Dancing Mad

Big Macintosh did not want for much. He had his family and his farm, and he was content with his lot in life, but every now and then he just needed to get away. When his cousin, Braeburn, asked for help in Appleloosa, Mac was quick to offer his assistance. It had been a while since he had left Ponyville, and he had been eager to talk to somepony other than his grandmother and his younger sisters for a change. Imagine his surprise, however, when he had arrived at the train station greeted by one of his sister's friends, one Miss Fluttershy.

After what could only have been described as a painfully awkward interrogation, the two very bashful ponies had managed to determine that they were both headed in the same direction for the same reason. Apparently, the apple harvest in Appleloosa had been set back by a woodchuck infestation. Braeburn had called for the closest animal control expert to take care of the problem, and had called for his cousin to help make up lost time. Fluttershy had tried to convince her friends that nothing was going on between the two of them, though her frantic insistence had probably just cemented their suspicions further.

Mac chuckled to himself as he lay in bed. Fluttershy was a nice enough mare, kind and caring, and pleasant to look at, but that was it really. Ponies always seemed to think the two would make a perfect couple, but they had little in common other than their quiet tendencies. Mac wouldn't have considered himself an expert on romance by any means, but basing an entire relationship on a mutual lack of communication seemed awfully silly to him. Still, he would have to deal with Applejack's probing questions and Apple Bloom's none too subtle attempts at matchmaking when he got back to Sweet Apple Acres. Perhaps he could just lay in bed all day and postpone any sort of confrontation for another week, claim that the damage to the apple orchard was worse than he thought and he'd have to stay longer.

Macintosh rolled over to look out the bedside window. Braeburn's guest room had been setup on the side of the house directly facing the sunrise every morning, a fact that had baffled Mac when he first arrived. With a beautiful view like that, he had thought, why wouldn't his cousin have chosen that room as his own? After only a couple days sleeping in the room however, Mac had his answer. While he was used to getting up with the sun every morning back on his own farm, he still wouldn't have chosen the harsh rays of the sun for an alarm clock, and he had learned to keep the curtains drawn after nearly blinding himself one morning. Even with the curtains, the room was illuminated every morning, making it nearly impossible to sleep in.

At first, Mac considered it some sort of miracle that, on this morning, the sun hadn't turned the guest room into a sauna. After some thought, however, it seemed rather odd. Mac checked the clock on the far wall.

"8:00? That can't be right." Macintosh rolled out of bed and opened the curtains. Sure enough, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, several hours late. From the looks of things outside, he wasn't the only one confused by the sudden change in the solar schedule. Several ponies were running door to door, trying to figure out what was going on. What really caught Mac's eye, however, was a pegasus with a white coat and gold plated armor landing in the street in front of his cousin's house. The pegasus, probably one of Princess Celestia's royal guards, disappeared around the front of the house, out of view of Mac's window. After a few minutes, he could hear light hoofstops rapidly approaching his bedroom door. The door slammed open, occupied by a yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane, who was apparently quite winded by the run from the front door to the guest room.

"Macintosh! It's an emergency! We have to go... now..." Fluttershy's frantic rambling slowed down as she took in the sights of the room she had just burst into: Unkempt bedsheets, a large red stallion staring at her, still in his night clothes. Fluttershy's face nearly caught fire as she dashed back out of the room and slammed the door shut. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, I'm so embarrassed. I'll wait out here while you get dressed."

Macintosh eyed the door in confusion. "Uh, it's alright, Miss Fluttershy. No harm done." He shrugged his shoulders as he reached a hoof up to knock his lone garment, a night cap, off of his head. "I'm decent, if you'd like to come back in."

The door slowly cracked open, and Mac could just make out a pair of teal eyes peeking in through the crack. Fluttershy's voice could be heard through the door, much calmer than before. "Well, um, a royal guard just stopped by looking for us. He said that there's been an incident... in Ponyville."

"An incident in Ponyville?" If Mac hadn't been quite awake yet, he was now. "And the royal guards are involved? What happened?"

All previous awkwardness gone, Fluttershy opened the door further and entered the room. "He didn't say anything specific, just that we need to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible. He also told Braeburn to inform everypony in Appleloosa that there's a dangerous criminal on the loose, he's out making his rounds right now. Um, where are you going? Shouldn't we pack first?"

Before Fluttershy had finished her report, Macintosh was already on his way to the front door. He paused with his hoof on the doorknob. "Packing can wait. If my family's in trouble, then I don't intend to stay here another second. I'll have Braeburn send our stuff on the next train, but I'm leaving now. You coming?"

Fluttershy nodded and nervously followed Mac to the train station.

"Applejack!"

Where am I? What happened just now? Am I... is this what it's like to die?

"Applejack, wake up!"

No, I'm not dead. Not yet. But, what was that energy, that voice? I've never felt such sorrow before, such anger, such fear. Is somepony calling to me?

"Please don't die, Applejack! Not you too!"

Ah, Apple Bloom. She sounds upset. Is she worried about me? Wait, what did she mean by "you too"? Did somepony die?

Applejack could hear somepony crying nearby, though her vision hadn't recovered enough to identify the source. She blindly reached out a hoof and was rewarded with the feeling of another pony's mane and a ribbon tied in some kind of knot.

"Apple Bloom..." Applejack stroked her younger sister's mane. "I'm okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Apple Bloom jumped at the touch of her sister's hoof. "Applejack! You're alive! I thought we'd lost you, too!"

Through her blurred eyesight, Applejack could just make out the face of her sister, now inches from her own. She was smiling, but her eyes did little to mask her sorrow.

"Apple Bloom, were you crying just now? What's going on?"

Apple Bloom tried to maintain her composure, but her sister's questions put her over the edge. Fresh tears started to form as she recalled the events of the night. "After you put me to bed, I heard this awful noise coming from Ponyville, and I wanted to see what it was, but Granny told me to stay inside, so I snuck out and there was all this lightning and fire, and I ran to town as fast as I could, but when I got there, all the noise and lightning had stopped, and... and..." Apple Bloom sucked in her breath for the first time since she had started speaking. Tears had made a mess of her face, and she could barely speak through clenched teeth as she tried not to cry. Applejack managed to sit up and wrap a hoof around her sister's shoulder, pulling her into a tight hug as she patted her back with another hoof.

"It's alright, Apple Bloom. You don't have to say anymore." Applejack could tell that her own eyes were starting to tear up as well. She had hoped it had just been a dream, just some horrible nightmare, but when her senses came into focus and she noticed that she was lying on the ground against a tree, she knew the truth.

"They're all gone, Applejack," Apple Bloom choked out between sobs. "Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, and Miss Cheerilee, and your friends. I couldn't find them anywhere. I was so scared that you were gone, too. I don't want anypony else to leave."

Applejack ground her teeth as she tried to comfort the distraught filly. Killing all of those ponies, making her sister cry, it was unforgivable. "Apple Bloom, I promise you, I will find the one that did this, and I will stop them. For Rarity, and for Twilight, for Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and even Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. For all the ponies in Ponyville, I swear I will avenge them."

"I was thinking much the same thing, Applejack."

Applejack spun around, placing herself between Apple Bloom and the source of the voice, only to find herself face to face with none other than Princess Celestia herself. Though her face betrayed little emotion, the princess of the sun looked anything but calm. She examined Applejack with a stern gaze. "Seeing as how your family are the only survivors, I was hoping you could answer a few questions."

Applejack was taken aback. "Surely you don't think we had anything to do with this? This is inequine! My family would never do anything like this!"

Celestia grit her teeth, her anger threatening to break free. "I assure you, if I suspected you were behind this, we would not be having this conversation . Now, take care of any injuries you may have and meet me in town. I've already sent for Fluttershy and your brother, they should be arriving by train soon. We have much to discuss."

"Stupid ponies! Horrible, miserable creatures and their 'harmonic frequency' garbage!"

Kefka sat in a secluded copse of trees, hidden from view far from the train tracks that led to Canterlot. On the ground were a variety of magicite shards, each a different color, but all with a white glow surrounding them. Unfortunately, none of them had responded to Kefka's probing like he had hoped.

"All of these accursed ponies are filled with so much love and harmony that I can't take their power for my own! This is a disaster, an atrocity, a tragedy!" Kefka stomped on the ground as he vented his anger, not giving much thought as to where his hooves landed. One unfortunate stomp shattered a grey piece of magicite, grinding it into dust. Kefka stopped his tantrum when he felt the stone crumble beneath his hoof.

"And now it's broken, not that it even matters. These stupid rocks are absolutely useless! Wait a minute... broken..." Kefka sat back down on the ground and rubbed his chin with a hoof. "That's right, the pH frequencies can be changed. When two frequencies intercept each other, they normalize over time. Ah ha!"

Kefka turned to the remaining stones that littered the ground. His horn lit with a bright blue aura, as did one of the magicite shards. He concentrated on the stone, unmoving, until the white glow surrounding it began to dim, taking a darker tone. Kefka dropped the stone from his magical grasp and picked it up once again with his hoof.

"Wee hee hee hee! It worked! It's not perfect, but the soul trapped in this stone has clearly been corrupted. Ha! If you worms won't give me your power willingly, then I'll just take it! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Kefka closed his eyes and focused all of his attention on the newly corrupted magicite. He could feel the magic residing within, just out of reach, but much closer than before. "It seems I'll have to work on it a bit more before it's ready," He grumbled as he looked at his saddlebags, still bulging with all the magicite he had gathered. "It's going to take forever to make all of this usable. Too long."

Kefka continued to focus magic into the greyed magicite until he heard a noise nearby.

"Who's there?" No answer.

Kefka growled at the surrounding trees. "Have it your way." His horn lit up again as he channeled another spell. Uncontrolled jets of flame sprung up around him, setting the nearby trees on fire. "Not enough. I suppose this is as good a time as any to practice unicorn magic." Kefka concentrated on visualizing the magical aura that he had seen Lyra use in her spells. His magic mixed with the magic of the fire, and he found that he could increase the intensity of the flames much easier than he had expected. After spreading the fire, he tested his control of the fire. He whipped the fire in a wide arc, slicing through trees haphazardly with blazing scythe blades. "Now, that is fun, though the placement is a little erratic. I think I have a better idea anyways."

Kefka giggled. Playing with new powers always made him a little giddy. He continued to pour magic into the flames until his surroundings were engulfed in a swirling inferno. He pushed the flames outward, causing the deadly tornado to pulse wave after wave of intense heat into the surrounding woods. Kefka's giggling soon became all out cackling.

"Yes! Burn! Burn! Thought you could hide from me, did you? There's nowhere left for you to run! Who needs precision and order when you have power?! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

As the fires began to die down, Kefka stopped his laughing and surveyed his surroundings. His mood quickly soured when he remembered his reason for being in the woods in the first place.

"That idiot! Whoever they were, they blew my cover!" Kefka looked around for any signs of life. All he could see were the ashes of dead vegetation. "Well, I'd better get moving, I guess. I'll just have to work on these as I go."

Kefka kept a wary eye to the sky while he scooped the scattered magicite that had survived the fire back into his saddlebags. He had spotted more than one large group of armored pegasii throughout the day, all heading in the direction he had just come from. As confident as he was in his magical superiority, he hadn't had much chance to rest since the party, and he wasn't quite feeling up to taking on hundreds of trained soldiers at once.

"Once I've absorbed all this magic, no one will stop me from controlling this world!" Kefka's smile dropped as he eyed the saddlebags once again fastened to his back. "Although, I suppose a little caution is in order, for the time being. How boring."

Celestia stood, still as a statue, in the center of a large crater that had not existed 24 hours ago. Royal guards surrounded the wreckage that was once Ponyville, and rescue squads were busy searching through the few ruined homes that remained for survivors. None were found. The only body to be found anywhere was located directly in front of Celestia, a single unicorn mare with an aquamarine coat.

"What happened to you, my little ponies?"

"Princess? You wanted to see us?"

Celestia turned her head to peer over her shoulder, but otherwise remained still. Behind her stood three earth ponies: Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom.

"Where is Fluttershy?"

Applejack stepped forward as the official spokespony for the group. "Fluttershy said she needed to check on her animals, though I suspect that was somethin' of an excuse. Can't blame her really. Poor thing probably can't bear to be around all of... this." She waved a hoof at the surrounding ruins. "She wasn't here, besides, so I figured you wouldn't need her to answer any questions."

"Well then I suppose you'll just have to inform her later." Celestia turned around to face the group. "First of all, do you have any idea what happened here. What this is all about?" She tilted her head towards Lyra's body.

Applejack took in the sight of the tormented unicorn for the first time. "Can't say I know what exactly happened, but I think I can guess that this is probably where that awful sound was coming from." Applejack recounted the rest of the events of the night that she could remember, with Apple Bloom chipping in where appropriate. Celestia merely nodded throughout the retelling, mind working frantically to put the pieces together.

"So, we have no actual proof then, of this Kefka's wrongdoing? No witnesses, not even a scrap of evidence?"

Applejack lowered her head. "We don't, your highness. But, I just know it was him! It had to be!" Tears were falling from her eyes. A monster was going to get away because of a lack of evidence? Where was the justice in that?

Celestia laid a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "I believe you, Applejack. I do, and I wish that I could do something, but in the eyes of the courts, this is an open and shut case. A rogue unicorn lost control of her magic in the middle of a residential area, and died in the process. Without a warrant, the most I can do is send out my personal guard to search for him, and I pray that it will be enough. If what you say is true though, about this Kefka Palazzo, then I have my doubts."

"But Lyra didn't do it!" Applejack yelled right in Celestia's face. "Kefka was controlling her, I'm sure of it! She was acting all weird ever since he showed up, I know he was up to something! You can't let him get away with this! You just can't!"

Applejack's rage began to subside when she felt another pony's hoof wrap around her shoulder. Big Macintosh stepped up to her side and held her close as he turned his neutral gaze on the princess.

"I'll find him."

Celestia looked questioningly at the stallion. "You will find him?"

"If you won't do it, then somepony has to."

Applejack wiped the tears from her face and managed to force a grin. "You won't do it alone. I'm comin' too."

"And me!" Apple Bloom shouted as she bounced onto her brother's back.

"Eenope." Macintosh grabbed his little sister by the scruff of her neck with his teeth and deposited her on the ground. "This is for big ponies. You're staying with Granny Smith where you'll be safe."

"Actually," Celestia interrupted before the argument could go any further. "Because of their status as bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Applejack and Fluttershy are to be taken into protective custody, in case of a repeat attack."

Applejack couldn't take any more. She stepped right up into Celestia's face, staring down her own goddess. "Protective custody?! You can't hold me prisoner while some maniac walks free! If you want to take me back to Canterlot, you better be ready for a fight. I ain't goin', princess or not."

Celestia pressed a hoof against Applejack's chest, forcing her to take a step back. "I understand your frustration, Applejack, but I am still your ruler and I do not like to be interrupted. Now, I would be perfectly willing to take any other survivors under my protection as well. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom will be well cared for, you don't have to worry about that. As for you." Celestia smirked at the irritated farm pony. "The guards will take you back to Canterlot when they are finished their investigation around nightfall. Whether or not you are here at the appointed time is entirely up to you."

Applejack stared dumbfounded while she worked through what the princess had just said. If she had heard her right, it sounded like she was actually suggesting...

"Well, princess, I suppose we'd best be off then," Applejack replied with a smirk of her own. "Mac and I have got a lot of packing to do, for the uh, trip to Canterlot."

"I'm sure you do. And please be sure to inform Fluttershy of the arrangements, as well."

"Will do, princess. Come on, Mac. We've got work to do."

Celestia and Apple Bloom watched as Applejack and Big Macintosh ran off towards Sweet Apple Acres. Celestia couldn't help but notice the indignant look on Apple Bloom's face as her older siblings disappeared in the distance.

"Ah am a big pony. Why won't they let me help?"

Celestia kept her eyes trained on the horizon. "Being small isn't so bad, Apple Bloom. Little fillies are awfully difficult to keep track of, always hiding in the unlikeliest of places." She turned her head to smile at the youngest member of the Apple family. "We have some time before we have to head to Canterlot. Perhaps you would like to visit Fluttershy? I'm sure she could use some help packing."

Apple Bloom gasped. "You mean I can go with them?! Really?"

Celestia chuckled. Subtle, this filly was not. "I said nothing of the sort." Before she could elaborate, Apple Bloom was already dashing off towards Fluttershy's cottage.

Why me? Why am I still here?

A small purple figure lay curled up under a bush, trembling as his eyes darted back and forth. He rubbed his scaly tail with his claws, a soothing motion, though it did little to comfort the baby dragon.

Why did I survive? Why did it have to be me?

He knew the answer, but it was just too stupid, too arbitrary to make any sense. His natural resistance to heat and flame had saved him. He survived because he was a dragon, and they had all died because they were not. Lyra could have done any number of things, Spike had seen it. He could still see it. He watched as she had sliced ponies to ribbons with blades of ice, as she struck them down with lightning from the skies, but no. For him, she had chosen fire. Pure dumb luck, it was as simple as that.

Is that why I'm alive? Luck, if you could even call it that? She could have done anything, and yet here I am. I'm only here by chance, because I was too powerless to help myself. Too powerless to save them.

Spike closed his eyes. He tried to force the images out of his head, but they were the only things on his mind. He remembered the roaring flames that engulfed his body, the screams of his friends as they succumbed to the same flames that could not kill him. His eyes started to water as he remembered Sweetie Belle's face right before the end. She was afraid. She was crying. There was no joy to be found there, an innocent filly forced to watch the death of her sister, of her friends, and then her own at the hooves of somepony she had trusted.

Why couldn't I save them? I'm just too weak. What did I do when the flames died down? I ran. I ran away like a coward. That's all I am.

He had waited, hiding beneath the charred remains of his friends. Just before the flames hit, Sweetie and Scootaloo had wrapped their hooves around him, seeking shelter from the inevitable, and there he remained until the flames died down, hidden in the embrace of the dead.

Even then, they did more to save me than I did to save them. And as soon as the coast was clear, I just left them there. I was just so... afraid.

Spike opened his eyes to look at the object lying next to him. He had managed to scrawl a hurried message on a piece of tree bark, a letter to Princess Celestia warning her of the dangerous criminal that had murdered his friends. He wanted to send the message, to let her know that he was alright, but something was stopping him. He opened his mouth to call forth the green flame that would whisk the message away to the princess of the sun. Just as the flames began to build in the back of his throat, he saw her. Twilight lay broken on the ground with a white unicorn in a colorful cloak standing above her, his hoof repeatedly smashing into her skull. Even through the beating, he could not break her, and that's when it happened. Spike watched as flames hotter than any he had ever felt blasted the ground where Twilight's body lay, wave after wave of intense heat, cooking his best friend like she was just some side of meat. It was fire that took her away, fire that took Twilight, and Sweetie, and Scootaloo, and all the others. Fire had taken his life away and would never give it back.

Spike gagged as the fire died in his throat. He just couldn't do it. Each time he had tried to send the message, the memories came flooding back to him. The contents of his stomach found their way to the dirt floor beneath him as he sobbed into the bushes to try and muffle the noise. Still, it wasn't enough.

"Who's there?" Spike heard somepony call. He covered his mouth with his claws and balled himself up as small as he could make himself inside his hiding place. He could hear somepony grumbling, but he couldn't make out what was being said. The details seemed irrelevant though, when Spike felt the temperature start to rise.

Oh no, it can't be. Not again!

Spike dared to open an eye for a moment to look at what was going on. Blades wreathed in flame were flying wildly, tearing apart the trees around him. He quickly slammed his eye shut when one of the blades came a hair's breadth of his body, nearly slicing into the fin on his back. He rocked back and forth, trying to ignore the chaos around him. Soon the blades stopped, and for a brief moment all seemed calm. Spike lifted his head to get a look around and barely stifled a scream when he noticed the bush he was hiding in was on fire. Before he could get away, the entire woods were engulfed in a whirling tornado of fire, burning everything to ash. The inferno did little to his body, but the flames licking against his scales conjured images into his mind of his friends' final moments, over and over again. He could hear somepony cackling nearby. That, combined with the roaring of the fire, served to drown out his own screams.

When the fire finally died down, Spike found himself buried in ash, hidden in death yet again. The trees having been cleared, Spike had a clear view of the source of his nightmare. A white unicorn, clad in patchwork garments, stood in the distance, picking up some colorful rocks.

Luck has saved me again. But it couldn't save her.

Spike stared at the stallion stuffing his saddlebags. A rage built inside him, the likes of which he never thought possible.

He has her. I know he does. He took her from me, and I want her back. I will take her back.

I'll follow you to the ends of Equestria if I have to.

When you least expect it, I'll take her back.

Give me back my Twilight.