Ponyville Paintball

Chapters

The Good, the Bad and the Derpy
Something Terrible is Ahoof
Dark Side of the Muffin
Canterlot Life...
... and Rhyming Strife, a.k.a. It Never Fails
The Great Foal War
What Comes With The Wind
The Burnout
Day Of Siege (Part I)
Day Of Siege (Part II)
Stone Roses
Straight and True

The Good, the Bad and the Derpy

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter II

“There we go... Yer dandelion toast now, Rainbow Dash.”

Crouching in the tall grass behind a tree like a lioness, Applejack was eyeing her prey. She could make out Rainbow Dash’s unmistakable rainbow mane, not blending very well with the green hue of the leaves. The pegasus seemed to be taking a nap at the top of a nearby tree, unaware that the back of her head was exposed to the farm pony below. Applejack grinned. Rainbow was there. She was a sitting duck for her to shoot.

Taking care not to wake the sleeping pony, Applejack got up and moved closer to her in stealthy little hoofsteps. When she reached the bottom of Rainbow’s napping tree, she stopped and looked up at a lock of purple and blue hair that was dangling from above. She wanted to savor the moment that she took her favorite rival down. After a while, she turned around, raised her hindlegs in the air, and with a giddy little laugh she gave the tree a shattering buck.

The result was immediate. The tree started shaking violently, making its leaves rattle like snakes and the birds hidden beneath them take flight in surprise. From the branches above Applejack, something fell to the ground with an audible thud.

The earth pony lost no time. Skillfully she turned to the fallen pony, and took a step towards it, gun at the ready.

“Alright, I got ya now, Rainbow! Prepare fer... huh?”

Applejack was startled by what she saw. On the ground lay a few thick twigs strapped together with duct tape. There was a thick one in the middle to which a plastic ball was attached, which itself wore a wig of leaves of the different colours of the rainbow.

“What in tarnation...?”

Suddenly, she heard a whooshing sound overhead. By the time she tried to figure out where it came from, it was already too late. She looked up, only to suddenly be hit with two paintballs, expertly shot in her eyes, making her field of vision pink and yellow.

The mystery shooter landed on the ground next to her, blowing invisible smoke from both her guns before she spoke.

“Well, well, well,” sounded the cheeky and somewhat raspy voice of Rainbow Dash. “If it isn’t my one true rival!”

Slightly dazed and losing her balance, the blinded Applejack raised a hoof in the air.

“Darn it, Rainbow! Ah oughta whip you wit’ mah lasso!”

“I’m over here, AJ.”

“Oh,” replied Applejack, realizing she’d been pointing her hoof to nopony in particular. She turned to where the voice was coming from. “Well, still! Ah swear, yer gonna git it when this competition’s over!”

Rainbow gave her a patronizing laugh.

“Yeah... I’m so sure that’s true,” she said. “But we both know that I can best you at everything. Especially looks.”

“Yer jus’ sayin’ that coz you have a perfectly shaped flank!” replied Applejack. Rainbow giggled at her statement.

“Why yes, thank you for noticing!” she said, wiggling her rump a little, causing Applejack to blush even though she couldn’t see it. “But that just proves my point. I’m always one step ahead of ya. You just keep that in mind when you walk outta this game, AJ!”

Applejack said nothing for a few seconds, struggling to find an appropriate answer to her friend’s remarks. After a while she gave up, and with a heavy sigh she started her walk of shame out of the game.

“Stupid perfect sexy Rainbow...” she mumbled. “Always so much better than me, ah’m just a boring earth pony...”

Suddenly, a colt’s voice sounded behind Rainbow Dash. “Hey, that was pretty awesome!” he said.

Swiftly she turned around to shoot him, but she found herself face to face with a unarmed colt beaming at her. She didn’t feel as though he was a threat. A mare appeared from behind the trees next to him.

“Yeah, that was sweet!” she said. “You’re pretty awesome and good-looking!”

Rainbow found herself pleasantly surprised by all this praise she was being given. She was even more surprised when ponies started to appear all around her from the forest, chatting excitedly amongst themselves in admiration for the cyan pegasus.

Rainbow was busy shaking hooves here and there with her new fans when there was a sudden collective gasp from the crowd. The ponies fell silent, and Rainbow watched in awe as they all made way for Princess Celestia herself.

The majestic princess walked gracefully up to Rainbow Dash, who was feeling smaller by the second. Celestia gave her a sweet, serene smile.

“My dear Rainbow Dash,” she said in a heart-warming tone, “how long has it been? I believe the last time we saw each other was at the Best Young Flyer’s competition, when you dazzled everyone with your impressive moves of sheer flying genius?”

Rainbow stared, mouth hanging agape, completely starstruck at the princess. She would never get used to seeing her in person. That’s when another familiar voice to her was heard from the crowd.

“Yeah!” said none other than Soarin of the Wonderbolts. “She totally saved our flanks that time! She’s definitely cool enough to join us!”

Rainbow spun around at the first sound of his voice, and thought she was going to faint from the sight before her. The three captains of the Wonderbolts were there, putting in a good word for her. In front of the ruler of Equestria in person, no less.

Princess Celestia gave an amused giggle.

“Yes, I remember,” she said. “And I just witnessed your first-rate paintball skills! You truly are an exceptional pegasus.”

Rainbow started feeling dizzy. She was definitely going to faint.

“Therefore,” continued Celestia, “I am cutting this game of paintball short, and I declare Rainbow Dash as the winner!”

The sole shock of hearing those words cancelled out the noise from the crowd for Rainbow Dash, as the crowd roared in approval.

“You may join me in the throne room of the royal Canterlot palace to collect your prize: an official Wonderbolts’ membership medal! And I hereby dub you, for your amazing show of overall skill, the Coolest Pony in Equestria!”

Rainbow hardly noticed in her daze the crowd gathering next to her and lifting her off the ground. “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” they cheered.

The pegasus looked around, utterly stunned. It was all coming together for her. She’d just won the game. She was an official Wonderbolt. She was now officially the coolest pony in Equestria.

An immense feeling of joy started welling up inside her, making a large grin spread on her face. She looked to the skies, ready to take off.

“Yeah... Yeah! BUCK YEAH!”

Suddenly, she was hit on the head with some unknown object, and the world around her vanished entirely. She saw stars for a second, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that she was still in the forest. Everypony has disappeared. She was still on her tree branch, realizing that she had hit her head hard on the branch above her. It had woken her up.

This had all been a dream.

It took a small moment to dawn on her. When it did, she cradled her buzzing head with a disappointed groan.

Rainbow felt cross with herself. She had been napping on the job again. How unprofessional could she be? How was she supposed to stick it to Applejack with that kind of attitude? Then she realized that on the upside, she was still in the game. There was still time to make this dream a reality.

Just as she thought of this, she was alerted by noises in the distance. She heard voices. Ponies were approaching her tree.

She spun round to see where the noise was coming from. She saw it. A few feet away, two ponies were approaching. From the look of it, they weren’t looking for her; they were just passing by.

Rainbow grinned. Well, it might not be Applejack, she thought, but it’ll do for now.

Soundlessly she flew to another, more strategically placed tree.

* * *

The two mares walked casually past the trees. One of them was a cream-coloured earth pony with a mane of pulpy locks of purple and pink. She walked at a casual pace with an expression of concentration, looking around for potential enemies. The other mare was a turquoise unicorn with a mane of the same colour, although with a broad streak of white. She did not share her companion’s concentration, and looked upwards as she casually strolled through the forest, seemingly unaware that she was a moving target. It was this mare who spoke first.

“So what do you think the prize is, Bon-Bon?” she asked cheerily.

Bon-Bon thought about it for a second.

“I dunno,” she replied. “It’s whatever your heart desires, according to the Princess. I can only hope that it’s really what I want most in the world. But I dunno what that is really. I guess a beautiful singing voice would be nice.”

She looked to her friend. “What do you think it is, Lyra?”.

But she instantly regretted it. Lyra stared back at her with a large toothy grin, and with huge eyes with shrunken pupils. Bon-Bon knew that maniacal look when she saw it on Lyra’s face.

“Oh dear, Lyra...” she said in exasperation. “You think the Princess is going to turn you into one of those ‘humares’, right?”

“They’re called humans, Bon-Bon!” Lyra replied, annoyed at her friend’s intolerance. Then she resumed her maniacal expression. “But yes, that is what I think,” she said in a low, eerie voice.

“That was a rhetorical question,” said Bon-Bon with a sigh. She’d heard enough of the unicorn’s crazy fantasies of turning into a nonsensical fairytale creature for a lifetime.

Suddenly, there was a strong gust of wind that shook the trees. Bon-Bon stopped dead in her tracks and looked upwards. In the windless calm of the forest, such a gust was too strong to be just caused by nature. Somepony was up there in the trees.

“Did you hear that?” she asked in an alarmed whisper.

She turned to Lyra, who hadn’t noticed anything, too busy fantasizing madly about the crazy lyre compositions she would be able to pull off with a few human digits.

“Lyra!” snapped Bon-Bon.

The unicorn snapped out of it. “What is it?” she asked.

“I think there’s somepony stalking us. We gotta be--”

She was cut short by something crashing at full speed right into her chest. Before she could figure out what was going on, she was knocked back a few feet behind by the strong impact, that left her gasping for air on the ground.

“Bon-Bon!” called out a stricken Lyra. Then she realized what had happened. Next to Bon-Bon, Lyra saw a cyan pegasus -- the one that had attacked her friend. Quickly she fumbled around with her hooves to grab her gun, cursing herself for not having hands to do the job, and shakily aimed the gun at Rainbow Dash. Out of panic, she magically squeezed the trigger as hard as she could, sending the gun flying out of her hooves and rapidly spewing paintballs in all directions.

By the time she did that, it was too late. Rainbow Dash saw Lyra behind her, and instinctively she grabbed the dazed Bon-Bon and spun her round off the ground. She used her as a shield from Lyra’s bullets, which shot Bon-Bon square in the belly repeatedly, making the poor earth pony flop like a fish from the multiple impacts.

Lyra released the trigger and looked in shock at what she had done. “N-No!” she cried out.

Rainbow saw the unicorn panicking, and took advantage of it. Before Lyra knew knew it, she felt the hard impact of Rainbow Dash’s bullet hitting her on the forehead. She fell, as if dead, realizing that she was out of the game, and probably doomed to remain a unicorn forever.

Dropping Bon-Bon to the ground, Rainbow looked around at the damage she’d done. The next pony passing by would find a part of the woods strewn in paintballs, and two defeated mares gasping on the ground where the grass was now shuffled from all their fighting. A true war scene, and a reminder for the ponies who would witness it not to buck with Rainbow Dash.

With a huff of pride, she positioned herself to take flight between the trees once more. “Ladies,” she said, greeting the two mares. She was about to take off when Bon-Bon spoke.

“I hope... Applejack... gets the best of you,” she said, the words wheezing painfully out of her throat between intakes of air.

Rainbow Dash was stunned by what she heard. She turned to Bon-Bon. “What did you say?” she asked.

There was no reply from the earth pony. Frustrated, Rainbow jumped at her and pinned her to the ground with a strong hoof.

“What’s this about Applejack, huh? Did she send you?”

“N-no... nopony sent us, lady. But Applejack... I’ve seen her play... she's a good sport... not like you... you’re bad... you’ve got skill... but your cheap attacks will fail you in front of a player like Applejack...”

Rainbow scoffed. “Yeah, yeah... Well, let’s meet up when I win my place in the Wonderbolts and we can talk about who’s got skill, alright?” she said in contempt.

Bon-Bon looked at Rainbow Dash through heavy eyelids. She forced a chuckle through her throat. She coughed out a little of the paint she had swallowed, leaving red paint streaming down her cheek from the corner of her mouth.

“You don’t get it... do ya? Heh... that Applejack... she’ll hunt you down... she doesn’t brag like you do... your arrogance will blind you eventually...”

“Yes...” coughed Lyra. “The hands of fate... will have no mercy for you!”

“Shut up, Lyra...”

And with those words, Bon-Bon fainted from exhaustion.

Rainbow considered her words for a minute, a little stunned. Then she let go of Bon-Bon.

“Whatever. I don’t have time to stick around and be uncool. I gotta dash! Applejack won’t hunt me down...”

She squatted, ready to take flight.

“Not if I hunt her down first.”

Rainbow Dash took flight, looking for her next victim.

Something Terrible is Ahoof

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter III

Twilight Sparkle galloped fast through the woods. She knew she ought to trot calmly, and that her galloping made a lot of noise and drew attention to herself. Yet she crashed through the trees, looking in every direction for her partner.

Ugh, that mare... Where in Equestria could she be right now?

* * *

The game hadn’t started very well for her.

All the ponies of Ponyville had been summoned to Canterlot on an exceptionally important call from the princess. They were given a special invitation to go on this day to the town’s center plaza, where their invitation said that “the event of the century” would take place. The city was in full celebration on that beautiful day as ponies filled every open space there was, moving as one towards the plaza by also stopping by the various businesses that had been set outdoors for all the tourists.

Twilight remembered almost battling her way through the horde of ponies in the streets of the royal city, which she had never seen in such a crowded state. She was as curious as the next pony to know what was going on, what was so important that the princess had to call every single pony to town. She had arrived at the center plaza, where she found her friends and Spike already gathered together. They were all enjoying the festivities around them, especially Pinkie. The pink pony was finding it very hard to stop herself from exploding in a cloud of rainbows from all the sheer fun there was to be had.

Suddenly there was a general wave of thunderous applause and cheering as the two royal princesses of Equestria appeared on the royal balcony. All of their subjects were pleased to see them. However, Celestia bore a grim and stern expression. When they noticed it everypony suddenly went quiet and anxious, expecting to hear some terrible news. Their leader did not look pleased.

Twilight bit her lower lip hard. Uh oh...

Finally Celestia extended a hoof and spoke.

“Ponies, you are at war,” she declared.

Nopony dared to breathe as the words fell heavily upon them. Suddenly, Celestia's expression changed completely to a beaming face of utter glee.

“With yourselves!” she said.

After sharing a giggle with her sister, she returned to face the crowd of confused ponies.

“Dear subjects of the realm, I am hereby declaring the opening of the Equestrian Paintball Games!”

Before anypony could actually take in what Celestia had just said, her horn shone bright. Instantly, everypony received a paintball gun out of thin air. Every gun was crafted specific to its owner; it was the color of that pony’s coat, and bore that pony’s cutie mark.

There were mixed reactions in the audience. While some ponies were excited -- and relieved that there was no serious problem after all -- most of them were confused, including Twilight.

A paintball game? Since when do the princesses play Paintball? With everypony? Whatever for?

So many questions ran through Twilight’s head as she looked up to the the balcony of the royal palace hoping that answers would rain down from it, as did many other ponies. Her attention was momentarily drawn by princess Luna. The princess of the night had been handed a gun as well, which she was looking at quizzically. “What? I, as well?” Twilight heard her say. Celestia gave her sister a wink and resumed her speech.

“The idea of this game is to engage in general merriment, to relieve us all of the stress caused by the many traumatic events that have befallen us in the last few years. I’m sure you could all use a little time off right now.”

Suddenly, it all made more sense to the crowd, which erupted into cheer and hoof stomping in applause.

Celestia raised a hoof for silence and explained the rules of the game to her subjects. They were quite simplistic: everypony has a gun, and there are pockets of ammo hidden all over the forest. No wings above the treeline for pegasi, and no teleportation for unicorns. Those were the only limits, leaving the rules widely open-ended. The part that caught everypony’s attention however, was when the princess said that the last pony standing would get the prize which was, in her own words, “the one thing your heart desires.” The enigmatic promise of a reward instigated an excited wave of chattering among the ponies, who were getting more eager to play the game by the minute.

“And another thing,” said Celestia. “I have already set specific starting teams in place. Most of you will find yourselves paired up from the start with another pony, or perhaps more than just one. Some of you, however, will find yourselves on your own right from the outset. Whatever the case, these ponies are still other players, and in regards to you, your opponents. What you choose to do with your team ponies is your choice entirely. You may fire them from the game as soon as it starts; however, I think that you will find that alliances can be quite useful and even, for some of you, instructive.”

This crowd stirred following Celestia’s comment. Everypony looked at each other with a mixture of curiosity and wariness, wondering who they would be teamed up with, if at all. Twilight and her friends looked at each other anxiously. What would this mean for them? Would this be a test of their friendship?

“So, without further ado,” declared Celestia to an apprehensive crowd, “Let the games begin!”

And with a glow of her horn, Twilight felt herself sucked away and transported somewhere by magic. When she opened her eyes, she was in the Everfree Forest.

While she took in what had just happened, she heard the first shots being fired in all directions. Some were far, others very close, but she could not see a single pony nearby. Then again, she knew that the Everfree Forest was a very large and wondrous place, that could easily serve as a maze for all the playing ponies.

She frowned as she heard the first shots. Apparently, a lot of ponies had chosen the prize over their teammates.

Suddenly, it struck her. Had she been given a partner? Afraid that her potential teammate might have been quicker on their hooves and already aimed their gun at her, she spun around to take a look at who it was.

I just hope they don’t try to shoot me right away! I don’t know anything about paintball!

When she had turned around, she saw it. She indeed did have a partner. And she realized that this pony would not shoot her directly as soon as she saw that Celestia had paired her up with none other than Pinkie Pie.

The pink party pony was not sharing her friend’s worries. She looked around like an excited dog at all the places where the sound of shooting was coming from, giggling the way she always did.

“Weee! This is going to be fun! I love paintball!”

Twilight looked at Pinkie and simply moped. It was widely know that Celestia had a thing for teasing ponies from time to time with harmless jokes.

But... Pinkie? Seriously? What can I learn from-- Wait a minute, what did she just say?

Suddenly realizing that Pinkie could be very useful to her, she grabbed her friend by the cheeks to force the earth pony to look at her.

“Pinkie!” she said, “Did you say you love paintball?”

“Sure!” chimed Pinkie, unperturbed. “I love playing Paintball! I often host super-duper paintball parties with the foals from Ponyville school!”

Twilight’s eyes suddenly sparkled with delight. She’d been paired with a confirmed paintball player, even though she had never played the game in her life. She could just follow Pinkie around and watch her shoot all the other players. And even though she didn’t like to think of it that way, she would only have Pinkie to shoot down herself to be the last pony standing. Yes!

“Great!” said Twilight. “Okay Pinkie, let’s stick together! I suggest we start--”

She was cut abruptly in mid-speech by Pinkie sneezing loudly and suddenly, so hard that confetti came out of her snout. They both stood in surprise at what had just happened for a second. Then, Pinkie looked down at the ground and, upon seeing the confetti, gave a huge gasp before darting at full speed deep into the forest. Twilight watched her run away, her race halted now and then by more loud sneezes.

It took Twilight a while to comprehend exactly what had just happened. Then she realized that she’d just lost Pinkie. She was now alone in the game. Panicked, she started galloping in the forest, following the trail of confetti that Pinkie had left behind.

* * *

Holy mother of Celestia, how long does this thing go?

About an hour into the game, Twilight was still following the trail of confetti, and could see it go on endlessly in the woods. The shots had died down, the game becoming a stealthy hide-and-seek war, but she was still panicked. She could not afford to lose Pinkie on this one. Twilight Sparkle was a mare who needed knowledge to feel in control. Without any knowledge or experience whatsoever in paintball, she felt vulnerable and useless. She knew she ought to find Pinkie soon before she snapped and lost it again like she usually did when she couldn’t understand something.

She was just about to consider throwing it all to hell and calling Pinkie’s name out loud when the pink pony zipped past her with a sneeze. This time Twilight didn’t lose a second before grabbing the party pony with her magic, cutting her chase short.

As Twilight levitated Pinkie towards herself, the latter writhed inside her magic prison, sneezing as she did. Twilight gave her a stern expression.

“Now you stay with me!” she said. Pinkie gave her a pleading expression.

“Please, Twilight! You gotta -- achoo! -- you gotta let me go!”

“But we’re teammates! You can’t just run off into the wild this time! How am I supposed to get the p-- I mean, how am I supposed to learn about friendship through paintball if you’re not with me?”

“But -- achoo! -- This is super important! Don’t you see I’m -- achoo! -- sneezing confetti?”

“Yeah, so what?” asked Twilight. It occurred to her that a confetti-sneezing pony was by no means something you said ‘so what’ to. Then again, it wasn’t just any confetti-sneezing pony she was dealing with. “I’ve actually seen you sneeze confetti before, you didn’t seem to mind back then,” she said.

“Yeah but -- achoo! -- This is different! I’m sneezing hard and -- achoo! -- a lot! That’s my Pinkie sense in action!”

The words struck Twilight. She had learned in the past that Pinkie’s special sense was not just one of her many traits of randomness. She dropped the earth pony to the ground.

“What? Sneezing confetti is one of your Pinkie senses?” she asked before her friend could run away again.

“Yes! Achoo! Now I gotta run away or else--”

“Wait, wait! What does this one mean?”

Pinkie suddenly grabbed Twilight’s shoulders and stared straight into the unicorn’s eyes with an expression of utter seriousness.

“It meaaaaans,” she said, drawing out the word as if exasperated by Twilight’s repeated questions, “that there’s a big old meanie in the woods!”

Twilight stood on the spot, confused by what she had just heard. The fact that Pinkie’s eyes were literally touching hers was not helping.

“A... meanie?” she asked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean a meanie! A meanie is what I mean!”

Twilight didn’t know what was going on anymore. “Um... what?” she asked.

“Somewhere in this forest is somepony who’s up to no good! Somepony who wants to ruin the game for everyone! Achoo! Somepony who doesn’t want anypony else to have fun! And I can’t just let that slide!” She then gave Twilight a furious look that genuinely scared the unicorn. “I. just. can’t.”

Twilight was pretty sure that she could see Pinkie’s eyes turn red, just like the time she learned that it was not a good idea to break a Pinkie promise.

The two stared at each other for an awkward few seconds before Pinkie was finally pulled out of her building rage by another sneeze of hers. She then looked at Twilight with a smile and jumped, her hooves flailing while she stayed in mid-air for longer than normally possible. “Gotta go!” she quipped.

Twilight cried out for Pinkie to wait, but it was too late, as she saw the party pony zip back into the woods once more.

She was back to square one. Twilight had found Pinkie, only to lose her again. Frustrated and tired of chasing after her, she was about to scream when she saw something interesting.

Above the endlessly green treeline, there was a large rock bluff, an outcropping of one of the mountains surrounding the forest. Twilight realized that from there she would be able to have a panoramic overhead view of the woods. If she could just reach that place, she would be able to spot the bright pink pony among the emerald trees in no time.

Feeling suddenly relieved, she was just about to teleport herself there when she realized that the Princess had forbidden that kind of magic. She lost no time, however, and started galloping towards the rocky bluff.

It was an hour before Twilight made it there, having had to go around the small mountain until she found a tunnel that went through the rock and up to the large bluff. In the end she was exhausted, but happy that she had finally arrived.

She didn’t expect somepony else to be there, however.

Twilight found herself staring at the back of a pony that was at the very end of the bluff. This pony, whom Twilight could tell was a mare because of her small frame, was kneeling on the ground, perfectly still. She seemed to be looking for somepony herself. Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw the large sniper next to the mare, pointed towards the forest. She realized that she had stumbled across another player.

Slowly, she tried to back into the tunnel, but gave her presence away by kicking a rock by mistake. The other player heard the sound, and spun around instantly. Twilight gasped, and held her breath as she expected to be shot on the spot. But suddenly she recognized who this other mare was. It was those eyes; they were unmistakable.

“... Derpy?”

Dark Side of the Muffin

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter IV

For the first time in a long, long while, Luna wished she could be sent back to the moon.

She was fed up. She had no time for this. Luna felt that, as the princess of the night, she was quite above this infantile game Tia had forced her to play. Not that she didn't like games, not at all; but they had to be quaint in style and just amusing enough for her royal tastes. Paintball was barbaric and not at all quaint, and was most unworthy of her.

The sky took a bluish tinge with the steady fall of night, as Celestia lowered the sun and made way for Luna’s moon. The princess wished for nothing more than to be safe and cozy under the plush covers of her bed with a nice old book to read, surrounded by the soft flicker of the candlelight. Instead, she was in a darkening forest, with no shelter but the poor cover of leaves above her as the wind picked up and sent sharp chills up her spine. Not to mention that she was surrounded by the natural hidden dangers of the Everfree, and an army of lurking ponies ready to fire recklessly at their princess for the promise of treasure like a band of thieves. She cringed to imagine that she would have to raise the moon in such a crude setting.

And that, all of that, wouldn’t even be all that bad... if only she had not been paired with that foal.

It would only make perfect sense for her, the timeless and graceful alicorn princess that changed the face of the sky, that had been sent beyond the stars and back, to be paired with Pipsqueak the makeshift pirate. Oh yes Tia, that is the most sensible thing to do. Rational to the bone as always.

Her hooves were numb and sore from all the trotting they'd been doing. They'd been traveling through the forest all day -- Luna knew from legend that the forest had the wondrously strange ability to hide its boundaries from those roaming inside until the time to leave was right. Endless trotting through the countless trees had been all she had done as the first day of the game came to a close. Trees, trees, and yet more and more trees. But not a single pony. Not a single challenger or sneaky opponent or any action whatsoever, despite the lingering fear of it, and the resulting heavy tension in the air. Not a soul but the foal that had been bouncing and yapping next to her all day.

"Aha! Reveal yourselves, ye cowardly curs! Have at you!"

"Be quiet, child, or we are sure to be seen!" pleaded Luna. But he seemed not to hear.

In fact, the young colt had not originally come to Canterlot dressed as a pirate as he had been on Nightmare Night. She remembered, as she witnessed with dread that she had been paired up with a mere foal, that he'd been magically given his costume to wear. He'd been positively ecstatic about it, and had been spouting pirate-related nonsense since.

"All ye foolish landblubbers, fear the great captain Pipsqueak, and the terrible witch-goddess of the dark!"

My kingdom for a horse. Just not this one.

Pipsqueak turned to face Luna, to talk to her for the first time today.

"It's getting awfully dark, Princess. Could you raise the moon now to shine a light on our path?"

Luna could very well do this, but she had wished to stall this moment as long as possible. She feared that once the moon was raised the ponies would all find their way to lash out at her. With a mumble she did as she was asked to do and raised the moon high in the sky.

Pip turned back to continue bouncing along the path without bothering to thank Luna.

I wonder if I didn’t like him better when he was scared stiff of me, Luna thought to herself.

All in all, she was not angry because of the foal himself. She had nothing against him, and she recognized him as the first pony to talk to her as something else than a supposed monster. What annoyed her was that, all things considered, he was still an immature foal that Celestia had forced her to team up with. She would have been much better off on her own.

The thought occurred to her many times during the day as to why she didn't simply shoot him. She figured it was because he was just a foal and, whereas she secretly wished he would just be shot out of the game so he could handle her own business like a serious adult, it was because she didn't have the heart to shoot the poor foal in the back herself and break his innocent daydreaming of a fun pirate-themed game of hide-and-seek.

Because after all, the stakes were much higher than that. Even a pony a regal as she was couldn't help but to wonder what the prize might be. She knew that even though she didn't particularly play paintball all that well, she could always try to rely on her important image to deter ponies from shooting her.

But she knew that this image would take a serious beating if it was seen that she couldn't even shoot a small foal who couldn't care less about the game. She would have to find a way to be rid of him.

Why on earth have I been made to suffer this burden, of all ponies... brooded Luna. Celestia said that our partnerships could be instructive... Is there anything I can actually learn from this young one?

"Your ship is now mine, fair lass! I shall plunder it for your booty!"

... Not a chance.

Luna watched over the path that they were treading. She had managed to position the moon so that it shone mainly on the road they were on. She was nervous, and she wanted to be able to see ponies from a certain distance ahead. But all she could see was Pip bouncing and rambling on, to her regal annoyance.

Suddenly, something glinting in the moonlight caught her eye.

She stopped trotting, and looked wide-eyed at the spot that had caught her attention. It couldn't be mistaken for simply a glinting leaf. Up in a tree a little ways ahead, Luna thought she could make out the shape of a pony. But it stayed covered in darkness, not moving an inch, and Luna wondered if her eyes weren't deceiving her. They both stayed perfectly still in the night.

"Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle o' rum!"

The figure turned its head silently towards the road. Luna saw in horror that it was looking at Pip. The unsuspecting foal was drawing attention to himself with his singing! In the darkness the hidden pony grinned and raised its weapon at the easy prey it had spotted.

Luna forgot all about her brooding and did the only thing she could.

"Watch out, Pipsqueak!" she cried. "Above you! There's--"

She didn't have time to finish, for what happened next surprised her so much she couldn't even speak anymore.

As soon as she had called out to Pip, the foal stopped moving and singing. But it wasn't from surprise or shock; without losing a second, the foal drew his gun faster than Luna could have ever thought possible, and in the same swooping motion that made him spin around and look upwards, directly at where the pony was hidden in the trees, he raised his weapon and fired a single, lightning-quick shot.

Luna saw that he had perfectly aimed and hit his attacker's own weapon, which was sent flying out of its hooves and onto the ground. The pony gasped, losing its balance as a result. Eventually it fell and crashed to the ground with a yelp. Luna recognized the pony, a chestnut-brown stallion with a ruffled mane, as one Doctor Whooves. As soon as he fell, little Pip trotted to the dazed attacker. With a very serious and intimidating expression, the young foal pressed the barrel of his weapon mercilessly against his attacker's forehead.

What followed was a moment of pure silence in the black of night. Luna, who had been watching the incredible scene unfurl, stood rooted to the spot without daring to breathe. She was now looking at Pip, who stared unblinking and stern at the brown stallion, straight in the eye. The latter didn't dare to breathe himself, or to break his gaze. He simply stared, confused, wide-eyed and helpless, at the tiny foal above him, beads of sweat rolling down his fur as he seemed to contemplate his final judgement.

"I-I..." he finally whimpered. "I don't want to go...!"

As soon as he had spoken Pip fired another shot, at point-blank this time. The paint bullet crashed on the doctor's head, making him jar in a final gasp before he stopped moving. Luna jumped in shock from the brutality of the shot, and only afterwards was she able to regain her breath somewhat.

She watched, terrified, as Pip looked down mercilessly at his defeated opponent. The doctor was not dead, of course; but he might as well have been. There he lay listlessly on the ground, his breath shallow and his gaze empty.

Pip turned round to look at Luna. The princess was terrified as he said nothing for a few seconds. She considered making a run for it, afraid that he would shoot her. But she was paralyzed, too creeped out by the foal's unguessable and eerily powerful paintball skills to move.

Suddenly, she heard noises in the woods. There were ponies running about, shouting at each other. Even a few shots could be heard in the night.

Pipsqueak turned his little head to where the noises were coming from with a look of a pony who was mulling things over, or considering their next move carefully. After a moment though, he looked back at Luna with a confident smile.

"Well come on then!" he said in his high-pitched British voice. "Off we go! Let's hope we don't run into those ponies, or they'll make us walk the plank!" he said with a wink to Luna.

And off he trotted, talking to himself in piratical slang again, as if none of that had ever happened. Luna could still not quite comprehend what had just taken place, but after some profuse blinking she decided to walk on and join Pip.

Well, at least I don't have to worry about being defenseless anymore.

* * *

Earlier that day

Up on the rocky bluff, the two mares looked at each other in complete shock.

The silence between them was unbearably tense, but it didn't last long. Once she had taken in the situation, Derpy spun round and quickly grabbed her sniper rifle, returning to aim at Twilight.

"W-What? No, Derpy wait!" stammered the unicorn, whose heartbeat rate had shot up in a split second.

But the pegasus lost no time and without taking the time to aim with the massive weapon she was holding, she fired a shot at Twilight. The lavender mare shrieked and ducked instinctively, which caused Derpy's paintball to narrowly miss her and splatter on the rock of the mountain in front of which Twilight's head had just been.

"Augh! Derpy wait, wait!" pleaded a panicked Twilight. She watched in fear as Derpy took better aim at her. In her panic she dropped her gun and stood up on her hind legs, desperately raising both her forelegs in the air in the universal symbol for ceasefire. "STOP!"

Derpy did not fire. She didn't move, and Twilight could make out the mare's very slight trembling as she had to take a serious decision whether to shoot or not. In the end she grunted and quickly drew her weapon away.

Twilight put her forelegs back to the ground, breathing out a huge sigh of relief. Derpy was looking at her, and Twilight could see that for once the mare's cross-eyed gaze was fierce and focused. She was not pleased at all.

"How the hell did you find this place?" she yelled.

Something immediately struck Twilight in the way that Derpy spoke. She had heard the mare speak a few times before, namely when she dropped by every now and then to deliver the mail. Usually her speech was quite slurred; but not this time. Her voice was a little low for that of a mare, but it was definitely sharp and articulate enough.

Twilight wanted to answer the question, but her bewilderment was taking over. It wasn't just in her speech; it was her entire attitude at the present moment, and from what Twilight could see, she was getting a weird vibe that Derpy was not that... 'derpy' after all.

"Um... Derpy?" she said after a while. "You, um... Is that really you?"

Twilight immediately regretted her choice of words, thinking she had been quite hurtful. But Derpy seemed too surprised and upset to feel hurt. The grey mare simply huffed and, grabbing her rifle she resumed her usual position of aiming it at the trees below.

"That's 'Ditzy' to you. And if you want to leave this place still in the game, Twilight, I suggest you leave me alone," she said bluntly. But Twilight was too curious to just leave.

"Sorry," she said. "What I meant to say was, um... I dunno, how come you're so... so normal?"

Once more the unicorn cursed herself for not being able to think of a better way of putting it despite being so naturally verbose.

"That's my own business," snapped Derpy without turning around. "And I have to attend to it right now, so if you could just leave right now, we can discuss this when the game is over!"

"Business?" asked Twilight, giving into her curiosity. "What business? With a sniper rifle? Just what is going on around--"

Twilight jumped as Derpy spun around once more, looking furious.

"Nothing you need to know!" the pegasus shouted. "There's nothing to explain, all right? It's just... just..."

Derpy, at a loss for words, gave a long defeated sigh in which she let out all her anger. She then returned to her sniping position.

"I'm always normal," she muttered.

Twilight was so shocked by what she was witnessing that she could definitely not leave now. Tentatively she tried to approach Derpy.

"Always?" she asked. "Derpy are you saying that your, um... condition... It's--"

"Yeah," cut in the pegasus. "It's just a façade..."

"But... why?"

Derpy gave another sigh. She looked at Twilight as seriously as a cross-eyed mare could.

"If I tell you... you promise to tell nopony?"

"Yes! I mean no, no I won't!" stammered Twilight, surprised at how intimidating Derpy could be despite her eyes being out of focus.

"It is absolutely vital that you don't tell a single soul of what I'm going to tell you, understand?"

"Yeah!" said Twilight. "Not a soul, I promise!"

Derpy looked back into the aiming lens of her rifle and started talking in a visibly annoyed way.

"The truth is I'm not a mailmare either... that's just part of the act."

"An act? As in, to cover up something?"

"Yes, and please don't interrupt me," muttered Derpy. "I'm not really mentally hindered... I'm just the way you see me. I cover up my identity because of what I do for a living. If it were to be known that I'm just as intelligent as anyone else, those I'm up against would know who I am and they would hunt me down... And then you'd all be done for."

Twilight listened intently to what the pegasus was saying, but she wasn't quite getting it. "I don't understand," she said.

Derpy gave out yet another sigh.

"Look," she said. "You ever wondered about all the weird stuff that keeps happening around our town? Like the keeper of the gates of Tartarus just waltzing into Ponyville and stuff like that?"

"Well... yeah, but... that was just that one time and it was quickly resolved, so I guess I never thought about it."

"Really now? A lot of three-headed dogs back in Canterlot?" replied Derpy sarcastically.

Twilight didn't answer. Derpy resumed her explanation.

"Everypony thinks that these things just happen from time to time, and blow over eventually..." she said. "But the truth is, Twilight, there are a lot, and I mean a lot of weird and dangerous creatures out there. Ursa minors, Ursa majors, Cerberus... that ain't even half of it. There are so many many dangers out there that if they were free to trot into town, we would have been wiped out a long time ago."

"But... But they don't!" said Twilight, who was getting lost in Derpy's explanation. The pegasus nodded in response.

"That's right," she said. "And the only reason they don't is because I'm around town to stop them. That's my real job: I'm hired by the princesses to act as an undercover protector of Ponyville against all the crazy stuff there is out there."

Twilight was flabbergasted. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Derpy? A real-life mare-do-well?

"So you see," she continued, "that's why I act as a silly mailmare. To check on the well-being of our community. Also, it serves as a cover for me. You see, the dangerous foes I fight every now and then don't know that it's actually me that takes them out -- and not with paintball bullets, truth be told. No, they know there's someone out there against them, but they don't know it's me. If they did, they'd surely find a way to take me out by surprise. I'm just a pony after all."

She turned to Twilight.

"Now do you understand?" she said solemnly.

Twilight was having a hard time doing so, but it was slowly sinking in.

"Uh... yeah, I guess... I mean... wow."

Derpy turned back to her rifle. "Remember, Twilight," she said. "Not a peep out of you. You just happened to be here at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Of course!" said Twilight. But there was still one thing she didn't understand. "But... what are you doing here then? I mean, are you a player too?"

Derpy took a while to answer.

"Yeah... and no," she said. "I mean, I'll definitely be looking for the prize, whatever it is. I intend to be the last pony standing like anypony else. But I can't really go out on the field like this, with my trusty rifle. My cover could get easily blown. Besides, Princess Celestia told me I could play the game but that I was still on duty."

"Why?" asked Twilight. "Is there anything dangerous out there in the game?"

Derpy blinked, and slowly raised herself up from her crouching position. She looked at the trees below, her gaze seemingly lost in space. She pursed her lips, and Twilight understood that Derpy believed she had made a mistake and told the unicorn too much.

The pegasus gave a sigh, and looked at Twilight.

"In this world," she began, "there is only one creature, one foe, that knows of my true identity."

Twilight's interest was now piqued even further. "Really?"

"Yeah," said Derpy. "And Celestia fears that he actually might find his way into the game and wreck everything."

"He?" asked Twilight. "Who's he?"

"You know," said Derpy, turning to Twilight with a very grave expression. "... Him."

Twilight still didn't understand. She rummaged through all the people she knew...

And then, horribly, it hit her.

"Oh, no..." she said, aghast.

Oh yes... said a voice out of nowhere. It was very low, and boomed through the trees. Derpy started as though stung by a bee, and pointed her rifle angrily at wherever the voice had come from.

Twilight was terrified once more. For the voice confirmed her suspicions, as it could only belong to one creature.

It was Discord.

The low rumble of his voice was heard once more, as he gave a low and ominous laugh that echoed all around them. A question ran through Twilight's mind.

Is this what Pinkie was talking about?

Suddenly, Twilight felt a very bizarre sensation in her head, and her horn suddenly shone bright with magic. A weird, unexplainable feeling coursed through her and she found herself incredibly surprised, for she suddenly knew where the draconequus was. She turned to look at a part of the forest.

"Derpy! Over there!" she said, pointing a hoof in front of her.

The pegasus lost no time in pondering how Twilight saw it, but she saw it as well. From somewhere between the trees she could see just the end of Discord's tail flailing about above the treetops. Immediately she pointed her rifle at it and fired a paintball. The bullet zipped strongly through the skies towards the tail. It missed, but it was a very close shot. Discord withdrew his tail, hissing angrily and disappearing into the woods.

There was silence once more. Derpy stayed as she was, panting a little. For a few seconds more she pointed her gun at other parts of the forest, looking to see if she couldn't spot the creature again. But he had disappeared for the time being.

Lowering her weapon, she turned to Twilight and gave her a curious look. She had heard all about the unicorn's incredible abilities and how they never failed to impress. They had just shown themselves to her for the first time, and Derpy could confirm that the unicorn's magical abilities were indeed quite extraordinary, and quite useful in a tight spot.

Derpy decided that she had changed her mind.

"You should stay here, Twilight," she stated.

"What?" said Twilight, surprised by the offer.

"Yeah," continued Derpy. "I don't know how you did it, but... you just found out where Discord was hiding. It just came to you. Naturally you can leave now or whenever you want... but if your horn can act as a radar for whenever our enemy is nearby, it would be incredibly useful to me."

Twilight was a little stunned. "I don't know..." she said. "I-I didn't do that on purpose, you know... It just happened. I don't know if it'll work again. I don't think I can be much help to you."

"I'll take whatever I can get," said Derpy.

Twilight stared at her. The pegasus, whom she now saw in a shocking new light, had put a lot of trust into her. And all things considered, Twilight had virtually no chance of winning the game. She was inexperienced, and she didn't even care that much about the prize in the first place. She decided that this might be a much better role to play, safe up here on the bluff... looking for Equestria's biggest threat.

"Ok," she said. "I'll stay."

* * *

Much later, when night had fallen, Twilight lay on her back on the bluff, trying to get some sleep. She looked up wondrously at the beautiful view she had. The jet-black sky was exposed to her in the crisp air of the night. It was sprawled out in all its immensity above her, as if made of ink. She lost herself in the ocean of stars above, and felt very, very small contemplating the reaches of space above her.

As serene as all of this was, she kept mulling over the crazy events of the day. She had gone from waking up to a normal day in Ponyville, to being thrown into an Everfree-wide game of paintball that she had no experience in, to ending up stargazing here in the mountains.

She turned to Derpy. The pegasus was still hunched over her sniper rifle, eyeing the scenery below as she had done for the last few hours. A fire that they had made burned in the middle of the rocky outcrop, casting shadows all over it in the night. From their first near-encounter with Discord to the point of now when the cicadas sang under the moon, they had not run into him again. But he was out there, somewhere in the woods, no doubt plotting against the world once more. Twilight understood that it was necessary for her to stay here to spot him if he got too close, and for Derpy to keep an eye on the ponies playing the game, as their watchful protector.

"Huh... Well done, little Pipsqueak," Twilight heard Derpy say to herself. Apparently the pegasus could see everything through that lens of hers.

As Twilight pondered on, she saw Derpy reaching for something in a bag next to her. Twilight supposed that they contained snacks, because the pegasus had been taking one out of the bag every now and then for the past hour.

"Der-- Ditzy?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Is it hard for you to keep your eyes crossed all the time for the sake of disguise?"

To this question Derpy gave a loud and amused laugh.

"Actually," she said. "I’m just naturally cross-eyed. Makes it kind of ironic that I would turn out to be a sniper, huh..."

Twilight found it a little amusing herself. She suddenly realized something. Derpy's cutie mark weren't bubbles as most ponies thought. That made no sense. They were actually bullets viewed from the front.

"What are you eating?" she asked.

Derpy showed her, and Twilight grinned. Of course.

"Muffins," she said. "Made with special Sleepyhead Seeds that keep you awake for hours. Thanks to these I can stay awake and alert for days on end, which is quite useful when you have to be on your guard at all times. Celestia orders them specially from Sugarcube Corner for me, so as to not raise any questions. By the way, if you didn't tell Pinkie Pie about any of this, I would be most grateful."

"Of course."

Twilight mulled over the extraordinary revelations she had had about the grey pegasus. Who would have thought Derpy had such an important role to play in everypony's lives? She was no ordinary mailmare, and the reason she blended seamlessly in the background wherever she went was not anything Twilight could have ever figured out. Derpy was royally appointed to keep Ponyville safe and sound, and she devoted herself fully to that purpose. And to think, that she could never be allowed to be thanked or praised for what she did. Maybe, just maybe...

Maybe this game is all just a subtle plan for the princesses to stop Equestria from falling into the clutches of evil once more.

"You should get some sleep yourself, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight agreed. She tried to keep her mind off of things, but she couldn't do it that easily. Eventually, though, she did fall asleep. She would need her rest, considering what was to come in the next few days.

Canterlot Life...

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter V

In the woods, a pony called Octavia trotted with her gun at the ready, very carefully and without a sound.

She didn’t consider herself particularly skilled at paintball. She had tried it once as a foal, and had actually enjoyed it. They always said she had very nimble hooves for a pony. But then she picked up the cello, and she never let go of it since. Her paintball skills, had she any to begin with, had waned a long time ago. That was the reason for which, unlike her partner, she chose the path of prudence.

Next to her, the famous Vinyl Scratch was trotting and making noise quite carelessly. Octavia didn’t care much for the silly “dubtrot” sounds the unicorn was making. In fact it seemed to her no one would think of pairing the two of them together, seeing as how different they were in their definition of music. But the fact that the two of them had landed in the woods immediately together had made her smile. Despite everything, it was an obvious pairing. It seemed to her that despite the two of them having next to nothing in common, they always ended up running into each other.

“Cut that out, Vinyl,” said Octavia. “It’s bad enough that ponies can see your electric colors in the middle of the night, don’t make us easy to hear either,” she teased, recalling an encounter they’d had the night before.

“Heh, sorry,” said Vinyl. “Just thinking about the awesome turntable set Celestia is going to give me once I win the game."

Octavia looked at her with a cheeky grin and eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Is that so?” she asked rhetorically.

“Uh, duh,” replied Vinyl. “I’m an ace paintball player!”

“Is that so?” said Octavia with a giggle.

“Yeah!” replied Vinyl. “I used to play all the time as a filly! Ponies around here don’t stand a chance!” she said, grinning and bobbing her head once so that her trademark glasses, which rested on her head above her horn, fell on her snout.

Octavia shook her own head playfully. “Well I’m glad to see that you’re able to remain such a sweet foal at heart,” she said. “Playing with toys and whatnot.”

“A full Pioneighr set is not a toy!” replied Vinyl. “It’s a instrument of awesomeness! Not like your boring old cello!”

“The cello, my friend, is an instrument of utmost class and prestige,” said Octavia. This remark earned her a scoff from the white unicorn, to whom she shot an angry glare. “Don’t gloat! I don’t think you could fully grasp the intelligent concept of classical music -- which by the way is the ancestor of your 'deejaying'. My cello doesn’t need any fancy gadgets or blinking lights. The emotion and power contained in its humble wooden body is what makes it simply majestic.”

Vinyl scoffed again. “Yeah, well,” she said, “I’ll give you an instrument of class; the hoof that I’m going to use to kick everypony’s fla--”

She was cut short by Octavia suddenly grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and pulling her hard to the ground. “Get down!” hissed the earth pony as they crouched behind a bush.

Vinyl was a little surprised, but then she looked at Octavia with a grin. “Well, well, well,” she said, “talk about not being able to resist me, Tavi.”

“Silence, you foal!” hissed Octavia. “Look!”

With a hoof she carefully pushed the bush in front of them aside to reveal what she had seen.

Vinyl saw a pony in between the trees, right in front of them. Just like her, that pony was a white unicorn. She seemed to be talking to herself.

“Oh my stars!” she said in a whining yet elegant voice. “Whatever shall I do? Woe is me, for I am surrounded by paint! Paint! Horrible, icky, sticky, messy pa-a-aint!” she complained, with exaggerated sobbing on the last word.

The theatrics of the pony left Vinyl puzzled. “Who is that?” she whispered.

“Don’t you recognize her?” whispered Octavia back. “Her name is Rarity. She’s one of the elements of harmony!”

“Oh really?”

“Yes...”

Vinyl continued to watch Rarity’s display of misery with mixed emotions. The white mare had just fallen to the ground in her sobbing, sprawled out on the grass.

“Why? Why must this fate befall me so?” she cried. “I am a lady, a refined pony of class! I’m not meant to take part in such a barbaric activity! All this messiness is not good at all for my fragile nerves! And if my nerves are wrought, then I’ll start sweating! And if I start sweating, my coat will get grimy! Oh, the very thought of it is making me sweat! It’s a vicious cycle!”

And with those words she burst into a very loud fit of crying and convulsing on the ground. Upon seeing this, Vinyl felt no empathy at all for Rarity. She withdrew her head a little and winced.

“What is up with that mare?” she whispered. “Does she have a death wish or something? How does no one hear that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Octavia, with a malicious grin. “I hear her. Which makes her easy prey for us.”

“You’re gonna shoot her?”

“Yes. But let’s not be rash, or our cover will be blown”. She cocked her gun. “One shot will do.”

“Are you sure about this, Tavi?”

“Of course! They always said I had nimble hooves.”

Carefully Octavia parted the bush a little more and slowly edged the barrel of her gun forward. After a few seconds, she fired a shot.

The grey paintball that was fired zipped forward through the air. It missed Rarity, and instead splattered against a tree behind her. Rarity gave out a yelp and jumped as the bullet flew right next to her perfect mane.

“Ah! Who goes there? Stop, please! I’m unarmed!”

Octavia was going to fire another shot, but seeing as how Rarity was indeed unarmed she decided against it. With a grunt she revealed herself from behind the bush.

Vinyl got up as well, and looked at Octavia.

“Nice going, madame fumble-hooves.”

“Oh, be quiet!” retorted Octavia.

“Please!” pleaded Rarity as she slowly got up. “I implore you! Have mercy on me! I lost myself in the forest while playing this dreadful game! I misplaced my absolutely gorgeous paintball gun and now I’m galloping for my life!”

Octavia turned to Vinyl. “You see?” she said. “There’s a pony who knows how to behave!”

Vinyl gave her a grimace in response.

“Wait a minute!” said Rarity, whose eyes suddenly widened in realization. “Oh my stars! You’re Octavia Philarmonica, the cello artist!”

“Yes, that’s me,” said Octavia feeling quite pleased at being recognized for once. “And this is Vinyl Scratch, also known as DJ PON-3.”

“Pleasure,” said Rarity with a curt nod towards the unicorn, who didn’t really know how she should reply. Rarity turned back to Octavia. “This is such an honour, madame! I’ve seen you play at the Grand Galloping Gala last year and I must say your playing style was simply to die for!”

“How kind of you,” replied the flattered earth pony. “But I have much to learn still.”

“Oh don’t be so modest!” said Rarity, dismissing her claims with a hoof. “You were simply divine! Oh, you have no idea how honored I am to run into such a high-class pony like you in the midst of this game of ruffians! And I’m ever so grateful that you spared me because I’m unarmed. It just goes to show that some ponies know better than to mindlessly shoot others!”

“Um... thank you,” said Octavia with a sheepish smile, not willing to reveal that she for one actually enjoyed this massive game of paintball they were playing. Apparently, Rarity had completely forgotten that Octavia had just tried to shoot her.

The white unicorn gave a short and giddy giggle. “Oh dear! I have just had the most delightful idea! What say you to making a three-pony team with me, until I find my way out of this terrible place?”

Vinyl and Octavia looked at each other in surprise.

“Well, I guess that would be alright,” said Vinyl. “But... you don’t have a gun, right?”

Rarity shuffled on the spot and looked at the ground absent-mindedly.

“Oh yes, well, there’s that,” she said. “I’m just going to be a burden to you without a gun, aren’t I...”

As she said this, she looked at Octavia with a look she tried to keep casual, but she couldn’t help giving a tiny little smile away. Octavia got the hint, but it was Vinyl who spoke first

“I... guess you can borrow my gun, Rarity,” she said.

“Really?” replied the unicorn, lightening up like a lightbulb. “Oh my, thank you so much for your generous offer!”

With a polite smile, Vinyl handed Rarity her gun. The unicorn took it gently in her hooves and eyed it for a few seconds.

“Now then,” she said. “You won’t be needing yours either.”

Giving Octavia a sincere smile, Rarity quickly placed the barrel of the white gun right in between the cello player’s forehead.

Octavia and Vinyl didn’t have time to comprehend exactly what was happening, in their bewilderment, as a shot suddenly rang out. Octavia thought it was Rarity, but the fashionista hadn’t even blinked. The shot had come from above, and Vinyl yelped as it hit her right on the forehead, staining her glasses.

It was from the tree that they were all standing under that the mystery shooter dropped down to the ground. Octavia didn’t recognize him and was quite surprised to see that it was not a pony, but a little purple and green dragon.

“Gotcha!” said Spike with pride. “You shoulda thought twice before shooting at Lady Rarity!”

“W-What?” said Octavia, looking back and forth helplessly between Rarity and the little creature.

“Do try to understand, dear,” said Rarity in a confident and elegant tone of voice that was nothing like her fragile tone of mere seconds before. “The prize is whatever my heart desires. You already have a place in the Canterlot elite; I think it’s only fitting that I should obtain mine, n’est-ce pas?”

Octavia’s color was starting to drain from her face. She’d fallen in one nasty trap.

“H-how... how could you?” she asked in a quivering voice.

“Don’t tell me you’re not used to underhand tricks such as this one. It’s all part of the high life, after all.”

Octavia didn’t have time to respond before she was shot ruthlessly at point-blank. The whole world went silent as she felt the pain of the very harsh impact of paint between her eyes. For a while she did nothing, swaying softly in her daze. Then she absent-mindedly picked Vinyl off the ground and the two of them limped away into the woods.

Rarity looked at Spike as he added both of their guns to the belt of weapons he was already wearing, which she thought made a most bizarre skirt for him. She giggled at the thought.

“That’s number seven I believe?” she asked.

“Yup!” said Spike. “And that’s not counting mine or yours!”

“How on earth do you manage to carry all those weapons with you and still be as agile, Spikey-wikey? Why, each one of them is about half your size!”

Spike turned to Rarity and gave her a very tender look. “I manage,” he said in a dreamy and wistful voice.

Rarity rolled her eyes in amusement. She certainly knew what kind of prize he was after.

“Let’s get going,” she said.

They both set forward, Rarity trotting calmly while Spike walked nearby, concealing himself in the trees and waiting for their next prey.

* * *

Fluttershy breathed out a long sigh of relief. It seemed to her that it had been ages since the last time she was able to relax like this. It was fall, and there were few things that she enjoyed more than the early sunsets of fall in the Everfree.

This third day of the competition had started out just fine for her. From the moment she was softly awoken by stray beams of sunlight on her cheeks, she’d been pleasantly surprised to discover that today’s weather wasn’t at all like the heavy, strenuous climate of the days before. Today, the sky was free of clouds. Today the sky was of a soft blue, that nice autumnal kind that carried a hint of orange that made everything seem warm and golden. Yesterday’s stale ambiance, that had left an irritating emptiness in the air, was whisking away with the gentle breeze of today. It picked up from time to time, but never too much.

It was in this heavenly setting that the yellow pegasus lay on her belly, peaceful and content, under a tree to rest. It was a good tree; the kind that was thick and solid at the trunk, deeply rooted in the rich and plentiful earth below, and yet did not stand that high above the ground. This one, in fact, was crooked. It was bent ever so slightly, so that the many branches that stemmed from it seemed to arch above her. All in all, Fluttershy found herself resting on a fresh green carpet of grass under a natural alcove of branches and leaves. Eyes closed and dozing off, she enjoyed all the sweet sounds around her, the delicate smells, and the harmonious balance created by the warm glow of the setting sun mixed with the fresh caress of the breeze on her fur.

I could stay here forever... she thought to herself. It wasn’t the first time she’s had that thought, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Even though they’d had their share of scary encounters, during all of which Fluttershy had hidden and let Applejack take control, it had been a good day for the two of them. They’d taken a nice stroll through the forest, talking about all sorts of nice things like how Fluttershy was busy preparing all her woodland friends for the annual hibernation season, and how Cider season would be starting soon for the Apple family. Fluttershy replayed in her head the satisfying sound of crisp and fallen leaves brushing against each other as her hooves treaded among them. It had been such a good day up to now. Eventful for sure, but there were no crazy occurrences like Applejack and her brother trying to shoot each other. And that was just the way Fluttershy liked it.

Fluttershy opened an eye to look at her friend. Applejack was resting comfortably herself, lounging at the foot of the tree. Her hat was tipped low forward to shield her eyes from the sunlight, and she had a hay straw twitching at the corner of her lips. With her back pressed to the the trunk and her gun at her side, she truly fit the part of the cowpony resting after a long day under the hot sun.

“How’s it goin’ sugarcube?” she asked softly without looking up.

“How did you know I was looking at you, Applejack?” replied Fluttershy.

Hidden in the shadow of the brim of Applejack’s trusty hat, Fluttershy could see a grin on the earth pony’s face.

“Just paid attention is all,” said Applejack. “Ya didn’t think ah was actually sleepin’, did ya?”

“Actually I did,” said Fluttershy. “This is such a nice way to end the day, don’t you think?”

“Can’t afford it,” replied Applejack briefly. “Ah gotta be ready in case something happens.”

“Oh, I don’t see what could possibly happen now,” she said, smiling broadly.

“Exactly,” said Applejack. “That’s the point. Ya don’t see it comin’.”

Fluttershy said nothing, secretly thinking that this was nothing but a nice calm evening for a change, and that her friend was just being a little paranoid after all the fighting she’d done.

“It always starts with silence,” she muttered. “It was always like that when ah was jus’ a lil’ filly still losin’ ta Mac at paintball on sundays at the orchard. Ah remember, one day... Apple family reunion a few years back. Ah was lookin’ for Mac for hours and hours, without gettin’ no glimpse of him no how. Ah wanted ta find him so bad that day... Ah’d never won before, see. Not once. So ah looked again and again in the same ol’ spots. Nelly, ah went through every corner o’ the orchard so many times ah’d learnt it all by heart. But eventually ah couldn’ take it no more. Ah figured it was all right, that he was jus’ tired o’ lookin’ an’ that he gave up the game without tellin’. So ah sat down a while... started dozin’ off under a tree ta calm mah nerves...”

There was a moment of silence. Fluttershy had gotten curious.

“And then?” she said, half-whispering.

Applejack slowly tipped her hat upwards, revealing her green eyes, and a smirk on her face.

“Ah forgot lil’ Applebloom was still playin’ the game. She shot me in mah sleep.”

“... Oh,” said Fluttershy.

“Yeah,” said Applejack pensively. “First time she ever shot anypony herself. Jus’ goes ta show, somethin’ always happens when it gets all quiet in the game, and ya never expect it. Best ya can do is stay awake for when it comes.”

She set her hat back the way it was, allowing her eyes to rest from the sunshine. Fluttershy closed her own eyes and went back to her dozing. She could have fallen right back asleep comfortably, but she heard Applejack mutter something quietly from under her stetson.

“The look on that filly’s face... Ah swear, she was bouncin’ around like she’d won the town’s mud rastlin’ contest.”

It was just then, as if on cue, that the slow breeze picked up quite abruptly. It blew strongly in a long, drawn-out huff that whistled somewhat and shook the leaves. Fluttershy cringed; there had been the occasional gust of wind today, but this one was the strongest. It sent a chill coursing through her, disrupting her sleep.

Suddenly, something bumped into the pegasus, making her jump in surprise. She looked about and saw that it was only Applejack’s hat, which had flown off the farm pony’s head and bounced off of her, carried away softly by the wind until it got snagged on a branch not too high up.

Startled, she turned to Applejack. The farm pony simply sat there and looked at where her hat had set itself with a disgruntled look.

“Shoot,” she finally said. Grumbling, she got up to retrieve her hat. “What ah tell ya,” she muttered. “Ya never expect it. Good thing ah was awake.”

She trotted slowly to the tree on which hung up her hat. The branch was low, but not low enough for Applejack to reach up and grab. She turned around, and bucked the tree to make her hat fall, and fall it did. But before it could reach the ground, it was blown away further beyond the trees by a new gust of wind.

Applejack gave a loud sigh. She was beginning to lose patience. She started galloping through the forest, giving chase to her hat, which drifted elusively along a slow breeze. Strangely enough, as fast as she ran, Applejack could never get a hold of the hat even though it was floating mere inches from her. It was almost as if the wind was teasing her towards someplace in the woods.

Suddenly, the breeze picked up quite sharply, and Applejack witnessed in surprise as the hat flew away beyond the trees where she could not see it. She stared at the spot where it had been just a second ago, before trudging on with a huff of annoyance.

She ran for a long time, and was starting to be afraid that Fluttershy would not be able to follow and that they might lose each other. But as good a friend as the pegasus was, Applejack was not about to let anypony see the day where she would turn her back on her hat.

Eventually, after much galloping, she suddenly arrived at a clearing. It was a large, isolated spot in the forest, hidden from the outside by a ring of trees. The grass there was of a strangely pale and electric green, almost jade, that gave it a mysterious feel. In the middle of the clearing was a pond of water, visibly clear from being filtered by the ring of mineral stones that surrounded its edge and made its bed.

Applejack could have just galloped on through the clearing. After all, her hat was missing. But there were a few things that compelled her to stay.

First of all, this place had a unique touch to it. Applejack could not exactly put her hoof on it, but this wasn’t just any clearing. She had a steel resolve to move along and find her hat... but something unseen was tugging at her. She felt that she could actually stop here, shut out the world beyond and just relax forever. Applejack knew she was very earthly even for an earth pony, and that she wasn’t as knowledgeable about the average pony when it came to magic. Nonetheless, she knew magic when she felt it, and it was right here, in this strange clearing.

Yet that was not what compelled her to stay. She was strong-minded, and it only took her a shake of the head to dismiss the thought. She would have moved on.

But somepony was indeed relaxing here, by the lake.

That was one thing. Another thing was that it wasn’t a pony. Sitting by the lake, dipping her hooves in the water, was a zebra. And everyone knows there’s only one zebra that lives near Ponyville and the Everfree. Applejack knew her well, for they had met a few times before. Normally, she would have simply trotted up to Zecora to say hello. But things were different now. She couldn’t afford to forget she was part of a competition in which she was alone against all others. If she showed friendliness towards any of them, she’d most likely be shot right then and there -- or worse, tricked into a fake alliance, and then shot. Such is the harsh law of paintball, and Applejack knew it only too well.

There was no going around it. She would have to be careful. Not only because she didn’t know whether Zecora was a skilled paintball opponent or not, but because as it happens, she found the zebra wearing her hat as if it were her own.

There were a few questions to be asked.

Carefully.

... and Rhyming Strife, a.k.a. It Never Fails

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter VI

Applejack trotted a little forward towards the zebra, keeping her distance all the same. She made sure to make just a little noise, so as to make her presence known and not startle Zecora, which would lead to a shootout.

“Howdy there, Zecora!” she called out.

Zecora kept tipping the surface of the pond with her hooves. Then she turned her head just a little, without looking behind her.

“And a good day to you, my pony friend. What brings you here to the wood’s end?”

Applejack took a step forward.

“Well, it’s kinda silly, heh,” she chuckled. “Ah was jus’ mindin’ mah own business when the wind blew mah hat away into the forest! So I ran after it ‘n here ah am. An’ lucky enough fer me, I reckon yer the one who found it! Celestia knows how long ah woulda been runnin’ otherwise, so thanks a mite there!”

She stopped talking, expecting some sort of polite reply from the zebra. But there was none. Instead Zecora simply turned her head a little more, staring strangely into space. She spoke quietly.

“The wind brings to me many things. But why should it be your hat, as the wind blows and sings?”

Applejack slowly put a hoof to her gun.

“Yeah, well, can’t stop the wind from blowin’, right?”

Zecora stepped off the rocks at the edge of the pool and turned to face Applejack, who withdrew her hoof from her weapon a little quicker than she would have liked. The zebra gave her her usual serene, soothing smile.

“Indeed. The wind is reckless, and it does not halt. The way it snatched your hat was not your fault.”

Applejack, feeling just a little relieved, tried to return Zecora’s smile. There was a moment of silence, in which Applejack expected Zecora to trot up to her and return her hat. But that didn’t happen. Instead the zebra kept on smiling, and Applejack’s became increasingly awkward and hard to maintain.

“Um... Ah’m gonna come an’ collect mah hat now,” she said. She didn’t know why she said it like that, like a policemare addressing a felon, but it was too late now. She started walking slowly towards Zecora, when the latter raised a hoof in the air. Applejack froze.

“Normally,” began the zebra, “it would all be the same. But I believe you and I are playing a game?”

Shoot.

Applejack knew it couldn’t have been this easy. But at least now the truth of the matter was coming to light, and she didn’t feel as awkward anymore. She steadied herself and looked at Zecora with a focused look.

“That’s right,” she said.

Zecora brought a hoof up to the hat, from under which she produced her own gray paintball gun. The average player would have been startled and would have clumsily started shooting left and right out of panic. But not Applejack. She tensed up at Zecora touching her hat, but she was focused enough not to lash out.

Zecora raised her gun for Applejack to see the side of it. It bore the zebra’s curious spiral of a cutie mark. Applejack saw, beyond the gun, that Zecora’s eyes had narrowed a little, making her smile less comforting.

“A game of paintball, for all to play. This is where we find ourselves today. But wealth or friendship, we have to choose. For only one player wins; the others lose.”

* * *

I hear something.

Something. Or somepony? Something is running through the woods.

I feel it. Its fear.

* * *

There was definitely no turning back now. Applejack had fallen into another sticky situation; and she knew that the only way she was going to get out of it was by gaining the upper hoof.

"Hmph. Yer quite right," she said.

She took another couple hoofsteps forward. This time they were bolder, not slow and silent like before, as if she had no opponent in front of her. Zecora made no move, but became a little more alert.

"So which one is it? " asked Applejack almost defiantly. "Friendship? Or the bounty?”

She took another few steps forward.

“If you want it yer gonna have to shoot me out of yer way. And ah'm right here. Ain't got mah gun towards ya. So go ahead, shoot me. Nothin's stoppin' ya, nothin's in yer way. Jus' shoot me an’ ah’m gone.”

Zecora watched Applejack intently. She knew that this pony was the level-headed type, but she was still surprised at how much guts the pony showed her in the face of her gun.

She looked at Applejack for a while. Then she gave a good chuckle in her low voice.

“Like you, I choose the most righteous path; for I know that reward never comes after wrath.”

Applejack put on a little grin. Her intimidation had worked. Zecora knew what she was up against, and wasn’t going to simply shoot her out like a lost little filly.

But still, she was not completely relieved. She knew Zecora as a kind and wise zebra to whom ponies could go for counsel. Now it seemed to her that like many other good paintball players, the zebra had discarded that dominant side of her for a cold and calculating exterior.

She often wondered why that was. Why good players felt the need to change themselves for the sake of a game. She tried being honest and fair with everypony and everypony she met; and that included paintball. She couldn’t understand why some players had to be ruthless and unkind to win. Perhaps it was their fear of losing that hardened them, rather than their will to better themselves. That was why Applejack played the game herself.

She was drawn out of her short daydreaming by Zecora.

“But it seems that that to be righteous, there is only one correct way; for one of us will be ousted, at the end of the day.”

“Fancily said, but yeah. Only one of us is gonna leave this here place untouched. But does that mean ya can’t stay righteous for the sake of the game, like ya put it?”

She took yet another step forward.

“Or does that mean ah talk too much to yer taste?”

* * *

Yes, I feel it. Somepony, somepony is running.

Running for... their life? Maybe.

That fear. I can feel it. I can taste it. That fear is like wild berries.

Tasty... I need to know who’s so tasty.

This way...

* * *

Zecora’s smile was gone now. Applejack did indeed talk too much for her taste. And she was getting too close, too. She wasn’t so close that it was threatening to her, but the zebra felt she had let her opponent come too close already.

“So what’ll it be?” said Applejack. “Duel? Mexicolt standoff? You name it.”

Zecora gave another chuckle.

“When it comes to paintball, I am quite a mess; this unfortunately I must confess. But for this lack of skill, I feel no shame; for I am quite skilled, but in another game. And since you, Applejack, have set hoof in this place, you have little time to beat me in this race.”

“Just what are you goin’ on about, Zecora? What game? If it’s a race you want ah’ll outrun the wind if ah have to!”

Zecora chuckled.

“I meant that there will be no shooting anymore; and the race was just a metaphor. No, I challenge you to neither race or standoff; Instead, I challenge you to a rhyme-off.”

Applejack was not expecting that at all.

“Beg ya pardon?”

“A rhyme-off, I say, a test of your wording! The art of waging war only by speaking. From the next sentence on, when you speak, every time, you will have to follow it with something that will rhyme. This will go on and on, so that there are no ties; If one of us can’t rhyme...”

She cocked her gun without taking caution in front of Applejack.

“... Then that player dies.”

Applejack stared long and hard at the zebra opposite her. She considered her options very carefully.

She could run away. Right there, just turn around and gallop out of the clearing without a word. But even though she could, that was not an option; Zecora had her hat. Besides, poor paintball skills or not, the zebra would easily be able to shoot her in the back that way. So no running away.

She would have to stay. But the thought of staying here for a moment longer frustrated Applejack. Time was short, she had a competition to win, and Fluttershy was probably beside herself with worry right now, on her own. Why was Zecora even doing this? Just for the satisfaction of having her hat? Did Zecora feel in power right now? This was paintball time, gosh darn it, not fancy rhyming time! And Applejack had a mind to set the zebra’s priorities straight.

There was only one problem, however.

Zecora had her in a bind. She’d announced the rules of a new game, and as much as Applejack hated to admit it, the zebra did have the upper hoof right now. Applejack had the gut feeling that if she just didn’t play along, she would be shot unceremoniously on the spot.

She would have to bargain with her, just like she did with Big Macintosh a few days ago. But this time she wasn’t speaking to family.

Shoot. She’d really put her hoof in it, this time. Put her hoof in it big time.

* * *

I’m close now, I think.

Yes, I’m close. That feel of panic in the air... So good. So sweet on my tongue.

It’s running. Crying. It’s terrified, yes.

But where is it?

* * *

Time to act. Applejack was a mare of action and little words, so she choose to proceed in little rhymes.

“Listen, Zecora, ah don’t know what yer gettin’ at. Ah’ll leave ya alone if ya just give me mah hat.”

Zecora flashed her a grin.

“So you chose to play along with my game, I see. I must say you have chosen quite wisely.”

“Ah ain’t playin’ for long, ah intend ta be short. Ah was already caught up in another sport,” she replied dryly. “Yer also a player, said Celestia by the way. Ya can’t jus’ bend her rules and have yer say.”

“You’ve been showing off your paintball skills all day long. I’d say it’s time for you to sing another song.”

Applejack was fuming. The nerve of that zebra!

“How dare you, Zecora, ta trap me like a rat! What in tarnation has gotten into ya like that?”

“If you’re talking about our friendship, it remains all the same. I’ve just cast it aside for the duration of the game.”

“What a cheap excuse just ta escape the blame. Didn’t think ya’d be the type ta play a coward’s game.”

Zecora’s grin vanished. Applejack could see, with moderate satisfaction, that her words had some effect on the zebra. Not only because she was being very blunt about her thoughts in an effort to distract her opponent, and was being successful, but also because both of them felt to their mutual surprise that Applejack was slowly getting the hang of rhyming and that her word flow was easing itself.

Zecora decided that she couldn’t allow the farm pony to take control. This was her domain, not the ponies’.

“Meanwhile, you shall play till you can’t rhyme again. We shall see who is the coward then.”

That zebra has gone and lost it. Ah guess too much spooky forest medicine will do that to ya.

“Yer on, Zecora. I’ll show ya.”

* * *

I can feel it in my blood.

So good... that fear... so intoxicating.

Now then, let’s see who’s a tasty little pony...

* * *

An hour had passed. The game still wasn’t over.

Zecora hadn’t budged, easily countering every rhyme her opponent offered her with her own carefully crafted poetry. She was steady and ready to carry on like this for days.

The same couldn’t be said for Applejack.

She was shaking. Invisible droplets of sweat were pearling at the sides of her head. It was taking her all of her strength to actually think through every single word she said and craft her sentences coherently; much more than usual, in any case. She understood now that the zebra had been somewhat clever; while a rhyming game was seemingly a fair deal compared to a shootout, one that most ponies would take without thinking twice, she realized now that it was actually much harder than it seemed. Especially for a farm pony like her. She didn’t know how much more of this she could endure.

Briefly she reconsidered that option. Could she just call it off and shoot the zebra right now? No. No, she couldn’t. Zecora would be expecting it. And with her nerves slowly getting the better of her, she would hardly be able to make it a successful shot, and Zecora would just avoid it, shoot back straight at Applejack and that would be the end of her.

She cursed herself for being such a fool.

She was sure now that she should have taken a risk and just started shooting at Zecora, especially since she had admitted to not being a good shot. She could have taken her out easily. Instead, she had let herself be tricked into a bad compromise. A rhyme-off! with Zecora! What was she thinking? She was just a country mare, and that zebra had been talking exclusively in rhymes since Celestia knows when!

She was playing the devil.

An’ there ain’t no winnin’ against that.

Zecora broke the unbearable silence -- for Applejack, at least -- that had been hanging like a ton of bricks between them.

“It’s your turn to talk, and yet, not a peep,” she said. She flashed her opponent a cheeky grin. “Perhaps now you realize that you’re in too deep?”

“What in all tarnation d’ya want me to say?” shouted Applejack, actually struggling to speak out the words. “It’s just ah... ah don’t have all day!”

“Anything you might say will do just fine,” replied Zecora. “That is, if it rhymes, or else victory is mine.”

Consarn it! thought Applejack. She was really grasping at straws now. She would have to say anything that came to mind and just hope that the zebra would somehow trip. She decided to just make up a final, long-winded rhyme and call it quits.

“In Sweet Apple Acres, born an’ raised, on the orchard was where ah spent most of mah days, chillin’ out, maxin’ an’ relaxin’ all cool and all buckin’ some apple trees outside o’ the local school, when a couple o’ colts, who were up to no good, started makin’ trouble in mah neighborhood! Ah got in one lil’ fight an’ Granny got scared, and said ‘Yer movin’ with yer auntie and uncle in...’”

She hesitated, her heart rate rising as Zecora raised an eyebrow and slowly raised her gun. She couldn’t just say ‘Manehattan’.

“... Somewhere,” she finally said with a sheepish smirk. It was a rhyme, after all.

She would have waited for Zecora’s reply, but instead decided to pull a fast one on her.

“And there ya have it, that’s it, ah’m done. Mah final rhyme’s this long an’ twisted one. Now if you’ll excuse me, ah gotta grab my hat and git; ah got a game ta win lickity split!”

Zecora looked at Applejack with a neutral expression for a moment. She seemed to be mulling something over. Applejack felt a little proud; she intended to leave with her hat right now and leave it at that, but now she was thinking she actually might have managed to stump Zecora.

But the zebra simply shrugged.

“An hour into the game, and already you’re stuck,” she said with a grin. “But from a mare of orange, I expected no further luck.”

Now it was Applejack’s turn to be stumped. Orange? What, her fur? What did that have to do with anything?

She would have just taken her hat, and left quietly. But curiosity got the better of her -- as well as pride, because even though she couldn’t exactly tell why, she felt insulted somehow. She’d have to give just one more rhyme, to prove herself.

“What do you mean, ‘a mare of orange’? What does that have ta do with... with...”

Something awful clicked inside Applejack’s brain. The world seemed to progressively become distant, as the sound all around her faded out.

“W-with...”

Oh buck.

It was a trap. There was no word that rhymed with orange.

Applejack started sweating profusely, and her heart rate picked up dramatically. She looked about, and caught Zecora’s gaze.

It was cold, and narrow-eyed. The zebra shot her a ruthless, triumphant grin as the audible clack of her loaded weapon resounded in Applejack’s ears.

It... It can’t end! Not like this!

Applejack felt scared and helpless. She knew that look only too well. It was the look of a pony who had lost itself in a game of power, and would stop for no one to be its winner. It was a terrible feeling, to watch the friendly zebra turn into a greedy predator.

Her mind raced desperately to find a solution, as the world seemed to slow down and became quiet around her... but all she could feel was despair. It had been nagging her for a while, and it was now that she realized it.

She had played many a good game of paintball before, with her friends and family. But now that she was playing on a much larger scale, everypony only thought about the promise of reward anymore, and the whole thing had spun out of their control. The prize... She didn’t care about that, for one. She never thought that paintball would turn into this for her. It was supposed to be a game, a friendly competition she enjoyed with her friends. A game of respect, camaraderie and just all around fun, a test of one’s heart and skill. Not a game of greed and trickery... not this.

She stared into Zecora’s cold eyes without moving. The zebra had raised her weapon and was taking careful aim at the farm mare.

Applejack then sighed, and closed her eyes. She tried to relax. It was over.

Sorry, Fluttershy.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then a gunshot rang out loud in the quiet clearing.

Applejack flinched just a little. She bit her lip, bracing herself for the impact. But it didn’t come. Or at least, she hadn’t felt it in the slightest, when she should have.

Carefully she opened one eye to look at Zecora. When she saw what she did, Applejack straightened up, regained her breath, and stared wide-eyed and mouth slightly open at the zebra.

It took awhile for what she saw to sink in.

In front of her, just as she had been moments earlier, Zecora was still pointing her gun at Applejack. She gasped when she saw that Zecora bore on her left temple a large stain of sky blue paint. Her face was strewn in tiny streaks and droplets of the same colour, as if it were blood that had been sprayed across her face.

The zebra stayed there without moving. She was staring to the ground with huge eyes bearing shrunken pupils, and her breathing was labored. She was still absent-mindedly pointing her gun in Applejack’s general direction, but with a trembling hoof that shook the barrel.

Both equines did nothing for a few seconds, Applejack not daring to move and Zecora still lost in whatever trance she was lost in. Eventually the zebra blinked once, and turned her head to where the shot had come from with an extremely alarmed expression.

She started shouting to the forest something in some native African language Applejack couldn’t recognize. But she hadn’t aligned two or three words that she was brutally shot again, straight in the face. The zebra yelped and took a forced step back, swaying in dizziness from the shot.

Applejack flinched. She was normally used to paintball shots, and didn’t flinch at the sight or sound of them. But these were different. They were shot fast and mercilessly hard at Zecora, completely out of the blue.

And they’d saved Applejack’s spot in the game. It dawned on her; somepony had just saved her flank! But who?

As she turned to the spot in the woods Zecora had been shouting at, out came the mysterious shooter. Slowly walking to meet them, Applejack discovered a pony whom she only knew too well. A sky blue mare, with a rainbow mane and tail unlike anypony else’s.

“Y-You...!” gasped Zecora, still staggering madly and clenching her paint stain like a bad wound, “The element of--”

“Of surprise! That’s right!” cut in Rainbow Dash. “And incidentally, the element of loyalty!”

Zecora looked at the pegasus with bewilderment, but also a fierce anger of some sort. Applejack had never seen her like this, and now that she was, she felt quite sad. No one should let competition go to their head like that, and even though the zebra would probably calm down and forget all about it once the game was over, Applejack wasn’t sure how this would affect their friendship. Zecora was being... quite the jerk.

Rainbow pointed her gun to the zebra, who strangely enough stopped staggering on the spot. The mare looked at her with a very serious expression that was not really usual of her.

“You can’t have this one,” she said. “This one’s mine.”

Zecora simply stood there, still in shock at how the tables had suddenly turned against her so quickly. Eventually she gave up and, mumbling furiously in that African tongue of hers, limped out of the clearing.

Rainbow watched her leave with a resolute expression.

“D’you notice how weird Zecora was acting? Like, not her usual chilled type?” she asked Applejack without looking at her. Applejack, who was regaining her senses, nodded absent-mindedly.

“It’s because this clearing right here is actually imbued with wicked magic. It’s called a rage spell, and it makes you furious and wanna fight with everypony in sight. I heard other ponies talking about this place, so I came to check it out. Apparently Celestia herself set it up, to spice things up a little. What a troll,” she chuckled, turning to Applejack, “choosing a cool little clearing like this to--”

She was interrupted when her muzzle met unceremoniously with the barrel of Applejack’s own gun, pointed straight between her eyes.

Rainbow looked at her friend. The latter was standing on her hind legs, breathing heavily, and looking so angry she was virtually foaming at the mouth.

“Ah’m not exactly sure what you meant back there when you said ah was yers,” she growled, “but if it meant what ah think it meant, ah’ll have ya know ah ain’t nobody’s!”

Rainbow looked at her friend quizzically. Then she gave a sigh, seemingly unimpressed by the threat she was under.

“Applejack,” she said calmly, “kinda proves my point, don’t you think? Come on...”

She calmly pushed the barrel away from herself.

“You don’t even remember I just saved you from a mad Zecora.”

Applejack calmed down. Slowly, her breathing eased and her expression became smoother. She realized that Rainbow was right. She’d become a nervous wreck over a simple game of rhymes earlier, and when Rainbow had saved her from losing stupidly to it, her old rivalry with the pegasus had thrown her into a blind fury. Sure, she would rather have found her way out of this mess herself, and not be saved by Rainbow -- especially not by Rainbow. But not so much that she would have shot her benefactor.

She decided it was time for her to get out of this place, and to be extra careful of where she went from now on. It was clear to her that the game had shifted to a higher level, and that it would be hard to call a game anymore.

She went to pick up her hat, that had fallen off Zecora’s head. She found that, like Zecora’s face, it was streaked with very thin dotted lines of blue paint at the brim.

“Darn it, Rainbow,” she said. “You got some of that paint o’ yers on mah hat.”

“Heh, sorry,” said Rainbow with a wink. “But you know; when you mess with the Dash, you get dirty!”

Applejack put on her hat with a sigh. She’d always known from her tales about the Wonderbolts that Rainbow had a knack for corny theatrics and one-liners, not to mention bragging. She gave the pegasus an unimpressed look to signify her thoughts.

“Oh come on!” said Rainbow. She took a step forward towards her friend and looked at her dead in the eye. “You know you love it. You can’t resist the Dash.”

The two of them stayed like this for a moment, exchanging serious looks. Then they simultaneously burst out laughing, the way good friends often do. Applejack thought she could feel the spell of the clearing wearing off, and the grass becoming a more natural green.

“Yeah, ah guess ah owe you one, don’t ah. Thanks, Rainbow,” she said.

“No sweat,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Someone had to save your flank from the crazy bewitched zebra anyway.”

Applejack scoffed.

“Yeah, yeah, keep on braggin’. You’ll be a mite more humble once ah save yers, ya reckless sally.”

“You’re just saying that ‘coz I have a nice flank!” Rainbow said, immediately realizing that she had blurted it out without thinking more than simply saying it.

Applejack looked at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement. Then she chuckled heartily.

“Honey that flank o’ yers is so skinny ya could squeeze yer way outta jail through the cell bars, and ain’t no deputy that would notice.”

Rainbow was actually impressed by her friend’s comeback. Well. That went better in my dream.

“Ah’ll tell ya somethin’,” said Applejack. “Ya got a fair point. Know what ah reckon? Ah reckon that if the two of us play it safe, we might actually find ourselves ta be the last ponies standing. Jus’ you an’ me, we can take ‘em all out.”

Rainbow was immediately intrigued. Applejack extended a hoof to her, and she looked at it curiously.

“Ah say we oughta form a truce. What d’ya say?”

Rainbow stared at the hoof for a few seconds. Then she shook her head with a chuckle.

“Sorry, AJ,” she said. “I fly solo.”

“Ah ain’t talkin’ ‘bout an alliance. Jus’ a copro... a comrop...a pomcromi-- a deal, darn it. No shootin’ each other until we’re absolutely sure we’re the last ones standin’.”

Rainbow Dash considered the idea for a moment, carefully thinking all of its implications through.

She was not an especially skilled paintball player. She was just generally skilled at what she put her mind to. She didn’t consider it as showing off, since it was the truth and everypony could see it. She was just a dedicated pony by nature. For her, reaching her goals was the sole motivation to do anything. And when it came to that, she had understood long ago that the only way to do so was to stay true to herself, and her principles. She always gave her all and stopped at nothing to reach those goals, for there was no other way about it that she could imagine. Also, she never let anypony else than herself and her skill be part of the equation of victory; where others could perhaps help her, they were just as sure to bring her down as well. In her view, when it came to competition, others were just double-edged swords that she could not trust, and the only way to be on top of her game at all times was to be in perfect control of it. There was absolutely nothing at all that could sway her resolve and get her to try something risky and unpredictable. Nothing at all...

Except a challenge. She could never resist that.

And to this day, only Applejack had figured out that loophole in Rainbow’s thinking. It was how she had come to be the mare’s sole rival.

She knew just the words to spark the fire that would consume Rainbow’s level-headed dedication and make her crash forward recklessly like an amateur.

“Unless, ya know, ya don’t feel up to it.”

For Rainbow, that was it. She grabbed Applejack’s hoof and shook it firmly.

“You’re on, cowgirl,” she said. The fire of a frenzied lust for adrenalin blazed in her eyes.

Applejack smirked. It never fails, don’t it?

* * *

Lost.

She was lost in the Everfree forest.

Running at full speed through the trees, Fluttershy didn’t even know where she was going. In her panic, she just ran and whimpered like a frightened hare, hoping with all her heart to find some sign of safety in the woods. Only one word ran through her shaking mind.

Why?

She couldn’t understand how all of this had suddenly happened. How a day that had started so perfectly could just suddenly have gone so wrong. A few hours ago she’d been walking through a lush autumnal forest with Applejack, and all was warm and well.

Now it was night. She was alone in the dark, and she could be shot any minute.

Earlier that day she had been resting delectably under a tree with her friend by her side. They were talking about fun and games and how little Applebloom had won at something for the first time. Then, there was a strong gust of wind. Just that, a gust of wind.

Then everything had gone downhill from there.

That stupid hat had been blown off, and Applejack had ran after it. Fluttershy knew that when it came to her hat, there was no stopping that mare, and she had decided that there was nothing to do but wait for her to return.

She had waited a few minutes. Those had turned to hours. She remembered, horribly, how the sky had grayed, how the wind had drained the forest of its warmth, and how fear, that fear of being left alone and defenseless in a strange place, had eaten her slowly all afternoon.

At some point she trotted to where her friend had been before, and called for her. With no answer in return, and no Applejack, she had started galloping, and she hadn’t stopped since.

And now, she was lost in an endless world of dark trees and crooked branches, galloping so fast the sound of her hooves echoed that of her thundering heart.

Nothing. Nowhere to go forward, nowhere to go back. Just the blackness of night, forever beyond.

For the meek pegasus, it was just too much.

She curled up on the ground, and started crying. She just wanted it all to stop, to be back safely in her cottage, tending to her rabbits while the morning sun streaked through her windows and the kettle sang happily for her tea. She wanted daylight. She just wanted to go home.

She cursed the wind, for following her all the while, whispering sneakily in her ear, and running its cold touch on her fur. She hated this slow, chilly breeze that had blown Applejack and her hat away, and lost her in the woods.

But little did she know that it was not the wind that had been following her all day.

* * *

… Her?

… Perfect.

* * *

A great shape moved slowly between the trees, unseen and unheard in the night like a serpent. It moved towards the prey that it had been eyeing for a good while now.

There she was. A small, lonely yellow mare, crying in terror in the lonely night.

He always loved the fragile ones. How their nerves burned like electric wire at the slightest stress. They gave off so much fear. So much juicy, tasty fear.

Right now he could have blissfully fainted from the intoxicating cloud of fear that was hanging around the mare. But there was much work to do, and he would need her for it.

Soundlessly he curled around the trees, surrounding the sobbing pegasus without her noticing until he towered over her little frame.

It was time. Time to stop hiding in the wind, and to break the silence of the night. When he spoke, his voice boomed in the dark.

“Now, what do we have here then?”

The pegasus froze on the spot and jerked her head up in a swift moment. Her pupils were tiny, and she was holding her shaking breath.

He circled around the trees, making some more wind.

“Who is it that’s crying like this in the dark? Is it a lamb, or a motherless pup?”

His voice bounced off the trees, making it seem to come from everywhere at once. The mare’s eyes darted furiously, trying to find him.

“Ah, but it’s too big to be a pup, isn’t it... And it doesn’t cry like a lamb. No, no, it can only be...”

He coiled his neck and stuck out his long head between two trees. He moved it further, slowly, until his face was inches from the pegasus. She was still looking everywhere frantically but in front of her. If he spoke any more, she would hear him, and know he was right there.

“... Fluttershy,” he whispered.

The pegasus jumped back and gave a most shrill shriek of terror. He moved, curling around the trees so that he was floating in the air in front of her, and no longer around her. With a trick of his scales he removed the camouflage that cloaked him, revealing himself to her.

“Hello there. It’s been a while,” said Discord, the embodiment of chaos.

Fluttershy thought she would faint, or scream even louder. She didn’t dare move while he gave her his usual mischievous grin. Finally, after a while, she spoke.

“What are you doing here...?” she said, her voice a trembling whisper. “Have... You’ve come back to haunt me, haven’t you...?”

“Haunt you?” said Discord in surprise. He gave a hearty laugh, which made Fluttershy flinch. “My dear pony friend, you look haunted enough already!”

He levitated towards a nearby tree stump, and sat down on it. He crossed his legs and put his right elbow on his lap before holding his head with the palm, as if to have a chat with someone.

“Now, tell me. I’m quite sure it’s way past your bedtime already, so what are you doing here at this time of night?” he asked.

Fluttershy said nothing for a few seconds. That casual manner of his, considering who he was and what he had done to her and her friends was quite unnerving. She didn’t want to talk to him at all; but it seemed that she had no choice.

“I... I got lost...” she whimpered.

“Lost?” replied Discord empathically. “Oh my, that doesn’t sound good. How did you get lost?”

“I... I was with Applejack, and--”

“Applejack!” said Discord, beaming and slapping his hips in apparent delight. “So she’s here too, then! How’s the old gal doing? Still doing... whatever she does that has to do with apples?” he asked with a sheepish grin.

Fluttershy stared at Discord with a curious look. She’d stopped shaking a little. There was something tugging at her mind, something that she normally would not have said. But in the present circumstances, she just couldn’t help herself. She had to say it.

“Who... Who do you think you are?” she said, her voice going a little above a whisper this time. For those who knew her, it meant she was very much upset. Discord’s smile faded, and he cocked his head to the side and gave her a quizzical, almost innocent look.

“Do you think I don’t know you?” Fluttershy continued, her voice gaining a little volume. “You... You tried to destroy Ponyville! You turned me into an awful and mean pony, and worst of all you tried to set me and my friends up against each other!”

She took a step forward. She was almost shouting now, which was very rare for her.

“Did you think I’d just forget that? We’re... We’re not friends, or whatever you think we are! You’re a monster! Now leave me alone!”

She stopped, catching her breath.

There was a long silence in which Discord looked at her without moving or blinking. He seemed stumped by what Fluttershy had just said. The pegasus didn’t feel any more confident, however; once she’d stopped yelling, the forest had become quiet and dark again, and the sight of Discord shining on a pitch-black background brought all of her nervousness back to her.

She was about to actually apologize, as was the timid pegasus’s manner, when Discord simply shrugged and got up.

“Hmph. Fair enough,” he said, sounding slightly hurt. “It’s alright, though. You’re just a little worked up right now, I’ll leave you alone. I think I’ll go to Ponyville, for old time’s sake. I’ll be there if you need me.”

He started slowly walking away into the night. Fluttershy watched him go, and thought it was a good deed done.

But then, something clicked in her brain. Wait, he knows the way out?

Without looking back, the draconequus raised his hand. “Toodles!”

“D... Discord! Wait!” Fluttershy called.

Discord stopped in his tracks, not looking behind. He waited for Fluttershy to speak. The pegasus tried to, but she couldn’t bring herself to say what she wanted. She had something in mind that was even harder to say than a long rant.

“I... I...”

Eventually she gulped. The words were leaving a very sour taste in her mouth, worse than poison.

“... I need your help.”

Discord said nothing for a second. Then, slowly, he turned around and looked at Fluttershy with a malicious grin.

“Well, well, well... Things change quickly with you ponies. I like that.”

Discord took a few steps towards her.

“You’ve been lost. Lost, for what seems to be forever. Nowhere to go, no one to talk to you but the dry cackle of leaves in the wind...”

Fluttershy was on the verge of tears.

“And now that you’ve finally stumbled upon someone in the night, someone who could help you... that person is nothing but a monster. And you hate it, you wish it could be anyone else, but you...”

He was in front of her, and slowly lowered himself to her level. He looked straight into Fluttershy’s eyes, and she looked back in terror, not daring to break eye contact.

“You’d do anything for a way out... wouldn’t you?”

They stared at each other for a moment. Discord was boring holes into Fluttershy’s eyes. After a while he lifted his head up thoughtfully, as if he’d figured something out.

“But a way out of what, I wonder? Out of this scary forest? Or could it be..."

He looked back at Fluttershy, who had started sobbing again. He flashed her a knowing smile.

“... That there’s something else?”

Fluttershy sobbed, asking silently for him not to make her admit to what she couldn’t.

Discord grinned.

“Oh... Oh, I see what this is about. Well, well, well, well, well. I think I’ve figured out what ‘prize’ you want to win. It’s not a new cottage, nor is it all the bunnies in the world. No, no it’s not that at all... isn’t it?”

“Please...!” she cried, not so much for his help as for him to stop teasing her.

“You want to stop being so weak.”

The words struck Fluttershy like a bullet. Discord had said them ruthlessly, and it was painful for Fluttershy to hear him reveal her deepest secret so bluntly.

“You can’t stand to always be the one ponies have to save. You don’t understand where all their confidence comes from, and why you’re always struggling to be the one in charge of your own life, while it seems to come so naturally to everypony else. I remember, you told me once that you appreciate everypony always being so understanding and kind to you...”

All the while he’d been talking, Discord had moved slowly, coiling up around Fluttershy who was paralyzed with fear.

“... But you actually hate it... don’t you?” he whispered eerily in her ear. “You want to step up to their level... and never be weak again.”

There was a long silence, in which Fluttershy convulsed in fear and twitched as Discord was wrapped all around her like a devilish snake. After a long while, she managed to speak in a frail whisper in between sobs.

“I... I don’t want my friends to leave me behind,” she said, as the tears started streaming down her cheeks. “I’m all alone... And I don’t want to be a burden. I want to be strong for them... Like Applejack.”

She started shaking as her crying became more violent. She was finally letting out a very long time’s worth of frustration and repressed sadness.

“There, there...” said Discord in a deep and soothing voice. He curled up just a little tighter around the pony. She would never admit it, but in that moment, his warm touch all around her was quite comforting.

She could feel her wings slowly rising on their own, brushing against the draconequus’s scales.

She blushed strongly in the dark. She hated herself for this.

“I know that feeling well,” said the draconequus. “To struggle alone, and to feel like you don’t truly belong... You and I, we’re not so different after all.”

Suddenly he slipped around and off of her, leaving Fluttershy exposed to the cool nightly air. She gasped as she felt instantly lighter and colder.

“But to always struggle for the acceptance of others... Where’s the fun in that?” said Discord. “Over the long years of my life, I’ve learned to find my pleasure in other places than in the heart of other people. I grew strong, as a result. But you, Fluttershy, you can’t grow strong if you don’t win this game. Or else, you’ll just be left behind again. If you don’t want this fate for yourself, you’ll have to win against all others. And if you choose to side with me...”

He reached out his claw to the pegasus, who stared at it wondrously.

“I’ll show you the way.”

Fluttershy gazed at the draconequus’s claw. In that moment she forgot about the cold, the dark, the forest, the night. All of that seemed isolated and distant to her. She wasn’t thinking about it, and about anything else than the promise at hand.

Slowly and delicately, as if under hypnosis, she placed her little hoof in the palm of that claw. She said nothing, and hardly breathed, as the whole world turned to gray around her.

Discord watched her color drain. He grinned.

No, you’re right. It doesn’t.

The Great Foal War

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter VII

The last thing she would feel was the breeze. The breeze and a blinding light that made everything blurry as she stared at the pale sky above her. She could make out the sun, its shine dull and sickly white through the thick layer of clouds underneath it. There was no sound at all save for a thin whistling through her ears. It took hold of her entire hearing, cancelling out the world around her, freezing both time and space. At the edges of her field of vision, she could make out blurred and jagged black shapes that cut through the sky. She didn't know if they were the tops of pine tree or the claws of unyielding darkness creeping up on her.

Her little eyes, wide open, kept staring helplessly at the clouds. As the wind swept her face, her eyes watered slightly. She was hearing less of anything now. The few colors she could see were starting to blend into a single milky shade of white.

She smiled.

It seemed to her now, laying on her back under a ring of pine trees, that the light was becoming smoother -- slowly drawing her in. She sighed peacefully, knowing it would be her last before gently being taken to somewhere far and beyond.

Then suddenly, another much larger shape covered her eyes as it moved frantically above her. She felt surprised -- or at least what little feeling of surprise that she could still feel -- and the sound the shape was making was gradually becoming louder and clearer to her.

“... elle! Sweetie Belle!” said Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle blinked, her vision suddenly taking a sharper definition.

“Come on, Sweetie Belle! Get up! Don’t you know better than to be lazy like that?”

She couldn’t think of a reply, or think of anything at all for that matter. In the shock of the moment she uttered the only few words she could think of.

“I knew one who had lifted it -- he sought, for his lost heart was tender, things to love, but found them not, alas! nor was there aught the world contains, the which he could approve.”

It was Scootaloo’s turn to blink in confusion. “... What the hay are you talking about?”

Sweetie Belle gave an exasperated sigh. “It’s poetry,” she said. “You know, that thing you read to sound a little smarter?”

“I don’t need any of that fancy junk! There’s a war going on here, in case you haven’t noticed!”

It occurred to Sweetie Belle that being Rarity’s sister did have some perks after all.

“Come on, get up!” repeated Scootaloo.

“I can’t move...”

Scootaloo saw Sweetie’s distant and wondrous expression. She took a deep breath, and slapped her friend across the cheek. The harsh and unexpected blow knocked the daze right out of Sweetie Belle's head. Sweetie held her cheek and stared at her friend in shock, who stared back at her with great seriousness.

“You are not gonna die now, Sweetie,” said Scootaloo.

Sweetie looked back at Scootaloo, and her expression changed. She felt like she’d been woken from a perfect dream.

“... And why not?” she whispered almost defiantly.

“Coz you’re not!” said Scootaloo. “Just look at yourself! You haven’t been shot yet, you’re just taking a nap and making it look like you’re about to die like some warrior, you deserter! You’d hate to be a deserter, wouldn’t you?”

Sweetie looked at herself. It was true; her white coat was unstained, save for a few patches of dirt and ruffled fur. She’d been taking a nap somewhere in the woods to get away from all the strife the game was causing her, but she wasn’t just going to admit that to Scootaloo. Scootaloo helped Sweetie Belle up to her hooves, dusting off her friend as she did so.

“Now, come on. We can’t waste any more time today, we gotta train. Tonight Apple Bloom is expecting us at the keep with the traitor.”

The two fillies trotted away into the woods, Sweetie Belle grumbling silently.

* * *

It was the middle of the night, and in a little treehouse that she had until now only seen from the outside, Cheerilee sat in a corner where had been bidden to stay. She took another look at the place: it was quite cozy, despite its rickety appearance. She smiled, imagining countless hours of sweet childhood fun that the cabin had seen.

The décor was minimal, but she knew that most of it was in the foal’s mind itself, where it could be shaped at will. What had this place been since it was built? A spaceship, perhaps? A pirate vessel? A lab? Cheerilee knew she wouldn’t be able to conceive every possible scenario, and that was what made it perfect. She also knew that right now, it was a war fort. Which would have been just as whimsical, if her place hadn’t been that of a prisoner.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She wasn’t a prisoner in the sense of being some enemy of the foals who claimed the treehouse as their headquarters; in fact, they obviously praised her quite highly. But she was being detained against her will. She’d been dragged here by force and made to sit in a makeshift booth of some sort crafted from a few planks of wood. One of them was placed above her head, and upon it were crudely painted the words Our fallin leeder (never fergit). On the opposite side of the room she could see a similar booth had been made, this one a true prison on top of which was also a sign that read The Traitor.

Why had she been placed here? She lifted her right foreleg and found the answer underneath, in the shape of a blotch of paint that covered half her cutie mark.

Seeing the ugly stain there, Cheerilee couldn’t help but feel a small pang of sadness. Winning a prize would have been nice, but on the other hoof, she was no pro paintball pony. She was a teacher. No amount of paint could sully the mark of her true calling.

Stuck in her little booth, the memory of the events that had led to this situation came back to Cheerilee, playing in her head like a recording.

* * *

It began with a very strong flash of white light. For a split second Cheerilee was out cold, and when she woke up it was with a buzzing head. Did she just say paintball? She thought she might have woken up from a dream so strong it had left her with a headache, but when she opened her eyes, any doubt she had vanished.

Cheerilee found herself somewhere in the Everfree forest, a purple gun strapped to her side, which made her slightly uneasy. But it was when she realised that she was surrounded by all the foals from her class that the adrenaline surged through her.

Lost in the Everfree Forest. With a plastic gun. With a bunch of defenseless foals whose own guns could only hurt them. The whole of Ponyville -- no, of Equestria out to get them. What was the princess thinking? Cheerilee knew that if someone was to take control of this situation, it would be her, and so she lost no time in doing just that.

“Alright children, everypony stick together now,” she said with a somewhat quivering tone. “Let’s… l-let’s be organized here...”

“Oh dude, sweet! I got a gun!”

“How do you use it?”

“Hey don’t point that thing at me!”

“I looove Paintball!”

“Does this mean I’m going to prison?”

“All of this is quite distasteful, if I dare say so myself.”

The sight of a crowd of excited, nervous, confused, scared and other emotional foals pointing weapons at each other made the hairs of Cheerilee’s fur stand on end. Out of reflex, in the fear that one of them might actually pull the trigger and create chaos, Cheerilee screamed, ignoring the fact that that might draw the whole woods to them completely.

“That’s enough!”

The foals all stopped their excitement at once and turned to face Cheerilee, all their faces bearing a dazed and wondrous look of having had some sense slapped hard into them.

Cheerilee cleared her throat. “Now, class,” she said with composure, “what have we forgotten about working together in a calm and organized fashion?”

The foals put on guilty looks that were not lost on their teacher.

“Come on,” she said softly, “there are lots of other ways to have fun than to point guns at each other.”

She started pacing through the crowd of foals as a general would while reviewing their troops.

“I know it’s a weird and unexpected situation right now. I don’t understand it more than you do. But what I do know is that we’ve all been brought here by Princess Celestia for a good reason. It’s probably for that same reason that she gave us these weapons… and unfortunately, it looks like this is a game where there can only be one winner.”

A wave of worried whispers spread through the crowd, as the reality of the situation seemed to finally dawn on the foals. Cheerilee felt a lurch in her stomach. She knew it would have to have been the first time her innocent students heard such talk. It left a nasty aftertaste on her tongue. Honestly, putting a group of children in this godforsaken place with weapons as harmful as toy guns could get? She did not approve one bit, and she could picture Princess Celestia retreating from her balcony over an emptied Canterlot, giggling as she trotted back into her Fortress of Trollitude.

“But!” she said, and again the audience fell silent. “That doesn’t mean we all have to turn on each other. For the time being, we all have to stick together as the group we’ve always been.”

Cheerilee could feel her words doing away with the tension in the air, calming down the children as well as her own self.

“So we’re all going to move from here and figure out what to do next. I know some of you are already familiar with Paintball through our sports classes with Pinkie Pie, so I want everypony to stick together and to stick with me, with no exceptions. We’re going to make the best of this and find a way out. In the meantime, there will be no shooting unless I say so, no going rogue, no bullying…”

As she said the last word, she couldn’t help but look in the direction of a particular foal named Diamond Tiara. As a teacher, Cheerilee considered it good to correct and reward students for their actions in an objective manner, meaning that she never got too involved in affairs that they made between themselves for fear of siding with one foal over another. However, it had occurred to her that Diamond Tiara was so frequently stirring up trouble between herself and the rest of the class and three little fillies in particular, that try as she might, she couldn’t help but feel the need to single her out in this one moment, to prevent something much more serious than a simple classroom row from happening.

But when she looked at Diamond Tiara, she saw something that made her freeze in her tracks and in her speech. She realized then, that whatever disaster it was she was trying to prevent, was going to happen in the end.

In the middle of the crowd she saw the young pink filly with her gun proudly lifted in the air, the cold darkness of its barrel staring right in the teacher’s face.

There was a very strange expression on Diamond Tiara’s face. Cheerilee, who was an able reader of children’s emotions, could see that the foal was torn between two feelings: one was power, the thrill of turning the tables and looking down on the master not as a student, but as a figure of authority, which Cheerilee could easily imagine Diamond Tiara getting a kick out of. But the other was fear, as if her power trip was being held back by the ropes of some feeling of respect towards the kind teacher, and as if the guilt and the reality of what she was doing were casting their intimidating shadow on her.

This latter feeling grew on her as she witnessed Cheerilee’s expression of pure shock. All the children’s heads turned towards Diamond Tiara with similar looks. They fell even more silent than they were before; so much so that it seemed to draw all warmth from the air, leaving in its place a heavy cloud of buzzing tension.

Diamond Tiara did nothing, her hoof still stretched out and her gun at the ready. But it was shaking now, as if her weapon were becoming increasingly heavy to hold up. Her eyes were wide and she wore a twitchy grin upon her face, that she made her best to contain and turn into a sneer. Cheerilee could see it was all too much to handle for the young filly.

“It’s ok, Diamond,” she said softly. “Put down the gun, and we’ll forget about it.”

It was all Diamond Tiara could do not to break down. But she would show no weakness. Cheerilee knew this, and she was getting a taste of how serious this game, simple and superficial in appearance, was going to prove for everypony. The stakes were the highest, and it made the head of the weaker ponies spin with the promise of the one thing their heart desired.

The one thing my heart desires.

Diamond Tiara was going to shoot her teacher. Both of them knew Cheerilee would not defend herself. She wouldn’t dare pull out her gun on a child. The foal’s hoof slowly steadied.

The one thing my heart desires.

It was hers for the taking. No one would stop her from getting it. Especially not these stupid children looking at her with their dumb expressions. She was staring at one big family of sitting ducks.

The one thing my heart desires…!

Her grin widened. She pushed the trigger ever so gently, savouring the moment.

Then there was a great yell from somewhere in the crowd.

“No! Stooop!”

It all happened very fast. Out of the blue, Apple Bloom jumped in the space that had somehow formed between Cheerilee and Diamond Tiara, who was pulled out of her daze. In her surprise, her hoof clenched, and a shot zipped through the air, straight towards the teacher.

Apple Bloom was not a novice paintball player. She automatically drew out her own gun, but it was too late. As soon as she raised it she felt Diamond Tiara’s shot hitting the barrel of her gun. She could tell that it had only half-impacted the gun, but the blow was strong enough to knock it clean out of her little hoof. It spun around before falling to the ground, and a second shot rang out.

The world was devoid of any sound for everypony when the commotion ceased. It left a shocking outcome: Diamond Tiara, staring aghast into space with her smoking gun still raised. Apple Bloom, looking at her own yellow paint-stained gun on the ground. And Cheerilee, the most dumbstruck of all, staring into space as she felt the burn of a paint round that had crashed on her cutie mark.

The intense silence in the forest was broken when Apple Bloom spoke to Diamond Tiara, a look of fury on her face.

“You… you traitor!”

It was then that crowd erupted into chaos. Foals here and there screamed and broke into a collective outrage. Guns were drawn and pointed in random directions everywhere, but no shot was fired as Diamond Tiara said something that restored a semblance of control.

“Wait!” she said. “I didn’t shoot her! It was your stupid gun that fired that shot!”

“Mah gun?” replied a stricken Apple Bloom. “Mah gun? Yer the one who pulled the trigger ya no good criminal!”

“Look at the stain’s color!” shouted a colt on the side.

All heads turned towards the ominous mark on Cheerilee’s flank. It was of a strange, pale colour somewhat between pink and yellow that couldn’t exactly be that of anypony’s coat

“Hah!” sneered Diamond Tiara. “Well how about that! A cute yellow stain for the telling!”

“Shut yer trap, Diamond Tiara!” replied Apple Bloom. “It’s… obviously yer ugly flamingo color.”

“As if!” snapped Diamond back, although there was a subtle hesitation to her words.

In the midst of all this arguing, Cheerilee didn’t move a muscle. She was left dazed by what had happened; but to her surprise, she was not so shocked that she couldn’t control herself. She felt an odd sense of calm, which she supposed was due to the fact that she didn’t have to worry about herself anymore. She realized that she could now devote herself entirely to protecting these children from others and from themselves. In the end it didn’t matter to her who had fired the shot. She decided that she would mediate the conflict and put an end to it in a disciplined fashion.

“Now, girls…” she said gently.

“Quiet, dear leader!” interrupted Apple Bloom, extending a hoof to silence her but still boring angry holes into Diamond Tiara’s face. Cheerilee didn’t know what startled her the most: the fact that Apple Bloom had shown such confidence in rudely interrupting her teacher, or the fact that she had called her “dear leader”. Obviously the foals were quite taken with their little war game; so much in fact that Cheerilee had to make an effort to convince herself that the foals were still indeed playing a game… right?

There was another short instance of silence before Diamond Tiara raised her own hoof abruptly.

“Who thinks she did it?” she yelled.

A couple of hesitant hooves slowly raised themselves in the air. They were followed by a handful of more confidently raised hooves, while some didn’t move at all. In the end it was hard to tell where the majority opinion lay.

“Looks like there’s no way this is going to go down peacefully,” said Diamond Tiara with ominous poise.

“Ah agree,” replied Apple Bloom. “This is how it’s gonna go down. We’re gonna escort the leader back ta the base, and we’ll figure out wut ta do with ya later.”

“Uh, no, I don’t think so,” scoffed Diamond Tiara. “Obviously the leader is coming with us to the I-don’t-shoot-my-leader side.”

“Bullshit,” said Apple Bloom. Cheerilee nearly choked. It seemed that now the foals were really getting into it. “The leader didn’t raise her hoof! She thinks you shot her! She’s coming with us. If anypony wants ta join us they’re welcome!”

The crowd slowly split in two, nearly equal portions, and Apple Bloom and her new followers slowly retreated from the rest. Icy glares were being shot from one side to another like arrows.

“Ah hope yer ready ta stand trahl, Diamond.”

“To what?” inquired Scootaloo.

“Ta stand trahl!” repeated Apple Bloom. “Ya know, criminal court perceedings?”

Scootaloo nodded, but her expression told Apple Bloom she had not actually understood.

“We might hold some negotiations first, though,” Apple Bloom said to her group, as they slowly retreated into the woods with their teacher.

“Some what?” asked Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom gave a sigh. “Fergit it.”

* * *

Cheerilee’s reminiscing was interrupted by a hoof on her shoulder. She turned around to face Apple Bloom, who had been writing furiously at her desk ever since they’d regained the treehouse, now by the candlelight that filled the room and flickered on its walls.

“Ya need rest, Miss Cheerilee,” she said in a reassuring tone. “It’ll be over soon, but right now ya better lay down an’ wait it out.”

Cheerilee gave the young filly an awkward smile. This situation was both really cute and really weird for her.

“Thanks, Apple Bloom,” she said, “but you really don’t need to put me here like this. I’m fine, I’m ok with not being part of the game. I don’t even care who shot me, so don’t make this last too lo--”

She was interrupted when Apple Bloom stuck her foreleg over the teacher’s face and eyes. The young filly shook her head.

“Ya got a high fever there,” she said. “It’s makin’ ya talk crazy. Mah Granny Smith says that when ya got a fever ya gotta jus’ stay in bed without much distraction and it’ll go away, so that’s just what ya need ta do right now.”

“Apple Bloom, sweetie, there’s really--”

“No!” said Apple Bloom. “Ah can’t let this slide! Ya jus’ got here an’ already that meanie Diamond Tiara’s gotta go an’ shoot you outta the game like the selfish bully she is! It’s not fair!”

She withdrew her hoof from her teacher’s face, and gave her a look so serious that Cheerilee didn’t know exactly how to respond to it other than with a sheepish grin.

“Ah’m gonna make this right, Miss Cheerilee,” said Apple Bloom. “Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are gonna be back soon with the traitor for negotiations. We’re gonna make that meanie apologize right now, and boy howdy is she gonna look stupid then!”

As if on cue, the door of the treehouse opened to reveal Diamond Tiara, flanked on either side by the two other crusaders. It was time for negotiations to begin.

* * *

September 24th

From the journal of Apple Bloom, Commander of the C.M. Paintball Liberators

As I write these words, we stand on the edge of a great divide between us and the ones that have chosen to betray our faith. A storm brews dark and slow in between, and in its eye we shall do battle to uphold the truth against a fleet of infidels. I can only hope that this memoir will serve as a token of faith for generations future, and a witness to the events that are about to shape our people forever.

The terrible happenings from which stem these troubled times ceaselessly play in my mind. I cannot forget them, though I cannot afford to let them torment me and trouble my concentration further. I recall the stiffness of the air as we watched in horror the terrible traitor, Diamond Tiara of Filthyrichshire, take up arms against our leader so fair and pure. I recall my own bravery, and the gaze of the masses as I fearlessly rushed to the aid of our liege. It was a great moment indeed, but alas, I could not stop the traitor’s foul attack from reaching its target. And most diresome of all, I recall the traitor’s cowardice, her soul black as night and exposed to me as she would have the guilt of it all pinned on my innocent person. Such a dastardly, cruel-hearted beast she is! Let it be known that I have sworn to do all in my power to bring her to justice, and exact the vengeance of our leader most mighty and fair upon her stupid prissy face!

But I know that it is not long now before this glorious day is at hand. Indeed, after what feels like ages past since the match that set fire to the powders of war was first lit, today was the day that the end of this long road first appeared to me. Today was the day our negotiations with the traitor took place.

As I waited in our keep for my aids to return with the traitor, and was writing this memoir as a testimony to my courage and awesomeness, I sensed that I was not alone in my woe of this dark time. I heard a groan to my left; ‘twas our leader most sweet and kind. Promptly I stood by her side.

“You need rest, my liege,” I told her. “Soon the dark clouds that hang above us will be gone, and the dawn of a new, victorious spring will be ours to bathe in!”

Our leader attempted a chuckle, but only a raspy gargle made it to her lips. It pained me to see her in this dreadful state, and reminded me of much I hate that stupid Diamond Tiara.

“Brave Apple Bloom, you have my thanks,” she said in a low and frail whisper, “but I beseech you, do not let my sorry state be a hindrance your quest for victory. I am not long for this world, and I am deeply hurt about how my own subject Diamond Tiara has bitten me in the back like the snake she is. The wound she has inflicted on my soul is much greater than the one on my body… However I know you shall find the way to bring this traitor most foul to the end she deserves.”

I remember the tears of a great pain rushing to my eyes, but I held them back as is the way of a true leader. I rested my hoof upon our liege’s forehead. It burned like the fires of hell itself.

“I’m afraid you are prey to a most terrible fever,” I said. “It has corrupted your senses, and made you lose hope in survival. Once in my past travels I came upon the old witch of Smithwood, who told me this affliction could be rid of by resting in a peaceful place. I urge you to follow her words, for they are of great wisdom.”

Our liege looked at me, and her eyes were filled with a sorrow only evil the likes of Diamond Tiara could instill.

“Apple Bloom, my most brave and faithful subject, there is naught that can save me now from the grasp of Death.”

In that moment I felt rage well up in my body like a fever in itself. “Nay!” I bellowed. “This treacherous crime shall not go unpunished! O why must this have befallen you, my sweet liege? We had only just arrived, ready to stand on a battlefield against the world, but it seems the war was to take place amongst ourselves, for we failed to see the cruel intentions lurking in the unseen darkness of the traitor and bully Diamond Tiara! But fear not, my good liege, for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shall be with us promptly, accompanied by the coward herself. Upon facing the might of our wrath, she shall surrender at once! Boy howdy!”

And providence be, for what should happen in that precise moment? The door to our keep swung open. Therein stood my comrades, Lady Sweetie Belle of Carousella and Lady Scootaloo of Chickingham. They had brought with them the one whose arrival I eagerly awaited.

The foul beast herself stood there, grinning as though victory had been hers already. I could see a shimmering, nefarious halo of air all around her, the mark of either her fundamental malice, or proof that she did not wash nearly as much as she claimed to.

The air in our fortress grew cold and fearful, but it would not blow out the fire of our resolve. I sat down at my desk, my eyes never leaving the enemy’s own. The three arrivants stepped forward, and on a chair in front of the desk, the traitor took her place.

“I trust you have confiscated her weapon?” I asked my friends.

“Indeed, most brave and courageous leader,” replied Scootaloo.

“Very well,” I said. “Let us begin.”

To my great displeasure I turned to face the enemy. She was so yellow she could not face me with proper respect deserving of more noble persons. Instead, I saw her stare at a corner, in which we had prepared a prison for us to keep her in. She studied it with those slitted pupils of hers, a wily, unhealthy smile upon her face.

“How quaint,” she said. Her voice was low and eerily calm. I cannot deny that it sent a shiver down my spine.

“You will have all the time in the world to be further acquainted with your new home later,” I said with regained composure, “as you meditate on what your poisonous deeds will have cost you.”

The traitor met my gaze with her own. There was a most unpleasant silence during which we stared into each other’s souls.

“Is your company not here? I did not see them sleeping at the foot of the tree when I arrived.”

“They are in a safe place,” I said. I had strategically hidden them from view for the night, where they would not be found.

The traitor shrugged.

“A pity,” she said. “It was my understanding that the flock of sheep never leaves the poor shepherd’s side.”

Behind her I saw the faces of my two friends frown in anger. It was fortunate that I was not so easily swayed by such an obvious attempt to blind me with rage by this mean, spoiled no-good bully who is so ugly it makes my brain hurt.

“Where is your company, then?” I asked, although immediately I regretted as it was obvious she would not fall for her own trick. But to my surprise, she was so stupid that she actually did.

“They are all washing away the strife of the day’s events in comfortable beds adorned with pillows made from goose feathers.”

She leaned in a little closer to my desk.

“One can afford such luxuries, when one’s daddy can afford more than a simple treehouse,” she spat.

I was infuriated, ‘twas true, but I would not yield.

“Enough,” I said. “Let us not stray from the true purpose of our meeting.” It was my turn to lean forward. “We are here to discuss your punishment for the vile deed you must account for.”

As I spoke thusly I pointed my hoof towards the place where our fallen leader still lay. The traitor looked in her direction, and I was delighted to see a flicker of weakness upon the coward’s face. Was it fear? Remorse? I saw our leader return a weak and compassionate smile to her cowardly assailant.

“See how she has the kindness of heart to forgive you, you slime,” I said. “I’m afraid I shall not prove so noble, for I act as her vengeful hoof.”

Slowly the traitor’s eyes shifted towards me, and within them I saw the green fires of hatred and malice.

“Let me ask you a very simple question, traitor,” I said. “The war which ravages our kind is a cold one. Our clans have yet to strike the first blow against one another. I can guarantee you that when that time comes, your company of the weak and the spineless will be submerged by the tide of our just retribution.”

The traitor gave me a single, haughty chuckle.

“But there is a way for you to avoid this,” I continued. “If you have the slightest sliver of pride, for the sake of those who have brought their doom upon themselves by siding with you, I suggest you surrender to us immediately.”

A powerful silence ensued. Tension was rife in the air, and all of us could feel the weight of the decision that would be made. We were now at a crossroads of fate, upon which hinged the present moment.

“I shall not yield to you,” half-whispered the traitor.

The words, though spoken softly, came as a blow to us. It was the realisation that we were to brace ourselves for battle.

“You will inflict this storm upon your allies?” I asked. I had to be sure.

“Yes,” she answered in a calm, matter-of-fact way that was just so annoying.

“Very well,” I said, and resumed planning for battle, which I had hoped would prove unnecessary. After a few seconds I saw that the traitor had not left her place.

“You may leave,” I said, in an exasperation I could not feign.

“Before I do,” she replied, “I should like to let you know of my further proceedings.”

This came as quite a surprise to me, and no doubt to my friends as well, for I saw their eyebrows raise.

“Why?” I asked after a short while. The traitor shrugged again.

“A gesture of goodwill?” she replied.

I admit I was puzzled, but I let her continue. She made her treacherous self comfortable in her chair before resuming.

“Have you ever read ‘The Art of War’, by Sun Burn?” she said. I had no time to reply before she giggled and said “Of course you haven’t, what a silly question. Please forgive me.”

Had I not been my poised and collected leaderly self, I would have had her thrown out of the window posthaste. But still I let her spew her venomous words at me, for she had sparked my curiosity.

“It is a memoir,” she continued, “written by a pony named Sun Burn, a great pony and military leader in ancient China. It’s a fascinating read, really. It helps one understand why the wars that took place in Neighsia at the time were so much more grandiose than the more recent ones that have taken place closer to home.

“The genius of Sun Burn was that he led very clean wars that often proved successful, despite there being relatively small bloodshed. He believed that land should always be kept intact for the taking. You see, Sun Burn was quite the farsighted fellow who made surprisingly little planning for his battles. He knew that planning works in a controlled environment, but ultimately fails when competing elements collide, when the environment shifts and changes and creates unexpected situations to which one must readily adapt.”

The traitor finally got up from her seat. Immediately my two aids took a step forward, as a measure of precaution, but I had them stop in their tracks.

“I warn you not to forget where we stand.” she said. “The Everfree forest. The most unstable environment there is. Surely you are aware that not a week ago, your own sister was nearly done away with by an opponent… even though they were a good friend of both her and yourself?”

I said nothing. I had received word of that incident, of course.

“They say it was the woods themselves that drove the attacker mad,” said the traitor. She chuckled. “It would be a shame if something unexpected were to rain on all your precious planning.”

I looked at her and saw a foul grin on her fat face. I would not let her bruise me with these words.

“There is a natural influence on all things,” I said. “I believe those who seek selfless justice are always met with a helping hand.”

The cowardly traitor shrugged and grinned yet again.

“I have to admire such words of bravery. Even when they are spoken with a peasant southern drawl. Good night, commander.”

She turned her slimy back on me and calmly walked towards the door. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed her, to escort her to a safe distance out in the woods where she would be unable to do any of her usual sneakiness against our fort.

The door closed, and so did the book on these fateful negotiations. I was left by myself to ponder on events that were yet to come, as I watched the candle’s flame batter and struggle against the cold of the night.

What Comes With The Wind

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter VIII

She steadied herself.

Remember. The wind is a foe. It won’t stop before it breaks your aim.

Way up here, there’s nothing to distract you. Nothing else to focus on. Nothing left to chance… except for the wind.

She adjusted her weapon only a fraction higher above her shoulder. The barrel was now perfectly aligned with her gaze.

Watch it move. Just because it’s unseen doesn’t mean it can’t be seen. Feel it dance all around you.

The trick to the wind is that you don’t feel it. It just comes and goes, without notice. You know it’s there, you know what it is. But you don’t feel it. There are other things to feel. It’s there. But it’s not there.

The sky was an irritating, pale grey. Not a single sound could be heard.

Up here, as well. It’s here, but like always, you don’t feel it. That’s because you don’t think about feeling it.

But there’s nothing else up here. Nothing but you and the wind. Nothing between you and why you are here, except for an unknown enemy. That’s what the wind is.

It only takes a whisper. The kind of silent touch you cannot feel. That’s all it takes to lead all your shots astray. It’s the kind of thing you don’t think about.

And you can be prepared as much as you want; if you strike, but don’t think about it, there’s nothing you can do. You cannot beat the wind.

She knew that any second could be the moment.

You can’t beat it. You can only work with it. Only then does it become a friend.

First you feel it. Then you learn its way. Once you do, your shots can’t miss. Then there’s nothing between you and your target. A single, flawless shot can only be done by he who is one with the wind.

Her eyes narrowed.

Leave nothing to chance.

Any second now…

…

“There!” shouted Twilight.

The pegasus fired once, with great power but her entire balance intact. There was virtually no time in between the warning and her strike. Just as she pulled the trigger, she felt a powerful movement of air come in from behind her, as if to push all its strength into that one shot and carry it through the wide open space in front of her. It flew in a straight, uncompromised line.

Derpy looked up from her lens and stared at the spot towards which she had fired. Nothing moved there, which worried her; she always saw something move after she fired. Carefully but quickly she spun round and looked at Twilight.

“Well?” she asked. She wasn’t really asking Twilight if she had seen something that she might have missed. After all she was the sniper with ironically perfect eyesight. The question was more of a demand for an explanation from Twilight.

The unicorn was staring at the same spot with a scrunched up expression and her forehoof above her eyes as if to shield them from the sun although it didn’t shine at all, hidden behind milky rainclouds.

“Uh…” she said. Derpy dreaded the rest of the sentence, feeling she knew how it would end, and she did.

“I… I think I got it wrong. It was just a bird.”

Derpy slowly turned back towards the impregnable view she had on the Everfree forest, not without a very loud and heavy sigh of exasperation.

“Well that’s just fantastic,” she said, defeated.

“I’m sorry, Ditzy,” said Twilight with a genuine tone of guilt. “I’m doing my best. I wish I could do it again, I really do, but--"

“I just hope your best isn’t going to rid the Everfree forest of all its birds before we have an actual target on our hooves,” retorted Derpy. She adjusted her rifle with a sharp push of her shoulder. “Keep looking. And be careful!”

Twilight gave a sigh of defeat herself before sitting down in a sinking motion upon the hard ground of the rocky bluff. She really thought she had seen Discord’s tail again flailing among the treetops. She had put all her concentration into that one glimpse, thinking it over for a split second before deciding that a second more and it would be too late. Now it seemed that they were to start all over again.

“Uh… Ditzy,” she said weakly, “it’s getting late… I think I should go down and get some wood for the fire before night falls.”

There was a heavy silence for a few seconds that made Twilight very uncomfortable before Derpy replied.

“You do that,” she muttered. Twilight winced from the implied idea in that answer that it was her only real use here anyway.

She eased herself up, heavy from fatigue, and broodingly walked away towards the part of the bluff that sloped down into the woods below.

She continued walking absently once she was down in between the trees, mulling things over in her depression. The last few days had been no different than a week in hell for Twilight. What seemed at first like a good opportunity to wait out this paintball game she wasn’t going to win anyway turned out to be seven days of just sitting on rock and doing nothing, in the buzzing heat of a storm that never seemed to come. She’d been excited at first, since she’d discovered with Derpy a side of Equestria’s inner workings only she was privy to, not to mention a newfound magical ability to spot a certain troublemaker from miles away. She thought she could actually put it to some good use, and help Derpy and the princesses keep Equestria safe.

But ever since that one fateful encounter, that power had not shown itself to her again. Not even once.

She felt crushed. It dawned on her with a cold pang of sadness that she was completely out of her element. She wasn’t a paintball player or a sniper or anything. She was absolutely nothing.

Close to tears as she weakly picked up some twigs and small branches in her maw, she wished in that moment that she could be shot, right there and then, and get it over with. She thought of apologizing to Derpy, but then again she wouldn’t have anything to apologize for, except for being useless.

She froze. Standing by a tree was her mother.

She gasped and dropped the wood she’d been collecting, and all her depressing thoughts were instantly replaced by pure shock. As she’d been looking around the woods for branches in her daydreaming, she only caught a glimpse, but she was sure of it. She had seen her mother staring at her without a word from a nearby spot. Her breath shallow, she gave furtive looks to her sides to see where it was her mother was standing.

But there was no one around. She was surrounded by grass and a forest of thin birches here and there.

After a while she drew in a long, shaky breath in an attempt to compose herself. She’d probably imagined it. One of my many magical talents, right? The thought stung. She would have liked to have the comfort of her mother by her side at this gloomy time. Her heart still beating fast, she resumed her wood collection, starting with picking up the branches she had dropped. It was when she raised her head that she saw her father staring at her in the distance.

This time she shrieked, the sound echoing in the quiet forest, and took an instinctive step backwards.

Still cowering, she looked around frantically for the vision she had just seen, her head darting from side to side like a scared animal.

Again, the vision had disappeared.

Twilight could feel her her heart pounding erratically inside her chest. Beads of sweat ran down her temples, and she was having trouble standing. Trying to regain a normal stance made her legs wobble, her body naturally resisting against a potential threat. She tried to call out to anyone nearby.

“H-He…”

The words fell dull and dry in her throat. She swallowed.

“Hello…?” she asked in an involuntary impression of Fluttershy.

Nothing moved in the deathly standstill of the forest.

It was a good nerve-wracking 5 minutes of silence for Twilight before she gathered the strength to stand somewhat upright on her legs. Her breathing had eased a little, but her eyes still darted around cautiously, not daring to move a muscle.

I should probably grab the wood and run back to the bluff, thought Twilight. She’d take depressing over terrifying.

Her eyes went as far to the side of her head as they could, as if they were trying to allow her to see behind her without moving. When she realized that this was obviously not going to happen, and that the only way out of this situation was through rational action, she began calming herself down as much as she could. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then mechanically she scooped up some of the scattered wood and in a lightning fast turn she made a run for the opposite direction.

But before she could take a single step, she felt a great pain strike her in the back of the head out of nowhere. It was as if somepony had just whipped her with a live wire.

Twilight didn’t have time to scream or do anything before she fell to the ground with a great thump, unable to get up.

The breath had been knocked out of her, and she felt numb. She tried opening her eyes, but could only do so a little, and all she could see was a blurry close-up of the grass that covered the ground on which she lay.

She heard the sound of hoofsteps. They were distant and muffled, but she could tell in her daze that somepony was walking towards her.

She then felt a tug at her tail, telling her that this pony was grabbing a hold of it. She was too wiped out to fight it, so she had no other option but to let it happen. In that moment she could only think of one thing.

That was no paintball. It was something more. Some strong, dark magic.

Without anymore sound or disturbance, Twilight dozed off to the rhythmic sound of brushing leaves, as she was being dragged away on the ground, deep into the woods.

* * *

Earlier that day

Cheerilee awoke with a groan, greeted by a single beam of morning sun straight in the face.

She was in a terrible mood, having had only had a few miserable hours of sleep in her cramped little booth in Apple Bloom’s treehouse. Her face felt stony and she had to run a hoof over it to soothe the feeling. Her usually clean mane was now dusty and wild, and her fur was ragged all over. Even as she removed her hoof from her face, she could feel bags tugging at the bottom of her eyes, giving the teacher a murderous craving for some beauty sleep.

She’d just woken up from what had to have been the most bizarre dream ever. She had dreamt that she was in the Everfree forest with her class armed to the teeth with paint guns, one of which shot her. Next thing she knew she was a princess watching a discussion take place between Sun Tzu and Robert E. Lee.

Thank Celestia that’s over, she thought. She had a good mind to go home, wash up and forget all this nonsense. She tried getting out of the booth she’d been curled up in for what felt like ages, but her limbs were stiff from bad positioning and moving them even a little made her grunt in annoyance.

From the corner of her eye, she saw something move in the treehouse. She looked, and despite everything was still thoroughly surprised to see Apple Bloom was still here. She’d noticed her guest had awoken, and after looking at each other for a second Cheerilee spotted the bright yellow plastic gun in Apple Bloom’s hooves. The sight of the gun brought the reality of it all back to her in a surge, and she groaned loudly with a frustration that had nothing to do with lack of sleep.

“Ah reckon you still need to rest a little longer, Miss Cheerilee,” said Apple Bloom. “The war has been scheduled fer tomorrow, an’--”

“Nope! No thank you, Apple Bloom!” replied Cheerilee in what was meant to sound like a pleasant voice but came out as a disheveled squeak of some sort. “I got aaall the rest I need!” she said, in a painful effort to quickly stand up so as to prove her point. She was certain that if she heard the word ‘war’ one more time she was going to puke.

Apple Bloom stared at her teacher, who was struggling to get out of her cramped confines, with a quizzical look. “Ah don’t think so,” she said.

Cheerilee stopped moving and stared back at the filly. She felt like a character in a serial killer movie.

Apple Bloom moved towards Cheerilee, which made her whimper. The filly mistakenly took this as a sign of her teacher being wounded.

“Come on now, Miss Cheerilee, ah know yer hurt an’ ya don’t wanna stay here--” Cheerilee let out a groan that confirmed that last part exactly, “--an’ ah wanna go too but we can’t jus’ leave that smelly traitor Dahmond Tiawrah get away without givin’ her the what fer!”

It was as she dreaded. The foal was back full swing into the whole epic saga thing. Cheerilee’s job made her more patient than the average pony, but this was just ridiculous.

“For goodness’s sake, Apple Bloom,” she said, “would you please stop inv--”

Her plea was interrupted when the door to the treehouse crashed open and revealed Sweetie Belle.

“APPLEBLOOOOM!”

If there had been windows in the treehouse they would have broke into a million pieces. Apple Bloom jumped at least two feet in the air, and Cheerilee gnashed her teeth hard and winced in pain as the filly’s shrill scream made an unbearable whistling sound go through her already throbbing head. Against her better judgement, in front of the two fillies, she blurted out a very rude expression akin to a plea for someone to fornicate her with a rake.

Apple Bloom dashed towards Sweetie Belle, stopping muzzle to muzzle with the unicorn and giving her a look of utter fury.

“Wut in sam hill do ya think yer doin’ bargin’ in and hollerin’ like that, Sweetie Belle??” she yelled. “Can’t ya see our dear leader is wounded enough already without ya screamin’ her ears off? An’ didn’ ah tell ya ta address me as ‘commander Apple Bloom’ from now on??”

“It doesn’t matter!” replied Sweetie Belle, to Apple Bloom’s surprise. She was about to say something about having her authority respected, but she was silenced by curiosity. The little filly in front of her was completely out of breath, and she was obviously extremely alarmed about something.

“It’s… It’s…!” she began, so distraught she couldn’t even speak coherently.

“Wut is it?” replied Apple Bloom. “Ah ain’t exactly in the mood for guessin’ games right now!”

“It’s Sweet Apple Acres!” replied Sweetie Belle, forcing the words to her mouth. “There’s been an attack!”

Something broke inside Apple Bloom. The barn was where she had left all her troops for the night.

“Oh no…” she said in a daze.

“We’ve gotta go there! Hurry!”

Apple Bloom spun round and snatched her gun from the floor of the treehouse. She followed Sweetie Belle as the latter darted outside. Before she shut the door she turned around to Cheerilee.

“Ah’ll be right back, Miss Cheerilee! Ah ain’t gonna let this infidel get her way!”

The door slammed and Cheerilee fell to the floor with a heavy sigh of relief, knocking the dear leader booth down.

Finally, some actual rest.

* * *

As the two fillies galloped through the main gate at Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom felt a heavy lump form in her throat. Even from afar she could see that the barn had been turned into a giant canvas strewn with splashes of paint of all colours. She had a really bad feeling about what had happened here, and it was about to get worse.

They slowed down once they arrived at the wooden fence surrounding the barn. The fence gate was open, but yellow tape had been stuck in thin banners from one fencepost to another as if to keep somebody out.

Scootaloo was waiting for her two friends there. Upon seeing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle arriving she galloped to meet them.

“Oh my gosh,” she said with distress, “Apple Bloom, I just found out, they came during the night and--”

Apple Bloom silently walked right past her at a fast pace, ignoring the filly completely, a look of fierce determination in her eyes.

Still walking, she ripped the tape off the gate and advanced into the dusty courtyard that led to the barn. In the courtyard was Granny Smith, walking slowly towards Apple Bloom. There was a tray on her back with a steaming cup with a wide handle suited for pony hooves. Unlike anypony else around, Granny Smith was wearing her usual warm smile, indicating she either didn’t realize what had happened or just didn’t care that much.

“Ah, hello there Apple Bloom,” she said in her kind and cracking voice. “How’s it goin’ fer ya young’uns and yer game of whadjamacallit? Little Scootaloo here said ya were on yer way so I fixed ya yer favorite coco drink, jus’ the--”

Without breaking her stride, Apple Bloom walked up to her granny and ably snatched the cup off the tray without making it or its carrier fall.

“Thanks Granny,” she said moodily as she took a sip and continued walking. “You get yerself somewhere safe now, this ain’t gonna be purty.”

On a bale of hay there was a beige trenchcoat and an assorted hat that Apple Bloom often kept around in case there was work to be done on the farm in rainy weather. She grabbed both of them and put them on, before walking up to the filly she had been looking for.

That filly was none other than one Babs Seed, Apple Bloom’s cousin from Manehattan. She was also a player of the game, and she hadn’t hesitated for an instant when Apple Bloom had told her about the situation and how they would need security for the sleeping troops. Apple Bloom considered herself very lucky to be her cousin. They had their trust issues in the past, but she had learned that her heart was in the right place.

But unfortunately today was not the time for a heartfelt family reunion. Apple Bloom advanced towards Babs, who met her halfway with a brief and solemn nod. Together they walked the last few feet to the barn doors, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle trotting behind to keep up with them.

“Talk ta me, Babs,” said Apple Bloom with a serious voice and a slurp of her coco. Babs shook her head.

“Just like you said, it ain’t pretty, boss,” she replied with her husky Hooflyn accent. “Whole place was turned into a polka party center ovanight.”

They reached the doors and Babs walked through, followed by her cousin. The two other fillies were about to enter the barn as well, but they were halted by Apple Bloom turning around to face them in the doorway, her forelegs grabbing a door each.

“Non-authorized personnel are strictly forbidden beyond this point, please evacuate the crime scene,” she said in a fast, machine-like tone. She then slammed the doors on the two foals, who exchanged puzzled looks and wondered in the privacy of their own mind if they were still playing epic medieval war or not.

After closing the door, Apple Bloom turned around and sighed heavily. She’d been doing her best not to show her distress in front of the two other crusaders, and now was the time to let it out.

As she looked around the barn, her eyes widened in horror and she sunk to the ground as if she’d been shot herself.

The scene that presented itself to her was a depressing one. A multicoloured hurricane seemed to have ravaged the place, as a myriad of paint splatters big and small coated every corner from the floor to high up on the walls with even a few stray shots having reached the ceiling. She saw blue, green, yellow and all sorts of different shades of all colours, even a great deal of that unmistakable dull grey that was Silver Spoon’s. On the ground, beds that had been made for the few foals that were on Apple Bloom’s side were undone and their bedding strewn upon the ground where a handful of foals still lay, moaning in pain that showed on the speckled coats and faces like a bizarre form of chicken pox.

Apple Bloom felt entirely undone. It wasn’t just about Diamond Tiara’s cowardly attack, not even because of the paintball game in itself. The hay that she and her family had stacked for the winter, the mangers for the cows, all sorts of other tools and supplies. All sullied, bent or broken by the violence that had taken place here. The entire barn supplies were useless.

“They came in the middle of the night,” said Babs to Apple Bloom who was still crushed by what she was seeing. “The bullies, I mean. They came from out of the night and all around the barn, I never saw them comin’. One moment I’m standin’ guard and next thing you know I hear a million clicks of pulled triggas and paint crahsin’ on walls. They forced themselves in and went carnival on the place while two of them held guns on me. There was nuthin’ I could do… Was a miracle that I wasn’t hit.”

Apple Bloom nodded absently, still reeling from shock.

“But… but how?” she asked, feeling utterly helpless. “Sweet Apple Acres isn’t in the Everfree Forest, it ain’t supposed ta be part of the game! That’s why ah put ‘em here, to keep ‘em safe! Did Diamond Tiara jus’ went an’ broke the rules set by Princess Celestia herself?”

“I guess the Princess wasn’t bein’ too careful, and somehow Diamond Tiara managed to break out of the Everfree Forest an’ get here,” said Babs. “Woulda thought the forest was capable of keeping bad guys out of our territory… I guess some bad stuff just happens, though.”

Apple Bloom cradled her head in her hooves for a few seconds then shook it and got up.

“Any survivors?” she asked with a little more composure.

“A few of them managed to get away through the windows,” replied Babs.

Apple Bloom’s determination had returned, and she walked further into the barn towards a chubby little colt with a fez hat. He moaned in pain, a splatter of yellow paint over one of his eyes. Apple Bloom squatted down over him.

“Who did this to ya?” she asked.

“Do you need to ask?” replied the colt. “It was an ambush… Silver Spoon was there, Snips and Snails too, I--”

“How many escaped?”

“I don’t know,” said the colt. “Most of us were shot… we couldn’t... do... anything…”

On the last word his head fell with a thud on the ground, his eyes rolling backward and his throat giving one last, exaggerated rasp as if to signify his death.

Unfazed, Apple Bloom got up and turned to face her cousin.

“We gotta find the other survivors an’ put em to safety!”

“I took care of that already,” said Babs. “Put em’ in the royal princesses’ old castle. I hear nopony has the guts to go near the place anyway.”

Apple Bloom gave a weak smile. Nopony but Babs, of course.

“Thanks, Babs,” she said. Babs shook her head again, as if to say Apple Bloom was wrong.

“Fuggetaboudit,” she said. “I couldn’t do nuttin’ last night. But I know that tomorrow there’s some serious flank-whoopin’ that’s gonna go down, and I got a good mind to give some fillies what’s comin’ to the jokers.”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were still waiting in front of the barn when Apple Bloom came out. The trotted up to her.

“Well?” asked Scootaloo. Apple Bloom want to a nearby bale of hay, throwing herself down upon it and looking at the sky.

“It ain’t good,” she said. “The whole barn’s had its paint job redone, an’ we lost half our army.”

The two other fillies looked at each other in alarm. “Well what are we gonna do?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“There’s only one thing we can do,” said Apple Bloom while getting up. “We need the help of the Master.”

Scootaloo looked at her with a mixture of puzzlement and pity. “Apple Bloom, I know you really look up to Miss Cheerilee but she’s been shot, there’s nothing she can do to help us.”

Apple Bloom flashed her an unimpressed look.

“No, dummy, she’s the leader,” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She then gave both her friends a wink and a wily smile.

“Ah’m talkin’ about the Master…”

* * *

Out in the woods, Applejack was walking quietly in between the trees.

She was going nowhere in particular. It occurred to her that opponents were getting increasingly difficult to find, and that the special truce she had made with Rainbow Dash might prove useless if the end of the game was near. But she considered it important to stay on good terms with her friends, no matter what kind of competition might put their friendship to the test. After all, none of the Elements of Harmony had been shot out of the game yet. If one of them did shoot another, it would still be a game, but she couldn’t exclude the possibility that it might create a rip in the fabric of that friendship.

That was her goal. To preserve the harmony between her and her gals. And even though she was wandering in the forest, she still had one particular destination in mind, and that destination was Fluttershy.

If there was one pony that needed protection it was her. They’d lost track of each other since Applejack’s last encounter with Zecora, and Applejack was worried about what had happened to the pegasus in a forest she didn’t dare set hoof into.

She couldn’t help thinking back about that day. Why was it that a day that had been so easy-going on the two of them should end with magical clearings and bloodthirsty zebras? Now the autumnal glow of the moment was replaced by gloomy grey skies. Not to mention the wind that had carried her hat which each gust as if on purpose, leading her all too conveniently to that place before dying down so abruptly she hadn’t even noticed it…

For a simple game of paintball, there sure were some strange things taking place. She wondered… maybe it was just her. Or maybe, just maybe…

The silence around her was suddenly broken. Applejack heard the telltale snap of a twig, and stopped walking immediately. She raised her lead, slowly examining her surroundings. Her ear twitched.

A voice spoke.

“Tell me, o brother of mine, do you think our good chum Applejack here would mind if we joined her in her afternoon stroll?”

Applejacked cringed. That unpleasant and snarky voice could only belong to one pony, or rather two very similar ponies. And sure enough, from behind a tree came one of the Flim Flam brothers, a naughty grin on his face. Applejack didn’t know whether her was Flim or Flam; she referred to them as ‘the one with the mustache and the one without’.

It didn’t matter much, because from behind another tree came the other brother.

“I reckon’ she wouldn’t, dear brother,” he said, in a mockery of Applejack’s voice.

The farm mare stood firmly on the spot, her unblinking eyes cautiously staring at the two brothers as they approached her from both sides until they arrived at a safe distance from her.

“May we?” they said in unison.

Applejack said nothing for the moment. She wouldn’t let their teasing get to her.

“What are you two rattlesnakes doin’ here?” she asked coolly.

Flim turned to his brother with a look of being deeply hurt.

“My goodness, is that any way to treat old friends?”

“I know, brother o’ mine, I know. Then again she was never to friendly to begin with, but that’s just part of her charisma wouldn’t you say?”

“Are you two fer real?” retorted Applejack. “Ya’ll come waltzin’ right outta nowhere all of a sudden an’ expect me ta show any kindness? Looks like you boys ain’t never learned yer lesson.”

“Come now, Applejack,” said Flam with the kind of smirk that buisenessponies the like of which the honest Applejack hated. “Surely we can let the past go and behave like civilized ponies do? I mean, we’ve done some questionable things in the past--”

“--and used underhanded techniques, ‘tis true,” cut in Flim.

“But honestly, you must understand and see the big picture here! Dubious deeds indeed, but it’s all part of the wonderful game of business!”

“My brother and I have been playing it all our lives, and if it were all clean and straightforward, would it be any fun?”

“We like to play it rough, I admit. But it’s all in the spirit of friendly competition! Just like Paintball, which you play quite expertly, if I’m not mistaken?”

Flam extended a hoof to Applejack and flashed her a broad smile.

Applejack’s eyes went back and forth between Flam and his hoof, before looking at him with raised eyebrows and half-lidded eyes, an unimpressed look that was common to many Apple family members who were known to be level-headed folk.

“Yer serious. Yer actually serious,” she said.

“But of course,” he replied, seemingly unaffected by her reaction. “The Flim Flam Brothers never meant to be on bad terms with you! After all do we not share a passion for the same craft?”

Applejack gave a single, dry chuckle.

“Good gravy, Flam, ah thought you an’ yer twin woulda learned ah ain’t no airhead,” she said. “Ah’ll spare ya the innuendos an’ cut to the chase: ah know that right now yer tryin’ ta butter me up ta win mah trust so that y’all can get yer greedy hooves on Sweet Apple Acres.”

Flam slowly withdrew his hoof with a troubled look, which he saw reflected on his brother’s face. He looked back at Applejack and saw her grinning.

“Honestly, don’t you two have any other ambition? Like, ah dunno, make yer own business instead of tryin’ ta steal mah family’s?”

Flim and Flam looked at each other for a few seconds. Then the two brothers exploded in loud laughter. They guffawed for a while, almost to the point of tears. Applejack, who had no patience for the pair's exaggerated antics, shot them a murderous glare.

“You… I’m afraid it’s our turn to enquire about the seriousness of your claim!” said an out-of-breath Flim, wiping a tear from his eye.

“A simple ‘yer wrong’ woulda sufficed,” muttered Applejack.

“Fine then. You’re wrong,” said Flam. The two brothers looked at Applejack with haughtiness, for once in absolute sincerity. This worried Applejack, and once more she stood alert as she tried to look into Flam’s eyes while he shot her a condescending look. “It seems you’ve spent so much time playing survival that you’ve lost track of recent events.”

Applejack tensed up. “What events?” she asked, bracing herself for the answer.

“Call it Karma,” said Flim.

“Karma?”

“Why yes,” answered Flam. “I think it’s safe to confess that at first, we were indeed after your farm. Perseverance goes a long way, after all.”

“That’s right, my brother and I set out to the edge of the woods to see if the place was unoccupied.”

Applejack gaped at the two brothers in bewilderment. “You tried ta steal mah farm?” she said in disbelief.

“Yes, it’s a bit drastic, I’ll admit.” said Flim. “But it doesn’t matter much now,” he added before she could reply.

“That’s right,” said Flam. “Because this morning we arrived at the edge of the wood upon a nice little hilltop from which we could gaze upon the beauty of your magnificent estate.”

“Well ah sure hope it satisfied yer curiosity,” spat Applejack. But the two brothers were not offended.

“Oh yes,” said Flam. “We were satisfied.”

Their grins widened, which worried Applejack even more as she started to feel her heart rate increase.

“You two better tell me what’s goin’ on right now or ah swear--”

“We saw the barn,” said Flim. “We really like what you’ve done with the place.”

Once more they broke out into jaw-breaking laughter, and it was taking all of Applejack’s self-control not to whip out her gun and make them taste the paint within. The only reason she didn’t was because she needed to know what it was that made them so happy, and she knew that if she threatened them they might aim back at her with their own guns and stay moot on the subject.

“What about the barn?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“It seems that sometime recently, a good-natured soul paid a visit to Sweet Apple Acres and gave the barn a whole new paint job, one little splotch at a time. And it looks like they didn’t exactly contain themselves either; they made holes in the walls, broke down the windows… I’m quite certain they didn’t stop halfway and did the inside as well.”

The words came as a hard blow to Applejack. It was as if they were talking about a person very close to her.

“So yeah, we don’t want your farm anymore,” said Flim. He grinned. “The place is a dump.”

For Applejack, that was the last straw. In the blink of an eye, she withdrew her gun and presented its barrel to both brothers. They must have seen this coming, and they did just the same as her at the same moment, gaining the upper hand before she could even pull the trigger.

“Ta ta ta, not so fast there, little cowgirl,” said Flam mockingly.

“Y’all try ta steal mah farm behind mah back, and you think you can jus’ insult it ta boot?” replied Applejack. “Ah bet you jus’ vandalized mah property yerselves like the sore losers you are!”

“Now while that’s a reasonable hypothesis I’m afraid it’s a bad apple as far as possibilities go, my little friend,” said Flam. “For ‘twas not our work, but that of a certain benefactor whose heart is no doubt in the right place.”

A tense silence ensued during which Applejack carefully evaluated her chances. She was sure of one thing: she had to act fast. This wasn’t a one-on-one confrontation at gunpoint, during which she could stall for a fairly long time in order to elaborate a strategy on the spot. There were two of them, and one of her. If they shot together at the same time, Applejack knew she would have to dodge both shots and pull a fast one on both of them in order to win. She had to brace and prepare herself to do that, knowing that any second now the shots would be fired at her.

Applejack sighed. Why was it that every encounter with another pony had to end up in a tense duel?

She thought for a second too late, and two shots rang out in the forest almost simultaneously.

Two shots that struck Flim and Flam on the back of their necks and sent them toppling forward with surprised grunts. Applejack herself couldn’t believe it, partly because this was the second time this had happened to her. She gaped at the splotches of paint on the two stallions’ necks and saw they were sky blue.

In a split second she knew what had happened, and sure enough, when she raised her head, she saw Rainbow Dash calmly walking towards her from behind her attackers, a gun twirling in her hoof and a wide grin on her face.

“Oh fer cryin’ out loud!” yelled Applejack. Her pride was hurt. Rainbow Dash giggled and looked at the farm pony as if she were just a small filly.

“If you want, I can escort you to the last pony. I’ll even let you shoot it yourself!” she said.

“Fergit it!” said Applejack. “This ain’t like wit’ Zecora, ah had the situation under control!”

Rainbow Dash winked at Applejack in response, which made her so frustrated to have been bailed out again by this amateur that her face became as red as Big Mac’s coat. Rainbow giggled as she approached the two stallions she had just shot and bent over them.

“Better make like a tree,” she said. “I don’t wanna see you two kooks bullying anypony else around here or there will be trouble.”

Flim and Flam, who were still laying on the ground, made grunting sounds of fatigue and slowly got up.

“Well. It can be said that we’re quite offended,” said Flim, while he and his brother brushed themselves off proudly at the same time.

“Indeed, dear brother of mine, it seems wherever we go these Ponyvillians are the only ones who don’t appreciate our salesmanship,” said Flam.

“But I know us both to be above such rudeness. So, dear Applejack,” said Flim, bowing and putting a hoof across his chest in salute while his brother did the same, “we bid you adieu, even though you wouldn’t hav--”

“Git,” spat Applejack.

The two brothers looked up in surprise before turning their backs to the two mares and walking away with a look of disdain. Rainbow watched them retreat into the woods and shook her head.

“Those two sure are oddballs,” she said. “I don’t get why you hang around them all the time.”

She then looked at Applejack, who looked extremely bored, and gave her a tiny smile.

“So? Which one d’you have a crush on? Is it the one with the musta--”

“Why. Are. You. Here,” said Applejack in a low apathetic voice without looking back at her friend, carefully enunciating every word.

“Sheesh, no need to look so bummed out, AJ,” said Rainbow.

“Uh, actually, yeah, there is,” said Applejack as she turned to Rainbow with annoyance. “Why d’ya always have ta save me like ah ain’t capable of handlin’ mahself? When ah said truce, ah didn’t mean ‘don’t shoot me jus’ shoot everypony else’! Yer takin all the fun out of it!”

“Yeah, cornered at gunpoint by two greedy nutjobs, that looks hilarious.”

“Wouldya stop nitpickin’ an’ makin’ excuses fer yerself and jus’ get the point!” yelled AJ in exasperation.

But Rainbow Dash did not even blink, gave AJ a determined look.

“AJ, I’m your friend. And a friend is somepony who’s got your back. All day, every day,” she gave Applejack yet another wink. “Truche shmuce. Nopony’s gonna hit one of my friends while I’m around.”

Applejack’s expression softened a little. It was Rainbow’s manner of staying true to herself and to others that she couldn’t help but admire, whereas most other ponies would just claim some reward for saving another’s flank and storm away if they didn’t get it. They hoofbumped.

“Ah gotta say, Rainbow,” she said, “ya might be one hotheaded filly, but ya got a mean shot with paintball. Ah was stuck figurin’ out how ta shoot both those guys before they shot me, but you jus’ fired on the double!”

Rainbow gave her a smirk that told Applejack, who only knew her too well, that the mare had a trick up her sleeve.

“Heh. Look what I got,” said Rainbow.

She showed her a blue paintball gun, which Applejack looked at quizzically at first because she thought it was Rainbow’s own. But then she saw that Rainbow’s gun was lying on the grass next to her, and looking closer at the gun her friend was showing her, she saw it was of a lighter, more electric blue, with a subtle streak of yellow along the barrel. Something clicked in her head, and she recognized on the gun the colours of a pony named Lightning Dust.

She looked back at Rainbow and chuckled.

“Well,” she said. “Looks like somepony got their comeuppance.”

“You can say that again,” said Rainbow, puffing her chest. “She tried to give me the whole ‘bygones be bygones’ speech, but it didn’t fall for it of course. It was over quickly.”

She looked at the gun with a smirk, and twirled it around in her hoof.

“You’ll be the prize piece of my collection, little guy,” she told it.

“Heh. A collection, huh?” asked Applejack.

“You bet! Lemme tell ya, AJ, if I had to carry all the guns I’ve won on myself, I wouldn’t be able to fly a foot off the ground! I stashed them all in an old bird’s nest on top of a high tree, so don’t get any ideas!”

Applejack said nothing, and tipped her hat forward so that her face was hidden save for a tiny smile she gave the pegasus.

“If yer implyin’ that ah might be tempted ta snatch one o’ yer guns, don’t lose any sleep over it. This gal’s got her own personal pistol stash anyway, and ah dare say it ain’t nothin’ ta throw a lasso at.”

“Hah! Sure you do.”

“Ya doubt it?” Applejack replied, raising her eyebrows in amusement.

“Hey, I’m just sayin’, there’s a lot more where this came from. Including the mayor’s own gun, which means you don’t have it,” replied Rainbow teasingly.

Applejack gave a hearty laugh. “That’s hardly somethin’ ta brag about! It ain’t like the mayor does a lot o’ paintball or any kinda sports fer that matter!”

“Fine then, who’s gun do you have?” replied Rainbow, feeling that old spark of rivalry firing her up. Applejack chuckled.

“Well let’s jus’ say that when this is over, if the guns stay, Hoity Toity’s gun will make a fine present fer Rarity.”

“That’s nice,” said Rainbow flatly. “Course the effect will be kinda dampened since I’ll have already given her Sapphire Shore’s gun.”

“That’s jus’ one gun. How ‘bout two? Say, if ah were ta also give her Photo Finish’s gun? Gettin’ somethin’ from a pony that’s done ya wrong always does the trick. Course ya already know that, right, Rainbow?”

“That should make it all the better when I give her Prince Blueblood’s!”

“Heh. Not bad, Rainbow, not bad at all.”

“Oh come on! Like you can top that!”

“Actually, ah can’t,” said Applejack to Rainbow’s surprise. “Ya got me good there. But at the end of the day, what matters ain’t who’s, but how many. Ah think I got the upper hoof there.”

“Oh I got more, don’t worry!” replied Rainbow. “I got Berry Punch’s gun!”

“Please, Rainbow. Ah’ll bet she was drunk, missed every shot, and ya probably jus’ had ta pick it up once she dropped it. On the other hoof, ah got Carrot Top’s gun. Now that’s good business leverage.”

“Wanna talk about getting guns from competitors? I got Thunderlane’s gun!”

Neither of the two mares said anything for a second. They looked at each other, and understood they had just thought of the same thing.

“Flitter!” said Rainbow.

“Cloudchaser!” replied Applejack at the exact same time.

A few seconds of silence ensued. Finally Applejack spoke.

“Well ah guess it doesn’t matter. Ah can boast these two beauties now,” she said, watching the two bacon-coloured guns that Flim and Flam had left behind.

Rainbow looked at the guns and bit her lip. She knew that Applejack was two guns ahead of her. She would have to pull a fast one.

Applejack turned to face her and gave her a smug look.

“Ah’m waiting,” she chimed.

Suddenly Rainbow thought of something and her confident demeanor returned.

“Hah. Ok, Applejack, I wasn’t going to use this dirty one on you, but you leave me no choice. I have to confess that I shot Big Macintosh the other day.”

She was delighted to see Applejack completely stumped by that statement. But then the farm mare broke into a loud, rich laugh so suddenly that it made Rainbow jump. Seeing Applejack laughing away until her ribs would ache upset Rainbow.

“What’s so funny?”

“Ah knew it! Oh Rainbow Dash, ya silly gal!” she said through her laughing fit.

“You.. you did?” said Rainbow, confused.

“Shoot, course ah did!” replied Applejack. “C’mon Rainbow. Yer a great shot, like ah said -- but ah just knew ya couldn’t top me on this one and that there had ta be a bluff in there somewhere!”

Rainbow felt a mixture of relief and confusion. She wasn’t bluffing.

Something clicked in her head, and she returned Applejack’s smug look to her.

“Oh. Oh I see what’s going on here,” she said in full confidence. “You’re calling out my bluff, which is a bluff in itself. Very smart, AJ. But I’m calling yours.”

Applejack laughed again and shook her head slowly.

“Stop laughing, it’s annoying!” said Rainbow.

“It’s ok, Dash, sometimes ya gotta know when ta quit.”

“I’m not bluffing, AJ, it was just this morning. He spotted me, he took a shot, I was quicker. Simple as that.”

“Look, Rainbow,” replied an amused Applejack. “Lemme show ya somethin’.”

She took off her hat and showed the inside to Rainbow Dash. Inside was a deep red gun.

“See today ah was feelin’ kinda guilty ‘bout somethin’. First pony ah shot and, well, it’s mah brother. Jus’ didn’t feel right ta jus’ leave it there in a pile under a bush like the rest, so ah went back ta where ah hid mah stash an’ took it with me. I like ta keep a bit of family around.”

She put her hat back on and looked at Rainbow Dash to see what priceless expression she had to offer. But what she saw surprised her.

Rainbow was looking straight into her eyes with an expression that was nothing to laugh about. She looked genuinely terrified.

Applejack found it slightly disturbing. She didn’t know whether her rival was doing a convincing bit of acting or not, or how to react to it. She was about to comment when Rainbow slowly raised her front hoof and took a step back.

“Ok. That,” said Rainbow, “that’s creepy.”

Applejack shrugged.

“Well ah dunno if creepy’s the best way ta put it. It’s a quality hat, an’ it’s got good fixture. Jus’ can’t run around too much now.”

“No…” said Rainbow. “I’m not talking about that.”

Her tone was so serious that it worried Applejack.

“Rainbow what’s got ya so upset like th--”

“Look, just, stay right here, I’ll be back,” said Rainbow.

Before Applejack could reply the pegasus took off and disappeared in the woods in the blink of an eye. Applejack had a just a huge question mark floating around in her head. What is up with that mare?

Soon enough Rainbow returned, carrying something in her hoof which she showed to Applejack. The farm pony froze.

It was the exact same gun. Same colours, same shape, same build. A perfect copy.

Applejack slowly raised her head and looked at Rainbow with just about the same expression that her friend was giving her. Neither of them said anything for a moment. They could have just shrugged it off as some quirk of some sort, but somehow they just knew there was something going on. Everypony had one gun that was unique to them. That was a product of royal magic, and it was undeniable. And yet, plain as day, there were two Big Macintosh guns.

Strange winds, magical clearings, two Big Macs…

What the hay is goin’ on in these woods?

The Burnout

The small group of foals trotted for a good while on the rocky path of the mountainside.

It was making her feel very uneasy. Anyone would be in this setting: the land they were in was utterly devoid of any grass or plant life. There was but nothing but hard cold rock, and the steep slopes of mountains as far as the eye could see, under a permanently grey sky. However, this was not what caused her to worry. After all, she’d spent her whole life here. What was worrying was that they were getting further and further away from the colony with each passing step. She’d never gone this far before.

One of the foals at the head of the moving pack seemed to have picked up on her unease. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her look left and right intensely and grinned.

“Getting cold hooves back there?” he said.

She quickly turned to look at him and straightened up.

“N-no, don’t be stupid!” she said, her voice betraying the nervousness she was trying to hide. “It’s just… you know I’m not supposed to be here.”

“Yeah, well, that’s why we’re way out here in the middle of nowhere. Someone had to get you out of that big mountain anyway,” said the colt. “Come on… it’ll be fun,” he added with a wink.

She said nothing and tried to straighten herself up even further, nearly tripping as she did. A few of the foals sniggered, but she ignored them. She had to show them the example.

Eventually the head foal stopped walking and raised his hoof. The whole group halted without a word, which made her start a little.

“We’re here,” he announced.

They had arrived at an entrance carved into one of the mountains. It was very impressive, and revealed a sizeable cave only dimly lit by the pale outside light. The eerie place made her knees buckle, but she stepped in with the rest of the group anyway.

She now stood at the center of the cave, examining its walls while the other foals stood in a circle around her. She turned to face them.

“Very well,” she said with feigned composure. “What is it I’m supposed to see that’s so important?”

The head colt grinned at her with excitement.

“It’s a game. We call it ‘hide and seek’, and you’ve just gotta try it at least once in your life.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “My father says games are for the uncouth, and that I am not to take part in them.”

The colt turned to the rest of the group.

“Did you all hear that? The princess says I’m uncouth,” he said in a mocking tone.

The crowd went into a collective “ooooooh!” the way children do to signify that they are not impressed by another one’s antics, before erupting into jeering laughter.

Her cheeks turned bright red and she glared at the cackling colt in front of her.

“Shut up!” she said. “It’s not my fault I have higher standards!”

“Alright, alright, slow down, miss Higher Standards,” he said, which infuriated her. “How about we just all play along here? It’ll be fun, I promise.”

She wanted to call him an imbecile, but composed herself. “Fine,” she said in a cool voice. “How does this work?”

The colt’s air of enthusiasm returned.

“Alright, so basically, you gotta close your eyes and count to ten. Every one of us here then takes the shape of another one, except for one kid. You gotta find which kid is in the shape of their real self!”

His expression told her he was expecting her reaction to reflect his enthusiasm.

“... That’s it?” she said.

“Come ooon,” he replied. “It’s great fun! Just try it! You can be part of the group later and someone else will count.”

She sighed. She couldn’t grasp how a pastime so bland could possibly be amusing. Yet there was a longing for some form of amusement in her that was taking over, and that had led her here with this company in the first place. Besides, the rules of the game were somewhat intriguing her.

“All right,” she said.

“Close your eyes!” said the colt.

She obeyed, and began silently mouthing the numbers up to ten. She could hear giggling that echoed on the cave walls, and through her closed eyelids she could only see darkness interrupted momentarily by faint flashes of electric green.

When she opened her eyes the group stood before her exactly as it did previously. They might as well have switched places, but she understood that was not the point of the game.

“What now?” she asked.

“Now you find out which one of us hasn’t changed shape while you weren’t looking!” said the head colt, who stood more to her left than he did previously.

“So… are you not Fanglet?” she asked him with a skeptical look.

“Nope!” the foal replied, and in a flash of green changed back to its original form, revealing a filly before quickly turning back into Fanglet.

The whole crowd erupted into laughter. She was stunned, but a shy smile quickly spread across her face.

“C’mon, pick somebody else!” said someone else.

She responded quickly, and sifted the group with an eager gaze for the foal that remained the same. The other foals all grinned back at her in anticipation.

After a while she spoke.

“... You! You’re still Jade!”

“No!” replied the foal who had spoken, and he revealed his true form for an instant before putting his disguise back on like the foal before him. More cheerful laughing ensued, which to her surprise she found herself joining into.

They played like this for a good hour. Eventually she had found the foal she was looking for, and several rounds played out in which she was both counter and spectator.

She was positively thrilled about this game. She knew full well she wasn’t supposed to be out here, with these foals she wasn’t allowed to even speak to, but she didn’t care one bit. For once, she felt included and normal, and all her previous worrying about being far from home and ignoring her duties had vanished.

But eventually, they had to come right back to her.

“Commander Regallion! We’ve found her!”

The voices came from two adult changelings at the entrance of the cave. The group of foals gasped in unison and fell deadly silent as a third changeling stepped into the mouth of the cave. He was much taller and imposing than the ones next to him, and peered into the cave with a cruel glare.

“Come here,” he said in a low, booming voice.

She knew the command was addressing her. She didn’t dare move, staring wide-eyed at his muscular black silhouette that stuck out against the nearly white sky outside.

“Now!” he bellowed, which made all the foals jump and a few whimper. They all looked to their new friend, who advanced slowly and with trembling little hoofsteps towards the mouth of the cave, feeling his icy glare weighing down on her.

She eventually reached him, and cowered in a ball while she stared at his hooves.

“I believe I have told you many times before not to step out of the Mountain’s bounds.”

He spoke slowly in a quiet yet grave voice that sent shivers down her spine.

“I…” she said, barely above a whisper, “Forgive me, father, I--”

“Do not talk back at me, you whelp!” he growled. She shut her eyes and cringed, expecting to be met with a strike of his large hoof like always. He raised his head and took a look around the cave with an air of disgust. He then looked back at his daughter with the same expression.

“Is this what you do when I’m not looking?” he said in a cold whisper. “Hiding out in holes and making a fool of yourself? I believe we also spoke of games, and such utter nonsense.”

There was a deadly silence during which none dared to move.

“Explain yourself,” he said, detailing every harsh syllable.

She tentatively raised her little head to look at him, trying to avoid his gaze as much as possible.

“I… I just wanted to s-see if… if I could make some friends, I--”

“Friends?!” he roared. The word ricocheted around the small cave like a bullet and the foals there fidgeted as if to avoid it. She barely had the time to cower back into a trembling ball of fear before she felt herself being grabbed by a foreleg and fiercely raised into the air, where her panicked gaze met with his cruel, empty eyes.

“I punish and I punish, and still you spew that filthy word at me!” he shouted, shaking his daughter in the air and making her whimper in pain. “When will you learn?! You have no need for friends, you have no need for such imbecilities!”

With a jerk he drew her closer, boring holes into her own tearing eyes.

“You have but one destiny,” he gnarled in his low, terrifying voice, “and that is to succeed me as the leader of our fleet! There are no such things as friends or games for you, the only thing you need is training and discipline! What good will you be as a leader if your heart is made weak by this silliness?!”

Tears were streaming down the poor filly’s face. He relaxed his grip and let her drop to the ground with a sound thud and a yelp. She tried to get up with difficulty, and could hardly breathe.

Her father looked down at her and spread his scaly wings wide.

“The guards will escort you back to the Mountain. Then I will teach you what you have forgotten,” he said with pure contempt before flying away.

She cringed and sobbed silently. She knew exactly what he meant by that.

The foals stood petrified at the back of the cave, staring wide-eyed at her pitiful state. She lay at the entrance of the cave, shaking from fear and from sobbing silently on the rocky floor.

“Come with us, Your Highness,” said one the of guards flatly.

She tried to get up as best she could without the guards helping her. Before she joined them she looked at the group of foals she’d been playing with earlier. Her eyes were wide and glistening with tears as she looked at the crowd she didn’t want to leave. She tried to speak, but was too shaken to say anything. Eventually it was Fanglet that spoke.

“Bye... Chrysalis,” he said weakly.

She looked back at him with a desperate look before sniffing up the tears that were once again welling up inside her. She turned around and slowly walked away towards the guards. She climbed up on one of the guards’ backs, as her wings were too small to let her fly, and with a resounding buzz the three of them took off into the gloomy grayness of the world outside the cave.

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter IX

It was one of the quieter parts of the forest here. There were no crooked or menacing trees gorged in dark magic, but thick and sturdy trees towering above. The ground was not covered in their thick roots, nor by the wilderness of growing weed, but with grass that grew low and scarcely brushed the hooves of those who tread it. On sunny summer days speckles of light would flicker and dance on the leaves and rain onto the ground.

Today though the sky was draped in ever greying clouds. The dry, heavy air in the dense forest made it a silent, peaceful place; and as she was walking alone in this isolated patch of normality, she had a very set destination in mind. She could have flown there, but preferred to remain discreet. It wasn’t out of fear -- she wasn’t even wearing a gun, after all. She did not need it. Anypony seeing her would know who she was. But they wouldn’t shoot. They wouldn’t dare.

She was Chrysalis, queen of the Changelings.

She had travelled miles. Many, many miles, and much more than that in fact, just to be here. After the disastrous failure of her last attempt, she felt the need to have another go at victory again. That time the idea had been to infiltrate Equestria, and drain it of its energy to strike a long-term attack. But she should have known that it would fail. She should have known that the obvious strategy was to strike Equestria at the heart, overthrow Celestia and supplant herself as the new leader. When she had managed to crawl back to the far off mountains of Changeling’s Lair she had spent many hours cursing herself for being so rash and foolish, dishonoring her ancestors and the way of the Changelings as a great nation of tactical invaders.

But the time for self-pity soon came to pass, and as it did so came a new bloodlust. She lost no time planning out a new strategy, one much more complex and subtle. She spent many months perfecting it and sharpening it like a mental knife. And now, she had found a new gateway into Equestria from which to begin invading it her invasion. It came in the shape of a new target.

All she needed was a window of opportunity for her to begin advancing, slowly but surely, unseen until the last fateful moment. And what better opportunity should present itself to her but this one?

A silly paintball game. Chrysalis could only scoff at the thought. Every pony gathered in one place -- what a ridiculously childish idea. It was too easy: she would arrive from the side, quieter than a whisper, and play the game herself, wouldn’t she? Who would notice an extra pony here? She would cut through the mass of imbeciles in her way, and through the crowd she would single out that one pony she was looking for… She would end her.

Then she would come back to enslave the rest.

The thought brought a chill to her reptilian skin and a thin smile to her lips. She was feeling giddy. It was a feeling that reminded her for a fleeting moment of her youth. Back then she would play a game with other little changelings where she would close her eyes and count to ten, and when she opened them she had to find the one changeling that had not taken the shape of another one in the crowd.

It was one of her fondest memories to this day, and Celestia knows she didn’t have a lot of those. The feeling of scanning the crowd looking for the odd foal out, and the mounting adrenalin of when she felt her goal was close at hand, the options slowly cancelling themselves out… It was a truly wonderful feeling of her foalhood.

It was a memory that cut through the bleakness of her young life like a blade of sunlight through a cloud. Something to hold onto when, back home, they would train them for real, uncamouflaged war as soon as they were foals. There was special treatment for those of the royal family destined to take up the head of the invasion fleet. Chrysalis had many holes in her legs to attest to those brutal years, as did her ancestors. It became tradition for changeling subjects to puncture their limbs as a mark of allegiance to their violent leaders.

She was walking absently, her eyes staring into space and her mind deep in thought when she was alerted by a loud, sharp noise. She looked up and saw birds take flight from the top of a distant tree, their wings rustling in the quiet.

Her eyes narrowed, and she walked on towards that place.

* * *

Several yards further, there was place no different from the one Chrysalis was in. Save for the fact that this part of the forest had clearly seen the wrath of the ongoing paintball war.

All around, the bodies of ponies bearing wounds of different bright colours lay at the feet of its trees. They had fallen to exhaustion, their breath shallow and none truly conscious of their surroundings. All the trees had been covered in one domineering shade of grey over the speckles left by a few other shots.

In this graveyard in the woods, one stallion named Fancy Pants galloped at full speed, trampling the earth beneath his hooves. His whole demeanor was a mess; his fur was ruffled and matted from sweat and dirt, his azure mane disheveled and his eyes showing true panic. His only destination was as far away as possible from the madness that was trying to pin him to the ground with one bullet.

Eventually he slowed down and came to a halt before turning around to see if he was in the clear. Nopony was behind him, and it seemed calm had been restored. Fancy Pants give a small sigh and turned around, but then the breath was brutally knocked out of him by a pony smashing with full speed and intent into his side.

He crashed hard into a tree, and fell with a series of coughs to the ground. Unable to see or think for a moment, he regained his senses in an instant when he heard the click of a gun being cocked right over his head.

He instinctively lay on his back and raised his hoofs into the air. “Please! Have mercy!” he cried.

The mare standing over him with the deadly weapon in hoof stared straight down onto her prey, her weapon expertly held over it with a steady hoof. Neither pony moved for a while. Then a voiced echoed amongst the trees.

Mercy?

Fancy cringed. The voice was deep and cold, and there was just a hint of cruel amusement to it. His eyes darted to all sides trying to find its source, but no such thing was to be found.

You speak of mercy, my good friend, and yet you do not know what it is. You mistake it for something else, so while you beg for what it is you don’t know, let me clue you in on the current situation. Right now a certain puppet of mine is standing over you, ready to give you a fresh new look at a moment’s notice.

“Oh sweet Celestia!” Fancy Pants whimpered.

Relax, grey coats are very ‘in’ this season. Now, the natural consequence on your part is fear, fear of what comes after the blow. While it is quite understandable, the same can’t be said for your plea. You see, I am the menace, the unseen catalyst of your inner emotional clockwork going wild. I am the object of your terror, if you will. Mercy is the act of removing your fear, by which I relieve you of my presence and let you be on your way. But by doing this I lose my purpose as an object, I remove myself from the equation. So you see, it’s all quite illogical.

The assailant pressed on the hoof she had to his chest, and drew her weapon closer to his forehead. Fancy Pants started sobbing loudly in fear, while the voice spoke again.

It is the word of the lay person to the trade of intimidation. And why should it be so, when there is another solution to the math? It is not mercy, nor pity, nor forgiveness, all of which I assure you you do not want. It is something that you can embrace even in the face of death.

The barrel gently tipped the head of the paralyzed stallion. His eyes were shut tightly and he gritted his teeth, as tears streamed down his shaking face.

It's salvation.

A resounding bang shook the gun as the mare pulled the trigger and brutally shot Fancy Pants at point-blank. Without a sound he jarred, before letting his legs finally slump to the ground in defeat.

Over him, Fluttershy held the still-smoking barrel. She did not react and kept a look of pure determination on her grey face as from behind her came in the draconequus Discord. He walked towards her, slowly clapping as he did.

“Very well done, Fluttershy,” he said calmly, “very nice work indeed. I think that’s the last one in this area.”

But he was proven wrong as he spotted a presence in the corner of his eye. He looked at it and saw it was none other than Chrysalis, staring at him with no expression at all.

“Crissy!” he said, beaming as he walked towards her with his arms outstretched in welcome. “What a delightful surprise!”

He was interrupted by the sight of Fluttershy whooshing past him in a blur, flying at full speed towards Chrysalis. Discord realized that she was going to take a shot at the changeling, not being able to differentiate one target from another in her current state. He looked at Chrysalis, who did not move a muscle as Fluttershy flew straight towards her.

“Ah, no no no!” he said calmly, but hardly trying to stop his puppet. “Not her, she’s--”

Fluttershy ignored him and kept darting straight towards Chrysalis, expertly dodging trees in her path and with her gun outstretched and at the ready. She could have shot from afar, but now that she was trained for close-combat executions, she was taught to shoot, not to think.

Chrysalis remained motionless while she stared into the rapidly widening barrel of a crazy gray assassin mare. Her expression was almost one of boredom, which surprised Discord at first. But then he understood why she was unafraid when something spectacular happened.

Every tree within a circle of several feet of the changeling queen suddenly burst into bright green flames, making an explosive sound and blinding light that stopped Fluttershy in her tracks. The flames only lasted a second or two, and revealed in the place of the combusting trees an entire armada of changelings, all of which instantly formed a defensive wall in front of their queen, staring at Fluttershy and magically readying their horns for an attack, their insect wings flapping rapidly in an angry buzz.

Fluttershy was stunned for only a moment before her new killer instinct took over. She tried to find an opening in the crowd through which she could get to its center, growling like an angry dog behind a fence. But she couldn’t find one, and hesitated to shoot the changelings themselves fearing she might feel the brunt of their magic. Her head was starting to hurt from being conflicted in this way when Discord called her back to his side.

Chrysalis kept the same unfazed expression the whole time, while her minions kept their guard up even as Fluttershy stepped away from them.

“Go,” she said in her low voice.

Once more the changelings burst into flames. Laying on the grass still heavily in shock, Fancy Pants watched as out of the bonfire came stallions and mares of different colours and build by the dozen. Had he not seen this happen, he would have assumed they were regular ponies, which was a terrifying thought. He recognized some of them as grotesque copies of ponies he knew, some of them even copies of each other. They were all armed with an assorted gun, and spread out to disappear in between the trees.

The geography of the forest was now completely changed. Chrysalis was now stood in the middle of a large clearing that had suddenly formed where there was a dense patch of forest just before, its fake trees completely unnoticeable from the surrounding real ones.

Advancing into the clearing from the real forest, Discord clapped his paw and his claw together in slow applause.

“Wow! Now that is impressive!” he chuckled. “Think you could teach me shapeshifting one of these days? It’s one of the few talents I’m afraid I lack.”

Chrysalis said nothing. Her gaze shifted towards Fluttershy, hovering behind and huffing like a mad bull.

“That’s a nice toy you have there,” she said.

Discord flashed her a grin.

“Check it out! It’s an honest-to-Celestia element of harmony turned against itself! This is Fluttershy, I don’t think you two ever got the chance to get acquainted at the wedding. Oh and by the way you really should have asked me for help with that beforehand, I’m afraid I wasn’t too impressed with your performance that day.”

“Let us not bring up any unwanted skeletons, Discord,” said Chrysalis with contempt. “That’s not why I’m here.”

“Yes, good point, Crissy, why are you here anyway?”

She started pacing slowly from left to right.

“You’ve probably gathered enough from what you’ve just seen. My changelings and I are leading an infiltration operation through this little game of Celestia’s. By creating more targets for ponies to shoot at I can distract their attention while I get to their leader.”

Discord raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Sabotage, huh? I can get behind that. But it’s an age-old MO for changelings… you’d think you folks were more about… I don’t know, change?”

Chrysalis scowled at him.

“You’re one to talk. I assume you’re just here doing what you do for chaos? Perhaps it should be your turn to sing another song.”

“Yes well at least I have the advantage of being original. I turn chaos into an art, and to do that I always try to set things off from a different angle. And upsetting the establishment while keeping on Celestia’s good side? It’s a first for me. I’d say it takes real audacity.”

Chrysalis sneered.

“I really don’t understand why you beat around the bush like this. You could have her removed and unleash all the chaos you want at a snap of your fingers. Why do you limit and submit yourself to her like this? Have you no dignity?”

Discord gave a small chuckle and shook his head.

“I don’t know if you’ll ever understand… but there’s a wide gap between you and me, Chrissy dear. I’m what you might call a white hat. Yes, I cause mischief at will, but never true harm like you do. Plotting to charge head-on towards your target with no discretion or subtlety in a single strike only makes you a burnout, and burnouts don’t last. But I teeter on the edge of Celestia’s forgiveness, dancing on the line that you’ve crossed since day one. That’s where I am truly immortal.”

He paused for a moment, staring into space in wonder before his art.

“You know, I actually have nothing against Celestia. We go way back. I just like teasing her, and I do tease rough, but she still has more quality that you would give her credit for. For example, I know for a fact she has the wisdom not to hate you as blindly as you do her.”

“I couldn't care less about what she thinks of me. Those who cross my path get what’s coming to them.”

“What I’m saying is that backstabbing is no means to an end here.”

“Please. What possible consideration could she have for me?”

Once more Discord shook his head.

“All will be made clear eventually, I suppose. But really…”

He looked at her straight in the eye.

“She does feel sorry for you.”

Chrysalis paused for a second. What Discord had said intrigued her, but she sneered some more to hide it.

“That pathetic mare, ignoring the greatest threat to her kingdom and putting it in jeopardy like this… Her leadership is a farce. I swear this land would be better off with me at its head.”

There was a long silence between the two of them during which the wind gently caressed them in their pondering. It was broken when Chrysalis spoke.

“Well, I’d love to stay and chit-chat about how reckless and foolish I am and how you’re so vastly superior to me, but I must be on my way,” she said. “Unlike you, I get things done, and we can continue this discussion once your allegiance to the leader of Equestria has shifted to me. I’m sure it’ll have a much different teneur then. Good day, Discord.”

She took a few steps towards the woods, Discord eyeing her silently as she walked.

“Why are you here?” he asked again calmly.

Chrysalis stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to Discord.

“I should hope you know, otherwise I’d have to question my own dedication.”

“No, no,” said Discord, walking slowly towards her. “Why you came back is clear enough. But it doesn’t explain why you’re here; right here, in this very spot.”

Chrysalis gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?” she asked. Discord scoffed.

“Well, you don’t seriously expect me to believe you just happened to stumble upon me here, of all places?” he said. “My guess is you were looking for me from the beginning.”

Chrysalis tensed up unnoticeably. She had hoped to keep that part a secret. Discord, who was taller than her, squatted down so that his scanning gaze was level with her slitted pupils.

“You were looking for me, which means you need something from me. I have nothing to give you here though, which means you need… information?”

Chrysalis swore internally. Was there no fooling this draconequus?

With any other creature she would have kept a steady silence. But she knew Discord well, and when he knew a bit, he knew everything.

“I’m looking for a pony,” she said. She focused her gaze even more. “You know of whom I speak.”

Discord’s eyes glinted with malice.

“Aaah yes, of course… Our mutual friend. I see you’ve finally figured out she was a factor.”

“Don’t gloat. I need her out of the way before I can proceed, and it can only benefit you. Give me what I want to know.”

Discord give her a toothy grin and straightened himself.

“Her name is Ditzy Hooves,” he said. Chrysalis could hardly keep a straight face as a jolt of excitement coursed through her. This was great progress for her.

She grinned, thinking this would be even easier than she had thought possible. She knew which mare he was talking about, having previously sent minions in disguise to gather intel on all the inhabitants of Equestria.

“I should warn you not to underestimate her,” said Discord.

“Why?” chuckled Chrysalis. “Are you actually afraid of her?”

“I am not, and that’s specifically because I don’t underestimate her. But otherwise, yes, I’d be concerned. She’s much more habile than you would think… which is why she always got to us in the past.”

“But not this time,” Chrysalis growled.

“That’s right,” said Discord. “This time we’re the ones who are hidden from her sight. Earlier in the game I pressured a unicorn into casting an anti-detection spell over Fluttershy and I. Anypony looking from above would only see an alcove of leaves.”

He pointed to the sky, and Chrysalis looked up towards it. Against the pale sky she saw a barely visible shimmer of air, and wondered if indeed the portion of the forest that had just vanished where they were would have been seen from above.

Suddenly, she heard the noise of a twig snapping not far from her. She turned around and peered in the distance. There she saw a purple mare in the woods. She seemed familiar somehow…

“Is that one of yours?” asked Discord. Chrysalis stared at the pony, scanning it to check if it was a changeling or not. Her eyes narrowed.

“No.”

Discord grinned.

“Then I’d say we’re starting to see the end of this game, aren’t we?”

* * *

Back up on the rocky bluff, Derpy carefully eyed every inch of the treetops below through the lens of her rifle. She was still looking for the one she knew was somewhere below these trees. She watched as carefully as she could for any possible sign of his presence, but her mind was on something else.

Twilight Sparkle had not returned. She had left more than an hour ago to get some wood and she still hadn’t come back. Derpy was left cursing herself for not keeping a watch on the unicorn through her rifle. Now wherever she looked she could find no sign of the purple mare, and for the past hour she had tried to quell her worries with rational explanations. Maybe she’d gotten lost? Derpy worried about it, but she told herself that then again she had no idea if Twilight was able to defend herself. She was still in the game, and she had her gun. Derpy could only hope that Twilight knew how to take even a single effective shot. Amidst the worrying, one thought rang clear in her mind.

It’s my fault.

She felt terrible now for yelling at Twilight. She was exhausted and bored from not getting even a glimpse of her target, and she now realised she had unnecessarily vented the frustration that came with it on Twilight. The unicorn had accepted to keep her sniper identity a secret and to help her in her mission to boot, which she had absolutely no obligation to do, and Derpy now felt that she had treated Twilight very unfairly.

Maybe she’d just used collecting wood as a pretense to stop helping her. Derpy actually hoped that she was still in the game, or that she had managed to get back to Ponyville unharmed, or else she would be responsible if something were to happen...

Just as she was wondering about the whole thing with a heavy heart, she heard the sound of frantic galloping on stone behind her.

“Ditzy!” cried a shrill voice.

She spun round with a jolt and aimed the sniper at the pony approaching, only to see it was Twilight.

She felt hugely relieved to see the unicorn, but the feeling was dampened when she saw the state in which her friend had returned. Twilight was a mess; her fur and mane were ruffled, and Derpy could see bags under the pony’s eyes that were not from exhaustion but from utter fear that was also reflected in her unfocused gaze.

“What happened to you?” asked Derpy, alarmed. She would’ve greeted her or apologized first, but she was too surprised by what she was seeing.

“I was… attacked…” said Twilight in a shaky voice. She was obviously in shock and out of breath.

“Who?” asked Derpy, rushing to her side to check for wounds. “Who attacked you?”

“I… I didn’t see… not at first,” she said.

Derpy looked at Twilight in the eye. The unicorn was about to cry. Derpy couldn’t bring herself to ask the question, but Twilight answered it for her.

“Changelings,” she sobbed. “They’re back… They’re here, in the forest! They’re back for more!”

“Calm down,” said Derpy in a soothing voice. “Are you absolutely sure that--”

“Yes!” cried Twilight. “They… one of them was my mom, and… I tried to get away, but they attacked me in the back.”

“How did you escape?” asked Derpy.

To Derpy’s surprise, Twilight suddenly stopped sobbing. She seemed to have thought of something.

“They’re still out there,” she said with a somewhat regained composure.

“What?”

“The changelings!” she said. “When I awoke, I was lying on the ground… there were changelings there, they were talking among themselves! They could still be out there!”

Derpy suddenly understood what Twilight was saying.

“If we looked at the place you woke up in…” she said.

“We could still find them and take them out!” cried Twilight.

Derpy lost no time and rushed back to the edge of the bluff where her bag was. She started to frantically dig through it.

“Come on, come on, where are they? Where-- aha!”

From the bag she took a handful of shiny bullets of black chrome, dotted with a single emerald mark on the side. Quickly she unloaded all the bullets that were already in her rifle and replaced them with the chrome bullets, before pointing her rifle back to the woods and steadying herself.

“Where was it you escaped from?” asked Derpy to Twilight who had come to her side.

“Uh…” Twilight said, scanning the woods as well as she could. Derpy made a mental note not to push her on this one. “Over there!” cried Twilight, pointing towards a point in the forest.

Derpy quickly locked in on the designated spot. Her heart gave a lurch when through her lens she spotted a group of four little black insect-like creatures, looking for something with expressions of both anger and panic.

Derpy closed one eye, and tightened her grip on her weapon ever so slightly. After a small moment, she took a shot. Through her lens she saw one of the changelings jump with an inaudible squeak, before bursting into flames and disappearing into thin air.

“Oh Celestia!” said Twilight. “What happened to it?”

Derpy was surprised for a second that Twilight had managed to actually see that happen from where she was, but she lost no time on the thought. As one changeling disappeared the others watched it go in surprise before taking the shapes of three different ponies and running away in the woods.

Derpy kept a mental track of two of the creatures while she followed the third one with her lens. Eventually she fired an effective shot that made the target vanish just like the first one. She then looked for the other two, which took little time after she had carefully visualized their progression, and took them out the same way.

There was a moment of silence after the last crashing shot, during which Twilight stared in bewilderment at the smoke oozing from the barrel of the gun. Derpy did nothing, and after a while lifted her head from the lens and gave a long sigh. She turned to Twilight with a smirk.

“They’re not dead, if that’s what you’re thinking,” said Derpy. “These are special bullets for changeling hunting that send the little suckers straight back to their home in the southern mountains using a built-in teleportation spell.”

“You… you can do that?” asked Twilight. “I didn’t know you could capture magic in a bullet.”

Derpy shrugged. “You can do a lot when you’re working for Celestia. I’d say you know that almost better tha--”

She was interrupted when Twilight fell to the ground with a gasp. She put a hoof to her horn, shutting her eyes and clenching her teeth.

“What’s wrong?” asked Derpy, fearing Twilight may have been wounded by her ordeal after all.

“It’s my magic…” she groaned. “It’s like it’s telling me something…”

Derpy wanted to ask what it was but she thought Twilight might not know herself. Suddenly the unicorn’s eyes flew open and she stood up.

“Over there!” she said, pointing towards the trees. “There’s more!”

Derpy got back to her rifle once more. Twilight was right; where she was pointing Derpy could see more changelings looking about in the woods presumably for Twilight. She understood that Twilight’s magic must have shifted focus, and she was now able to spot changelings. Derpy had already decided they would become their new target anyway.

Over the next several minutes the duo found more on their plate than in the several days since they had met. Every other minute Twilight was spotting changelings here and there in the woods, and Derpy had no trouble taking them out. She was positively thrilled with this new change.

“Aaaand bam! There goes another one!” she said gleefully. “Finally, something to do around here! Right, Twilight?”

Twilight said nothing, and stared deep in thought at the horizon. Overhead, clouds grew darker and cast their shadow upon the game.

Day Of Siege (Part I)

Just as the first rays of sunlight peeked above the horizon in harsh, broad streaks the next day, one little filly was very much awake to see them. Standing by a window in her treehouse, now filled with a warm orange glow, Apple Bloom watched with a very serious expression for a filly her age as a new dawn unfurled from behind the clouds.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Today’s the day,” she muttered.

~ ~ ~ Day of Siege ~ ~ ~

The part of the story that's too ridiculously epic for its own good

A few hours later, Scootaloo was walking through the woods in search of a very particular place. She made sure to make no noise at all, so as to not alert anypony that may be nearby. The thought occurred to her that even though there had been much commotion in the forest as soon as the game had started, she hadn’t been confronted by any opponent yet. She thought the number of remaining ponies might be thinning fast, but mostly she assumed they just didn’t attack her because she was a filly.

The other reason why she was careful not to make any sound was because she was nervous. Strapped to her side her little gun felt heavy and her hooves seemed to slow her down rather than take her where she wanted. She knew why she was feeling this way; she was on a last chance mission to win the fight the Crusaders were going to have with Diamond Tiara and the foals who had joined her. To do that they would need the help of a certain pony, and if Scootaloo couldn’t get it, there was no foreseeable way they would win.

Scootaloo told herself she needed to be brave and carry on with her mission for the sake of her friends. And yet with every step she took closer to the clearing where she would meet the pony supposed to help her, she couldn’t find it in herself to relax. It was a strange feeling she couldn’t identify, something alien that made her more nervous than the prospect of failure.

She tried taking her mind off things by taking in the scenery around her. It was a beautiful place she was walking through, and she noticed some kind of brightness to it that seemed untouched by the doom and gloom of the recent weather. The grass at her hooves was a bright, strangely translucent shade of green, and she thought she might relax better if she sat down by the pond that was a few feet away from her…

“Halt!”

Scootaloo quickly snapped out of her daydreaming and began searching with a pounding heart for the high-pitched voice that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

“State your purpose,” said the voice. Scootaloo gave up on trying to find where it was coming from and, thinking it might help her nerves, swallowed hard and stared at a point in the trees straight in front of her.

“I seek an audience with the Master of Paintball,” she said with somewhat composure though her voice was unmistakably quivering.

Suddenly, she spotted something moving to her left. Her eyes darted towards it and she saw the speaking pony perched high up on a branch. Scootaloo gulped as she recognized the Master immediately; if the Crusaders were able to have her by their side, she would make for a powerful ally indeed.

Half-covered by the leaves above her, Pinkie Pie looked like a crazy woodland bird, staring down at the filly through goggles with opaque swirling glasses and adorned with a purple turban and matching cape bordered in gold under which Scootaloo could make out an impressive number of paintball guns for one pony. Pinkie grinned at her.

“And the Master shall receive you now, child. I have guessed your intentions already, for I am all seeing… buuuut it wouldn’t hurt if you could just remind me.”

Scootaloo told her all about the incident involving Cheerilee, and the events at Sweet Apple Acres which had led to her coming to the Master for help with getting back at Diamond Tiara. When she had finished explaining herself there was a tense silence during which Pinkie gave her a studying look that she had kept all through Scootaloo’s story. After a while she raised her head and looked down ominously at the filly.

“The Master is sensitive to your plight, young one. But I urge you not to take the path of revenge!” she said in the dramatic voice she used for her Madame Pinkie act.

“It’s not about revenge!” said Scootaloo, “It’s about righting a wrong that was made to Miss Cheerilee! We can’t have Apple Bloom looking like a traitor when it’s really Diamond Tiara’s fault!”

“The Master has no proof that you’re telling the truth… Hey! That almost rhymed!” she chimed. “I should tell that to Zecora!”

“Come on, Pinkie,” said Scootaloo weakly. “You know the three of us… Do you really think this is the kind of thing we would do instead of Diamond Tiara?”

There were a few seconds of more silence before Pinkie spoke again.

“The Master is inclined to help you.”

Scootaloo felt her heart leap with both anticipation and relief. “So you’ll help us?” she asked.

She was expecting some sort of sympathetic answer from Pinkie, but the latter didn’t move. Scootaloo’s hopeful smile was beginning to fade.

“Sorry, sport, but you’re too late,” said Pinkie.

The words fell like a ton of bricks on the little filly. She noticed Pinkie’s voice was devoid of any expression, which was so unbecoming of the party pony that she guessed it was as close to seriousness as Pinkie would get.

She wanted to ask why, but the words wouldn’t come. It was then that Pinkie leapt from her branch onto the ground below and with a hoof pushed back a nearby bush. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she stared at the biggest pile of multicolored candy she had ever seen.

“The Master was paid a visit by Diamond Tiara herself just last night,” said Pinkie, “and she brought a super-duper piece of leverage for me to help her!”

Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But… but what about Sugarcube Corner?” she asked. “Don’t you have all the candy you want there?”

“I do, but this is super special candy imported from Canterlot’s finest bakery!” said Pinkie, resuming her usual chipper voice. “I don’t know how that filly got her hooves on it, but boy did she deliver!”

She looked at Scootaloo, whose eyes were tearing up. “You… you want to help her?” she said, almost choking on her own words. “For candy?”

Pinkie Pie didn’t like the idea of making a filly cry, but there was a reason why she had made that deal that she couldn’t refuse.

“Well, you know I’d rather hang out with you three,” she said, “and I actually didn’t want to take her up on the offer at first, honest. But she found my weak spot, and made a Pinkie promise to me that by helping her I would be doing the right thing.”

“But… b-but you’re not!” said Scootaloo in between sobs. “Why do you believe her? She can promise anything she wants, that’s how she gets her way through lying!”

“Scootaloo, I don’t know who shot Ms. Cheerilee, but if Diamond Tiara makes the Pinkie promise to me that it wasn’t her, I have to respect that.” She winked at the filly. “I take my promises very seriously.”

Scootaloo stared incredulously into Pinkie’s eyes, all nervousness replaced by sheer desperation. She couldn’t believe how unfazed the pink mare looked as she stared back at her tear-stricken face with that casual smile of hers. It was as if she didn’t care at all. Scootaloo tried to find a reply, only to draw a complete blank. Eventually she just gave up and slowly walked away, hanging her head low as Pinkie beamed and waved to her.

“Bye now!”

* * *

Back at the treehouse the two other crusaders were impatiently waiting for their friend to return. Cheerilee had left, probably to go back home, but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle weren’t going to try to find her now. There was a more pressing matter at hand. Neither of them had said anything to the other for the past hour, Apple Bloom endlessly pacing around in circles looking deep in thought while Sweetie Belle watched her, hypnotized by the perpetual movement.

Suddenly the door to the treehouse swung open, and the heads of the two fillies shot up at once towards it. Scootaloo was standing the door frame, sullen and hunched over as if carrying some heavy weight. She looked back at her apprehensive friends with puffy red eyes that could only mean one thing.

None of the three said anything for a while. Scootaloo couldn’t bring herself to tell them the bad news and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle couldn’t believe what they were silently understanding. Sweetie Belle was the first to try to break the ice.

“So… how’d it go?” she asked. Apple Bloom shot her a glare to tell her this obviously wasn’t the right thing to say, but Scootaloo answered her anyway.

“It’s over,” she said miserably. “Diamond beat us to it.”

“Whaddaya mean?” asked Apple Bloom, but Scootaloo really didn’t want to go on. She dragged herself to a nearby chair.

“I went to speak with Pinkie, but Diamond showed up to her last night and now Pinkie’s going to help her.”

“What?!” cried the other two fillies in unison. “But why would she do that?”

“Because…”

The last part of that sentence seemed so absurd to Scootaloo now that she had trouble actually speaking it out loud. She felt as if she had just woke up and was left with a distant memory of Pinkie sweeping that bush to the side and revealing her treasure trove of sweets, only to wonder if she had dreamed it or if it had actually happened. She looked up to see Apple Bloom raising one eyebrow quizzically and after a sigh of defeat she told them what happened.

“Pinkie’s been bought out by Diamond Tiara for an insane amount of candy.”

If she’d been able to hear her friends’ breathing, Scootaloo could have sworn she’d just heard it stop, though she didn’t expect any other reaction.

“Bought out?” asked Apple Bloom. “What, like… like a bribe?”

“Uh… Yeah, sort of, I guess.”

In a corner of the room, Sweetie Belle was cradling her head in her little hooves, her pupils shrunk in her wide open eyes. “So that’s it. We’re gonna lose. We’re gonna lose because we’re not worth more than a couple of gumdrops.”

“Wait, hold on jus’ a darn minute here!” cried Apple Bloom, stomping the ground with her hoof. “There’s somethin’ fishy about all this! Pinkie Pie’s a good pony, she wouldn’t be bought out this easily!”

Something in her tone told Scootaloo that Apple Bloom didn’t want to believe what was the truth, and in all honesty neither did she.

“What about the candy at Sugarcube Corner? Can’t she jus’ git her hooves on all of that?” Apple Bloom added.

“That’s what I said,” replied Scootaloo. “But apparently this is Canterlot candy she can’t get anywhere else.”

“Well, ah…” said Apple Bloom, obviously grasping for an explanation. “Ah bet that candy’s fake! Like it’s jus’ rocks or somethin’!”

“I think Pinkie would’ve noticed if she was given fake candy by now,” replied Scootaloo. “She could probably tell just by looking at it from a mile away.”

Painful silence hung in the treehouse once more as the realization of their impending demise sunk in for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. None of them had the courage to just say it, and they were all ready for somepony else to do so as if it had to be made official to finally be true. Scootaloo lowered and shook her head in realization that she wouldn’t be getting whatever prize awaited the winner of the game while Diamond Tiara just might buy her way through every opponent to the throne room.

“No… no, dangit, no!” screamed Apple Bloom. “We’re not gonna let this happen!”

“But what can we do?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Now that they’ve got Pinkie on their side, if we go to war we’re gonna get shot for sure!”

“Then we’re not gonna go ta war.”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other in surprise, then back at Apple Bloom. They had both noticed a sudden regained composure to their friend, who made her way to the door of the treehouse and swung it open. She looked back at them with an air of determination.

“Bring yer guns,” she said solemnly.

At first the two fillies did nothing, impressed by Apple Bloom’s newfound courage. Her figure stuck out against the pale sky, casting a shadow upon her entire frame that made her seem all the more serious.

“Where are we going?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“If we wanna stay alive in this game, we’re gonna have ta make some kinda deal here.”

“A deal?” said Scootaloo, turning to Apple Bloom, “With Diamond Tiara?”

“Yeah. ‘Cept it ain’t gonna be no compromise,” replied Apple Bloom. “She wants ta play dirty? She wants ta threaten me wit’ her fancy war talk an’ act all noble-like? Strike mah house while ah’m not lookin? She wants ta buy her way through everythin’ an’ hide behind Pinkie’s back like a coward?” she added with a rising intensity to every word to the point that the end of her sentence almost made her shake in anger. “Well two can play at that game! Come on gals, ah bet there’s a lot of ponies on her side that don’t wanna fight either.”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle got up and strapped on their respective guns while Apple Bloom went outside and let the rope ladder of the treehouse fall to the ground. “That’s the last darn straw,” she muttered angrily to herself. “Art o’ war mah flank, ah’ll show you some paint art o’ war all over your stupid house, see how ya like it.”

She was joined by the two other fillies while she stared at the ground below. It seemed ominous to them now, safely perched up in their good old crusader’s base.

“Still remember the way to that clearing, Scootaloo?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, why?”

“Ah’d like to stop by and speak ta Pinkie if she’s still there. Ah wanna know what the deal is with her deciding ta side with that varmint.”

One by one they made their way down the ladder before silently stepping into the woods.

* * *

Further in the forest, a certain unicorn whose pearly white coat and shiny violet mane stuck out against the surrounding greenery was casually strolling by. One who knew Rarity would say by looking at her now that her behaviour was somewhat unusual. She was walking unarmed in a forest where hidden ponies waited to attack her without mercy, not to mention that she was out in the open, trodding barehooved on dirt, grass, mud, and completely exposed to arguably the most raw and thriving wilderness for miles. Yet, she didn’t seem to care at all.

Only her closest friends would be able to understand why; even though she had a notorious flair for the dramatic, Rarity was a very intelligent pony who was above losing her wits at the first sight of dirtiness. Part of being refined was being classy, and part of being classy was to keep one’s self-control when the circumstances required it. Right now, there was no more important time to be calm and collected for Rarity, and she knew it.

Besides, there was a much more rational reason not to be afraid for her. While she wasn’t carrying a gun, she still had one, only it was not her carrying it but Spike, waddling a few feet behind her. To say he was armed would be an understatement; in fact, it was not his usual shortness of legs but the weight of a few guns strapped around him in a bizarre belt that was slowing him down.

Over the last few days the two of them had breezed through a good number of opponents -- though mostly it was Spike’s doing. The little dragon’s physique gave him an edge in the game, that he had used quite ably for Rarity’s sake up until now. But now that he’d been collecting guns and discarding others along the way, he wasn’t exactly able to remain hidden in the trees for any more surprise attacks. So he was content to walk by Rarity’s side, where he would look intimidating enough to warn other ponies that unless they wanted their gun added to his private collection, they should steer clear from the white unicorn.

Whereas she looked like an easy target, he was obviously much more suited for warfare, and Rarity had even made him a camouflage headband out of woodland materials. As she scanned through the surrounding trees, she suddenly let out an exclamation.

“Ooh! There, that one’s perfect!”

Using her magic she snagged a small white flower off a tree branch, which she gently levitated onto Spike’s crown of leaves and grass, adding a single colourful touch to it.

“Oh aren’t you just the cutest wittwe wawwiow dwagon in Equestria!” she cooed, bending down to his level and gently tugging at one of his cheeks. She was expecting him to blush or give her some kind of embarrassed reply, but he simply looked back at her looking being slightly irritated.

“I’m not cute,” he mumbled. “I’m fierce.”

Rarity giggled at the dragon’s nonetheless cute display. “Well, there’s no reason you can’t be fierce and stylish at the same time!” she chimed. She gave him a sincere smile of playful amusement, but Spike simply walked right past her with the same expression as if she was in his way. His sudden mood swing was not lost on Rarity, who was used to being the object of the dragon’s adoration rather than that of his annoyance.

“Spike? What’s wrong?” she asked empathically. Spike didn’t answer and kept on walking, and Rarity was about to ask him again when he turned around and looked at her, apparently struggling to put his thoughts into words.

“Do you think I’m useless?” he finally asked.

Rarity was stumped by the question, which had come so suddenly. “Do I… What? Useless? Why, of course I don’t, Spike! What kind of question is that?”

“I… I just need to know. Do you want me around here or not?”

“Well… Well of course! I mean, just look at the guns by your side, I… If you weren’t here, I’d have been shot a long time ago!”

Spike’s expression seemed to harden just a little.

“So… That’s it? If I wasn’t here, the only downside you could think of is that you wouldn’t be able to get what you want most?”

Rarity looked as though she’d just been slapped. She couldn’t understand why everything was spiraling out of control so fast, after having made such a good team.

“Spike, darling, where is this all coming from?”

“I’m just wondering if... you know, about all of this,” he said, gesturing towards his weapons and headband before sighing heavily. “... If I’m not just being used here.”

Rarity felt a cold pang of sadness in her heart. She was no longer just taken aback, but genuinely hurt. “Spike…” she said, but he turned around, not wanting to look at her in the eye.

“It’s not just right now… It’s all the time…” he said melancholically. “All I do is hang around Twilight and you guys, not really doing anything except small stuff… like I’m just an extra pair of hooves when all the other ones are full. I noticed, you know… when Applejack thanked us for our help with the bats at the orchard that one time… I told her she was welcome, but I could feel everypony look at me behind my back… nobody wanted to tell me I was really no help at all.”

Spike waited for Rarity’s answer to come from behind him, but she didn’t reply. He figured he had crossed a line and that she didn’t want anything to do with a crybaby like him. With a defeated sigh he took another step forward, but to his surprise he felt himself being abruptly pulled backwards by a pair of limbs wrapped around his little body. It took him a while to register that he was being warmly hugged by the beautiful mare behind him while she rubbed her cheek affectionately on his scaly neck.

“Don’t say that,” he heard her say so close to his ear it sent a certain shiver down his spine. “Don’t you ever say that again. You don’t know how much you matter to me; to all of us.”

She turned him around to face her and rested both her hooves on his shoulders. He let himself be handled in this way, still in shock as he stared almost hypnotically in her tearing blue eyes.

“Do you honestly think things would be the same if you weren’t here? Take Twilight, for example. She’s very bright and knows a tremendous amount of things, but how do you think she stays on top of it all?” She paused to giggle. “Knowing her, if she didn’t have you as an assistant, she’d probably be in a looney house right now.”

Spike gave a small, shaky laugh in return, but only because of the mesmerizing effect that Rarity’s own laugh had on him.

“And who was it that rushed in to save me from those dreaded Diamond Dogs, hmm?” she asked with a fluttering eyelids that made Spike’s cheeks flush hotly. “Or saved that poor phoenix baby from being taken away from his parents, or Applejack from a Timberwolf the size of three? Oh, I could go on and on about all those times when you were there in our hour of need, but my point is this: if you weren’t here with the six of us, neither would we. Not in this game, not in this adventure or in any others to come. Without you, there are simply no elements of harmony.”

Spike simply stared into Rarity’s eyes, not fully aware of anything else in that moment. There was so much he wanted to say, but nothing he felt he could faithfully put into words. Eventually he pulled Rarity into a tight hug, which she responded to in kind.

“Thank you,” he said, the words muffled by the fur on Rarity’s neck. He wanted to express many more things to this pony that was so special to him, and who had made him feel special in return, in that single, isolated moment that had gone so fast but that would stay with him forever. He felt incredibly moved, and yet, there was still a small part of self-doubt left in him as the issue was a deep-seated one. Rarity seemed to pick up on this, and breaking the hug she faced Spike once more.

“You need to let go of these thoughts, Spike,” she said in a nurturing tone. “They can only hold you back. When you’re afraid that you might not be good enough, you have to fight this fear with all you have.”

“But… how do I do that?” asked Spike. “I don’t know if I have what it takes…”

“You do. I know you do. You have everything you need, you just need to find it in here,” she said, putting a hoof to the spot on his chest under which his heart would be. “Remember, even though it may feel small, that heart can hold much more than you could ever think possible.”

Spike looked at Rarity’s hoof, then back at her, feeling that very same heart beat faster by the second as he stared into Rarity’s perfect features…

Suddenly, he felt a great uncomfortable lurch in his stomach. Before he could react, he felt something shoot up to his throat and force itself past his mouth in a loud and fiery belch. Fortunately Rarity knew the little dragon well enough to instinctively dodge the fire, though not without a certain yelp of surprise.

Spike’s mind was a blur for a second afterwards, but both he and Rarity understood what had happened. Sure enough, on the ground between the two of them lay a familiar rolled-up scroll neatly tied up in a red ribbon adorned with a golden seal. Spike picked it up and unrolled it, looking at it for several seconds with a furrowed brow while Rarity watched in curiosity.

“Well, what does it say?” she asked. Spike didn’t look up as he answered.

“Uh… nothing.”

“Nothing?” repeated Rarity. “But how can a letter from Princess Celestia say nothing?”

“It’s not a letter…” replied Spike. “It… looks like a map.”

Rarity went to his side to get a look at the mysterious parchment. Spike was right: on the paper was a detailed drawing of what appeared to be the forest. Somewhere in the bottom left corner of the drawing was a mark under which had been inscribed in small, fine letters the words You are here. From that mark ran a dotted line through the woods towards a spot marked by a large cross.

“I don’t understand,” said Rarity. “Princess Celestia wants us to follow this map?”

“I guess so,” said Spike, who didn’t understand any more than she did.

“But how can we do that? All these trees look the same both here and on the map!”

Spike looked up from the parchment and around him. Suddenly he spotted something he had not noticed before; a single dirt road right in front of the two of them that snaked through the trees into the unknown. Somehow, something told him that it was the way to follow according to the map, and he wondered if it had even been there before he spotted it.

“There’s only one way to find out…”

* * *

Apple Bloom was taking so many determined little hoofsteps through the trees that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were having trouble keeping up with her, almost trotting just to keep up the pace. During the trip they had not said one word to each other. Apple Bloom occasionally muttered under her breath about what kind of things she would do to get her revenge, which made the two other fillies look at each other in silent worrying.

“Are we there yet?” said Sweetie Belle eventually.

“Uh, yeah, soon,” replied Scootaloo, who had forgotten that she was the one supposed to lead the way. “It’s not far from here, I can tell.”

Soon enough they reached that familiar clearing, where they came to a halt. When they arrived, they found it in the same state as it had always been, with its distinctive and colourful aura. Yet they also found there something none of them had expected.

In the middle of the clearing, Diamond Tiara and her faithful sidekick Silver Spoon were grinning proudly at the three of them. Behind the pair was a large group of foals with mixed expressions, some of them more or less imitating their leader while others were obviously unsure about the whole fight. Next to Diamond Tiara stood Pinkie Pie still in her Master’s costume. She didn’t seem to notice anything around her as she happily played with a butterfly that was flying close to her snout.

Apple Bloom gulped. Diamond Tiara’s army seemed to have tripled in size.

“Going somewhere?” teased the pink filly. She took a few steps away from her group and closer to them, followed by Silver Spoon who tried to catch her friend’s attention with a smirk that Diamond didn’t notice.

“You know, I’m not actually against the idea of leaving you alone, Apple Bloom, but… you’re just sooo predictable, you make it too easy for me! Did you honestly think that after I went to your house for a little partying I wouldn’t expect you to strike back? Or to run crying to the pony that taught us how to play paintball in the first place?

“Oh, and yeah,” she continued, “I thought it might be good to recruit a little more workforce. Good thing I ran into some foals from two or three different Canterlot private schools, one of which Daddy owns. Not to mention one or two survivors from your own army.”

Apple Bloom felt her spirits sink fast as she stood almost alone, feeling very small all of a sudden before the sizeable army that Diamond Tiara had gathered. She heard a faint buzzing behind her, which she recognized as Scootaloo flapping her tiny wings in anger and getting ready to strike. Apple Bloom put a hoof in front of her friend to calm her down and looked at Diamond Tiara’s straight in the eye.

“Back off, Diamond,” she said sternly. “Ah just wanna talk ta Pinkie about all this.”

Diamond Tiara let out an unpleasant cackle in response. “I’m afraid it’s a little too late for that,” she said. “I thought it was only common sense that if you wanted somepony with power on your side, you needed to make it worth their while, but I guess you’re even stupider than I thought!”

There was a short silence before Apple Bloom replied. “In that case, you leave me no choice but ta do what ah have to do ta make things right.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. The moment I see you leave this clearing and take a step back towards Ponyville, I’ll have you shot before you can even notice. Don’t forget who I have on my side.”

“That’s right!” chimed Pinkie, suddenly turning her head towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders and flashing them her broadest smile. “Any of you little piggies move, and I’ll execute every goshdarn last one of you!”

Apple Bloom looked back at Pinkie with the same face she had once pulled to convince Twilight Sparkle to stay over for lunch on the day they had met. “Pinkie,” she pleaded, “Don’t you know what you're doin’? Don’t you see you're helping the wrong side?”

“The wrong side?” cried out Diamond Tiara. “Get a grip, Apple Bloom! Everypony knows it was you who shot Miss Cheerilee!”

“You can’t prove that!” replied Sweetie Belle. “And you’re the one who attacked Miss Cheerilee in the first place, you bully!”

“Oh please, I wasn’t going to shoot her! Apple Bloom just got in my way and made a scene like she always does and I got startled! It’s all her fault, and everypony knows it, that’s why everypony’s on my side!”

“Not us.”

All heads turned towards the pony that had spoken from one side of the clearing. From behind the trees Babs Seed came marching in, followed by several foals that Apple Bloom recognized as her own supporters.

“Babs!” she said, flooded with relief. Her cousin gave her a confident grin in return. “But how did ya know where we were?”

“Funny thing, really,” replied Babs. “Here I was mindin’ my own business when whaddaya know, this letter or somethin’ falls from the sky and on my noggin’.”

She showed her the scroll she was talking about, where Apple Bloom saw a map of the forest with directions on it from one point to another that she figured was the clearing. Under the map were written the words Bring the army.

“A map?” replied a confused but relieved Apple Bloom. “But where did it come from? Did somepony send it to you?”

Babs shrugged. “Eh, who knows. Good thing it showed up, though.”

She turned to Diamond Tiara and gave her a hard glare. “I can’t believe I decided ta hang out wit’ you at first.”

Diamond Tiara blew her a raspberry in return. “Pff, whatever, loser. What’s a hoofful of ponies like you gonna do against my army? You’re not even outnumbered, you’re flat out powerless to stop me! Who else is gonna rush in to help you, huh?”

“Sweetie Belle!”

The cry had come from the side of the clearing opposite the one Babs had just come from, and all eyes turned to witness Rarity galloping towards her sister. She was followed by a strangely clad little dragon with several guns on his person, which elicited several impressed or worried whispers from the crowd behind Diamond Tiara who grunted in disapproval.

“Rarity!” cried out Sweetie Belle, as she rushed towards her sister and pulled her in a tight embrace.

“Oh, am I glad to see you’re safe!” said Rarity.

“How did you find us?”

It was Spike that answered. “I received this letter which turned out to be a map, so we followed it with Rarity and, well, here we are!”

“Whazzat?” cut in Babs. “You guys got a map too?”

“Why yes,” said Rarity. “But we got it through our usual connection with Princess Celestia, how did you--”

“That letter’s from Princess Celestia?!”

There was a moment of silence as Rarity and Spike watched with growing curiosity the ponies on the other side of the clearing. Apple Bloom looked at Diamond Tiara with a smirk of bravado.

“Uh oh,” she said. “Looks like it’s mah Princess of Equestria to yer Pinkie.”

Diamond Tiara glared back at Apple Bloom with vicious fury in her eyes at the idea of being denied total victory in this way.

“Pinkie?” asked Rarity, who had just noticed the pink pony. “What in the world is--”

“Oh heya Rarity! Hey Spike!” replied Pinkie, beaming more than ever and waving at the two new arrivals. “We’re about to play this hugetastic group paintball game! It’s gonna be soooo much fun with all these colts and fillies around!”

“A paintball battle?” asked Spike. “Then what are you doing over there instead of here?”

“That there varmint,” said Apple Bloom, pointing an accusatory hoof in Diamond Tiara’s direction, “Shot our dear leader miss Cheerilee as soon as the game started! And she’s been manipulatin’ all these ponies in all sorts o’ ways jus’ ta pin all the blame for it on me! She vandalized mah Sweet Apple Acres, attacked mah friends, and now she’s used a big mountain o’ candy jus’ ta trick Pinkie into joinin’ her side!”

All eyes turned to Diamond Tiara as Apple Bloom delivered her bizarre speech. For a second Diamond Tiara felt as though the tables had actually turned in her disfavour for once, but she wouldn’t let that nervousness show. “You… you annoying bi--”

“Pinkie Pie!” yelled Rarity, stepping in front of the foals. “I demand to know why you’re siding with this rotten little filly!”

“Well it’s not like anypony actually saw her shoot miss Cheerilee,” replied Pinkie, almost casually. “They all told me here that Apple Bloom was the one who stepped in and misfired, and that’s what hit her!”

“And you just believe her?”

“I dunno, Rarity, I don’t know who shot who in the what ‘n’ the where!” Pinkie replied, twisting an impossible number of limbs into a knot and untying them immediately. “All I know is both sides could be right or wrong, but only one of them gave me all that candy!”

“Is this true, Apple Bloom?” asked Spike with concern in his voice as he turned to the filly. The whole crowd followed his gaze, and once more Apple Bloom felt very small and vulnerable. She was reminded in that moment that, as sure as she was, she couldn’t exactly prove or disprove anything that was being said.

“I… Well, ah… Um…”

Diamond Tiara, whose confidence had returned, scoffed at her unconvincing display.

“Hah! You see? Deep down, even she knows the truth! She just wants to get rid of me once and for all just because she doesn’t like me! Playing the martyr to get her way like always, but what did I ever do to her?”

Apple Bloom’s ears fell and she started to hopelessly bite her lip. Rarity stepped in between her and the opposite crowd, a hard scowl under her knitted eyebrows.

“You’re not getting away with this,” she said. “And you certainly aren’t going to attack my sister and her friends while I’m around!”

She paused before adding “... Spike will take care of this.”

Spike raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Huh? What? Why me?” he said in an alarmed tone. Rarity turned to him.

“I know you can do this. This is your moment! Remember what we talked about,” she told him with a wink. Spike smiled back at her, and she breathed an internal sigh of relief that he hadn’t actually understood that she wanted to help out, but knew she would be shot in a second if she tried anything. Then she turned to Pinkie, and stared disapprovingly at the mare who had gone back to playing with her butterfly.

What followed was a very long and tense moment.

Everypony on one side of the clearing stared at the ponies on the other side. Nopony was really sure about what to do, and figured somepony should fire the first round, but couldn’t bring themselves to do it. Some ponies very slowly reached for their guns, some of them changing their mind several times in the few minutes that followed. The tension of the special magical aura of the clearing surrounded them and rose to the point where it became a heavy buzz that made some ponies start to sweat.

“I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMOOOORE!” Silver Spoon suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs. She ran to the middle ground in between the two clans and fired a stray shot with her eyes tightly shut, which impacted on a small filly on Apple Bloom’s side.

There was another short moment of silence during which Silver Spoon opened her eyes to see everypony looking at the filly that had been shot. She was standing perfectly still, looking at her shooter with an empty expression of surprise.

Then all Hell broke loose.

All the foals gave a simultaneous war cry which was immediately followed by a tempest of shots being fired from seemingly everywhere, splattering on trees or bodies while the two sides rushed towards each other and blended in one chaotic blur of screaming foals, clashing weapons, and different colours. And thus began the greatest paintball battle that these woods had ever seen, and the most memorable one of these foals’ young lives.

Day Of Siege (Part II)

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter XI

“What was that?”

Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack. The farm pony was scanning the area around her with full concentration in that hounddog manner Rainbow had noticed about her friend.

“What was what?” Rainbow asked. As far as she could tell there was nothing alarming or relatively odd in the part of the Everfree Forest they were roaming in.

“That sound,” Applejack replied absently after a moment of silence.

“Uh, what sound?” replied Rainbow. She listened closely, but couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. “You think it could be Fluttershy?” she added after a few seconds. She knew that finding her was Applejack’s main concern apart from solving the mystery of her brother having an impossible twin. She immediately regretted asking her that question however, as Applejack darted like a hare at the mere mention of the pegasus. Her hat fell off and the red gun it had been carrying fell to the ground, but she didn’t seem to care about it as she put her hat back on before taking off once more.

“Hey! Wait for me!” shouted Rainbow as she flew after her friend.

* * *

It was as if turmoil were taking up every inch of space in Apple Bloom’s head and preventing her from thinking of anything at all. Her every movement was automatic as she held on to dear non-exclusion from the game.

Soon after the first shots had been fired, every pony involved had moved away from the clearing and retreated in the surrounding treeline to find shelter. The battle still raged on however, as the atmosphere in the clearing was reduced to a storm of paint rounds flying from everywhere and anywhere at once. So far Apple Bloom had only managed to get off by the skin of her neck as she struggled to take effective shots at foals she could only hope were not on her side. She was locked in survival mode, mixed with a growing fear as she witnessed the number of foals in either clan drop fast, the losses being all the more dramatic for her team which was clearly outnumbered.

An unruly symphony of gunshots and cries of war sounded painfully loud in Apple Bloom’s head, clouding her mind and allowing her to take in only the present moment. After taking a shot without any time to aim it, she ran for cover behind an oak tree. In the slew of little snippets of thought that managed to worm themselves in her head one moment only to disappear the next, she remembered Zecora telling her once about terrible cricket swarms that would often plague her native land. She wondered if what she was caught in at the moment was something similar.

Suddenly a filly emerged from the side of the tree, turning towards Apple Bloom in surprise. The filly raised her gun but Apple Bloom was quicker, and shot her square in the chest. The filly cried out in pain and fell to the ground with tears in her eyes. Apple Bloom cringed. She had nothing against her, and it wasn’t fair to have to shoot her down in this way, but that filly had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Suddenly, Apple Bloom found herself overcome with guilt. In that one moment she no longer cared about who shot Miss Cheerilee in the first place, and wanted nothing to do with any of this paintball war business anymore. She needed to put an end to this.

Diamond Tiara.

The mere thought of that name sent a slow surge of anger coursing through Apple Bloom’s veins. It was as if it were seeping into her skin from the very earth below, making her see red. That ruthless brat had been the one at the start of it all, she was responsible for that poor filly being shot out of the game as well as many others, and it was with a newfound resolve that Apple Bloom decided she would give her a taste of her own poisonous medicine.

Apple Bloom was so lost in her thoughts of revenge that she almost missed spotting a figure approaching fast on her right. She turned towards the pony with a jerk and fired a shot without thinking. She was stunned to discover the pony she had fired at was none other than Rainbow Dash.

“Whoa! Watch it!” Rainbow yelled as she dived to the side just in time to avoid being struck by the yellow ball of paint that flew dangerously close to her wing. Apple Bloom’s surprise only grew when she saw her sister running at top speed beside the pegasus.

“Sis!” she cried in relief.

“Apple Bloom! Are you okay? What’s going on here?”

Applejack’s question was answered by two shots zipping past almost simultaneously on either side of the tree Apple Bloom was hiding behind, which made all of them start.

“Ya better not stay airborne, Rainbow Dash!” said Apple Bloom, who had to shout over the surrounding racket. “Everythin’s gone ta Tartarus over here!”

“Whaddaya mean?” shouted Applejack in return.

“There’s a war goin’ on! It was supposed ta be between mah side an’ the other one, but now everypony’s jus’ shootin’ at each other jus’ ta stay alive!”

Applejack couldn’t make any sense of what her sister was saying, so she asked the question that had brought her here in the first place.

“What about Fluttershy? Is she with you?”

“No, ah haven’t seen her at all!” replied Apple Bloom. Applejack cringed, wondering where in the world that pony had gone to and feeling anxious at the idea that she might be responsible if something were to happen to her fragile friend.

“Spike an’ Rarity are here somewhere though, an’ Babs as well!” shouted Apple Bloom. “But how did ya find me, sis?”

She looked at Applejack and saw that her sister wasn’t about to answer, gazing at something past Apple Bloom’s shoulder in disbelief.

About thirty feet beyond Apple Bloom’s hiding place, in the clearing, she could see the ground littered with groaning foals speckled with paint. There they lay like beaten dogs at the feet of the only pony still standing. Applejack watched as Pinkie Pie, standing on her hind legs, dressed in one of her kooky costumes, and armed with what looked like -- although it would be impossible if not in Pinkie’s hooves -- a pink minigun, prepared herself for another round of firing.

“Get down!” cried Rainbow as she pulled her friend to the ground with herself and behind a bush.

A deafening sound erupted in the forest as Pinkie fired her automatic weapon. She turned slowly on the spot as if on a central axis, her frame bouncing up and down with every shot she fired from the heavy gun. Hidden from her sight, the two mares waited anxiously for Pinkie’s frenzy to subside. Applejack could feel the skinnier trees behind her shaking in their roots from being repeatedly stricken by the gun. After the rampage was over, and the whirring of the gun’s engine had died down, the rest of the turmoil in the forest seemed almost faint in comparison to what they had just heard.

“Oh yeah!” yelled Pinkie in mad excitement. “Ain’t no half-baked shots around here, fillies! Who wants to get their share? Step right up, step right up!”

Applejack couldn’t believe her eyes.

“What in the--”

“The rage spell!” whispered Rainbow. Applejack turned to her.

“Huh?”

“This place! This is the place where you fought Zecora, remember? It’s making Pinkie go even crazier than usual!”

Applejack looked over to where Pinkie was standing, and realized that this was indeed the place.

“Well, what do we do?” she asked.

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’? We dash!” said Rainbow, leaping upwards with a strong flap of her wings, only to be pulled right back down by the tail.

“Hold on there, Rainbow!” said Applejack with Rainbow’s tail in her maw. “Ah meant to ask how we deal wit’ this situation, and we’re sure as shoot ta be shot the second we startle Pinkie! We need ta plan our next move carefully!” She turned to her sister, who was still shaking behind her tree. “What are you gonna do, Apple Bloom?”

“Ah’m gonna find Diamond Tiara an’ give her the what fer!”

Applejack gave a short, exasperated sigh. “Can’t yer little vendetta wait until we figured out what ta do with--”

“Diamond’s the one who vandalized Sweet Apple Acres, and Pinkie’s on her side!”

Rainbow Dash stared at the filly, intrigued by what she was hearing. It was an intense situation they had suddenly found themselves in. Not hearing a reply from Applejack, she turned to her friend.

“Ok, so, what do we--”

She stopped as she saw that Applejack had abandoned her hiding spot and was running towards Pinkie Pie. Rainbow cocked her gun with a grin.

Now that’s more like it!

* * *

Further in the Everfree Forest, away from chaos taking place in the mystical clearing, there was a place where the ground rose up in small slopes of earth and grass. They were small hills of plentiful soil, crumbled and stuck under a carpet of thinning greenery, and strewn with crisp and long dead autumn leaves. It was a place where the wind always blew in gentle streaks, drifting along the uneven landscape.

Atop one of these mounds, the princess of the night sat on a large log that had fallen there. Its rotten bark was soft from years of moisture and was home to a great number of bugs and maggots, giving off a very natural smell nonetheless that freshened and purified the air around it. It allowed Luna to relax a bit from the recent events, as she listened absently to the sound of a running streamlet of water that had been flowing through the forest for several days now.

She had a lot on her mind. It was hard to believe only a week or so had passed since the first day of the game, and although she would know by now how to evaluate a long time without exaggerating it, that day truly felt like ages ago to her. She wondered with every passing hour why she was here. As time went by, away from Canterlot and the royal palace, she wondered if there was a point beyond a simple competition to this supposed game of her sister’s. Every minute she questioned its purpose, which remained unclear to her. Why this? Why paintball? She couldn’t think of any possible link between that and Celestia, and as things changed and shifted at every turn in the forest, she couldn’t help but to get ideas of higher purpose and such, and about her place in all of it.

She had survived this long. She was sure there had to be a reason.

But most all of, she dreaded the possibility that there might be no reason after all.

She had gone through many encounters with other ponies up until now, several of which she had pulled through by her own skill. At the end of the day, she wasn’t completely useless when it came to paintball. Though she had never played it before, her reflexes were sharp enough. But she knew the measure of her own skill alone wasn’t enough to last this long in such a ruthless game. She shouldn’t have survived long enough to still be here.

The only reason she still was took the shape of a small colt bathing in a part of the stream at the foot of her hill. She watched him worryingly as he checked his guns for ammo, sitting at water’s edge to dry himself off. He only carried two weapons at all times: one was his, and the other was that of the great and powerful Trixie, which he kept as a personal trophy.

When considering all the strange things that didn’t make sense in this game, Luna obviously couldn’t forget Pipsqueak. Even now she was hardly used to his happy-go-lucky behaviour, which changed the moment there was an opponent to be rid of. His skill was something of a magic trick to the princess, as she saw him do away with countless ponies in confrontations that never lasted more than a couple of seconds. All in all, he was so good at paintball it was almost eerie. Most of the time it was him that had bailed her out of situations where she would notice a gun pointed at her at the last second, every one of which would have made a successful shot if he hadn’t been there to act faster than she could.

And she’d been paired with him from the start. Nopony else. It only helped to reinforce her suspicion that there was a reason behind everything happening right now.

From the corner of his eye, Pip noticed Luna staring into space in his general direction. He looked at her from below, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Something wrong, Princess?” he asked.

Lost in her musings as she was, she didn’t notice him speaking at first. Eventually she shook her head as if woken up and stared back at the foal looking at her with his head cocked to the side. It was precisely that manner of his that upset her: she knew what skill lay behind that innocent look, and they were both very aware of how many ponies he had shot without even blinking or giving it a second thought before robbing them of their dreams of victory. And still, he looked at her now as if he couldn’t possibly imagine what could be wrong right now. She couldn’t stand another minute of it.

“How do you remain so calm?” she asked.

Pipsqueak raised a single eyebrow. “I’m not sure I follow?”

“It’s just… you…” Luna looked upwards and gestured with her hooves as she struggled to find the right words. “You obviously aren’t the average paintball player… I’ve been trusted with you since the beginning of this game and… I don’t know, it seems that there’s just no beating you at it… But why? I mean, how do you cope with all this pressure and… I don’t know, how can you take a bath at a moment like this?”

Pip simply listened to Luna while she spoke. When she was finished he looked at her with a completely neutral expression, even though her last words carried a notable frustration to them.

“Are you also worried about all the spooky things that are happening right now?” he asked softly.

Luna was caught off guard. Finally she was going to have an open conversation with the colt. She wanted to ask if he shared her concerns, but something told her he did as he looked back at her with a strange smile. It was as if he was trying to console her for some reason. In a moment of honesty she decided to give into speaking what was on her mind.

“... Yes,” she said. “Yes, I am. The weather’s getting worse, the forest feels even more odd than usual… I don’t know what it is, but I feel as though we’re meant to do something… important”

Pip nodded and gave a small chuckle. “I know what you mean. I’ve been wondering about that myself. I’m very good at paintball, you see. I suppose I was just taught well, but even so they always said I was the best in my class. So when Princess Celestia paired me up with her own sister to play against every pony in Equestria… I was sure there had to be some meaning behind all this! At first I thought she might have actually designed the entire game just for me, but I guess that’s not really true.”

Luna stared at her hooves, feeling disappointed. It seemed he didn’t know any more than she did after all.

“But you know… I think sometimes worrying only serves to slow you down.”

Luna looked back at him, intrigued. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s just something I picked up while playing paintball with the other foals. In the beginning I’d get very nervous about how carefully I should play and what my next move should be and such, and as a result I ended up playing very little and being clumsy because of my nerves. I figured that sometimes, you can’t really think about all that, because some things are inevitable and you’ll just have to face them anyway."

He smiled at her.

"I find that paintball is a good way to think about these things. You learn a lot that you can apply to everyday life. Sometimes you want to think things through a lot and not make a mistake. But why wait? You could end up having to face challenges and, ironically, you’ll have spent so much time trying to prevent them that when the time comes you’ll find yourself completely unprepared. When I see an opponent, I shoot them before they can shoot me. It sounds awfully cruel, but after all, is that not the actual goal of the game? I don’t think about it, because thinking when the time isn’t right only hurts my balance. I just block it all out and focus on that balance and on keeping myself ready to do what I need to do. So come what may in this strange game, I’ll just play it and deal with whatever it throws at me, you know?”

Luna listened to Pip speak with great attention. His words had a ring of truth to them that the princess found astonishing. Eventually she found herself seeing things clearly and feeling incredibly relieved as a result. She felt ready to face the task ahead, even though she didn’t know if there would even be one. She smiled back at Pip; she would have never guessed that this simple foal could be the one to shed some light on her worries and make them disappear. Perhaps her sister had known that all along…

Suddenly, Luna was hit with a strong wave of pain that made her yelp and buckle over. She gritted her teeth and cradled her head in her hooves, feeling as though it might burst open.

“Princess!” cried Pip as he rushed to the top of the mound to help her.

The sound of Luna’s frantic heartbeat pounding in her head blocked out his voice. She was blinded by flashes of light that appeared to her with growing intensity, as if something was trying to force itself in her brain with every flash. Suddenly she saw something, and the pain stopped entirely.

A granular, sepia-coloured vision appeared to her. She was still in the forest, although it was different. The trees were slightly thinner and the ground was flat. She was standing in a clearing of some kind with nothing but a lake in a bed of stone. There was no wind or sound here.

All of a sudden, the entire place burst into flames. The roar of a great fire tore through Luna’s head and she buckled over in fear, surrounded by the large flames that were lapping at their surroundings and slowly edging themselves in. Through the uproar she heard another sound that almost echoed that of the raging fire. It was a blood-chilling cackle that only rose in intensity until it was practically deafening, and when she opened her eyes she watched in horror as an entire army of Changelings swarmed into the clearing and flew straight through the fire towards her.

She shrieked, and her eyes flew open.

She found herself back on the hill. For a moment she did nothing, panting and staring at the ground that was inches away from her face. She then slowly lifted her head and saw Pipsqueak next to her. Both of them looked terrified by what had just happened.

“Did you see that too, child?” she asked.

“S-see what?” he asked in return with a shaky high-pitched voice.

Luna replayed the ghastly images in her head. She couldn’t believe what she had just seen. Had it been a dream? A vision of the future? Was she going insane? One thing was for certain: this vision was not to be taken lightly. She didn’t know much about paintball, but she couldn’t imagine that it entailed ominous and terrifying hallucinations. This had to be something much more serious, and though she wished it would have taken another shape, this was in a way what she had been waiting for.

Regaining composure, she got up and looked at Pip who was still on the ground gaping back at her as though he’d seen a ghost.

“I had… a vision,” she told him, taking care not to go into too much unsettling detail.

“A vision? Like… a vision of the future?”

“Indeed. Something diresome is about to happen and we need to prevent it. Grab your belongings and let us be on our way.”

“Where are we going?”

It was a good question. Luna wondered about it herself when, to her great surprise, she realized she knew where to go. She wasn’t sure how she knew, as she didn’t recognize the place in her vision, but she knew where to find it.

“We fly to some place in the woods… I don’t know how I’ve come to learn where this place lies, but I suppose that since I do, it must surely mean that we are meant to find it.”

Pip nodded and went down to the stream to grab his guns. He then frantically galloped back to Luna and jumped on her back as she extended her wings, and together they flew off at top speed among the trees.

* * *

The shot zipped through the air and scraped the side of a tree behind which Spike was reloading. He started as he felt paint splatter to his side, inches away from his face.

“Damn! We’re in a tight spot!”

Next to him, Rarity was crouching low behind a bush, covering her head as though bombs of paint were raining from the sky.

“Hang in there, Rarity!” said Spike as he put his back to the tree and readied his next shot. “We’ll be outta here soon enough!”

“No!” yelled Rarity to Spike’s surprise. She turned to him, seeing he was confused, and clarified her thoughts. “We can’t leave Sweetie Belle out here! It’s too dangerous!”

Spike nodded, silently pleased that Rarity was actually relying on him like a damsel in distress for once. “Don’t worry. We’ll get her out of there too. But we’re gonna need some kind of help getting through to wherever she is around here.”

Just then, as if on cue, the two of them felt a large shape swoop in right next to them. Rarity screamed and Spike turned around instinctively and drew out his gun to what appeared to be a dark-coloured pegasus spreading its wings and covering him in its shadow, which could only mean trouble.

“Wait! Don’t shoot!” said a voice.

The only reason Spike didn’t shoot is because the high-pitched voice, which sounded like a colt’s, was so mismatched with the figure standing in front of him that he couldn’t help being taken aback. His head having cleared a bit, he recognized the pegasus as Princess Luna, who looked almost as surprised as he was.

“Luna…?”

Suddenly a smaller pony came out from behind Luna’s wings, jumping off her back. He was a white-coated colt with strange patches of brown and a pirate outfit which Spike thought looked ridiculous, although he chose not to comment it seeing as how the colt was carrying two guns of his own.

“Aren’t you that kid from Nightmare Night?” Spike asked.

“Doesn’t matter who I am, mate,” said Pip, his cheer seemingly restored and unaffected by Spike’s remark. “All you need to know is that I’m help, and I’ve come to pull you out of this mess you’re in!”

“Oh really?” replied Spike, annoyed that he was being pushed away from Rarity’s spotlight.

Luna gave a long sigh.

“Well, this is certainly a strange surprise!” said Rarity. “Princess Luna, how did you find us?”

Luna turned to Rarity. “I… I had a vision of some sort… I can’t explain it, but I’m positive it meant to bring the young colt and I here.”

Her ears perked up at the sound of a distant gunshot followed by shouting. “What’s going on here?” she asked Spike anxiously, but he was too busy arguing with Pip about how best to position one’s self behind a tree in the event of a paintball shootout.

“To be honest, we’re not quite sure ourselves. It looks as though conflict had been brewing between two clans of Ponyville foals for a while… They started arguing, and now, well, everypony’s been shooting at each other for the past couple of hours.”

“But how did you find yourselves involved?” asked Luna.

“That part doesn’t make much sense to me either. We were walking somewhere else in the forest when we received this map of some sort, which led us here.”

Luna stopped to consider what Rarity had just said. According to her, she’d also been led to this place by some sign… Could it be just a coincidence?

“What are you going to do, then?” she asked.

“Whatever we do, we can’t leave. My sister is trapped in this battle as well, and we have to get her out of there.”

“In that case, allow us to help you look for her together!”

“Thanks for the offer,” said Spike, who had joined the conversation. “But before we can do anything, there’s something we need to take care of.”

“What is it?”

Spike didn’t answer, and peering into the forest with narrow eyes he raised a claw to signal the three ponies next to him to be quiet. Luna listened carefully. In the midst of the tense silence around them, she could hear giggling and snorting in the distance.

“Who could that be?” asked Luna, feeling a little creeped out.

“Pinkie Pie,” said Spike.

“Pinkie?” replied Luna. “Is she not a friend of yours?”

“Well yeah, she is…” said Spike, “But she’s siding with the enemy on this one, and we have no idea why.”

“That’s it!”

Luna, Rarity and Spike all turned to Pipsqueak. He seemed positively delighted.

“What is it?” asked Luna.

“Pinkie Pie! She’s my paintball teacher!” he said. “Remember how we talked about what our part in this game was? This is what I was meant to do!” He cocked his gun and flashed them a determined grin before adding “I’m going in.”

“No, don’t!” said Rarity. “This isn’t our usual Pinkie Pie! She’s obviously not in her right mind and she’s been taking out foals by the dozen with a pink minigun with infinite ammunition!”

Pipsqueak gave her a puzzled look. “... Sounds like the usual Pinkie Pie to me.”

“Are you sure about this, child?” asked Luna. “Something tells me this is a dangerous place to be in.” Images of her vision came back to her which she still wouldn’t let Pip know about.

“Don’t worry, Princess,” he said with a nod. “This is my purpose, I’m sure of it.”

“No way,” said Spike. “We’re not gonna let you face her on your own.”

“Please, I’m more than capable of handling myself!”

“That’s… not untrue,” said Luna. “If you’re absolutely sure, then allow us to at least escort you for back-up.”

Pip nodded and headed further into the forest, the other three carefully following suit.

* * *

Standing by herself in the middle of the clearing, Pinkie Pie was waiting for somepony to show up so she could treat them with her best cotton candy coated bullets. She knew that all the foals had gone into hiding in the woods, but at the same time she didn’t want to leave her spot.

Something strange was going on here, and she could feel it. Usually she thoroughly enjoyed paintball; right now however, she was on a whole new level, reveling in the feeling of power that came with every round she fired. Moreover, she knew what she was doing was questionable: this was no practice game, and yet at this point she knew she must have shot more foals than the Ponyville schoolhouse could fit. They just kept coming, and usually she would have stopped shooting them before it became insensitive to do so, but she found out to her delight that she couldn’t care less. It didn’t feel wrong to help Diamond Tiara. It was just too much fun to ignore.

“Hold it right there, Pinkie!” sounded a familiar voice behind her. It could only belong to one pony, so Pinkie didn’t lose her cool as she calmly turned around to face Applejack and Rainbow Dash, both of them steadily aiming at her with their guns. She flashed them a wide grin; things were taking a turn for the interesting.

“Well, lookie here. Sheriff’s in town, ain’t that just dandy!” she said in a playful imitation of an old-western villain.

The two mares opposite her, on the other hand, were dead serious.

“Pinkie, ah want you ta drop this whole act, as well as that obscenely large gun ya got there. It’s over.”

“It ain’t over ‘till the fat mare sings!” replied Pinkie, raising her minigun. “Or something like that.”

Rainbow Dash flinched a little, but Applejack remained perfectly calm. She took a single step forward.

“Ah ain’t playin’ games with you, Pinkie.”

“Yes you are,” chimed Pinkie. “Specifically, you’re playing Princess Celestia’s game, whether you like it or not. And according to those rules, I don’t have to do anything until I’m shot.”

She dropped her minigun and stood on her hind legs.

“So go ahead, Applejack! Shoot me down!”

It was a very tense moment that followed in the clearing. Slowly and all the while during their discussion, all the noise and commotion had died down into complete silence around the three ponies. Only the wind remained, blowing softly.

Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack in apprehension. The farm pony stood rooted to the spot, eyes narrow and her temples damp with sweat. The barrel of her gun was perfectly aligned with her target. Her hoof trembled almost unnoticeably.

“Well?!” shouted Pinkie in a sharp voice. Applejack couldn’t help but start, the only sign of which was a short blink.

After a few seconds more she slowly dropped her weapon to the ground.

“No,” she sighed, lowering her gaze in disappointment. “Ah won’t shoot you.”

Pinkie sniggered.

“Too bad. Seems like right now is the perfect moment.”

Applejack raised her gaze and looked into Pinkie’s twirling glasses, tears welling up at the base of her eyes.

“What’s gotten into you?” she whispered softly. “Why are you treatin’ us like we’re enemies?”

Pinkie said nothing for a minute. For a rare moment, she was absolutely calm and showed no emotion whatsoever. Eventually she shrugged.

“Meh, I’m just playing the game here, y’know. It’s not my fault if you can’t keep your emotions out of it.”

Rainbow Dash was silently stricken. She had seen the rage spell at work in this place, but this was nothing like her previous experience.

“Ah’m not gonna risk shooting the colt that’s been aimin’ at yer back for the last several minutes now,” said Applejack. She spoke in a serious and composed manner, although her voice still trembled a little.

Again, Pinkie stood still. But this time, a visible grin was slowly drawing itself on her face, only stopping when she spoke.

“Really, Applejack?” she giggled. “You’re going to use that trick against me? I teach paintball to foals, you know.”

She was expecting Applejack to reply and and defend her statement, but the mare said nothing. Pinkie saw in Applejack’s hard gaze that the farm pony was through reasoning with her, and that whatever she claimed, she would let it happen if that was the price to pay.

Pinkie slowly turned around, calm as ever. She came face to face with a young white and brown-coated colt she knew only too well. Standing at about the same distance as she was from Applejack and Rainbow Dash behind her, the colt stood on his own hind legs, steadily presenting her the cold darkness of his barrel with a confident smirk.

“Ah… my old master,” he said.

* * *

The three Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had found each other in the woods and had started walking together, came to a halt. They had arrived at the edge of the clearing. Neither of them said a word as they witnessed the still moment in which their gifted schoolmate Pipsqueak locked in on their silent teacher with his gun.

“Oh come on,” whispered Sweetie Belle in disbelief.

* * *

Not far behind Pipsqueak, Luna, Spike and Rarity were crouching low to the ground and hiding behind a bush in between two trees at the edge of the clearing.

“Do you think he’s bluffing?” whispered Spike. He was not answered, as the three of them watched the scene unfurl with held breath.

* * *

At the same time, a huddled group of surviving foals led by Babs reached the edge of the clearing, hearing that noise had ceased there and hoping that the place was safe. They stopped in their tracks as they saw the surreal tableau and whispered nervously amongst themselves. Babs watched the scene with a single raised eyebrow.

“What the…?” she muttered absently.

* * *

Pinkie simply looked back at the small colt opposite her with a usual little smile.

“Glad to see you’ve been taking care,” she said in a low and casual tone.

“Did you expect anything else?” Pip replied with a hint of cheekiness.

Pinkie grinned. “Of course not.”

They kept staring at each other in heavy silence, ignoring the mass of foals that had all slowly formed a circle of mute spectators all around them.

Very slowly, Pinkie rested a hoof on the grip on her personal handgun. This elicited a small wave of worried whispering in the crowd, thinking the moment of truth had arrived, but it died down as they saw that Pipsqueak had chosen to wait and see before doing anything too rash.

“Looks like you want to give these people a show,” said Pinkie. “So go ahead… try your luck.”

“You can’t win, Pinkie. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful that you can possibly imagine.”

“Cheap movie line references are my thing, kid!”

More silence ensued. At this point the tension in the air was becoming unbearable to all but the two opponents at the center of the clearing. The wind caressed the surrounding ponies softly, many eyes there hurting from not daring to blink.

After a while, Pipsqueak carefully lowered his gun and holstered it. He then adopted the position of a bull ready to charge.

“I call for a joust,” he announced.

A hint of a collective gasp could be heard as the eyes of the crowd shifted from him to Pinkie Pie in an almost perfectly coordinated move. Pinkie, however, remained unfazed.

“Yeah, you were always more of a close-combat type of player, weren’t you…”

She crouched slightly, mimicking his pose.

“Okey dokey. Get ready, then.”

If possible, the air around the clearing became even more still. Everypony waited for one of the two, now ready to engage in battle, to make the first move. Pinkie and Pip were completely ignoring them, fully concentrated on one another, carefully studying the situation.

Suddenly, Pipsqueak darted forward towards Pinkie with something of a high-pitched war cry. Almost instantly, Pinkie followed suit and galloped towards the colt with a similar cry. Time seemed to slow down as they neared the point where they would both draw their weapon and fire a single possible shot in the same movement. They were mere inches away from each other.

Now!

In the blink of an eye, The two ponies jumped towards each other, and shots were heard in a resounding bang before their shooters fell to the ground and slid away from each other on the grass.

Nothing moved. Nopony spoke. All eyes were on Pip, laying on his belly with his eyes shut, and Pinkie Pie, who had finished her run sliding on her knees and stretching her forehooves out wide, one of which held a still smoking handgun. It was as if the entire world around her had disappeared. Her prop glasses had fallen to the ground, and she stared absently in front of her, her mouth agape as though a nerve in her brain had just snapped.

She had shot him. There was no doubt about it. She had felt the adrenaline rush up towards her head in waves as she charged towards him. Right now, she should have felt elated from her victory.

But she felt nothing. Or rather, she felt a curious sense of confusion. She couldn’t understand why she was feeling so unaffected by what she had just done. She felt neither joy nor remorse or any emotion at all, and that only served to confuse her. It felt like waking up from a dream, and as she considered it she knew something was not right about all of this.

Was that what she had heard as she jumped towards Pip? A single word… ‘now’. She heard it, but only now realized it wasn’t him or anypony else that had said it.

Feeling a faint tickling sensation on her belly, she looked down. There she found her sides adorned with two stains of paint; one orange, and the other sky blue.

Mechanically she turned towards Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The two of them were still in their spots, their weapons held out towards her. Both ponies had the same expression of utter disbelief in light of what they had done. Pinkie looked at them in surprise for a moment, before her expression softened and she gave them a weak but sincere smile.

“... Well done,” she said.

Her words seemed to break the silence around the clearing as the crowd broke out into loud and rapid whispering. Nopony was sure if this meant the end of battle or not. The whispering died down when Pipsqueak slowly raised himself from the ground with a groan. He stood on his hind legs for a couple of seconds, swaying in a daze in the aftermath of his confrontation with Pinkie. He then looked down to his own belly, where a large bright pink stain rested in the middle.

“Oh well,” he mumbled, before falling on his back and resting on the grass as he contemplated what was the end of the line for him.

Amidst new whispering, Applejack and Rainbow Dash rushed towards Pinkie Pie. Applejack crouched to look at her in the eye.

“Are you alright?” she asked with a genuine mixture of guilt and concern. Pinkie nodded, still smiling, and Applejack felt a different aura about her friend.

“Actually…” said Pinkie, “I’m fine. I feel great! It’s like… so much pressure off my back, you know?”

“Pinkie… ah’m a mite sorry ah had ta put you down like that. It’s jus’... you were under this spell, an’ you weren’t yerself fer a moment there… ah was afraid you might lose yerself in it and get hurt.”

“I did feel kinda strange… I mean, I was really into it. I dunno what came over me, but what I do know is that there’s no prize worth losing yourself for.”

Both her friends actually knew what came over her, but chose not to mention anything about it and were content to smile back at Pinkie and rest a friendly hoof on her shoulder.

From the corner of her eye, Applejack saw a group of ponies heading towards them. It was Pipsqueak, limping slightly as he advanced towards Pinkie, supported on either side by Rarity and Princess Luna and followed by Spike. Applejack couldn’t conceal her surprise at the sight of the unlikely group, but Pipsqueak spoke before she could say anything.

“I’ve come to pay my respects, as it were,” he told Pinkie. “Looks like the student can never truly outrun the master after all. But I guess that’s why they call you that, right?”

Pinkie looked back at him with her soft smile. “You’re in a league of your own, you know that, Pip? You’re very… grown up as a paintball player. More than enough not to give into the pressure like I did…”

“Yes, well… I gave into my gut feeling. I knew when I saw you here that there was still one more lesson I could learn from you.”

Luna looked at him in surprise. “Child… are you saying you knew that you were going to lose?”

“I remember Pinkie telling me once during training that when you mess up your cupcakes, there’s no use crying over the milk you wasted on them,” Pip said with a tired chuckle. “I guess that’s true, right now more than ever. I know I can’t possibly go toe to toe with my master and come out on top.”

“But what about the prize?” asked Rarity. “If you knew you were going to lose your chance to Pinkie, why rush to her like this?”

Pip turned to her.

“There’s a lot more to a game like this than just reward,” he said. “And when I saw Pinkie, I realized that some rewards don’t come out of victory. They come out of working together with your friends, no matter the outcome.”

There was another moment of silence in the crowd, whose attention had shifted entirely to Pipsqueak, although this time it was not a tense silence but one of collective realization. The foals turned to each other with various expressions, some of them relieved, others embarrassed.

“You know… he’s right,” said Scootaloo. The two other Crusaders turned to her. “I mean… look at us! Why are we fighting like this?”

“Yeah… all this time we’ve been divided over something so silly, when we all could’ve been playing together from the beginning!” added Sweetie Belle. Her words sparked a new wave of whispering in the crowd as the foals all began to recognize each other as being fellow players instead of enemies.

“Ah agree…” said Apple Bloom after a while. “This is stupid, an’ a lot of foals lost their place in the game ‘coz of us. Y’know, ah’m sure we can find Diamond Tiara and hash things out with--”

She was interrupted by a series of loud noises and a sharp pain in her back.

Everypony turned to the trio with a gasp, but Apple Bloom didn’t hear it. Her ears were ringing, and she simply watched the many stricken faces in front of her in a daze. She didn’t need to turn around to know what had happened, and that it had happened to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as well.

Distant and muffled, the voice of Diamond Tiara sounded behind her.

“Hold it!” she shouted, cutting through the crowd from behind the Crusaders to the center of the clearing with her gun outstretched in front of her for protection. “Nopony move, or I swear I’ll get this party started again!”

All newfound merriment had disappeared as the bewildered ponies in the crowd gaped at the furious little filly turning around on the spot frantically and pointing her gun to all sides with a demented look. Applejack watched her too, and when the truth of what had just happened had sunk in of she suddenly got up and reached for her own gun.

“Why, you little pest…!” she hissed, advancing menacingly towards Diamond who spun round to face her. Applejack felt Rainbow grab her and pull her backwards, which she resisted with all her strength.

“No, Applejack!” said Rainbow, struggling to hold back her friend. “Don’t give in, or it’ll be chaos again!”

“She vandalized mah farm! It was her!” spat Applejack who was positively boiling with rage from the surrounding air.

“Stay where you are, or I’ll shoot another one and it’ll be on your hooves!” cried Diamond.

Applejack swore and eventually gave up struggling, staying where she was and boring holes into Diamond’s eyes. The filly felt somewhat intimidated, so she turned towards the three fillies she had just shot.

Apple Bloom could only stare back at her in disbelief. She didn’t feel sad because she had been shot; the game was all superficial to her now. What she was feeling was pity for Diamond Tiara, whom despite the happy resolution was once more in a panic, just like on the day she had aimed towards her teacher.

“D-Diamond…” she whispered. “Why are you doing this…?”

“You’re not getting away with this!” she shouted with a trembling voice. “You can roll about in all the mushy forgiveness you want, you’re not taking my prize away from me!”

Apple Bloom took a single step forward before stopping in her tracks as Diamond Tiara cocked her gun with a nervous jerk.

“Stay away!!” she yelled.

“Diamond, please… It’s over now! Ah don’t care if you shot Miss Cheerilee… We’ll never know who did it!”

Diamond said nothing for a few seconds. Then, to Apple Bloom’s surprise, the pink filly gave short, nervous giggle and lowered her weapon.

“Please,” she said in a smug voice more like her own. “You don’t even believe that yourself.”

Something about those words rang ominously in Apple Bloom’s ears, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. “What do you…?” she asked, afraid to finish her question because of its possible answer.

“Come on, blank flank,” said Diamond. “We both know it. It was me. I shot Miss Cheerilee.”

The words hit Apple Bloom like a sledgehammer. She felt a cold ball of ice in her throat, and there were so many questions she wanted to ask, but only one she could put into words.

“But… But wh--”

“Because she was in my way!” yelled Diamond Tiara. “She was in my way from the start! ‘Whatever my heart desires’? Maybe you’re not good enough to understand this, but when I’m promised something, I get it! And I don’t care if it’s you, or Miss Cheerilee or anypony else, but anypony who gets in the way of that gets the same treatment!”

Tears were streaming down Apple Bloom’s little cheeks. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “B-but then why shoot us…?”

“Because, idiot! You wanna forget this, let it all blow over? Fine! But at the end of the day, I’m getting that prize, and I’m not taking any chances and letting you walk away from it all and get your hooves on what I want!”

Apple Bloom was at a loss for words, and still in shock she shook her head slowly at Diamond Tiara’s ruthlessness. Over the pink filly’s shoulder she could see her shock mirrored in the faces of all the ponies around, as well as hot tears running down Applejack’s scowling face.

Diamond Tiara started backing away from her and resumed pointing her gun at the crowd.

“Here’s what happens now!” she declared. “I’m getting the hell out of this place, and you’re all going your separate ways now! And whatever you do, if I see anypony come anywhere near me now there will be consequences!”

On that last word Diamond felt herself bump into somepony behind her. She turned around with a jolt. “Get away from--”

She stopped as she saw Pinkie’s forehooves, and raised her head to see Pinkie’s own. She had the strangest expression on her face, seeing as how it was her usual innocent smiling. She seemed to tower over the filly as she stared down onto her with disturbingly calm eyes. It was an awkward moment for Diamond, but she decided to brush it off.

“Oh… hey Pinkie, sorry, didn’t see you there. Now, if you could just--”

“You vandalized Sweet Apple Acres?” Pinkie asked casually. “I didn’t know that.”

Diamond put on a sheepish grin. “Oh, um… well, you know, it was really a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, and--”

She was interrupted as Pinkie took little steps in front of her that forced Diamond Tiara to back away.

“So, essentially,” Pinkie Pie continued. “You’ve been setting up all of this for your own benefit.”

“Well, that’s, um…” said Diamond, who was becoming increasingly uneasy as she stumbled away from Pinkie who wouldn’t stop walking in front of her.

“You started a war. You made up a lie, and let these foals shoot each other so that they wouldn’t be able to stop you.”

“Pinkie, what are you--”

“You asked me for my help. You bribed me, and turned me against my friends.”

“Listen, we can talk about this, just--”

Pinkie stopped walking, and stared at Diamond who was cowering at her hooves with that same unperturbed smile.

“You promised me that I was doing the right thing. You Pinkie promised, Diamond Tiara.”

Diamond felt a sudden surge of panic as the realization of what Pinkie was doing dawned on her. She tried to find a response, but all she could do was stammer nonsensically.

“I… Um, I… I thought--”

“BRING IN THE CAKE!!” yelled Pinkie gleefully at the top of her lungs.

All of a sudden, Diamond Tiara found herself being pulled backwards at full force. Before she could grasp what was going on, her back impacted harshly with the trunk of a thick tree, knocking the wind out of her. She looked around frantically to find she had been tightly attached to the tree by a rope, from behind which came Applejack, giving the filly a devilish wink as she strode by back towards the middle of the clearing.

At the same time, a few foals on the outer ring were knocked aside with grunts of surprise as from behind them rolled in a pony-sized cake on wheels at great speed, before coming to an abrupt halt right in front of Pinkie. Everypony voiced their surprise, although it was somewhat lesser for those that knew the party pony well.

Standing on her hind legs, Pinkie rubbed her hooves together before removing the top of the cake like a lid. She then bent down inside the box-like cake. “Now, let’s see here…”

Diamond Tiara watched in fearful apprehension as Pinkie rummaged inside the cake to the crowd’s astonishment, excitedly whispering amongst themselves about what kind of trick she was going to pull this time.

“Uh, Pinkie…?” she asked in a quivering voice. “What are you doing?”

“You made a Pinkie promise, Diamond Tiara,” Pinkie repeated. “You made a Pinkie promise, and you broke it. And now you’re going to pay.”

She got out of the cake and turned towards Diamond. She then walked towards her, holding a bite-sized cupcake with pink frosting. Diamond Tiara could hear her heart pounding in her chest.

“You know, it’s funny” said Pinkie as she walked towards a panicking Diamond Tiara. “Since the beginning of this game I knew there had to be some kind of meanie in the woods that I had to take care of.”

“What do want Pinkie, huh? More candy from Canterlot, is that it? I’ll have my daddy triple your order, just please--”

“Oh, you silly filly. You have no idea what you just got yourself roped into.”

“P-please!” Diamond pleaded. “Can’t we just talk about this?”

“The time for talking is over, Diamond. Now… cross your heart, hope to fly…”

“Pinkie, I beg you…!”

“Stick a cupcake…”

“Stop!!”

“In your eye!”

Diamond Tiara clenched her teeth and shut her eyes tightly as she felt something being smooshed against her face. She waited for a moment, expecting something worse to happen, but as silence regained its place in the clearing she tentatively opened one of her eyes. Pinkie was smiling at her kindly, and all the other ponies were looking at her in confusion. Diamond could feel something cold and soft over her left eyelid, but it was nothing to worry about. She was ok.

She started laughing, at first slowly and nervously; a laugh which grew into a full-blown cackle.

“Hahahaha! You… what, that’s it?” she sniggered, out of breath. “Are you for real, Pinkie Pie?”

“It’s an ongoing debate,” Spike whispered into Luna’s ear.

“What, you make a huge fuss out of a stupid promise and all you can do is--”

She was interrupted by the sight of the cake behind Pinkie falling to the ground with a strange mechanical sound. It revealed inside it a cannon at least twice as big as the minigun, pointed straight at her.

The cannon fired an enormous round blob of pink paint with a tremendous sound. There was almost no time between the shot, which whooshed past the surrounding ponies and blew their manes back, and the moment on which it wallopped Diamond Tiara and a good part of the trunk she was strapped to. It made an impressive splattering noise, and paint was strewn onto the ground and several trees around it.

Nopony dared to utter a single noise. They watched Diamond’s inert body, the silhouette of which was visible under the carpet of paint she was covered in. After a few seconds, she opened her mouth and gave the most shrill cry of fury anypony had heard in a while.

The crowd broke out in a cacophony of cheers. Everypony turned to each other with beaming faces, either to congratulate them of to apologize for everything. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were dancing around each other, not caring that they’d been shot. It didn’t matter to them anymore; the war was over.

Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, Pinkie turned to see Applejack and the rest of their friends smiling at her sympathetically. “Ya did the right thing, Pinkie,” said Applejack. She sounded grateful. Pinkie looked back at her with the same gratitude for having been forgiven by her friends, whom all huddled together in a moment of celebration. It seemed that for now, they would be able to put this whole game behind them.

From the corner of his eye, Spike saw a pony approaching their group slowly. It shouldn’t have been out of place, seeing as how they were surrounded by cheering ponies, but somehow this one caught Spike’s attention. When he turned around to see who it was, he felt a pang of shock that had become a habit lately.

The pony was a rather well-built stallion limping towards them with his head hung low. Spike could see the stallion gritting his teeth with every painful step. His white coat, matted all over, was speckled with both dirt and paint, and his mane hung over his eyes in loose blue locks like seaweed over a rock.

Spike turned to Rarity, his eyes still glued to the impressive display before him.

“Who is that?”

Rarity turned around in mid-giggle, first looking absently at Spike before spotting the stallion he was talking about. Her smile turned upside-down and her pupils shrunk as she recognized him.

“Fancy Pants!” she cried out as she ran towards him, making all her friends and several ponies all around turn their heads in surprise and in shock. Soon the entire group had gathered around the stallion, who could only stand up with the help of Rarity and Applejack at his sides.

“What in Equestria happened to you?” asked Rarity. Fancy Pants’s answer sounded through clenched teeth.

“Ugh… I was attacked…”

“By whom? Who could possibly take this game so seriously that--”

“It was… a beast. A beast with no shape and a heart of stone…”

Everypony was trying to figure out who or what Fancy Pants was referring to, except Rainbow Dash, who had figured it out.

“Discord!” she cried. The other ponies turned to her with genuine fear in their eyes.

“But the draconequus was reformed!” said Luna in disbelief.

“That monster…” said Rarity, close to tears. “To think he did this to you…”

To her surprise, Fancy Pants gave a brief, raspy chuckle. Rarity could see a weak grin behind his mane and a forehead that looked as though it was made of stone itself.

“Well that’s just the thing,” he said. “He did nothing at all. He spoke, but didn’t shoot.”

“Then who did this to you?”

“It was a mare… a friend of yours, I had seen her before…”

This time, it was Applejack’s turn to understand whom the stallion was referring to. She felt a cold ball of ice in the pit of her stomach. All this time, she had been looking for Fluttershy but had never expected to find her in these circumstances.

“That’s Fluttershy,” she said gravely. She had not raised her voice, but the reaction from her friends was twice as strong as when they had heard Discord’s name.

“But… wha…” Rarity was so shocked by what she was hearing, only minutes after they had been celebrating the end of one disastrous series of events, that she couldn’t put her thoughts into words anymore. Applejack took over.

“When and where did this happen?” she asked.

“It was yesterday… yesterday evening, I think… I can’t tell, everything’s just the same shade of gray these da--”

“Where,” asked Applejack in a surprisingly dry tone.

Fancy Pants was slightly taken aback. “I’m… I’m sorry, I wish I could help, but--”

“Tell me where she is!” roared Applejack, stunning the entire clearing. Rainbow Dash flew down by her side.

“... I’m sorry,” said Fancy Pants. With a jerk of the head he lifted his mane from his eyes, revealing a ghastly sight to the ponies before him. His entire forehead, stretching down over his shut eyes and to the tip of his snout, had been turned to stone.

“Even if I knew,” he said in a raspy voice, shaking from the knowledge of what they were seeing. “I couldn’t take you back there. I’ve been stumbling around like this since yesterday, following the commotion I heard over here. The beast, he said… He said I had seen too much.”

Nopony spoke, mortified by the sight of such cruel magic. Suddenly, Rarity screamed and broke down in violent crying upon the ground. Spike rushed to her side, trying his best to comfort her although he felt no different.

Rainbow Dash was the first to regain some form of composure. “Whatever we do, we need to get out of here,” she said.

“Ah agree,” said Applejack, still in a slight daze from the unreal sight of Fancy Pants’s mutilated face. She couldn’t bear thinking about what kind of things he would do to Fluttershy if she was with him… She shook her head, trying to push out some sinister thoughts and feelings, and focused on the present moment. “If… If we follow the path that Fancy Pants took ta get here…”

“We can retrace his hoofsteps!” said Rainbow. “I’ll fly overhead to see if I can spot that bastard from a distance!”

“Alright, but be careful now, ya don’t want him to see you too,” replied Applejack. She turned to the rest of her friends. “We need ta git organized here. Pinkie and Pip, you’ve been shot, so seeing as how ya can’t shoot yer guns no more, you two should take care o’ these foals. We don’t know what’s goin’ on here, so make sure none of them gets hurt or attacked.”

“Right,” said Pip. “We’ll stay here and keep an eye on--”

“No!”

All eyes turned to Princess Luna, who had blurted out the word. She looked as though she’d been petrified herself.

“Whaddaya mean, ‘no’?” asked Applejack with slight annoyance.

“They can’t say here! Nopony can!” she cried. “It’s not safe!”

“Well why dontcha stay with them?”

Luna cringed. She wasn’t willing to tell her or anypony else about what she had seen. It would be just too much to bear on top of what was already going on.

The truth was she had no idea who could be trusted and who couldn’t anymore. If by mistake, they left one of them with the foals… assuming they were all pony foals to begin with...

“I… I…”

The ponies watched her as they waited for an answer in growing anticipation of more bad news. Cold sweat was running down Luna’s temples, and her mind hurt with confusion as she struggled to find a solution.

“Is this about the vision you had, Princess?” asked Pip softly. Luna froze, and Applejack watched her in surprise.

“What? What’s this about a vision?” she asked. Luna cringed as she saw fear being replaced by despair in the eyes of some of the foals, who were no longer fearing simple loss of the game.

Luna swallowed hard, and after taking a deep breath, looked at Applejack straight in the eye.

“You need to leave this place, and find Discord. I’ll take care of the rest,” she said in a very serious tone.

Before Applejack could ask any more questions, Luna turned around towards the tree on which Diamond Tiara was positively covered in paint. Her horn glowed as a deep blue shimmer of magic enveloped all the paint there. Taking another short breath, Luna pointed her horn at the large paint stain, which suddenly burst out and struck all the foals around in tiny splatters.

The latter were too surprised to react, as they watched in disbelief their bodies speckled with pink paint. There was not a single foal that had not been struck.

They all looked at Luna, surprised to find paint on their Princess as well, who seemed to have deliberately eliminated herself from the competition.

Luna didn’t look back at Applejack and instead raised a hoof as she did when addressing a crowd. She had a way of making sure that what she was saying would be printed in everypony’s mind, not limited to those foals standing before her, but to the entire forest at large.

“Everypony, heed my words!” she bellowed in her royal Canterlot voice. “The Everfree Forest is no longer a safe place! These woods, as well as this game, have been contaminated by a great evil, as enemy Changelings have infiltrated the area!”

She paused, as she had to see whether one of these Changelings would in fact be hiding under the disguise of a pony a few feet from her. Turning around on the spot she saw no change in appearance other than the devastated and confused looks that everypony was giving her. She knew it was a hard pill to swallow, but she had no choice.

“Anypony still in the game is to leave these woods and return to their homes immediately! Mark yourselves in paint, or you will look like a target! It is highly possible that they have taken the shape of ponies close to you, so regain your homes by yourselves and be wary of other ponies!”

Before anypony could offer any sort of reply, Luna’s horn glowed once more and she instantly teleported the entire group of foals, as well as Fancy Pants, back to Ponyville.

The other remaining ponies stood rooted to the spot as Luna turned back to them with utmost seriousness.

“What the heck are ya doin’?” asked Applejack with more confusion in her voice than anger.

Luna walked over to them.

"All shall be explained in good time,” she said solemnly. “But it is most certainly the truth, and I needn’t stress any more that the situation is extremely dire. Nonetheless, I have to trust you. I have to believe that none of you are one of them.”

She waited for a response. They simply stared back at her, trying their best to show their Princess that they were who they claimed to be.

“There’s no way we’re Changelings!” said Rainbow. “Honest!”

“You can shoot us right here, right now if you want,” said Applejack with absolute resolve. “And not jus’ with paint, too. If you have any doubts, don’t leave anythin’ to chance now. But ya have our word that we’re the real elements of harmony.”

The rest of them nodded, Pinkie weakly and silently gesturing with her hoof to signify a Pinkie promise. Luna felt a genuine aura about these ponies that allowed her to relax a little. She turned to Pipsqueak.

“I’m also sending you back to Ponyville,” she said. “Tell the ponies what happened here, and have the foals vouch for you, even if nopony believes you. Show them this.”

Suddenly, a gun appeared to the ground before him. It was black chrome coloured, with a single mark of green.

“Do not hesitate,” she said. “If there are any Changelings there, even in the group I sent, you must find them out. Do you understand?”

Pip nodded again, and without a word more he was transported back to Ponyville himself.

Luna turned to the remaining ponies: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Rarity and Spike.

“Find Discord and Fluttershy, and take care of the situation. I fear your friend might have been corrupted by his malice already, so if you wish to rescue her, this is something you have to do together as the elements.”

The others nodded and were about to turn around when something clicked in Luna’s head. “Where is Twilight Sparkle?” she asked.

The others were all stumped by that question, which had not occurred to them before. They had all assumed she was playing the game on her own and were too focused on the events at hand to think about her.

“I was with her… at the start of the game,” said Pinkie. “But I lost track of her, and I don’t know where she went after that…”

Applejack turned to her with a frown. “And ya didn’t try ta find her?”

“I’m sorry…” Pinkie said with guilt and shame in her voice. Applejack was about to retort, but Luna shook her head.

“No matter, now is not the time to be divided. I shall seek Twilight Sparkle and make sure she is safe from harm. Now go! Make haste!”

On that note, Spike and the four elements of harmony turned around and galloped on the path that Fancy Pants had taken while Rainbow flew overhead. Luna took to the air and flew among the treetops as she tried to find her sister’s protégé.

Underneath it was quiet. Finally, there were no more ponies in the clearing. It lay still and soft as ever, only a tree marked in paint and loosely wrapped in a lasso at the trunk, and a stream of water seeping from the lake between the rocks and towards the trees nearby. Somehow the place looked ancient and abandoned, as though it had all happened in a distant age.

Thunderclouds were growing thick and dark overhead.

* * *

Earlier

Twilight slowly opened her eyes in the dark.

For a moment she lay there, doing nothing but slowly breathing and staring into the quiet darkness around her with an empty mind. Eventually she shuffled on the spot and slowly tried to get up.

She groaned. It was a painful task, and her whole body felt cramped as though it had been folded into a small box for hours. She tried to stretch her wings, and winced as she felt her bones crack there.

An inevitable question formed in her mind. Where am I? There was no telling in the pitch-black space surrounding her. It was cold, and had a musky smell to it. What time was it? Was it day, or night? Was she outside, or inside? She couldn’t tell.

“H… Hello?” she asked weakly. To her surprise her voice reverberated on what she assumed to be walls, indicating that she was in some sort of room. A sizeable one, judging by the echo of her voice.

She stood up, feeling that she was in a much less confined space than she would have thought. Slowly but surely, she took little hoofsteps forward to try to find something else than just empty space. The sound of her hooves on the ground below told her that she was treading on hard but smooth ground, possibly made of rock.

She was stopped in her step as she blindly walked straight into a hard wall. She cursed, feeling both foolish and impatient to find some sort of exit. She noticed that the sound of her face meeting unceremoniously with the wall made a different sound than the one her hooves made upon the floor. It was a creaking sound, softer than she would have thought, which her analytic mind processed into one specific possible outcome.

A door…?

Tentatively she put a hoof forward, finding the hard surface on which she had hit her head and pushed forward. What was indeed half of a large wooden door swung slowly forward with a sharp squeak, revealing a first gap of bright light that struck Twilight’s eyes sharply and made her shield them with a hoof. After a few seconds of adjusting to this new light she slowly stepped forward and edged the door open a little more to pass through it.

She found herself atop a staircase of worn marble, small enough for her to see the end of it as the last step slipped into the stony floor. She slowly walked down the staircase and through a large archway, which led to a very large room. As she saw the floor leading into other archways and staircases, and the grass and moss growing into the crackling rock from below, she recognized it as the main hall of the old castle of the Royal Sisters.

Surprised to find herself here of all places, she looked above towards the ceiling, which had long since eroded away and given way to the sky above. It was a gloomy and grey as ever, and the air was as silent and heavy in the castle as it was in the forest outside.

Rather than feeling worried at the idea of being in this desolate place, her curiosity only grew further. How had she gotten here? She couldn’t have come here on her own, that was for sure, or at least she didn’t remember doing so…

She felt a certain lingering pain at the back of her head that she had managed to ignore since waking up. As she rubbed it with a hoof, it all suddenly came back to her. Her going out to get some wood, her strange visions in the forest and how she had been attacked by an unknown assailant… She had lost consciousness…

She gathered that whoever attacked her must have brought her here, which at first made her flinch and look anxiously to her sides. However, she regained composure as she felt that for some reason, she was completely alone. She couldn’t feel a presence anywhere in the calm silence around her. It didn’t seem to her in that moment that she was in the Everfree Forest, but rather in the middle of nowhere in space, and the forest and rocky bluff were so far away.

But why? Why bring her here, in such a remote and abandoned place? There was nopony around to keep her prisoner… It was almost as if they wanted to…

She suddenly froze and her eyes flew open. She remembered the bluff.

Ditzy!

She understood now. She wasn’t being locked in. She was being kept out.

Without wasting a second more she rushed towards the main door of the castle, which was useless as the wall around it had withered away. She ran across the field to the rickety bridge a few feet away, which she leapt over with the help of her wings, and continued to gallop through the woods until she reached the edge of the woods, where she decided to fly among the trees in the hopes of avoiding any unwanted attention before it was too late.

* * *

Bang!

Another gunshot ruptured the quiet, heavy air of the world above the trees as Derpy spotted yet another Changeling from her post on the rocky bluff.

“Celestia dammit, where do these things keep coming from…?”

She was feeling mixed emotions. On the one hand, she felt quite pleased, almost excited, to be able to be of some use to the Princesses. It was what she dedicated her life to after all. But on the other hand, she felt concern that was only natural given the ever increasing gravity of the situation. She had never had to deal with two threats at the same time before… and they seemed stronger and more elusive than ever.

“See any more of them?” she asked Twilight. The alicorn did not answer, which was another reason for the pegasus to worry.

Ever since Twilight had disappeared, then suddenly reappeared back on the bluff, she had spoken surprisingly little and showed almost no emotion. Derpy understood that she must have been in shock after what had happened to her; perhaps to the point that she wanted nothing to do with Derpy’s business anymore. Nonetheless, there was a point in time after which Derpy’s empathy and understanding were replaced by worrying. Twilight felt so different, so much more distant than when they first met… Derpy hoped that nothing too traumatic had happened to her.

Everypony, heed my words!

Her daydreaming was interrupted by the clear, resounding voice piercing through the air and echoing in the forest. Instantly she directed her sniper towards it, though she didn’t need that fancy lens of hers to recognize that voice.

“Princess Luna…?”

She watched as Luna appeared to be addressing a crowd of foals, which although it was a bizarre scene in itself, didn’t strike her as nearly as odd as some things she had seen in her life.

The Everfree Forest is no longer a safe place! These woods, as well as this game, have been contaminated by a great evil, as enemy Changelings have infiltrated the area!

Derpy’s lens was so accurate she could actually see the foals’ jaws and ears dropping and their pupils shrinking to mere dots in their eyes. Even though unlike them, she was aware of what Luna was saying, she cringed nonetheless. Things had been taken to new level.

“News spreads fast, huh…” she said in yet another attempt to get a word out of Twilight, whom yet again did not answer. “Twilight, please tell me you’re hearing th--”

It is highly possible that they have taken the shape of ponies close to you, so regain your homes by yourselves and be wary of other ponies!

Suddenly, everything was quiet.

The voice was gone. Silence was restored.

Derpy, kneeling on one knee and holding her sniper on her right shoulder, did not move a single muscle. Only her mane swayed softly in the wind.

Her mind was drawing a blank. Her right eye was still glued to her lens, although she wasn’t actually looking through it at the moment.

Only one thought sneaked itself through her mind. And it wasn’t a pleasant one.

Very, very slowly she turned her head around. She stopped the moment she saw what she expected to find in the corner of her eye: a purple hoof next to her which indicated that Twilight was just behind her. Apparently.

“You know… I thought it was just me… But you never really did tell me how you managed to escape from those Changelings,” said Derpy.

Once again she waited for an answer, considering a strike attack if necessary.

“Don’t make a move,” said Twilight. Her voice was cold and deadpan.

The pegasus sighed. What a fool you are… Derpy.

Neither of them spoke or moved for what seemed like a very long moment. Derpy was just waiting for the right time to spin around and stick a chrome bullet in the usurper behind her. But she knew that not only would the Changeling be expecting that, but also that they were probably thinking of doing just the same and that they were in a much better position to do so. Time was ticking fast and any wrong move on her part would be her last.

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“... You’re about to find out.”

“Ditzy!”

Both ponies spun round towards the voice that had just spoke. Derpy witnessed in surprise as the real Twilight Sparkle came in galloping from below the trees, freezing at the foot of the bluff in shock of what she was seeing. It was then that the fake Twilight Sparkle fired an incredibly fast blast of green magic from her horn, which narrowly missed the alicorn and struck her paintball gun which had been resting on the ground nearby for several days now and which exploded upon impact. Twilight let out a cry as she was covered in paint and hit by fragments of the exploding gun, before falling to the ground. At the same moment, the fake Twilight burst into flame to reveal none other than Queen Chrysalis.

Derpy threw herself on her back and pointed her sniper towards her, but she was too late. Chrysalis, anticipating her opponent’s move, fired a blast towards Derpy, hitting her in the flank. Derpy cried out in pain as she fired a shot in the air and, pushed by the force of the blow, fell from the tip of the bluff, falling towards the trees below like a ragdoll.

“No!” shrieked Twilight. Struggling to get up, she fired up her horn for a strong magical attack but was cut off as Chrysalis dashed towards her with a swift buzz of her wings and pinned her to the rocky wall behind them.

Twilight winced and struggled madly against the grip that Chrysalis’s hoof held on her neck, but it was too strong. She forced an eye open to see the Changeling queen boring holes into it, a look of mad fury burning in her jade coloured eyes.

“You meddling rat…” she growled.

“Go on,” groaned Twilight. “Knock me out again, lock me up a thousand miles away from here if you want, but I swear I’ll come back to defeat you!”

“Oh no, I think I’d rather you keep me company this time!”

Chrysalis’s horn took on another green glow, and as Twilight struggled some more, she gently tipped the alicorn’s horn with her own. Twilight fainted on the spot, and Chrysalis let her slump to the ground unconscious.

She looked down on the listless pony with raw contempt, before turning her back to her and slowly advancing towards the tip of the bluff where Derpy had been moments ago.

She looked down towards the forest. The pegasus had fallen to her death for sure.

She then looked up and slowly raised a hoof. On cue, an armada of Changelings slowly rose from the treetops in a loud chorus of buzzing wings, an army which spread well into the broad horizon before her.

“My children!” she bellowed from her grand podium of stone, “let us march onto Canterlot, and claim this land as ours!”

The Changeling army erupted into a collective war cry in allegiance to their leader’s shared lust for blood.

Stone Roses

Carried by their determination, the three ponies galloped so fast through the woods that Spike had to be carried magically by Rarity to keep up. At their head was Applejack, trudging on without even bothering to check if she was on the right track like the others. She knew where she was going. She wasn’t going to mess this one up this time.

Above them, Rainbow Dash had taken a head start to scan the woods from overhead, and was now returning to the group.

“I found her! This way!” she cried out. She flew back the way she came, followed by the rest of her party.

Having left from one clearing, they eventually arrived at another. This one was larger in size, and didn’t feel as cramped. Still, what the ponies found there made them twice as anxious as they had felt back there.

In the middle, perched on a lone tree stump and hunched over like a thinker, Discord was eyeing them with a sly grin, under a pair of golden eyes glowing with something not too different from a rage spell.

“Welcome,” he said. “We’re having a little tea party.”

Ponyville Paintball

Chapter XII

It was a nasty day to be out. Rain poured hard and straight under a grey sky laden with heavy clouds, and the force of the storm was definitely not helping the young filly with her balance.

Her grey pelt could have easily made her blend with the foggy weather and disappear from sight. However, she wanted to be seen, in case she needed help. Stretching her arms out horizontally, and sticking her tongue out in concentration, the filly took another prudent step forward.

Her hoof met with the ground and slipped on the wet grass. In a pang of fear, she flailed about with her arms, but eventually fell backwards on her little rump. For a second she said nothing, and then burst in loud wailing on the ground.

At the sound of her cries, a pink mare from the Royal Canterlot Orphanage, who had been standing nearby in case something like this happened, rushed to the the filly’s side.

“Oh dear, Ditzy,” she said, cradling the young pegasus in her hooves. “Did you fall again?”

The pegasus cried even harder, now more from shame than from the pain of falling. “I can’t do iiiiit!” she wailed.

“I told you we could do this another day! It’s pouring cats and dogs today, wouldn’t you rather wait until Summer?”

“No!” yelled Derpy, her voice cracking a bit in anger. “I’ve got to learn how to walk, now! I’ve got to! How am I supposed to be a normal pony if I can’t even walk?!”

The pink mare tightened her embrace around the foal. “Come now, dearie,” she said soothingly, while Derpy hiccuped and sobbed under the rain. “It’s not so bad. You’re an excellent flyer! In all my years at the orphanage I don’t think I’ve ever seen a young pegasus learn flight so fast!”

“But I can’t walk normally!” said Derpy, choking on her damp words. “All the other foals can run around and play, and I can’t even see straight in front of my hooves!” She punched the ground angrily, while the pink mare tightened her grasp just a little to avoid having the little filly start thrashing about. “It’s not fair!!”

The pink mare nodded. “Nopony ever said it would be,” she said softly, making Derpy sob again. “Some things are just harder to bear for no reason.” She released her grasp on Derpy and, placing two hooves on her shoulders, stared straight into her lopsided golden eyes.

“But when you know you have a flaw, you have to remember nopony else has it. And you have to turn it into a good thing. Something that’s yours, and that nopony else can have. Do you understand?”

Derpy nodded cautiously, and the pink mare hugged her once more.

“You are a normal pony, Ditzy Doo,” she said. “And you’re a very strong little filly, too. Don’t let anypony make you ever doubt that.”

The two ponies said nothing, leaving the patter of the rain to fill the air with sound.

“Come on, now. Let’s get you up and out of the rain.”

She was awoken by gentle touch on her snout. At first she was not fully conscious; just enough to feel it. Then came another. And another, sooner this time. Eventually she was pulled out of her slumber by a rapid succession of droplets of rain on her body.

Her eyes slowly opened, and she began to register her surroundings. She was now staring at the blank grey sky. The world around her was silent, but for the sound of rain playing in a distant background. The air smelled fresh and pure around her. Under the drizzle, she let the drops fall and slide off her coat and her open eyes.

She’d had that dream again.

A painful memory, but one that had shaped her. It would often resurface from the past to her in times where she felt she needed to prove herself. That was when Derpy knew she had to live up to the creed she had made for herself.

Although it had always been there, it was only now she noticed the massive outcropping of moss-covered rock standing tall above her and cutting into her field of vision. In a moment she was reminded of what had just happened. She remembered a shout… Twilight's shout. And a flash of green that had knocked her out cold. She had fallen, the world around her going dark…

She blinked once, and tried to stand up. It was painful, and she felt a rib jab her painfully in the side. She groaned, her voice ringing strangely in her head as though she had not heard it for years. It hurt, but at least she was alive.

She looked around. Apparently, she had fallen on a bush below. She looked at it with an air of bewilderment. There were sharp twigs sticking out, and seeing them she registered that she had bruises and scratches on her back and rump from falling on them, but not one of them had actually stabbed her despite the apparent likeliness that it would happen. The bush had safely cushioned her fall, and all she had to do was to take a step on the side to be back safely on the ground.

Although still numb and drowsy, she felt relieved. She couldn’t believe her luck. But the feeling was short-lived, as that of fear kicked in late from the events she had just remembered.

Twilight was in danger. More than that, everypony was in danger. All this time she’d been chasing the wrong enemy, and if she didn’t act now, the situation would be irreparable. She shook herself mentally to be fully awake; time to grab her sniper and--

My gun! Suddenly, panic shot through her in a jolt. Derpy looked around frantically, but it was nowhere to be found. Rushing over to the bush she had fallen on, she pushed it aside. Her muffin-adorned satchel was there, but the sniper was not. The pegasus was starting to hear the sound of her own heartbeat pulsating in her ears harder than the rain.

“It’s here.”

Derpy’s panting breath was cut as she spun around with a visibly scared look in her eyes. But the fear was quickly replaced by surprise, as she witnessed none other than Princess Luna standing just behind her, looking solemn. Next to her, the sniper was floating, shrouded in the princess’s cloud of magic.

Derpy frowned, still looking a little surprised from the unexpected appearance. Cautiously, she put a hoof forward, motioning Luna towards her.

“Give it to me,” she said in a slightly lower tone than her usual low-key mare voice.

Luna slowly flew the gun over to her using her magic. As soon as Derpy had in her grasp, she snatched it towards her and in an incredibly swift motion, spun the barrel straight towards Luna, all while charging the weapon.

“Stay right where you are!” Derpy snapped. While she would usually sound more poised, she was still a little shaken up from the recent events, and not ready to trust lightly.

Luna did not blink. She expected no less from the silent protector of Equestria.

“Were I a Changeling, I would have surely killed you sooner,” said the princess calmly. “I can assure you, I’m the real Luna.”

Still panting, Derpy kept a steady stance while staring as straight as she could in Luna’s eyes.

“What does Celestia call you when you pout?”

Luna slowly closed her eyes and sighed loudly. She had thought that the mare might use that particular test. Any dark and past events aside, admitting that she was the younger princess of Equestria always struck a nerve.

“... Anything exc--” She heard the familiar click of Derpy’s gun and frowned. “Alright, alright! She calls me her liddle Woona!”

Derpy stared at the princess for a couple of seconds more before she was satisfied with her genuine discomfort. It was something only the three of them knew with Celestia, when the princesses had begun taking Derpy under their wing and spending time together. She then lowered her sniper and began reloading it.

“That’s for taking my gun,” she muttered, a ghost of a smirk on her face.

“I had to make sure nopony passing by would steal it from you,” replied Luna. “The woods aren’t safe anymore…”

Derpy wanted to reply that they never really were, but she instead simply nodded. “Yeah… I heard you from up there,” she said, before adding “How long was I out?”

“I’m not quite sure, I only found you just now…” replied Luna, a little embarrassed. “But when I announced there were Changelings in the woods, it was maybe half an hour ago.”

Derpy swore under her breath while she put the turn-down bolt of her gun back in place with a sharp noise. “Then we gotta hurry,” she said, as she put a forehoof through the leather handle and looked at Luna with concern. “Twilight is in serious danger.”

Luna nodded. “Yes, I had a meeting with the other element bearers. They left to rescue Fluttershy, who is under the spell of Discord, while Twilight Sparkle remains missing. I’ve been searching for her myself.”

“She was with me,” said Derpy. Luna raised an eyebrow in surprise at that statement.

“All this time?”

Derpy winced. “Yeah, not exactly.” She trudged past Luna, who seemed to have caught her drift, towards the treeline that was just next to the foot of the bluff. “The Changeling queen took her place for a while, until the real Twilight showed up. She knocked me out and… actually, I don’t know what happened after that,” she said, suddenly worried that her kidnapping theory might be false, and that something more gruesome awaited her up there on that bluff.

Luna walked up to her from behind and put a hoof on Derpy’s shoulder, which caused her to start and be pulled out of her morbid daydreaming. “I flew to the top of the bluff, just to be sure. There are signs a of a struggle, but neither of them are there.”

Derpy relaxed a little, but still worried about the alicorn’s fate. “Well, if she’s out there, we gotta save her.”

The two pegasi spread their wings and took off in the rain, flying low above the treetops and scanning the forest with their gaze.

At the edge of the clearing, Pinkie, Rarity and Spike stood rooted to the spot and terrified before Discord, whose chuckling echoed around the woods like thunder. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, however, were not so easily intimidated and stepped out in front of their friends.

“Alright, now see here,” said Applejack in a commanding voice. “The jig is up, Discord. Where is she?”

Discord straightened up a little and looked about him in mock confusion. “She? Why, who ever do you mean?”

“Don’t give us that crock!” spat Rainbow, digging into the ground with a hoof like a mad bull.

Discord resumed his position. “Perhaps if you didn’t leave your friends lying about, you’d know where they are.”

“That’s it! I’ve had it with this joker!” growled Rainbow in fury, getting ready to strike

“No! Wait!” cried out Applejack, but it was too late. With a flap of her wings and hard kick to the ground, Rainbow shot straight towards Discord.

Suddenly, a shot whizzed down from above Rainbow, making a sharp whistling sound. Out of sheer reflex, she managed to sense it incoming and made a barrel roll to her left to avoid it. She flinched as it came crashing down to the spot on the ground above which she’d found herself only a split second earlier, followed closely by its shooter.

The five friends became mute with shock upon seeing the state in which Fluttershy now was. They stared slack-jawed at her, having virtually fallen from the sky and now kneeling on the ground where the grass was still faintly smoking from the impact. Her coat was dark and grey, even darker than the last time. Slowly Fluttershy raised her head, revealing two soulless and stone-coloured eyes that stared at her fellow elements with nothing but blind, focused rage.

Rainbow Dash’s previous bout of anger seem almost petty now. The pegasus absently backed away from her friend and towards the other ponies, gaping in complete disarray at her.

Discord flashed them a fangy smirk.

“Oh, you mean her!” he mocked, as if he’d just caught up. “Yes, sorry about my little puppy here, she hasn’t learned not to bite yet.”

There was no response from the other group. Every one of them wanted to step forward, to reach out and say something to Fluttershy, but none of them dared to get too close. It was hard for them to imagine that she could really be in this state, that she couldn’t hear nor recognize them. And yet, it was happening right in front of them.

“Fluttershy!” said Applejack, calling out to her friend. “It’s me! Applejack! Don’t you remember?”

“I’m afraid she only answers to me now, dear Applejack,” said Discord. “You lost her, I found her. But don’t worry, she remembers you! Right, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy, now hovering above Discord and glowering down upon her friends, stared at Applejack straight in the eye. Her soulless gaze met with Applejack’s own unbelieving and tearful eyes.

“One shot. Straight and true,” she said.

Her usual half-whisper had become a low, cruel voice. Down below, Applejack kept staring at her friend before shaking her head slowly and gritting her teeth.

“Now hold on just a second here!” screamed an angry Pinkie Pie, bumping Applejack aside like a bowling pin and pointing a hoof towards Fluttershy. “You can’t just go around doing your scary choasy whadjamacallits to her! Fluttershy is our friend!”

Discord chuckled and shook his head at her statement. “Finders keepers!” he chimed.

“You’re not getting away with this!”

“And what will you do? Hmm? Believe it or not, Flutters here is now faster than your anti-physics -- by the way, big fan of those, you should really consider joining our t--”

While he was talking, Rainbow hazarded a shot towards Fluttershy to kick some sense into her. But Fluttershy was faster and with a deft flick of her gun shot the paintball round itself with one of her own, making them both collapse in a splash of gray and blue. Rainbow took a step back with a disapproving grunt while Discord eyed the exchange with an intrigued look.

“... Yeah. I didn’t think so,” he said, before resuming his initial position and eyeing the ponies before him, silently daring them to make another move. Rainbow Dash, for one, was seriously considering that option, but was trying to find an opening in Fluttershy’s game. The pegasus was eyeing her with full concentration, and it seemed to Rainbow that she wasn’t going to let up anytime soon.

She gritted her teeth, and felt a chill down her spine from seeing her friend in her possessed state. While she brooded, that feeling of tingling along her spine grew stronger. At first she didn’t notice, but after a few tense and silent seconds, it occurred to her that beyond just a feeling, there was definitely a breeze picking up and running down her back.

Looking behind herself, Rainbow saw that her friends had also noticed the shifting wind. She looked to a point far behind them in the trees. It seemed to be drawing the air from the forest towards its center.

“What’s going on…?”

The rain was starting to fall hard on the strange trees of the Everfree Forest. The dampness of the weather gave the woods a strong musky smell, and made slow wisps of fog creep up from the very earth. It was in this unsettling climate that a large group of ponies was making its way out of the forest. They moved forward carefully and slowly, none of them making a sound. All looked about nervously, expecting an unseen enemy to pop up at any second and claim more than just their guns.

Suddenly, an orange stallion at the front of the pack lifted a hoof and stopped the mare next to him in her tracks. The mare gasped and stared in front of her, followed by the rest of the crowd that had caught up and understood that their pack had stopped.

The ponies at the front of the pack stared wide-eyes at the same spot in front of them. Hidden in the mist, a large silhouette stood before them unmoving.

The stallion gulped. “Sh… Show yourself!” he commanded in a shaky voice.

The figure obeyed and, taking a confident step forwards, Princess Luna appeared to the group of ponies. A wave of murmuring crept through the crowd at the impressive sight of the princess.

“Princess Luna!” said the orange stallion, sounding relieved. “Boy are we glad to see you here!”

He flashed her a cautious smile of relief. Luna simply stared down onto them with a hard look. The stallion’s smile faded somewhat, but still he looked at her hopefully.

“Please help us, Princess… We’re just a group of survivors trying to make it out of here. There are mares and foals with us, and we’re afraid for our lives because of the Changelings! Please, could you guide us through the woods to Ponyville?”

Luna stood unmoving, defiantly staring at the stallion straight in the eye. He was about to ask her if everything was alright, when suddenly he saw a grey pegasus step out from behind her and join her side. At her sight, the crowd held their breaths as if petrified.

Derpy eyed the crowd with the same look Luna was giving them. After a second she signaled to the cowering mare next to the head stallion.

“You there,” she said. “What’s your name?”

The mare’s eyes grew in worried surprise, and the ponies at the front looked at her expectantly.

“Uh… Morning Dew?” she answered hesitantly.

“A little old to be lacking a cutie mark, aren’t you?” asked Derpy.

The mare gasped and looked at her flank. It was indeed bare. She looked up with terror in her eyes, but not at Luna and Derpy. Her look was for the orange stallion next to her. Looking back at her with harsh disappointment, his previous nervousness seemed to have disappeared completely.

He turned his head towards Luna and Derpy, staring back at them impassively. His move was mirrored by the entire crowd, looking at the two pegasi with terribly serious looks.

Suddenly, the lot of them burst into a great fire of green flames, illuminating the forest around them and making drops of rain evaporate as they got close. Many creatures retreated from them, scurrying in between Luna and Derpy’s legs to various places of shelter. The fire died down and in a cloud of steam revealed, as Luna had expected, a great horde of Changelings. In the orange stallion’s stead now stood Chrysalis.

The Changeling queen and Derpy locked in on each other, Chrysalis’s condescending gaze meeting with Derpy’s fiercely determined own. They all stood so for a silent moment while the rain washed down their coats and manes.

Eventually, Chrysalis scoffed.

“Well, well,” she said. “If it isn’t the one-eyed menace.”

Behind her, the Changelings cackled loudly. The sound of their jeering reverberated around Derpy, enshrouding her. But she would not yield to mockery like she might have in the past.

“You’re a sturdy one, do you know that? I expected that knocking you out and disabling your wings would have been enough, and yet here you are. Such endurance would be well put to use amongst our ranks, should you consider joining our cause…”

Luna stomped the ground with a hoof placed forward. “You will pay for your crimes against this realm, Changeling queen!”

Chrysalis glanced Luna’s way and smirked. “Ah, and yes, of course. Equestria’s beloved princess. She who uselessly governs the long hours of the night, and idles away while the enemy claims her home from the inside.”

The Changelings erupted in laughter once more, their wings buzzing with glee. Luna tried her best to remain stoic, but the Changeling queen’s stab at her made her heart sink with the painful reminder of the wedding incident. Derpy saw Luna’s slight wince of pain and stepped forward as well, clenching her sniper in her hooves.

“This ends now,” she said sternly. Something in her tone told Chrysalis that the pegasus was seriously out for revenge, and she dropped her scornful attitude, adopting one of calm resistance.

“And how exactly do you plan on ‘ending’ this? For all the skill you have with that weapon of yours, you cannot defeat us. We are too many. See here...”

She made a single gesture to the pack, which split apart. In the middle they revealed the limp figure of Twilight, bruised and beaten, laying on the ground with her limbs and wings tied.

“The overtaking of Equestria has begun,” she continued, “and you are all powerless to stop me.”

“Do your minions know you had me take ‘em out on purpose back on that hill?”

Stumped by the question, Chrysalis’s smirk vanished. She gave small weary glances from the corners of her eyes to the Changelings at her sides. All eyes were upon the Changeling queen, some giving her looks of confusion. After a while she turned her slitted pupils back to Derpy with a growl.

“How dare you, you filthy pony,” she snarled. “These Changelings are my children, and they will follow my judgement for as long as I live. One word and they will submerge you with their wrath. Try firing at only one of us, and you shall witness our might and despair for the fate of your precious lands.”

Luna cautiously looked at Derpy, determined to fight but fearing that the pegasus’s resolve might falter. Nonetheless, Derpy stood strong and raised her gun.

Chrysalis understood that she truly meant war. She grinned, and flaring her wings she lit up her crooked horn with a powerful green light. The Changelings did the same, a few rising above the ground. Luna poised herself in response, her horn flashing a bright blue.

“Let us not waste any time,” said Chrysalis.

The gust had grown to a full-blown wind that even Fluttershy couldn’t ignore. She swayed above the ground and looked intensely at the source of the blow. The other ponies also looked around them anxiously, fearing that more trouble might be on the way.

Suddenly, from the depths of the Everfree Forest, three pegasi emerged with great speed, flying straight towards Fluttershy and Discord. As they rushed above Rainbow Dash, she watched them fly and recognizing them, let out a cry of victory.

“It’s the Wonderbolts!”

The athletic trio lost no time in taking out their guns and firing shots in mid-air towards Discord, who looked genuinely surprised to see them. Fluttershy let out a furious grunt as they flew inches away from her, throwing her off her balance and preventing her from retaliating. However she quickly recovered and starting chasing them with shots of her own. The Wonderbolts changed course and chose to make a tactical retreat to the ground, landing solidly next to Rainbow Dash, before Spitfire turned around towards the enemy.

“Hold your fire!” she commanded as Fluttershy swept down upon her like a hawk, and with a single wave of Discord’s paw, she stopped in her tracks and moodily retreated back to him.

“Ugh,” huffed Discord. “There’s always somepony to rain on my parade,” he whined. With a snap of his fingers a pink Polomare umbrella popped up in his claw, under which he took shelter with an exaggerated pout on his face.

“We should have known you were gonna show your ugly mug around here!” growled the Wonderbolt known as Fleetfoot.

Joining here, Rainbow Dash was ecstatic. “I can’t believe it! The Wonderbolts, here! It’s really you!”

“Hey kiddo,” said Spitfire with a confident grin her way.

“How in the hay did ya know ta find us here?” said Applejack.

“I really can’t tell ya,” replied Spitfire. “We were tryin’ to find the rest of our squad and get outta here when we heard the news, and suddenly we got this weird vibe that made us feel you were here and that you needed help.”

“We do! Fluttershy has gone completely bananas!” interjected Pinkie, a half-eaten banana having suddenly appeared in her hoof that Spitfire watched with a creeped out expression, wondering if the pink pony and Discord weren’t actually distant relatives.

“Fluttershy? Isn’t she on your team?” asked Soarin.

“She is,” replied Applejack. “It’s jus’ this goshdarn Discord here played with her emotions!”

The group of ponies shot murderous glares towards the Draconequus, who simply shrugged in response.

“Oh come now,” he said. “I only told her what she needed to hear, and she made up her own mind. You’ve got to give a pony credit for knowing where her best bets lie, don’t you?”

“She ain’t made up her mind none! You abused her trust again! Darn it, Discord why do ya keep-”

“Oh it’s like that, is it?” replied Discord angrily, tossing the umbrella aside. “Well then, if you ponies are so sure that friendship is the answer to every question, why don’t you try to win her back, hmm? That way you’ll get to hear everything she told me from the horse’s mouth, about how your precious friendship doesn’t involve looking behind your shoulder for any ponies feeling left out!”

Applejack opened her mouth to reply, but couldn’t find the words to. Discord’s words dealt a blow in her heart, filling it with questions she would have to ask Fluttershy when she would get her out of this mess.

Spitfire was busy contemplating the grim situation when she felt Rainbow’s hoof on her shoulder.

“Ya know,” said Rainbow, “as much as I hate to admit it, he’s got a point. It’s our fault we weren’t keeping an eye on each other, and he used that to his advantage.”

“What do you suggest we do?”

“We gotta try to shoot Fluttershy!” said Rainbow, her spirits lifted by the fact that Spitfire of the Wonderbolts had actually asked her for advice. Behind her, Rainbow’s friends stared wide-eyed at her, and Discord chortled loudly.

“What are you saying?” said Rarity. “Fluttershy’s too fragile, we could damage her!”

Rainbow shook her head. “I don’t like the idea… But if there’s a chance that the spell on her will break if she’s shot, then I’ll take it!”

“Rainbow’s right,” said Applejack. “Besides, we gotta show this varmint here that our friend ain’t as weak as he makes her out ta be.”

Discord’s chortle gave rise to a full bout of laughter. “Oh you ponies!” he said. “First you abandon your friend, then you want to shoot her in the back? That is rich!”

“Darn it if he says one more word I’m gonna--!”

“I just find it excellent that you’re missing the other and far more obvious solution here,” cut in Discord. “Why don’t you just nip this one in the bud and shoot me?”

“Hey that’s right!” said Pinkie. “Maybe if we shoot Discord, the spell will be broken!”

“Gotta admit, it makes more sense,” said Spitfire.

Pinkie stretched a grin from ear to ear and took out her minigun from inside her mane where it was impossibly concealed. “This calls for another serving of the old--”

“No!” cut in Rainbow to the general surprise. “This is Discord we’re talking about! He’ll probably whip up some sort of shield against your rounds, and Fluttershy will shoot you down! Actually, I don’t think any of you guys should interfere, it’s too risky. What this calls for is an aerial attack.”

“How d’ya figure that he ain’t gonna shield himself from aerial shots as well?” said Applejack, concerned that she might not be able to personally deliver Fluttershy from her accursed state.

“Why, because I was the one who suggested the idea of course,” said Discord, beaming at her. “You think I’m gonna let you quadrupeds have a little party amongst each other and not partake in the fun? No no no, sister, I wanna be at the heart of it big time! And I mean…”

Discord snapped his fingers, and slowly but surely, the draconequus began to grow taller and taller. The ground began to rumble from all the weight that was being added to it, and soon Discord’s head stood a little above the highest treetops, looking down upon the now minuscule ponies with a devilish smirk.

“... big time,” he said, his low voice booming in the forest.

The ponies below looked up in shock at Discord. Rainbow Dash was the first to snap out of it, and turned to a gaping Spitfire.

“I say we circle around him and look for an opening.”

“But what about Fluttershy?”

“She’s gonna try to take us down for sure. But if we leave enough space between each other, we’ll have her completely surrounded and she won’t be able to keep track of all of us at the same time.”

Rainbow Dash looked to the Wonderbolts for approval. Soarin and Fleetfoot nodded, albeit with visible concern.

“Let’s do it,” said Spitfire, and at once they took off. Rainbow led the way, followed by the three Wonderbolts as they started flying around the colossal body of Discord, who stood as unmoving and calm as he had been when he could sit on a tree stump. Shots were fired towards him, only to be expertly deflected by Fluttershy’s own rounds colliding with them, and it was not long before the grounded ponies below watched in apprehension as a ballet of paintball shots fired between the four ponies and Fluttershy took place above them.

For the second time that day, Twilight Sparkle awoke from the veil of darkness that had been thrown over her. She heard sounds; distant and muffled at first, but growing in her ears as the hard splatter of pouring rain made her open her eyes slowly. She could hear the cries of a whole swarm of Changelings, buzzing here and there around her and chilling her spine. Eventually she was fully awake, but chose not to move a muscle in case some of the creatures might notice her. She simply lay there, cautiously scanning her surroundings with half-opened eyes and trying to make out the situation as best she could.

Twilight witnessed in horror as a huge battle was taking place. She saw Changelings rushing past her with bared fangs and furious hissing, while flashes of green and blue from behind lit the eerie forest in front of her, followed by cries of defeat. She cringed at the thought of unseen chaos taking place right behind her.

Useless.

Useless as a paintball player, useless as a defender of her pony kin, and utterly useless as a princess. It flooded her mind with pain, pain so strong that it blocked out the battle in the world around her. Tears ran down her cheeks and blended with the drops of rain there. From the start, she had been helpless and unable to do even the simplest things. She considered that, if Equestria was to live to fight another day after this new Changeling onslaught, the other princesses would tacitly change their mind about her. It would be the start of a very long reign of smiling and waving. She almost wanted to just scream at the top of her lungs in anger and sadness, and let the Changelings take her and get it over with.

Her morbid thinking was cut short however, as the body of a Changeling fell to the ground inches away from her muzzle and made her start. It consumed itself in a bright green fire with a hollow rale, and even when it had disappeared she stared at the same spot for a few seconds with wide eyes and held breath.

In that moment, Twilight changed her mind. She felt as though she’d been slapped some hard sense into her and that she had finally awoken at last.

She would not let this happen. She would not be made a victim at every turn.

Still making sure she wasn’t caught awake, Twilight tried to break out of her captivity. But it was no use; her limbs had been bound tightly by some strong Changeling-made rope, and she cursed as it burned her skin with every move she made. Slowly she craned her neck to see if there was anything behind her that might help.

Laying on her back, she witnessed the heart of the battle from a bizarre angle. She saw Derpy, firing rapid shots here and there as the Changelings attacked her from all sides. Her mane and coat were a mess, and in her eyes Twilight saw a fiery resolve that was clearly making the pegasus lose herself in the moment. Next to her, Princess Luna was in no better shape, firing beams of her strong magic against the Changeling armada, which strangely had the same effect on them as Derpy’s bullets.

“Fight! Fight them, you fools!” roared Chrysalis, her own magic beams firing straight towards the two ponies with terrible strength. “Kill if you must!”

Twilight stared at them aghast before looking around with growing panic, wondering what she could possibly do.

The passing hours since the Wonderbolts had started their attack on Discord seemed like minutes to all the ponies that were there. Darkness was slowly falling upon the woods without them even noticing.

The team of pegasi fighting against the strong push and pull of the wind were now down to three. Although the demented Fluttershy struggled to fight against the four of them at the same time, as Rainbow had expected, she had managed to fire an effective shot at Fleetfoot, who had fallen to the ground and now stood by the other ponies below, unable to help with her disabled gun.

Rainbow was having a hard time making anything out of the blur that was the world around her. Her wings seemed to move on their own, and she gritted her bare teeth as she was whipped around by strong gales and daggers of cold rain while shooting at a large grinning pillar that never seemed to be touched by any of her countless shots. The only thing that kept her going was that somewhere in the eye of the storm was a grey pegasus that needed to be saved.

Suddenly, she heard a loud cry that pierced through the turmoil. It was followed by another cry, that of Spitfire, and the sound of ominous laughter that carried through the air. She didn’t have to see what was going on to understand, with a painful pang of despair, that Soarin had been shot.

She noticed Spitfire flying in towards her until they were both side to side. “Retreat!” yelled the Wonderbolts captain before flying towards the ground. Rainbow didn’t want to stop now, but being the only airborne pegasus would put her at risk of being shot by Fluttershy, so she made her descent as well.

Once on the ground she galloped towards Spitfire, who stood by a moaning Soarin. “How is he?” she asked worriedly.

Spitfire looked at her with a very serious look. “It’s not good at all… I think his wing is broken.”

Rainbow felt a slight feeling of deja vu. “We gotta get him with the others and go back up there! Help me out!” she said. Going to Soarin’s other side and crouching to lift him up, she expected Spitfire to do the same; but Spitfire did not budge.

“Come on!” cried Rainbow, looking up towards the pegasus. She stared into Spitfire’s eyes and saw something there that caused fear to creep within her. There was a look of utter despair in those eyes, and Rainbow did her best to fight the depressing idea that was forming in her mind.

“... It’s no use, kid,” said Spitfire. Through she spoke at a normal volume that wouldn’t carry during a storm, Rainbow heard every word.

“... Come on, Spitfire!”

“We’re not gonna be able to save her.”

Rainbow felt a ball of ice drop to the pit of her stomach. “Don’t say that…” she whispered. She then stood up and kicked the ground. “Don’t say that! You gotta help!”

“We’re gonna get shot if we go back there!” yelled Spitfire. “Maybe we had a chance when there were four of us… but your friend is gonna be able to keep track of both of--”

“You can’t do this!” bellowed Rainbow. Her voice was cracking and she could feel hot tears welling up at the base of her eyes. “The Wonderbolts are fighters, they never give up! They don’t quit!” she cried.

Spitfire sighed and stared at the ground, shaking her head under the rain.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash… But today, they do.”

Rainbow felt as though her breath had been stolen from her. She stood frozen by shock as Spitfire pulled Soarin off the ground and heaved him strongly onto her back. She took a few steps away, and with a last sigh, took off into the woods.

Rainbow galloped behind her, mouthing the word “no,” and whimpering as she saw her idol take away until she was swallowed by the trees. Even after she had left, Rainbow still watched the spot in woods where she last was, shaking her head. She had a hard time coping with the truth, that she had distorted and buried and which now lay bare to her. The truth that, deep down, the heroic quality of the Wonderbolts was all just for show.

She felt a hoof being gently posed on her shoulder. Applejack had joined her side, watching her friend sadly.

“Sorry, Rainbow,” she said with empathy. Rainbow slowly bowed her head to the ground and started shaking. She felt Applejack embracing her, and going along with it she slumped to the ground, where she cried purely and genuinely, like her pride would usually never allow her to in front of her friends.

“There, there,” whispered Applejack. “Let it all out. Ya gotta understand… the Wonderbolts are sport athletes. They’re not meant ta handle stuff like this.”

Applejack saw that Rainbow was too shaken to answer, and that it would take a while for her to come to her senses. She decided to simply stay by her side.

Next to them, Spike and the other elements of harmony watched the two ponies silently with great sorrow in their hearts. They couldn’t bear to wonder if they would have to live their lives without the element of kindness. They were all so distraught that didn’t even notice Rarity stepping away, only Spike catching a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye. Turning around in curiosity, he saw her stand confidently in front the the towering draconequus before here and look up into his massive yellow eyes.

“See what you’ve done now?” she asked, her voice shaking in anger. “This is all your fault!”

All heads turned towards her but for Rainbow’s.

“Why? Why are you doing this?” Rarity continued as tears of her own ran down her cheeks. “Why do you bring all this madness onto us? We thought you were our friend, that you’d changed!”

“Rarity...” said Spike with concern as he joined her, but Rarity shrugged him off.

“You keep creating trouble where you shouldn’t! Why? Fluttershy believed in you, and you, you… You just keep betraying us again and again!!”

Discord silently stared down upon her with a wistfully amused expression. “Chaos is what chaos does, my dear…” he said in an ominous tone. “As for your winged ‘heroes’... That has nothing to do with me.”

“It does, damn you! It does, it’s all your fault! It’s your fault for lying, it’s your fault because you spread all this chaos, it’s your fault because you took this game and you twisted it, you lying, deceptive, hopeless coward! You--”

Discord cut her rambling with an impatient snort, and with a single snap of his fingers, Fluttershy fired a bullet which hit Rarity square in the back. The white unicorn swayed for a few seconds on the spot, staring into space as if in a daze, before falling to the ground as well.

Pinkie and Applejack gasped in unison. Next to them, Spike stared wide-eyed at his companion, his mind becoming fuzzy with raw fear. “N-no!” he finally managed to squeeze through his chest, which felt tight.

Nervously he waddled over to the spot where she had fallen. Laying next to her, he found the mare gasping for breath, as if she had worked up a high fever.

“Rarity?” he asked weakly. He couldn’t tell whether or not she could hear him, but saw her move her eyes about as if having heard a distant, familiar voice. Eventually her eyes found the little dragon looking down at her with terrible worrying. She gave him a weak smile, as if recognizing him from an long forgotten memory.

“It’s gonna be alright,” Spike whispered. “You’re gonna…”

He was interrupted by the sight of a strange patch on her coat. He watched as it slowly grew, turning the hairs of her fur gray and making them brittle to his touch.

A horrible feeling ran through the poor dragon’s body as he realized what was happening. “No! no, no, no!” he whimpered, but it was no use. Below him, Rarity slowly and painstakingly managed to lift a hardening leg up to his face, gently laying her hoof on his cheek.

Her touch stole all the sound around Spike. All he could comprehend now was the smile his friend was giving him.

She tried to speak, but all her words were lost in shallow little breaths. Her eyelids flickered as she felt them grow heavy, before they wouldn’t move anymore. A grey curtain swept her delicate features, sealing them into place.

The last thing she felt was a tear run down her hoof from the young dragon’s eye.

Several hours had passed since little Pipsqueak and the rest of the foals had been warped back to Ponyville. Their arrival had caused quite the commotion in the small pony town. Incredibly fortunate as it were, there were no hidden Changelings among any of the townspeople. The local foals and their parents had been reunited in a moment of relief, while the other worried foals were being sheltered by adults and taken into their homes.

Now, in the dead of night, a crowd had formed at the edge of the village, where they listened in fear to the sounds of a distant battle taking place at the heart of the forest. Among a wave of frantic and worried talking, and a few crying mares, Mayor Mare struggled to maintain order with the help of Canterlot guards that had been dispatched to Ponyville for protection. Pipsqueak himself watched the events take place from a rooftop, where he could see in the distance a spot in the forest where flashes of green lit the night sky, and only hope for the sun to come up soon.

Straight and True

The sound of hoofsteps softly crushing the brittle leaves broke the silence of the Everfree Forest as two ponies cautiously advanced through the woods. Nothing moved but the branches of trees, swaying in the midday wind. The sky was pale and the air heavy with tension; the signs of a coming storm. Time was precious for these two ponies, and they were careful to move at a good pace but avoided making too much noise. Or else they would be heard. Or worse, they would be seen.

Treading carefully forward, the pony leading the way stopped for a moment, raising her hoof to signal to the other one that they had to stop for a second. She squinted her eyes and slowly ran her gaze through the trees. She was an orange mare, sleek but toned, with a shiny mane of pure blond. She wore a stetson hat, which had become the trademark item for those who knew her, and which right now cast a shadow over her furrowed brow.

After a while, she gave a small sigh of annoyance.

“Consarn it.”

The other pony, a petite pegasus mare with a yellow coat and pink mane walked up to her friend nervously.

“What is it, Applejack? We’re not in any trouble, are we?” she asked, in a shaky voice barely above a whisper, her sky-blue eyes wide open and darting left and right in fear.

Applejack turned around to face Fluttershy. She gave her a confident smile.

“Nah, sugarcube. We ain’t in trouble.”

She turned around to look back at trees as far as the eye could see.

“It’s jus’ this place,” she said. “It’s too quiet for mah tastes.”

“Maybe everypony moved to Ponyville?” suggested Fluttershy. Applejack shook her head.

“Nah. The game stays in the Everfree Forest. Princess said so herself.”

“Well I wish she hadn’t...” replied Fluttershy. “I wish she would’ve chosen somewhere less... scary,” she said, her voice turning into a squeak.

Applejack turned around and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, sugarcube. You’re with me. We ain’t gonna lose this.”

“Oh, but... one of us has to, right? We can’t both win...” replied Fluttershy, unconvinced by Applejack’s words of reassurance. The earth pony’s smile faded, and she started to stare into space with a somber expression. It was true. There would be no room for two survivors at the end of this. She looked back into Fluttershy’s eyes, seeing that she had worried her even further than before. She gave her another warm, confident grin.

“Let’s jus’ move on, now,” she said.

Fluttershy gave a small nod and seemed to relax. The two ponies resumed their walking through the forest, Fluttershy now side-by-side with Applejack.

“I’m sorry, you know...” said Fluttershy after a while. “I know I can’t play paintball too well. You know, if ever you feel like I’m slowing you down, you go on ahead without me Applejack, I don’t mind...”

Applejack shook her head with a smile.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it none, Fluttershy. Yer fine, you don’t slow me down.”

“Oh, thank you for saying so, Applejack,” replied Fluttershy. “I just hope I’m not a burden... I’m trying to be a better shooter, but--”

“Ah’ll tell ya what,” cut in Applejack. “Ya might think that the skilled shooter is the cowpony who can shoot fifteen rounds in no time and keep his hat on right, but it ain’t really about that. All ya need is one shot.”

“One shot?”

“You betcha. Everypony big or small is out of the game with one bullet, ya know. So all ya need to do to win, is set the right conditions, nice ‘n’ easy, and give ‘em hell with one shot, straight and true.”

“One shot, straight and true...”

“That’s right. Your life rides on every single bullet you shoot. Can’t afford to mess it up by bein’ rash ‘n’ all. So ya just set the game right, nice ‘n’ easy now, and all you’ll need is one bullet to win.”

“Wow, Applejack,” said Fluttershy in a whisper of awe, “you really know a lot about this game.”

Applejack stopped in her tracks abruptly, which startled Fluttershy. The earth pony squinted her eyes again. She was looking intently for something.

“Ain’t no game,” she muttered.

Suddenly, both of them heard a crunching sound in the woods. Applejack’s ears perked up like those of a bloodhound at the sound of wild game, and one of them flickered while she scanned the area, eyes wide and breath held. Suddenly the noise repeated itself, and Applejack’s head locked itself in one particular direction. She pulled her head ever so slowly backwards towards Fluttershy.

“Right here," she whispered.

Fluttershy had adopted the instinctive reflex to duck and stay down, like prey that had seen its predator. She looked about frantically for the spot Applejack was talking about, her heart thundering in her little chest.

Very slowly and without the slightest noise, Applejack edged herself towards a nearby bush. She brought one hoof to the bush, ready to pull it to the side and reveal what was behind it, and another one to her lips. She turned around and signalled to Fluttershy to be very quiet. When the frightened pegasus gave her a shaky nod, Applejack slowly turned round to face the bush, and brought her free hoof to her gun, which rested in the pocket of a saddle strapped to her waist.

There was no sound or movement for a few seconds. Then, in an incredibly swift movement, Applejack swept the bush aside and took a step forward, pointing her gun straight before her as she did.

Behind the bush was a clearing. In the middle of it stood simple makeshift camp, around a bonfire. In front of the bonfire, on a large fallen log used as a bench, sat a red stallion familiar to Applejack. With a sigh she lowered her gun and took a few steps forward.

“Dammit, Mac. You scared me.”

Big Mac looked at his sister, completely unperturbed that she had just appeared out of nowhere and was aggressively pointing a gun in his direction. He simply sat in front of the fire he’d made, a long hay straw dangling from his mouth.

Fluttershy took a peek through her forehooves. When she realized that Applejack’s brother was the source of the noise, she relaxed a bit and walked up next to the farm mare.

“H-Hello Big Mac...” she said shyly. Big Mac gave her a brief nod in response.

“What in the heck is all this, anyway?” asked Applejack, looking around at her brother’s camp and tent. “Ya really think now’s a good time to go on a stargazin’ trip?”

Big Mac simply looked at her for a few seconds, completely expressionless.

“Ah’m settin’ camp,” he said after a while in a deep, flat voice, “ta catch ponies that come too close.”

Applejack scoffed. “Well, that sure is one way ta play the game.”

Big Mac shook his head.

“It’s not a game. Ah heard ya say so mahself. This here’s warfare.”

“Jus’ a manner of speakin’, Mac,” replied Applejack in annoyance.

“Jus’ sayin’. You an’ ah both know what it really is.”

There was a long, heavy silence for a minute.

“Where’s Caramel?” asked Applejack.

“Got struck down early,” replied her brother flatly, staring into the distance. “Couldn’ afford to stay back for him. You know how ah play.”

Something about that last sentence struck Applejack.

“... Yeah, ah know.”

Something was stirring uncomfortably inside her. She had a bad feeling about this. She knew her brother by heart. Including his way of playing paintball. The game had been in their family for generations, and they’d both grown up with it. She’d had plenty of time to analyse his playing style. And right now, she didn’t like what she was seeing...

She decided to stall him. Maybe she could still get a clean getaway with him, but she doubted it.

“Why are ya playin’ this anyhow?”

“For the same reason everypony else is. For the same reason you are. Last pony standing gets the prize, which is the one thing--”

“The one thing your heart desires. Yeah, ah know,” said Applejack, finishing her brother’s sentence. Everypony’s game right now revolved around those mysterious words, that had been instructed to them by Princess Celestia herself.

There was another moment of silence.

“There can only be one winner,” said Big Mac after a while.

Uh oh... thought Applejack. “True,” she replied with a nod. “But that don’t mean we gotta go an’ shoot each other silly, now. You and ah have common interests. The longer we work together, the longer we’ll both stand.”

“That’s right,” he replied. “You're useful to me.”

Slowly he got up and stood in front of the two mares, who had tensed up.

“But ah don’t need her at all,” he said.

Quickly he grabbed his own gun and pointed it straight at Fluttershy. The pegasus gave a squeak and fell to the ground, helplessly shielding her eyes with her trembling hooves. Mac would’ve pulled the trigger if he hadn’t spotted his sister at the last second, pointing her own weapon back at him.

She looked at him with a menacing glare, her breathing shallow and her every sense alert. This was what she had dreaded. Despite his usual quiet self, she knew exactly what kind of paintball player he was. And it was nothing like his usual self.

He was ruthless. And she’d walked straight into his trap.

“Eeeasy now, Big Macintosh,” she said, trying to keep her composure. “This little one’s with me. If you shoot her, we don’t have no mutual trust no more.”

Big Mac shrugged.

“We’re gonna end up pointin’ barrels at each other anyways, AJ,” he said, perfectly calm. “How long your friends last ain’t important.”

“Come on, now,” replied Applejack. “Ah got mah gun aimed at you. The moment you pull the trigger, ah’ll pull mine, and you’ll be out. Don’t be a dummy now.”

“Ah ain’t afraid of that gun o' yours,” replied Mac. “If ah dodge your bullet, and ah can do that, ah’ll have a window to take you out.”

“Well, aren’t you the bold one,” scoffed Applejack.

“Ya can’t intimidate me,” said the ever-composed Big Mac.

“Ah can’t by mahself, that’s for sure...” replied his sister. “But maybe this can.”

With a fast move of her hoof, Applejack kicked the ground strongly and sent something lying there flying upwards. Having seldom taken his eyes off his target, Big Mac hadn’t noticed Applejack moving slowly towards his tent, and the Smarty Pants doll lying nearby.

Applejack caught the flying doll with her free forehoof, balancing herself ably on her two hind legs. She pointed the gun at her new hostage.

She looked at Big Mac, and grinned internally when she saw a pang of fear flick through his eyes for a split second, unnoticeable to all but her.

“Let us go, or else,” she said with newfound confidence.

“Drop the gun, sis,” said her brother, not caring about Fluttershy anymore, pointing the gun absent-mindedly towards her.

“You drop yours first,” said Applejack menacingly.

“Ya know ah can’t do that.”

“Is that so?” asked Applejack, slowly bringing the gun closer to the Smarty Pants doll’s temple. Big Mac’s brow furrowed slightly.

“If you ain’t gonna drop that gun, let go of Miss Smarty Pants,” he said with a hint of annoyance.

Applejack gave him a smirk. “Alright then,” she said. And with that, she threw the doll high up above her.

Big Mac watched his beloved doll fly towards the trees, fearing that their branches might scratch it. Applejack took advantage of this diversion of hers, and while Big Mac lifted his head up high, she pointed her gun towards him with a flick of her hoof and fired a single shot.

Big Mac had no time to retaliate. The telltale splat of a paintball hitting him square in the chest echoed in his ears. He felt pain, but not from the impact of the bullet. His pride was hurt. His sister, and eternal paintball rival, had shot him out of their biggest game yet.

He watched her, eyes wide and mouth agape. She simply smirked at him. It was rare to see him with such an expression, let alone any expression at all.

“Yer out,” she said proudly, catching the doll back in her hoof once more.

Big Mac regained his senses and stomped the ground angrily with an expression of fury.

“Dammit, AJ!” he bellowed. “That was just low of you!”

Applejack holstered her gun back in her saddle with a chuckle.

“War is war, sugarcube. Now accept yer defeat like a stallion and let us winners be on our way,” she said, extending the doll to him. Big Mac trotted towards her, fuming, his large head hanging low in shame and anger.

“Yer too old ta be playin’ with dolls anyhow,” teased his sister. Mac simply snatched the doll angrily in his maw and stormed away, muttering something about telling Granny on his sister.

Applejack watched in amusement as her brother left. When he was far away, she looked back to Fluttershy. The meek pegasus was still cowering and trembling, expecting to be shot at any minute. Applejack laughed heartily at her friend's cute display.

“You can git back up, Fluttershy,” she said. “We’re safe.”

Fluttershy gave a cautious peek, and slowly eased herself upwards. She looked around to make sure she was safe, and then looked at Applejack.

“Th-Thank you Applejack...” she said, still a little shoken up.

“Don’t mention it,” replied Applejack with a chuckle. “See how ah did it? Ah played him like mah granpappy used to play the fiddle on our front porch! Ah set the game right, and gave him one shot only. Ya gotta learn how ta do that if you wanna hold yer own, ya hear?”

Fluttershy nodded in admiration at her friend’s sense of control. She felt safe with her.

“Come on now,” said Applejack, regaining seriousness. “We got a whole lotta ground to cover.”

She started walking past the camp, further into the forest, followed by her anxious pegasus friend.

* * *

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