapes with her claws and firebreath. And Spike was just exploring and fiddling with every little thing he happened upon, regardless of whether or not it was wise for him to do.

To prove that latter point, the diamond dog chose that moment to poke his head out of the bathroom. “Hey Rainbow Dash, what’s with this bowl of water in here?”

Rainbow was momentarily confused as to what he meant. “Bowl of water? What do you mean a…wait, dude, that’s the toilet you’re talking about, isn’t it?”

Spike just tilted his head, confused. “What’s a toilet?”

“What’s a toi—it’s something you crap in, that’s what!” Seeing Spike still didn’t understand, she added, “And then you flush it to make it all go away!”

“…flush?” Spike ducked back into the bathroom presumably to reexamine said toilet. A second later the toilet could be heard flushing. “Oh…oh! That’s actually awesome!”

“Yeah, yeah, isn’t technology something,” Rainbow deadpanned with a groan.

Twilight giggled. “I promise to try and be as quick about this as circumstance will allow,” she vowed.

“Please do,” Rainbow begged, covering her face with her talons.

Lord Goldstone, as Rainbow later explained, was the griffon lord currently selected to supervise the Griffon Order portion of the greater kingdom it was part of. Technically this meant he wasn’t the highest ranking griffon in the overarching griffon government, but he was the top authority for the region, and any matters affecting the Griffon Order went through him sooner or later. Normally he didn’t allow anyone from off the street to meet with him without first going through the proper administrative staff, assessing the quality of their cause. But Rainbow, aware that Twilight’s quest didn’t have time to be caught in red tape, exploited a few tricks she knew of to cut through it all and, as promised, secured an appointment to meet with the lord himself later in the day.

However, Lord Goldstone wasn’t housed in Rainbow’s hometown of Griffonton, meaning a train ride further west was required. For Rainbow and Twilight, the latter choosing to disguise herself as a griffon so to make things easier, this wasn’t too much of a problem. For Fluttershy, Spike, and Rarity though, who all insisted on coming along, they drew a lot of stares due to them standing out more as non-griffons. Fortunately, the griffon tendency of ignoring anything that wasn’t directly their problem worked in their favor enough to avoid making a scene…but it was still a rather awkward train ride, and Rainbow kept bemoaning about the local grapevine probably ensuring she’d be inundated with unwanted questions later.

Nevertheless, they successfully arrived at the seat of the Griffon Order’s government a few miles out from Mount Canter without too much incident. As they approached the simply gargantuan mansion Lord Goldstone was housed in though, most of the group couldn’t help but be a little taken aback by it all.

“Your ruling upper class certainly like their dwellings big, don’t they?” Rarity noted aloud in a tone of disdain for Goldstone’s apparent indulgences, thanks to his rank.

Rainbow’s weary sigh proved she wasn’t the only one who had a problem with it. “Yeah, and Lord Goldstone has had three large additions funded by taxpayer money added to it in the past year alone,” she added with notable contempt. It was clear Rainbow didn’t think that highly of Goldstone.

A fact that worried Twilight a little. “If he’s really…like that, then,” she noted to the griffon escorting them, “Then why are we even bothering with him?”

“Because like him or not, he is about as high up the chain you can get around here, unless you want to head all the way out to Griffonstone where the rest of the lords sit in their own ginormous mansions,” Rainbow replied, before changing her tone. “Look, you wanted to speak with a government official, and despite everything, even I have to admit Goldstone is still good at that much. If there’s a way to help you on your little quest, he’s still your best bet for finding it. You just gotta convince him it’s worth his time to.”

Twilight gulped at that, recalling quite clearly how she’d already failed to do exactly that with her own leader, but just like she’d done going into that meeting, she set aside her doubts and proceeded anyway, knowing she needed to try.

The awkward staring of other griffons only continued, if not intensified, upon entering the mansion. The fact they now had guards weighing them up as potential threats—particularly Rarity, being both the dragon and the biggest of their group—didn’t help the tension. They were nearly turned away by the secretary working the front desk, unwilling to even hear them out, until Rainbow got a word in edgewise about how they had an appointment. Even then, she had to verify no less than three times that Rainbow Dash was, in fact, the griffon who had scheduled it, and even then she very nearly wouldn’t let the others accompany her until also making it clear their presence was relevant to the matter they wished to present to Goldstone.

Finally, after all that back-and-forth hassle, they were escorted to Lord Goldstone’s office by a quartet of guards. Those guards stayed encircled about them seemingly per a ceremonial practice, but more likely they were ensuring they didn’t try anything, particularly after Twilight sensed one guard’s surprise that they’d actually arrived at their destination without incident. Regardless, they were ushered through the office doors, taking Twilight’s attention off the guards and onto the more important creature seated behind an elegant desk.

As griffons went, Goldstone wasn’t especially impressive in terms of physical statue, being of fairly average height but a very slender build. Granted, his body had the yellow coloration and black spots similar to a cheetah, suggesting speed and agility over brawns, but unless he hid it well, he didn’t convey a sense of skill in this either. His crest was also slicked back and this mixed with his smug look gave him a rather sleazy and self-entitled demeanor. Altogether, he really didn’t seem like the best candidate to be presenting their case to.

However, he was the first griffon since entering the mansion to not try and turn them away immediately. Instead, he looked up from his paperwork and raised an eyebrow at them in a mixture of intrigue and confusion. “Well, I have to admit this wasn’t who I expected to see for my two o’clock,” he quipped, rising from his seat and stepping around his desk so to better receive them. “I assume there’s a reason a veritable menagerie of creatures has walked into my office?”

The question was mostly directed at Twilight and Rainbow, the (apparent) two griffons of the group, so Rainbow stepped forward to answer. “Lord Goldstone,” she began, dipping her head briefly in a polite half-bow. She did so without any life to it, clearly more because protocol demanded it than because she wanted to. “I made this appointment on the behalf of these creatures here because of an important matter they claim affects the Griffon Order.”

Goldstone hummed with passing curiosity and decided to humor them. “Such as what, then?” he asked.

Rainbow stepped aside and motioned for Twilight to take over. Twilight, not quite prepared to have the spotlight put on her that abruptly, momentarily flustered about getting her act together. “Well, your lordship,” she began, pulling out her research, “I guess I won’t mince words for you—I have reason to believe a grave danger may soon arise within this nation.”

She then gave the by now routine explanation about her studies and conclusions about Nightmare Moon’s imminent return, omitting only the details of how she’d gotten here as a precaution, so to hide her true nature as a changeling. Hearteningly, Goldstone seemed intrigued and allowed Twilight to make her case with little interruption, studying closely all the research she spread out on his desk. He further didn’t complain when Spike, Fluttershy, or Rarity piped in with their own small contributions to the tale. Even Rainbow Dash verified a detail or two she knew of the matter. By the end of it though, it wasn’t clear whether or not Goldstone was swayed.

“This is all an intriguing theory of yours,” he conceded once Twilight had finished. “But what proof do you have that this dangerous villain will, indeed, make her return? Or, for that matter, she ever actually existed at all?”

“I admit, beyond the accounts and records I’ve cited here,” Twilight motioned to her research on his desk, “I have relatively little. However, those sources were all by trustworthy and reputable researchers and writers throughout history, and those that are not, still verify or confirm the other accounts precisely. By that logic, I at least have reason to think that they were onto something, enough that the threat shouldn’t just be casually ignored.” She motioned to Goldstone. “Besides, would taking the steps to protect against such a threat as a precaution really be so remiss when it may affect the greater world on a whole?”

“That depends on what those steps are, and how much it may cost the Griffon Order to carry them out,” Goldstone countered, but again he humored Twilight. “So what, exactly, are you proposing to do?”

“Simply put, your lordship, we find and recover the Elements of Harmony that had been used to defeat Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago,” Twilight concluded. “If they worked then, then presumably they will work again. And as the land the Griffon Order now sits upon once contained several major Equestrian cities before its collapse, I’m hoping there exists here surviving records about them that I could not find in other nations. I thereby request your permission and cooperation in allowing me and my companions to further my research using whatever relevant records you can provide for us.”

Goldstone went silent for a moment, beginning to pace as he considered the matter. Tensely, the others stood watching him, awaiting his verdict. “These elements,” he began, “they’re some kind of weapon?”

Twilight hesitated. “I’m not sure ‘weapon’ would be the right word to describe them, given what I’ve learned about their nature,” she explained.

“But they can still be used in an offensive or defensive manner against threats, correct?”

“So my research appears to suggest, yes.”

Goldstone processed that for another second. “And these elements could be used against other potential threats too, correct? Not just Nightmare Moon?”

“Given the evidence, I don’t see why not.”

Goldstone again resumed pacing for a moment, debating to himself. Finally, he faced Twilight with a grin. “Very well then,” he announced, “I agree to your request on the grounds that any discoveries you find be shared in full and without delay to me and the rest of the Griffon Order, free to use for our own needs. In turn, I agree to likewise give you access to your deserved share of those same discoveries. Do you agree to those terms?”

He proffered his paw to Twilight so to shake. Twilight hesitated, taken aback by Goldstone being so easy to convince when she’d expected him to show more resistance. But not finding any immediate reason to refuse, and seeing her cohorts all urge her on when looking back at them, she nodded and shook on the informal agreement. “I agree, Lord Goldstone.”

“Excellent!” Goldstone declared, clearly pleased. “Then let us not delay a moment longer.”

He escorted them down into the lower levels of the mansion where a vast storeroom of ancient texts were, explaining that any text of ancient Equestrian origin was typically placed here for storage. If the information Twilight sought was anywhere, here seemed like the best place to start—they just needed to find it from among the stacks of books. Placing guards at the door and wishing them the best of luck, he then departed to go back to his own work, leaving them staring at the honestly sizeable collection of tomes.

“Is anyone else feeling like we’ve just been roped into the unsavory task of doing this griffon’s spring cleaning for him?” Rarity deadpanned, intimidated by the sight.

“Yeah, that’d scan for Goldstone all right,” Rainbow agreed with a weary sigh.

“So it’s not glamourous,” Twilight pshawed, “but no one ever said research didn’t require hard work. Besides, Lord Goldstone still let us have this opportunity, so we shouldn’t let it slip by.”

“Twilight’s right,” Fluttershy agreed. “This is what we came here to do, so let’s get started. If we all work together, I’m sure we’ll make it go by faster!”

“Ugh,” Rainbow bemoaned as they all sat down to begin, “I’m really regretting letting you guys convince me to get involved in this.”

Nevertheless, she begrudgingly assisted as they began sorting through the texts. They swiftly devised a system of Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike looking at each of the books and setting aside any they thought might have what they needed for Twilight to go through in more detail. They were at it for a good couple of hours. In that time, Twilight found texts that reaffirmed what she’d already uncovered, just like back in Ouenetoi, but nothing new that really pinpointed what they were really looking for.

But then, as the sun started sinking low towards the end of yet another day, Spike was actually the one to finally hit upon the right text. “Hey, guys, look at this!” he said, his eyes lighting up at the title as he read it aloud. “‘The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.’”

In excitement, Twilight vaulted out of the stacks of rejected books that had accumulated around her, raced over to the diamond dog and taking the book from him, reading the title for herself. “Yes, this is it, it has to be!” she declared. “Where did you find this?”

“Honestly, probably right where you’d expect it to be,” Spike admitted, motioning to the shelf it was on. “Under the books starting with E.”

“Ha! I knew proper organization would help save the world someday!” Twilight crowed before opening the book and flipping through it, the others gathering near so to peek over her shoulder. Twilight’s excitement only grew the more she read. “Yes, yes, this is exactly what we’ve been looking for!”

“So it tells us where to find the Elements of Harmony?” Rarity asked. “Or what they even are?”

“Yes, it looks like it!” Twilight said, pointing at a section of text. “It’ll take a more thorough reading to get it all, but remember how we’d learned in the Dragon Coasts there seemed to be up to six elements? This confirms it, though it can only list five of them by specific name. The sixth’s name seems to have been a mystery to the author. But the first five revolve around traits of virtue—kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty—so I assume the sixth will continue that same trend. As for where they are…” Twilight flipped a page. “…their last known location would be within the Castle of the Two Sisters, and that would be located deep within what is now the Everfree Forest.”

Fluttershy’s eyes bulged. “The Everfree Forest?” she repeated in alarm.

“Yeah, isn’t it great?” Twilight asked, missing in her excitement the mixed feelings of horror or apprehension her companions expressed. “Ooh, somebody better go get Lord Goldstone—he’s going to want to hear this too!”

“I’ll do it,” Rainbow volunteered, and going to the door, asked one of the guards to bring Goldstone back here.

The griffon lord strolled into the room not long thereafter, looking particularly smug. “You found the information you were looking for?” he asked aloud as the guards accompanied him towards the group. “Did you find where the Elements of Harmony are hidden?”

“Yes!” Twilight declared, looking up from reading the reference guide further and holding it up so Goldstone could see too. “It seems to have plenty of answers, enough to give us a better understanding about them and their history that we can probably successfully deduce the remainder.”

“In other words, yes, we have a good idea of where to find them now,” Rarity summarized in more blunt terms. She winced. “Although safely getting to them might be a whole other matter, given their location…”

But Goldstone waved that matter aside. “It should all be worth it once the Griffon Order has secured this weapon for its own use,” he assured conceitedly.

Twilight’s excitement waned somewhat at this. “Lord Goldstone, I should remind you that it would probably be unwise to see these elements as a weapon to wage war with,” she reminded. “Indeed, the new information I’m finding in this book suggests that they were explicitly never meant to be used in such a fashion. More meant to prevent conflict and harm than to create it.” She then tilted her head at him, confused. “Besides, as we agreed upon before, this discovery wouldn’t be for the sole benefit of the Griffon Order but for all of the major countries on the continent, seeing Nightmare Moon is a threat affecting them all.”

“Yes, about that,” Goldstone said, brushing his talons against his front before leaning to the closest of the guards. “Detain them.”

The guards, having been subtly encircling the group throughout this conversation, all enacted what must’ve been a premeditated plan to capture them, since they worked quickly and effectively to put them in restraints. The only real hiccup as Rarity, as the dragoness wasn’t going down without a fight and she had raw strength on her side. But even that was fleeting as the guards planned for that too, wrestling with her only until one got close enough to taser her long enough to bind her. Within moments, all five of them had been securely pinned while Goldstone looked on with a growing level of self-satisfaction.

“We had a deal!” Twilight protested angrily at the griffon once this was done. “You said that we would share any discoveries made, that you would allow us access to what was uncovered!”

“What I said was that I would give you your deserved share,” Goldstone corrected pointedly. “And as I figure it, you deserve being taken out of the picture for even implying to keep we griffons from having full access to it, let alone share it with these…non-griffons. Besides, we can always argue that you were guilty of illegally smuggling your compatriots into the country anyway.”

“Then you are a fool,” Rarity growled through the bindings the guards had placed around her snout, so to keep her from using her firebreath. “Nightmare Moon will not care about your own personal ambitions.”

“Which is precisely why I will taking both of these,” Goldstone countered, grabbing the reference guide they’d uncovered as well as Twilight’s satchel of research.

“No!” Twilight cried, desperately trying to shake free of the guards restraining her so to take them back, “You can’t!”

“I can and I did,” Goldstone said before stooping down to look the disguised changeling in the eye. “But tell you what. If you save me all the trouble of having to comb through your research for the answers by just telling me where to find the Elements of Harmony, I’ll allow you all go home.”

“Empty-pawed, I assume,” Spike deduced crossly.

“Well, it’s either that or spend all of your prime years locked in a dungeon,” Goldstone said with an uncaring shrug. “It’s your choice.”

Spike merely glared at him and didn’t respond. His glare was echoed but with more venom by Rarity who likewise kept silent. Fluttershy avoided eye contact with him, but she too resolutely refused to tell him anything. Twilight, looking more hurt and disappointed, gazed at him in dismay and didn’t give him the answers he wanted either.

“Well, you’re only delaying the inevitable anyway,” Goldstone concluded, holding up the reference guide in his paw.

“You’re making a mistake,” Twilight instead assured him. “By the time you find the information you need to locate the elements and send whoever you like to recover them, Nightmare Moon will be back and in position to stop you.”

“All the more reason to just cooperate and tell me,” Goldstone replied, talking down to her like she was a misbehaving child. “After all, weren’t you the one who wanted to stop Nightmare Moon so very badly?”

He waited for another moment to give them the chance to concede to his terms. Again, none of them did…until Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh.

“I’ll tell you,” she told him.

“Rainbow, no!” Fluttershy cried.

“Fluttershy, we’re just delaying the inevitable here,” Rainbow argued back, though it lacked passion. “He’s got all the cards and, no matter what, we ought to take any chance we can that’ll still stop Nightmare Moon, even if it wasn’t the way you planned.”

“So you’ll tell me where to find the Elements of Harmony?” Goldstone asked, moving to stand in front of Rainbow.

Rainbow solemnly nodded. “On the grounds you make good on that promise to let me go in return.”

Goldstone nodded. “You have my word. But only you—as the rest of them didn’t cooperate, I will not show them the same luxury.”

Rainbow sighed again and looked back at the others. They all looked back at her with varying looks of disappointment, dismay, and betrayal…except for Twilight, who was looking at Rainbow with a look that silently asked what are you planning?

For Twilight, as the changeling, could detect the otherwise hidden twinkle in Rainbow’s eye. “The Elements of Harmony are hidden in a cave network on the eastern end of the Crystal Mountains, almost at the point where they reach the coastline,” Rainbow lied to Goldstone.

Goldstone knew no better though, smirking as he handed off the reference guide and Twilight’s satchel to a guard, murmuring an order to secure them. “Now was that so hard?” he asked before nodding to the guard restraining Rainbow, who swiftly released her. Goldstone motioned for her to leave. “Off with you then. I wouldn’t stick around if I were you.” He waited until Rainbow made a show of leaving the room, uncharacteristically with her tail between her legs, before turning to face the others. “Now, as for the rest of you…I think it’s clear what choice you all made in the matter.” He looked to the lead of the guards. “Take them away.”

The guards didn’t hesitate, ushering them out and down a corridor leading to the mansion’s back entrance. There, a prison carriage was already waiting for them with its two pullers unharnessed and standing by to assist loading up the would-be prisoners. It probably had already been summoned well in advance of their capture, considering how premeditated this whole turn of events was proving to be. The guards continued to herd their captives towards it, but Twilight, seeing a need to stall, proceeded to dig her feet into the ground.

A guard prodded her with her with his spear. “Keep moving, griffon,” he ordered sternly.

“Or what?” Twilight challenged rhetorically, the flicker of a plan starting to bloom in her mind. “How can you keep me from continuing to resist?”

“And just what would you gain from it anyway?” the guard challenged back. “You’re completely restrained and surrounded. There’s nothing a griffon like you can do to escape this.”

“Ah, but there’s the catch,” Twilight hummed wistfully, “Because, as it happens, I am not a griffon.”

And with one swift movement, she shapeshifted out of her griffon disguise into that of an average hawk, using the smaller size to both successfully slip out of her restraints and evade the surprised guards by taking to the air. She shot up into the sky high enough to keep out of everyone’s the immediate reach before coming about and diving back down, reverting back into her natural form and using her horn to fire a spell at Rarity’s restraints. The restraints snapped immediately, freeing Rarity’s arms, and the dragoness didn’t waste time using them, backhanding the nearest guard before grabbing the spear of another and using it as a lever to fling him away.

A full-on fight then broke out thereafter, but it was all over in about the same time it had taken the guards to catch them. For what guards Rarity didn’t disable herself were taken care of either by Twilight, delivering attacks from the air, or by Spike who was also freed by a well-placed spell and used his smaller size to slip through defenses and dealing blows at all of the right vulnerable spots. Even Fluttershy, who spent most of the brief fight cowering on the ground, inadvertently assisted by being in the right position for one of the carriage pullers—running into the brawl to try and assist—to accidentally trip over her and be easily subdued. Finally, the only foe still standing was the other puller, who tried to flee back for the mansion, but was tackled by Twilight part way and, with one swift nip to the neck with her fangs, dropped out cold to the ground.

“Whoa, how did you do that, Twilight?” Spike asked as he and the others dusted themselves off.

“Venomous bite,” Twilight said, motioning to her fangs, “Puts a creature to sleep within seconds when you bite the right spot.”

“Venom?” Rarity asked, looking in surprise at the changeling. “He…won’t be too harmed by that, will he?”

“Oh no, he’ll awake just fine in about an hour or so,” Twilight quickly assured. “Though I suppose he’ll have a headache and a sore neck…” she shook her head, “What’s more important is that we get out of here while we’ve still got the chance.”

“Yeah, and I was going to help with that, but I see I already missed all the fun,” Rainbow Dash noted aloud, partly dressed in a guard’s uniform as she now hurried out of the mansion to rejoin the group.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy said, brightening at the return of the griffoness. “You came back!”

“Well, I wasn’t about to leave you all hanging,” Rainbow replied with a smug grin before turning to Twilight. “Also, I got you these back from that guard.” She handed her the reference guide and satchel Goldstone had taken earlier.

Twilight swiftly accepted both, impressed. “You planned this, didn’t you?” she asked of the griffon. “That’s why you lied to Goldstone about where the elements actually are so to be let free.”

“Well, I had to tell him something,” Rainbow replied with a shrug, “or else he would’ve just locked us all away and then where would we be? So…I told him what he wanted to hear. It’s not my fault he didn’t stop to think if it was true. So now he’s going to have griffons waste hours searching an empty maze of caves before realizing there’s not anything there, by which time we’ll be long gone from here.” She then turned more sincere. “Besides…I was the one who brought you all to Goldstone in the first place. If I had known he would just try to use you all for his own gain…”

“Well, I daresay you’ve done enough to make amends for that, darling,” Rarity assured her, ruffling Rainbow’s crest with one paw.

“And it wasn’t all for nothing,” Fluttershy pointed out. “We did get that reference guide out all of this, right?”

“We did,” Twilight said with a small grin as she strapped her satchel back into its proper place and slipped the book into it. “Thank you, Rainbow.”

“Anything for my friends,” Rainbow assured with a grin as she adjusted the, presumably stolen, guard uniform she’d donned. “But I’m not done yet.” She rapped her talons on the side of the prison carriage. “Since the guards won’t be using it, we can use it to slip away. So everybody get aboard and I’ll take you to someplace that’ll have our ticket out of here.”

Author's Note

In case anyone was wondering, yes, this is the same Goldstone from the Convocation of Creatures arc from the MLP comics.

Well...not same same, given this is an AU and all...you know what I mean. :raritywink:

Avis Colonies

They rode in the prison carriage while Rainbow pulled it alone, apparently having no issue doing so. Despite Rarity making comments about it being “demeaning,” taking the prison carriage proved a good idea, as none of the griffons they passed wanted anything to do with it and generally steered clear of them. As such, they were able to travel without incident to an airship yard near the Griffon Order’s western border. Once there, they ditched the carriage and Rainbow’s stolen uniform and snuck their way into the yard, hiding behind a stack of recently unloaded cargo.

“So I’m guessing the plan is to fly out of here on an airship then,” Spike surmised, the diamond dog scratching at one of his floppy ears as they eyed the four or five airships currently lined up nearly in a row within the yard.

“Yup,” Rainbow Dash replied confidently, her calculating eyes skimming over each of the balloon-suspended craft in turn, trying to determine which would be best for them.

“Well, this should be an adventure then,” Rarity remarked, intrigued. “I’ve never been on an airship before.”

“It’s…nice,” Fluttershy offered to the dragon before making a small shudder. “At least until you fly into rough weather…then it’s less nice. Admittedly, I prefer traveling by sea instead, but…”

“Now wait,” Twilight said, her brow furrowed. “Just how exactly are we planning to do this? After what happened at Lord Goldstone’s mansion, I somehow suspect we will have a hard time finding any shipmasters willing to accept us as passengers.”

“We aren’t doing it that way,” Rainbow assured, her eyes finally focusing on one cargo airship in particular, parked fairly close to them. It looked like it was finishing loading up to depart.

This only made Twilight more confused though. “Then…I don’t understand. How exactly are we going to fly out on an airship if we aren’t hiring any?”

“We’ll sneak aboard one while they’re not looking,” Rainbow revealed, her gaze turning sly as she timed their next move.

Twilight was immediately taken aback by the idea. “What? We can’t do that! That would be…”

“Okay, now!” Rainbow said, darting out from behind their cover and towards the airship she’d selected. “Quick, while nobody’s looking!”

The others swiftly followed after the griffon without listening to Twilight’s attempts to protest. Groaning and seeing she’d been outvoted, Twilight begrudgingly followed too. They hid behind one of the airship’s steering fins for a moment, then hurried and slipped through its open cargo hatch while the well-built red parrot standing near it had his back turned. Once aboard, they all scrambled for hiding spots among the crates filling most of the cargo hold and tensely waited. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long, as only a few more crates were loaded aboard before the cargo hatch was closed and the airship lifted off, departing on a southwestern course. Once the craft was underway for a few minutes without incident and no signs the ship’s crew would be entering the cargo hold anytime soon, the group started to relax a little with conversation resuming in soft whispers.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Twilight muttered aloud, massaging her face with one holed hoof.

“Hey, we needed to get out of the Griffon Order so you can go find the Elements of Harmony,” Rainbow retorted, looking rather smug with herself, “and this was the quickest way to do it!”

“Quickest, yes,” Twilight conceded, shooting the griffon a small glare. “But legal? If we’re caught doing this by anyone…”

“We won’t be caught,” Rainbow assured, waving aside the matter as a non-concern.

“Besides, it’s not like you yourself haven’t bent a few rules getting this far, darling,” Rarity murmured gently from behind a more sizeable crate, the best hiding spot for a creature of her size. “After all, did you not deliberately break a direct order from your own queen?”

“And, um, attacking all of Lord Goldstone’s guards like we did probably wasn’t following the rules either,” Fluttershy unhelpfully added.

“Didn’t you also say you’d kinda assaulted the leader of the Dragon Coasts too?” Spike put in.

Twilight groaned, recognizing she didn’t have much to stand on in this argument. “That doesn’t mean I want to go around breaking every rule we come across all willy-nilly, not when we could’ve found ways to avoid it.”

“Hey, you said we probably wouldn’t find very many ship crews that’d take on passengers like us,” Rainbow reminded. “And every moment we wasted trying would’ve meant both more chances for Goldstone to figure out what happened and less chances to find airships that could’ve flown us where we wanted to go.”

“And that’s another thing,” Twilight said, pointing vaguely in the direction of the upper deck where she assumed the crew were all working. “This ship is going where they want to go, not where we want to go. They’re a parrot crew, so they’re almost certainly flying for home in the Avis Colonies, not anywhere near the Everfree Forest.”

“Yeah, but they are still flying southwest for the moment, which is still in the right direction, right?” Rainbow countered. When Twilight reluctantly nodded to concede that point, she continued. “So we’ll just keep hitching a ride with them until they start going in any direction that’s not the way we want to go, and when they do, we’ll jump ship and keep working towards it some other way.”

“Oh, hopefully we’ll be pretty close to there when that happens,” Fluttershy remarked, “Or else we might end up traveling by ourselves a pretty long way.”

“See?” Twilight said, motioning to the hippogriff and using that as proof of her point. “And with only three days left until Nightmare Moon is expected to return, we don’t have time for that, particularly when we have no guarantee this airship will really travel southwest for that long. Even if it does, staying on that path forever still won’t get us where we want to go, because after a certain distance, we’d need to start traveling straight south or we’ll overshoot it. Rainbow, look, I appreciate everything you’ve done to help, and I know you’re just trying to do that again here, but…”

She was cut short though when they heard the thump of a door opening, causing them to fall silent and hunker down in their hiding spots. “…well, Ah know it’s gittin’ late, but sumthin’ has got ta be causin’ this, so it’s gotta be somewhere on this danged tub!” a female voice drawled, in the middle of calling back at a cohort as she strolled into the room. “So ya go check them engines for anythin’ outta the ordinary while Ah give the cargo a double check, y’hear?”

A faint call of compliance echoed back before the conversation ceased and the newcomer was heard shuffling through the cargo, searching for something. Moving cautiously, Twilight carefully eased her head over the crate she hid behind to try and steal a peek of the creature. She proved to be an orangey-tan colored parrot with a blond crest, wearing denim shorts and a rustic looking button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves. Twilight couldn’t pick out much else from this angle though, due to the parrot having her back to her and wearing a wide-brimmed stetson hat which obscured the parrot’s face. She didn’t have long to look anyway before having to duck back down again at the first sign of the parrot turning.

The rummaging continued, but they didn’t start to understand why until, in frustration, the parrot started mumbling aloud. “Well, Ah sure as heck dunno wut’s causin’ it,” she was heard grumbling to herself. “Even if those dockhands were somehow off ’bout the weight of this here cargo, there’s no way they could’ve gotten it so far off and not realize it’d affect the ship’s performance like this before loadin’ it up. So either sumthin’s way off with one of these crates, or…”

She trailed off, trotting relatively near their hiding spot before bending over to pick something up. Twilight risked another peek and saw the parrot had found a familiar green flat cap. Growing alarmed, she twisted around to look back at Spike, who realized in that same moment he’d lost his hat in the haste of sneaking aboard. As he patted the top of his bare head in alarm, it was clear he didn’t need to be told what this meant.

Particularly as the parrot, demeanor turning cross, said it aloud anyway. “…or we’ve got an extra someone aboard who shouldn’t be,” she concluded, raising her voice in a clear attempt to make herself heard.

Rainbow mouthed a frustrated “dude!” at Spike, who sheepishly cowered closer to the floor in shame.

The parrot began circling around the cargo hold for any other signs of stowaways she now seemed certain were aboard. On her second pass, she drew even closer to where they hid, but stopped short and turned to face the other way from them, eyes surveying the hold.

“Mmkay, Ah’ll make it easy fer ya,” the parrot continued, confident they were within hearing range. “Ya reveal yerself voluntarily and Ah’ll go easy on ya, maybe even try and strike a deal with ya if that’s wut ya want. If not, then, well, guess we’ll be doin’ this the hard way. Yer choice.”

She then waited for any sort of response. Said stowaways urgently glanced at each other, of differing minds about what to do and silently asking one another what they thought. Twilight and Fluttershy seemed open to taking the parrot’s offer and revealing themselves, but not enough to actually do so if the others weren’t okay with it. Rarity and Rainbow Dash, however, both signaled staying hidden and seeing if they couldn’t still avoid being found. Rainbow even actively motioned for Twilight, the closest to her, to stay put. Spike, meanwhile, didn’t seem to have a favored side and held off in hopes the others would come to a choice for him.

Ultimately, they remained hidden and undecided until the arbitrary amount of time the parrot gave them to respond ran out. She sighed. “Well, if that’s the way ya want it then,” she called resignedly. She started forward again, as if about to go right past and away from them, enough that the group relaxed slightly.

But then, to their surprise, she abruptly leaned over the nearest crate, grabbed Rainbow Dash by the scruff of her neck, and hauled her out from hiding with such precision and accuracy, she must’ve already figured out at least Rainbow was there.

“Well, look who we have here,” she commented aloud as she took in the griffon gripped in her paw, squirming uncomfortably in her grasp.

“Ack—gah—let go—flipping heck!” Rainbow cursed and complained, trying to free herself from the parrot’s pinching claws.

“Hey, ya watch yer language, y’hear?” the parrot reprimanded crossly, dragging Rainbow closer so that they were almost touching beaks, “Or Ah’ll clean out that beak of yers harder than a plow clears a field!”

It was then Rarity, unable to stop herself, popped out of hiding so to confront her. “You unhand her this instant, you ruffian!” she commanded the surprised parrot. “Or we’ll see just who is punishing who here!”

The parrot gaped at Rarity for a second then looked back at Rainbow, still helpless in her grasp. “Wut in tarnat—is she with you?” She jabbed her head in Rarity’s direction, who scoffed at being spoken about like she couldn’t hear.

“…kinda,” Rainbow grunted, making an awkward shrug with her wings.

“…the devil are ya doin’ with a dragon?” the parrot asked, looking confused.

“Oh trust me, darling, I am just the tip of the iceberg here,” Rarity remarked with an eye-roll, folding her arms.

“Rarity,” Rainbow hissed at her potentially giving too much away.

The parrot sputtered for a second, putting two with two. “All right, who the hay else is here with ya?” she demanded.

There was a momentary pause then Fluttershy sheepishly and slowly poked her head out into view. Spike, apparently seeing the writing on the wall, did similarly. He pointed at the hat the parrot still held in her other paw.

“That’s my hat, actually,” he said, hoping to have it back.

Spike’s comment was ignored for the moment though, the parrot more interested in eyeing them all, befuddled by the diversity of creatures popping up before her. “Why are ya all here on my airship?” she asked.

With a groan, Twilight also stepped out of hiding so to answer. “If it helps, I tried to tell them it wasn’t the greatest of ideas.”

The parrot yelped at the sight of the undisguised changeling, dropping Rainbow as she backpedaled away a couple of feet. She again needed a moment to take them all in. “…Is there any more of y’all that I should know about?” she finally demanded.

“No, that’s all of us,” Rainbow replied in weary defeat, reaching one paw around to rub at the sore side of her neck.

“We don’t mean any harm though,” Fluttershy assured.

“Oh, yeah, sure, now y’all tell me that!” the parrot snarked back, doubting.

“Despite appearances, we really aren’t,” Twilight confirmed, moving to the front of the group now that there was little reason to withhold anything. “Actually, if anything, we…just really needed transportation out of the Griffon Order.”

“Well why didn’t ya just come an’ say so instead of doin’ all this sneakin’ around?” the parrot demanded. “We coulda worked sumthin’ out!”

All eyes fell on Rainbow, who apologetically grinned under the scrutiny. “To be fair, we didn’t know that at the time,” she attempted to justify.

“Yes, but you didn’t stop to even consider it as a possibility either,” Twilight retorted. “So maybe if you had listened to what I was telling you at the airship yard…”

“Okay, okay, wait,” the parrot interrupted, motioning for them all to stop speaking before mumbling to herself for a second. “…landsakes, this is gunna be a long night, ain’t it…” She rubbed at her forehead in frustration. “…y’all just need to git sumplace, right?” When they nodded, she latched onto that point. “Okay then, let’s start there. Where is it exactly that ya need ta git to?”

“Everfree Forest,” Twilight replied.

The parrot’s eyes bulged at that news, her beak working up and down fruitlessly trying to form any kind of response. Before she could find the words though, the cargo hold hatch opened again and a second, much younger, parrot strolled in with a large bow in her red-colored crest and not quite tall enough to reach the shoulders of the first.

“Okay, Applejack, Ah went and checked out the engines like ya said, and there ain’t anythin’ wrong with ‘em that Ah can tell,” she reported, looking back the way she came as she approached, initially unaware of what she’d walked into the middle of. “So where else d’ya want me…ta…” she trailed off as she noticed the five stowaways and took a moment blankly taking in the sight. “…well. Ah, uh, guess ya found the problem already.”

“Yeah, kinda have,” the older parrot, Applejack, admitted while wearily rubbing at her face again. “Ah was just about ta ask ‘em what brought ‘em here at all.” She looked expectantly at the group of creatures.

“Oh, well…that’s a bit of a long story,” Fluttershy admitted.

“Ah ain’t in a hurry,” Applejack assured flatly. She glanced at the younger parrot. “Are you, Apple Bloom?”

“Nuh-uh,” Apple Bloom replied with a shake of her head. “This is more interestin’ than sittin’ and watchin’ the radio like Ah’m normally doin’ anyway.”

Twilight sighed, but nodded. “Well, I suppose we’ve had plenty of practice explaining it by now,” she managed to joke before launching into the, by now, quite familiar explanation.

As they did so, Applejack led them up onto the main deck where the ship’s only other crewmember, the red parrot they had snuck past earlier, was manning the ship’s wheel, so he could be filled in on this too—apparently all three of them were siblings. The red parrot, named Big Macintosh, was just as surprised to see the diverse group of stowaways, but he was a parrot of few words and trusted Applejack’s judgement, so his presence didn’t halt or slow the explanation of their quest much.

By the time they’d finished, all three parrots seemed quite taken aback. “Wow,” Apple Bloom remarked, dusting off her green shirt and denim pants before taking a seat by the radio, “y’all sure have been through a lot.”

“Oh my, yes,” Fluttershy agreed with a nod from where she’d seated herself on the floor. “It’s been…quite an adventure getting this far.”

“But hopefully we are nearly done with it all,” Rarity remarked, the dragoness having sprawled out in another seat. “No offense, Twilight, but I’ve just about had enough of these…unforeseen complications…we keep facing.”

“No, I completely agree,” Twilight said, the changeling the only one who wasn’t seated and instead up on her hooves pacing back and forth. “I can only hope its smoother sailing from here on out.”

“Knock on wood,” Rainbow Dash muttered, tapping her talons on the wooden deck beneath her.

“Well, we’ve already crossed the border into the Avis Colonies,” Applejack assured, “so since yer in parrot territory now, yer at least safe from Lord Goldstone and…wutever the heck he figured he was gunna accomplish doin’ wut he did.”

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh added from the ship’s wheel, which seemed to be the normal amount of words from him.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, but kept pacing. “But this isn’t over yet. We still need to find the Elements of Harmony, and soon.”

“Yeah, about that,” Applejack said. “If ya really think these things will stop this Nightmare Moon character then more power t’ya, but…d’ya really wanna go lookin’ fer ‘em in the Everfree Forest of all places?”

“It’s where our only lead says they could be,” Twilight replied resolutely. “I understand it doesn’t seem like the most ideal of places to be searching, but…”

“But nothin’!” Applejack interjected. “That forest ain’t like anywhere else on this continent, and Ah don’t mean that in the good sense,”

“She’s right, Twilight,” Rarity agreed as she and the others expressed similar apprehension. “I’ve never been anywhere close to it before now and even I’ve heard plenty of tales on how dreadful of a place it can be.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Twilight retorted.

“But it is!” Apple Bloom butted in. “That place just ain’t natural! The plants grow…”

“…animals care for themselves…” Fluttershy added.

“…and the clouds move…” Rainbow also said.

“…all on their own!” Applejack concluded. “And that’s without gittin’ into all the mighty dangerous critters that’re supposed ta live there, too!”

“Well, maybe,” Spike conceded as he put in his own thoughts, “But my pack lives on the edges of Ghastly Gorge fairly close to Everfree, so I’ve seen the forest myself. Yeah, there’re dangers in there, but most of them are only found super deep inside, and if you know what you’re doing, you can still avoid most of them.”

Twilight glanced at the diamond dog. “Are you saying you could safely navigate the forest?” she asked hopefully.

“Me personally?” Spike asked, taken aback. “Heck no, but I know of creatures who probably could—there’s a colony of zebra living on the forest edge that I’ve traded with a few times.”

“Zebra?” Rainbow repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Aren’t they all basically gypsies?”

“Don’t be racist, darling,” Rarity gently reprimanded, giving the griffon a gentle swat.

“They’re the magicians I told you all about the other day,” Spike explained, uncertain how else to answer that question. “But more importantly, they know Everfree better than anyone. If any creature can get us safely through the forest, it’d be one of them.”

“Then that’s who we’ll speak with next,” Twilight concluded as she paced. “Now we just need to get there.”

“Well, we’ve got that part covered, right?” Rainbow replied, shooting a smug grin in the direction of the parrot siblings.

Applejack immediately protested this though. “Now hold on, Ah ain’t said anythin’ ’bout flyin’ y’all there,” she pointed out before rubbing at her brow, frustrated. “Look, Ah sympathize with yer problem, Ah do, but this ain’t a luxury cruise liner yer on! We’ve got a load of cargo we need ta unload back home and another load to haul out waitin’ fer us there! Ah can’t just divert us willy-nilly like that just fer some hootenanny quest!”

“It ain’t just some hootenanny quest though, Applejack!” Apple Bloom objected before anyone else could, the young parrot apparently already convinced of the cause. She flung a set of talons out at the group. “Ya heard ‘em! They’re tryin’ ta stop that Nightmare Moon gal, and why wouldn’t ya want to help with that?”

“Sugarcube, Ah ain’t sayin’ their cause ain’t important,” Applejack argued back. “But so’s ours, and just ’cuz some evil pony of doom is comin’ ta take over the world don’t mean creatures don’t still have goods that need deliverin’, and unless ya forgot, we’re the parrots who do exactly that! So this ain’t the time ta go changin’ priorities here!”

“That’s exactly the time ta be changin’ priorities!” Apple Bloom protested, throwing her arms into the air. “The world’s literally gonna end, sis!”

“No it ain’t, ya—grrr!” Applejack pressed both paws into her face for a moment, trying to keep her cool. “C’mon, Big Mac, back me up here!”

“Nope,” the parrot instead smoothly bailed, refusing to get involved in the argument.

“Oh, whole lotta good you are then!” Applejack snapped at his turned back before facing her younger sibling again. “Look, Apple Bloom, think ’bout this fer a second. Even if we did help git ‘em there, then tell me just how long it’d take ta git there?”

Here, Apple Bloom ducked her head. “Well, okay…that would take time,” she begrudgingly admitted before sheepishly looking to her older sister for confirmation. “…won’t it take about a day ta git there from here even at our best speed?”

“Probably closer ta two,” Applejack replied, rubbing her beak. “And that’s assumin’ we don’t stop and unload our cargo first like we’re supposed to.”

“What are you hauling on this tub anyway?” Rainbow Dash butted in at this point, curious.

“Right now? Just supplies we’re bringin’ back home. But we’re in the business of hauling the apples we grow at the family orchard out ta places where we can sell ‘em for profit. And like Ah said, we’re set ta pick up another load full now that we’ve left the Griffon Order.”

Spike perked up at that. “Ooh, I like a good apple,” he said hopefully.

Applejack, grinning at that, reached over into a nearby compartment to pull out such an apple and tossed it to him. “Here. Consider it a free sample.”

“All right!” Spike cried, immediately chomping down on the red fruit. He hummed approvingly at the taste.

“Um…how close could you get us to Everfree while staying on your current course?” Fluttershy asked, attempting to compromise while Spike ate.

Applejack sighed, gazing heavenward. “Only ’bout halfway, I’m ’fraid,” she said. “Which considerin’ how much time ya said ya had left ta do all this, Ah dunno if that’ll be close enough fer ya.” Catching the dejected frown the hippogriff made at that she made yet another sigh. “Look, Ah meant wut Ah said, Ah wish Ah could justify helpin’ ya more. But we got our own affairs ta worry ’bout, and Nightmare Moon or not, that ain’t just gonna go away.”

“Is there someplace you could drop us off where we could maybe hire someone else to take us there?” Twilight asked.

“Maybe, but Ah doubt they could git ya there any quicker,” Applejack reasoned. “In fact, when ya consider the time ya’d have ta take to switch rides, it’d probably be a little slower than if we just took ya straight there, but seein’ we have a schedule ta keep, Ah don’t know if we can.”

“I don’t suppose there’s anything we can do to convince you to hold off on making any stops until we’re at the Everfree Forest,” Rarity nevertheless suggested, suspecting she already knew the answer.

Applejack sadly shook her head. “Not unless something big comes up that’d make it worth our while t’do so.”

Spike looked up from the apple he’d already stripped almost entirely down to the core. “Would a potential new client buying your apples do?” he asked.

Applejack arched an eyebrow, intrigued. “…Maybe,” she said cautiously, “Why, ya think ya know someone?”

“Yeah, my pack is always up for a good trade, particularly when there’s food involved,” Spike explained, wiping juice off his mouth. “If we stop at Ghastly Gorge, I could totally swing for you to meet with the pack leader, give you a chance to strike a deal with them. And if all of your apples are as tasty as this one,” he held up the mostly eaten fruit, “then I think you wouldn’t have much trouble doing so.”

“Oh, ya can bet yer hide that they’re all that tasty,” Apple Bloom assured proudly. “That’s the Apple family guarantee!”

“And Spike did say Ghastly Gorge is right next door to Everfree,” Fluttershy added, smiling as she caught on, “So you’d still be getting us where we want to go too.”

All eyes turned anxiously to Applejack, who chewed indecisively on her tongue. “Ah dunno…” she began, but it was clear Spike’s offer of new business was tempting to her.

“C’mon, Applejack!” Apple Bloom again pleaded. “We gotta do sumethin’ fer ‘em! It’s not like they’re askin’ us ta help ‘em fight off Nightmare Moon or anythin’, they’re just askin’ fer a lift there!”

“Oh yes, we certainly are not going to ask you to join the fight if you don’t want to,” Twilight added. “I would more than understand you wanting to turn that down.” Then, catching the looks of her cohorts, she timidly added, “Though…if you can spare the time to give us a lift…”

“And ya know Granny would totally be on board ’bout a new trade deal with the diamond dogs!” Apple Bloom added. “Y’know she ain’t got a problem ’bout anyone we sell to, just so long as they’re fair and willin’ ta pay wut they agreed to.” She waved her talons at her brother. “Ya git wut Ah’m sayin’ here, right Big Mac?”

“Eeyup,” the monosyllabic parrot replied.

Applejack shot him another look. “Oh sure, take their side, why don’t ya!”

Big Macintosh returned it with a look of his own. “The extra profit would probably help us out this year, AJ,” he pointed out gently.

The guttural groan Applejack made at that indicated she saw his point, but no sooner had she made that noise was she also chuckling, shaking her head. “Y’all drive a hard bargain fer a buncha stowaways,” she said, giving the group a sly look before straightening her hat. “All right fine, Ah think we might be able ta swing this fer ya. Ah’m clearly outvoted on this anyway.” She looked at her siblings. “Unless there’re any last minute changes of heart?”

“Nope!” Big Macintosh remarked while Apple Bloom eagerly shook her head no, “Still will probably take us a day, maybe two, to get there though.”

“That will have to do,” Twilight assured. “And of course, we’ll all try and assist you where we can until then, right everyone?” The others all voiced their agreement to those terms.

“Much appreciated,” Applejack said, thankful, “But t’be honest, most likely y’all will just have ta sit tight ’til we git there.”

“Hopefully so,” Twilight said as she wandered to the side of the ship and gazed out into the distance. “Still, we’ll want to keep an eye out…just in case.”

“Like Ah told ya before, Goldstone can’t touch ya out here, he ain’t got the jurisdiction t’do so,” Applejack reminded.

“It’s not exactly him that I’m worried about,” Twilight replied cryptically.

Back in the Griffon Order, Goldstone was fuming over how his night had ended up going. Just when he thought things were going his way, he receives word that the creatures that made it happen and he’d ordered imprisoned had escaped. Not long thereafter, he also learned that the reference guide and other research he’d taken from them had also gone missing. He’d ordered, of course, that both try to be located again, as well as going ahead and sending a scouting party to the location in the Crystal Mountains he’d been told to search for the powerful Elements of Harmony…but he was starting to get a bad feeling that the scouting party would come back empty-taloned.

Now he had gotten a report indicating his escaped prisoners, the ones who knew more about what he sought, had probably tried to flee the country and might have already crossed the border, possibly into parrot-controlled territory, or maybe somewhere else further south. If so, he wouldn’t be able to pursue them without the cooperation of whatever nation they’d fled to, and to get that, he’d probably have to explain why he wanted them, something he loathed doing because it meant revealing, even just in part, what he knew about the powerful artifacts he sought.

And if he wanted to take those artifacts for himself, he could only imagine the leaders of other nations would similarly want them for their own purposes too.

He massaged his forehead wearily with his talons while staring down at the report on his desk with tired eyes. He probably ought to get some sleep, but feared that would effectively mean admitting defeat at this point. And he didn’t want to admit he’d been bested just yet, not if there was any chance, however slim, he could still save this. He told himself that even if it all didn’t work out, he could still have the last laugh by trying to ensure that mish-mash group of creatures wouldn’t ever be safe in the Griffon Order again, if not ensure they’d stay in hot waters in some of the surrounding countries too. But that felt like a hollow and petty victory, a poor substitute for the prize he feared was slipping away from him.

He was still debating his next move when three griffon guards let themselves into his office unannounced. Surprised, but assuming the guards had a reason for this, he turned his attention to them. “Yes, what is it?” he asked of them.

“We heard about your encounter with a group of foreigners today,” the apparent leader of the group remarked, approaching Goldstone at his desk while the other two silently began moving to different spots within the office.

Goldstone’s brow furrowed at the guard. “Yes, but…that’s not exactly news at this point, unless you three have all been out of touch for whatever reason,” he remarked, somewhat confused. “In any case, what is it to you? Unless you have something useful to report on the matter, I’m not particularly interested in…whatever this is.”

“Your interests in the matter aren’t what I’m here for,” the guard assured.

Goldstone was growing alarmed at this point and began tracking what the other two guards were doing. His alarm grew as he noticed one was busy locking his office door while the other closed the curtains behind him, ensuring they were neither interrupted nor overseen.

Beginning to suspect foul play, Goldstone started to rise out of his seat. “Who the devil do you think you all—” he was cut short when the guard closing his drapes forced him back into his seat and easily held him there with a surprising amount of strength.

“Now,” the lead guard continued seriously, rearing up on his hind legs so to plant his forelegs on Goldstone’s desk and look him in the eye, “You haven’t been sharing all the details with your staff, leaving you as apparently the only one here with all of the information we’re looking for. So you will tell me everything you can about these creatures, what they were here to do, what they have done while they were here, and anything you can tell us about where they are going next. I strongly recommend you withhold nothing.”

“I will tell you nothing of the such!” Goldstone declared, confused and concerned about what was happening but also angered by the gall of these intruders. “And I promise you, all of you will be stripped of your ranks and booted into the streets for treating your superior like this!”

“Ah, but see, here’s the thing,” Pharynx said as he and his two compatriots all reverted into their normal changeling forms, to Goldstone’s horror. “We don’t answer to you.”

True to Applejack’s predictions, it took more than a day to near their destination, even when traveling as fast as the airship could carry them. Applejack admitted that problem was because the ship was loaded with cargo, weighing it down enough that it couldn’t quite achieve its normal top speed when unloaded. But even then that wouldn’t shorten their travel time much because they were still journeying from far enough away of a starting point that it was always going to take time to cover that distance.

“Honestly, ya probably got us at the airship yard furthest away from yer destination, which don’t help ya any,” Applejack admitted at one point.

Still, though Twilight was closely watching the little time they had remaining until the expected return of Nightmare Moon, they were expected to arrive with enough time to and try and find the Elements of Harmony before then, though as they got well into the second day of their journey, they weren’t going to have much more than a single day to do it in. As such, Twilight insisted they spend most of that second day planning precisely what they would do once they arrived, so to maximize as much of the time remaining as they could. By late afternoon they had completed doing so, or at least gotten as far as the others could tolerate, growing weary of the changeling’s obsession for micromanaging trivial details—they called for a stop when she started scheduling timeframes for bathroom breaks, a point they decided was going a little too far. But that now done, they milled about on the main deck, watching the terrain slide by while enjoying a cool drink courtesy of Apple Bloom.

“There ya go,” the young parrot said, pouring the last glass full of fresh apple cider and passing it to Rarity. “Sumthin’ fer ya all ta enjoy while ya’ve still got the chance.”

“Thank you, darling!” Rarity told Apple Bloom, watching with small amusement as she then jogged away. The dragoness gave Applejack, sitting with them, a small grin. “She’s a sweet youth, Applejack. She reminds me somewhat of my own sister back home.”

“You have a sister, Rarity?” Spike asked as he supped his own drink.

“Oh yes,” Rarity assured with a grin. “In fact, I think she might be around a similar age as Apple Bloom, if I’m translating my dragon years accordingly. She hasn’t had her molt yet though, so she typically doesn’t go far without my parents.” She made a small sigh. “I do hope she’s doing okay. I can only imagine what she’s been told after my…abrupt departure…from the Dragon Coasts a few days ago.”

“I hope all my animal friends back home aren’t worrying too much about me either,” Fluttershy remarked as she wistfully gazed in the vague direction of New Hippogriffia. “They knew I was going to be gone for a good few days and probably aren’t expecting me back just yet, but…I’m not exactly following the original travel plan anymore either, and I’m not sure how soon I’ll be able to get back.”

“Assuming we even succeed at this,” Rainbow remarked, being brutally realistic before tipping her glass in Fluttershy’s direction. “But I hear ya. Wouldn’t surprise me if Goldstone’s seized my whole house by now, so not only am I not sure on when I can get home, I’m not sure I’m even going to be allowed to.”

“Gee, that kinda makes me feel bad now,” Spike admitted, peering into his glass, “Seeing we’re going to be landing at my home at Ghastly Gorge and all.”

“I am sorry for dragging all of you into this, for the record and all.” Twilight said as she stared into her own glass, sensing their emotions of unease. “I never intended to get anyone else involved like this.”

“Yeah, but would ya have even gotten this far if ya didn’t?” Applejack reasoned, trying to find the upside. “From wut y’all have told me, it sounds like they’ve all helped ya a good deal in gittin’ through all this.”

“They have,” Twilight relented with a small smile, looking thankfully at each of them in return. “And I thank all of you. I don’t know what this next day and beyond will bring for us exactly, but…I hope when it’s all said and done, I’ll be able to repay you all for it.”

“Oh, you don’t owe us anything, darling,” Rarity assured. “For a cause as momentous as this, we’re happy to help.”

“And you’re a good creature, Twilight,” Fluttershy added.

“For a changeling,” Rainbow added, which earned her a small slap from Applejack.

Twilight peered into her glass again, still smiling. “I’m just trying to do the right thing, that’s all.”

“Well, if nothin’ else, Ah wish ya the best of luck with it,” Applejack remarked, raising her glass in a mock salute to the changeling. “That said, though, Ah gotta admit…this whole Nightmare Moon business is still mighty farfetched ta me.”

Twilight chuckled at that. “I nonetheless appreciate your honesty, Applejack,” she assured. “If anything else though, I hope recovering the Elements of Harmony will be worthwhile.”

“And that’s why Ah ain’t tryin’ ta talk ya out of it,” Applejack admitted. “’Cuz even if ya are wrong about the whole Nightmare Moon thing, Ah figure the elements will definitely be worth findin’ anyway.”

“Assuming they actually work as intended,” Rainbow said. “We haven’t exactly found an instruction manual for these things, have we?”

“No,” Twilight admitted as she turned her attention to the reference guide they’d uncovered in the Griffon Order. She’d been flipping through it off and on during their flight towards Everfree Forest. “And to be honest, the more I read what this has to say on the elements, the more I wonder if any of us ever truly understood their purpose.” She motioned to the others. “For example, Goldstone thought they were a weapon. Queen Chrysalis thought they were a source of power, enough to conquer with. I thought they were a type of defense mechanism. But according to this, they are more of a…tool…used to encourage and promote harmony within the land. It gets misconstrued as a weapon because in extreme instances it’s reacted in such a way to stop threats that it seemed like one, but…I’m getting the impression it’s more complicated than that. Even worse is the implication that these elements can’t be used by just anyone—the guide implies one has to be chosen for it. And I have no idea if any of us are even the right creatures to handle them.” She curled up a little upon herself. “And that’s what really scares me about all of this, that it all could still be for nothing.”

A heavy moment of silence fell after that.

“Let’s hope it’s not then,” Spike said, attempting to be optimistic.

There was some half-hearted murmuring of agreement to that sentiment. There continued to be a small lull in conversation until Rarity noticed something flutter past the airship out of the corner of her eye.

“Goodness, what was that?” she asked, turning her head to get a better look, but it had already vanished from view again.

The others looked up from what they were doing. “Wut was wut?” Applejack asked, having missed it.

“There was something flying by just now, something small and dark,” Rarity said as she stood up and approached the deck railing, the others curiously following her. After a moment of looking around, she pointed her claw at another small fluttering object moving past the airship. “There, there’s another one!”

“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed, recognizing the small animal. “That would be a brown bat. They’re pretty common for this area, I believe.” She then frowned and looked towards the sun hanging in the western side of the sky. “Although…bats are nocturnal animals, so…why is this one up so early?”

“It ain’t just the one though, because there’s another,” Applejack said, pointing a talon at another bat flying by.

“And there’s another!” Twilight said, pointing at yet another.

And more kept coming, until suddenly the airship was cruising through whole swarms of bats—all baffling flying in the same direction and all at a bizarre hour of day for them. At one point the swarms were so thick that Spike ducked with a yelp so to avoid one running into his head.

“The heck is going on here?” Rainbow Dash cried out in confusion.

“And where are they all going?” Rarity added, noting how they were all flying in the same direction. “What has gotten them all riled up like this?”

“Maybe…maybe something disturbed them?” Fluttershy attempted to speculate. “I…I don’t know, I can’t seem to communicate with any of them. They just have this singular focus to all reach the same destination.”

“Which is?” Spike prompted.

They all looked in the direction the bats were heading, which was when Twilight realized with a start it ran parallel with the airship’s current course. “Same place we’re heading,” she breathed in awe, “Everfree.”

A moment of silence fell while they watched the swarms of bats start to thin again as they finished passing.

“Twi, didn’t you say that strange animal migrations were one of the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return?” Rainbow asked slowly.

“I did,” Twilight said. She swallowed. “I think we just witnessed one.”

The heavy silence continued for a moment.

Twilight took a deep breath. “The sooner we get to Everfree Forest, the better,” she concluded, “because we are running out of time.”

Author's Note

Don't worry, Goldstone's probably fine. :trixieshiftleft:

Everfree Forest

They arrived at Ghastly Gorge early in the morning of the final day until Nightmare Moon’s predicted return. Once there, Spike pulled through on his side of the deal and set up the Apple siblings to meet with the diamond dog leaders presiding over a whole city existing within a network of caves immediately adjacent to the gorge. This seemed to go very well, with the diamond dogs proving very interested in becoming the parrot family’s newest customers, especially after Applejack gave them free samples like she had for Spike. It seemed like a trade deal would be struck before the day was out, but as much as they wanted to help see it through with the Apples, Twilight was unwilling to wait given how little time remained.

Applejack was very understanding. “Ah git it,” she assured the changeling when she cautiously came to explain this. “Ya got far bigger things ta be worryin’ about than this, and Ah don’t blame ya fer that.” She waved them on. “So go on, go do whatcha need t’do.”

“Thank you for your help getting us here, Applejack,” Twilight nonetheless thanked the parrot. “I promise we’ll find a way to repay you somehow.”

“Ah, it weren’t nothin’,” Applejack said, giving the changeling a pat. “As Ah see it, between this trade deal with the diamond dogs and ya workin’ ta make sure we all ain’t captured by a mad alicorn from myth…Ah figure we’re square. Heck, Ah know Ah said Ah wouldn’t before, but Ah’d try and come along with ya if Ah didn’t have family and this trade deal t’see to.”

“Speaking of,” Spike chose to pipe in from where he was standing next to Applejack, “As much as I want to come help too, I’m going to have to stay here, since I was the diamond dog that started the negotiations and the one with the most insider knowledge. My pack wants me close at paw so to keep getting my insight until it’s all signed and done.” He shrugged, averting his gaze. “So…sorry I won’t be coming either. If only we had more time…”

“That is perfectly okay, Spike, we understand you having your own concerns to see to as well,” Rarity assured, reaching past Twilight so to give the young diamond dog a friendly pat on the head. “You’ve already done plenty to help yourself.”

“I just wish I could do more,” Spike said with a sigh. “But I’m glad I helped as much as I did.” He grinned at the others. “It’s…been great getting to meet all of you, really.”

“Likewise,” Applejack pitched in, gazing over what remained of the group. “Can’t say Ah’ve ever met a bunch quite like you lot before, but Ah’m glad Ah did.” She then turned serious. “Ah just hope it won’t be for the last time…so y’all come back when yer done in ‘em woods, y’hear?”

“Oh don’t worry, we’re going to do everything in our power to get out of that forest alive,” Rainbow vowed, the griffon clearly not interested in meeting her end there.

“Just…get in touch with the zebras before you go in like we planned,” Spike said. “I promise you, they know that forest better than all of us combined, so…they should be able to greatly improve your odds.” He then winced and added, “Or at least I’m sure hoping they will.” He shook his head. “If they show any hesitation about you girls, tell them Spike sent you. Hopefully that’ll get them to listen to what you have to say.”

Accepting his advice and bidding a few final farewells, they parted ways with Spike and the Apples and proceeded towards the Everfree Forest looming in the distance, following Spike’s directions towards the zebra settlement. They skirted around the edges of the forest as they went, partly at Rainbow’s insistence so they could get an idea of what they would be facing. The gloomy forest didn’t look any more welcoming up close than it had from afar.

Fluttershy cowered as they walked past it, trying not to tremble. “I don’t like this place, girls,” she admitted aloud.

“It is rather unsightly, isn’t it?” Rarity agreed, the dragoness even appearing to be greatly intimidated by the place.

“Don’t let it scare you though,” Rainbow advised. “If we go in there already terrified of it, then we’re already setting ourselves up to fail.”

“Rainbow’s right,” Twilight agreed. “It’s a common rule of thumb back in the Changeling Kingdom that showing fear is showing weakness, a weakness those that’d harm will exploit to do harm.”

Rainbow nodded, glad the changeling was on the same page as her. “So if you don’t want to be harmed, then you don’t want to be afraid,” she summed up.

“Easier said than done,” Fluttershy murmured, not very reassured.

Fortunately, they weren’t going into the forest just yet. Instead, they eventually arrived at a small village of wooden huts all bunched together and hugging the side of the forest so closely, it technically overlapped its border. Inside it were a herd of zebras, exactly as Spike said, but they all gave the four creatures a wary eye and kept their distance. They particularly gave Twilight some hard stares, despite her having taken the form of a generic unicorn well before entering their village, in hopes this would be less likely to scare them away.

“Hello,” Twilight said, attempting to start up conversation with one of the zebras. “We’re sorry to intrude like this, but we would like to ask your help with…” she trailed off when the zebra simply turned and walked off, ignoring her. Wincing and finding this didn’t bode well, Twilight tried again, approaching two zebras, a mare and stallion, conversing nearby. “Hi, we’re looking for help and advice on how to safely travel within…”

“You will be gone from us, foe,” the stallion told her in a lyrical voice as they also turned away. “And a curse for the truths you do not show.”

The strange encounter gave the group momentary pause. “Well that rhymed,” Rainbow deadpanned aloud.

“Let me try,” Fluttershy offered to Twilight and approached another set of zebra. “Excuse me,” the hippogriff said with her trademark gentleness. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we were sent by Spike in hopes…” she trailed off when she got the same response as Twilight had.

“Spike,” Rainbow repeated, flying in the path of some zebra to try and force a conversation. “You know, the diamond dog? About this tall? Said he’s traded with you guys before?” The zebra just walked around her without acknowledging her.

But then finally a response to their queries echoed out. “Did somebody say Spike?” a cheery voice called before a zebra mare came zooming up to them, apparently having none of the apprehension her fellows bore. She had all of the usual traits of a zebra, complete with the trademark stripes (though partially hidden under a cloak she wore over her back), but what should’ve been white stripes in her tail and mohawk-like mane were instead pink. Eagerly, she took in the sight of all five of them, talking faster than any of them could respond to. “Ooh, you all know Spike? And he sent you here! Ooh! Ooh! You must’ve gotten along great with him, which means we’ll get along great, which means new creatures to talk with! Oh, that’ll be great once we meet up with Spike again later! Yay!”

Rarity’s brow furrowed. “But what makes you think we’ll meet up with him…?”

“So!” Pinkie interrupted, leaning forward and blinking hopefully at them. “What’re your names?”

“Uh…well, I’m Twilight,” Twilight said, motioning to herself then to each of the others in turn. “And that’s Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.” She looked back at the oddly bubbly zebra, uncertain what to say. “Ah…what’s your name?”

“Pinkie!” the zebra declared immediately.

Rainbow blinked, having expected a more zebra-sounding name. “Really?” she repeated. “That’s your actual name?”

“Well, no, it’s not my real name,” Pinkie admitted, “but my real name is long and complicated to say and a lot of creatures have trouble saying it without getting all tongue-tied, so everybody just calls me Pinkie instead. Because, you know, I like pink.” She motioned to the pink-colored stripes in her mane which must’ve been dyed that color. “Of course, I once tried to get everybody to start calling me Pinkie Pie, because I’d thought that sounded even more fun, but, eh, nobody was biting. So just Pinkie it is!”

“Talkative one, isn’t she?” Rarity murmured to Fluttershy, who nodded her head in silent agreement.

“So anyway, what brings you all here, strangers?” Pinkie went on to ask.

“Well, actually,” Twilight began, “we could use…”

“Ooh, ooh, you need some of our trademark zebra mystism?” Pinkie interrupted, in an attempt to guess what Twilight was about to say. “Because we can do some pretty good magic stuff!”

“No, no, we need…”

“Or maybe you’re looking for potions? Because we’ve got lots of those too! We’ve got invisible potions, vegetarian potions…”

“That’s very nice, but no, we need you to…”

“Oh, I know! You need me to tell you your fortune!” Without waiting for a response, Pinkie grabbed Twilight’s hoof and proceeded to drag her across the village with unexpected speed and strength.

Surprised, the others hurried after them. Fortunately, they didn’t have far to go before Pinkie lead them to a humble hut, presumably hers, where a mysterious-looking purple tent was erected beside it. Inside, Pinkie planted Twilight down on a seat in front of a round table before swiftly taking her spot on the other side while the others all hesitantly filed in.

“Come!” Pinkie said with comically forced gravitas. “Enter the chamber of Madam Pinkie! For the answers you seek, let us consult the mystical orb of fate’s destiny!” She then motioned to the crystal ball she had set out on the center of the table. “Do you like my mystical orb of fate’s destiny? It’s cool, right?”

“Uh…yeah, sure,” Twilight replied hesitantly, uncertain as to where any of this was going anymore.

“Is she for real right now?” Rainbow hissed behind her.

“Well now, hold on, I’d like to see how this goes,” Fluttershy whispered back, curious.

Pinkie, meanwhile, had begun to spookily wave her hooves around the crystal ball. “Look deep into the crystal ball, for soon it will reveal all!” She declared dramatically, before pointing at Twilight. “I see a vision of the future! A future where you will make lots of new friends, get a really cool birthday gift next year, and one day become the new ruler of…”

“Pinkie!” Twilight interrupted then gently placed her hoof over the crystal ball, getting the zebra’s attention back on her. “This is all very interesting, but none of it is why we’re here. We just need someone who can guide us safely through the Everfree Forest.”

“Oh!” Pinkie said, swiping the crystal ball off of the table and hiding it underneath, completely unperturbed. “Why didn’t you just say so? Where in Everfree do you need to go?”

Twilight smiled, feeling like she was finally getting somewhere. “Well, you see, we need to get to…”

“You will do no such thing,” a new voice suddenly interrupted, and they turned in time to see an older zebra enter the tent, giving them all a stern gaze. “Not until we know what you bring.”

“Oh hey, Zecora!” Pinkie greeted happily, waving a hoof at her. It was ignored as Zecora pushed her way straight to Twilight, who warily leaned back at the zebra’s imposing gaze. “I was just showing the newcomers my mystical orb of fate’s destiny when…”

“I must ask that you be silent, Pinkie,” Zecora again interrupted while pulling out a container from within her own cloak, dipping her hoof tip into it. “While I prove to all this mare is hinky.”

She then proceeded to smear the green substance onto Twilight, who flinched away. It tingled with magic against her body. “Whoa, hey, what are you…uh-oh…” Twilight cringed to herself, squeezing her eyes shut as if straining to hold something before with a flicker and then a flash, her disguise involuntarily collapsed, reverting back to her natural form.

Surprisingly though, neither Zecora nor Pinkie really reacted to this. “Your tricks to hide and deceive will not work here, changeling,” Zecora explained sternly, putting the container away again—the gel apparently worked as a counteragent to changeling disguises. “We zebra know how to shield from that which is endangering.”

Twilight, confused, looked her natural body over then at the zebra still looming over her. “But…how did you know?”

“Honestly?” Pinkie pitched in here. “Your whole aura was just screaming changeling. I’d figured you wanted us all to know what you are.”

“What is more important here,” Zecora interrupted, “is why you’ve come is clear.”

“All right, all right,” Rainbow said, seeing where this was going. “Guess this means we’re going to have to give the usual explanation. See, there’s this bad gal that’s supposed to be coming tomorrow called Nightmare Moon, and…”

They were again surprised when Pinkie suddenly gasped, realizing what Rainbow was saying. “You’re all here to stop Nightmare Moon!” She thumped Zecora on the shoulder. “You see, Zecora? I told you some creature would be coming about that!”

“Be that as it may, that they’re odd is clear as day,” Zecora retorted to the other zebra, motioning to Twilight and her friends. “They are all different and mish-mashed, as such I fear our hopes for help are dashed.”

“Oh, don’t be like that!” Pinkie argued back. “Just because we all had our own ideas about who’d bear the Elements of Harmony…”

“Wait, you know about the Elements of Harmony?!” Twilight declared, jumping to her hooves in shock before immediately transitioning to joy. “Then you can help us, because we’re here to get them! All we need is someone who can guide is to the Castle of the Two Sisters so we can…”

“What you ask simply cannot be done!” Zecora interrupted hotly. “For those who go, that which return is none!”

“Wh-what are you saying?” Fluttershy asked with a fearful tremble.

“Well, it’s true that we zebra know a thing or two about the Everfree Forest,” Pinkie explained, clarifying Zecora’s words into something more straightforward. “But even we’ve got limits. And the castle you want to get to is in there deep, where all the really nasty critters like to live.” She shrugged sadly. “And unfortunately, it’s not really safe for even us to get there and back safely.”

“So do not even try,” Zecora decreed gravely to the group, “Or you must say goodbye. I am sorry for I know that is not what you wish to hear. But you must leave or risk losing all that you hold very dear.” And with that solemn decree, she turned and left again.

“Well, wasn’t she just a bundle of sunshine and happiness,” Rarity observed with a frown.

Rainbow was thinking about other things though. “Hey, how come you don’t do the whole rhyming thing?” she asked Pinkie.

“Eh, I’m just the odd one out, I guess,” Pinkie replied with a shrug.

“You don’t say,” the griffon deadpanned back.

“Anyway, don’t mind Zecora, she’s just been a little stressed out about things,” Pinkie went on to assure with the wave of her hoof. “She’s not usually like this. And she doesn’t mean it personally either. If anything, she’s just trying to look out for everyone’s safety.”

“But no one will be safe if we let Nightmare Moon return!” Twilight objected. “And we’re running out of time to do something, anything, to try and stop it!”

“Well then, I guess we just gotta hope you aren’t right about her returning tomorrow, Twilight,” Rainbow reasoned with a helpless shrug, not having anything better to suggest.

“But she will return tomorrow!” Pinkie promised with absolute, albeit cheery, certainty. “First thing at sunrise, in fact. Assuming there is a sunrise of course…but that part’s all wibbly-wobbily still.”

“Look,” Twilight suddenly interjected, laying down her argument in frustration. “Dangerous or not, we need to get to that castle. I cannot and will not just stand here and do nothing when I can be doing something to try and prevent this disaster!”

“And I get that!” Pinkie assured, completely unfazed by the changeling’s intensity. She then shrugged. “But I really can’t help you there. Ask me to take you just about anywhere else in Everfree Forest and I can probably do it. But to the Castle of the Two Sisters? Nuh-uh, that’s a big no-no. I’d probably just get you in more danger.”

“There must be someone here who can guide us there,” Rarity pleaded.

Pinkie gave the matter some thought, twirling her hoof in a small curl on the front of her mane. “Well, there is one creature who could do it…but good luck convincing her to.”

She then escorted them across the village to where a lone hut sat at the edge, isolated from all of the others. “She likes to be alone,” Pinkie explained as she led them right up to the door, “even though she’s been living here with the rest of us for as long as I can remember.”

“Why is she here then if she wants to be left alone?” Rainbow asked.

“Don’t really know,” Pinkie admitted with a shrug. “She’s…not really part of us zebras, so no clue why she’s staying here either, but like I said, she’s been doing it for a good long while. Apparently she just appeared here one day and…never left. You can try asking her yourselves while you’re at it, but I think she won’t want to explain herself. But then today will be just full of surprises…never know.” She then gave the hut’s door a happy knock. “Hey Creamy!”

“Go away, Pinkie” a female voice called from within. “I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood.”

“Aw, but I’ve got some visitors here!” Pinkie went on. “And they’re a real diverse bunch, too. We’ve got a hippogriff, a dragon…”

“And I’m sure they’re very interesting creatures, but I don’t need to meet them, thank you,” the voice called again, cutting the zebra short.

“Oh, but they’d really like to talk to you, Creamy!” Pinkie persisted. “There’s something I think you need to help them with, and they could really use that help!”

“Whatever it is, Pinkie, it can’t be so important that I need to be—”

“We’re trying to stop Nightmare Moon!” Twilight interrupted to shout.

There was a moment of silence. Then, suddenly, the door opened to reveal the occupant inside. Surprisingly, she was not a zebra but a simple pegasus mare colored a creamy white and bearing a long blonde mane with faint blue highlights that was braided partway down her neck. Her only other adorning feature was a gold-colored amulet worn about her neck. She stood in the doorway for a second, studying the curious group of creatures gathered at her door.

“What do you know about Nightmare Moon?” she asked, as if presenting a challenge.

“Enough to know that she’s about to return and try again to bring about her eternal night,” Twilight answered, stepping forward as she likewise examined the mare. “Can we come in to talk about it?”

Creamy sighed, looking reluctant, but ultimately she relented. “Fine,” she said, motioning them to follow her. “But I don’t know if it’ll do you much good.”

They all filed into her homey hut. Unlike how the other zebra huts were typically decorated with trademark items of their culture, Creamy’s was decorated with various items more typically associated with ponies, though Twilight noted most of them seemed fairly archaic.

“Are you a collector of antiques, by any chance?” the changeling asked as they made themselves comfortable inside the hut’s only room.

Creamy only snorted and didn’t answer the question. “I suppose I should be a good host and offer something to drink,” she remarked with a small sigh, approaching a stone-slab stove in the corner. “Will tea suffice?”

“Ooh, what kind of tea?” Fluttershy asked, intrigued. “Oolong? Earl Grey? Chamomile?”

“Black,” Creamy replied flatly, pulling out enough cups for all of them (even though not all of them matched or were even proper teacups) and began pouring. “This isn’t a tea shop, after all.”

“…black will be fine,” Fluttershy assured after a beat, the hippogriff cowering slightly at Creamy’s tone.

Creamy then passed out the cups to everyone and they silently proceeded to sample the drink with differing mannerisms. Twilight and Fluttershy, for example, held their cups with the proper grips but Rarity (surprisingly) more just cupped hers in her palm, while Rainbow slurped her tea and Pinkie chugged hers down all in one go. Twilight couldn’t help but notice that Creamy held her tea more exquisitely and properly than all of them though, suggesting she was well practiced at it.

“So,” Rarity began finally so to try and break the awkward silence, “If I may ask, why is a pony living out here anyway?”

“Yeah, I thought all of you ponies left ages ago so to immigrate further west,” Rainbow added.

“That is private,” Creamy replied sternly, thrusting her cup down with a thump. It was clearly a touchy subject for her. “And you aren’t here to talk about that anyway, so please get to the point.”

The others exchanged glances for a moment before Twilight decided to take the lead. “We’re looking for the Elements of Harmony,” she summarized. “We have reason to believe they’re at the Castle of Two Sisters deep within the forest, but it’d be too dangerous for us to try and venture there without a guide. Pinkie indicated you could possibly do it.”

“Could,” Creamy agreed pointedly, “but I won’t.” She didn’t even try to explain herself. “Was that all you needed, then?”

“…please, though?” Fluttershy tried gently. “Um, not to put too fine of a point on it, but…you seem to be our only hope.”

“I assume you’re fully aware, like the zebra, that Nightmare Moon is about to return and likely bring ruin with her, right?” Twilight added.

“Oh, of course I’m aware,” Creamy said, rolling her eyes in frustration. “The zebra have been making predictions about that for ages, whether I wanted to hear them or not. But none of the predictions in the world will ultimately change how that can only go down.”

“Yeah, but if we can just…” Rainbow began to object.

“You can’t stop her,” Creamy interrupted, speaking over the griffoness. “At most you can only banish her again, just to have her come back again later and have this all repeat. And it’ll keep happening until finally the cycle is broken and she’s allowed to have what she wants. Either way, she wins.” She slumped back in her seat. “Honestly, a part of me just wants to get it over with already. There’s no point fighting it.”

“Uh, I’d like to think there’re a lot of reasons to fight it,” Rainbow objected. “I don’t know about you, lady, but I’m not interested in being enslaved by some crazy evil mare of the night. So long as there’s still a way to fight, then I say we fight.”

“And who’s to say the cycle can’t be broken in other ways, Creamy?” Pinkie added in a more reassuring tone. “It just might surprise you in the end.”

Creamy snorted again. “I lost faith in that a long time ago, Pinkie.”

“Then…why are you here?” Twilight challenged. “If you really have no faith in it working out, then why stick around on the very doorstep of it all happening? If we all really are doomed, then will it matter where we’re at when it does happen?”

Creamy didn’t reply to that for a long moment, staring deeply into her cup of tea. “Do you even know who it is you want to fight?” she asked softly. She seemed genuinely curious in finding out.

The others exchanged confused glances. “Well,” Fluttershy began, “according to legend, she’s an alicorn corrupted by dark magic and hungry for power, so…”

“She’s not just any alicorn,” Creamy clarified. “She was once a ruler over this land, back when it was still Equestria.”

Twilight perked up at that. “Of course,” she mumbled, “One of the two ruling sisters.”

Creamy nodded. “She had once ruled with her sibling in peace…but eventually grew jealous of her through neglect and so decided to try and take it all for herself. She then lost herself to the darkness during the course of her fall.” She bowed her head, her gaze faraway. “In the end, the only thing to do was to banish her someplace and hope she couldn’t do more harm.” She then raised her gaze, resolute once more. “But as I said, it’s only delaying the inevitable.”

“…are you saying she’s beyond recovery, then?” Fluttershy asked, concerned.

“I fear that is the case, yes,” Creamy replied with a nod. “I have seen no evidence to the contrary, at least. She’s just…too lost, too far gone.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes slightly. “…how do you know all of this?” she asked.

“Look, I’ve given you your answer,” Creamy said, abruptly rising. “So now I think it’s time you all left.”

“Now hold on,” Twilight said despite the others all rising from their seats too. “There must be something we can try, some new way to approach the problem.”

“Yeah, like, what about the other sister?” Rainbow asked. “Could she maybe help with all this? Whatever happened to her, anyway?”

“I imagine she’s long gone by now, Rainbow,” Rarity pointed out gently. “It’s been a thousand years after all. Surely someone would know of her whereabouts, otherwise.”

“But what if she’s, like, hiding or something?” Rainbow began to suggest.

“It doesn’t matter,” Creamy stressed, thumping the table to bring attention back onto her. She gazed at all of them in annoyance. “What does it matter to all of you, anyway?” She flung a hoof at Twilight. “Why would a changeling even care about something like this, for that matter?”

Twilight frowned. “We live on this world too, you know,” she reminded.

“Yes, but this hasn’t ever been an affair the changelings have concerned themselves with,” Creamy stressed, staring Twilight down. “You are the first changeling I’ve even seen in ages!” She gazed back at all of them once more, more critically this time. “So why do you all care? Is it just for your own gain, to selfishly preserve your own selves?”

“It’s because it’s the right thing to do,” Twilight replied resolutely. “We weren’t asked to come here. We came here because we all chose to. And we’ve all given up quite a lot doing so, putting our own well-beings on the line. Some of us aren’t even sure we’ll be able to go home even if we do succeed…and yet here we are. We most definitely aren’t doing this for ourselves, we’re doing this so to spare others the suffering, regardless of who or what they are.”

Creamy glared at her for a moment. “Well, I’m afraid you sacrificed for nothing then.”

A heavy and long silence fell within the hut after that.

Then Twilight turned for the door. “Creamy’s right, girls,” she said. “It’s time for us to leave. We’re clearly wasting our time here anyway.”

“But…but what about getting to the castle?” Pinkie started to object as they reluctantly started filing out.

“We’ll find another way,” Twilight promised, gently nudging the zebra out the door with the others. “But it doesn’t look like it’ll be with Creamy. I suspect she’s lost too much to care.” She then leveled one last glance at the pegasus mare before exiting too. “But we still care.”

Finally, left alone once again, Creamy slowly lowered herself back into her seat and proceeded to stare sadly into her cooling tea, lost and distant in thought on matters she long wanted to put behind her.

With Pinkie’s help, Twilight attempted to comb the zebra village for all the records she could find in hopes of learning anything more about Nightmare Moon, the Elements of Harmony, the castle they were hidden in, or even the Everfree Forest itself. Unfortunately, the zebras were more into keeping their history oral rather than written, and most of the zebras didn’t trust Twilight enough to want to tell her anything. And those who did, still didn’t tell her anything for her own protection, trying to keep her from doing anything they felt would be foolish. What written records she did find unfortunately didn’t tell her anything she hadn’t already learned about either Nightmare Moon or the elements, nothing useful about the Castle of the Two Sisters beyond a rough approximation of where it lay within the Everfree Forest, and anything she gleaned about the forest itself stopped being applicable after a certain distance inside. If it concerned anything too deep within, useful information started getting replaced with warnings of “abandon hope all who enter here” and so forth.

While she and Pinkie were working on that though, the rest were also combing the village for anyone who could serve as their guide in Creamy’s stead. But it was swiftly clear there was no one daring enough, let alone confident they could safely navigate all the dangers that deep into the forest. Finally, by the time dusk was starting to fall, having wasted most of their last day on these goals, they all gathered together again so to admit the obvious.

“We just can’t find anybody willing to do it,” Rainbow reported as they sat at the edges of the village, peering into the depths of the forest lying ahead of them. “Most anyone we ask just look at us as if we’re stupid.”

“Perhaps we are, to a certain degree,” Rarity conceded before shrugging. “But what else can we do at this point?” She looked to Twilight. “Did you find any useful information in your studies?”

“No,” Twilight admitted, before gazing into the sky, watching as the stars started to appear and foretelling just how little time they had left. “And at this point there’s not much point in continuing to try, because we’re out of time.”

“I guess I’m the best guide you’re going to get then,” Pinkie reasoned in an attempt to be optimistic. “And I can probably get you all pretty close, but…I can’t promise anything after that point, as much as I want to.” She shrugged. “I mean, maybe it won’t matter? I am kinda getting the feeling that maybe all the nasty critters in there aren’t the thing we should be worrying about, so…maybe that means I can manage guiding you after all?”

“That’ll have to be enough because we’re just going to have to take the risk,” Twilight concluded with a sigh before turning to Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. “Look, starting this quest was all me originally and Pinkie is the only mare willing to try and guide me the rest of the way there. So we have to do this, but the rest of you do not. I can’t ask any of you to go any further.”

But none of the three went anywhere. “Twilight,” Fluttershy began with a knowing grin, having already decided she wouldn’t leave and acting like it was already decided. “We’re losing precious time.”

Rainbow didn’t even acknowledge Twilight’s statement, glancing at Pinkie. “So what path are we taking, Pinkie?” she asked.

Twilight couldn’t help but grin a little at their support. “And Rarity?” she asked, already suspecting the dragon’s answer.

“I’d be grateful, Twilight, if you’d give the word for us to proceed,” Rarity said with a knowing grin of her own.

Twilight glanced at Pinkie, who was likewise grinning in support, before taking a deep breath. “All right then,” she said, inwardly thankful for the company. “But like Pinkie said, I can’t guarantee anything at this point, so I won’t lie—this might not end well for any of us.”

“Then how about I ensure that it doesn’t?” a new voice interjected, and they turned to see Creamy walking up to them.

Her arrival was a surprise to all. Rainbow squinted her eyes at the pegasus. “I thought you said you weren’t going to help us?”

“I did,” Creamy relented as she joined the group. She looked Twilight in the eye. “But clearly…I care more than I thought I did.” Twilight made a small grin at that confession. Creamy averted her gaze though, embarrassed. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she pressed ahead, taking the lead of the group. “Well, c’mon then, let’s get going before I talk myself out of this again.”

The group hurried after her. “Good idea,” Twilight remarked as she took the spot immediately behind Creamy. “I suspect we’ve got a lot of distance to cover and not a lot of time to do it in.”

Author's Note

Presenting the first time I've ever written for Zecora...and admittedly it'll probably be the last time too. Dang it, Zecora, you're a great character, but that rhyming dialogue of yours is a pain in the butt to write, particularly for me, someone who's not particularly good at poetry! :derpytongue2:

Castle of the Two Sisters

Everfree Forest already looked plenty gloomy during the day, but it looked even more so now that the darkness of night had fallen, engulfing it thickly and completely. This, naturally, didn’t help especially much with their nerves. Surprisingly though, the first half of their journey through the forest proceeded mostly without incident. Part of this seemed to be just good luck, but another was because both Creamy and Pinkie knew their way through this first half, what paths to take, and what dangers to look out for and give a wide berth. By so doing, they were able to largely avoid coming into contact with them. They still saw the odd signs of those dangers—at one point Creamy found recent tracks from a timberwolf and warned them to be on guard just in case it or its pack were still in the area—but none of the actual dangers themselves.

It eventually got to the point that Rainbow started getting overconfident about their chances to the point of bragging, arrogantly wondering aloud why they were so afraid of going in on their own in the first place and thinking the danger had been exaggerated. Rarity eventually knocked the griffon down a peg again by deliberately tripping her. Then she was brought down a peg for real once they entered the latter half of the journey, and slowly the threats they faced started to rise more and more, making it clear they weren’t so absent after all. At the same time, Pinkie’s ability to assist waned more and more, until finally the zebra made the sobering admission that she’d never ventured this deep into the forest before.

Fortunately, Creamy still knew her way just fine and continued avoiding the worst of the dangers. So even when they were about to stumble upon some of these, whether it were plant or animal (for there seemed to be plenty of both), she usually could stop them with just enough forewarning, backtrack if needed, and work their way around it and keep themselves out of the way of direct harm. Not that there weren’t still close calls—Fluttershy nearly stepped into the maw of a carnivorous plant at one point, and an angry manticore plowed by directly in front of them at another, thankfully not noticing them.

Probably the most unsettling close call though was when a whole stampede of varying deadly creatures very nearly trampled them. But though some quick thinking ducking behind a tree that fell in the chaos spared them, the fact the creatures were stampeding as if frightened by something was alarming, as it begged the question of what was so scary to frighten these beasts so badly? And despite all of these close calls, the fact they’d made the journey without too significant event or injury was just as much worrying as it was heartening, since they knew full well this shouldn’t have been the case…particularly once Twilight realized that stampede of creatures were all moving directly away from the very spot they were trying to reach.

“This has been too easy, hasn’t it?” Twilight muttered quietly to Creamy, moving up beside the pegasus leading them so the others following behind them wouldn’t overhear.

“Quite,” Creamy readily admitted. “I’ve made this journey more times than I’ve ever cared to admit, and yet I’ve never had this much success avoiding trouble. It’s…almost unsettling.”

“Could it be the late hour? We must be getting close to midnight or later by now.”

“No, in fact, if anything, the late hour would mean the forest should be at its most active and dangerous, not the reverse.” Creamy gave their surroundings an uneasy glance. “You can sense something is unnerving the whole forest and I don’t like it.”

“Are we possibly doing something to scare or at least intimidate some of the worst creatures away then? I mean, when was the last time you made this journey in the company of a dragon, hippogriff, griffon, or changeling?”

Creamy chuckled a little but shook her head. “Don’t oversell yourself and your friends, Twilight. Most of these creatures are strong enough, big enough, or just overall deadly enough that they aren’t going to care who or what you are if they think they can get a good meal out of it.”

“Well, in that case, a part of me is almost thankful because I don’t particularly want to meet my end in some creature’s digestive tract,” Twilight admitted, gazing into the dark woods surrounding them. “But then the other part of me is screaming that these creatures all choosing to run and hide instead of attack on tonight of all nights probably isn’t a coincidence.” She looked at Creamy again. “One of the forewarning signs of Nightmare Moon’s return is odd animal behavior, after all. This would seem to fit the ticket.”

“And I fear you’re right,” Creamy agreed. “I’m not sure if she intended it that way or if it’s just an unintentional consequence of it, but her imminent return does seem to be affecting the animals.” She gazed out into the darkness again too. “More than that, even. It’s almost as if the whole world itself is reacting to her return.”

“Serving as an unfortunate reminder that the clock’s ticking,” Twilight added, heaving a sigh. “So I’ve got to ask—how much longer until we reach the castle?”

“Hopefully not too much longer,” Creamy replied. “We’re making good progress, so I think we can still make it there before it’s too late.” She then went quiet for a moment. “Twilight, I should also tell you that once we’re there…my path will probably go somewhere else, separate from yours. So I won’t exactly be at your sides anymore once we’re at the castle. I don’t intend to leave you high and dry, of course, but…” she drew in a deep breath. “There are my own things that I need to do out there, things that I’ve…long been trying to avoid.”

Twilight was quiet for a long moment. “You know, I haven’t told them,” she told Creamy suddenly, motioning back at her friends, “About what you’re trying to hide from everyone.”

Creamy pointedly didn’t make eye contact with her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Twilight turned her knowing gaze at her for a moment. “I am a changeling,” she reminded pointedly. “And as such, I know changeling magic when I see it.”

Creamy’s motions suddenly seemed to get a little stiffer.

Twilight nodded to the golden amulet the pegasus wore about her neck. “That amulet of yours is quite powerful and very precise with its magic. I’m guessing that’s why none of the zebras have managed to see through it like they saw through my own disguise. But I know the Shapeshifter’s Amulet when I see it. There are several changelings back in the Archivum who’ve long been wondering where it’d gotten off to, in fact.”

Creamy still didn’t make any notable response or reaction to what she was saying, but her pointed silence was starting to seem forced and noteworthy.

So Twilight took her gaze off of her again. “You know, once Nightmare Moon has returned, it’s probably not going to matter as much anymore.”

“You say that as if I will be the one who’ll have to face her,” Creamy responded darkly.

Twilight glanced at her. “You can’t hide from her forever, Princess Celestia.”

To her credit, the pegasus mare beside her successfully kept her reaction to a minimum, at most just closing her eyes for a long moment before drawing in another deep breath. “I haven’t been referred to by that name in a very long time,” she murmured.

“Upwards to a thousand years, I would expect,” Twilight responded back.

“Does it even matter who I am anymore, then?”

“It does to you. I’m sure it’d matter to her as well.” Twilight’s gaze turned somewhat sad. “That’s how you knew so much about what had happened, isn’t it? You were there.”

“I dearly wish I hadn’t been,” the former princess in disguise admitted. “Maybe then it all could’ve been different. Maybe then Equestria wouldn’t have collapsed on my watch. Maybe then Nightmare Moon wouldn’t have ever come to be. Maybe then I’d still have my sister.” She was quiet for a long moment. “I am no princess anymore, Twilight. I haven’t been for quite some time, and I honestly think it is deserved. In many ways, this whole mess is my own fault.”

“Then, if I can ask, why were you so resistant towards trying to fix it?” Twilight couldn’t help but ask the ancient pony.

“Because I’m not the one that can stop her,” she replied resolutely. “I’ve already tried and failed, and I know, if it were up to me, I’d only fail again.” She glanced at Twilight. “That’s part of the reason why I ended up changing my mind about all of this. Perhaps it is foolish of me…but I’m hoping against hope you and your friends really can do something to…break the cycle finally.”

Intimidated by the pressure that put on her, Twilight went silent after that, which seemed to suit Creamy just fine, going right back to as if no big reveals had been dropped between them. This continued until Pinkie suddenly spoke up behind them.

“Hey, is that a tower I see in the distance?” she asked, pointing with her hoof ahead of them.

They all followed her gaze and, indeed, hidden among the shadowy shapes of foliage around them stood the distinct outline of a castle tower, or at least what remained of one—it looked ancient and dilapidated now.

“That must be it then,” Twilight surmised, gazing up at it, “The Castle of the Two Sisters.”

“Well then, what are we waiting around here for?” Rainbow asked, pushing on ahead. “Let’s get over there already!”

They didn’t have much further to go before the forest abruptly opened into a spacious clearing, at the center of which the ruins of the castle they’d been looking for sat atop a small knoll. But barring the path between them and it was a large ravine, the bottom of which seeming invisible in the darkness of the night. A rope bridge had at some point crossed the gap, but it’d had since collapsed, dangling uselessly from only one side of the wide crevasse.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy muttered as she peered into the massive crack in the earth. “I certainly wouldn’t want to fall down there.”

“And no one has to,” Rainbow reminded, nudging the hippogriff. “Not when you’ve got wings!”

Pinkie raised a hoof. “I don’t have wings!” she happily reminded.

“Not to worry, darling,” Rarity said, scooping up the zebra in her arms before spreading her wings, “I think we can carry you across easily enough.”

“Wheee!” Pinkie squealed as she was flown across the ravine, Fluttershy and Rainbow flying behind her.

Twilight started to follow, but paused as she noticed Creamy lingering behind. “Are you coming?” she asked.

Creamy shook her head. “I got you to the castle as promised,” she said. “But like I said, I have my own things to do, so we’ll have to part ways here.” She nodded for the changeling to proceed though. “You go on ahead, though. And Twilight…good luck.”

“You too, princess,” Twilight said back. “I hope you find the closure you’re looking for.”

She then fluttered on across the ravine to where the others were waiting for her. Upon landing she looked back, but saw Creamy had already vanished from view, gone to do whatever else she’d come to do. Hoping she’d be okay on her own, Twilight turned her attention back to the task at hoof and she and her compatriots resumed their hike towards the castle. Even though it was mostly in ruins now, it was hard to not be impressed by the structure, especially as it still wasn’t too hard to envision how it must’ve looked at its prime.

“It’s a pity, really,” Rarity murmured as they neared the entrance. “It must have been a simply gorgeous building in its day.”

“Yeah, but we’re not here to sightsee,” Rainbow reminded, eager to get on with this. “So c’mon, let’s go find those elements already and whip some Nightmare Moon flank!”

They cautiously entered the castle, wary of any dangers lying within, but instead they found a spartan chamber with its roof almost entirely caved in, allowing the twinkling light of the stars and the glow of the moon to shine inside. Twilight couldn’t help but eye the outline of Mare in the Moon marring the moon’s surface, remembering they likely had only a matter of hours to minutes to find the Elements of Harmony, figure out how to use them, and prepare to face Nightmare Moon. But of course, it was never going to be as simple as the elements just lying out in the middle of the floor for easy taking, and as they glanced around, they didn’t see any obvious suggestions on where the magical artifacts may be.

“So, um,” Fluttershy finally asked the question, “where do you think we’ll find them?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, leading deeper into the chamber. “But let’s look around a little, see if we can’t find any—” she cut herself short when she suddenly noticed movement in the corner of her eye and whipped her head around to look into the shadows of the room, eyes widening. “LOOK OUT!”

But she realized what was about to happen a second too late, and the magical attack burst forth and slammed into them all like a wave, throwing them into the opposite wall and adhering them to it with a thick green gel. Though they all tried to wiggle free, its grip was too good and had them too tightly pinned to the wall.

“Ugh!” Rarity cried as she tried to free one of her arms to no avail. “What is this horrid stuff?”

“That, my friend,” spoke their attacker, stepping out of the shadows and into view, “is changeling gel.”

Twilight recognized him immediately. “Pharynx,” she growled in dismay.

“Oh, it’s you again!” Rarity bemoaned and only redoubled her attempts to free herself. “And here I was starting to think we had successfully gotten you off of our tails!”

The changeling smirked as he stopped to stand smugly before them. “Oh no,” he assured them, “we simply fell behind for a bit, but we were always going to catch up with you again. We’ve actually been waiting for you for a couple of hours now, so it took you long enough to finally get here.”

“But how?” Twilight cried, also trying to free herself, but even as a changeling who knew more about changeling gel than all of her compatriots, the gel’s grip held tight. The fact a blob of gel had also covered her horn, blocking her magic, definitely didn’t help. “How did you even know where we’d be so accurately?”

“Well, first we had a little talk with Lord Goldstone in the Griffon Order about it,” Pharynx began with an unpleasant chuckle.

Twilight’s eyes bulged in horror. “You attacked a head of state?!” she exclaimed, fearing the consequences.

Pharynx rolled his eyes. “Only because he was the only one who had the info we needed, and I wouldn’t use the word attack myself—the fool nearly wet himself in his hurry to tell us everything he knew about you lot, at which point we knocked him out with venom so to sneak away with ease. But that was what got us into the general neighborhood. As for getting the rest of the way, though…” He glanced to one side in time for his fellow two changelings to drag forward two more creatures that were bound and imprisoned, both of whom were immediately recognized.

Twilight’s heart dropped. “Spike, Applejack!” she cried in alarm upon realizing the diamond dog and parrot had been captured since they last saw them.

“Are you two all right?” Fluttershy asked, concerned for their well-being.

“These scumbags haven’t done anything to you, have they?” Rainbow growled, shooting Pharynx a scowl.

“Well,” Spike grumbled back in reply, “we’re both not too happy about the situation, but other than a few scrapes and bumps, we’re okay.”

“It’s less me and Spike that Ah’m worried ’bout at the moment anyway,” Applejack said, shooting her changeling captors a glare before giving the others an apologetic look. “Sorry, though…we tried ta keep ‘em from findin’ out where y’all were goin’. Big Mac and Apple Bloom even tried…”

“Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom!” Twilight declared, realizing the other two Apple siblings were conspicuously absent. “What did you do to Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom?” she demanded of Pharynx.

“Nothing significant,” Pharynx assured, “Once we had the information we wanted, we also dosed them with venom and left them at their quaint little airship to sleep it off.” He motioned to Spike and Applejack. “And as you’ve already been told, we’ve made it a point to try and not harm these two. It’s now up to you, Twilight, on whether or not it stays that way. So will you surrender this time?”

Twilight growled in frustration at his blatant threatening, not wanting to deal with it. “Pharynx, we don’t have time for this!” she bellowed at him, anxiously peering up at the moon looming in the sky above them. Was it just her, or did it seem like a faint halo of stars had started to surround the lunar orb?

“I agree!” Pharynx concurred, perhaps deliberately missing her point. He nodded his head at the other two changelings who began brandishing their horns at their two captives. Clearly Applejack and Spike were their bargaining chip so to get Twilight to cooperate with their demands. “I would decide to give up this silly quest of yours quickly, or else you might not like what will come next.”

But his threats weren’t having the desired impact on the others. “You fool!” Rarity even flat out insulted him. “Nightmare Moon will return at almost any moment!”

“To this exact spot, even!” Pinkie added, as if just trying to be helpful.

“Not my problem!” Pharynx retaliated, clearly not having much belief in the threat. He pointed a frustrated hoof at Twilight. “You have strung me all around this whole continent trying to chase you down, and I am not playing your games any longer! So you have two choices. Surrender and allow yourself to be taken back to the Changeling Kingdom so to stand for your wrongs, or ensure your little band of misfits have a very unpleasant evening, starting with the diamond dog and parrot!”

The two changelings threatening Spike and Applejack loomed closer, pulling back their heads so to better expose their throats to their sharp horns. “Twilight!” Spike squealed in fear when they did this.

“Fine, fine!” Twilight conceded in desperation, seeing she didn’t have much other choice. “I surrender! But you have to let me find the Elements of Harmony before you take me away!” As she said this, she glanced back up at the moon again.

To her horror, she found the Mare in the Moon markings upon its surface had somehow vanished without a trace.

Pharynx remained fully focused on her though, paying no attention to the events beginning to take place around him. “Absolutely not!” he commanded, stepping towards her. “There will be no further delays, no attempts to buy time, and no more searching for anything. You will only surrender, submit to being restrained, and then we—”

He was cut short with a cold wind rushed through the ruined castle, forcing him to stop and brace against it. Rolling in with it was a shroud of darkness that obscured the light of the night sky, plunging the chamber into near darkness. Infuriated, Pharynx lit his horn and pointed it in Twilight’s direction, thinking she was behind this.

“What have you done?” he demanded, the sound of what seemed to be distant thunder now rumbling in the distance on top of it all.

“This isn’t me, Pharynx!” Twilight swiftly assured. “I’m not the one doing this!”

Pharynx didn’t believe her though. “No more games!” he bellowed as the wind died down and an eerie quiet started to settle again. “I have no more patience for your attempts to put this off any longer, so you had better comply with all of my demands right this very moment, or I swear on the name of the Informis Una herself that I…will…”

He slowly trailed off, losing all of his grandeur as everyone started getting the distinct impression they were no longer alone in the room. A sense of dread wrapping around them, they one by one slowly turned their heads to look towards the far end of the chamber. There, standing on a small podium, was a tall and menacing looking alicorn, colored black as night and with an ethereal pale blue mane made of sparkling stars, gazing at them with dangerous slitted eyes.

“Oh, by all means,” Nightmare Moon remarked coldly, “don’t stop on my account.”

Perceiving her as the greater threat that she was, Pharynx and his two cohorts immediately dropped what they were doing and whipped around to face the towering pony, charging their horns. “Who are you?” Pharynx demanded, attempting to flex his authority and stay in control of the situation.

It was entirely too late for that though, and Twilight and the others could only watch in dismay as Nightmare Moon started forward, immediately seizing the focus of everything in the room. “Is it not obvious? Have you all really forgotten who I am in my absence?” she growled at the three changelings that dared imply her harm.

The trio replied by firing a salvo of spells at her. Nightmare Moon deflected all of them with the simplest of ease, knocking them back at the changelings who in turn had to shield themselves from their own attacks impacting near their hooves.

“Does my crown mean nothing now?” Nightmare Moon continued as she advanced on the attacking changelings, who started to back away now they began to understand just what they were dealing with. “Am I not allowed any of my authority after spending a thousand years imprisoned? Did you not recall the stories of me? The legends? Did you not see the signs?”

She fired a powerful spell into the floor underneath them, causing it to explode and knock them across the room like ragdolls. The shockwave likewise pushed Spike and Applejack, having been left abandoned in their bindings, back onto the floor themselves. The rest could only turn their heads, shielding their faces, before helplessly watching the ensuing disaster continue. With a mighty flap of her wings, Nightmare Moon soared over the hole she’d just created, sailing through the residual cloud of smoke wafting up from it like a demon closing in on its prey. She landed in front of Pharynx and his cohorts before they could scramble back into their hooves, snatching them up in her magic and dragging them close to her furious face.

“Clearly not,” Nightmare Moon observed as she sneered at them. “And unfortunately for you, I have no patience for the foolishly ignorant.”

And with that, she forcibly flung them up and through the open roof of the chamber, the three changelings vanishing from view as they rocketed up into the night sky and out of sight. Nightmare Moon watched them sail away like one watching a pig roll in mud, before with one sharp movement she turned her gaze back onto the remaining creatures in the room, proving to their dismay she had most certainly not forgotten them.

“Now,” she began, approaching Applejack and Spike struggling to pick themselves off the floor, since they were the closest, “as for you…”

“Oh nelly,” Applejack murmured as the black alicorn proceeded to loom dangerously over them, Spike likewise cowering beside her.

“Stop!” Rainbow suddenly shouted in a desperate but likely foolish attempt to prevent the two meeting the same fate as the changelings.

Nightmare Moon froze before shooting the five creatures adhered to the wall a glare. “Well, well, well,” she said as, with an almost casual flick of her horn, she enclosed Spike and Applejack within a forcefield dome. “Someone certainly is daring…or perhaps just crazy?” She narrowed her slitted eyes at them, pinned and helpless against her. “I suppose none of you have any idea who you’re dealing with either, do you?”

“I do,” Twilight responded, attempting to be brave. She had no idea if saying so would help or even where she was going with this, but she felt she had to say something. “I know who you are. You’re the Mare in the Moon, the Fallen Sister, the Bringer of Night Eternal…” She swallowed as Nightmare Moon came closer, looking her right in the eye. “…Nightmare Moon.”

Nightmare Moon gazed at her sternly for a long and tense moment. Then, finally, a small smile graced her lips. “Very good,” she remarked approvingly. “Somecreature actually remembers me after all.” Her smile then turned cruel. “Then surely you must also know why I’m here.”

The changeling started to cower, knowing full well the answer and not liking it one bit. “You’re here to…to…”

“I’m here to reclaim what should’ve been mine a millennium ago,” Nightmare Moon finished, too impatient to wait for her to finish stuttering it out. “In short, you should remember this day well, because it also will be your last. For from this moment on, the night will last…forever.”

The alicorn let that ominous statement echo out for a long moment, sinking into their minds. Then, apparently satisfied, she smirked again and turned away, heading for the castle exit. “I suppose you all are of no immediate problem to me in any case, and I have more important concerns to deal with for now.” she conceded as she purposely strode away from them. She then glanced back at them to make one parting quip. “But do…stick around.”

Then, chuckling to herself, she exited, leaving them alone still all trapped or restrained, no less afraid, or having absolutely any means to doing anything about it, much less stop it or save themselves.

Rainbow, breaking the silence, managed to sum it up. “We are absolutely f—”

FWUMP!

The impact of Nightmare Moon’s hooves striking the ravine floor outside the castle echoed up and down the chasm of earth. Paying it no mind though, she surveyed it only long enough to ensure no immediate threats or annoyances before starting forward at a leisurely walk down its length, heading where its far end looped around one side of the castle ruins above her. There, the ravine transitioned into a spacious cavern, looking seemingly inconspicuous from the outside. However, once inside, it was quickly apparent it was no ordinary one, for hidden within was a sizeable and crystalline willow-like tree glowing with magical energies, bearing five major branches and a starburst-like shape at its center. At the tip of all five of its limbs were colored gems, also visibly brimming with raw magical power.

However, standing between it and Nightmare Moon was one creamy-white pegasus mare. And it was clear from her resolute look that she did not intend to just step out of the way.

Nightmare Moon slowed to a halt and regarded her with an almost amused look, a look that grew upon sighting the golden amulet strapped about her neck. “You look rather different from when I last recall seeing you,” she quipped aloud, smirking.

“A lot has changed since you last set hoof on this land, sister,” Creamy firmly replied. She took a deep breath. “On the other hoof, I fear you haven’t changed much at all since I last saw you.”

“Your pathetic attempt to remove me from the picture only kept me preoccupied for a time, little more,” Nightmare Moon said in a calculated manner, resuming her approach towards the magical tree behind the pegasus. “You may have won our last battle, but you most certainly have not won the war.”

Creamy took a step forward to show she would not be easily moved, continuing to block the other’s path forward. “I cannot allow you at the Tree of Harmony, Luna,” she informed.

Nightmare Moon scowled. “Do not call me that!” she bellowed, words full of venom. “I am not that mewling little pony anymore!”

“One cannot escape who they are that easily, Luna,” Creamy nonetheless persisted, undeterred. “Trust me, I’ve spent most of the past thousand years trying, yet here I am, confronting my past because it has found me once again.”

Her words only seemed to anger Nightmare Moon more though. “Then why are you hiding behind that blasted amulet?” she growled, lighting her horn. Using her magic, she grabbed the amulet around Creamy’s neck, forcibly deactivated its magic, then ripped it from her neck all in one fluid movement. When she did, Creamy’s form vanished in a flash of magical fire, revealing instead a much taller white alicorn with a flowing mane colored a light blue with pale turquoise and pink highlights within it. However, she wore absolutely no other forms of attire or regalia. Nightmare Moon grinned in recognition of this new form nonetheless. “Now that is more like it,” she quipped, pleased while using her magic to destroy the captured amulet in a burst of sparks and fire. “Although I must say, these thousand years do not seem to have been all that kind to you.”

“Like I said before, Luna,” Celestia said, swiftly readjusting to her original form and modifying her stance accordingly, “Much has changed while you were away.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Nightmare Moon growled, eyes narrowing again. It was clear she didn’t think much of the claim. “But it won’t matter, because now that I’ve returned, it will all change in my favor. Equestria will be mine, its subjects will bow down to me, and you will not stand…”

“Equestria is gone, Luna,” Celestia interrupted, getting right to the point.

For once, this gave Nightmare Moon pause. “…What do you mean it’s gone?”

“There is no more Equestria anymore. The turmoil of your uprising and our fight saw to that. Our mistakes while fighting each other only brought it to ruin, ripping itself apart not long after your banishment.”

Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened briefly in concealed surprise but quickly narrowed again. “You’re lying.”

“I don’t have to,” Celestia stressed, staring her down. “You can go and look for yourself. This is not the nation you left. It simply doesn’t exist anymore.”

“And you did nothing to stop it?” Nightmare Moon questioned, finding that idea hard to believe.

“Oh, I tried,” Celestia promised, her eyes becoming hurt while recalling what happened. “I was desperate to try and prevent its fall. But princess or not, I was still just one pony. That wasn’t enough to stop our subjects from having their faith in their princesses be rattled to the core. Nor was it enough to stop ponies from turning on anyone or anything they thought may have conspired with assisting Nightmare Moon’s brief rise to power. I was suddenly scrambling to try and stop a civil war from breaking out on our very streets.”

Now she was the one advancing towards Nightmare Moon. “Because I thusly couldn’t spare enough ponies to keep defending our borders, the changelings decided to exploit the turmoil and expand their control beyond the Badlands. Meanwhile, the dragons started driving ponies out of the southeastern coasts in a bid to take the resources there for themselves. The hippogriffs and parrots then started moving in to protect the inhabitants of the other coasts, forming alliances, protectorates, and trade relations until their influence became so dominate that they eventually formed into new nations under their control. And by that time, I was so stretched thin trying to hold things together that I had no choice but default on a major transaction with the griffons, and as a result was forced to surrender a large swath of land which they promptly took full control of.”

She sighed, bowing her head sadly. “By that time, there wasn’t enough left worth fighting for. Our subjects decided Equestria was lost and gradually left, immigrating west in hopes of starting again. There are scant few ponies even still here on this entire continent.” She gazed pleadingly at Nightmare Moon. “Luna, you are fighting for a throne that no longer exists, to rule over subjects that are no longer here. All you will find here are other nations who’ve settled this land in Equestria’s stead, because we failed to prevent its downfall…and in many ways they were the ones who ultimately restored order, not us. And they will not recognize your authority or any claims you make to this land. Most probably don’t even know who you are.”

“And all of this is my fault?” Nightmare Moon challenged suddenly, interjecting for the first time since Celestia started relating all of this.

“No,” Celestia admitted, and stood firm before the other alicorn. “It is my fault and my fault alone. I failed Equestria, I failed my subjects, and above all, I failed you. If I hadn’t been so full of myself, seen you needed help and not neglected your needs, to instead realize you were about to resort to dark magic to fill the voids I hadn’t been helping fill…we wouldn’t be both here now, mere husks of ourselves fighting for a broken land that no longer cares.” Her gaze softened, pained. “And I am sorry, Luna…deeply.”

Nightmare Moon stood there for a long moment, genuinely taken aback and momentarily uncertain how to proceed. For a split second her façade cracked and the scared little sister still somewhere underneath it all peeked out of hurt eyes. But then as quick as it had appeared, that crack sealed itself again and the raw fury returned.

“NO!” With one swift swipe of her hoof, Nightmare Moon backhanded Celestia across the face and proceeded to loom over her. “This is merely a setback at most. If you say Equestria is occupied by foreign intruders because you were too incompetent to stop it, then I will simply clean house. This has changed nothing, Celestia—I will still take it all back for myself, and I will remove anything that stands in my way!”

Celestia, rubbing briefly at her stinging face, straightened and stared her down again. “I can’t let you do that, Luna,” she stated determinedly.

“Fine by me,” Nightmare Moon replied, lighting her horn and taking position to fight. “I was planning to start with you anyway.”

She fired her horn at Celestia, but Celestia swiftly blocked the spell with one of her own and returned fire, attempting to stun the other alicorn. Nightmare Moon, however, showed no restraint and retaliated with as much force she could muster. While the Tree of Harmony stood glowing behind them, the two alicorns dueled for the fate of the land, one trying to get at the tree while the other was trying to keep the first away from it. It was clear the two were evenly matched though, caught in a deadlock while they locked horns fighting. So Nightmare Moon finally evened the odds, using her magic to rip a bolder out of the floor and use it to bludgeon Celestia out of the way, physically knocking her across the cave.

Despite being quite shaken from the blow, Celestia immediately worked to get back on her hooves, but with her no longer standing in the way Nightmare Moon surged ahead for her real prize. Using her magic, she reached out to the closest of the magical gemstones perched on the tree’s branches, pulling it free and bringing towards herself, cackling as she thought she’d succeeded.

Instead, the gem had barely floated a foot away from the tree before its image flickered as if static then vanished entirely, like it had never existed. Shocked, Nightmare Moon stared at the spot it once occupied before hurriedly grabbing for another of the gems, only to have the same thing happen. Swiftly, she tried again with all of gems but to no avail. All of them quickly dissolved away into nothing the moment she tried removing them from the tree. And all at once, she realized why—they were fake and she’d only been lured into thinking they weren’t so to keep her distracted.

Infuriated, Nightmare Moon spun around to face Celestia, aware of what was happening and about to reenter the fight. “YOU!” she bellowed, blasting her off of her hooves again and then jumping on her, pinning her to the floor. “Where are they? WHERE ARE THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY?!”

“We really need to get out of here!” Fluttershy reasoned as the hippogriff wiggled against the changeling gel pinning her and her cohorts to the wall.

“What do you think I am trying to do?” Rarity hissed in-between grunts, the dragoness straining to use all of her strength to try and pry herself free to no apparent avail.

“Grr!” Rainbow growled as she too found flexing all of her muscles against the gel not enough. “This…stuff…just…won’t…give!” She stopped for a moment to recover from the exertion, panting. “You know, its super annoying you changelings even came up with this stuff, Twilight!”

“I’m sorry!” Twilight snapped as she likewise struggled without gain. “I don’t like this situation either! If we don’t get out of here before Nightmare Moon comes back…”

“…then we’re dead creatures walking, I get it!” Rainbow snapped. “But you’re one of the creatures who actually use this stuff—so how come you haven’t just popped right out of it?”

“If I could use my magic then I could exert enough force to rip free, but I can’t so long as my horn’s covered and I can’t fix that without first freeing my hooves!” Twilight retorted, motioning up at her gel-covered horn.

“Well, think of something, because the rest of us aren’t going to figure it out on our own!” Rainbow said before glaring down at the floor where Applejack and Spike were still trapped inside of Nightmare Moon’s forcefield. “And what the heck are you two doing? Trying to smother each other?”

“Landsakes, no!” Applejack shouted back, having scooted herself up against Spike who had, for reasons the rest couldn’t discern from their angle, pressed his face into her back. “Spike’s tryin’ ta chew through my bindings! If even just one of us can git free…”

“But you’re still trapped in that forcefield bubble thingy!” Pinkie pointed out, the zebra alternating between flexing each of her limbs individually, hoping one would eventually pull free of the gel. “How do you plan to get out of that?”

“One step atta time here, Miz Zebra,” Applejack said, “unless ya got some hokum-pokum or wutever ya zebra do ta git us outta here.”

“Nothing that elaborate,” Pinkie assured with an amused grin. “I’d need a cauldron and a bit of brewing to do that anyway, but oh boy, if I did have a cauldron…why, I could probably bake us a portal out of here! Also, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced! I’m Pinkie! What’s your name?”

“Uh, well, Ah’m Applejack. Ah’d say it’s nice ta meet ya, but uh, given current circumstances…”

“Ugh!” Rainbow Dash interrupted loudly. “We don’t have time for this! We need to get ourselves free and escape from here already!”

“What we need to do is find the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight corrected, “Or else escaping isn’t going to do us much good in the long run!”

“Got it!” Spike suddenly shouted through gritted teeth as Applejack’s paw bindings abruptly snapped and came away in his mouth. He then swiftly turned his head and spat out the changeling gel they were made with. “Phoo! Bleh! That stuff is nasty!”

Her paws now free, Applejack quickly went about freeing her feet then releasing Spike as well. But they were still trapped inside the dome-shaped forcefield placed over them and no matter how much they kicked and beat upon its sides it didn’t give way in the slightest. They then started to search for any other way to escape the barrier.

Spike stomped one foot on the floor a couple of times. “Hey, do you think this forcefield has a bottom?” he asked aloud. “Because if it doesn’t, I think I might be able to just dig us a tunnel going underneath it!”

“Worth a try either way!” Applejack reasoned and assisted with clearing away debris as Spike proceeded to pull up the floor tiles and dig a hole into the earth underneath with surprising speed. Soon both creatures were out of immediate sight.

Meanwhile, Rarity’s frustration at her failure to free herself reached a breaking point. “All right, time for a new approach!” she snapped upon concluding brute strength wasn’t cutting it. “I apologize in advance for this, but I promise to try and not singe anyone!”

Then before anyone could ask what she meant, she took a deep breath and breathed a thin gout of flame, turning her head so it burned along one side of her body. The flames came dangerously close enough to some of the others that they had to shield themselves as best as their pinned positions would allow. But slowly, it became clear the heat of the flames were slowly melting or burning their way through the gel, and after another one or two bursts, Rarity was finally able to rip free her right paw with a victorious cry.

“Rarity, quick!” Twilight urged, trying to position her head as close as she could to the dragoness, “Try and get this gel off of my horn!”

Bending down as far as the remaining changeling gel adhering her in place allowed, Rarity managed to scrape off most of the large glob of gel covering the changeling’s horn, allowing it to light once again. Now free to use her magic, Twilight swiftly used it to grab herself and tug, stretching the gel until she finally pulled free and was able to safely flutter to the floor.

She then turned to try and free the others. “Nuh-uh!” Pinkie interjected, motioning with her head to move on. “Go find the Elements of Harmony before Queen Meanie-Pants comes back!”

“Oh, right, right!” Twilight said, having forgotten her own advice in her haste to help her friends. She searched the chamber for any sign of the missing artifacts, but there weren’t any more clues to their whereabouts than when they first entered. “I…I don’t know where they are though, and there can’t possibly be enough time to do a more thorough search!”

“Oh my!” Fluttershy suddenly declared, her attention drawn to a nearby window, seeing bursts of magical energy exploding outside. “I think something’s happening…something big!”

Twilight turned to steal a glance too and winced. “I hope that just means Creamy’s distracting Nightmare Moon for us,” she remarked aloud before going back to searching.

“Creamy?” Pinkie repeated in surprise. “Why in the world would she be fighting Nightmare Moon?”

Before Twilight could reply, a nearby floor tile thumped a couple of times then popped free, allowing the somewhat dirtied Spike and Applejack to clamber out of the tunnel they’d made. “Ha!” the parrot declared, looking back at the now empty forcefield they’d burrowed under, “That sure worked like a treat!”

“Twilight!” Spike meanwhile declared, shaking dirt off of himself and hurrying over to the changeling. “While I was digging, I noticed evidence of some kind of empty gap near that side of the room, under the floor.” He pointed with one paw. “It’s too heavily enforced for me to dig into, but I think it might be some kind of secret compartment!”

“Let’s hope you’re right, Spike,” Twilight said before sending him to assist freeing the others—Rarity had made more progress freeing herself but was still stuck to the wall and unable to free any of the others. Meanwhile, Twilight scanned the floor with her magic, searching for anything that would react or trigger from it, before finding a rectangular section she was reasonably certain was a hidden door. “Oh, the enchantment operating this better still work,” she pleaded aloud as she worked to activate it with her magic.

Fortunately, it still did. With a rumble, the hidden door slid open and from within a large stone podium automatically rose up to occupy the space it’d cleared. Five arms branching off of the central base had a sphere balancing at the ends in corresponding stands, each of the spheres bearing a different symbol marking it. Twilight gasped as she took in the sight.

“These must be it!” she declared, “The Elements of Harmony!” She motioned to Applejack standing nearby. “Applejack, help me get all of these down!”

Working together, the changeling and parrot lifted the spheres from the arms and collected them in a rough circle on the floor. Moving uncertainly, Twilight then approached the circle and started to scan the spheres with her magic, trying to determine how to use or activate what she prayed were indeed the right artifacts.

“Ah notice there’s only five,” Applejack observed, watching the changeling do this. “Didn’t ya say ya need six? Where do ya think the last one is?”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight admitted as she worked. “But my research suggests the final one can be revealed by properly triggering the other five with the right magic. I’m hoping that’s also what will activate the elements so we can use them against Nightmare Moon.” She strained her magic, trying to find the key. “I’m not sure what’ll happen when I find it, though.”

“Oh, do try to hurry!” Fluttershy pleaded, watching the commotion continuing outside while Spike tried to figure out a way to free her. “Whatever is happening outside seems to be getting worse, and I don’t think—oh no!”

She was cut short when the form of a creature was bodily hurled out of the ravine and impacted the ground, digging a small trench as it slid into it. Whoever it was didn’t immediately pull themselves free of the debris. Knowing time was running out, Twilight made a quick judgment call.

“Applejack, go help Spike free the others!” she commanded while also trying to not break her concentration. “If I haven’t figured this out by the time you do, then all of you need to get out of here and to safety while you still can! I’ll stay here and keep trying to work this out for as long as I can.”

“What?” Rainbow bellowed. “I didn’t tagalong for this whole adventure just to leave you behind, Twilight!”

“I can’t guarantee your safety if you stay!” Twilight snapped back, half-turning her head in Rainbow’s direction. “You all could end up hurt!”

“A necessary risk if it means ensuring the same doesn’t befall you!” Rarity countered, now half-free from the gel. “I have already given up a fair bit coming this far, so I am more than willing to continue to do so—how about the rest of you, girls?”

“Oh yes!” Fluttershy agreed, Spike nodding in agreement beside her. “I couldn’t possibly abandon you when you need help.”

“But…” Twilight started to object.

“C’mon, Twilight!” Pinkie said, joining in with a big and confident grin, “Think less gloom-and-doom and more smile-and-beguile!”

Applejack placed her talons over Twilight’s shoulder. “Twi, Ah promise ya, with all the honest truth, we’re gonna git outta this by workin’ together.”

Twilight hesitated, contemplating all of the many ways this could still go bad, but heartened by the unwavering support of the others, she slowly nodded. “Okay then,” she said, reaching up to give Applejack’s talons a pat, “together it is.”

Applejack grinned then hurried off to help free the others. “C’mon Spike, let’s git this lot off this wall so we all can show that mean-ol’ walkin’ fairytale wut fer!”

Twilight, meanwhile, continued to work the spheres with her magic, desperately trying to find the solution that’d make them work. Gradually, the spheres started to glow and spark, even shift slightly from their positions. “I think I’m getting it! I think I might’ve—”

She was cut short with a bolt of magical energy suddenly shot through the castle entrance and struck her in the back, sending the changeling skidding across the room.

“Twilight!” Applejack shouted and started to double back to her.

Spike started to run after her too but was stopped short when an aura of magic seized him. “Hold it,” Nightmare Moon growled darkly as she stormed back into the castle, looking none too pleased. She bound Spike in magical chains before letting him thump to the floor again, unable to move. “I think you have all done enough.”

Rarity twisted around to try and spew fire at the dark mare, but didn’t get far before another spell from the alicorn clamped the dragon’s snout shut and pinned her back to the wall with more magical bindings. That done, Nightmare Moon continued on past, heading towards Twilight and the spheres still lying on the floor. Applejack attempted to fling herself at one of the alicorn’s legs but the parrot was summarily thrown off with ease, sent bouncing across the room, then sealed within a new forcefield.

“Don’t you dare do anything to Twilight!” Rainbow declared despite still being fully pinned to the wall by gel, “She’s got the elements and won’t hesitate to use them against you!”

“You mean these elements?” Nightmare Moon asked snidely, before rearing up and, with one slam of her forehooves, shattered all five spheres into useless shards. Seeing the looks of horror from the others, she cackled loudly. “You fools!” she shouted at them, her tone degrading. “You never had a prayer of defeating me! And now you will all pay the price for daring to defy my rule!”

“No…they won’t.”

“What?” Nightmare Moon snapped, whipping around to see Twilight weakly picking herself up, using the podium the spheres had sat upon as a brace. “You’re kidding, right? You really think you can stop me now?”

“Alone? No,” Twilight said, grinning confidently as she steadied herself. “But I’m not alone, I never was, and that’s the point.” She looked thankfully at her friends, all looking on at her in varying forms of confusion before back at the alicorn threatening her. “Do you even know what the Elements of Harmony are, Nightmare Moon? What they represent?”

“Do not waste my time with games!” Nightmare Moon said, turning around to fully face the lone changeling. “What difference does it make anyway? I destroyed them all!” She kicked a hoof at the shards still littering the floor.

“No you didn’t,” Twilight reminded, grin growing. “You forgot the sixth element.”

“You don’t have the sixth element!”

“Yes I do!” Twilight said, and nodded her head at her friends. “I figured it out after you all insisted to stay by my side, realized what that meant.” She turned her attention back to Nightmare Moon. “The Elements of Harmony represent the key principles of what it takes to preserve harmony—honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and loyalty—but each of those elements on their own aren’t enough to do it. You need the sixth element to tie them all together. The one you yourself failed to understand, Nightmare Moon, the element using the most powerful magic of all,” She lit her horn, starting towards Nightmare Moon, “…friendship.”

“ENOUGH!” Nightmare Moon bellowed and fired a beam of deadly energy at Twilight.

The beam never hit her though, the energy dispersing harmlessly around the changeling as if she’d been enclosed in an invisible bubble. When it all cleared again, Twilight was revealed to be both perfectly unscathed but also wearing an impressive crown atop her head, shimmering with magic. As she continued forward, stepping into the circle of shards on the floor, the shards started to light up and lift off the ground, swirling around.

“No…no…” Nightmare Moon breathed in sudden terror, starting to back away.

“We have the sixth element, Nightmare Moon,” Twilight continued in conclusion. “And with that element, we can still summon the other five no matter what.”

The shards then shot across the room, starting to spiral around Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie. By their magical grasp, all were pulled free of their respective snares and floated around the room until they fully encircled Nightmare Moon, trapping her between them. The shards them snapped back together again in bright balls of light on the necks of each of the five before magically connecting with Twilight and her crown. The collecting power gathered together in a loop before casting a beam of rainbow energy straight upwards before slamming back down towards Nightmare Moon.

“NOOOOOO!” Nightmare Moon screamed as the magic engulfed her, increasing in intensity before an explosion of light suddenly filled the room and everything went white.

When everything cleared, leaving a shallow crater where Nightmare Moon had last been seen, the six creatures thumped to the floor, momentarily drained but quickly recovering while Spike, having watched all this from the sidelines and now free of the magical chains, hurried up to them. “What the heck just happened?” he asked, still processing what he’d seen.

“I…think we stopped Nightmare Moon?” Fluttershy asked tentatively as the hippogriff got back to her feet.

“We certainly did something!” Pinkie concluded, getting back onto her hooves with one reenergizing hop.

“Whoa,” Applejack remarked with a faint chuckle, noticing she and the others now wore intricate necklaces about their necks, save for Twilight who had her crown in lieu of a necklace. All six artifacts bore a prominent gem embedded in their fronts though, each a different color and shape for each individual creature. “Heh, Ah’m guessin’ these must be the real Elements of Harmony then.”

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the griffon examined her own necklace. “Now this is more like it!”

“I suppose this means we did it,” Rarity said, tapping a claw on her element before looking to their changeling friend. “Right, Twilight?”

But Twilight’s gaze had turned to the castle entrance, where the first rays of a sunrise had begun shining through. Standing in the doorway was a tall and white alicorn, somewhat roughed up but still looking very impressive in stature. The others turned to follow Twilight’s gaze and were taken aback by the newcomer’s sudden appearance. The alicorn, meanwhile, only stood in awe, taking in the sight before her.

“…Who the heck are you?” Rainbow asked finally, confused.

“Oh my goodness, your mane is lovely!” Rarity declared in glee, marveling at her waving multi-colored mane.

The new mare glanced at the ethereal hairs sparkling in the dawn light. “Oh, um, I suppose,” she muttered, caught off guard by the compliment. “I mean, it’s a little mussed up from getting plowed into the ground a few minutes ago, but…”

She trailed off as Twilight strolled up to her, looking at the alicorn meaningfully. “Princess Celestia, I presume?” she asked with a friendly grin. Celestia made a sheepish nod.

“Wait, the other sister ruler of Equestria?” Pinkie asked in surprise. “Huh! Where have you been hiding this whole time?”

Celestia chuckled a little. “Amusingly, Pinkie, in a little hut just outside your village,” she replied.

The zebra’s jaw nearly unhinged as she understood. “You were Creamy this whole time?!” She declared, before abruptly turning contemplative. “Wow, my mystical orb of fate’s destiny sure didn’t see that coming…maybe I need to get a refund…”

As the others giggled at Pinkie’s antics, Celestia examined the crown atop Twilight’s head. “You did it, then,” she concluded with a thankful grin. “You found the elements and stopped disaster from befalling us all, against all odds.”

“Well…” Twilight said, embarrassed by the praise, “…you know…it was a group effort and all…so…” she trailed off when they heard a groan echo out from within the crater blasted into the floor, putting them all on alarm.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy bemoaned, covering her head with her wings. “We didn’t stop Nightmare Moon after all!”

“Not if we’ve got anything to say about it!” Rainbow declared, zipping to the side of the crater while the rest galloped over to investigate. “All right, Nightmare Moon, put your hooves up before we—oh!”

Though shards of her armor lay at the bottom of the crater with her, the alicorn now picking herself up within didn’t look at all like Nightmare Moon. She was shorter, blue colored, and bore a dark blue mane filled with sparkling stars. She seemed not angry and dangerous but rather confused and frightened, looking back up at the creatures on the crater’s edge. None of them recognized her.

…except Celestia. “Luna?” she breathed, her voice catching in her throat as she skidded down the side of the crater to join the other alicorn.

“Sister?” the alicorn, Luna, asked upon recognizing Celestia as well. When Celestia eagerly nodded, she suddenly broke down in tears, wrapping her hooves around the white alicorn’s legs.

Getting teary-eyed herself, Celestia pulled her sister into a grateful and loving hug. “It’s okay, Luna,” she comforted gently while the others looked on at the touching reunion. “The nightmare’s finally over.”

Author's Note

I figured since I was already doing an AU of it, I'd tweak a little how the elements work to taste for a change.

One more chapter to wrap things up!

Together

The zebras of Pinkie’s village were certainly surprised when they all came walking back out of the forest awhile later. But once a few explanations were made, the once distant and aloof zebra swiftly celebrated the triumphant return of their heroes, the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony. And to show how thankful they were for the group’s persistence, despite their own lack of faith and support in them, the zebra threw an impromptu feast for them and the two pony princesses they brought with them. Pinkie played a key role in coordinating it all, happening to have a love for celebrations such as this.

Joining them partway through all of the festivities were Applejack’s two siblings, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom, arriving in the family airship and proving no worse for wear from their encounter with Pharynx and company, more just relieved to see their sister was likewise okay. Throughout it all, the six creatures (and one diamond dog who likewise received a share of the praise) accepted the congratulations somewhat sheepishly, uncertain what exactly this meant for them moving forward. They didn’t get their first clue towards an answer until as the festivities wound down and discovered the two alicorns packing travel bags.

“You’re leaving?” Twilight asked in surprise when the group found them on the edges of the zebra village.

Celestia gave Twilight a sad grin. “I’m afraid so,” she admitted, “but don’t see it as a bad thing.”

“We are planning to head west,” Luna explained, “in hopes of finding where our subjects went after Equestria collapsed.” She averted her gaze in shame. “We hope to try and make amends for…our past mistakes.”

“Mistakes we both made,” Celestia added, insisting she take her share of the blame. She bowed her head sadly. “We both had a hoof in causing the fall of our nation.” She then straightened. “But we hope, when we find the descendants of our subjects, we will be able to earn their acceptance again—if not as their former rulers then at least as their equals.”

“We wish you the best of luck at those goals then, princesses,” Rarity said.

“Yes, but…what about us?” Fluttershy asked, confused. She motioned to the magic artifact she still wore about her neck. “What about the elements?”

“They’re yours,” Celestia assured the hippogriff. “All six of you have more than proven your worthiness to bear the elements and the powers they bestow, and so long as you continue to use them in the name of harmony, you will remain that way for however long required of you.”

“You have already accomplished more with them than I or Celestia have,” Luna added as a means of encouragement, grinning, “so I expect you will have no problem doing so.”

“Well gee, that’s mighty kind of ya ta say, yer highnesses,” Applejack remarked, examining her own necklace. “We’ll have ta try and not let ya down then.”

“Aw, what are we worried about?” Rainbow Dash asked, swatting the parrot on the side with her wing. “We’re already rocking it, just like Luna said!”

“So…I guess what happens next is up to us now?” Twilight concluded, trying to see if she understood this right.

Celestia nodded. “Honestly, Twilight, this land doesn’t need myself or Luna anymore,” she explained. “The creatures that have taken up residence in Equestria’s stead seem to be on the right track already.” She gave Twilight a wink. “And I expect you and your friends will help make up the remaining difference after that.”

Twilight chuckled a little before turning a bit more solemn. “I’m still glad I met you,” she assured.

“And I am glad I met you, Twilight,” Celestia said with a warm sigh. “And thank you. You probably don’t know it, but…you and your friends were more of an inspiration for me than you think.” Twilight blushed and ducked her head under the praise, so Celestia used that chance to turn to her sister. “Are you ready to go, Luna?” she asked gently as she slipped on their bags. “It will be a long journey.”

“That is okay,” Luna said before giving her sister a warm grin. “We have much to catch up on.”

Celestia grinned and gave her a brief hug. “Indeed,” she agreed. She then waved to the group of creatures watching them. “Farewell, everyone! May we all be lucky enough to meet again sometime soon!”

“Goodbye princesses!” Twilight called after them as the two alicorns spread their wings and took flight.

“Bye!” Spike called

“Farewell!” Fluttershy called.

“Safe travels, darlings!” Rarity called.

“Y’all keep safe, y’hear?” Applejack called.

“And just give us a shout if you need us to come kick butt again!” Rainbow added.

“And don’t forget!” Pinkie concluded. “You’re a toymaker’s creation trapped inside a crystal ball!”

“…What?!” Rainbow asked, shooting the zebra a bewildered look.

“You heard me!” Pinkie said, hip-checking the griffon. “C’mon, you know it’s true!”

After the princesses left, the others gravitated towards the Apple family airship so to discuss what to do next in more detail. Twilight allowed herself to fall back though, letting her mind contemplate the events of the past couple of weeks and just what it all meant for her. She eventually fell back so much there was soon a gap of several dozen yards separating her from the rest of her friends, somewhat isolating her from them for the moment.

She realized how potentially vulnerable that left her when an unexpected voice suddenly roused her out of her musings: “Heard you had an eventful evening.”

Twilight, eye’s widening, spun around to see Pharynx and his two changeling cohorts emerging from the surrounding growth, the three centuriones looking no worse for wear after the previous evening’s events. “Pharynx!” she declared in alarm, taking a defensive stance.

Pharynx, however, motioned for her to be calm. “There’s no need for that,” he assured. “I think there’s been enough fighting for now, don’t you?” He motioned to the magical crown Twilight still wore. “Besides, I’ve heard quite a bit about what you can apparently do with that thing.”

Twilight glanced up at the crown then back at the changelings standing before her. “I tried to warn you about Nightmare Moon,” she said, thinking about what had happened to them.

“And you were right,” Pharynx conceded with a sigh. He almost looked sorry. “But you and I both know Queen Chrysalis won’t see it that way.”

Twilight nodded, lowering her gaze. “I still defied her commands,” she admitted, “ignored her authority…she won’t take that lightly.”

“And she’ll want to punish you accordingly for it,” Pharynx added. But then he continued. “It is a pity, then, that I will have to report to her that you did not survive your encounter with Nightmare Moon.”

Twilight’s head shot up, surprised. “…What?”

Pharynx merely shrugged. “The queen can’t punish what she can’t find, now can she?” he reasoned. He then turned apologetic. “Of course…for that to work…it means you can never return home.”

Twilight winced to herself, that prospect weighing heavily. But then she gazed over to where her friends had gathered by the airship, unaware of who she was conversing with. “You know,” she reasoned slowly, “I think I’m going to be okay.”

Pharynx glanced in the direction of her friends and nodded. “You’re probably better off here anyway,” he agreed, before giving her a smirk. “But if anyone asks, you didn’t hear that from me.”

Then, before Twilight could say anything else much less any kind of goodbye, the trio leapt into the air, transforming into geese before leveling out and beginning their long journey back for the Changeling Kingdom. Twilight watched them go until they grew too small to easily see anymore, then with one final sigh to get out the last of her melancholy, she turned to catch up with her friends.

“There ya are, Twilight!” Applejack said, seeing the changeling rejoin the group. “We were just about ta start workin’ out wut our next step oughta be.” She thumped her talons against the hull of the airship behind her. “If any of ya need a lift anywhere, Ah’m sure Ah can give ya one.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said with a grateful grin. “But I’m honestly not sure where I’m going to go next now.” She averted their gaze a little. “I…can’t exactly go home, after all.”

“Well, join the club,” Rainbow said with a sigh of her own. “I bet if I so much as even try to set claw in the Griffon Order without immediately stuffing all of the elements into his talons, Goldstone will just throw my butt into a dungeon.”

“Mm, and I suppose it would be unwise for me to return to my own home without at least trying to make amends with the Dragon Regent first,” Rarity hummed to herself, pondering.

“You’re welcome to come to New Hippogriffia with me,” Fluttershy offered. “I…don’t really have a very big place…and the rent isn’t exactly great…or the neighborhood really…but the door’s always open, nonetheless.”

“Or you could come and stay with me at Ghastly Gorge,” Spike offered in an attempt to be helpful. “I’m sure I can work out something with my pack for you, seeing you did kinda save the world and all.”

“Or if you don’t want to do all that traveling, you can just stay here with me and the other zebra!” Pinkie offered.

“If all that doesn’t work out though,” Applejack proceeded to offer, “Y’all can come and stay at the family orchard until y’all got somethin’ else worked out.”

“Goodness,” Fluttershy then declared. “It seems like we could really go anywhere from here, couldn’t we?”

“We could,” Twilight said, before regarding her friends with a grin. “But whatever comes next…we’ll do it together.”

Author's Note

I suspect this will be one of those stories where everybody will be clamoring for a sequel, but admittedly there probably won't be any written by my hand. This is mostly because I'm already too preoccupied with other projects to be able to take on an ongoing project of that scope (since the natural thing to do from here would be to retell all nine seasons of FiM in this universe :derpytongue2: ), but I also admit that, while this fic was fun, I don't have quite enough interest to commit making it a reoccurring thing anyway.

BUT...if someone or a group of someones wants to pick up from where I leave off with this fic with some kind of sequel of there own, I'd not only have no complaints, I'd heartily encourage it. :raritywink: