The Irony of Applejack

Chapters

Chapter 2: Knock on Wood
Chapter 3: The Plans We Make
Chapter 4: Consequences
Chapter 5: A Glimpse
Chapter 6: The Best Laid Plans
Chapter 7: Like a House of Cards
Chapter 8: Sleight of Hand
Chapter 9: Freedom
Chapter 10: Carnation
Chapter 11: Louder Than Words
Chapter 12: Changing of the Guard
Chapter 14: Last Chance
Chapter 15: The End of Irony, Part 1
Chapter 16: The End of Irony, Part 2
Chapter 17: One And The Same
Chapter 18: Rebuilding
Epilogue: A Brighter Tomorrow
Chapter 1: The Secrets We Keep
Chapter 13: On the Brink

Chapter 2: Knock on Wood

“This sucks.”

“I know, Rainbow. But what can we do?”

“How about we start by letting go of my tail.”

Twilight, who’d been trotting back down the road from Sweet Apple Acres, finally seemed to remember that she was lugging around a certain ornery Pegasus pony through the air behind her.

She turned around, a sheepish blush on her cheeks to meet the gaze of a very unhappy Rainbow.

She was hanging upside down by this point, her hooves folded across her chest in annoyance – annoyance she was currently trying very hard to bore into the back of Twilight’s retinas.

In any other circumstance – or rather, if any other pony was doing it – Twilight might’ve laughed at the spectacle of an upside down, grumpy Rainbow Dash.

The same thought seemed to occur to Rainbow, and she narrowed her eyes at her friend.

“If you laugh,” she warned dangerously, “I’ll kill you.”

Twilight pursed her lips in an effort to hide her grin, and gently set her weary friend back on the ground.

“Better?” she asked, not bothering to hide her amusement.

Rainbow didn’t miss it, but she did ignore it. Instead, she just wiped off some phantom dust from her shoulder in indifference and chose not to answer immediately.

The two stood in silence for a while, the only sounds between them coming from a gentle, rolling breeze as it passed from one end of the apple orchard across from them to the other.

That breeze tickled Rainbow’s nose with the scents of apples, but for once in her life, the smell only brought a frown to her face.

“What’re we gonna do, Twi’?” she asked, breaking the silence between them.

When she look towards her friend, she found her staring off into the orchard, her brow likewise creased, only with worry rather than… whatever it was Rainbow was feeling. Irritation, maybe.

But mostly worry, too.

“I don’t know if we can do anything except keep an eye on her,” Twilight mumbled. She tried to stay as factual as possible, but Dash didn’t miss the little undercurrent of helplessness that ran through her voice.

“If something really is bothering her –”

“If?”

When Twilight flinched, Rainbow realized that she’d snapped a lot more than she’d meant to.

“Sorry, it’s just… it feels like nothing’s been the same since your brother’s wedding. It’s just… weird.”

Rainbow had never been one for words. How could she explain how everything just felt so… different? Some differences she could take just fine. But when it came to her friends, any changes – especially for the worse – just… felt so wrong to her.

Maybe it was just the changeling invasion getting to her. After all, she was Rainbow Danger Dash! She always saved the day.

So why did it feel like she was failing to do that with Applejack?

Thinking like that was almost toxic to the pony – the more she went over it, the worse it felt. She’d been hoping for some closure, some sort of way to show to herself that she was just being stupid.

But Applejack’s behavior only redoubled her concerns.

While Rainbow just stood there, struggling to find the right words to explain what she didn’t know how to explain even to herself, Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, Dash. I know things are weird, but nothing’s changed. Not really.”

Rainbow looked her friend in the eye, and for a moment, she almost felt like agreeing. There was always something about her friend that made her seem so certain about whatever she was talking about.

But then she spotted something not far down the road behind the unicorn, and all her sourness came back in force.

“Then explain them.”

Twilight gave her a confused look, turned around… and almost collided with the front of a tall stallion clad in golden armor.

Normally, seeing a pair of royal guards marching down a dirt road in any setting would’ve been weird, even worrying.

Certainly, Twilight looked like she was on the verge of having a heart attack. In fact, she yelped and jumped back a step in shock.

Had Rainbow been in a better mood she might’ve even snickered at that.

The two guards, however, were as stoic and emotionless as marble.

“Oh, uh… hello sirs,” Twilight said, struggling to recompose herself as fast as possible. “I didn’t see you there.”

Neither seemed to hear what she said.

“Identification, please,” one of the unicorn guards stated bluntly.

“Oh, er, right,” Twilight said, her polite smile faltering once more. Rainbow didn’t even have that much tact; she just openly rolled her eyes and didn’t even bother to hide her grumpiness.

Once again, Twilight lit her horn. This time, she directed her magic to her saddle bags, prying them open and pulling out a small laminated card.

She floated it over to the nearby guards to inspect while she spoke.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, Element of Harmony, sister to Captain Shining Armor and sister-in-law to Princess Mi Amor Cadenza,” she rattled off with such precision that Rainbow suspected that she’d practiced. A lot.

While she spoke, one of the guards pulled out a rather bulky tome and began flipping through it. “Twilight… Twilight…”

Before Rainbow could voice her disbelief that these ponies didn’t know perhaps the most famous living unicorn in Equestria, the guard found what he was looking for.

“Ah, yes, here you are. Student of… sister to… yep, it all checks out.”

And then he turned his eyes towards the other mare in the group, and instantly she felt just a little more uncomfortable.

“And this is…?”

Now Rainbow was miffed. “How could you not know about me? Rainbow Dash? Element of Harmony? Master of the bucking Sonic Rainboom?”

Neither guard looked impressed, much to her immense frustration.

Twilight, too, looked a little exasperated. “It’s their job, Rainbow. Just give them your ID.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow hedged, once more very uncomfortable, “about that…”

…

“You don’t have it, do you?” Twilight deadpanned.

Her friend's only response was a cross between a sheepish grin, a grimace and a shrug.

“Rainbow,” Twilight groaned in disapproval.

“Hey, I’ve been busy,” she snapped defensively. “And I totally haven’t needed it ‘till now, so I kinda forgot, okay?”

“How have you not needed you ID card until now?!”

“Two words, Twi’. High. Altitude.”

Twilight’s response was as eloquent as Dash deserved. She smacked herself in the face with a hoof.

“Is there a problem, ladies?” one of the guards asked, frowning in suspicion.

“No, no,” Twilight said quickly, turning to meet the two stallions with a forced smile. “Not at all.”

“Very well… Identification, please.”

Rainbow bit her lip. She knew the consequences for getting caught without some way to identify her, and despite what some ponies might think, she’d never seen the inside of a dungeon cell and intended to keep it that way.

It was lucky, then, that she was with one of the fastest thinking ponies out there.

“She’s with me,” Twilight said, indicating Rainbow.

“That’s… all well and good,” one of the guard said slowly, “but we still need some identification.”

Twilight sighed in irritation. “Dash?”

“Uh… yeah, Twi’?”

Please don’t zap me… Please don’t zap me…

“Come over here for a second.”

Rainbow did so, if every nervously.

Twilight suddenly rounded on her, and before the Pegasus could do anything, she felt the unicorn’s horn jab her in the forehead.

Right away she knew that she’d been hit with something more than just a modest poke. If the hot electric tingling running up and down her body was anything to go by, Twilight had just done what she was best at.

Dang it…

It was over by the time Rainbow decided to look down at herself – possibly for any signs of injury – but only caught a faint, fading lavender light evaporating off of her frame. The spell still left a wake of horribly uncomfortable, almost spasmodic tingling running up and down her body, soliciting a trembling shiver, but seemed to do little else besides make Rainbow feel like she’d jarred her nerves or something.

“There,” Twilight stated, like she’d just presented irrefutable evidence.

“She’s not a changeling. Satisfied?”

Both guards hesitated, exchanging looks.

Finally, one broke his immaculate façade long enough to give a tiny shrug to his partner, who in turn looked back towards Twilight.

“Yes, that’ll be all. You two have a good day.”

And just like that, they marched off like nothing had just happened.

Twilight waited until Both guards were out of earshot before she let out a lungful of held breath.

“Gah… that was close. You need to be more careful, Rain… bow?”

When she turned around, she’d been expected to find her friend looking sheepish and repentant like she always did when she did wrong.

But this time, she found Rainbow staring after the two guards with a deep frown on her face.

“And what do you have to say about that?” she asked.

“Huh?”

Rainbow flicked her eyes over to Twilight, but otherwise didn’t move.

“Since when has Ponyville had guards patrolling all over the place, huh?”

Twilight was silent for a second, struggling to catch up with her friend’s unexpected turn of emotions.

When she finally caught up, she gave Dash a small smile.

“You know why,” she said. “There were hundreds of changelings in Canterlot, Rainbow. There’s no telling where they could’ve gone when Shining and Cadance threw them out. Some could’ve ended up in the Everfree Forest for all we know.”

“But we haven’t found any,” Rainbow complained, scuffing at the ground. “They all probably just got blown all the way out of Equestria.”

“We don’t know that,” Twilight pressed. “And nopony wants a repeat of the wedding.”

Rainbow grumbled ineligibly. After all, as much as she hated to admit it, Twilight had a point.

“It’s only temporary, anyway,” she went on with a smile. “Everything will go back to normal once we know for sure that there are no more changelings in Equestria. Maybe you're right and there aren’t any anywhere near here. If that’s the case, then we have nothing to worry about.”

~~***~~

With a blast of steam, the Friendship Express came to a grinding halt at the station on the outskirts of Ponyville.

Ponies from all over clambered from the colorful cars, some rushing to meet friends and family waiting on the platform while others wearily trudged forward like zombies, intent on a hot meal and a soft bed.

At the same time, packs of ponies waited on the sidelines, patiently letting the passengers vacate the train while waiting for their turn to board.

It was a controlled sort of chaos – throngs of ponies coming and going in almost choreographed steps.

And amid that chaos, nopony noticed a mustard yellow stallion calmly step from the train. He navigated the crowd with ease, and within hardly a few moments, he put his hooves on a cobblestone road – one that led to a small forest of thatched roofs and colorful cottages.

The stallion regarded it all without inflection, instead letting his emerald eyes sweep across the rural cityscape before him.

Nopony really paid him much heed as they moved passed him and towards Ponyville.

If anypony did, all they would’ve seen was a pony as bland and unremarkable as they come; a mustard coat, a coal-black, slicked mane, and an hourglass stamped across his flanks.

Families moved passed him. Weary traveling trudged on by. Nopony gave him so much as a glance.

Nopony, save for one.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the stallion had a companion – a short, vermillion fellow who stood almost half a head shorter than the one beside him.

“Nice weather we’re having,” the bland stallion stated benignly, seemingly to nopony in particular.

“It won’t hold,” responded the vermillion stallion as he eyed a nearby father fawning over an exuberant daughter.

Nothing further was said.

They just started walking, falling into step beside each other without so much as glancing at each other.

“Have you found any stragglers?” asked the mustard stallion, sounding almost disinterested.

“A few,” his companion responded conversationally. “Our efforts have been… slow, however. Moving with so many… eyes… has been difficult.”

As the two continued on, they passed by a set of patrolling guards, both of which were currently preoccupied with checking the identifications of quite a large family. Neither so much as glanced towards the pair of stallions as they passed.

“So it would seem,” commented the first. “Well then… we’d better make this quick. Gather up as many as you can and fan out across this town.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, sir,” queried his vermillion counterpart, “but do you have a plan?”

“Yes,” he said without inflection. “Have you prepared everything?”

“Yes, sir,” his counterpart responded. “Papers, IDs; everything’s ready.”

“Good. Then we’ll move ahead as planned. Her Highness expects nothing less than perfection, and so we shall conduct ourselves to no less of a standard.”

“Yes, sir”, the vermillion stallion said, still speaking in an almost conversational tone despite the subject matter.

For the first time, the mustard stallion turned to regard his companion with a single eye. “The list, if you will.”

A leather-bound tome was magically lifted from the vermillion stallion’s saddlebags. To all the world, it was an unremarkable book, free of adornment or even a title.

Exchanging one emerald aura of magic for another, the other peeled back the cover and turned his eyes to the first page.

There, arranged in alphabetical order, were a list of names. Lots and lots of names.

There must’ve been dozens on that first page alone. More than a few had been either crossed out completely or run through with a single, razor thin line of ink.

Very few had been marked as such, and in comparison there where many other crossed out names that bore two quickly slashed lines, as if denoting some level of disdain.

To just anypony, it would’ve seemed like a careless mistake on the part of the pony making the modifications.

But the stallion wasn’t just anypony.

He quickly surveyed the page with a knowing eye, yet still came back with a frown on his face.

So few…

There were also quite a few unmarked names, and these were the ones that held the most attention for the one inspecting them.

Quickly he ran down the list, stopping at the end of the first page, before returning back to the top – to the first name that’d yet to receive any attention whatsoever.

“Applejack…”

~~***~~

Applejack was helpless.

All she could do was stand there, limbs frozen in shock and terror, as the gangly monster before her cackled in victory.

She could only stare at the Queen of the Changelings as she laughed her cruel laugh.

She didn’t understand it; not ten minutes ago, she was filled with fire and fury and bucking in heads like it was going out of style.

And now… now her limbs felt so cold and uncooperative. The moment she stopped moving – stopped fighting – the inevitable shock and horror had struck her full force like an icy wave.

Because she was looking in a mirror.

Not literally, but… the towering monster before her was more than a little familiar in more ways than one.

Applejack’s thoughts were a wild slurry; none made sense, except for the pounding horror in her chest.

Even the sting of defeat didn’t compare to the sensation like her world was crashing down around her head.

Only one thought hit her again and again like a sledgehammer.

That monster… looks just like me.

She was vaguely aware of her friends at her side, all standing stock still, petrified. Twilight was probably trying to formulate a plan of action, though judging by the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, she was coming up empty.

Pinkie Pie was, very uncharacteristically, standing as still as a statue, her smile gone, her eyes huge.

Rainbow Dash was crouched, every muscle in her body primed and tensed, but the uncertainty and fear in her eyes showed that she wouldn’t be the one saving the day today.

How Fluttershy was still standing was beyond her. She’d sandwiched herself between Rarity and Rainbow, and yet somehow she was standing, even if she looked on the verge of dropping in a dead faint.

Rarity just stood there, letting Fluttershy lean against her, while she bit her lip. She herself didn’t seem too far away from hitting the floor, either.

All Applejack could do was prepare to fight – to go down fighting.

But… she wasn’t sure if she could. Her legs felt so heavy…

And then, out of nowhere, something started to glow a faint purple color.

Brighter and brighter it grew, until even the sun gave way to it.

It happened so fast – Applejack had been staring transfixed at the queen when it started.

The monster turned, confused, and just as a look of shock crossed her face, Applejack saw it; a nova of light exploding out from the trashed wedding altar.

The raging wall of magic plowed into changeling after changeling, smashing them aside with unyielding force.

Within a heartbeat, it’d reached the queen, roaring like a furious beast.

She didn’t even get a chance to cry out in alarm as it reached her and her obsidian form was lost to the light.

Applejack saw the surge of magic coming her way, brighter and more terrible than anything she’d ever seen before, moving faster than a hunting Timber Wolf. There was nowhere for her to go.

She could only gasp, take a step back…

Applejack felt the wave crash into her – an almost physical force with limitless power behind it.

She felt her forelegs start to leave the stone floor…

And then, something strange happened. Something she’d never be able to explain.

As the nova washed over her, she felt it – almost literally felt it – touch something inside of her. Heat coursed through her, surging out from a central point in her chest, and for one horrifying moment, she thought that she was burning from the inside out.

And without warning, the spell let her go. What was once a physical, almost brutal wall of force turned to a rush of warm air in the blink of an eye, relinquishing its hold on her.

When Applejack came back to her senses, she found herself seated forcefully on her rump a foot or so from where she’d been standing.

But she was still there, still with her friends.

The changelings were not so lucky.

She could see holes blown in the masonry all around her. Stained glass windows were blown to pieces. All of their eerie green cocoons were gone, vaporized into nothingness.

In the distance, just over the ringing in her ears, she thought she could hear a voice shrieking in alarm. But within moments, it was gone.

But she wasn’t. She was still there.

And she had no idea why.

“Applejack?”

She felt her head turn automatically, even though her head was still reeling. All she saw were a pair of magenta eyes gazing at her with concern.

“Are… are you crying?”

She dully reached up with one hoof, wiping at her cheek. It came back wet.

Her chest was throbbing, pounding like it’d just received a near fatal jolt. Of what, however, she had no idea.

~~***~~

Applejack jolted back to awareness, struggling momentarily to get her hooves beneath her before twitching back into a lying position with a groan.

“Consarnit… just dreamin’…”

She sighed and wiped at her face with a hoof, ignoring the uneven, holey quality of her limb.

Pulling her leg away, she inspected it. Still black, still full of holes.

Still a changeling.

But more importantly, its smooth surface came back glistening with moisture.

Frowning, she wiped at her eyes again.

They were wet.

She sighed in exasperation and rubbed her muzzle against her pillow to wipe it clean.

But instead of getting up – like her first instinct told her to do – she forced herself to fall back onto her belly and collapse into her pillow.

She still felt a little lightheaded, and knew better by now than to take her chances. If she wasn’t fully rested, the headache would come back in no time at all.

Usually, it only took a few hours undisguised to get back to one hundred percent.

But to Applejack, that was a few hours too many.

She forced herself to stare at the wall – anywhere where she didn’t have to see her blackened form.

She didn’t really want to sleep, but… it was either that or think.

And she was tired of thinking.

Thinking got her nowhere. She could mull over what she was all she wanted, but in the end it didn’t change anything. It hadn’t any other time in her life, and probably wouldn’t for the rest of it.

She was who she was – of that she was certain.

And yet, her head sure loved to linger…

It was the inactivity that got to her. She hated it – always had. It always made her think, but up until recently, it’d been about other things besides the possibility of her being, for all intents and purposes, an enemy of Equestria.

She didn’t like thinking like that, but how else would anypony else put it?

She just had so many questions… so many infuriating questions that wouldn’t accept that they didn’t matter, no matter how much she tried to convince herself so.

So, rather than sit there and stew until another dream took her, Applejack decided to do what she was best at – she got up and got busy.

For one brief moment, she regarded the changeling in the mirror, who likewise regarded her with a sour expression.

But then she turned away, stretched luxuriously, grabbed her hat and headed into the living room. There was cleaning to be done.

~~***~~

Rainbow drifted listlessly through the cloudless sky on thermals without much commitment.

She was tired – dog tired, in fact – but the will to sleep just kept evading her.

Her mind was preoccupied, hence why she was content to just go where the wind pushed her at the moment.

For anypony looking up from the ground, a slow-flying Rainbow Dash meant only one thing; she was thinking. And as anyone knew, Rainbow Dash stopping to think something over was not a good sign, especially for their next insurance bill.

But today, they were lucky; she wasn’t mulling over the idea of some trick that’d likely leave more holes than win fans, and considering Dash’s reputation, that was saying something.

No; today, her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of a certain apple farmer.

The more she thought about Applejack’s recent behavior, the more concerned she got. The more concerned she got, the more frustrated she got.

RD and AJ had been friends for a long, long time – almost as long as her and Fluttershy – and if there was anything she’d picked up on over these long years, it was that Applejack had a frustrating tendency to keep her problems to herself, especially when she couldn’t fix them herself.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that she was struggling with something, but at the same time, Dash knew that she herself couldn’t pry it from her. She’d tried in the past, but always it’d just been like reasoning with a wall.

But why did she freak out?

That question was the biggest one on her mind. There she was, trying to be considerate and observant, and Applejack yelled at her.

But it was the look on her face that really confused her. She’d never seen Applejack panic before, not really. Flustered, yes. Uncomfortable, too.

But that’d been panic, no doubt about it.

It just wasn’t adding up… the long week she disappeared from the farm, the frequent headaches – though that wasn’t anything new – and her inexplicable panic connected to all of it.

For the umpteenth time that afternoon, Rainbow groaned and rubbed at her face with her hooves.

“Why am I freaking out over this,” she whined to herself. “Applejack’s just being Applejack. Case closed, end of story.”

But what if it isn’t that simple?

Shut up, brain, I wanna sleep.

If only it were that simple…

For nearly an hour, Rainbow circled far above the outskirts of Ponyville, waging an internal argument that was simultaneously for and against trying to wheedle the truth out of her friend.

On the one hoof, she wanted to make sure her friend was alright.

On the other, however, she knew she would never get Applejack to fess up, and trying would just be a waste of time without backup.

The only unifying factor throughout it all was that she didn’t want to leave Applejack to suffer through whatever was eating at her. What kind of a friend would she be if she did?

But after a while, even Rainbow had to admit that she was talking herself in circles. Pretty soon, she’d go “Tardy-mode Twilight” and then nopony would be safe.

She finally let the air slip from under her weary wings, and gently she glided in for a landing in the Ponyville park.

Or rather, she immediately did a face-plant the moment her hooves got under her.

“Ow,” she grumbled to an earthworm.

“Um… Rainbow?”

The Pegasus in question craned her head just enough to get one eye into the open air to regard the pony talking to her.

Standing just at the end of the path from her was a light canary yellow Pegasus, her coat matching almost perfectly with the golden leaves of a nearby poplar. Where it not for her pink mane and big, worried eyes, she might’ve just been a part of the yellowing bush behind her.

“Oh… hey Fluttershy,” she mumbled. “What’s up?”

Fluttershy just continued to stare at her with soft, careful eyes, fidgeting.

Rainbow knew her enough by now to know that she was trying not to say something that she really, really wanted to say.

And that was when she realized the position she was in; literally face down in the dirt, her flank pointed almost perfectly straight up to the sky.

In a flash, she righted herself while making a show of wiping herself off to hide her embarrassment.

“Uh… er, yeah… Anyway… what’s up, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, um… I was just wondering… but it seems like you’re fine now, so… unless…”

She gave Rainbow a diminutive look and drew shapes into the dirt with the tip of one hoof while keeping herself turned away slightly, like the idea of merely facing her completely was too confrontational.

Rainbow just folded her hooves across her chest and waited, cocking an eyebrow.

Still not quite facing her friend full on, Fluttershy carefully went on. “Well, it just seemed like… you maybe had something on your mind.”

Dash sighed, slumping a bit.

“That obvious, huh?”

“Oh no,” Fluttershy said quickly – yet exceedingly gently – with a small shake of her head. “Well… maybe a little, yes.”

She didn’t say anything further, but the way she looked at the cyan Pegasus was clue enough that she was trying to coax her problems from her.

For a moment, Rainbow considered just blowing it off. It was a knee-jerk reaction to just deny, deny, deny.

Until she suddenly realized that it was somepony else being bullheaded that was frustrating her in the first place.

“It’s… well, it’s Applejack,” she mumbled hesitantly.

Fluttershy didn’t say anything. She just sat down and waited for her friend to get whatever was eating at her off her chest.

Rainbow hesitated a little bit longer, frowning into the dirt before speaking again.

“I’m… worried about her.”

~~***~~

“So, I really don’t know what to do,” Rainbow finished helplessly, flopping her hooves in front of her.

It was strange. Usually whenever she unloaded on Fluttershy, she started to feel at least a little better. But instead, she found herself feeling increasingly frustrated, like her words were manifesting her irritation even better.

Fluttershy finally looked away from her friend – choosing instead to look down in thought.

They’d stayed pretty much in the same place; on that dirt road on the outskirts of the Ponyville park. They’d only relocated enough to find a nice bench to sit on before Rainbow could really unload on her friend.

And as usual, Fluttershy had just patiently listened, her brow scrunching up at all the right times.

“My, that is a problem,” she said. “I thought that… well, Applejack is usually so strong.”

“Yeah, that’s what’s bugging me,” Rainbow admitted, rubbing at her mane. She didn’t even care that she ended up getting mud lodged in it. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“If Applejack is having trouble with something, it… well, it must be really big or something, you know? But she just doesn’t talk with anypony about it. Normally that doesn’t bug me – she’s a big mare – but this time…”

She kicked at a small pebble in frustration, sending it skittering across the path and into the bush. It didn’t solve any of her problems, but it certainly made her feel a little better.

Fluttershy remained silent for a moment, carefully gauging her friend’s emotions.

“Maybe you should try sitting her down and having a nice talk about it,” she suggested, but already Rainbow was shaking her head.

“That won’t work. She never talks about things like that.”

“But she’s been getting better,” Fluttershy pointed out. “Remember Cider Season?”

“I… guess,” Rainbow admitted, though with uncertainty. That’d been different; she’d let them help in making cider in order to help her family. When it came to her own problems, however, she’d sooner play dress-up at Rarity’s than confess to her own shortcomings.

Beside her, Fluttershy was silent for a few moments, her eyes watching Rainbow carefully. “I really think you should talk to her. I mean… only if you want to… But sometimes, just letting somepony know that you care can mean a whole bunch.”

Rainbow was silent for a bit, letting her words wash around in her head for a few seconds. And slowly, her words started to make sense.

“You know… I bet you’re right.”

With a sudden burst of energy, she hopped off the bench, a familiar smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “So Applejack might not listen to me. So what? What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t at least try, right?”

She turned her head to flash a bigger smile at Fluttershy just as she spread her wings, her weariness forgotten.

“Thanks Fluttershy! I’ll catch ya later!”

And with that, she catapulted herself into the air. In only a matter of seconds, the only sign of her was a prismatic streak through the sky and a distant boom.

Fluttershy only smiled after her. “She’s so silly…”

~~***~~

Rainbow Dash managed to keep up quite a head of speed as she made her way across the sky towards the all-too familiar silhouette of Sweet Apple Acres on the edge of town.

Even though her wings complained quite a bit, she pushed it to the back of her mind. There’d be time enough to rest later.

She was so fire up, in fact, that she didn’t think twice about flying straight over Ponyville. She’d never had to think about it before.

That, however, proved to be a mistake.

“Halt!”

Oh for the love of Celestia…

Rainbow threw her wings back, braking so hard that most of her went vertical before she came to a stationary hover.

She was somewhere over downtown Ponyville, a place filled with a myriad of cafes, small businesses and the general financial backbone of the town. Two blocks down, she could just see the large open square that usually held the market – its multicolored tents and stalls were just visible even from where she was.

But currently, Rainbow’s attention was drawn a little more skyward, and a little more behind her – towards a pair of snow white, armored pegasi darting towards her from ground level.

Royal guards.

Just great…

“What do you guys want,” Rainbow grumbled, folding her hooves across her chest as they approached.

Neither guard reacted in the slightest to her grouchy tone, and instead came to hover in perfect synchronization in front of her.

“Citizen, please present your identification,” one state in a clipped tone.

“Really?” Rainbow droned in disbelief. “I mean really?”

“Identification, please.”

She just rolled her eyes.

“I’ve been all over the sky for, like, days now, and now you want my papers?”

Again, no reaction from the guards.

“We can’t be too careful, ma’am,” the one on the right stated. “Changelings can be anywhere. By the will of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, all citizens are required to –”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Rainbow grumbled, waving them off. “ID cards. Got it.”

Both guards waited patiently, one already reaching back towards his saddlebags to retrieve a familiar tome.

The problem was that Dash wasn’t quite so calm as she was pretending to be.

For at that moment, she suddenly realized that she’d forgotten something. Again.

One would think that after Twilight’s lecture, one would remember certain key things. Of course, to Rainbow, half of Twilight’s lectures sounded like “Blah blah blah use doors blah blah windows blah blah property damage” – she got that last bit a lot – but quite frankly she’d gotten them so much that, as a reflex to counteract boredom, she tended to just block out anything disapproving.

It wasn’t a flawless system, but it’d worked.

Emphasis on ‘worked’.

“Um, I kinda… left my ID in my other saddlebag,” she hedged, fidgeting.

Even if she’d been wearing saddlebags – which she most certainly wasn’t – that would have been an Applejack-class lie.

Needless to say, the guards didn’t buy it.

They glanced towards each other, their hard expressions turning somehow harder as one nodded to the other slightly.

“I’m going to have to ask you to come with us,” stated the second guard flatly.

“Oh come on,” Rainbow whined in exasperation. “Can’t I do something to prove I’m really me?”

“After we go downtown,” responded the guard bluntly.

“We are downtown.”

“Then it won’t be a long flight.”

And that, as the proverb goes, was the straw that broke the cyan pegasus’ back.

It started, like most such episodes, with an eye-twitch. The eye twitch was followed with an explosion of frustrated rage.

“Ooooh, so you ponies don’t know who Rainbow Danger Dash is?”

Both guards hesitated, suddenly less eager to haul in mare.

“Well then, I got your ID right here!”

And with that, she executed a Rainbow-approved plan of awesomeness.

She turned tail and bolted.

~~***~~

Admittedly, running from the guard might not have been the wisest of moves on Dash’s part.

Had she been rested, she might’ve just pulled it off, too. But three days of almost non-stop flying could take it out of a pony. And Rainbow had a sneaking suspicion that those guards weren’t wearing metal at all; nopony should move that fast with that much weight.

But speed was what Rainbow lived for, and every muscle in her body knew what to do with it and how to work it like a pro. Sure, she was teensy bit tired; that didn’t mean she could just turn off being awesome.

So why couldn’t she shake those two guards?

On and on she flew, zooming away from Ponyville and out towards the bordering mass of fiery fall trees.

She flew low, just barely dodging the top of trees in an effort to shake up her pursuers.

It didn’t work. And if anything… they were starting to gain.

Rainbow was just starting to consider that maybe – just maybe – this had been a bad idea when she caught sight of something through the trees.

Somepony was down on the road. Somepony who looked an awful lot like...

Wait… was that… Daring Do? What the hay?

No conscious decision was made. Rainbow just suddenly veered sharply, pulling a tight U-turn so fast that she felt all the blood in her body surge into her hooves for one brief moment.

Her move was so sharp that the guards whizzed right on by and had to scramble to correct.

In front of Rainbow, she found the trees suddenly giving way. Like a landing strip, a dirt road stretched out in front of her, momentarily ringing a bell in her head.

And there, walking away from her, was a stallion.

“Hey!” she cried out. “Incoming!”

The stallion flinched and turned his head, just as a prismatic blur whizzed right passed him, collided with the ground on four wobbling limbs, and skidded nearly ten feet before grinding to a halt.

He only blinked at Rainbow in surprise as she suddenly and quite frantically scurried up towards him.

“… Can I help you?” he asked plainly.

“Uh…”

“Hold it right there!”

Rainbow flinched downward like she’d been shot at, just as two very irate royal guards dropped out of the air on either side of her with a heavy thud.

“You’re coming with us, missy!” one of them bellowed, completely dropping the stoic façade in favor of pure unadulterated rage.

“Oh come on, you two,” Rainbow whined, grinning nervously, “can’t you take a joke?”

“A joke?!” bellowed the second furiously. “Running from law enforcement is a joke to you?!”

“That… came out wrong,” Rainbow squeaked as the two furious guards stalked menacingly towards her.

“… Excuse me.”

That was when the two guards seemed to realize that the three of them had company.

They both turned to appraise the stallion standing before them. He just stood with a bland expression on his face.

“What’s going on here?”

Both guards frowned, their irritation levels once more climbing.

Rainbow Dash, however, couldn’t help but stare.

The stallion before her looked almost strikingly like a certain fictitious adventure pony. From his mustard coat to his jet black mane, he could’ve been Daring Do’s stunt double. Well, save for two facts; the biggest being that he was, in fact, a he rather than a she.

The other thing that stood out was the rather glaring lack of wings and the addition of a blunted horn on his forehead.

The stallion didn’t seem to pay her ogling any attention, however, and turned a stiff frown towards the guards.

“We are conducting official business, sir,” one stated bluntly. “Please, step ba—”

For some reason, he didn’t finish. His angry words just kind of died halfway like “ba” was a real word.

When Rainbow turned to find out why, she saw the guard staring at a rather odd spot – the stallion’s chest.

She followed his gaze and found the object of his attention – a thin silver chain that hung from his neck, and more importantly, the badge that hung from it in turn.

It was a simple golden star wreathed by a pair of wings, something Rainbow had never seen before.

It meant nothing to her, but clearly the same could not be said for the guards standing on either side of her.

“Yes, I can see that,” the stallion said blandly, ignoring the look he was getting. “May I ask what kind?”

And to Rainbow’s astonishment, the guard actually responded.

“Yes, sir. This mare has failed to produce her identification. We were in the process of arresting her and bringing her to the guard house for further questioning when she fled, sir.”

“I’m a criminal now?” Rainbow growled, scuffing at the ground in indignation.

“So it would seem,” stated the stallion without inflection, earning him a glare, to which he paid no mind.

Now that Rainbow looked, there was something about his vivid green eyes that unsettled her. The sheer control of his emotions was almost alarming. They showed nothing but mild disdain.

And when he turned those eyes on her, she felt even more nervous. It was like he knew things about her, things she didn’t want anypony to know…

“Good job, you two. I’ll handle things from here.”

Rainbow had never seen a guard to a double-take before. Heck, she’d almost done one herself.

“Sir?”

Finally, he shifted his gaze off Rainbow, much to her relief.

“Procedure dictates we take her to the guard post for further –”

“I know the proper procedure,” the stallion stated almost patiently. Almost. “And I doubt either of you want the embarrassment of harassing an Element of Harmony, do you?”

Wow, they actually flinched, Rainbow thought in amazement.

“As you were, sirs,” the stallion said with a stiff nod. “I will sort this out.”

Both guards turned to each other, clearly conflicted.

Clearly they didn’t want Rainbow to just slip between their hooves after what they’d been through. There would definitely be a grudge there, no doubt about it.

But at the same time, there was obvious reluctance to go against the stallion’s inexplicable authority, giving them enough cause for debate.

It took them nearly ten whole seconds to reach a proper consensus. Considering not a word was exchanged, it’d hardly taken any time at all.

“Very well, sir,” one of them said at last. “We will leave her in your custody.”

“Very good,” the stallion stated blandly. “Then, as you were.”

Both guards gave a curt salute, and without a backwards glance, they turned and marched off – perhaps a little too quickly to be normal.

Rainbow watched them go in amazement.

“Wow, uh… thanks,” she muttered, turning back to the stallion.

There really was something about him, something she just couldn’t put her hoof on…

He didn’t respond for a moment. Instead, he just stood there, watching the retreating guards passively.

It took him nearly five seconds to speak, and when he did, he only confused Rainbow even further.

“Nice weather we’re having.”

Dash blinked, confused. “Uh… You’re welcome?”

The stallion hesitated, his lips pursing momentarily. It took Dash a moment to wonder if that hadn’t been the answer he was looking for.

“Uh, so… I’ll just be on my way, then,” Rainbow said uncomfortably.

“No, I think not,” he stated bluntly. “You are in my custody, after all.”

Rainbow frowned, already disliking her new ‘friend’.

“And what’s to stop me from just taking off right now, huh?” she shot hotly.

She didn’t fail to notice that horn on the stallion’s head, but she’d had experience with Twilight – she knew that if she went fast enough, he wouldn’t be able to grab ahold of her. And speed was kind of her thing.

But the stallion barely even seemed to react. In fact, he was still watching the guards march away.

“Nothing, I suppose,” the stallion remarked. “Though, I can’t imagine you’ll make it far without a repeat of just now, minus my intervention of course.”

Rainbow glared at him. “Who the hay are you?” she growled in indignation.

“Nopony special,” he said blithely. “But you may call me Vigil. I am an investigator for the royal court.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow shot suspiciously. “What kind of investigator, huh?”

Vigil glanced towards her, his eyes unknowable. “Given the guard presence in your town, I thought it’d be quite obvious.”

Dash felt her heart thud in her chest as realization hit her.

“As in… a changeling investigator?”

“Indeed,” he responded plainly. “In fact, it is my specialty. I have… something of an eye for spotting them. I know what to look for. Therefore, I am quite confident that you yourself are not one.”

“At least somepony figured that out,” she grumbled in a huff.

There was silence between the two for a time, each staring each other down – one without emotion, the other with plenty.

“You’re not going to let me go, are you,” Dash asked after nearly a minute of silence.

“No,” was plain response she got.

At that, the Pegasus ground her teeth in frustration.

“What do you want from me, then?” Rainbow growled, her temper fraying once more.

“A favor,” Vigil replied. “I figure I’m owed that much, yes?”

“Ugh, fine,” she grumbled petulantly. “What do you want?”

“Directions,” he stated plainly.

“Where to?” Rainbow asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Sweet Apple Acres.”

~~***~~

Of all the times Rainbow Dash had been to the apple farm, that one was perhaps the most unpleasant.

It wasn’t just that she was all-but forced to go against her will. It wasn’t even just that she was about as tired as a pony could get. Even having to walk wasn’t the single most bothersome part of the trek.

The thing that got her, however, was the fact that the one dragging her there was infuriating to no end.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out why an investigator specializing in changelings wanted to go investigate some place, and the fact that that someplace was the home of one of her friends was not lost on Rainbow, either, and it was making her dislike her unwanted companion even further.

But the worst part was that Vigil refused to talk about his reasons beyond saying “Just to ask some questions.”

He was worse than a brick wall – he was a solid concrete block and twice as unyielding. After only a few minutes of having a monologue-ed interrogation, Dash finally gave up and sunk into sulking instead.

It seemed to take forever for the large front gate to come into view, and then another small eternity to creep up to it.

The only silver lining Rainbow held onto was that no matter how infuriating Vigil was being, he was putting her on course with her original objective – to get to the bottom of Applejack’s behavior once and for all.

Or, at the very least, she had literally hundreds of impromptu beds in the orchard.

One way or another, she was going to accomplish something.

But she was distracted, however, but a loud barking sound.

Looking up, she found an odd sight.

Big Macintosh was seated quite comfortably against an apple tree, a long sprig of wheat bobbing and dancing in his mouth as he chewed the end.

From where he was seated, he had an almost peerless view of the road leading up to the farm, and so it came as little surprise that he was already well aware of the two uninvited guests marching through the front gates.

To Rainbow’s surprise, she also spotted Winona bounding around the nearby trees, occasionally barking as she chased the scent of something.

It was odd seeing Applejack’s faithful pet without its owner. In fact, it’d never been done before; when the apple farmer was on the farm, the other was undoubtedly only a stone’s throw away at any given moment.

But now here she was, clearly minus one orange earth pony, and that fact was making Rainbow all the more anxious.

She was only distracted away from the playful collie by the sight of a towering red stallion rising from his resting place.

“Hey Big Mac,” Rainbow called over, waving.

“Howdy,” he responded. “Ya here fer Applejack?”

She nodded slowly, trying as hard as she could to dissect Big Mac’s mood. It didn’t work, but she tried.

“Yeah. Just to talk. Is she around?”

Big Mac’s face didn’t shift one way or another. Honestly, he was harder to read than a royal guard sometimes.

His response, however, was less mercurial.

“Nope.”

For the umpteenth time that day, Rainbow’s temper flared, as did her impatience.

“Oh come on, Big Mac!” she complained. “Just tell me where she is!”

“Nope.”

There was that eye twitch again.

“Okay, big guy, listen up,” she snarled through clenched teeth. “I have had it up to here! I’ve already had a lousy day, so you better fess up, or else!”

To her immense frustration, however, Big Mac didn’t back down.

Years of dealing with Applejack had steeled his nerves worse than a soldier when it came to getting shouted at. “Applejack needs her rest, and she ain't gonna get any with ya’ll breathin’ down her neck.”

“Yeah, headaches, I get that,” Rainbow snapped, waving a hoof. “The way this day’s been going, I’m kinda getting one myself. So what?”

Big Mac took a second to answer. Even though he did a superb job hiding it, Dash’s declaration had taken him off guard, and for a moment he questioned just how much she actually knew.

While he thought, Rainbow took a step forward.

“Come on, Mac,” she pressed, dropping her voice out of the grating range. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed AJ acting weird.”

Big Mac opened his mouth, then slowly shut it again. Asking “Define ‘weird’” seemed like a poor question at the moment, even if he really wanted to know.

“I promise I’ll be careful, okay?” she went on. “Just let me talk to her. Please?”

She almost gagged on that last word. So uncool…

And for a long minute, Big Mac thought about it.

For the first time in his life, he was torn. Never before had he questioned his choice of actions when it came to Applejack’s secret.

When somepony came around the farm looking for her, and she was resting, the answer was always to turn them away and tell them to come back later.

But for the first time ever, he wavered. Rainbow wore an emphatic plea on her face, and he knew that her words rung true. She was worried.

Perhaps… just perhaps…

But then he sighed, both internally and externally. No… no, it was too much of a risk. Maybe if it’d come up earlier, but now there was no way that the draft pony could see Rainbow taking it well, and betting on such a gamble with his sister’s future was not something he was remotely comfortable with doing.

“Ah’m sorry, Miss Dash,” he said quietly, trying to sound as apologetic as he could. “Ya’ll have to wait ‘till she’s done restin’.”

The plea on Rainbow’s face melted away – first into a look of frustration, before finally caving into one of defeat. “Oh… alright…”

Big Mac managed to hide his grimace, if only barely. That look was sure going to make him feel lousy later.

“Applejack ain't goin’ anywhere, Miss Dash,” he pointed out.

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to sigh, this time quite forlornly. “I guess…”

She then let out a jaw-popping yawn, and for the first time in a while, she felt the true depths of her weariness.

One way or another, she was getting something done…

“If anypony needs me, I’m gonna be taking a nap,” she said, her eyes on the ground.

Big Mac nodded and tried not to frown.

With that, she lazily drifted up into the air and floated off, a cozy tree bough already calling to her.

Big Mac watched her go, as torn as ever, before finally settling back into his place against the tree and resuming his surveillance of the road.

There was no helping it, he reasoned. Sometimes, one just couldn’t make everypony happy. Besides, soon enough, Rainbow would get her wish, so it wasn’t like he was denying her forever – just long enough for Applejack to get her hooves under her again. Then it’d be her problem, not his.

He was just starting to get comfortable again when he noticed how quiet it’d gotten.

A breeze blew in from the Everfree Forest, creating a familiar sighing in the multitudes of trees on the farm.

But something was missing.

“Winona?”

~~***~~

Applejack wiped her brow and heaved a breath. She leaned a well-used broom against her shoulder as she surveyed her work.

Before her, the living room of the cabin was… well, less dusty. It still wasn’t Rarity-ready, but that’d take a small miracle to achieve at this point.

But Applejack was pleasantly relieved. Seeing the fruits of her labor always got her in better spirits, and right now that’s exactly what she needed.

The living room was swept, the counter in the kitchen scrubbed, the windows worked at and even a hinge or two had been oiled. It wasn’t much, but it certainly made the old house feel just a little fresher.

Applejack didn’t even mind so much that, if she wasn’t careful, she might get the handle of the broom caught through a hole in her hoof, or even that her brow felt way too smooth to be comforting. She barely minded the sound of her buzzing wings thrumming with excitement at a job well done.

For the first time that day, she allowed a small smile to grace her lips. She was finally starting to feel like her old self.

Her little moment of relief passed, however, when she heard a bark outside.

Smile vanishing, she crept to a window to peer outside.

And there, bounding down the worn path to and from the cabin, came a familiar furry friend.

Still, Applejack couldn’t help but feel momentarily confused at the sight of Winona. Usually, at times like these, she stayed near the front of the farm with Big Mac. Once in a while, Fluttershy would come by and walk her, too, but only rarely did she ever venture back into the recesses of the farm on her own, not since she'd had a bad run-in with a Timber Wolf.

And yet here she was, diligently following Applejack’s trail all the way up to the house, looking as excited and energetic as a puppy.

When AJ heard the collie scratching at the door and whining, she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

Carefully, she headed to the front door and pried it open a little bit.

“Howdy there, Winona,” she greeted warmly. “Come to keep me company?”

The dog didn’t so much as hesitate to dash into the cabin, much to her master’s amusement.

Just a moment before closing the door again, Applejack cast a wary eye out into the wizened trees outside.

They just continued to sway and creak in the gusty breeze, betraying nothing but emptiness and serenity.

The changeling chuckled to herself, rolling her eyes before easing the door shut with a soft click. Of course no one was out there. Big Macintosh always kept anypony away while she rested up, and he’d done a flawless job for years.

Why should she doubt that now?

~~***~~

An emerald eye peered around the trunk of a particularly old apple tree, verifying one last time that the front door had indeed been shut.

Vigil stood as still as a statue, too shocked to move.

He’d suspected that following the dog when it took off might pay off, but he was not expecting anything of this magnitude.

It’d only been fleeting – hardly more than a second before he’d had to conceal himself behind a tree – but it’d been enough.

There was no mistaking what he’d seen, even if he was finding it very difficult to believe.

The holey black hoof, the smooth chitin… there was no doubt about that.

But that mane… and those eyes…

No, it didn’t make sense – not in the least – and it left one very important question on his frantic mind as he slipped away.

Just why was there a queen in Ponyville?

Author's Note

Theme of this chapter: Murphy is an all-seeing prick.

Just a heads up: I have college starting the 22nd, so updates will likely slow down. So please be patient.
Again, feel free to field any questions about the story. I'll answer them to the best of my ability.

Chapter 3: The Plans We Make

Vigil sat at his desk, his head resting leisurely on one hoof.

All of the windows to his inn room had been drawn, blocking out the fading light of the waning day. Only a single lit candle provided flickering, ghostly illumination, leaving vast quantities of his surroundings drowned in darkness.

If anypony were to lay eyes on the stallion, they might’ve assumed that he was daydreaming, or at the very least lost in thought.

But inside, his mind was working at a million miles an hour.

Again and again he saw that changeling in the cottage flash across his mind’s eye. It’d only been fleeting, and only come about due to a shot in the dark hunch, but…

He’d seen her. He’d seen her amber-gold mane, and more importantly, he’d seen her golden eyes. No normal changeling had eyes like that, and most were lucky to have more than a tattered fringe in their natural forms.

Only one thing had eyes and a mane like that. But therein lay the heart of the problem. Just why was there a queen in Ponyville? And an unknown queen at that…

Vigil continued to stare into space, struggling to crunch his thoughts into some semblance of organization. He knew he had to capitalize on this, and as soon as possible. But how…?

A staccato beat on the front door very nearly made him jump. He did, however, snap back to reality and turn his head towards the offending noise.

But rather than speak up immediately, he waited in silence. Exactly six seconds later, a single rap reached his ears.

“Come in.”

The door shifted, hissing over the carpet as it was pushed open.

A second later, it was being ushered shut again by a lime green earth pony. She was laden down with saddlebags fit to burst, yet the weight didn’t seem to bother her.

“What took you so long,” Vigil inquired, hiding his impatience behind a wall of indifference.

The mare seemed to catch on, though, and flinched a little. “I’m sorry, sir, but the materials you requested aren’t exactly easy to get short notice.”

She approached, casting a careful eye around the room – in particular, towards each and every window as if expecting to find it occupied by unwanted viewers. “Gathering information on an Element of Harmony isn’t exactly easy to do without leaving a hoofprint somewhere.”

“Did you?” Vigil asked, his voice gaining an almost imperceptible edge to it.

“The most we’ll have to worry about are some confused accountants at city hall,” the mare responded. “Nothing will trace back to us.”

“Good. Now, what did you find?”

The mare nodded, then carefully pulled the fat saddlebags from her back and placed them at the edge of Vigil’s desk.
No sooner had she let it go did an acidic green aura envelope it.

Guided by invisible hands, the bags were pried open, and out floated over a dozen manila folders and an ancient tome or two. All arranged themselves before the mustard stallion, who cast his eyes critically over them.

Once he’d gotten everything situated, the mare spoke again.

“For the most part, we didn’t find much of interest. She was raised by the Apple family, who practically founded this city. She’s friends with Twilight Sparkle - personal student to Princess Celestia herself - and the bearer of the Element of Honesty.”

Vigil exhaled a little too hard, coming dangerously close to a chuckle. “Ironic.”

“Indeed,” the mare responded before waving a hoof over the pilfered documents. “But nothing stood out, at least officially.”

Vigil nodded. That made sense, after all; changelings take the places of ponies all the time, and without a paper trail as consequence. This was nothing groundbreaking, and yet his associate clearly had something else to offer, or else she wouldn’t have come to him with useless information.

And after a moment, the mare delivered.

“But there was one thing that raised some questions.”

Vigil cocked an eyebrow quizzically and turned an eye towards her. "Such as…?”

She took the prompt to step forward and pull out a single, worn piece of official-looking paper from a non-descript folder bearing only a single word on the side.

Applejack.

“It’s… well, it’s this,” she said, presenting the document for Vigil to go over.

Upon laying eyes on the ornately bordered paper, however, his intrigue only grew. “A birth certificate?”

“Yes,” she said. “It’s very well done – almost flawless, in fact – but… it’s fake.”

Seeing Vigil’s brow quirk up further, she pointed with a hoof. “See the physician? We did a background check, and while there was a Doctor Loboto in Ponyville at the time, he was most certainly not qualified to be delivering foals.”

“Is that so…?” Vigil said, eyes narrowing.

Once more, his curiosity was hitting him full force.

A changeling taking the place of a pony was believable, even expected. A queen doing the same was likewise understandable. Shocking, but not revolutionary .

But the birth certificate in front of him seemed to be pointing to something else entirely…

“Um… sir?”

Once more, Vigil set aside his thoughts to regard the pony still standing beside him.

For the first time, she had a frown on her face, one that betrayed just a touch of unease. “Are we really going to look into an Element of Harmony? We could jeopardize the whole operation if we’re not careful.”

“That’s what you’re all here for,” Vigil responded, sounding almost disinterested. “But we cannot pass up something like this. The possibilities are far too promising.”

The mare bit her lip, but said nothing.

Vigil turned away from her, once more casting his eyes over the possible treasure trove of information at his hooves.
“If there is even the slightest possibility of a hive existing that we do not know about, Her Highness will want to know of it.”

He paused as he casually lifted an old photo from amid the turmoil in front of him – a little orange filly with freckles splashed across her face, standing amid what he assumed to be family members.

“Continue your operations as before, Hyacinth, but be prepared. We may be pulling out sooner than expected…”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Hyacinth.”

The mare halted, already halfway towards the door, before turning to meet Vigil’s calm gaze.

“Keep an eye on the farm,” Vigil said distractedly, already casting an eye back to the field of papers on the desk. “I’d rather not let opportunity pass us by.”

“As you say.”

With that, his associate quietly exited the room, and promptly left Vigil’s thoughts.

Still holding the photo in his magical grip, he gazed at the smiling filly thoughtfully, his mind already alive with possibilities.

He had plans to make.

~~***~~

The sun was hardly more than a bloody red ball on the very edge of the horizon, bathing Sweet Apple Acres in a fiery crimson light.

Crows cawed in the distance, signaling the end of the day for many. Crickets sang to the fading day, echoing from far and wide in an almost endless drone of chirping. In the distance, rogue clouds began to make their stealthy reconnoiter from the Everfree, carrying with them a stormy omen.

Applejack quietly trudged through the orchards, taking her time to enjoy the crisp air blowing through her orange coat.

Now with her headache nothing but a distant memory, she casually strolled along at an easy canter. Dinner would be served soon, and she was more than ready to get back to her routine.

With Winona darting ahead, probably hot on the tail of some innocent squirrel, she could feel the weight on her heart shifting – not falling away, but certainly moving to a better position to be carried.

She smiled to herself, her thoughts already filling with what her agenda would be for the following day.

So many trees still stubbornly clung to their leaves – she’d have to take care of that, before they fell and froze to the ground. Oh, and she’d need to apologize to Twilight for snapping at her. And Rainbow, too, but mostly Twilight. She didn’t deserve—

SKRAAAG!!

Applejack nearly jumped halfway out of her skin at what she could’ve sworn was the mating call of a wild Ursa Major. It was certainly loud enough.

“Landsakes, what in tarnation…?”

She fell short, however, when she spotted the culprit, and it most certainly wasn’t a beast of epic proportions.

All she needed to see was a prismatic tuft of tail hair dangling from a nearby tree to know exactly what she was dealing with.

Peering up into the branches only confirmed her suspicions; Rainbow Dash was sound asleep in the crook of a bough, snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

Applejack could only shake her head in bemusement. A part of her had half a mind to just leave the dang pony where she lay. She probably deserved the soreness she’d get in the morning.

But the better part of her won out.

“Hey, Rainbow,” she called up into the tree, not even bothering to hide her grin.

The Pegasus snorted, flailed her limbs, and rolled over.

“Rainbow, if ya don’t wake up right now, I’m gonna buck ya right outta that there tree.”

This time, the Pegasus snorted, flailed her limbs, then cracked open a bleary eye. “Whowazzat…?”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at the dazed look on her friend’s face. It was obvious that she wasn’t long for this world.

“Git yer lazy flank down here, sugarcube,” she ordered.

“Whadahuh…?”

Applejack’s face scrunched up, her patience starting to fade.

In the Apple family household, dinner waited for nopony, and she was not losing another piece of apple cobbler to Big Mac’s accursed hollow leg on account of a sleepy weather pony crashing in her orchard.

“That’s it. Don’t say Ah didn’t warn ya,” Applejack declared with a wicked grin.

“That’s nice…”

“Oh, ya have no idea, sugarcube,” Applejack all-but cackled under her breath as she turned around.

And a moment later, she gave Rainbow ‘nice’.

With a mighty ‘ka-THWACK’, she bucked the apple tree with all her might. As one, every single aged leaf dropped in a singular mass from the branches, crashing onto the ground below.

And amid the chaos, a sleeping pegasus was dislodged from her makeshift bed.

By the time the leaves settled around Applejack’s hooves, Rainbow was laid out squarely across her back – exactly on target.

To her utter disbelief, however, Dash only clambered with consciousness for a few brief seconds.

“I swear, it was the one-armed mare…”

“What in the world are you—”

A deafening snore cut her short.

Sweet merciful Celestia, she’s still sleepin’? That mare ain't natural.

Applejack had been hoping a little bit of free fall would rouse her friend. It hadn’t failed her before.

Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she saw the heavy circles under Rainbow’s eyes. Sleeping sideways across her back couldn’t have been comfortable, but there she was, out like a light.

The farm pony could only let out a good-humored sigh as she headed off, extra weight and all.

As she started to leave, she cast one more glance over her shoulder; this time to the tree she’d retrieved her friend from.

Not a leaf remained on its branches, a fact that brought a satisfied grin to her face.

Gettin’ better every time…

~~***~~

“Is she dead?”

That was the first thing Applejack heard when she pushed open the front door to the Apple family house. There stood Apple Bloom, looking way too innocent and curious for what’d just come out of her mouth.

“Uh… beg pardon?”

The little filly glanced from her sister to the apparent corpse lying across her back. When Applejack realized what her sister was getting at, she was understandably aghast.

“Apple Bloom! Why would ya go and say somethin’ like that?”

“Well,” she started, now fidgeting a little. “She ain't movin’, and well… Ah ain't tried Cutie Mark Crusaders Undertaker yet.”

“Apple Bloom, ya’ll are not buryin’ Rainbow. Again.”

The little filly bowed her head in a show of remorse. “Ah said Ah was sorry…”

Applejack sighed, and was about to give Apple Bloom a lecture when the air was split by the sound of what could only be described as a hundred trees splitting.

“Oh! She’s alive after all,” Apple Bloom cheered.

Then immediately got very still as a thought occurred to her.

“Does that mean Ah can be a Cutie Mark Crusader Zombie Apocalypse Survivor?”

“Where in the – who told ya – Go to yer room!”

Whining her complaint, Apple Bloom did as she was told, dragging her hooves as she went.

Her departure only cleared the way for another family member to fill the void she left. Of course, Big Macintosh wasn’t quite so nosy. He just stepped into the doorway and cast an inquisitive eye towards the pony-laden mare.

“Howdy. Macintosh,” Applejack greeted with a smile. “Did Ah miss much?”

“Nope,” he responded, though his eyes were resting not on her, but the pegasus on her back.

Seeing this, AJ couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow curiosly. “Somethin’—”

She was drowned out once again by the mother of all snores, one so powerful that she herself could feel it rattling her teeth. There was a beat of silence as the two siblings just stared wide eyed at each other.

“She ain't sleepin’ in the house, is she?”

“Nope.”

“Thought not. Alright, the barn it is.”

When she turned and headed outside, however, she was surprised to hear the thuds of heavy hooves keeping pace behind her.

“Ya don’t have ta come with,” Applejack said bemusedly without turning around. Big Mac was silent as ever, so Applejack didn’t feel like objecting to the company further.

The two walked in silence all the way out into the fading daylight, the only sound between them being the serenade of crickets in the yellowing grass. And, of course, the ungodly snoring of Rainbow.

And they kept that silence right up until AJ pushed open the barn door.

“Got somethin’ on yer mind, Macintosh?”

The big red stallion hesitated mid-step, then decided he’d come far enough and planted his hooves.

“Eeyup.”

“Well—”

Another ear-splitting snore ripped through the chilly air.

“Well get it off yer chest,” she finished as she headed for a mound of hay.

While she worked at situating her friend, Big Mac considered just what to say. All day, Rainbow’s plea had embedded itself into his thoughts. He just couldn’t get rid of the possibility that maybe… just maybe…

“She came ‘round while you were restin’,” Big Mac told her.

Applejack grew still for a moment, pausing in her efforts to lower the sleeping mare onto her new bed. “That so?” she asked, trying very hard to sound nonchalant.

“Eeyup. Seemed ta me like she thought somethin’ was buggin’ ya somethin’ fierce.”

Applejack’s response was to sigh in irritation. “Ah already told her and Twi’; Ah’m fine. I ain't gonna let somethin’ like that invasion get ta me.”

“But it did,” Big Mac pointed out.

Once more, Applejack hesitated, this time turning to look at her brother. In the gloom of the barn, all he saw was the ruby glint off her eyes cast from the setting sun at his back.

“Big Mac… We’ve been over this, and it ain't up fer discussion no more,” she said softly, but firmly.

“Yer friends seem ta think otherwise,” he stated.

For a moment, Applejack turned to look at Rainbow’s sleeping form, her expression unreadable.

She let out another deafening snore and flopped onto her back, abandoning all feminine pretenses whatsoever and very nearly tossing aside the blanket AJ had drapped over her. The odds of it staying in place through the night were slim, at best.

She kept her expression intentionally neutral before turning away to walk towards her brother. “What do ya want me ta do?” she asked him quietly. “Ya know I can’t tell ‘em.”

“And ya can’t lie ‘bout it, neither,” Mac pointed out evenly.

Applejack shot him a sour look. “It ain't lyin’ if they never think ta ask about it.”

Her brother was silent for a moment, his eyes once more drifting towards the slumbering form of Rainbow.

What he said next was exactly what Applejack didn’t want to hear.

“They’re askin’, Applejack.”

She felt a cold wave run through her chest, one she wasn’t accustomed to feeling.

Fear.

“Sooner or later, yer gonna have ta confide in somepony,” Big Mac pointed out. “Granny Smith ain't gonna be ‘round forever, and sooner or later Apple Bloom is gonna want ta go chase her dreams like you did.”

He once more returned his eyes to his sister, an oddly barren look contained within. “Ah love ya, sis, but ya know Ah can’t keep ya strong forever.”

Applejack could no longer hold her brother’s gaze, and instead turned to look at the Apple family household; towards the bright and inviting windows and the gently puffing chimney.

The thought of all that disappearing was… brutal.

“What do ya want me ta do,” she repeated, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Friendship ain't gonna fill that hole, and who in their right mind would love a changelin’, huh?”

She started moving then – anything to shake off the chill creeping under her skin.

“Nopony has to know, Big Mac, and since it’s worked fer me so far, nopony will. Whatever comes, Ah’ll make due – just you see.”

Her brother didn’t move. He only turned his head to watch her progress back to the farm.

“Don’t ya even want to try?”

Applejack froze mid-step. She didn’t turn to face her brother, but the ice in her voice was clear enough for anypony to hear.

“Ah had that chance taken from me already. Now drop it – Ah ain't talkin’ ‘bout this no more, ya hear?”

“Applejack…”

“Ya hear?”

“… Eeyup.”

Applejack sighed, slumping her shoulders slightly as she bowed her head. “Thanks, Macintosh. Now let’s get movin’ before dinner gets cold.”

~~***~~

From her vantage point, Hyacinth watched the Stetson-wearing earth pony and the towering red stallion head up towards the farmhouse.

The stallion knows? Hm…

She stroked her chin in thought while she mulled over the situation.

When her quarry slipped into the house and out of sight, she continued to dwell in her tree, motionless. Even as the last rays of sunlight bled from the sky, she stayed put. When the sounds of ponies talking and laughing inside the house started to die down, she stayed put.

Only when the last light in the house went off did she move.

As silent as a bat, she spread her wings and soared out from cover, ghosting across the moonlit yard in only a second or two.

Then she inserted herself into a new tree – one with an unerring view into a darkened bedroom. She couldn’t see the occupant – it was too dark for that – but she could easily make out the Stetson hanging from the bedpost by the window.

There she settled, and there she would remain.

Just like the other dozen pairs of icy eyes glimmering in the dark.

~~***~~

Fire raged all around her, swallowing entire orchards in a hellish inferno. Rainbow stared around helplessly, watching as the familiar farm was reduced to nothing but ash.

And before her stood Applejack, her face set in a stubborn scowl, her back turned to her. “Ah said Ah can handle this, Rainbow! This don’t concern you!”

No sooner did she finish speaking did the farmhouse detonate with enough force to send Rainbow skittering back a step or two. Every window and door burst open with a seething oven of flames. The roof blew itself clean off, exploding in a terrific fireball over the burning farm.

“Come on, AJ!” Rainbow pleaded, desperate. “Let me help!”

Hardly ten feet over her head was a fat, dark rain cloud. One buck, and it’d end this catastrophe in easily ten seconds.
But Applejack just shook her head angrily. “Ah told ya Ah don’t need yer help, and I stand by it! I don’t need nopony’s help!”

The barn let out a horrible groaning sound louder than the roar of flames.

Just as Rainbow snapped her eyes onto it, the old structure buckled to one side, and with an almighty crash of splintering wood and raging fire, it came down with all the fanfare of a bomb detonating.

“This is crazy, Applejack!” Rainbow pleaded, taking a step towards her friend. “Just let me help you already!”

She froze in her tracks, however, when Applejack turned her head to glare at her out of the corner of one eye.
Her emerald eyes seemed to glow, brighter than even the blaze around them.

“Ya can’t,” she stated flatly, just as the wall of crimson flames reached them…

~~***~~

Rainbow sat bolt upright out of bed, a cry just barely getting past her lips.

“Appleja—”

Her voice withered before it’d even finished, reality setting in. With a groan, she flopped back onto her bed, feeling somehow less rested than ever before.

Just a dream… of course it was just a dream…

She pressed one foreleg over her eyes and bit her lip.

Stupid dream…

For several minutes, she just laid there, waiting for her heart to calm down. But as she laid there, she started to notice some… inconsistencies with her surroundings.

For one thing, the air around her smelled off. The nice thing about cloud homes was that any other aroma besides rain and ionization just didn’t have anything to cling to. So, finding the scent of hay, dirt and sweat invading her nostrils was downright bizarre.

Secondly, she knew for a fact that her bed was not this scratchy. She was intimately aware of this detail, after all.

So, despite the drive to just pass it off and get some more shut eye, Rainbow went against her better judgment and cracked open an eye.

She was immediately met with the sight of wooden planks and beams over her head – all painted in familiar red splashes with white borders. Just like…

And with that, realizations hit her like a rapid fire series of slaps to the face.

Holy crabapples! I’m not home – Apple Family Barn – Applejack – Problems!

The next thing she knew, she was standing out in the light of a mid-afternoon sun.

Or morning, by Rainbow’s timetable.

She quickly glanced this way and that, looking for any sign of a Stetson or its owner.

Nothing.

The Apple household sat not far away, looking practically vacant and abandoned. The only occupant remaining seemed to be ancient old Granny Smith, who was sound asleep on the porch, and nothing short of a miracle was going to change that.

The small garden on the side of the house was barren, its harvest already cleaned out for the season. No reason for anypony to hang around there.

That left only one place for her friend to be.

Rainbow squared her shoulders. This time, this time, she was bound and determined to get to the bottom of things.

She was not going to let that dream turn to reality!

~~***~~

Applejack straightened up from her work, letting out a breath. A chilled breeze played with her mane and coat, a welcome relief after hours of work.

For a moment, she leaned back to take it all in. All around her, open barrels sat waiting to be filled. Dozens more were already jam packed with leaves and the general detritus of the orchard, waiting patiently to be carted off.

From where she stood, she could just make out the shape of Big Mac as he singlehandedly dragged a large, ungainly cart back towards her.

They still had hours of work left to do, cleaning up the farm for the coming winter, which was due to be brought in the coming month. Raking up fallen leaves, rotten apples, even discarded twigs and branches; anything that might freeze to the ground and decompose where it ought not to had to be removed. It was back-breaking work, but for Applejack, it was just another day on the farm.

And to Applejack’s pleasant surprise, they were ahead of schedule. She couldn’t help but smile at that. Maybe she’d get her chance to apologize to Twilight in person today after all.

She set aside her thoughts once Big Mac hauled the cart back to where they were working. He hadn’t even pulled to a halt when he started shaking his head in disbelief.

“Already filled ‘em?” he asked, casting his eyes around the many filled barrels arranged in front of him.

“Eeyup,” Applejack respond playfully, soliciting a chuckle from her brother.

“Well Ah’ll be darned.”

Applejack chuckled in satisfaction as she stepped towards the cart. “Ah guess Ah just got a little extra giddy-up today,” she mused.

Big Mac quirked a brow at her. “A little?”

Her smile turned a little playful. “Enough ta keep up with you, ya big galoot.”

He huffed out a breath, but there was no disguising his smile.

Inside, he was more than a little relieved to see his sister getting back to her old self again. The tone she’d used last night had haunted him all night long, but now it seemed like little more than a bad dream.

The two siblings worked in high spirits to unload a fresh set of empty barrels from the cart and load the filled ones back in their place.

Big Mac watched thoughtfully as his sister hefted barrel after barrel onto her back, and with a sharp buck, launched each one into the cart, one after another. She only paused two or three times to wipe the sweat from her brow and catch her breath, but only took a moment or two every time to do so.

Eeyup, Ah knew Ah wasn’t seein’ things, he thought to himself.

She’s gettin’ stronger.

With one last mighty heave, Applejack threw the last barrel into the back and shut the tailgate. “That’ll do ‘er,” she declared, only slightly out of breath.

Big Mac nodded, still rather surprised with how fast they’d gotten done, and headed for the front of the cart to bolt himself in.

But to his surprise, he found an orange hoof blocking his way. “Hold on a sec, Macintosh.”

The big stallion turned his gaze towards the unexpected blockade; Applejack.

She wore a small smile, something he hadn’t seen for a while. “Ah just wanted ta say thank you. Fer bein’ so understandin’. Ah know Ah haven’t been the most… agreeable pony lately, but… Ah just wanted you to know Ah appreciate all ya’ve done fer me.”

Big Mac paused, caught off guard by her words.

Applejack turned her gaze away, looking instead towards the cart, the empty barrels yet to be filled, and the work yet to be tackled. “So, Ah figure Ah owe ya somethin’.”

“Nope.”

“Now don’t be like that, Macintosh – Ah ain't takin’ no fer an answer,” she stated firmly.

He only sighed in exasperation. “Applejack, ya know ya don’t owe me nothin’.”

“Did ya not just hear me?” Applejack snapped.

Once more, he sighed. “Alright… what did ya have in mind?”

The frown disappeared from her face, once more fading into a smile. “Why don’t ya let me handle the chores fer a while – now hang on,” she added, cutting her brother off, “let me finish, dagnabit. The way Ah see it, ya’ve covered fer me plenty lately. It’s mah turn to return the favor.”

She then leaned in, a knowing smirk on her face. “And Ah bet Miss Cherilee would like the company on her day off.”

It was Sunday after all.

Fortunately for Macintosh, his coat was already red, or else Applejack would never stop teasing him. He turned away, pretending like his sister hadn’t just said that. And that he wasn’t as sorely tempted as he was.

Too bad Applejack knew him so well.

She just laughed and smacked him on the shoulder. “Git outta here, BM. The farm ain't gonna burn down without ya.”

Big Mac once more turned away, barely muttering an intelligible “Eeyup” before quickly departing, eager to escape his sister’s chucking.

And she continued right on chuckling as she watched him make a hasty escape. Within only a few seconds, he was gone, leaving her alone with her work and the chilly breeze.

She turned, already rolling her shoulders in preparation for the next task.

But what she found when she turned around was not an awaiting barrel.

“Good Afternoon.”

Applejack took half a step back, nostrils flaring in alarm at the sight of the figure standing just under a nearby apple tree.

“Uh… Can Ah help you?”

“Yes, I believe you can,” Vigil stated plainly.

~~***~~

Rainbow soared through the skies over Sweet Apple Acres, putting her aching wings to the test. Sure, she felt rested, but her muscles still felt stiff and uncooperative, much to her annoyance.

Come on! All I gotta do is find Applejack. How hard can that be?

The problem was that, no matter where she looked, she was coming up one earth pony shy of her objective. For nearly ten minutes she’d been whizzing around one orchard after another, checking row after row. But row after row, she came up empty. There wasn't even the familiar sight of barrels set under apple trees – they’d all been hauled in for the season.

Rainbow kept going deeper and deeper into the farmland, into areas of orchard she’d never seen before, and yet still she failed to yield results.

She was just starting to grit her teeth in renewed frustration when, at last she caught a familiar sight through the trees.

“Hey Big Mac!”

The stallion turned to look her way, just as she came to a screeching halt only slightly over his head. “Have you seen Applejack? And if you give me more bull about her resting, I swear I’ll –”

“West Orchard.”

That brought RD up short, killing her threat in her throat. “Uh… what?”

“West Orchard. That’s where she is,” Big Mac responded casually. “Might want to hurry, though; don’t know how long she’ll be there.”

RD blinked, then nodded. “Okay, thanks Mac! Catch ya later!”

And with that, she zipped off without a backwards glance.

“Better hurry,” Big Mac said to the empty air she’d occupied as he turned away, an icy blue glint crossing his eyes for a fraction of a second.

~~***~~

Applejack stared at the strange mustard stallion, suspicion and confusion reigning in her mind. “Well, if it ain't important, Ah have work Ah need to get done,” she ventured.

“I assure you, it’s quite important,” Vigil responded evenly. “But first, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vigil. I work for Her Highness in gathering… intelligence from across Equestria.”

“Intelligence, huh?” Applejack repeated, raising an eyebrow. “What kind of Intelligence?”

“Before I answer that,” he said, affixing Applejack with an unblinking stare. His emerald eyes were more than a little unsettling for her to look at. It was like he had all the facts and she didn’t. “I must ask you one question.”

“… Alright, shoot.”

Vigil took a couple steps forward. Applejack had to fight the urge to take a few in reverse.

“Nice weather we’re having,” he stated.

Applejack hesitated, flummoxed. “Ah’m fairly sure that ain't a question,” she said, her brow furrowing.

But to her surprise, a look of confirmation crossed Vigil’s face. “So, it’s like I thought after all.”

Applejack gave him a truly confused look. “Ah’m sorry, mister, But Ah get the feelin’ Ah’m missing something.”

“Apologies, perhaps I should explain myself,” Vigil stated. “See, I know what you’re hiding.”

Applejack blinked, still uncertain. “Ah don’t follow.”

Vigil glanced away, out towards some unseen location far in the interior of the orchard.

“Perhaps I wasn’t clear,” he said. “I saw something quite intriguing in these orchards. Something that, by rights, wasn’t supposed to be here.”

He then returned a knowing glance to the earth pony, who’d grown very still. “Something that perhaps you’re intimately familiar with?”

Applejack froze. Completely and utterly froze. Her expression, her muscles, everything.

Only her mouth worked.

“Ah-Ah don’t know what yer talkin’ about,” she lied.

Even for a pony with such little facial movement, she could tell he didn’t buy it. “Please don’t treat me like a fool. I have no intention of treating you as one, so please at least extend a common courtesy.”

Despite how cold the air around her felt, Applejack could feel the sweat beading under her hat and on her forehead.

“I saw, Applejack,” Vigil went on, his eyes boring into hers. “I’m going to be upfront with you. I saw you at the cottage yesterday. And I know what you are. And yet…”

He took a step forward. This time, Applejack felt no hesitation from backing away from him. “You have no idea what you are, do you?”

“What do ya want?”

It took Applejack a moment to realize it’d been her that’d spoken. Her mind felt so out of order at the moment. Panic. Yes, she grasped that. She was panicking.

“Why’re ya here? You here to bring me in?”

Vigil blinked, hesitating.

“Now why would I do that?”

For the second time in so many seconds, Applejack hesitated, confused. “What are ya talkin’ about?”

Vigil took another step forward, backing her up even further. “If I intended to arrest you, don’t you think I would’ve brought more than myself?”

He cast his eyes up and down her body, making Applejack shiver. “I know you’re strong. It would be beyond foolish for any one pony to hope to try to lay their hooves on you. And yet here I am.”

He cocked an eyebrow slightly, once more resting his eyes on Applejack’s face. “Why do you suppose that is?”

“Yer… not goin’ to arrest me?”

“Very good,” he said.

Yet, Applejack felt a chill running down her spine that had nothing to do with the breeze. “Then what do ya want with me?” she asked.

“To talk,” Vigil responded plainly. “And perhaps, come to an… understanding of sorts.”

“Ah don’t follow,” Applejack said, frowning. “None of what yer sayin’ is makin’ any sense.”

She was starting to recover now, and she was starting to understand one thing very clearly. She was in danger.

“I’m no threat to you,” Vigil stated, waving a hoof. “I’m here under a white flag, as it were.”

“Then ya better speak yer piece,” Applejack said bluntly.

“Of course. Then, I’ll be frank. Are there any more of you hidden around Ponyville?”

“Ah ain't got the foggiest,” Applejack stated flatly. “And even if Ah did, why would Ah tell somepony like you?”

“Because it’s my job to find changelings,” Vigil replied evenly.

“Why?”

“Because Her Highness needs them found,” he said like it were an obvious concept. “Every changeling out of place is a resource wasted.”

“Why in the hay would Princess Celestia ever think a changelin’ was a resource,” Applejack questioned. The very idea just would not mesh with any concept of the benevolent ruler of Equestria. It just seemed so… alien.

Upon hearing her question, however, Vigil hesitated, an eyebrow quirking up ominously.

“Princess Celestia? Now why would you think that?”

For the second time that day, Applejack froze in place. Everything she’d heard, everything he’d said, played back through her mind… this time with a new filter.

“Yer a changeling.”

“How kind of you to notice,” Vigil stated blithely, just as unreadable as before, and for the briefest of moments, Applejack could’ve sworn she saw an icy blue sheen glaze over his eyes.

Applejack started to sweat even harder, her heart thundering in her chest as the revelation hit her like a sledgehammer. “B-but… Ya said yer workin for…”

“The royal court?” Vigil offered without inflection. “Yes. Yes I do. However… you failed to specify which one.”

Applejack’s blood ran cold. For one brief moment, her nightmare replayed itself before her eyes – a monster adorned with an obsidian crown, laughing maniacally in a trashed wedding hall.

“Get out.”

Vigil hesitated, drawing up short.

The look of dawning horror had faded from Applejack’s face. In its place was a singular, burning look of utter hate. “Get off my property.”

“There’s no need for hostility,” Vigil said, seemingly unmoved by Applejack’s rising fury. He even managed to make his backward step seem casual.

“Oh, Ah beg ta differ,” Applejack snarled. “If yer in league with that queen of yers, then we ain't got nothin’ to talk about. And if ya start runnin’ now, Ah may not catch ya.”

“And do what?” Vigil challenged.

“Off the top of my head?” Applejack said in a dark undertone. “Ah can think of a few ways ta deal with yer kind, and if yer lucky, Ah may only turn ya over to the guard.”

Yet, Vigil was unmoved. “I know you won’t do that.”

“And what’s ta stop me?” she spat.

“The same thing that prevents me from treating you in kind,” he replied coolly. “After all, all I’d need to do is point the hoof at you, too. Sooner or later, they’ll conduct a test on you… and that will get us both nowhere.”

Applejack bared her teeth. “Then Ah guess Ah better get ta plan B; cavin’ yer face in. Any objections?”

“How about hearing me out first,” Vigil said, still as casual as ever.

“Thirty seconds, then,” Applejack growled.

Vigil’s eyes grew heavy. “I don’t need to be your enemy, Applejack. In fact, I have no intention of doing so.”

“You and yer queen sure have a funny way of showin’ it,” Applejack said icily. “Twenty-five.”

“Very well, then,” Vigil said, his tone in danger of becoming short. “Let me cut to the chase. The changelings need you.”

“Me,” Applejack repeated, her voice dripping with skepticism. “Pardon me if Ah seem ta find that a might bit hard to swallow.”

“That’s because you don’t know who you are, Applejack,” Vigil pressed.

But AJ only glared harder, her temper flaring. “Ah understand who Ah am perfectly, Vigil, and don’t you forget it. Fifteen.”

“Allow me to correct myself,” he said. “You have no idea what you are.”

Before Applejack could speak up, eating into any more of his dwindling timeframe, Vigil took a step forward, pressing his luck further.

“You’re a queen, Applejack.”

The farmer’s mouth dropped open. “W-what?” she breathed, completely thrown off balance for a moment.

“Yes; you’re a changeling capable of far more than the rank and file. Haven’t you wondered why you looked so much different from a drone?”

He took another step forward, and with Applejack still reeling, she failed to back away this time. “That is why I have to ask you, Applejack; are there any more changelings in Ponyville?”

“Ah… Ah already told ya – Ah don’t know,” Applejack said. She was starting to recover, and the shock was once more fueling her anger. “And Ah ain't no queen like that monster,” she shot angrily.

“Being a queen isn’t a choice, Applejack,” Vigil informed her. “This is something you were born with. And that is why I’m here, talking to you.”

Applejack struggled to organize her thoughts, but they refused to resemble anything more than a wild hurricane in her head. “Ya’ll attack Canterlot, mess with a friend’s head, nearly make me turn mah back on one of my closest others, and just about enslave Equestria. And now ya want my help?”

“Yes,” Vigil said plainly. “Since the failed coup, our kind has slowly but surely been falling into chaos. Faith in Queen Chrysalis has been waning; infighting is threatening to tear our kingdom apart. And that is why we need you.”

He leveled another unsettling stare at Applejack, once more making her feel uncomfortable. “A new queen would stabilize the power struggle. And once the kingdom is unified again, we can turn our efforts to more pressing matters.”

A cold chill ran down Applejack’s spine. “As in takin’ over Equestria.”

For the first time, Vigil hesitated, clearly reevaluating his choice of words.

But the damage was done.

“Why would you care so much?” Vigil questioned. “You are a changeling, Applejack. Given half the chance, these ponies will clap you in irons and cast you aside.”

“And who’s fault do ya suppose that is,” Applejack snapped.

Vigil ignored her comment. “I understand your… attachment to your foster family, but –”

“No, Ah don’t think ya do,” Applejack cut across. “Ah’m gettin’ the feelin’ ya’ll don’t get the first thing ‘bout me. So allow me ta make myself clear.”

She suddenly leaned in, closing the distance so that they were mere inches apart, a cold glare in her eyes. “Ah’m a pony of Equestria, and an Apple before anythin’ else. And my answer is ‘no’.”

Vigil’s eyes grew just a little wider in surprise.

“And if Ah have ta repeat myself,” Applejack breathed menacingly, “Yer not gonna get the chance ta walk away under yer own power.”

She took a step back, glaring. “Now get off my farm.”

Vigil, however, was still for a moment, his eyes growing heavy once more. “You’re making a mistake, Applejack,” he said. “See, you seem to be missing something. I'm not asking.”

Applejack inhaled sharply, her nostrils flaring. “And yet here ya are, all by yerself,” she said, throwing his words right back at him. “And yer startin’ ta rub me the wrong way.”

Vigil had nothing to respond with. He merely pursed his lips, stalling.

“Now, Ah’m goin’ ta tell ya one last time,” Applejack said, lowering her voice even further. “Then Ah’m lettin’ my hooves do the talkin’. Get. Off. My. FARM!”

Vigil took an involuntary step back. He was so shocked at her outburst that he even couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise, his composure cracking.

But he didn’t comply. He stayed where he was. After all, Applejack had made one more mistake; she’d believed the word of a changeling. And if the faint buzzing in the trees was anything to go by, he wasn’t nearly as alone as he’d stated…

“Applejack!”

But that was not accounted for.

All eyes turned in surprise as, out of nowhere, a rainbow-hued blur blew into the clearing.

“Rainbow?!” Applejack gasped, stunned.

Dash, however, seemed completely oblivious to what was going on around her. That became clear when she leveled a glare her way. “There you are! Where the hay have you been?!”

“Uh…,” was Applejack’s eloquent response.

She had to struggle to squash her thought process back into familiar channels, and it nearly took her three whole seconds to do so – way longer than Rainbow had a tolerance for.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” she declared, hovering in front of her friend’s nose. “Do you know how many acres you guys have in Sweet Apple Acres? A lot!”

“Uh… Ah was workin’?” Applejack finally offered. “Ya know… as always?”

“Oh.”

All the wind went out of Rainbow’s sails at that, and she dropped to the ground, a look of realization on her face as she stared at the ground. “Huh… Why didn’t I think of that?”

But then she caught something out of the corner of her eye and looked around. “Vigil? What’re you doing here?”

She failed to see the look of wide-eyed shock Applejack gave the back of her head.

The stallion in question, however, was standing stock still, completely at a loss. All around him, the nearly imperceptible buzzing in the trees had died out entirely. “I—”

“He was just leavin’,” Applejack shot, leveling a cold glare his way.

This time, Rainbow didn’t fail to miss that one. “Uh… Applejack?”

She just stared right on passed her, glaring at Vigil.

He hesitated for a moment longer, then sighed almost unnoticeably. “So it would seem.”

But as Vigil turned to leave, he met Applejack’s gaze with an unyielding look of his own. “But one way or another, you’re going to cooperate, Applejack. You have no choice.”

And with that, he turned tail and left.

Rainbow watched him go, an uneasy feeling in her chest. “What the hay was that all about?”

Applejack was silent for a moment, her brain still milling as fast as it could, her body just starting to cease shaking.

“… Never you mind, sugarcube. He just took me fer somepony Ah'm not.”

~~***~~

Vigil made his way through the apple trees at a brisk trot. Only once he was out of sight of the changeling and her unaware friend did he allow a scowl to cross his features.

“Sir?”

Vigil didn’t even look as a vermillion stallion appeared seemingly from nowhere, dropping out of a nearby tree to trot at his side.

“Are we going to –”

“Where’s Hyacinth?”

The stallion hesitated, pausing mid-sentence. “Keeping an eye out. Is everything alright?”

Vigil closed his eyes and exhaled. He had to force aside his irritation – it wasn’t doing him any good at the moment.

After taking a second to recompose himself, he once more opened his eyes, his expression blank. “Yes. Everything’s fine.”

“Then what are our orders?” his companion asked carefully. “Shall we continue to observe?”

“No,” Vigil stated flately.

“Gather everyone up. Every. Last. One.”

The vermillion stallion paused. “…Sir?”

“Our target has elected to do this the hard way.”

Author's Note

This Chapter brought to you by the word "...Sh*t".

And a glass of Chardonnay, but that's a different story entirely :trollestia:

I actually considered ending this chapter a lot sooner at least twice (Hyacinth observing, Vigil's initial appearance) but thought that'd be too cruel, considering the next update will probably be on this coming weekend. Plus, I promised to remove some of the ambiguity to Vigil's motives, so I had to go at least that far.

Okay, down to serious business. School will be starting for me effective... today (1/22), so updates will likely come out at a slower pace. Perhaps not weekly, but around that kind of time table.

Again, I cannot thank you all for your continued support in this endeavor, and I will do everything in my power to live up to the expectation.
As always, continue to field your questions and comments - I read them all, and try to respond to what I can.

Now, to the sh*tstorm!

Chapter 4: Consequences

Vigil was furious. There were few times in his life where he’d ever admit to feeling remotely similar, and only slightly more times of actually being angry.

But in that moment, Vigil was furious. Because he was walking away, empty-hooved.

Failed.

Vigil didn’t tolerate failure. It was abhorrent, it was imperfect. It was totally, irrevocably unacceptable.

And yet there he was, falling woefully short of his goals. All because of that mare…

Vigil’s jaw tightened still further, but he forced his expression to stay neutral as he walked in apparent calm down an empty dirt road, the serenity and calmness of the open county thoroughly lost on him.

This was a setback, little more. All he needed was a plan…

“Sir?”

Vigil turned his gaze away from the dirt road in front of him – towards the looming shape of a nearby apple tree, one that very nearly hung its canopy out beyond the all-too familiar farm fence.

He turned just in time to see a bright shape detach itself from the fiery mass of leaves and vault onto the road beside him.

A lime green pegasus stallion straightened up beside him into what might be considered a loose simile of standing at attention. His eyes were too full of emotions to quite pull it off, however, and any drill sergeant would’ve had a field day with his stance. Either he was particularly new, or woefully out of practice.

“Hyacinth,” Vigil said. “Where have you been?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the brother, sir,” the pony responded. “Did something happen?”

Vigil turned away, his brow in imminent danger of devolving into a scowl. “We’ve run into a slight snag. The target is more… unwilling than I’d anticipated.”

Hyacinth hesitated, one leg in the air as he paused mid-step. The question on his mind was clear in his body language, but Vigil chose instead to ignore it and continue walking ever away from his target.

“Will that be an issue?” Hyacinth asked. “I understand that she is a queen, but with our numbers, we could…”

“Hyacinth, I’m beginning to suspect you’re questioning me.”

“No sir,” he said quickly. “Of course not, sir. I only wish to gain insight into your plans. My apologies if I overstepped my bounds.”

“Accepted,” Vigil stated tersely. “For now, however, we are falling back. Making such a commotion in the middle of the day without proper safety nets would put a strain on our operations, and having a witness already there would only compound things further.”

“A witness?”

“Yes,” Vigil said with a small nod. “One of her friends interrupted us, giving us the opportunity to fall back.”

Hyacinth only pursed his lips slightly at the lie, but said nothing on the matter.

“Aren’t you worried that Applejack might expose us to her friend?”

Vigil paused, but only to allow a knowing glint cross his eyes.

“No.”

~~***~~

A cold, almost harsh wind blew through the orchard, stealing through the branches to find two mares standing amid a scattered grove of apple trees and open barrels.

Both faced one another, and just by the look on the pegasus’s face, Applejack knew she’d only traded one problem for another.

“Rainbow…”

“Nope.”

“Come on, sugarcube…”

“No!”

“Ah ain't gonna ask ya again, Rainbow!”

The offending Pegasus responded by getting right in Applejack’s face, very nearly forcing her down on her rump.

“And I already told you! I’m not going anywhere until you start talking!”

Applejack responded by shoving her forehead against Rainbow’s, pushing her back, and glowering. “And Ah already said there ain't nothing to talk about!”

“Bull!” Rainbow bellowed angrily. “I saw the look on your face, AJ, and I’ve about had it with your dang excuses! Now are you gonna start talking or what?!”

Applejack couldn’t help but take a half step back, and she cursed herself internally for doing so, because she knew Rainbow would lock onto the sign of weakness like a shark.

“All of your friends have been worried sick about you, you know!” Rainbow continued shouting. “I’ve been worried sick!”

“Rainbow…”

“No, you listen! The last time you kept something like this to yourself, you abandoned us!”

Applejack felt her breath catch in her throat.

“You ran away and abandoned all of us,” Rainbow went on, her voice starting to crack ever so slightly. Her wings deflated, steadily going from arched and twitching with fury to slumped and lifeless.

Applejack could see the hurt in her friend’s eyes, the barely forgiven anger and sadness in danger of bursting forth all over again.

After a moment, Rainbow forced herself to rein it in, closing her eyes and taking a deep, sharp breath. She straightened her back so much that AJ thought she might be stretching and closed her wings before fixing her friend with a hard – and to AJ, almost painful – stare.

“I won’t let you do that again, AJ. Not to any of us,” she stated with conviction.

“Especially to yourself.”

Applejack felt something crack inside her. It was almost a physical sensation, one that split her composure like a log.

“Ah-Ah can’t.” she muttered, trying as hard as she possibly could to mask her flooding panic. “Please, Rainbow, don’t make me say anythin’. I-if Ah do, there won’t be no fixin’ it…”

But to her surprise, Rainbow was unmoved. She merely cocked an eyebrow.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, AJ,” she said in a hard tone, “but you’re not exactly fixing it yourself.”

Applejack bit her lip, averting her gaze. “Please, Rainbow, Ah’m beggin’ ya… Ah promise, if it were somethin’ Ah could talk about, Ah would. Ah swear Ah would.”

Rainbow tried to hide it, but she was stunned. Never before, in her history of knowing the earth pony, had she ever heard Applejack beg.

“But this ain't that kind of problem,” Applejack went on, unaware of how still her friend had become. “Talking about it or not, it ain't gonna change nothin’ except make everythin’ a whole lot worse.”

When she spoke next, it was in an absolutely teeny tiny voice that would’ve been lost to the wind if it’d chosen to blow at that moment.

“And… Ah won’t let mahself do that to ya’ll.”

Rainbow could only stare in shock.

“So please… don’t make me say it, sugarcube…”

Applejack stared at the ground, anywhere but at the mare in front of her. She felt so twisted up inside, and seeing any kind of reaction in Rainbow felt like it’d twist a knife in her heart even further.

Being confronted by Vigil had shaken her. And before she could steady herself, here came Dash…

She hated herself. Hated that she couldn’t confide in her friend, that she couldn’t tell her the one thing that she knew she wanted to hear, but at the same time knew would end everything. Her life on the farm, her time with her friends; everything.

And that thought was so scary it was imploding her chest…

Until, for the second time that day, Rainbow did something Applejack never would’ve anticipated.

Before she rightly knew what was happening, she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her shoulders and pull her close.

She could only see a splash of reds and yellows, greens and blues, all harshly muddling the view of the trees in front of her.

“You aren’t going to lose me, Applejack,” said Rainbow’s voice in her ear, “or any of our friends. It doesn’t matter what it is – it really doesn’t. We just want our friend back.”

“Rainbow…?”

That was when it finally clicked. She was being hugged. Rainbow Dash was hugging her. The very concept sounded strange in her head, conflicting with what she’d learned to anticipate from her brazen daredevil friend.

But there she was; Rainbow’s weight leaned comfortingly against the farm pony’s shoulders, the feel of her toned muscles seeming almost unbreakable against Applejack’s coat.

“It’s going to be okay, AJ. Whatever you’ve gotten into your head about whatever’s going on with you being unfixable, you’re wrong. So wrong, in fact, I should really just buck you in the head for even thinking like that.”

Applejack felt what must’ve been one of Rainbow’s hairs getting into her eye. No way that stinging was anything else.

“I’ll always have your back, AJ. Don’t you ever forget that.”

The crack in Applejack’s chest grew wider, splitting so painfully she almost hissed every time it throbbed.

She couldn’t take it. It was unfair, beating her down like this. First Vigil, now her… Sooner or later, even somepony as tough as her would shatter.

“… Do ya promise?”

“I’d Pinkie Swear,” Rainbow Dash said into her Stetson, “but then I’d have to let you go, and since I kinda got you pinned here…”

Even as miserable as she felt, Applejack couldn’t help but huff in pained amusement. “That’s just playin’ dirty.”

“You’re just mad ‘cuz I won.”

Applejack felt a frown cross her brow… but she didn’t deny it. After all, she could tell no lies.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Applejack felt her heart thud again, tugging at her eyes once more.

“No…”

“Why—”

“Not yet, sugarcube,” Applejack went on softly. “Give me some time, alright? Ah ain't ever talked about this with nopony… and Ah still ain't convinced everythin’ll be fine afterwards.”

Then, gingerly, she raised a hoof to place across Rainbow’s shoulders. Strange… they’d never felt this strong before.

“But… yer right, RD. Ah really wish ya weren’t but… yer right. You and the rest of the gals deserve better than Ah’ve been givin’. You win… this time.”

Applejack could almost feel Rainbow’s smirk through her hat.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Don’t push yer luck.”

Dash just snickered, and upon hearing that familiar – and sometimes hated – sound, Applejack finally felt the crack in her chest closing. It was still there, but at least the throbbing could once more resemble a heartbeat.

The two sat in silence for nearly a minute, hugging it out. The chilly wind whistled through the trees, dislodging some of the first leaves from their homes and toying idly with both mares’ manes.

For Rainbow, she finally felt the frustration and tension in her body easing like a dense fog dissipating.

For Applejack, she felt trepidation on a whole other level. Some might even call it sheer, unadulterated terror, and if it were for anypony other than Rainbow, it likely would’ve been.

But for now… for the first time ever… that terror wasn’t insurmountable. It was there, yes, warning her against everything she was doing and considering doing. But there was no getting around Rainbow’s words, or the look on her face as she spoke them.

Finally, Applejack felt her nerve return. She patted Rainbow on the back, signaling to her, and the two broke apart.

“Alright… Alright,” Applejack said, somehow feeling like she had to catch her breath for a coming event. “Can ya give me some time now? Ah… got a lot ta think over.”

Rainbow smiled, the first friendly look she’d worn all day.

Yep… I’m awesome

“Sure thing, AJ. I’ll just swing by some other time, okay?”

Applejack smiled and nodded. “You take care, sugarcube. And… if it wouldn’t be all that much trouble… would ya mind keepin’ this to yerself?”

“Which part?”

Applejack wiped nonchalantly at one eye.

“All of it.”

The two shared a snicker. Before they were done, Rainbow spread her wings, and in a single motion, she was off her hooves.

Odd how her wings didn’t feel nearly as stiff as before.

“Alright, catch you later!”

And with that promise, she took off into the late afternoon sky.

Applejack watched her go, and as she did so, the smile slowly slipped from her lips.

This, she knew, was going to be a mistake. Likely the worst mistake of her life, too. But for the first time, a cast-aside memory of not so long ago twitched at the back of her mind.

Don’t ya even want to try…?

Applejack didn’t know how to answer that question anymore.

Far overhead and unbeknownst to her friend, Rainbow Dash’s expression had similarly slipped. Her smile faded entirely, instead being replaced with a hard scowl.

She may be leaving Applejack alone to her thoughts, but that didn’t mean she was going to just sit around patiently and do nothing. After all, Rainbow Danger Dash was a mare of action, not thought.

And right then, she had an ax to grind with somepony.

~~***~~

Rainbow made only a single detour in her journey; making a beeline for her cloud home rather than just scream across Ponyville, devil-may-care.

She only recalled just in time, and only because who her thoughts were aiming at like a rifle sight.

She was in and out of the home faster than any living creature should frankly move indoors, emerging with a Wonderbolts drawstring pouch hung around her neck. Once upon a time, it’d been used for her “Daring Do Fund”. However, now her ID had more pressing reservations, and Rainbow was not getting held up again!

Once more on track and racing across the now-clear skies of Ponyville, she remembered once more the look on Applejack’s face when she’d first spotted her – shocked, enraged unlike anything she’d ever seen before, but also totally, utterly terrified.

But most of all, Rainbow remembered the face of the other pony that’d been there – the one who’d put that look on her friend’s face in the first place – and his uncaring eyes.

And all she felt was rage.

~~***~~

“VIGIL!”

Rainbow dropped out of the sky like a meteor, actually cratering the hard-packed dirt road slightly when she landed.

She didn’t care that she was in the middle of Ponyville, and that there were at least a dozen ponies watching her with wide, stunned eyes.

That expression was likewise stamped across the face of her target, even if to an infuriatingly subdued degree.

She’d seen Vigil from almost six-hundred feet up, just waltzing across Ponyville Square without a care in the world.

She intended to change that.

“… Can I help you, Miss Dash?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow snarled. “What the hay do you want with my friend, huh? What gives you the right to harass her like that?”

The mustard stallion paused, then plucked at the golden badge hanging against his chest. “This.”

That was not the right answer. Technically nothing was, but that was especially not the right answer.

“Well knock it off, you hear me?” She shouted in his face. “I don’t care who you answer to! Do something like that to her again and I’ll shove that horn of yours straight up your –”

“Rainbow!”

Before Dash could turn to see who’d interrupted her mid-rant – it was destined to be quite the ‘doozy’, as Pinkie would put it – She found another pony imposing herself between her and her prey.

“What has gotten into you?” Twilight asked, her eyes wide with shock.

Rainbow only pointed a hoof at Vigil. “This pony has been harassing Applejack, that’s what!” she shouted. “He’s the reason why she’s been acting so weird! Isn’t that right?!”

“Rainbow, stop it!” Twilight cried, raising her tone to try to match Rainbow’s. “You can’t just go around accusing somepony, especially a royal investigator!”

“YOU DIDN’T SEE HER!” Rainbow roared, causing Twilight to flinch down in shock.

It was only when she saw her friend starting to cower in front of her that it finally hit the pegasus pony what she was doing, and more specifically, who she was shouting at.

Finally she backed down, smashing her eyes shut as she fought down her boiling blood. “I-I’m… I’m sorry, Twi’. I didn’t mean to shout at you. It’s just…”

She snapped an eye open, leveling a deadly glare right at the culprit. “That pony is freaking Applejack out, and I want to know why. I want answers.”

All three stared at each other for a few seconds – two sets focus solely on one another while the third continuously flashed nervously between the two.

Their little display hadn’t gone unnoticed, either, and now nearly every pony within eyesight had locked their gazes on the spectacle. Some were even coming out of stores to see what all the shouting was about. Rumors would undoubtedly circulate – about how Rainbow shouted at a court official for no discernible reason – but at the moment it was the furthest thing from her mind.

At the moment, she just wanted to focus on getting her breathing under control.

But it was Twilight who spoke first, looking incredibly nervous, and just a little sympathetic. Not enough for Dash, but just a little.

“Rainbow, you can’t just question an investigator about a case you’re not personally involved in, and even if you did, he’s legally required to not answer. He could lose his job and go to prison if he did.”

Rainbow’s expression soured, her eyes narrowing. “Fine. Then how about this? Stay away from Applejack, or are you legally required to ignore that, too?”

“Actually, I am,” Vigil stated, just as controlled as ever. “You may not like it, Miss Dash, but regardless, I will be looking into that friend of yours.”

“Why you…,” she snarled, but a veil of purple light kept her from advancing forward.

“Rainbow,” Twilight warned, casting a nervous eye towards Vigil.

“Perhaps,” he said in a slightly raised tone, catching both mares’ attention, “instead of trying to stop me, you should wonder why I’m interested in Applejack in the first place.”

Rainbow bared her teeth more, glaring, but said nothing.

Vigil just fixed her with an unsettling gaze, one that betrayed nothing but a pony holding all the cards. “Just what does she have to hide? What secret could she possibly have that she’d keep it from you?”

Rainbow hated it, but she had no rational answer. Good thing she didn’t favor ‘rational answers’.

“All I know is what I saw, and what I saw was some investigator and his goons backing my friend into a corner!”

Vigil froze. Well, in a manner of speaking. No pony would’ve ever noticed if he got any more motionless.

“…Excuse me?”

"I can spot a Paparazzi a mile away, pal," Rainbow growled, somehow managing to add a smug note to her angry voice. "And hiding in the trees is about as old a trick as it gets. Call me crazy, though, but I doubt those ponies were looking for a picture or two."

Vigil’s mind went blank for a second, reeling rapidly for traction.

She saw them? No… no she couldn’t have. Not really, or else she’d have brought the town guard.

Within a fraction of a second, he had his composure back, his mind already counterattacking.

“And you do not wonder why I felt the need for backup?” he asked. “Perhaps you should ask yourself that before you point your hoof based only on assumptions.”

“Yeah? And why would you need a small gang of thugs, huh?” Rainbow shot hotly.

“Rainbow,” Twilight interjected, throwing her a scolding frown. “He can’t—”

“It’s quite alright, Miss Sparkle,” Vigil cut across before redirecting his gaze to his accuser.. “Let’s speak in hypotheticals, shall we?”

“I only speak Equestrian, bub.”

“Apparently. Now listen… hypothetically speaking, what if Applejack wasn’t who she seemed to be?”

Rainbow faltered, momentarily confused, but immediately glowered. “Well, hypothetically speaking, you’re a gelding.”

“I see there’ll be no reasoning with you,” Vigil sighed. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’m a very busy pony.”

With that, he turned and started to trot away. He was about to resume his planning when one last shout from the mare behind him caught his attention.

“Don’t think this is over, chump!”

“Oh, I fully expect it isn’t,” he called to her without turning around, and promptly cast her from his mind… for the most part. After all, it seemed he might now have to make a slight adjustment to his plans…

~~***~~

Applejack knew she ought to be working, but… her spirit just wasn’t into it. Sure, she got the filled barrels loaded into the cart, and true she hauled that sucker all the way back to the barn and back.

But there she stopped, and the will to fill those barrels again just sort of… left her.

She collapsed under a tree with a grunt. There, she started to evaluate her options.

The day was growing late. A cold crisp to the air was nipping at her and dislodging more stray leaves from the trees above. She watched them whistle away with the wind, out towards Ponyville and to lands unknown.

She liked this view – always had. Dead of winter or height of summer, it offered nothing short of the best view money couldn’t buy.

She could see all the way out to Canterlot, in fact, and if the sun was just right and the air just clear, she could occasionally see the majestic and seemingly improbable spires of Cloudsdale, far in the distance.

That day was not such a day, however, and all she saw was the lemon-tinted late afternoon sky.

She could feel the sun on her face as it made a break for the horizon once more. She could practically taste the apple-scented orchard on her tongue – an aroma that never left the place, no matter the time of year.

And if she messed this up, it would all disappear.

If she thought about it, she didn’t care so much about what happened to her. It scared her, having the threat of losing so much dangling over her head like a guillotine, but she knew she would one day be able to recover from it. She’d dust herself off, find a new home, a new place to grow apples and buck trees until her knees gave out and arthritis claimed her. That was just the kind of pony she was.

But what cut her the deepest was the consequences that would fall on her family. Granny Smith knew, yes, and so did Big Macintosh. But Apple Bloom didn’t.

There’d just never been any reason to tell her; since it was something she could keep on the sidelines, something that wouldn’t affect her on a regular basis, she’d cast it aside as unnecessary information, like making obscene noises with her armpit or some such nonsense, and moved on.

But if the news got out – that she was a changeling, and… and a queen at that…

No matter which way she spun it, no matter what twist she put on the tale, the farm would be done for.

After all, who’d want to eat produce that had anything to do with a changeling? Odds are the family would be run clean off the land by paranoid ponies out for justice.

She couldn’t do that, not to the ponies that’d raised her and taught her right from wrong. In many ways, if it weren’t for them, she’d be a frail little filly with hardly enough strength to buck an empty bucket over, let alone a full grown apple tree.

She owed her family more than any amount of words could ever describe. She’d sooner die than let that fate befall them.

So… she had to make sure Rainbow understood. She had to do everything in her power to get the message across – that she was Applejack, the very same Applejack that’d known her since she’d returned to the farm as a filly.

If she could do that, maybe – just maybe she’d have a shot in the dark.

She had no choice. She’d bet the entire future of the farm on this one gamble; on all-but throwing herself to the Timber Wolves and hoping they’d been muzzled.

Applejack didn’t know how long she’d sat there, under that tree, watching the sun go down. She never calmed completely, but her nerves steadied.

As she lay there motionlessly on her belly, slowly another facet of her situation arose to meet her, one that didn't bare a grim taint to it.

She was going to tell somepony.

After so many years, after literally living her life with having this secret ingrained as such into her mind… it was going to be passed on. The very thought made her heart flutter – both in panic and excitement.

Over and over she thought that the best course of action was still to run and never look back, but… She wasn’t going to.

It was scary – downright terrifying, in fact – but… she was going to tell somepony her deepest, darkest secret. Whatever may come, that fact right there was almost enough to make her feel lightheaded.

Applejack was so absorbed with her thoughts that she didn’t hear a set of heavy hooves approaching, nor did she catch the sight of an approaching mass of red out of the corner of her eye.

She only became aware of Big Mac’s presence when he spoke.

“Somethin’ on yer mind?”

Applejack snapped her head around, taken off guard, but quickly recovered when she saw who it was.

“Howdy Big Mac,” she greeted. “Enjoy yer day off?”

He nodded his head.

Applejack’s smile grew. “Ya know… Ah’m findin’ it hard ta believe that ya’ll were gone for just a few hours,” she mused.

“Did Ah miss somethin’?”

Applejack nodded, and turned to gaze out over the countryside again. For a moment, she considered what to tell him; about Vigil, about what he’d said about her and the threat he’d levied over her head.

But instead, she chose the most important of the bunch.

“Ah’m gonna tell ‘er, Macintosh,” she said quietly.

Big Mac stayed motionless in the corner of her eye, his reaction unreadable.

“Tell who?”

“Rainbow,” Applejack responded. She almost chuckled at how casual she sounded. She felt anything but nonchalant.

“She came ‘round while ya were in town. Didn’t take no fer an answer, that dang pony.” She chuckled to herself.

Big Macintosh was silent, motionless for a long time. Until…

“Ah’m glad.”

Applejack turned, and felt her eyes widen in surprise. The smile on Big Mac’s face was a rare one, just because it was marvelously big.

“Ah think this’ll be the right choice fer you, Applejack. It’s the best thing ta do.”

He took a step forward, looking happier than he had in years.

“Don’t ya’ll worry about us, alright?” he said.

Applejack’s expression fell then, despite herself. “But if Ah mess it up…”

“Ya ain't gonna mess it up,” he pressed. “Cuz Ah know a mare who won’t take no fer no answer no more than Rainbow.”

Applejack couldn’t help but smile once more, her heart rising. “Well gosh, Big Mac, ya didn’t have ta go and say that.”

He only let out a deep, rumbly chuckle at that. “Come on, now. Let’s get all this cleaned up and cleared out. There’s dinner to be had.”

Applejack couldn’t help but cock a smirk at her brother. “Sounds like a plan ta me.”

~~***~~

The sky was little more than a burgundy splash by the time the two siblings were done, their loads carted off and abandoned in the barn for the following day.

While Big Mac lingered behind to clean up and close up the barn, Applejack cantered up towards the farmhouse, still feeling light on her hooves.

With Big Mac’s support ringing in her ears, she headed into the kitchen to clean her hooves off.

All the while, she continued to think about her impending meeting with Rainbow, but now she had a decidedly less pessimistic outlook on the matter. Funny what family could do.

Just as she got done drying her hooves on a towel, Big Macintosh waltzed in through the front door, looking surprisingly tired yet satisfied.

“Hurry up, Mac,” Applejack called. “Get hustlin’ before –”

Everypony in the house heard the loud thud out on the front porch. Even Granny Smith perked up, eyes trained in the direction of the front of the house.

“What was that?” Apple Bloom inquired aloud, as if somepony present would magically know.

Applejack exchanged a look with her brother, then cautiously edged towards the origin of that sound.

As she went, a re-play of Vigil’s words went through her head again and again.

I wasn’t asking…

He wouldn’t…

She braced herself, squared her shoulders, and slammed open the front door.

And promptly smacked Rainbow clean off the porch.

“Oh ponyfeathers, are you alright?” Applejack cried, rushing over to her capsized friend.

“Did anyone catch the plate on that cart?” Dash warbled, her wall-eyed stare going this way and that.

“Oh yer fine,” Applejack huffed, straightening up.

“You weren’t the one who got punted like a soccer ball,” her friend griped. She shook her head, aligning her vision into a shocked and indignant stare leveled at her friend. “Since when could you do that?”

Applejack then turned sheepish, blushing lightly. “Uh, Ah guess Ah don’t know mah own strength sometimes.”

“I’ll say,” Rainbow replied, fighting to right herself. After some flailing of limbs and one declined helping hoof, she clambered to her hooves. She shook her head free of any lingering dizziness and focused her eyes.

From deeper in the house, a voice just reached the two friends as Rainbow straightened up properly. "Is it a Jabberwocky? Don't look in in the eye, Applejack!"

"Granny, I think that's a cockatricycle," piped up Apple Bloom's voice.

"Nonsense! Ah know a Jabberwocky when Ah hear -"

Applejack promptly shut the door the moment she reached it.

“So, er...," she said with a cough, "what brings ya around here? Ya know. 'sides fer skeet shootin’.”

“Ha ha,” Rainbow deadpanned. “I’m here because I said I’d be, remember?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Rainbow said back, grinning in bemusement. “Don’t tell me you forgot?”

“’course not,” Applejack huffed indignantly. it’s only been drivin’ me up and down a wall fer the past few hours! “Ah just figured it was startin’ to get a bit late, so Ah figured you wouldn't be... showin'?”

Rainbow just stared her into silence. “I said I was going to hear you out, and I stand by it. Pinkie promise.”

Applejack stared at her for a moment, gauging her fierce – and rather bullheaded – expression.

“…Alright,” she said slowly. “But ya have ta promise one thing. Ah mean really promise me, sugarcube.”

“Sure,” Rainbow said without hesitating. “What is it?”

“Ya have ta promise ta let me finish, alright?”

She paused for a second, then nodded. “Okay, I think I can manage that.”

“Ah hope so, sugarcube,” Applejack sighed. “Just… gimme a sec to excuse mahself from the table and Ah’ll be right out.”

She quickly darted back towards the house, poking her head in through the door.

Everypony was already seated, now being quite well behaved. Each turned their head expectantly towards the sound of the door being pried open.

Only the elders held any knowing glint in their eyes, however, leaving poor Apple Bloom to stare on in confusion.

“Sorry, ya’ll, but Ah gotta step out fer a while,” Applejack told them.

“Well alright, deary,” Granny Smith said, who didn’t seem to have a knowing glint – she had a knowing glow. “Ah’ll save ya a plate. Ya better take care now, ya hear?”

“Ah will, Granny, don’t you worry,” Applejack said appreciatively. “You folks… take care while Ah’m gone, alright?”

She thought she saw Granny’s smile flinch for a second, but that could’ve just been a muscle spasm.

“Alright, we will,” she said.

Then Applejack turned her eyes towards her brother. “And… thanks again fer the advice. It’s been a big help.”

Big Mac blinked for a second, before saying a single “Eeyup.”

The moment Applejack was gone, however, he had to wonder just what advice he’d given her in the first place.

~~***~~

The two mares walked in silence through the orchards, one in front of the other. Night was only a short while away, the sky reflecting this nearness with the first twinkles of stars far overhead.

Shadows reigned over the shaded places under the trees, leaving most of their surroundings to their imaginations and little else.

To Applejack’s surprise, Rainbow didn’t start whining or complaining after only a few minutes of walking. She just trotted behind her quietly, eyes training on the back of her head, which she was exquisitely aware of.

“So… where are we going?” Dash asked at last, after nearly ten solid minutes of nothing but the sounds of hoof-falls between them.

“Just someplace quiet,” Applejack hedged.

The moment she heard that tone, however, Rainbow ground to a halt.

“Here’s quiet, AJ,” she said meaningfully.

Applejack paused, biting her lip. She was just stalling and she knew it.

“S-so it is,” she said nervously, then promptly tried to disguise it behind an even more nervous chuckle.

Ending with a sigh, she turned to face her friend.

In the gloom, Rainbow’s coat looked almost midnight blue, her eyes jet black. She just gave Applejack a single blink, eyes gleaming in the dark as she waited.

Applejack took a few more breaths, fidgeting. “Ah… Ah ain't ever talked ‘bout this with nopony, just so ya know,” she started. “Mah folks know, but… we don’t make a habit of talkin’ about it.”

“And what’s ‘it’,” Rainbow prompted, cocking her head to one said. “Come on, Applejack, stop holding out on me.”

“I’m tryin’ dagnabit,” she snapped. “It’s just… Ah know this is gonna be a tough pill ta swallow.”

She looked down, hiding partially behind her hat. She’d never used her Stetson as a shield before, not from eyes, and doing so now made her feel… uncomfortable.

“The truth is, Rainbow… Ah ain't what yah think Ah am.”

Rainbow blinked, confused. “You’re Applejack,” she said hesitantly. “What’s not to get?”

“Ah didn’t say who Ah am, Rainbow. Ya’ll know that perfectly, and don’t ya forget it.”

Once more, Rainbow blinked, her confusion deepening. “Okay… but I still don’t follow. What are you then?”

“Somepony special.”

Both mares froze in place, every hair on the backs of their necks standing on end.

Two things went through Applejack’s mind then.

One; she’d been looking at Rainbow’s face and failed to see her lips move at all.

Two; that wasn’t a mare’s voice.

As one, they both turned their heads to the side, towards the origin of the actual speaker.

Applejack felt her mouth get very dry all of a sudden.

“Vigil…”

“Yes,” said the invader. “Me.”

Rainbow Dash gasped in shock, and in the next instant, she moved.

True to style, she moved faster than either Applejack or Vigil could react, imposing herself between them like a barricade.

“I thought I told you to leave Applejack alone, creep!”

“And I thought,” he hissed in return, “I told you to stay out of my way.”

Rainbow snarled, baring her teeth and pawing at the ground.

Right up until the bushes in front of her split apart.

No more than ten figures crept from the darkness, figures as black as the deepest shadow. Only their featureless eyes glowed in the dark like little lanterns, giving off an icy blue light.

“Unless, of course,” Vigil added, his tone brutally flat, “I neglected to say so in the first place. It’s hard to remember with you ponies.”

Rainbow was frozen in place in shock. When she heard more rustling, she turned her eyes instinctively towards the sound to find still more changelings materializing from the growing darkness. It was as if every single shadow on every single tree had a little buzzing menace to hide.

There were well over a dozen, perhaps two dozen. They buzzed in the air, crawled on the ground, peered out from trees… no vantage point didn’t have an occupant.

Behind her, Applejack was darting her eyes this way and thought, a cold bite stealing into her chest all over again.

“V-Vigil, what’s going on,” Rainbow couldn’t help but asked, shrinking back against her friend in shock.

“I thought that was obvious,” he stated. “I told you, didn’t I? I have an interest in that friend of yours.”

Rainbow felt her breath catch in her throat.

“I suppose I could’ve just waited until she revealed herself,” he mused idly. "However, the two of you have made the mistake of irritating me.”

Just as he started to finish his words, the grove was illuminated by a bright, blinding flash of acidic green fire.

Both ponies flinched against the glare, watching through squinted eyelids in morbid fascination as Vigil’s guise disintegrated like burnt paper on the wind, vaporizing a ring of browning grass beneath him.

The investigator's badge hanging around his neck superheated from the raging changeling fire, melting like glowing wax under the magical flames.

Within only a heartbeat, the mustard stallion was gone. In his place stood a blackened creature practically identical to the monsters in the grove around him. Only the telltale dark armor gave him away as different.

A puddle of molten metal sat just beneath his neck where his liquefied badge had fallen, casting a fiery glow upon his black chitin and dark indigo armor plating. It hissed and spat against the cold ground, and within moments, the light began to fade, leaving only the changeling's cold, unforgiving eyes glowing in the dark.

Rainbows response was about all she could muster.

“…Oh… crabapples.”

Applejack felt like she was about to hyperventilate. In every direction, she saw nothing but icy blue eyes staring hungrily at her.

Vigil never turned his featureless eyes from his goal, instead raising his voice slightly.

“Take the earth pony. Dispose of the pegasus.”

Rainbow heard them coming; the telltale buzzing, the barely contained chuckles.

But she didn’t turn to meet them. She’d heard the one thing Vigil probably should not have said.

“Don’t… you… dare. Touch. MY. FRIEND!!!”

She moved purely on instinct. With one mighty wing beat, she threw herself backwards, slamming into Applejack and launching them both out of the clearing.

No less than six changelings hit the ground on all fours where they’d been, and immediately changed direction.

Applejack and Rainbow hit the ground, rolled, and were up and galloping hardly a handful of seconds later, already running for their lives.

~~***~~

Applejack knew the farm. She knew every little nook and cranny there was to know.

But she had no idea where they were going to go.

Rainbow, too, had no idea where they were going to escape to. Every time she opened her wings and glanced up, she always find a black, sneering face leering back at her.

But flight wasn’t an option, even if the sky had been clear in the first place. She wasn’t about to leave her friend behind.

A black shape darted out of the corner of her eye, snapping her back to attention. “Oh no you don’t!” she shouted, and launched herself forward, rear leg leading the way, towards the oncoming missile.

The changeling’s eyes got huge in shock before it found out the exact sensation of having a pegasus bury their hoof into one’s jaw.

With a yelp, it went sailing away into the darkness, followed momentarily by a tree quivering.

“You know,” Rainbow snapped in aggravation as she flew back to her friends side, “you could’ve told us you had a whole changeling army after you!”

“Ah didn’t know any more than you did,” Applejack snapped back. “That Vigil talked a big game, but Ah thought he was all bark!”

“Does this seem like ‘all bark’ to you?!” Rainbow shouted, her eyes darting around for more attackers.

Without warning, the orchard on all sides of them dropped away. They emerged instead onto an open hillside – emphasis on wide-open.

On Applejack’s right was a steep drop off – a mudslide from the torrential rains earlier in the week.

And on every other side, there were changelings. Lots and lots of changelings.

They were just waiting for them, eyes narrowed. It hardly seemed far; both mares were breathing hard, and yet there their pursuers were, still as statues, just waiting for them patiently.

Both Applejack and Rainbow skidded, their legs pedaling beneath them, but before they could pull an about face, the gap they’d just run through was plugged with more monstrous silhouettes.

They were penned in, including from above, and the pen was getting smaller by the second, forcing the friends back to back.

“Applejack?”

“Ah’m thinkin’.”

Rainbow glanced towards the nearest wall of bodies, tensing for a fight.

“Think faster…”

Applejack cast her eyes this way and that, struggling to find an exit.

But she came up empty. Even as the first wave of changelings vaulted towards her, hooves reaching., she had nothing but the burning need to be anywhere but there.

All you have to do is picture it…

Applejack blinked, an idea striking her.

A stupid idea. A ludicrous idea, one that’d likely fail any number ways, if not get them both killed.

She’d had worse.

Before she gave herself time to think, she whirled around and slammed Rainbow with both her forelegs right in the chest.

She saw her friend's eyes get wide in shock as her hooves left the ground. Her wings flared open in alarm, trying to find purchase in the air as she plummeted over the edge of the mudslide drop off.

But what Rainbow saw next completely distracted her.

An emerald fireball was racing after her, a fireball that’d once been her friend.

All she saw was a single holey black hoof erupting through the roiling fire towards her. Then an amber, twin-ringed eye.

Applejack beat her horribly neglected wings as fast as she could for the first time in her life, willing herself forward with all her might.

She felt one hoof make contact, then another.

Before Rainbow could even think about batting away the strange changeling, Applejack clamped her hooves around her neck, crushing them together.

They were dropping now, head-first towards the ground.

Changelings were inches behind them, clawing at their tails and missing by centimeters.

More were coming to intercept, beating on strong, healthy wings as they rocketed towards them, racing the ground.

Just before they did it, Applejack felt that same memory pass over her mind’s eye again – a purple unicorn, talking with that look that told Applejack she was lecturing.

It’s not that hard. All a unicorn has to do is imagine where they’re going, channel, and…!

Applejack gritted her fangs and prayed.

Her blackened horn flared to life, going from sputtering sparks to a dazzling emerald torch in moments.

Fiery tongues danced through the air around them, magic crashing together in a crude, volatile mix, ripping at itself with claws of acidic green lightning and emerald flames.

The magic strengthened, wrapping the two plummeting ponies in a bright green fireball.

Applejack concentrated – concentrated with all her might, screaming in her head ANYWHERE BUT HERE!!!

The fireball crackled, popped, let out a high pitched keening of shredding reality… and popped out of existence with a deafening bang, leaving only a puff of enchanted fire in its wake.

No more than twelve changelings shrieked in alarm, suddenly finding their targets missing… and their trajectory quite unfavorable to say the least.

The sounds of twelve sickening crunches of changeling-on-rock rent the air, following by twelve cries of pain.

From the hillside overlook the mudslide, Vigil stood frozen, nonplussed.

“Huh…”

~~***~~

Sparks of light danced through the air like fireflies, lighting up the well-packed and cleared ground and the looming shape of a barn with an eerie light.

Within moments, the sparks tripled in number, then quintupled. A high pitched keening sound rent the once-peaceful night air, flashes of unstable emerald light striking like lightning again and again.

And then, with a resounding bang, a fireball exploded into existence seemingly out of thin air. It lingered for less than a heartbeat nearly six feet off the ground, popping in and out of existence faster than a camera flash.

Out of those flames came two bound-together figures. They came out of the fire sailing straight down, hit the ground with a painful crash, and broke apart.

There they remained, motionless in the dirt as an acrid black plume lingered overhead.

For a long time, neither figure moved in the slightest.

With a groan, Rainbow Dash broke that trend.

She twitched, her eyes fluttering open with great effort. She took a ragged breath of air, which quickly turned to a hiss of pain.

She hurt all over. Her head hurt in a familiar way, probably from hitting the ground.

But more than that – her skin hurt in ways she hadn’t felt since the dragon migration.

Burns… but why was she burnt…?

“Ugh… Wha happen…ed?” she groaned, struggling to right herself.

Her head was clearing, but slowly. The more she clawed to consciousness, the more she tried to move. Her body didn’t appreciate it, but it complied.

still in one piece…

She groaned again, this time struggling to sit up…

“Hey! That you, Rainbow?”

Rainbow groaned again, finally managing to get right side up. She knew that voice…

“Buh… Big Mac?”

A shape was moving towards her, galloping at tremendous speeds. “Ah’m here, Rainbow,” came his urgent voice. “Are ya alright?”

“I… I think…,” she started to say.

And then everything came back to her like one massive Friendship Express-sized punch to the head.

“Changelings!” she shouted, suddenly wide awake. “They – they attacked us!”

Rainbow Dash whipped her head around, just looking for another fight… but came up empty.

That was when she noticed where they were, made easily identifiable since she'd only left it a handful of minutes ago.

Had it really only been that long...?

“How’d I get to the farmhouse?” she asked, dazed and confused.

“Ah could ask ya the same question. I came out here cuz I heard a loud noise, and find…”

Rainbow Dash turned, finally zeroing in on the mighty stallion. His form was hard to make out in the darkness, but she could make out enough. However, he wasn’t looking at her. No, he was staring at some point right behind her.

“Applejack…”

He suddenly rushed right past Rainbow, nearly knocking her over with the draft alone.

“Hey!”

But she got no response, so instead she turned to glare in indignation after Big Mac.

What she saw, instead, stopped her anger cold.

A black creature was lying on the ground not five feet from her.

A creature with a fiery orange mane. A creature with pointed fangs and gossamer, translucent wings and an amber carapace across her back and a gnarled horn upon its head.

A creature called a changeling.

“Mac,” she shouted in alarm, “get away from that thing!”

But he was doing no such thing.

“Applejack!”

The figure didn’t move. Not in the slightest. It stayed where it lay; on its side, its back turned to Rainbow.

And that was when she saw something that dragged her eyes open wide.

Smoke.

The creature was smoking.

But she was distracted away from the horrible sight – and smell – when she saw Big Macintosh nosing his snout urgently beneath the downed figure.

“Mac, what are you doing?!” Rainbow shouted in alarm. “That thing’s—”

“Applejack.”

Rainbow froze, ignoring the sight of her outstretched hoof and the black patches scattered across it.

“… What?”

The burly stallion managed to get himself under the motionless changeling, and with a grunt, he flicked her form back along his neck and onto his broad back. It flopped like a rag doll, limbs going this way and that until it came to a rest.

He then turned his side towards Rainbow, and what she saw chilled her blood.

The figure was familiar. Terribly familiar. Even though her eyes were shut and lips parted, Rainbow knew that face.

The mane was right, even if it looked like it’d been chewed through by pests. It was marred, however, but a halo of smoldering ash; the outline of an annihilated Stetson.

That mane was almost the exact same color as a familiar coat. The color of the carapace clad across her back, too, evoked memories her brain was struggling with, grappling to come to terms with...

The truth is, Rainbow… Ah ain't what yah think Ah am…

“A-Applejack?”

Her voice couldn’t have been more than a whisper, and yet it was still choked with shock.

And as she spoke her name, the changeling’s eye twitched. The one Rainbow could see parted hardly more than a centimeter at best, revealing a hint of those striking amber eyes she’d seen before.

A single breath left her lips, one curled in a vaguely recognizable voice.

“Rainbuh… ruh… sa… yourse…”

She recognized that voice, no matter if it hummed in a buzzing, unfamiliar way.

“Applejack?” she ventured again, her heart in her throat.

But her eye glazed over once more, the lid dragging up weakly.

“H-hey… hey! Applejack!”

Rainbow was suddenly desperate, her heart thundering in her chest.

She staggered to all fours, forcing her limbs to run towards Big Mac. She ignored the crackling sensation across her limbs and coat; they didn't matter.

When she got there, she… didn’t know what to do. All she could do was stare in dawning horror.

“Applejack! Wake up!”

Nothing. She didn’t so much as twitch. Curls of black smoke continued to rise off her sides and legs, the signs of a spell gone horribly, horribly wrong.

“APPLEJACK!!!”

Her voice reverberated off of the barn, echoing back at her from the house and trees.

But nothing roused her.

Rainbow didn’t jump at the sound of a door banging open. She barely heard the sound of familiar voices in the background.

All she paid attention to were the faint, rattling breaths of a friend on death’s door…

“Rainbow!”

She jolted, jittering back a step, and turned a pair of wide eyes towards Big Macintosh, who was staring right at her.

“We gotta move! Them changelings ain't gonna be far behind ya!”

“B-but… Applejack…,” she breathed hoarsely.

“There’ll be time enough fer that,” Big Mac said, his voice shaking slightly, “but we gotta move! Now!”

He immediately whirled his head around, and to Rainbow’s complete shock, his voice ripped out of his throat in a deafening shout.

“Granny! Keep Apple Bloom inside!”

He spoke a second too late, but also just a moment in time.

“Applejack?”

Rainbow didn’t want to turn to look. She couldn’t.

Apple Bloom’s confused and frightened voice made it to her ears every time, though.

“Is Applejack alright, Big Mac? Where is she?”

“Get inside!” he bellowed, making her cringe back in alarm.

“Come on now, deary,” Rainbow heard Granny mutter gently to her granddaughter. Age hid the quaver in her voice almost perfectly. “We’re just gettin’ in the way. Why don’t ya come help me with the packin’…”

“Why? Where're we goin'?"” Apple Bloom asked, thoroughly confused and scared, but Rainbow never heard the response she got; the bang of a wooden door cut her off.

“Big Mac…?”

He stared at the house, breathing through his nose to get his emotions back in check. “We gotta move, Rainbow.”

“But what about Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom?”

“They’ll be fine,” he stated. “They’re after Applejack, not them.”

“Why?”

Rainbow heard and felt her voice break. “Why are they after her? Just what the hay is going on?!”

She was starting to panic, and the sight of the smoldering changeling on the stallion’s back wasn’t helping.

“On the way,” Big Mac said quickly. “We ain't got time to just stand ‘round!”

“R-right,” Rainbow gasped out. She sniffed, clearing her eyes with a couple blinks.

“Okay. Okay, let’s go,” she said, her voice steadier.

Big Mac nodded sharply, his face bent in a fierce scowl of determination.

Together, they turned tail, and the two bolted into the cold, black night with nothing but the dark interior of the orchard waiting for them.

Author's Note

So to answer some questions; yes, Applejack can in fact do magic. *cringe*

This got started because I'm apparently a masochist and am most creative when not in a proper state of mind. Seriously, right now I feel like I'm living an honest to god Meet the Pyro video.

... Ah well, it works.
Masochism: +1

As always, comment, critique, field questions (I promise I read them and will try to respond to the ones I can).
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go die somewhere.

Chapter 5: A Glimpse

Applejack sat collapsed on the ground, wiping at tears that wouldn’t stop flowing. “Ah-Ah only wanted ta help,” she bawled.

A comforting hoof was patting her shoulder, a wordless acceptance of her apology.

But the pony standing in front of her was less forgiving.

“We’ve been over this a dozen times, little missy,” the stallion was shouting angrily. “Apples do not use magic! It’s not the earth pony way!”

Applejack looked up at the towering pony with wet eyes. With the sun at his back, all she could see was his broad, powerful silhouette and the beaten cowboy hat resting upon his head.

“A-Ah’m sorry, papa, Ah just…”

The stallion, standing seemingly taller than any living thing should’ve heaved a heavy sigh. “Ah know, honeybunch. Ah know yer heart’s in the right place, Ah do. But ya can’t go usin’ magic, alright? You’re an earth pony, Applejack, and someday yer gonna be a fine one, too. And earth ponies don’t use magic.”

Applejack sniffled, feeling miserable. “O-okay, papa…”

The gigantic stallion let out another breath, then very gingerly he pulled the little orange filly in for a tight hug.

“That’s my girl.”

Applejack buried her face into his shoulder, and tried very, very hard to ignore the remains of the tree she’d accidentally cleaved in two…

Images clawed at her, her mind struggling to cling to awareness with instinctive desperation.

“A-Applejack?”

Pain… so much pain… Her body screamed with it.

Shapes swam in muddled pools before her eyes, but… she thought she could just make out a shape standing not far off… a cyan shape.

That… that pony was in danger… have ta… have ta protect…

“Rainbow…,” she tried to say, “run… save yourself…”

She would never know if she managed to get the words out. Darkness dragged at her vision again, awareness bleeding from her mind as dreams rushed to save her from the pain...

Applejack stood panting and wheezing, her shoulders and neck heaving with each suck on the oxygen around her.

She was painfully aware of the small bundle of brown fur tucked between her forelegs, whining in pain as it tried to hide behind her hooves.

“Applejack! Applejack!”

She turned, just as a large red colt erupted from the nearby bushes like a cannonball, sending little bits of underbrush everywhere.

When he saw the scene that awaited him, however, he froze.

A huge Timber Wolf lay on its side not five feet from the little filly. And it seemed to be smoking ominously.

The whole clearing had bits of splintered twigs and branches scattered about like a hurricane had just blown through a firewood stack, throwing the contents in every which direction. More than a few were blackened, some even lit with a sickly green tongue of flame.

As he watched, a curl of emerald mist escaped the ravaged beast’s mouth, spiraling up into the air and away on the winds.

“Ah-Ah had ta do it,” sobbed Applejack. “I-if Ah didn’t… Winona…”

Between her legs, the whimpering puppy let out another scared and pained whine.

Big Macintosh’s eyes got huge.

Her little black legs were shaking like a lamb, her alien amber eyes welling with tears. “Ah’m sorry, B-Big Macintosh. A-Ah had ta use magic. Ah d-didn’t know what else ta d-do…”

She turned her scared, tear-filled eyes towards her big brother, looking for some sort of reassurance.

“A-Ah know Ah’m not supposed to use magic. B-but Ah just got so mad, a-and it just happened! Ah just d-didn’t know what else ta do!”

“Hey…”

When Applejack paused in her bawling, she felt her big brother pull her against his strong, warm chest in a bracing hug.

“Ah don’t care what ya did, so long as yer alright, sugarcube.”

He pulled her tighter. Only then did she feel how much he, too, was shaking. “Don’t ya ever let yerself get caught up between wantin’ ta save somethin’ ya care for and what ya got ta do ta save it. So long as ya do, it don’t matter what ya did. Never forget that, Applejack.”

~~***~~

Powerful, rapid hoof-beats on hard, cold earth were the only thing she could hear, save for the sound of her ragged breathing.

The night seemed to crush down all around Rainbow Dash’s head. Shadows seemed to jump out at her out of the corner of her eye, but every time she spun her head around, bracing for a fight, all she found was a gently swaying bush, or a sapling catching the moonlight just right, and that they were not, in fact, adorned with pearly white fangs and featureless blue eyes.

She never failed to double check, however.

She and Big Mac flew through the orchard, racing on pounding hooves through shadowed grove after shadowed grove.

Rainbow wasn’t used to running like this. The last time she had, it’d been at the annual Running of the Leaves with…

Once more, her heart thudded painfully in her chest.

As if drawn by an irresistible magnet, her eyes once more slid back partially behind her and towards Big Mac. Or rather, what lay sprawled across his back.

The changeling was still motionless, eyes still closed and breaths thin.

Rainbow could still smell the cloying stench of burning chitin in her nostrils like a tormentor that refused to leave her alone.

Her mind was in turmoil, constantly warring with itself in rebellion.

A part of her refused to believe that that was her best friend. The idea just felt so wrong... There was just no way…

But she could see the familiar mane, the familiar colors, and she’d heard its voice, even if it’d only been a low whisper.

And then there were the words that kept haunting her.

The truth is, Rainbow… Ah ain't what yah think Ah am…

Again and again Applejack’s voice played through her mind like a broken record.

Dash's body hurt all over. Her head was messed up, and losing traction fast.

This can’t be happening…

“Okay, Big Mac…”

The stallion turned his focused gaze from the trail ahead of him towards Rainbow.

She bit her lip, eyes still on Applejack’s near-lifeless body. But she tried her best to keep strong, to keep from letting the welling panic and fear get the better of her.

Right now, she needed to be strong to get to the bottom of this. “S-start talking. Is… is that really Applejack?”

Big Mac gauged her expression for a moment. It was hard to make out through the near-pitch black night, but he could just make out the frown on her lips and the pain in her eyes. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to see much else, however.

At the crest of a hill, he slowed, letting his legs take a breather for a second. He may be one of the strongest ponies on the farm, but galloping flat out for over ten minutes with another pony on his back would wear out anyone.

Rainbow almost vaulted right past him, but caught herself at the last moment.

“Eeyup,” he said through heavy breaths.

Rainbow’s expression scrunched up in confusion. “This isn’t making any sense. How can Applejack, of all ponies, be a… a…”

“Changeling?”

Rainbow flinched, but nodded. “Yeah… that.”

Big Mac paused, thinking on what should be said, and what wasn’t his to tell. “Applejack never thought ta tell anypony cuz it didn’t mean nothin’.”

“Didn’t mean anything?” Rainbow echoed, stunned. “How can the fact that she isn’t even a pony not mean anything?”

“Because she’s still Applejack,” Big Mac responded evenly. “Ya’ll have to ask her 'bout her reasons yerself. She don’t make a habit of talkin’ ‘bout this with nopony if it can be helped.”

Rainbow let a scowl play across her brow as she tore her eyes away from the stallion’s back and to the grass in front of her.

That did seem exactly like something Applejack would do, she had to admit to herself, even if grudgingly. But to actually hide something of this magnitude for so long…

But then another thought hit her, one that made her feel even worse.

She had to hide it… from everypony…

They were only walking now, and while Rainbow would never admit it out loud, she felt relief at that slower pace. Her aching, burnt limbs shared that sentiment.

“So… where are we going?” she asked after a pause.

“Cottage at the back of the property,” Big Mac stated.

To that, Rainbow whirled her head around in shock. “Wait – no, we can’t do that! Applejack needs a doctor right now!”

To her astonishment, Big Mac shook his head slowly. “Rainbow, think fer a second. We won’t make it ten paces in Ponyville, not with her lookin' like this. Guards would be on us faster than flies on a cow patty. ‘Sides, what doctor would willingly treat a changeling?”

“There has to be somepony,” Rainbow snapped, trying to hide desperation behind frustration. It wasn’t working. “There has to be something we can do!”

She was panicking, but she had plenty of reason to. She hated to admit that he had a point, no matter how much she didn’t want to.

After all, who would help a changeling? Twilight would freak, and considering how she was treated at the hands of that queen, the odds of her listening was slim at best.

Fluttershy might help, but not after passing out and possibly hours of convincing. Not to mention the fact that she lived on the complete opposite end of Ponyville from the orchard. They didn’t have that kind of time to spare.

Pinkie Pie would fly out the door as fast as she could, if her reaction to Princess Luna on Nightmare Night was anything to go by. But you could never be too sure with that mare…

Rarity would likely hold them at bay at shear-point and refuse to hear a word out of their muzzles.

Their options were so abysmally small, even if just doing nothing was…

Rainbow shivered.

“What can we do, Mac?”

“Bout the only thing we can do ‘till she wakes up,” he said stoically. “Keep her safe.”

Rainbow was stunned, her mouth falling open in shock and horror.

“That’s it?” she asked, raising her voice as anger won out over her various other emotions. “We’re just gonna cross our hooves and hope she gets better? How the hay is that a plan?!”

She suddenly darted around in front of Big Mac, forcing him to a halt. “Applejack is d-dying! We can’t just sit around and do nothing!”

Despite her voice crack, she continued to glare hard at the stallion.

But Big Mac continued to look unfazed. “We’re not doin’ nothin’ Rainbow.”

Before Rainbow could do more than throw him a look of pure skepticism, Big Mac turned slightly, showing Rainbow the thing that was haunting her the most; the one he was carrying.

But, for just a moment, she thought she caught something out of the corner of her eye; a faint, glittering emerald light, skittering across scarred chitin…

“We’re doin’ a lot more than nothin’,” he said quietly. “Right now, what she needs is lovin’ friends and family, and she’ll be right as rain before ya know it.”

Before Rainbow could do more than blink, Big Mac turned back to the trail and started moving again. “Now let’s go get good and bunkered down somewhere safe. There’s no tellin’ where them changelin’s are.”

~~***~~

With an explosive bang, the door to the Apple family household was sheared clean off its hinges and was thrown nearly halfway across the darkened living room.

Within moments, that same lightless living room found itself crowded by a surge of invaders swarming in through the now-door-less entrance, completely unimpeded.

The intruders moved quickly and with alarming efficiency, spreading out through every inky-black room in the household on stealthy hooves and lightly buzzing wings. Icy eyes went over everything their owners came across – every room, every bit of furniture, right down to the little personal possessions of a family no longer present.

Within half a minute, the entire house was filled with living shadows; every single room had more than one set of eyes searching up and down every square inch of every surface.

But their efforts were for naught. The household was dark and lifeless. The signs of a mostly consumed dinner still sat on the table, along with a few partially pried open drawers in the bedrooms upstairs. But the ones responsible were nowhere to be found.

But the changelings weren’t about to leave anything to chance.

Vigil listened from the yard as the sounds of bangs and crashes reached his ears, but paid it very little mind.

Similar sounds were coming from all around him – emanating from the towering barn as barrels were tossed and a cart violently overturned, and echoing up from the direction of two thrown-open cellar doors.

But Vigil wasn’t terribly hopeful. After all, he’d be quite surprised if he found Rainbow and Applejack this easily.

He paced leisurely across the yard, overseeing the ransacking of the abandoned farm. But for the most part, he was lost in thought.

Again and again he replayed that daring escape in his mind’s eye. Applejack was certainly resourceful, it seemed. Such unorthodox use of changeling magic…

“Excuse me, sir.”

Vigil blinked his featureless eyes before turning to regard the drone standing next to him. “Yes?”

His subordinate stood at attention, giving a smart salute. “We’ve finished canvasing the immediate area. No signs of the targets or the Apple family.”

“So they did come here after all,” Vigil mused aloud. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but feel mildly impressed. To make it from the east orchard to here on a spell like that…

He was once more distracted, however, when the changeling spoke again.

“They could’ve tipped off the family members,” he went on.

“Could have?” Vigil repeated, quirking an eyebrow.

The drone winced slightly to himself. “Then, shouldn’t we move to intercept? They could be halfway to Ponyville by now.”

Vigil turned away, a look of bland disinterest crossing his features. “No, that won’t be necessary. As long as orders are followed to the letter, there will be no cause for concern.”

“If… if you say so, sir,” the changeling said with clear uncertainty.

“I do,” Vigil quipped, an edge to his tone.

The drone flinched again, but kept his composure perfect.

“Tell Lieutenant Hyacinth to start searching the orchards for any trace of our targets,” Vigil said back without inflection, casting his eyes around the captured farmhouse and yard. “Gather up a small search party to aid her. I want these ponies found before sun-up.”

“Sir, they could be anywhere by now,” the drone said, hesitant. “We will need more than a small task force to find them before the night’s out.”

“No, I doubt that,” Vigil stated.

For the umpteenth time that night, his eyes fell to the ground at his hooves – towards the conspicuous stretch of blackened earth, the scent of scorched chitin and burnt hair still clinging stubbornly to the air.

“You have your orders, Moth. I want this entire orchard turned upside down. I will not tolerate her slipping through our clutches again.”

“Yes sir.”

“And once you’re done relaying orders to the search party,” Vigil added casually, “I want you to coordinate our efforts on the perimeter. I’d rather not have any unwanted surprises slipping in before we’re done.”

Moth threw his salute, then turned to leave. Halfway around, his form was swallowed in an acidic green flare. The now-vermillion unicorn cantered off to do as he was bidden, once more leaving Vigil with his thoughts.

Once more his eyes drifted down to the scorched earth at his hooves, where they remained thoughtfully.

Just where did you limp off to, Applejack?

~~***~~

The first thing Applejack became aware of was just how much she hurt. Every inch of her body had something to complain about, and it was voicing its complaints quite loudly at the moment.

Her legs and chest especially rang with pain quite spectacularly.

Her throat felt raspy and hot, and every breath that went down it felt like it carried bits of sandpaper with it.

But, as she battled with consciousness, Applejack became aware of something strange.

Her legs and chest felt oddly tight, her limbs refusing to move without considerable effort on her part. Of course, that could’ve just been because she felt so very weak.

More than that, she found herself lying on something unexpectedly – and rather confusingly – comfortable.

Fueled only by her building curiosity, Applejack cracked open one eye to behold the world beyond.

The sight of a roof met her eyes, an oddly familiar roof. Moonlight was playing over her, drifting in softly from the open window over her head.

She recognized the feel of a lumpy pillow lying beneath her aching head and the sensation of a warm blanket draped over her.

Is… Is this a bed…?

Before she could confirm her suspicions, however, she caught sight of something moving out of the corner of her eye, something standing rather close to her.

“Applejack?”

Her breath caught in her ragged throat when she heard Rainbow’s voice.

For one moment, panic twitched at her brain. She could feel that she wasn’t how she was supposed to look; the wings underneath her complained at being laid upon, and the feel of the fangs brushing against her bottom lip was evidence enough.

But she was too weak to do anything about it. Her limbs felt like solid lead, preventing her from doing anything save turn her head slightly towards the voice.

Rainbow sat on a chair beside her bed, her eyes wide in shock and just a touch of worry, way too close to miss anything.

Rainbow herself was a mess. Her coat and mane were covered in disturbing black patches, and some of the feathers on her wings were brittle sticks.

Her mane and tail were filled with twigs and leaves, making her look like she’d lost a fight with a shrub.

But mostly, Applejack noticed the dried, crusted streaks under each red eye.

So yes, to say Rainbow Dash was a mess would be a proper analysis.

“Rainbow…,” Applejack croaked aloud.

She sounded terrible, her voice almost completely unrecognizable in fact. “Are ya alright, sugarcube…?”

Rainbow snorted in an annoyed sort of way. “You’re just waking up and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”

“Are ya?”

Rainbow sighed, her eyes growing heavy. “My friend almost got herself killed saving my life. How do you think I am?”

“Alive,” Applejack rasped, turning her head to look up at the ceiling.

“But I’m not okay,” she snapped. “I know that Big Macintosh seems to think you’re healing yourself or something, and you don’t look as—as bad as before, but… that doesn’t make me magically okay.”

She got up suddenly, placing her hooves on the edge of the bed to loom her face directly over Applejack, leveling a glare at her.

“Don’t you ever do something that stupid again. You hear me, AJ?”

Applejack blinked, taken aback, before she huffed slightly and smiled.

“What?” Rainbow shot, confused.

“Yer still callin’ me ‘AJ’,” the changeling said quietly. “Even though Ah look like this… Guess Ah did somethin’ right…”

Rainbow’s scowl deepened before she returned to her chair.

“Don’t get me wrong. For one thing, I’m still mad at you.”

Applejack blinked. Only her eyes had gone to follow her friend as she seated herself once more.

Rainbow folded her hooves across her chest, an angry glare on her face, one that made Applejack cringe back a little.

“You could’ve told us,” Rainbow stated bluntly. “Why hide this at all, Applejack?”

Applejack sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “Because, sugarcube, it wasn’t no thing,” she croaked.

“Like hay it wasn’t,” Rainbow snapped. “The fact that one of our friends wasn’t a pony? That’s a huge deal!”

But Applejack merely shook her head from side to side slowly. “Yer wrong, RD… See, Ah am a pony. Here” – she tapped her chest with one hoof, right over her heart – “here” – she weakly touched her forehead – “and here.”

She finished by feebly raising one foreleg and poking Rainbow right between the eyes with the tip of one bandaged hoof, much to her astonishment.

Applejack smiled at her friend’s wide eyes. “That’s all that matters, sugarcube. So Ah gotta change shapes now and then to relieve some headaches. It don’t change who Ah am at heart, and that’s all that matters ta me.”

Rainbow blinked, still taken aback by being poked in the forehead by a changeling. After a moment, she reached up and rubbed the spot, her look of confusion only returning tenfold.

“You still could’ve told us.”

Applejack appraised her friend’s expression for a moment, still smiling softly. “Would ya have been friends with me if ya knew?”

“Of course!” Rainbow said without hesitation, sitting up straighter. “I mean, you’re like the only pony around here that can even keep up with me! It takes quite the awesome pony to do that.”

Applejack’s smile grew bigger. “Then it wouldn’t have mattered in the first place. See what Ah mean? Me bein’ somethin’ other than a pony wouldn’t have changed a thing.”

“Well, maybe it would for Rarity,” Rainbow mused, glancing away thoughtfully. “She’d probably faint every time she saw these legs of yours.” She finished by poking one of Applejack’s holey limbs.

The changeling chuckled weakly twice, before breaking out into several coughs.

“Landsakes… don’t make me laugh right now, sugarcube,” she wheezed.

A feeble smile broke out over Rainbow’s face, looking brittle despite her building bravado. “No promises, cowgirl.”

Applejack restrained another inevitable bout of coughing, but let a smile grow across her lips.

But after a few moments, the smile withered once more.

“Yer right, Rainbow… Ah know Ah should’ve told ya and the gals. It would’ve been the right thing to do, but… Ah just didn’t see how it mattered much.”

Her eyes grew heavier, and to Rainbow, it looked like she’d suddenly aged ten years.

“Then… there was the royal weddin’.”

The small room got almost deathly quiet after that. For several long seconds, the two mares just sat there, not quite comfortable looking at each other.

“Ah couldn’t tell nopony after that,” Applejack croaked in a small voice. “When Ah found out Ah was a changeling… Ah ran.”

The air in Rainbow’s lungs seemed to compress, squeezing almost painfully in a sharp exhale.

Applejack didn’t look at her. She seemed to ashamed to do so.

“That’s why Ah disappeared off the farm fer a while,” she went on. “Ah… didn’t want ta ruin my family. After all they’d done fer me, it wasn’t right, and if it ever got out that they’d been raisin’ a changeling, there’d be no way they could keep the family business goin’, or even stay on the land. But only a few days out and Ah started ta miss the farm somethin’ fierce.”

Applejack closed her eyes, looking almost ancient in the darkness. “That’s when Ah realized the same thing Ah realized when Ah saw yer Sonic Rainboom. Ah’m a farm pony.”

Her eyes slid back open, this time with a blaze of certainty that almost glowed in the dark.

“Ah realized Ah was still Applejack. It don’t matter what Ah was – who Ah am ain't goin’ ta change.”

She finally turned her gaze towards Rainbow, making eye contact and holding it. “Ah know Ah’m a silly pony sometimes, but… Ah ain't gonna leave my friends ta fend fer themselves any more than you would.”

Rainbow felt her heart thud in her chest, her eyes opening wide in surprise. “You came back because of us?”

“’course Ah did, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a weak smile. “Big Macintosh certainly ain't gonna put up with yer shenanigans day in and day out.”

This time, Rainbow’s smile wasn’t quite as brittle as before. “Yeah, asking Pinkie Pie to help with some of my new tricks didn’t really pan out like I’d hoped. The good news is that City Hall finally got that skylight it never knew it wanted.”

Applejack couldn’t catch her chuckle in time, causing her face to snarl up from the pain. “Dagnabit, Rainbow…”

“I regret nothing,” Dash teased.

Applejack just rolled her eyes and sank deeper into her pillow.

For several minutes, they sat in companionable silence, neither wishing to break it even though they knew they had to.

In the end, it was Rainbow that spoke up, her voice once more subdued.

“I’m still mad at you,” she muttered.

“Ah know, sugarcube…”

“And none of this is making any sense to me.”

“Ah know…”

“But…”

This time, Applejack turned to face her friend, who had arranged her features into an array of determination. Her expression was unflinching, her wings steady and pinned to her sides, her gaze unfaltering.

“I promised I’d hear you out, remember? So… start talking.”

Applejack nodded. “What do ya want ta hear?”

“The truth,” Rainbow said firmly. “And… start from the beginning.”

~~***~~

Big Macintosh leaned against the wall of the old cottage, a sprig of grass in his mouth. He could still hear the mares talking through the closed window next to him, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself as they carried on.

For once that night, the darkness didn’t feel quite so hostile, the moonlight almost soft and peaceful.

The shadows under the nearby trees didn’t move like they were quivering with beasts waiting to jump on him. He just stood there, feeling his tension ease the longer he heard the two friends talk.

And talk they did; seemingly for hours they spoke, Applejack’s weak voice slowly gaining strength the longer she used it.

Inside, Rainbow Dash listened to her friend relate events in her life that she never knew about.

“So, you just turned up at an Apple family reunion?” she commented once, surprised.

“That’s right,” Applejack said hoarsely. “Nopony had the slightest clue where Ah came from, but they were taken with me right off the bat. ‘Course, my folks searched the community fer any reports of missin’ foals, but came up empty. After about a month, they gave up.”

“So what happened?” Rainbow asked, genuinely curious.

Applejack smiled up at the ceiling wearily. “Granny Smith called in a favor with Filthy Rich’s pa and they got me some official documentation made.”

“Wait, wait,” Rainbow said, taken aback. “You’re saying Filthy’s dad forged some papers for you?”

Applejack grinned. “Don’t let Apple Bloom and that brat of Rich’s fool ya; Apples and Riches go way back, and we don’t take that fer granted.”

“No kidding,” Rainbow replied, still sounding shocked. “But wait… when did your folks realize you were… you know…”

“A changeling?”

Rainbow winced. “Yeah… that.”

Applejack sighed. “Not long after that… One day Ah just started fussin’ and carryin’ on. Ah don’t rightly recall that – Ah was pretty young at the time – but accordin’ to my folks, Ah just suddenly burst into flames. Ya see what they saw next.”

Rainbow winced again. “Yeah. I’m guessing they didn’t like that surprise.”

Applejack shook her head a little. “Mama, Papa, Granny and Macintosh all bolted from the house quicker than if it were on fire and bunkered down in the barn. ‘Course, the moment Ah changed, Ah stopped my fussin’. That’s what happens when Ah sit in my pony form fer too long; gotta change to relieve the pressure.”

“Your headaches,” Rainbow said in dawning realization.

“That’s them,” Applejack said. “Anyway when Ah tried to get to my family and realized Ah couldn’t, Ah started cryin’ right there in the yard. Just sat down and bawled my eyes out.”

Rainbow’s expression fell, but Applejack ignored it. In fact, she started smiling a bit. “And Macintosh, that big galoot, came out of the barn ta give me a big ol’ hug ‘til Ah stopped my cryin’.”

She turned her head slightly, her eyes on the wall behind her as if she knew who was leaning against it. “He’s been lookin’ out fer me ever since.”

___

On they talked, Rainbow asking questions and Applejack doing her best to answer them. Even as the desire to stay awake started to fail them, they continued struggling to get to know each other all over again.

And it was through their conversations that Rainbow learned something quite unexpected.

“You can’t change into anypony else?”

Applejack frowned slightly. “Ah didn’t say that, RD. Ah said it don’t feel right impersonatin’ somepony Ah’m not.”

“Well, you sort of do anyway,” Rainbow pointed out before she could check her own words.

Applejack responded to her suddenly sheepish look with a sour glare. “And if Ah ever run into the pony who Ah resemble, Ah’ll apologize ta her. But my pony form is just… me. Ah like it a lot more than this one.”

“I still say you should try somepony else sometime,” Rainbow pointed out, completely missing the point. “I mean, you could be anypony.”

“Ah don’t want to be ‘anypony’, Rainbow,” Applejack said shortly. “Ah want to be me.”

“But haven’t you ever thought about trying?” Rainbow pressed. “Don’t tell me you didn’t want to try being a pegasus once or twice.”

Applejack opened her mouth, clearly intending to reprimand her friend, but paused at the last minute.

“Ah… can’t.”

“I thought you didn’t say you couldn’t,” Rainbow pointed out impishly. It didn’t win her any points, if Applejack’s glare was anything to go by.

“Ah ain't gonna pretend to be somepony Ah’m not,” she said stiffly, “but… Ah can’t turn into no pegasus or unicorn. Ah don’t know how.”

Rainbow blinked, confusion once more rising in her. “What? How hard can it be?”

“It’s not like slappin’ on a fresh coat of paint, sugarcube,” Applejack sighed. “It’s a lot more involved than that, or else anypony could do it.”

“So, what makes it so hard,” Rainbow asked, cocking her head to one side.

“Fer starters,” Applejack said, “when Ah change, Ah have ta become an earth pony. Appearances are one thing, but there’s more ta bein’ a pony than just bright coats and cutie marks.”

Rainbow gave her a blank look. “I don’t follow.”

Applejack sighed, already well aware that this was going to be an uphill battle.

“When Ah change into an earth pony, Ah gotta get my magic flowin’ like an earth pony would,” she said.

“… still not following.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. “Didn’t ya pay any attention in school?”

“...A little.”

Applejack couldn't help but heave a sigh. "Rainbow..."

The pegasus in question glowered defensively, not quite meeting her friend's gaze. "Hey, it's not my fault, okay? That class was way too lame. I'm a pegasus - what do I care about magic?"

Applejack just shook her head, somewhere between amazed and stunned. She wanted to smack herself in the face with a hoof, but mustering up the energy required seemed almost too much effort for what it was worth. Almost. "All ponies got magic in 'em, Rainbow. How do Ah know this and you don't?"

Rainbow glowered. "I blame Mister Monotone and his Voice of Slumber."

The changeling shook her head again. It was going to be a long night... “Alright, then Ah’ll explain this real slow. See, every pony out there has magic inside them – each tribe just gets it out different. Unicorns get it out through their horns, but if that surprises you, there’s something very wrong with ya. But ya pegasi ponies get it out through those wings ya love so much, which is why ya do all that stuff with the weather, and earth ponies get it out through their hooves, which is why we can grow things so darn easy. Followin’ me so far?”

“I think so,” Rainbow said dubiously. “So, when a changeling turns into a pony, they have to get their internal magic flowing like the kind of pony they’re turning into, right?”

“That’s what Ah have ta do, anyway,” Applejack said with a nod. “And… Ah don’t know how ta channel it anywhere but the earth pony way. When Ah’m in this form, my magic is just kinda… there, doin’ its own thing. Ah can get it out if Ah need to, but… well, ya saw how that goes.”

Rainbow paled, her ears falling limp against her head. “Please don’t remind me…”

Applejack winced. “Sorry, sugarcube.”

Rainbow waved it off, trying feebly at an aloof dismissal. “Anyway… Big Macintosh told me that you were using magic to get better quicker. That true?”

Applejack frowned a little. “What are ya gettin’ at?”

Rainbow turned away, looking uncomfortable. “Well, I was just wondering… is there any chance of that backfiring, too?”

Applejack sighed. “No, sugarcube. It never has before, anyway, and Ah doubt that’ll change.”

“Wait, before?”

Applejack nodded. “Whenever Ah get hurt, my body tries to fix itself with magic. Ain't nothin’ Ah can do ta stop it, neither; it just happens.”

She then surprised Rainbow by lifting a hoof and nipping at the creamy bandage wrapping it up.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow asked, confused and a little concerned.

Applejack grunted, then yanked her head one way, producing the sound of tearing fabric.

With that, the bandage fell away, exposing her holey foreleg to the night air.

And what Rainbow saw stunned her.

Emerald light was dancing all across the surface of her skin in splotches, like the glimmer of a live coal. It looked so much like a burning log, in fact, that Rainbow almost jolted forward in a panic.

“It’s alright, Rainbow,” Applejack placated, correctly guessing the panic in her friend’s face. “Look.”

She reached her limb over towards her friend, touching her raised hoof.

Rainbow’s eyes got huge as she felt a strange, hot tingling radiate from the spot where they were touching, instinctively making her cringe away.

Applejack chuckled wheezily in response. She even only coughed a little as a consequence.

“It ain't gonna hurt ya, sugarcube.”

“Yeah, I think I’m just gonna take your word for it,” Rainbow replied warily, inspecting her hoof critically for any signs of new damage.

She didn’t find any, but she had to be sure.

…

“You can stop laughing at me now.”

~~***~~

Silence ruled at last in the darkened cottage on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres.

In the only bedroom, two mares lay fast asleep – one slumped partially over the other, falling where sleep claimed her.

The other mare lay on her side, a glimmering, healing foreleg resting across her friend’s. Only the sounds of slow, heavy breathing broke the silence in the room.

That, and the sound of stealthy hoof-falls.

Nopony reacted to the near-silent figure quietly making its way into their room. A cloak hung around its frame, dragging lightly cross the floor as the figure approached the two unaware ponies.

It paused first to regard Rainbow Dash, taking in her disheveled appearance for a moment before turning its attention towards its real focus.

Applejack.

The figure stepped around Rainbow’s sleeping form, moving to stand between her chair and the wall, placing it near the slumbering changeling’s head.

However, as the figure drew to a halt, its forelegs mere inches from Applejack, the glimmering emerald light across her exposed limb flared in intensity.

The shrouded entity watched as Applejack’s wounds raced to close themselves as if in time lapse.

The figure restrained a chuckle, instead letting a relieved smile cross its fanged muzzle. Without a sound, it slipped back out of the room, ghosting to the entryway and out into the night without a backwards glance.

You’ve done well, Applejack… But now, it’s my turn.

And in an emerald flare, the figure blinked out of existence, leaving nothing but wilted grass in its wake.

Author's Note

Finally, now that I got all this crap out of the way I can get down to business.
Just so you all know, I am not happy with this chapter. At all. So many revisions and shuffling of scenes... gah.
Ended up cutting out, like, half of it. Good news is, I now have material for Chapter 6. So... yay on that account.

And who is that ~~pokemon~~ mysterious figure?

I know some people are going to have some questions on this one, so feel free to field them. I swear, next one will have something decently exciting happening in it.

On to the next one...

Chapter 6: The Best Laid Plans

Night in Ponyville was rarely an excitable time. Only those few ponies wishing to take a moonlit walk beneath the wondrous stars and constellations overhead moved through the shadowed streets, enjoying the company of their closest companions and deepest thoughts.

But for the most part, everypony sequestered themselves within their houses, away from the biting chill, and bundled up in warm, soft blankets, grabbing a hot drink or two before retiring for the day.

At Golden Oaks Library, this routine was no different.

Twilight Sparkle sat in front of a wonderfully crackling fire, comfortably snuggled into a nest of blankets and cushions, a hot steaming mug of cocoa to one side and – predictably – a massive tome sitting dead center in front of her.

Why nopony ever checked out the Completely Comprehensive Compendium of Magical Complexities was totally beyond her, but they were definitely missing out.

She was just reaching chapter ninety-two, and fully intended to make it all the way to the last one-hundred-and-tenth that night, and she couldn’t be happier to do so.

After all, nights in Ponyville were quiet, subdued and very unexcitable affairs.

Usually.

She was just starting on that ninety-second chapter when something arose to disturb her; something unwelcome. Somepony was shouting.

Normally, being in a city like Ponyville, shouts were not unusual. If she jumped up every time somepony raised their voice outside her library, she’d have some pretty cramped legs.

But that voice was getting closer, and… it was starting to sound just a little familiar.

It got louder and louder, soon growing loud enough for it to break Twilight’s usually impenetrable focus for good.

Of course, by that point, the intruder was throwing open the library door with such force that it rattled the nearby windows.

“HELP!”

Twilight turned her head, shocked, and only grew more alarmed by who she saw panting inside the front door, face pale and eyes wide with panic.

“Apple Bloom? What’s going on?”

The little filly was frightened; Twilight could see that very easily as she quickly got to her hooves and rushed over. “What are you doing here this late at night?”

Apple Bloom rushed to meet her, unable to sit still at all. Her words poured from her mouth in a rush, and only countless encounters with a certain hyperactive party pony let Twilight make sense of any of it at all.

“Ah-Ah don’t—There was this loud noise, and Big Mac was shoutin’ and Rainbow Dash was there a-and Ah heard somepony say somethin’ ‘bout changelin’s on the farm a-a-and—and…”

She trailed off, her mouth flying but her voice failing to synchronize for a second. “A-and… Ah think Applejack got hurt…”

Twilight’s eyes got huge, key bits of information hitting her like open-handed slaps.

changelings… Applejack’s hurt…

“Where are they?” She asked sharply, all of her considerable faculties switching to red-alert mode.

“At the farm,” Apple Bloom replied. “You gotta hurry Twilight! My whole family could be in danger!”

“Alright, you stay here,” Twilight ordered. “As soon as the princesses and my brother hear about this, they’ll bring in the whole Equestrian army to deal with the problem!”

She turned around quickly, heading for the nearest writing desk in the corner. “All I gotta do is –”

In a flash, a panicking Apple Bloom skidded to a halt in front of her. “We ain't got time to send a letter! Applejack’s in trouble right now!”

Twilight took a step back in surprise. “Well, that’s true. But…”

“There ain't no time fer buts!” Apple Bloom cried, pushing Twilight’s chest insistently. “There’s no tellin’ what those changelin’s have in store fer my sister!”

Twilight wheeled her legs, astonished by the little earth pony’s strength. She knew she wasn’t perhaps the best example of pony physique, but finding herself being shoved across the floor by a little filly was actually starting to get just a little embarrassing.

“W-wait a second, Apple Bloom! Just give me a second to –”

“Just get to the farm already!” the little filly snapped in irritation, and with one last mighty shove, she all-but threw the purple unicorn from her own house, slamming the door hard behind her.

With that, she collapsed with her back to the door and heaved a long-suffering sigh.

“Unbelievable,” she grumbled to herself. “That pony is such a hoof-full. Maker, this is going to be one long night…”

“Uh…”

The filly flinched, muscles tensing in alarm.

She’d failed to notice the other resident standing near the entrance to the kitchen, a broom in his claws, his eyes wide in surprise.

“I-Ah mean… ain't she?”

Spike blinked, nonplussed.

“Since when did you stop speaking like Applejack?”

“J-just practicin’,” Apple Bloom said quickly. “Ya know, Cutie Mark Crusaders Linguistics Experts!”

“Ling-what?”

“Oh wow, it’s sure late out,” Apple Bloom said, thoroughly ignoring the baby dragon to instead turn a startled eye out the nearby darkened window. “Ah-Ah’ll just be… you know… upstairs.”

And with that, she darted up the flight of steps and away from the utterly confused baby dragon still lingering in front of the kitchen.

“…What the heck was that all about?”

Spike scratched his head. Now he was curious, and quite frankly, rather suspicious. Apple Bloom being off the farm in the middle of the night, speaking without that Apple family twang, and pretty much throwing Twilight out the front door…

Maybe he was imagining things, but that didn’t seem like normal behavior, and considering the dozens of lectures on ponies and normal versus abnormal behavior he’d been getting from Twilight ever since the wedding…

Spike eased towards the staircase, eyeing up the flight to the landing above.

Nothing. Well, he couldn’t really see much from where he was; only a thin sliver of the room above, the curvature of the staircase getting in the way.

“Uh… Apple Bloom?” he called hopefully.

No response.

Spike fidgeted a bit, unsure if he really did need to go up there… To which he smacked himself in the face.

Come on, it’s just Apple Bloom. What’s the worst she can do?

So, he clambered up the stairs, eyes and ears trained on the opening above.

It only took him a few seconds to get all the way to the top and cast an eye around the open space – Twilight’s personal study, with both of their beds on an alcove to the other side of the room from him.

A lamp was on up by Twilight’s bed, but the light was at too odd of an angle to light up the landing below, leaving much of the shared bedroom and study barely lit.

“Apple Bloom, where—”

Zap!

The baby dragon never saw the spell coming. Before he could even react, a bolt of emerald light struck him right between the eyes, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

A moment later, the study was filled with the sounds of soft snoring, snoring that very nearly drowned out a faint but beleaguered sigh.

What a mess… I’m getting too old for this…

While the baby dragon slept, one thumb in his mouth, he was lifted gingerly off the ground in a sheen of green magic, floated through the air, and carefully placed in his little bed.

I’m sorry, but I can’t afford to have my cover blown… not yet.

‘Apple Bloom’ looked out the nearest window, towards the gleaming crescent moon, worry weighing heavily on her heart.

I pray Twilight Sparkle hurries… there isn’t much time left…

~~***~~

Applejack twitched in her sleep, kicking slightly.

Unfortunately, the limb she fidgeted happened to be her unbandaged foreleg, and the sensation of raw chitin scraping over any surface wasn’t an entirely pleasant one.

Disturbed by the splinter of pain that ran up to her shoulder, Applejack groaned and cracked an eye open, not quite here or there yet.

“Ma…?”

A darkened bedroom met her bleary eyes, lit only by the soft moonlight streaming in through the window over her head. Much of her surroundings were nothing but black masses of shadows, and yet the general layout of them struck her as familiar.

Slowly, her head came back on right as she woke up.

Right… The cottage…

But something was niggling at her, a little incessant spark of insecurity. Something wasn’t quite…

A hearty snore nearly made her jump clean out of bed.

Only then did the farmer notice the other mare slumped against her bed, looking like she’d passed out halfway through the act of jumping on top of her.

Even in sleep, though, Rainbow still looked a mess. The burns in her mane and coat conflicted too much with the prismatic and cyan colors of each. Just the sight of the charred patches made Applejack wince.

To distract herself, she looked over her damaged forelimb, raising it just enough to avoid rubbing it on the rough blanket on top of her.

What surprised her was how well it looked.

The green shimmering light across her chitin was relegated to only a few small splotches here and there; tiny little dots compared to the mass of burns it’d been before she’d fallen asleep.

Applejack blinked, surprised at her progress. Granted she’d never been hurt this badly before, but… her recovery was going a lot faster than she’d thought to expect. She was still nowhere near tip-top shape, but she was getting there.

For a brief moment, her thoughts drifted back to when she’d accidentally sent Rainbow flying, and as she thought on it, she started to frown in suspicion…

The sound of the front door rasping over the floorboards in the den immediately snapped Applejack back to full awareness of her surroundings.

She quickly darted her eyes over to the entryway – clearly visible from her bed, what with the bedroom door being swung wide – and immediately found the intruder.

Big Macintosh was kind of conspicuous in any room.

He quietly trudged inside, doing his level best to avoid making too much noise, gingerly placing his hooves with every step and grunting slightly in annoyance whenever a floorboard complained.

He only froze when he noticed out of the corner of his eye an amber-maned shape rising from a cot.

Applejack carefully extracted herself from underneath Rainbow’s pinning hooves, a task that likely would’ve been impossible if it were with anypony but the practically comatose pegasus.

In just a few moments and after a lot of wiggling and wriggling, however, she managed to get her hooves free, allowing her to sit on the edge of the bed properly.

Her whole body was covered in bandages, a lot more than she’d thought. Each leg was wrapped in gauze, and her entire barrel was practically mummified in creamy white wrappings.

She managed to restrain a sigh as she reached to the bedpost beside her for her Stetson…

And swung her hoof through open air.

Blinking in confusion, she turned an eye towards the unadorned bedpost. It took her nearly five seconds to comprehend that her hat was gone, and a whole five more seconds to realize why it wasn’t there.

After all, very little survived changeling fire. She’d already literally burned through five or six other hats just because she forgot to take it off when she changed.

But those had happened on an average day, and were easily fixed with a quick trip in town.

Applejack didn’t have that luxury now, and already her head was feeling uncomfortably exposed.

Well, no point cryin’ over spilt milk…

She distracted herself with a stretch, an unabashed yawn, and promptly slid off the mattress and onto her hooves , no matter how much her legs complained otherwise. Sure, she was still weak, but she was also awake; just lying in bed would get her thinking again.

Of course, she could practically feel Mac’s disapproving look being leveled at her head, but she ignored it until she’d managed to move out of the bedroom. Only then did she greet her brother with a smile.

“Evenin’ Macintosh,” she whispered. Rainbow might sleep like the dead, but that didn’t give AJ an excuse to be inconsiderate. “You been outside this whole time?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac responded. He then cast a critical eye over Applejack, who was moving towards the kitchenette. “How ya feelin’?”

Applejack knew what his real question was almost right away. She gave him a reassuring smile without turning around. “Ah’ll live,” she stated, rolling her neck.

For just a moment, the expression on the big draft horse’ face cracked, wincing slightly.

“… Ya scared me.”

Applejack’s smile fell away, replaced instead with a repentant look. “Ah’m sorry, BM. Ah just –”

“Ah know,” Mac sighed. He glanced over her shoulder, towards the snoring form of Rainbow. “Ah probably would’ve done the same.”

Applejack looked away, frowning at the open window and towards the crescent moon just visible through the old apple trees swaying outside.

“Ya know, Ah probably should’ve stood my ground and bucked some changelin’ heads in, but…”

Applejack felt a chill run down her spin as she recalled the memory. “Their leader – Vigil… when he said ta dispose of Rainbow, fightin’ became the least of my worries.”

She shivered again. “It just weren’t no risk Ah felt like takin’.”

The changeling could still feel Big Mac’s eyes on the back of her head, but she didn’t feel like turning around.

“Ah guess my first mistake was tryin’ ta imitate Twi’,” she chuckled quietly. “Should’ve known better, honestly. My magic never did feel like cooperatin’ none. But it’s like ya told me way back when; as long as Dash, or any one of my friends for that matter, is in dire straits, it don’t matter what method Ah used ta get ‘em safe, so long as they are.”

She heaved a sigh and sat down on the floor, her shoulders slumping a bit. “Ah just wish Ah didn’t need ta count on bein’ a changeling ta do it.”

She looked at her extended foreleg for a few seconds, lost in thought. Judging by the look on her face, though, Big Mac doubted she was pondering nostalgic thoughts.

Without a word, Applejack suddenly and quite spontaneously started unraveling the thick wrapping of bandages around her legs.

Big Mac watched in curiosity, not entirely sure whether he should stop her or not.

But halfway through her work, Applejack paused, something seemingly occurring to her.

“Macintosh… did ya come in earlier? While Ah was asleep?”

The stallion paused, confused.

“Nope. Why?”

Applejack’s expression became hard to read, and considering Big Mac’s usual knack for seeing through his sister, that was saying something.

“Ah guess it was nothing. Ah could’ve sworn, though…”

“…Sworn what?”

“… Nothin’. Just my nerves playin’ tricks on me.”

Both siblings sat in silence after that as Applejack worked. But as the last bandage fell away from her barrel, Big Mac felt his breath catch in his throat.

Whereas the burns on her forelegs had been obscured by the black coloration of her chitin, the amber bands on her sides left nothing to the imagination.

He could clearly see the diagonal scorch marks running from shoulder to hip, looking like the slashes inflicted by some vicious animal.

And of course, the wounds glowed in a shimmering green light like smoldering coals, outlining them further for anyone to see.

Disturbingly – to Big Mac, at least – the wounds had actually greatly improved. By now, they looked like barely more than superficial chitin damage, whereas before…

Applejack didn’t see her brother openly shiver this time. She was too busy unraveling the rest of her bandages.

“What’re ya doin’?” Big Mac couldn’t help but ask at last.

She turned to give him a sheepish look. “Ah’m sorry, Macintosh, but Ah’m gonna go crazy if Ah gotta spend another minute lookin’ like this.”

At last, she peeled away the final bandage on her haunches and stepped away from the pile of shed gauze.

Big Mac winced against the sudden flare of emerald light, momentarily robbing him of his night vision.

In the bedroom, Rainbow grumbled, shying away from the flash, but stayed where she was.

It’d only taken a heartbeat to pass, but once the sensation like a hot summer’s wind had finished blowing over her, Applejack opened her eyes again, once more wearing her favorite orange coat of fur and beloved cutie mark.

But to Big Mac, that only made things worse. Now he could see all of the damage inflicted by the magical backlash.

Each burn stood out in clear contrast, black on orange. He was mildly – and quite morbidly – impressed that her transformation added the inclusion of charred fur outlining each point of injury, but it was only a mark of how much the burns disturbed him that he even saw the blackened hair at all.

But there was an immediate consequence to Applejack’s change, one that Big Mac saw and the mare in question felt.

Nopony would’ve missed the lack of emerald light smoldering on her skin, especially considering how dark the room was. But now it was gone. Her internal magic was once more being channeled the earth pony way.

And for once, Big Mac didn’t like it.

“Applejack, maybe you should –”

But his sister cut him off. “It’s fine, Macintosh. It looks a whole heck of a lot worse than it actually is.”

Still without looking towards her brother, she started on the task of wrapping herself up again.

Halfway through the first loop around her chest, however, she ran into difficulties.

“Consarnit… Just a little… ugh…”

She turned an embarrassed eye towards her brother, grinning sheepishly. “Um… could ya, perhaps, give me a hoof?”

Big Mac sighed, both internally and externally. A brother’s work was never done…

~~***~~

It didn’t take long to get Applejack properly bound in bandages once more, much to Big Mac’s relief. Having to wrap up his own sister in gauze was not an experience he’d treasure.

“Ah still think ya should let yerself heal more,” he repeated doggedly, to which Applejack sighed loudly. “Ah already told ya once, BM, and Ah’ll tell ya again – Ah can heal up just fine without my changeling magic.”

“And if we come across more changelin’s?” Big Mac said pointedly.

Applejack hesitated for a second, but she was unmoved. “Ah can handle myself, Macintosh. ‘Sides, Ah got you and Rainbow watchin’ my back.”

The moment the last bandage was in place, Applejack stood up and took a step back towards the nearby window, away from her brother.

The stallion in question didn’t rise so fast, however, and instead watched his sister carefully – specifically, the bullheaded edge to her eyes.

“So, what’re ya plannin’ on doin’?” he asked, carefuly scrutinizing his sister’s expression for the faintest reaction.

Even though she was partially turned away, he still saw the heaviness cross her eyes.

And then it hit him. He could see it in the forlorn edge to her features.

“Applejack, no,” he said in a harder tone.

“What do ya want me ta do then,” she snapped quietly, scowling at the window.

Macintosh rose off the ground, a scowl of his own on his face. “And how is runnin’ away gonna solve anythin’?”

Applejack was silent for a moment. Only the sounds of Rainbow’s snoring broke the total stillness in the cottage.

“Ah’ve given this a lot of thought, BM.”

“Bull.”

Applejack snapped her head around, astonishment written all over her face. “Ah beg yer pardon?”

“Ya heard me,” Macintosh stated icily. “Bull. Ya ain't thought this through at all.”

Applejack spun around in a flash, furious. “Ah have, too,” she snapped back. “The longer Ah’m on this farm, the more chances Ah get ta put you, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom in danger! Think about it fer a sec, Macintosh; If Rainbow and Ah hadn’t stepped away from the farmhouse, they would’ve attacked it instead!”

A pained glint flashed through Applejack’s eyes, marring her anger. “Ah ain't gonna do that to ya, our family or my friends.”

But instead of faltering like she’d hoped, Macintosh suddenly advanced a step, coming real close to butting heads with her. “Did ya think about maybe standin’ yer ground like ya said?” he shot.

“What would that get done,” Applejack snapped back. “They’ll just keep comin’ BM. There’ll never stop bein’ another Vigil, no matter how many we pound into the dirt.”

Applejack’s shoulders started to slump, the fury in her eyes getting steadily more brittle. “They know about me now, and as long as Ah live, they’ll never give up on comin’ after me. So the first chance Ah get, Ah’m makin’ myself scarce.”

“Applejack –”

“Ah’ve made up my mind, Macintosh,” she snapped. “This’s what’s gotta be done for everypony’s sakes.”

“Bull.”

For the third time that night, that word crossed Applejack’s ears. Only this time, it didn’t come from the stallion standing practically forehead to forehead with her.

That was the moment AJ realized that the snoring at stopped.

She turned, and immediately found herself eye to eye with another pony – this one with far fewer qualms about personal space invasion.

Rainbow Dash stared her friend down with real anger, looking like she hadn’t been asleep at all.

“Since when did Applejack run from a fight, huh?”

“This ain't a fight worth fightin’, RD,” Applejack snapped back.

“Not worth fighting?!”

Applejack actually staggered back a step, startled.

“Since when has fighting for your farm not been worth fighting for to you,” Rainbow snarled at her.

“Since there’ll be no end to the fightin’ if Ah did!” Applejack shot back.

“Then don’t stop fighting!”

“Ah can’t!”

“Why not?!”

“AH AIN'T LOSIN’ ANYPONY!” Applejack roared.

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to falter back a step.

“Ah ain't gonna lose you, or Big Macintosh, or Granny Smith, or Apple Bloom, or ANYPONY over a fight Ah can’t win, ya hear me?!”

Rainbow’s eyes got wide in shock, but Applejack ignored it. She ignored the shaking in her limbs and the hotness around her eyes and continued letting words rip from her throat.

“Do ya know what it was like hearin’ Vigil tell them changelin’s to kill ya, RD? Do ya know what it’ll do ta me if he does?! Ah ain't gonna let that be on my conscience if Ah have anythin’ to say about it, and if Ah can keep that from happenin’ by gettin’ as far away from here as Ah can, then that’s EXACTLY what Ah’m gonna do!”

“Applejack…”

Hearing Mac’s soft voice snapped her out of it. Like a fever breaking, the anger inside of Applejack started to dissipate, silencing her voice and leaving her panting.

For the first time, she felt just how much she was shaking. She quickly wiped at her eyes, eliminating any chance of that stinging in each corner becoming something worse.

“Th-this ain't open fer discussion, sugarcube,” she said in a shaky voice. “The changelin’s don’t want you, or the farm. All they’re after is me, and once they catch wind that Ah skipped town, they’ll come runnin’ and leave Ponyville be. It’s the only way ta be sure nopony gets hurt because of me… Ah ain't gotta like it, but it’s what’s gotta be done.”

Rainbow was quiet for a while, her eyes wide with shock, but after a moment, her ears started to pick back up again.

“Alright, Applejack, I get it… but I’m coming with you.”

“No ya—”

“Yes I am, and that ain't open for discussion either, got it? Like hay I’m gonna let one of my friends handle a whole army on their own. Are you nuts?”

She took a step forward, a determined glint in her eye. “You’ve always had everypony’s back when they needed it the most. It’s about time somepony had yours.”

She suddenly cocked a rather wicked and unsettling smirk at her friend, one that Applejack didn’t care for too much. “Besides, I really doubt you’re gonna get rid of me. You’re not even half as awesome as it’d take to pull that off.”

Applejack sighed, struggling to find some way – any way – to dissuade her friend. She really only had one ‘big gun’ left in that regard.

“Rainbow, if ya come with me, ya ain't ever gonna get the chance at bein’ a Wonderbolt. Ya know that, right?”

As she’d hoped, Rainbow faltered, hesitating in a way that clearly said that she’d never paused to consider that.

“See, sugarcube, ya got plenty ta lose if ya –”

“Yeah, like my best friend.”

This time, Applejack missed a step out of surprise.

There was that determined edge to Rainbow’s eyes again, that bullheaded glint that Applejack was growing to hate with a passion.

“So, I guess that just means we’re gonna have to find a way to solve this, even if it means beating down every last changeling from here to the Badlands to do it,” she stated, a confident note edging into her voice. “And luckily for you, you happen to have the most awesome pony in Equestria helping you. We got this in the bag so much I almost feel bad for Vigil.”

Applejack didn’t want to give in, she really didn’t. She knew saying anything other than ‘no’ would be a huge mistake. If Rainbow came with her, it would be on Applejack’s head for ruining her life.

The best thing to do was tell her no…

“…Alright, sugarcube. You win.”

And she was going to hate her for it.

~~***~~

Nighttime on Sweet Apple Acres was rarely an excitable time.

Only the breeze moved through the autumn trees, causing them to sigh and rustle across the property – end to end – in a great rippling wave, again and again.

The crickets had long since gone to bed. The owls watched warily from their perches, silent and observant, just waiting for the first sign of lunch to come their way.

Only the pale moonlight cast itself over the orchards, shafts occasionally making it past the canopies to dapple the ground in almost unnoticeable pools of light.

The stars twinkled down from on high, painting an eternal tapestry overhead beyond compare.

The night air was clear and crisp – so clear that if anypony were to cast their eyes towards it, the lights of Canterlot could just be seen gleaming in the distance like a gilded tiara.

Yes, nights on Sweet Apple Acres were usually quiet, subdued and very unexcitable affairs.

Usually.

Three ponies moved through the shadows of the apple trees like ghosts, inching along only to zip from one island of darkened cover to the next, once they were certain that their course was clear.

More than a few eyes were turned skyward, but none were stargazing.

“Scout!”

All three ground to a halt, diving for cover, and waited motionlessly.

“...Wait… sorry, that was an owl.”

“Consarnit, Rainbow…”

Applejack peered out from around the trunk of a tree, once more scanning the sky for any flitting shapes.

But the longer she looked, the longer she went without seeing any.

And it was starting to make her edgy.

“Where in tarnation are they,” she muttered under her breath. “Ah’d have bet bits on runnin’ into at least one search party by now.”

“Maybe they called it a night?” Rainbow offered.

“Nope.”

Applejack ignored the exchange, and instead focused on her thoughts. She knew that Vigil had plenty of changelings with him, more than enough to swarm all over Sweet Apple Acres in a matter of hours.

Actually, the fact that they’d managed to linger in the cottage for so long was even more ominous. Vigil had known about that place, and yet they’d gone hours without so much as spotting a single changeling.

Applejack’s gut was telling her that they were walking into a trap, and her gut hadn’t steered her wrong before. Well, mostly.

“Ah think we need ta go a different way,” she muttered.

Beside her, Rainbow groaned. “We’ve changed course, like, ten times already. I say we make a run for it and cross our hooves.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “You would suggest something that featherbrained.”

“Well, sooner or later we are gonna run into somepony and miss our chance to make a clean break.”

Applejack frowned, still watching the motionless orchards for any sign of foreign movement. “No… somethin’ ain't right. As gung-ho as Vigil was to catch us, why is he holdin’ out now?”

“Should we really be wondering instead of, you know, moving?”

“Fine. Just keep both eyes out fer anythin’, alright?”

“So do what I’ve been doing. Got it.”

Applejack rolled her eyes again, but started moving anyway, this time clinging to the shadows of trees even harder.

Not one of them so much as noticed the tangle of holey, twitching limbs heaped in a ditch not far away.

~~***~~

“Are you sure this is that important, dear?”

“Yes, I’m positive, Rarity. You know I wouldn’t wake you at this hour if it wasn’t.”

The white unicorn glowered at her friend. It was obvious that she’d just rolled out of bed, given that her mane was a nest of violet, cylindrical curlers, a sleep mask still perched just beyond her horn in a meaningful gesture.

“I certainly hope so, Twilight. For both our sakes.”

The librarian chuckled nervously. The fashionista didn’t.

They were both doing the one thing Rarity would never, under normal circumstances, find herself doing; walking, in the absolute middle of the night, down a dirt road towards Sweet Apple Acres.

And were it not for the rather restless unicorn beside her, she wouldn’t ever dream of partaking in such an activity in the first place.

Of course, a panicking Twilight can be very demanding, and she’d already been reminded twice in recent months that even if it seemed otherwise, Twilight didn’t panic without a good cause.

That didn’t mean she had to pretend to like it.

“Twilight, darling, are you certain you heard correctly?” she asked again, carefully scrutinizing her friend’s demeanor.

The indignation was easy to see, as was the slight flare of annoyance and large dose of certainty. But nowhere did she spot any signs of doubt, or even the possibility that Twilight might just be punishing her for some unfathomable reason, or even flat out lying.

“Yes I did, Rarity. Apple Bloom was adamant that Applejack was in trouble, and that changelings were involved.”

Rarity sighed. “I wish they’d choose a better time for this, then. I won’t turn up my nose at saving Equestria every now and then, but messing with my beauty sleep is where I draw the line.”

She suddenly adopted a scathing glower, leveling it down the dirt road ahead of them. “And if I find out Applejack is just having some fun out our expense, I am going to do the worst, most terrible thing that pony could ever dream of.”

Twilight bit her lip, suddenly very nervous. “Um… and that is…?”

“Two words, Twilight. Spa. Day.”

Twilight couldn’t help but be pulled up short, blinking in surprise. “Uh… huh?”

“And she will loathe it,” Rarity cackled, eye twitching. “And it shall be glorious…”

“Um… Rarity?”

The fashion pony blinked, coming back to her senses. She coughed lightly into the back of one hoof, recomposing herself in a flash. “Yes, well… Forgive me, Twilight. A lack of proper sleep makes me… testy.”

Twilight turned a concerned eye towards her friend, pausing for a moment. “I’m sorry, Rarity. I know you don’t like being pulled out of bed in the middle of the night, but –”

“No, no, I understand, darling,” she dismissed carelessly. “Think nothing of it.”

The fact that she’d been up for almost forty-eight hours straight working on a rush-order for Hoity Toity was not something she felt like mentioning. Minor details like that mattered little in the face of the possibility of there being a friend in need.

“Now, I hope I’m not the only pony you came to with this.”

“Oh no,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “I had Pinkie go get Fluttershy and they’ll meet us… there?”

Rarity turned, confused at her friend’s stutter.

“Is something wrong, dear?”

But Twilight wasn’t looking at her. She’d frozen mid-step in surprise; her brows knitted and eyes focused on something not far down the road.

“Uh… What are you doing out here so late?”

“My question precisely,” said Vigil.

~~***~~

Applejack had a very bad feeling.

“Hold up, sugarcube…”

Once more, Rainbow groaned, rubbing at her face in frustration. “Ugh, now what?”

“Ah’m tellin’ ya,” she muttered looking around, “somethin’ ain't right…”

They’ve made it over halfway through the orchards by then, and still they’d come across nothing. Not so much as a single buzz from a changeling wing-beat had reached her ears. It was as if the farm was completely abandoned.

Applejack had a very bad feeling in her gut indeed…

“It’s only a little ways to the front gate,” Rainbow pointed out. “Face it, AJ, if we were going to run into anypony, it would’ve happened by now.”

“That’s what Ah’m tellin’ ya,” Applejack muttered, still casting her eyes about.

In the distance and through the trees, she could just make out the hulking shape of the family barn’s silhouette. It was indistinct – mostly just a patch of sky hugging the horizon where there were no stars – but the sight of it made her feel jittery. They were almost there…

“Applejack.”

She whipped her head around probably a bit quicker than was called for, considering the pony who’d spoken was crouching right next to her.

“Somethin’ on yer mind, Macintosh?”

He was quiet for a moment, his lips pursing just a little before he parted them to speak.

“Ya don’t have ta do this.”

Applejack sighed, turning away from her brother. “Yes Ah do, BM, we’ve been over this.”

“And Ah suppose ya don’t want me comin’ with.”

Applejack winced. Her brother hadn’t said that like a question. “No, Ah don’t. Somepony’s gotta look after Granny and Apple Bloom ‘till she’s old enough ta start applebuckin’.”

“Ya know she’s gonna ask questions.”

Applejack sagged a bit. “Ah know, and Ah won’t hold it against ya if ya tell her the truth. Ah don’t expect ya ta lie on my part.”

Big Mac frowned. “Ya need ta be the one ta tell her, Applejack.”

“Great,” Rainbow interjected impatiently from Applejack’s other side, “we’ll swing by the inn on our way out of town, maybe stop by Sugarcube Corner and grab some cupcakes. Let’s just go already!”

“Alright, alright,” Applejack sighed, shaking her head. She was already very much regretting caving to the pegasus’ demands. “Let’s just take this nice and…”

She hesitated, her ears twitching as something… anomalous reached her ears, something that the night air shouldn’t contain. It wasn’t the buzz of changelings, that was for certain, but that only made it even stranger… and unsettling.

“Do… y’all hear that?”

~~***~~

Two earth ponies and a pegasus crept carefully towards the source of that ominous noise – clinking and banging… and voices. Lots of voices.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh crawled practically on their bellies towards their destination, bodies tense and ready to run or fight, whichever cropped up first.

Not even Rainbow found it in her to complain about the snail’s pace they moved at now. She just stayed quiet, muscles keyed and senses primed for the slightest glimpse of trouble.

The silence left Applejack’s mind free to race. They were almost to the front of the property now; just a hill separated them from the dirt road into Ponyville.

But the closer they got, the louder those noises seemed to become.

She was starting to dread what she’d find just as they reached the top of the hill. All three exchanged apprehensive looks, and then pushed forward, teeth gritted and shoulders squared.

What they found still stopped them cold.

Guards. Lots and lots of guards.

The entire front of Sweet Apple Acres swarmed with gold armor-wearing stallions, more than Applejack had ever seen before – even at Canterlot.

It seemed like every fence post had a guard stationed at it, their backs set to the Apple family orchards, spears aimed towards the night sky like sharpened flag poles.

When Applejack saw the extensive barricade being constructed just on the other side of the front gate, she understood what was happening.

Vigil was penning them in.

He’d guessed what she’d do all along. And now all she could do was stare in dawning horror as his final preparations were set in place. More guards were marching up the dirt road, far too many to be normal…

It was impossible to think that they were all changelings, though. There were just too many.

From her spot beside her, Rainbow summed up all of Applejacks thoughts in just a single line.

“That’s… bad, huh?”

“Yes, sugarcube… That’s very bad.”

“’Kay, just checking.”

~~***~~

“Please, Vigil, you have to let us onto the property! Our friends could be in danger!”

“I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle, but I have already told you I can’t,” responded Vigil blandly without turning around or pausing his stride. “I cannot risk sending Captain Shining’s sister into a danger zone. I apologize, but you must understand that the risk is too great.”

Twilight hurried to follow the royal investigator, undaunted. “I know how to handle myself,” she responded.

“I’m sure, but you are not a trained professional,” Vigil stated coolly. “It is in everypony’s best interest if you and your friends remain here, where it is safe, and don’t attempt any brazen heroics that might hamper our efforts.”

But Twilight was not so easily dissuaded. “Then let me be of some assistance! I learned quite a bit about changelings and how to fight them in Canterlot. See, look!”

Without warning, she suddenly whipped around towards one of the guards standing at attention to one side, and without waiting another moment, she threw a bolt of violet magic straight at him.

To his credit, the guard only jumped a little bit. His cry of surprise could even be construed as masculine alarm.

But after a brief pulse of magic surged from one end of his form to the other, it became clear that nothing had actually happened.

Yet, that seemed to only bolster Twilight even more. “See? It’s safe to say that this guard isn’t a changeling at all.”

No pony spoke for a second. They just stared.

Or, in Rarity’s case – who’d been following behind her friend – she hid her face behind one hoof, stifling a groan.

Vigil was still for a moment, his eyes on the guard until the spell had passed. Some might think his look was thoughtful. Others who knew him wouldn’t be so naïve.

“So… it would seem,” Vigil said after a moment of internal recomposing. “However, I assure you that we have a team of ponies dedicated to that very task, Miss Sparkle.”

He started walking again, much to Twilight’s building annoyance. “Wait! There has to be something I can do!”

Rarity only sighed and cantered after her friend, feeling even more tired than before.

The moment they were out of earshot, the guard that’d been on the receiving end of Twilight’s scanning spell let out a huff.

“Crazy unicorn…,” he muttered, then glanced to the guard stationed right next to him. “Right?”

“Right,” the other guard responded, his helmet hiding how much he’d started sweating on such a chilly night.

~~***~~

Applejack sat just behind cover, her eyes fixed on the scene at the bottom of her hill. She darted her gaze here and there, looking for even the slightest opening, the smallest chink in Vigil’s armor.

She found none.

Every second, more guards were piling in, a vermillion stallion giving directions amid the arranged staging ground. Every second, more platoons were moving off to shore up the perimeter even more. By the time she reached any corner of the property, there’d be a guard waiting for her.

Applejack was starting to panic even worse, her nerves fraying quicker and quicker. There was just no way they could –

And then she saw her, her eyes zeroing in on the purple coat at the exact same moment Rainbow did.

“Oh my gosh… it’s Twilight.”

Applejack could only stare in horror, her heart thudding in her chest. Yet there her friend was, clearly irritated and speaking in a raised voice at the back of none other than Vigil himself.

Worse, all three spotted Rarity at almost the exact same moment, looking rather bored and very tired, though she hid her worried glances well.

Neither pony had any idea what they’d just walked into.

There was no telling how many changelings surrounded them. All Applejack understood was that they were standing dead center in the thick of the activity, Twilight apparently trying to have words with Vigil, who was doing his level best to ignore her.

“What’re we going to do,” Rainbow breathed, panic starting to set in. “We can’t just leave them there.”

“Ah know, sugarcube,” Applejack hissed. “Just let me think fer a sec…”

But as she watched, Vigil turned. He was heading towards the vermillion stallion and an absolute throng of possible threats to her oblivious friends.

She was running out of time.

~~***~~

“Please wait for just a moment, Vigil,” Twilight cried, her impatience getting the better of her. “Please, there has to be something I can do! I can’t just leave my friends in there, alone and quite possibly injured!”

Vigil didn’t slow down. “I’m getting the feeling that you are not going to go home, Miss Sparkle,” he stated.

“Not without Applejack and Rainbow Dash!” she stated resolutely.

Vigil paused, but didn’t turn around. “I see. One moment, if you will.”

He turned his eyes towards the vermillion stallion still relaying orders to awaiting guards. He hesitated, however, when he caught Vigil’s eye.

“Is something wrong, sir?” he asked.

The mustard stallion bit back his first response, and instead chose to ignore it. “Has Lieutenant Hyacinth and her squad returned yet?”

The vermillion stallion shook his head slowly. “I’m afraid not. We haven’t heard a word from them yet.”

Vigil remained expressionless. “Very well. Then let’s move on to the next phase.”

The vermillion stallion blinked in surprise, then threw a smart salute. “Yes sir.”

“Uh… What next phase?” asked Twilight, her eyes flashing between Vigil and his lieutenant. “And… shouldn’t it be a big deal, losing an entire squad?”

“There’s no need to worry,” Vigil said without turning around. “Everything is going how I expected it would. Now then…”

This time, he turned around, leveling a very disconcerting look towards the purple unicorn.

“Perhaps there is something you can do for us after all.”

“Uh… alright,” Twilight responded, suddenly less full of fire as before.

“Then, after you,” Vigil said, waving a hoof towards an awaiting tent. A tent without guards.

Twilight hesitated, feeling quite unsure. “Well… if it means getting my friends out of there sooner…”

“NO!”

~~***~~

Everypony in front of the farm froze at the sound of two unified voices shouting out from behind the barricade. As one, every single pair of eyes turned towards the source. Well over a hundred gazes fell upon two mares – a cyan pegasus and an orange earth pony – standing atop a nearby hill.

There was an eternal moment of silence as everypony stared in shock.

All except for one stallion.

Applejack saw Vigil turn to look her way, but he did not wear the expression of somepony caught off guard.

To her horror, she saw only a look of calm, calculated affirmation, as if…

As if he’d been counting on just such an outburst all along.

In that moment, Applejack realized that she’d just done the absolute worst thing she possibly could have. She’d given herself away.

Vigil’s trap was sprung.

“Oh… Horseapples.”

The moment Rainbow spoke, the spell broke, and everything started happening in rapid succession, one on top of the other.

“Seize them!” bellowed the vermillion stallion.

“Run!” shouted Big Mac.

And all at once, everyone was moving. A surge of royal guards vaulted clean over the bordering fence, brandishing spears as they thundered up the hill in a singular wave of bodies.

At the exact same moment, Applejack, Rainbow and Macintosh turned and bolted back the way they’d come as fast as equinely possible.

Author's Note

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you never check the front door first.

You know the jazz by now; comment, critique, field questions - go nuts!

Chapter 7: Like a House of Cards

The night air in Sweet Apple Acres was filled with the sounds of shouting stallions, clanking armor and thundering hooves.

Beams of magical light cut through the darkness ahead of unicorn guards, searching for even the faintest sign of their quarry. Dozens fanned out across the ordered rows of trees, hot on the tail of two earth ponies and a pegasus, who were in the process of running for their lives.

Applejack tore through the moonlit orchard as fast as she could go. Her sides burned more than they had at any point that night, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. There’d be time enough to worry about that once she’d gotten away.

Out of nowhere, a golden-clad pegasus dropped out of the sky right in front of her, hitting the ground with an audible thud.

“Hold it right –”

The hoof of a blindsiding pegasus mare cut his declaration short.

How exactly Rainbow hit him would never be discovered – she just zoomed by so fast that it left little more than a rainbow-hued streak across Applejack’s eyes, and suddenly the guard was spinning in place one-two-three times before collapsing in a discombobulated heap, a hoofprint embedded in his jaw.

“Ha! In your face,” laughed Rainbow as she zipped away through the trees in a hectic zigzag, two more pegasi in hot pursuit.

Applejack didn’t have time to gloat, too. There were a lot more royal guards behind her. A lot more. And they were gaining.

“Gotcha!”

Applejack heard a loud thud to her right, followed by a whole string of curses and grunts. The odd thing was that they were keeping pace with her.

Baffled, she turned her head and about missed a step out of shock. “Uh… Big Macintosh?”

The stallion turned towards her questioningly, totally oblivious to the armored pegasus currently hanging off his backside, hind legs locked and digging into the dirt in a desperate attempt to stop the massive red stallion. He was failing spectacularly.

“Ya got somethin’ on ya.”

Big Mac blinked, then glanced over his shoulder.

“You’re… coming… with… me…!” growled the guard through clenched teeth as he heaved for all he was worth against the farmer’s unyielding strength.

He failed to notice Big Mac miss a step, but he didn’t miss the one-legged buck he caught dead center on his chest.

The victim of that buck was sent careening back the way he came so fast that he bowled over two or three of his companions, judging by a sound similar to pots and pans banging together in the distance.

“Nope.”

Even as bad as things were, Applejack couldn’t hold back a chuckle at how petulant he sounded.

She was distracted by a sudden whoosh of air, and turned to find her other companion once more flying at her side.

How and when exactly Rainbow managed to acquire a royal guard’s helmet was beyond Applejack. Yet there she was, wearing the crest-adorned armament like she didn’t even know it was there, despite it being several sizes too big for her.

“You know, as fun as it is beating up Equestria’s finest, I’m starting to hope you have an plan for getting out of here,” Rainbow said, cruising along backwards almost nonchalantly.

She hardly looked winded at all, completely contrasting with the state of her singed coat.

“’Bout all we can do is make fer the Everfree,” Applejack responded. “Only way we’re gettin’ round this.”

Rainbow very nearly fell out of the air in shock, her eyes shrinking a bit. “Are you crazy? The Everfree at night?”

“Got any better ideas?”

Rainbow glared at her. “Between getting eaten by Manticores and clobbering some changelings…?”

Applejack opened her mouth to respond – perhaps snidely – but was interrupted by catching sight of a golden glint off to her right.

She didn’t need to see it to know that it was a royal guard.

“Halt!” he cried, legs surging for all they were worth.

Applejack’s response was knee-jerk. Without even thinking twice, she jumped, caught a thick branch in her mouth and bent it back with her momentum.

The limb bent back so far that it almost touched the trunk of the tree it was attached to, wood groaning and popping under the strain. Just as it started to whip back around, she let go, rolling once in the air before landing on her hooves again.

With a horrific swishing sound, the limb snapped back around faster than a lightning bolt.

Applejack never saw the tree branch connect, but she certainly heard the loud crack of an impact.

Rainbow glanced over her shoulder, then winced.

“Uh… I think that one was a pony.”

“We ain't got the time to be choosy, RD,” Applejack snapped in exasperation.

She could tell the small army of royal guards – both fake and genuine – was closing the distance. The sounds of their shouts were getting closer and closer. And they were still a very long way from the Everfree.

And to compound the issue, her sides were starting to bother her even worse. Splinters of pain were running up her ribs and back, with each one making her feel just a little more out of breath every time.

Almost there… just gotta keep goin’…

All three charged forward, ignoring the daunting silhouettes of so many hills yet to be climbed. Just the sight made Applejack feel more tired.

That was when trees they’d been using as cover dropped away. They burst out onto a clearing, devoid of any cover or feature.

Save, of course, for the line of unicorns standing at the other end. And at their head stood Vigil.

The sight of him sent a cold chill down Applejack’s spine.

The masquerading changeling merely stared back at her with merciless eyes, raised a hoof, and uttered a single word.

“Fire.”

A dozen guards lowered their heads, horns presented. Each horn erupted with a sickly green crackle of light.

“Whoa Nelly!”

Applejack veered wildly, throwing herself to the side just a split second before a wave of emerald magic lit up the night.

Spells whizzed and hummed over her head, missing her by centimeters and leaving her coat on pins and needles where they passed over.

Within moments, she was back in the cover of trees, but she didn’t slow down. Spells were still flashing through the air all around her, some striking trees with an angry hiss, others kicking up dirt as they connected with the ground.

Suddenly, the shouting voices all around her morphed to alarmed cries and yelps, spells finding their way to unintended targets.

Applejack chanced a glance over her shoulder, and sure enough, she just caught the glimpses of emerald flashes in the night, momentarily outlining the profile of another royal guard.

Their ranks quickly devolved into panic, ponies diving for cover where they could or even scattering as their comrades dropped like flies under the magical barrage.

This, Applejack realized, would likely be her only chance to get away. All she had to do was –

Zap!

She felt the bolt of magic strike her on flank for but a second – a pinching sensation not unlike getting poked by a needle.

And then her whole left flank went completely numb.

Suddenly minus one working leg, she missed her stride and tumbled, end over end.

Once the world stopped spinning, she found herself lying on her stomach, head reeling.

“Applejack!”

She glanced up just in time to see a helmet-wearing Rainbow Dash screech to a halt on the ground in front of her, eyes filled with concern.

“Are you okay?”

“Of all the… Ah think so,” the farmer grunted, half to herself, before staggering to her hooves. She almost immediately fell over again when her numbed hind leg refused to take any of her weight, very nearly toppling her.

“Ponyfeathers… Ah can’t feel my leg…”

Both Applejack and Rainbow threw a glance over the farmer’s shoulder towards the source of the problem.

There was a tiny singe mark on her exposed flank, just barely below her cutie mark. The whole limb was as flaccid as a wet noodle and about half as controllable.

Applejack tried to move it, but all she accomplished was a disconcerting flop or two. Both mares couldn’t help but wince at the sight.

“Come on, we gotta move,” Rainbow said, but her features were etched with worry, “while we still have the chance.”

“Ah’m goin’,” Applejack snapped, putting her three remaining good legs to use.

She couldn’t move anywhere near as fast as before, but she was moving.

The look of worry on Rainbow’s face deepened for a moment. She knew that the guards had been outpacing the earth pony before, even if only barely.

Now, though, there was no way her friend would be able to outrun anything with a decent set of hooves under them.

So, she resorted to the one thing she could think of, and the one thing she knew she was going to hate herself for resorting to.

Before Applejack knew what rightly happened, she suddenly found her hooves off the ground and a pegasus beneath her, a rainbow mane hitting her in the face.

“Rainbow, what in tarnation are ya doing?!”

“Just shut up and hold on, cowgirl!” Rainbow barked. Applejack had about half a second to clamp her three good hooves down around her friend’s shoulders and side before she tore off into the night at full speed. “And if you tell anypony I let you ride on my back, I’ll kill you.”

But Applejack wasn’t listening. “Turn around, dagnabit! We’re leavin’ Macintosh behind!”

Rainbow looked over her shoulder at her friend – perhaps not the safest thing to do at flight speed – and gave her an odd look.

“Uh, I don’t know if you noticed, AJ, but Big Mac wasn’t back there to begin with.”

Applejack tensed, her eyes shooting open wide. “What?”

~~***~~

Vigil surveyed the chaos in the orchard with disinterest. At least two platoons of royal guards lay in comatose heaps scattered about the trees. Dozens of survivors were calling out in panic, scrambling to organize as they fell back.

“Well, that went better than expected,” he remarked to himself.

“Sir.”

Vigil turned his gaze just as a vermillion pegasus alighted on the ground beside him and threw a sharp salute. “The ponies are falling back to the perimeter to regroup.”

“Good,” Vigil responded. “I expect they will be quite disorganized and in a panic for some time.”

His lieutenant hesitated, his expression falling. “Sir… should we really be making such a scene? It’s only a matter of time before word reaches Canterlot.”

“That is why we replaced the couriers,” Vigil stated. “By the time a message does get out, we will be long gone without them being any wiser to our true objective.”

He turned his head to stare out towards the front of the farmland, eyes trained on the torchlight just visible through the trees.

“Get back to the blockade, Moth, and organize a defensive perimeter. No one is to come in or out. And make sure Twilight and her friends don’t do anything rash. Understood?”

Once more, the lieutenant gave Vigil a quick salute before bolting off into the sky, vanishing within moments.

Vigil watched him go for a moment, then turned towards the congregation behind him. “Find them.”

“Ah don’t think so.”

All eyes snapped around, including Vigil’s. But of all the things he’d expected to find, he hadn’t been anticipating a solitary stallion standing at the opposite side of Vigil’s forces.

He wasn’t even armored or armed. In fact, the only thing he had on him was a heavy wooden yoke and a deadly glare.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Vigil stated, fighting back his bemusement. “I was certain you wouldn’t leave your “sister’s” side quite this easily.”

Big Macintosh kept his eyes squarely on his target, seemingly oblivious to the large formation of armor-clad unicorns flanking him.

“You ain't gonna be layin’ a hoof on her,” he declared flatly.

“Oh, I beg to differ,” Vigil countered coolly. “After all the time and effort I’ve invested into capturing her, I won’t be letting her slip away this time.”

“Ah don’t think ya caught my meaning,” Big Mac stated, muscles tensing.

“No, I did,” Vigil replied. “But if you think you can stop me all by yourself, by all means – test your luck.”

Several of the guards at Vigil’s flank chuckled darkly, thoroughly unimpressed by the lone stallion standing before them.

Big Mac shared that look perfectly. “Ah just have one question, Vigil,” he said. “What did ya do with Miss Sparkle and Miss Rarity?”

“Nothing,” Vigil responded casually. “Though, I am sure they are feeling quite distraught after learning that their friends are being held under changeling influence.”

Vigil took his eyes off the stallion and cast his gaze out towards the light of the barricade once more, seemingly lost in thought.

“The bearers of the Elements of Harmony are not mine to harm. I believe Her Highness would be quite upset at having her own personal revenge taken from her, and as history has shown, meddling with those mares can be far more trouble than it's worth.”

Vigil returned his gaze back towards the lone stallion in front of him, a disconcerting glint in his eyes. “I was intending to use a stand-in for the real Twilight to draw you three out. Once I heard that my search party had been dealt with, I figured that you were the ones responsible, and that it would only be a matter of time before you tried to escape.

“Sooner or later, I knew Applejack and that friend of hers would reach out to try to warn their companion. It was only a matter of buying time until then. Of course, I was not intending to use such a ploy with the real unicorn, but it seems that things worked out perfectly regardless.”

Big Mac’s glare deepened, turning positively frigid.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Vigil said without inflection. “I knew better than to try to take Applejack in a fair fight. Her display of magic – no matter how unrefined – proved that she is quite a bit more capable than I'd expected. But I knew that she wouldn’t risk revealing herself to an actual pony. And that’s where the town guard comes in.”

“Ya sure like ta talk,” Big Mac shot.

“Do I? You must excuse me, but after all the trouble you and your companions have put me through, I feel a little gloating is called for.”

“Well the longer ya sit there, talkin’, the further Applejack gets from ya,” Mac pointed out.

“Hmm… I suppose you’re right,” Vigil remarked, completely unbothered. “Then I’d better dispose of you as quickly as possible. I have an errant queen to catch.”

And as one, the whole mob of royal guards erupted in an emerald inferno, reducing their forms to black monsters with icy blue eyes. Molten gold hissed and spat on the ground where it fell, shedding from the shape-shifting beasts like rain water.

Well over two dozen changelings stared back at Big Macintosh, teeth bared and hissing. At the throng’s head stood an armored changeling wearing an almost bored expression.

“Sergeant Carapace,” he said, raising his humming voice. “Deal with him.”

Out of the mob of changelings emerged what someponies could only dream of in their nightmares.

At first glance, he was just like any other changeling around him; jet black, icy eyes featureless yet glaring, twin vampire fangs adorning his mouth.

But this changeling was something else. He was covered in scars – brutal reminders of failures and accomplishments. His left eye was blemished by a vicious fissure in his chitin which dragged down the eyelid in one corner. His wings were especially ragged, the signs of being repeatedly torn apart and mended again and again.

Each step Sergeant Carapace took carried the weight of his experience and accomplishments, and as he moved, his fellows scrambled to vacate his path for fear of what he might inflict upon them.

He was the son of warrior parents, raised with warrior brothers and sisters, trained by warrior masters. He had prepared his whole life for the taking of others’, and that night would be no different.

He advanced towards his target, supremely confident in his abilities. After all, this was just one farmer, a laborer. He was nothing compared to Carapace’s pedigree – he, who could trace his own lineage to Queen Phantasma herself! This night, this pony would regret ever having crossed him or Her Highness.

He strode up to the stallion, ready to end his pathetic life with but a flick of his wrist.

“Nothing personal, pony,” he stated in a gravely baritone, “but I must kill you. If you’d like, I can make it quick and painless.”

To his modest surprise, he found his quarry unmoved. Either he was a master of his own emotions or just too stupid to feel fear.

“Ah’d like ta see you try,” Big Mac dared.

“Very well, pony,” Sergeant Carapace stated in a deadly thin tone. “Have it your way.”

And with that, he snapped his hoof up towards the big, dumb stallion’s throat.

Whack! Crack! Thud! Ker-Thwack!

“Wha, how did you—?!”

Crack! Thwack! Bam

“W-wait a minute, time ou—”

Crunch! Bam, Bam, Bam!

“Uncle! Uncle! My leg can’t bend that –”

Crack! Ker-POW!

Vigil winced with the last sickening impact of hoof-on-face, then looked down at the figure that’d come to a skidding halt on the ground in front of him.

“He’s wearing down,” warbled Sergeant Carapace, a punch-drunk grin on his face. “I’m positive he’s wearing down. I’ll leave the rest to you, Captain.”

Vigil sighed in exasperation before turning an eye towards the completely unharmed stallion still standing in the exact same spot as before, brushing some dust from his shoulders.

Vigil glanced over his shoulder towards the stunned – and slightly pale – formation behind him.

“Kill him.”

Despite their clear trepidation, every last changeling behind him vaulted forward, roaring and cackling as they surged towards the solitary red stallion in a murderous frenzy.

~~***~~

“Rainbow, you turn yer dang tail ‘round right this second!”

“Sorry, can’t hear you.”

Applejack gritted her teeth in frustration. Rainbow was moving way too fast for her liking, swinging between tree trunks like an obstacle course.

The fact that she was basically forced to cling to the pegasus’ sides for dear life made the situation even worse.

“The next chance Ah get, Ah’m buckin’ ya all the way to Canterlot,” Applejack snarled.

Rainbow threw a disbelieving glance over her shoulder. “You’re not really making me want to put you down… you know that, right?”

“Rainbow, put me down right—”

Applejack was cut off, however, by the sound of a distant shriek.

Considering how loud the wind was in her ears, it must’ve been quite the scream for her to catch it at all. even more perplexingly, it seemed to be coming from above her.

Applejack tilted her head back, just in time to see a little black figure cartwheeling uncontrollably through the air right before it collided with a tree with a wet splat, dislodging every leaf in its branches in one big mass.

Both she and Rainbow exchanged perplexed looks, unknowing.

“The hay was that?”

~~***~~

Neither Applejack nor Rainbow knew it, but not far away, there was a pitched battle being waged.

Changeling after changeling rushed forward, vaulting on powerful wings and sturdy limbs, fangs bared and horns crackling.

Big Mac just kept swinging.

Again and again he felt something momentarily resist his hooves, only to be batted aside a split second later. Such moments usually resulted in a pained shriek from an assailant as they went tumbling away.

Macintosh was no fighter. He’d never raised his hooves to do more than buck apple trees before. But few understood an Apple’s drive to protect family, first and foremost. An apple tree could be regrown. An Apple could never be replaced.

So while Big Mac may not have the experience of a trained soldier or guard, he had a fire in his gut and burly muscles to match, and he was only too happy to demonstrate that to every little black bug he could get his hooves on.

When the changelings backed away and lit their horns, Macintosh snatched up one of their fallen comrades and proffered him like a shield.

The changeling let out quite the undignified, high pitched shriek just a moment before intercepting well over a dozen stun spells. It’d be weeks before he ever woke back up.

But to say that Macintosh was fighting completely uncontested would be an exaggeration. He had the scratches, bruises and bite marks to prove that.

Another changeling sank its teeth into his flank, causing him to grunt with the pain.

But he just leveled a scathing glare over his shoulder, wound up a hind leg, and swatted the thing off like the pest it was.

Three more changelings, hoping to exploit his diverted gaze, leaped at his front.

Catching the sight of their glowing eyes in his peripheral, however, Mac placed one hoof against the yoke around his neck, and with one mighty shove, launched it off his shoulders like a missile.

All three changelings yelped in surprise as the yoke caught them all, pinning them together in a bundle.

Before they could start wriggling to get free, however, one of them noticed the huge stallion turn, cock a leg, and punt all three into the distant trees, leaving only the yoke behind.

But the changelings just kept coming. Even as the field filled up with unconscious and groaning black forms, still more seemed to materialize from the darkness.

Big Mac just kept swinging, no matter how heavy his limbs got.

He was in the process of using a changeling as a living and quite unwilling bludgeon when he spotted the glint of armor just off to his right. Swinging his shrieking weapon in its direction, he just barely missed the armor-plated changeling by centimeters.

Vigil darted back half a step, then swung in, lashing out with a hoof.

To his satisfaction, he felt his hoof come into contact with Big Mac’s shoulder. Unfortunately, he soon found out first-hand why the stallion wasn’t going down.

Macintosh’s muscle was as hard and solid as stone, almost making Vigil bounce right off the now-irritated farmer.

“That all?” Mac remarked coldly.

He snapped his head around, bringing his now-unconscious weapon down hard onto the ground exactly where Vigil had been.

Once more, however, he missed by only a little margin.

Vigil’s expression was in imminent danger of devolving into a hateful glare. “No,” he said icily.

And in a blinding flash, he changed. His form erupted upwards and outwards, muscles knotting and bulging as they
expanded. Red fur sprouted all across his now-burly body, his ragged mane becoming rough and hay-colored.

“I’m just getting started,” stated Macintosh.

Big Mac’s eyes got wide in shock. He staggered back a step, away from his new doppelganger.

He was so stunned at finding himself facing himself that, for a moment, his guard dropped.

The next thing he knew, the faux Macintosh lunged in as quick as a snake strike.

Mac felt a hoof connect with his chin in an explosion of pain. He toppled end over end nearly two who revolutions before coming to a skidding halt on his side.

Once the world stopped spinning, Big Mac heard the sounds of gleeful cackling coming from all around him.

The entire clearing was ringed in by what seemed like a sea of blue eyes and glinting fangs.

There were dozens of them – perhaps Vigils entire host. Even with so many lying in unconscious heaps all around him, there were still more than enough to form a living pen all around Big Mac and his adversary. There were just too many to fight.

Vigil was advancing towards him, rolling his shoulders in preparation.

Big Mac shook his head, clearing away the last of the popping lights.

“That’s more like it,” he grunted as he rose for round two.

~~***~~

The cold night air whistled in Applejack’s ears, biting at her eyes and cutting her to the bone. Her mane and tail whipped wildly in the wind, a sensation she wasn’t entirely used to nor fond of.

She gazed over the top of Rainbow’s head, right between her ears, but the pegasus was going so fast that the wind forced her to squint, reducing everything around her to indistinct blurs of grays and blacks. Only the sporadic flickering of moonlight was truly identifiable.

“So… Are you still mad?” Rainbow asked tentatively.

“Eeyup.”

She winced. Applejack only devolved to a Macintosh-sized vocabulary when she was really angry. The fewer words she spoke, the angrier she was.

“Applejack, you know what Big Mac would say if we went back for him.”

Applejack pursed her lips. “…Ta get outta there…”

“Exactly,” replied Rainbow, her tone somber.

The apple farmer closed her eyes, her jaw taut. She’d known from the very beginning that going back for her brother would just take them in circles. The moment they saw him, he’d shout them in the other direction.

But knowing and accepting were too very different things.

She refused to think that she couldn’t help, but… the senseless limb flapping disconcertingly in the wind behind her would be a challenge to work around.

“…Look,” Rainbow said after brief silence, speaking slowly, “if it makes you feel any better, I’ll go look for him later, but I’m telling you he’s fine.”

“…Thanks.”

Rainbow stifled a shrug. It was an improvement.

“Let’s just find someplace we can hide first,” she said, banking to pass through yet another row of apple trees…

Only to find the way blocked.

Rainbow only caught a glimpse of it, but she knew what it was. Years of nearly – and actually – colliding with ponies had taught her what to look for. And there was definitely a pony standing dead center on the row in front of her then.

“Whoa!”

She didn’t have the time nor space to brake. Out of pure instinct, she swerved left, narrowly avoiding crashing straight into a tree trunk by nanometers.

The air slipped out from under her wings. To her horror, she felt Applejack’s weight shift her center of gravity, twisting her still further sideways.

She’d hardly ever flown with anything on her back before, and now she was paying for it.

With Applejack crying out in her ears, she gritted her teeth and threw herself the other way, fishtailing from one side to the other before she could correct. A tree branch barely kissed the tip of one feather, but she didn’t flinch. She couldn’t allow herself to.

Rainbow knew she was going to crash. After doing it so many times, she’d developed quite the sense for them. But usually she just braced herself and tried to protect as much of her from getting hurt as possible. That wasn’t an option now, not with Applejack hanging on to her for dear life.

“Come on,” Rainbow growled, throwing her weight to the side again.

They were quickly losing what little altitude they had. Any second now and her hooves were going to start striking the very unrelenting ground.

“Come on!”

She threw her all into stabilizing. Glimpses of the consequences of failure kept flashing across her mind's eye, keeping her from giving up.

She had to gain altitude, but in the narrow slit between apple tree canopy and the ground itself, rising too uncontrollably would result in a sudden stop, too.

Out of nowhere, a tree seemed to form from the darkness of the night itself, dead center on her path. Rainbow had no choice but to bank again, going almost vertical from wing tip to wing tip, or risk a grisly stop.

And Applejack’s ungainly weight did exactly what she didn’t want it to do.

Rainbow felt it dragging at her, pulling her over onto her back. She fought it the whole way… but there was no way she could correct anymore.

But just as Rainbow’s heart started to plummet, a shape emerged out of the darkness; one that was too massive to be a tree.

The barn!

“Hang on, Applejack!” she shouted, just before doing the one thing she’d been fighting to keep from doing in the first place.

With all her strength, she threw her wings in the opposite direction as before. With the combined force of gravity and wing-power, Rainbow went into a death-defying barrel roll, corkscrewing straight towards her target; the barn itself.

If it was as close as she’d gauged, and if her luck held out just a little bit longer…

The last tree flew past her in a blur. And there was the barn, not fifty meters dead ahead. And the barn door was open.

Rainbow grit her teeth and closed her eyes, bracing. This is gonna hurt…!

She hit the ground with all the gentleness of a belly flop on concrete, cratering the hard-packed soil just inside the barn door. She bounced, limbs flailing wildly as she went end over end.

And with a muffled thump, she collided with just what she was hoping for. Hay went everywhere, exploding in a plume as the two mares crashed into a mound of it.

Rainbow’s eyes spun in her head. Her knees hurt quite exquisitely and she was going to have a nasty headache in a few minutes.

All in all, it was one of the best crashes of her life.

“Yep… I’m awesome.”

Applejack groaned beside her, sitting up.

Or… strangely, she seemed to be sitting on the roof.

That was when Rainbow realized she was currently upside down, her flank over her head.

“Never… flyin’… again,” Applejack grumbled. She seemed to be having some difficulty standing; her legs were wobbling too much, and the shadows all around her were spinning.

Rainbow giggled almost drunkenly to herself. “Don’t lie. You loved it.”

“Not... in the least,” Applejack grunted with all the honesty in her heart. “Now get up. We gotta –”

“Hello?”

Both mares froze, their eyes on each other. Even in the total darkness of the barn, they both knew that they hadn’t been the ones to speak then.

No, that voice had come from outside.

Only then did Rainbow recall the reason for their harrowing crash landing.

Applejack stumbled to her hooves and hastily limped towards the barn door while Rainbow struggled to get the world right side up again. The earth pony peered out into the night while hugging the shadows next to the barn door, just in case.

The Apple family homestead was just across from her, clearly visible and yet oddly eerie in the total darkness. Never before had it looked so dark and lifeless, like it’d been abandoned for years rather than hours.

Beyond that, the yard was almost alarmingly still and quiet. Not even a breeze blew through the trees. Only then did Applejack realize that the sounds of shouting and detonating spells had ceased. The silence pressed down on her, making her somehow more edgy as she swept her eyes from one side of the yard to the next.

After nearly ten seconds of scanning, a shadow broke away from the nearby tree line and began to hesitantly make its way closer. It walked on four whole legs, which was a good sign. Yet, next to a royal guard, the pony was positively diminutive in stature.

A beam of light cut through the darkness, glowing from a unicorn’s horn. And as the beam swept past her, Applejack finally made out the pony on the other end, and her eyes shot open wide.

“Twilight!”

Twilight Sparkle flinched back half a step in alarm, her beam of light suddenly snapping over right towards the earth pony’s hiding place.

“Applejack? Is that you?”

Hearing her friend's voice sent a wave of relief crashing through Applejack, relief that she'd been sorely needing after so much chaos and stress. Just the simple fact that her friend was alright made it feel just a little less like the night was crushing down on her.

Applejack stuck her head out around the corner of the barn’s doorframe, motioning quickly towards her friend.

“Get in here quick, sugarcube,” she hissed, eyes scanning for any possible threats.

Twilight complied as quick as she could, clearing the distance between them in seconds. Much to her relief, Applejack saw that her coat was still unblemished, each hair where it should've been. She did, however, look nervous and even a little scared, but the important thing to the apple farmer was that her friend was alright.

The moment she was clear, Applejack slammed the barn door shut behind her and turned around, a smile blooming on her weary face. “Landsakes, it’s good ta see yer alright, Twi’,” she breathed in relief. “Ya gave us a real scare there.”

“Me?” Twilight replied, taken aback. “What about you? You’re a mess!”

Applejack grimaced, still a little unsteady on her hooves. “Don't you be worrin' about me. Ah just got a little overzealous earlier."

“Ya think?” Twilight said with a cocked eyebrow. “Anyway, where’s –”

“Over here,” Rainbow grunted, trotting over with a little wince.

Each of her front knees were bruised and bloodied, and it was clear that putting any weight on them was causing her pain, yet she passed it off like it was nothing. She seemed to be recovering from the crash a lot quicker than Applejack was. whether that was a mark on how much she was used to crashing or that she crashed a bit too much to be strictly healthy remained to be seen.

“So, what’s up?” she asked casually. “How’d you get away from all those changelings?”

“When everypony chased after you, I slipped passed the guards,” Twilight explained. “I’ve been looking for you ever since.”

“What about Rarity,” Applejack asked.

“Oh, um… I guess she stayed behind,” Twilight responded. “I didn’t see anypony following me, anyway.”

Rainbow and Applejack exchanged looks. “That doesn’t sound like Rarity,” said Dash.

“Ah agree,” Applejack said. Sure, the fashion pony was all-but allergic to anything that might smudge her coat, but that hadn't held her back before.

“Well, maybe she got caught,” Twilight offered.

That made a bit more sense to the farmer. Rarity wasn't much of a fighter, after all. Nevertheless, it didn't do Applejack's stress levels any good knowing that her friend was pretty much captured by the enemy.

Still, something was nagging at Applejack - something she knew she should be considering - but her head was still too discombobulated to make sense of it. Never... flyin'... again...

"I'm sure she's fine," Twilight added quickly, drawing AJ's attention. She was looking between her friends in what was obviously meant to be a reassuring fashion, but a hint of confusion betrayed her anyway. "I mean, it's not like the changelings have her or anything."

"Yeah," Rainbow deadpanned. "How lucky."

Twilight turned a confused look towards her, obviously picking up on the sarcasm.

Applejack aimed a light kick at Rainbow's side, giving her an admonishing glare. “What she means ta say is we’re gonna go rescue her,” she stated pointedly.

Rainbow groaned loudly, smacking herself in the face with her hooves. “Are we ever going to get off this dang farm?!”

Twilight paused, doing a double-take. “Wait, what? You're leaving?”

Once more, Applejack met Rainbow’s gaze, this time to give her friend an unhappy glare, which she returned sheepishly.

“Yeah, about that… Ah gotta make myself scarce for a while,” she said slowly. “It’s… a long story.”

Twilight blinked, uncomprehending. “I don’t get it…”

“Come with me fer a sec, sugarcube,” Applejack said, not quite meeting her friend’s gaze. “Ah got somethin’ Ah need to tell ya.”

She glanced over her shoulder towards Rainbow, who was looking on carefully. “Can ya give us some space, RD?”

To her confusion, however, Rainbow paused, an odd look on her face. She regarded Twilight for a moment, frowning, before turning a questioning look towards the earth pony. "You sure?

"Positive, sugarcube," Applejack answered, then quirked an eyebrow in confusion at her. "Somethin' wrong with that?"

She hadn't meant it to be a challenging statement, but judging by the way her friend flinched, it'd come out as such.

“Don't worry about it,” Rainbow deflected. She took to her sore wings and hovered up towards the hay loft. “Just being paranoid. Anyway, shout if you need me.”

Both mares watched her go, Applejack biting her lip. In a way, she didn’t want to send her friend away. She could probably use her support. But at the same time, she deserved to tell Twilight what was going on and why this was happening one-on-one. That was only fair.

Twilight remained still beside her, her eyes turned up after Rainbow.

Applejack couldn't help but gulp nervously. Of all the friends she had, Twilight would undoubtedly have the hardest time accepting the truth. After what that queen did to her brother and sister-in-law, not to mention her mentor and very nearly all of Equestria, Applejack just couldn’t see her believing in the truth very easily.

But here AJ was, caught in the middle of Celestia-knows-what, with no other options but to trust their friendship was stronger than she was giving it credit for.

“You see, sugarcube,” she started hesitantly, scratching at the back of her head nervously.

Twilight turned towards her, the beam of light glowing from her horn very nearly blinding the apple farmer. “Yes?”

“…Gosh, this ain't gonna be easy ta tell ya… Ya see… Ah ain't no pony.”

Twilight blinked, still not comprehending.

“The truth, Twi’… is that... Ah’m a changeling,” Applejack said quietly, as if hoping to emulate Fluttershy and go unheard.

For a moment, she thought she’d pulled it off, too. Twilight blinked once more, her expression just the same as before.

“I know.”

Applejack did a double-take. “Do what now?”

“Of course I know, Applejack,” Twilight said, smiling benignly.

Applejack’s head was reeling even more now. “Ya… huh? How in tarnation…?”

Twilight’s smile grew a little more. She lifted a hoof to place it gently on her friend’s shoulder. “Why else would I be here?”

The hairs on the back of Applejack’s neck stood up. “What?”

Twilight’s smile grew even bigger. Without warning, the light on her horn evaporated.

And in its place was a sickly green glow.

Applejack only had enough time to feel her eyes widen, her heart missing a beat. Before she could react, green fire erupted all around them, trapping the two together in a ring of flame.

Twilight suddenly lunged, grabbing Applejack around the middle in a death-grip, pinning her forelegs to her sides.

And then the ground started to give way beneath her. It was like the hard earth beneath her hooves was turning to quicksand.

Applejack tried to throw the unicorn off of her, but all she ended up doing was losing balance and falling to one knee. With only one good hind leg, she couldn’t get the leverage to heave the pony from her. And she was ungodly strong.

“Rainbow!” she cried out in desperation, struggling with everything she had.

The pegasus appeared overhead, her eyes going huge in shock and horror as she saw what was happening beneath her.

‘Twilight’ had Applejack around the middle, a wicked grin on her face, an emerald glow encasing her horn. Worse, they were up to their waists in the floor, and sinking fast into an inky pit encircled by changeling fire.

“Applejack!” she cried in alarm, then immediately bent her expression into a fierce scowl. “Let her go!”

She threw her wings back, charging as fast as she could straight towards the two.

And that was when the wall right beside her exploded.

Shrapnel and green flames went everywhere, throwing her end over end towards the far end of the barn.

Within seconds, the hay that’d just saved the two pony’s lives was aflame, great tongues of fire licking up the nearby support columns and rafters overhead.

Another mighty detonation, another perfectly placed fireball, and suddenly the whole barn was ablaze.

Fire raced up each wall like it had a mind of its own, spreading rampantly from wooden beam to wooden beam. Within moments, the interior of the barn was choked with smoke and swelteringly hot.

Green mixed with orange all around Rainbow as she staggered upright.

“Applejack!”

She could just see her friend through the smoke, fighting and struggling for all she was worth.

But it was too late.

All Rainbow saw was one last terrified look in her friend’s emerald eyes just as she sank up to her neck into the ground.

“RAIN—”

Before she could even finish, Rainbow saw her blonde mane drop away like she’d just fallen off a cliff, and she was gone.

Immediately the circle of fire evaporated, leaving behind only a small circle of char as evidence it’d existed at all.

“APPLEJACK!”

~~***~~

Darkness pressed all around Applejack, literally pressing against her like she was being squeezed through a tube. She couldn’t move, could barely breath, and couldn’t see a thing.

Without warning, she was ejected with a yelp from the darkness and into the open night air.

Before she could do more than begin to inhale out of shock, however, something hit her bodily. Then another, and another.

No less than six changelings latched onto her various body parts and pinned her to the ground, one for each leg, her chest and even her head.

Their weight crushed down on her like a press, not giving her so much as a nanometer to move with. She just lay spread eagle on the floor, her eyes forced to stare at the scene before her.

To her horror, she find herself back in that clearing.

Motionless changelings littered the area from one end to the other, and yet for every one lying on the ground, two more gazed right back at her, very much not unconscious.

And directly in front of her, two Big Macintosh’s were locked in a ferocious battle. Both were bruised and beaten, exchanging blow after blow with each other.

But as one rolled to the side to avoid a buck from the other, the one doing the bucking hesitated, his eyes locked on hers.

“Apple—”

An emerald flash struck him in the back of the head.

Big Mac’s eyes widened in shock for half a heartbeat before rolling into the back of his skull, and with a heavy thud, the stallion fell to the ground in a heap, changeling magic still crackling over his coat.

“Macintosh!” Applejack screamed, her voice cracking. She struggled for all she was worth, but all she managed to accomplish was to shift her weight this way and that.

Big Mac stayed where he laid, out cold.

The other red stallion in the clearing blinked in surprise, taken aback by the stroke of luck.

“Are you alright, sir?”

Vigil turned towards the source of that voice – a voice that came from directly behind the fallen stallion. “Hyacinth.”

The lime green unicorn’s horn was still crackling with magical discharge, leaving no doubt in Applejack’s mind who’d sucker-punched her brother.

Vigil only stared at the changeling, momentarily lost for words. There were a whole slew of questions on his mind at the moment, but he never quite got to any first.

“I trust I’m not interrupting,” she said, glancing down towards the unconscious stallion at her hooves.

Vigil regarded her for a moment longer, his gaze unknowable, before huffing and turning away. “No. In fact, you have impeccable timing.”

Applejack shivered when he turned those familiar eyes towards her – eyes filled with an alien personality.

“Hello, Applejack,” he said in a tone that chilled her heart, “I’ve been expecting you.”

~~***~~

The barn was coming down all around Rainbow. Rafters were collapsing in great fiery plumes of flame and shrapnel. Support columns buckled as the inferno ate through it.

Rainbow only stared at the place her friend had once been, uncomprehending.

…move…

The memory of Applejack’s terrified eyes kept flashing before her eyes – so close, yet so far away.

move

RAIN—

MOVE!

With a loud splintering sound, the rafters over her head came crashing down… on thin air.

Rainbow threw her wings behind her with everything she had, tearing through the choking, smoggy air like a feathery bullet.

All around her, the barn was falling to pieces, bit by burning bit. Barrels were small furnaces. The cart had been crushed under a massive support strut, reducing it to a pile of burning rubble.

Rainbow bobbed and wove around the disintegrating structure, surging straight for the front door. Just a split second before impact, she spun around, cocked her legs, and bucked.

The whole door fell apart into a burning heap as a rainbow streak tore past, hit the ground, and skidded on all fours.

Rainbow coughed fitfully, her eyes watering. Dang it… Dang it…!

She had been right there – right there! And now… now she was gone.

No!

Rainbow furiously wiped at her eyes, struggling to clear them. This was not how this was going to end! She was Rainbow Danger Dash!

She snarled, grinding her teeth. And Vigil’s gonna learn that the hard way!

A loud, horrible groaning sound broke Rainbow out of it.

She spun around, just in time to see one side of the barn buckle under its own weight. The whole thing came down in a mass of flames, wood and cinders, sending fiery shrapnel everywhere as it fell apart like a house of cards.

The old structure buckled to one side, and with an almighty crash of splintering wood and raging fire, it came down with all the fanfare of a bomb detonating…

Rainbow watched as her nightmare came back to her, this time anchored in reality. The more she watched the old barn burn, the colder she felt inside.

Everything was coming apart at the seams.

Author's Note

This chapter also brought to you by the phrase "...Sh*t."

That, and there's a name dropped here that'll have relevance in the next chapter...

This and chapter 6 were initially just one big chapter, but after hitting that 11k word mark, i decided to split it in twain.
And for whatever reason, getting AJ and RD into that dang barn was such a pain in the plot.

Now, on to the next one.

Chapter 8: Sleight of Hand

Bright, angry flames raged against the dark, indifferent night sky – a tower of crimson and orange visible in the inky blackness for miles around.

Even in that intangible period of time when it was too early to be considered morning but too late to still be considered night, the out-of-control blaze did not go unnoticed.

Shutters all across Ponyville were pried open by bleary-eyed inhabitants searching for the source of that unwelcome glare. More than a few were unhappy at being disturbed from their rests, and more than a few vows of hollow revenge were uttered against their nameless disturbers.

But such sentiments did not survive long – not when the cause of the bright, flickering light was spotted. Eyes went wide and hearts filled with unease as the townsfolk stared at the towering flames and thick column of acrid black smoke, and only one shocking conclusion was met unanimously.

Sweet Apple Acres was burning.

~~***~~

“Keep them back! Keep everypony back!”

Guards formed a line across the front fence of the apple orchard, creating a living barricade against the gathering of concerned ponies that was slowly amassing outside the property.

From there, they had an almost perfect view of the Apple family household, and the immense pyre that’d once been the family’s huge barn.

Flames shot nearly thirty feet into the air, defying any attempts to quell them. Nearby trees were starting to catch fire as the embers spread on the wind, and the household itself was in imminent danger of being swallowed by the swelling inferno.

Everypony watching in morbid fascination could see the fire engine parked like a barrier between the burning barn and the house, a group of unicorns and earth ponies working with powerful jets of pressurized water to stifle the flames.

Overhead, weather ponies formed an almost never-ending conveyor belt of clouds, bringing in ones laden with rain before cycling them out when they ran dry.

But the flames kept advancing, growing in spite of the water being poured into it.

“Something’s not right with this fire!” one of the fireponies shouted, spraying down the same immolating piece of barn for the tenth time in a row. “It’s not natural!”

Through the blinding wall of flames and blistering heat, he just thought he could make out something odd mixed in with the tongues of fire… something green…

He was distracted, however, by a bright flash of purple in his peripheral vision.

When he snapped his head around – expecting anything – he still found himself caught off guard by the young unicorn mare standing not ten feet from him, her eyes scrunched up and her horn flaring brighter than any unicorn horn he’d ever seen before.

Twilight Sparkle concentrated with all her might, summoning up every ounce of magical prowess she possessed. Lavender light crackled off her horn, magical sparks shooting forth like a firecracker.

The firepony looked on in confusion, but just as he opened his mouth to get the mare’s attention, something immense flew over his head, missing him by only a foot or two.

In the light of the fire – and the sheen of magic containing it – he caught sight of the thing, but could hardly believe what he was seeing in the first place.

There was just no explaining why there was a river flowing overhead.

Twilight grunted and continued to work her figurative magic over her more literal talents. Even though the spell wanted nothing more than to fly apart as violently as possible, she knew a thing or two about keeping a spell in check, and found herself exercising every bit of that experience.

Water was not the easiest thing to move – she knew that. It was too nebulous, too formless. Where lifting a solid object could be possible with a few weaknesses in the telekinetic grip here and there, Twilight was afforded no such luxury with something like liquid, and she needed every drop.

But to save a friend’s home, it was an exertion well spent.

At her behest, the contents of the nearest river formed an undulating halo over the barn, floating between the raging fire and everything around it.

Already the liquid was steaming and evaporating under the sheer heat of the blaze. Twilight knew she didn’t have long.

So, with one last grunt, she imploded her spell.

The entire wreath of water slammed together in the middle, crushing what little remained of the barn under the weight of tens of thousands of gallons of river water.

Ponies watching from the property fence wooed and awed as the collision of water sent a plume nearly a hundred feet straight up in the air before raining down on the rather stunned fireponies below.

Twilight panted as she surveyed the inundated barnyard and the smoking wreckage that’d once been her favorite barn. After a moment, she allowed a grin to spread on her lips… only to have it falter.

A loud, angry hissing and spitting sound reached her ears, and a moment later the blaze reignited itself. Violently.

Emerald fire exploded outward like a wounded beast, lashing out angrily as it vaporized every bit of moisture it touched in a sheet of boiling steam.

Twilight’s eyes got wide in shock, and with only a split second to spare, she ignited her horn again.

Half a beat later, she, the fireponies and their fire truck winked back into existence some hundred feet back.

Twilight staggered, panting. She’d never tried to teleport something as big as a fire engine before, not to mention its entire crew at the same time.

For one terrifying moment, her legs started to give out beneath her…

Only to have a steadying pair of hooves catch her.

“Twilight! Are you alright, darling?”

The unicorn blinked, shook her head, and refocused her vision to find a pair of sapphire eyes staring at her in concern.

“Rarity… yeah, I’m okay,” Twilight breathed, getting her hooves beneath her again.

Rarity let her friend stand back up, but her eyes didn’t lose their concerned glint. “Don’t push yourself. We still need to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

“I know,” Twilight muttered, touching her forehead gingerly. She was going to have such a hornache in the morning. Casting too many big spells in a row did that to her.

As she stood there, gathering herself, her eyes stayed fixed on the reignited barn, a terrible sense of dread filling her.

The changeling fire shot up even higher than before, casting an eerie green glow over everything. Already she could hear panicked and scared voices from the ponies gathered along the fence.

None of this made sense to her. Why attack Sweet Apple Acres? Again and again she replayed the last thing she’d seen of her friends over and over in her head.

Even though it was so dark out, and they were so far away, Twilight hadn’t missed a few things, like the state of Rainbow’s coat or the bandages wrapped around Applejack’s legs. They’d been hurt, that much was clear. So… why did they run away? And why had they shouted “no” at her? She’d heard the Guard’s explanation – that they were under changeling influence.

But something wasn’t adding up…

As she thought, Twilight’s gaze drifted off of the enchanted flames and to her right – to the barricade the royal guards had erected at the front of the property.

More specifically, towards the vermillion stallion organizing a defensive perimeter around the property.

Something wasn’t adding up at all…

“Twilight?”

The unicorn blinked, distracted, and turned back to her friend. “Yes, Rarity?”

But Rarity paused, pursing her lips. Her eyes, too, were scrutinizing the barricade, but her thoughts were oddly imperceptible. “Are you thinking what I suspect you’re thinking?”

Twilight bit her lip, then followed her friend’s gaze. “I don’t know… maybe? Maybe I’m just being paranoid…”

To her surprise, Rarity let out a sigh. “You certainly can be innocent sometimes.”

Twilight turned back to her friend, blinking in surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rarity was silent for a moment, the fire reflecting eerily in her eyes. “All I’m saying is that Applejack and Rainbow are out there, hurt and alone.”

She turned one eye towards her friend, her gaze meaningful. “If you ask me, this isn’t the time to be trusting blindly. After all, not everypony is who they appear to be.”

Twilight’s frown deepened, her eyes once more settling on the pyre of changeling fire.

“Think it over,” Rarity said, smiling. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Twilight blinked, turning around in surprise. “Where are you going?”

“I have a prior engagement, I’m afraid,” Rarity stated without turning around. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”

Twilight watched in disbelief as her friend trotted away without a backwards glance. Within moments, she’d lost track of her white coat as it vanished into the shadows of the trees. “That’s weird… What’s Rarity up to?”

“Beg pardon?”

Twilight yelped, jumping halfway to the moon in shock as she whipped around.

And there, to her utter astonishment, stood Rarity, a look of confusion not even beginning to match Twilight’s.

“I’m sorry, darling. Did I miss something?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Twilight could only stare in pure shock as the realization started to dawn on her. The fact that Rarity was suddenly wearing her purple velvet drawstring purse – the one she’d specifically made for holding her ID card – made the realization only the more shocking.

“Rarity… weren’t you right here a second ago?”

The white unicorn now had a look of concern on her face – a familiar one that clearly questioned her friend’s current mental state. “No… I just got out of questioning. Why? Is something wrong?”

Twilight turned very pale indeed as she whipped her head back around, eyes peering back the way her ‘friend’ had disappeared off to. But there was no sign of her at all.

Not everypony is who they appear to be…

For the first time that night, Twilight’s skin crawled. But more than that, her mind was reeling even more than before.

Just who was that?

~~***~~

Rainbow Dash tore through the sky at speeds that would normally bring a grin to her face and a chuckle to her lips.

That night, however, she could only scowl and grunt with the effort of working her wings.

Even with the chilly night air slapping her in the face, she could still feel the blistering heat of the fire on her coat and taste the acrid flavors of wood smoke on the roof of her mouth.

It was because she could still feel and taste and smell that barn that her mind kept betraying her, and again and again she was treated to a flash of a panicked green pair of eyes and a fearful cry.

She’d been so close…

No!

Rainbow gritted her teeth harder, snarling. You can feel sorry for yourself later! Right now, Applejack is counting on you, and you are NOT going to let her down!

Rainbow nodded to herself, and pressed herself to go still faster.

Sound started to bleed away from her ears as she sped up. The very air began to claw at her, desperately trying to find some surface to throw its weight behind to stop her.

Rainbow ignored it, and instead channeled her frustrations into pushing herself even faster. She counted every second she wasted in transit, each one feeling like the final ticks on a countdown.

She was running out of time…

~~***~~

Sergeant Carapace cracked open an eye to survey his surroundings, the dregs of consciousness hastening to answer his call.

A lesser changeling might’ve been broken by what he’d gone through. A lesser changeling might’ve been unable to so much as get their hooves beneath them after such an ordeal.

But Sergeant Carapace was no lesser changeling.

Those three or four stumbles were only to fool any watching adversary into thinking him weakened. Nothing more. With a stifled groan, he rose off the ground, lucidity already taking hold.

The fifth stumble was just for good measure.

As he surveyed his surroundings with a meticulous eye, he became aware of two things.

Firstly, the sounds of combat had faded. Pity…

Secondly, he found himself standing alone in that accursed field. Signs of quite the furious struggle marred the grass and dirt all around him; the stallion had put up quite the fight. Carapace expected nothing less from a stallion capable of besting him.

The fact that he’d been left behind did not bother him. He was more than capable of finding his way to shelter, and woe be to the one that got in his way. His peers had already dragged off the lesser drones, leaving only him and…

Sergeant Carapace hesitated, going still for but a moment in modest surprise.

It seemed that he wasn’t as alone as he first thought. Not a dozen feet from him lay a massive shape. A familiar, red shape.

And as he watched, the stallion let out a groan. Sergeant Carapace could almost see his nemesis’ eyes spinning in their sockets, undoubtedly still reeling from the blow Captain Vigil had struck him.

And now here he was, all by himself, stunned and disoriented.

Sergeant Carapace couldn’t help but grin to himself viciously. On this night, vengeance was hi—

Rainbow Dash chose that moment to land directly on top of him, crushing him under-hoof.

“Macintosh! Hey, Big Mac, are you alright?”

The big red stallion spasmed as if an electrical current had just shot through him. He groaned, righting himself, his eyes still bleary. “Ruh… Rainbow? That you?”

He blinked some more, shaking his head, and once his vision cleared, he found the rainbow-maned pegasus standing in front of him, looking deeply concerned.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

For a moment, Mac wanted to shoot that question right back at her. She looked like she’d gone ten rounds with a Timber Wolf. But before he could get his mouth more than halfway open, his head came back on straight, and everything hit him all at once, shooting his eyes open wide.

“Applejack. They got—”

“I know, Big Mac, I know,” Rainbow interrupted, putting a hoof against his chest. “I… I was there. I’m sorry, I couldn’t—”

“It’s alright, Rainbow. Neither could Ah.”

Rainbow’s ears picked up, her eyes focusing. “Wait, she was here?”

“Eeyup,” Mac grunted, rubbing the back of his head. “Saw her fer a second. Then it all went dark.”

Rainbow bit back a curse, turning away. She’d been too late. Again. “Dang it… She could be anywhere by now…”

“Couldn’ta gotten far,” Big Mac grunted.

Rainbow turned a curious eye towards him. “What makes you say that?”

A knowing glint entered Mac’s eye. “Cuz they got Applejack.”

~~***~~

With yelp, another changeling went flying across the room, striking the far brick wall with a nasty crunch.

“Yer gonna have ta try harder than that!” roared Applejack from her place on the floor.

A dozen changelings were piled on top of her, trying desperately to get the furious farmer under control. Quite a few were sporting black eyes and missing a fang or two.

Applejack just kept wriggling and squirming and every chance she got she threw a powerful buck without a moment’s hesitation.

From the sidelines, Vigil watched with increasing exasperation. “This is getting ridiculous… Will someone please restrain her already?”

“Trying… sir,” one of the drones grunted while simultaneously wrestling with a forelimb like it were attached to an Ursa Minor. Applejack just continued kicking and swinging, fighting for dear life.

The darkened room flashed brightest green as a spell was loosed.

Applejack felt something hot and slimy engulf her front hoof just as she swung it.

The changelings used her momentum against her, letting go of her other foreleg for an instant – just long enough for the two limbs to collide together as they met in the middle.

But they didn’t come apart again. Applejack stared in shock at the gooey green substance sticking to her hooves, gluing them together. In a matter of seconds, the substance hardened into a gleaming, glass-like shell, shackling her hooves together.

Before she could react, the same process bound her legs together, and no matter who or what she struck her bindings with, they didn’t so much as crack.

With another flash of changeling magic, both her hind and fore hooves were slammed together and promptly sealed in an even thicker emerald casing, hogtying her.

As the changelings finally backed away from her, she caught sight of one final flash of emerald from her captors, just as an iron hard binding clamped around her muzzle painfully.

The light from Vigil’s horn faded, but not his mildly irritated expression. “Now perhaps you’ll settle down. I would much rather keep you undamaged.”

Applejack glared back at him, struggling to speak around the binding on her muzzle. “Yer ernt gerna gert erwer werth thers.”

Vigil had to roll his eyes. “Please, spare me such a cliché. No pony knows where you are, and the only two ponies who know who has you are suspected of being under changeling control. Furthermore, the other ponies will be too busy with our diversion at your farm to even begin searching.”

Even in the large, dark room, Applejack could’ve sworn she saw the emerald gleam in the disguised changeling’s eyes.

“No one will know you’re gone until it’s too late. No one will even know where to start looking for you. Not your friends, not those idiotic royal guards, and most certainly not Rainbow Dash.”

Vigil advanced. In the quiet space, Applejack could hear each and every hoof fall like he were stomping. Out of nowhere, she found herself almost nose to nose with him, automatically making her cringe back before she could catch herself.

“You’ve cost me a lot of time, effort and resources, ‘Your Highness’,” he breathed in her face. “But once Queen Chrysalis gets done with you, it will all have been time and effort well spent.”

Applejack’s skin crawled. She tried not to shy away – to show any signs of weakness – but it was almost too much to bear.

“So,” Vigil went on softly, “for everyone’s sake, let’s try to be civil and not waste any more of my time.”

Applejack managed a bullheaded glare. “Merk mer.”

Vigil merely straightened up like he hadn’t heard her and turned away. “You misunderstand me again, Applejack. That wasn’t a question.”

The captive pony watched as her captor strode away indifferently, marching past the many, many gleaming sets of icy blue eyes that stood between her and everypony else.

“I look forward to working with you in the future,” Vigil stated, just as he kicked the heavy doors shut behind him.

He paused for a moment outside, letting the chilly night air ruffle uncomfortably through his mustard coat. He would only need to put up with it for a little while longer – just a few minutes.

Then, he would be on his way, Her Highness’s prize in tow. All that was left to do was wait.

He hadn’t been lying; nopony would be interrupting him this time, not even Rainbow Dash. After all, Ponyville was quite the big place. It would take hours to comb it over.

For a moment, he allowed his eyes to play over his surroundings, a feeling of satisfaction in his chest.

Tracks played out across the ground before him in a crazy latticework of metal. Train cars and engines were scattered here and there on the tracks, waiting their turn to be put back into service.

Amid over a dozen red brick warehouses, the one behind Vigil hardly stood out any more than the next. Vigil couldn’t help but grin to himself as he turned to walk deeper into the train depot.

All that was left was to wait…

“Sir.”

Vigil hesitated midstride, looking towards an awaiting pegasus. “Hyacinth. I was just on my way to speak with you.”

The lime green mare nodded, stepping forward out of the shadows to stand at attention.

“I came to report that the train you requisitioned will be arriving in a few minutes,” she stated. “All that remains is for you to finalize the paperwork.”

Vigil nodded, not at all surprised. It would be ironic, really; a train, commissioned especially for use by the Royal Guard, delivering him and his troops to safety. After all, who would question a request from the Guard in this day and age? Ponies truly were too naïve for their own good.

“Very good," he replied. "We’re almost finished here, then.”

“Yes sir,” Hyacinth agreed with a curt nod.

Vigil turned his gaze towards the thatched roof cottages just visible over the squat brick buildings in the train depot. He could still see the flickering green light from the spell he’d had arranged to distract the ponies for a time. Granted, Twilight would undoubtedly have it out before long, but it would take even her an hour or two to figure it out.

So, with her and her friends indisposed for the time being, Vigil was free to think on other matters, including one that was starting to bother him.

“Hyacinth… I would like to know where you were, prior to dealing with Applejack’s brother.”

The green mare hesitated for a moment, a look of confusion crossing her eyes. “I was scouting the orchards, like you instructed,” she stated. “When I heard the sounds of fighting, I made my way to the rendezvous and witnessed you fighting Applejack’s brother, and decided to intervene.”

Vigil cocked an eyebrow. “And what of the team I sent to aid you?”

This time Hyacinth was truly drawn up short. “…Team? I met with no team.”

Vigil paused to consider that. “hmm…”

“What is it, sir?” Hyacinth asked.

He turned to regard the horizon, a frown growing on his face. “Something doesn’t feel right,” he stated. “Perhaps Applejack and her friends came across the team. But that won’t explain why Twilight and her friend came to the farm tonight.”

He tapped the edge of one hoof lightly on the ground as he thought, drawing his subordinate’s attention.

“Sir?”

Vigil glanced towards Hyacinth for a moment, then away. “I want you to go guard our guest. Don’t let anypony near her unless they know my code. Understood?”

Hyacinth stood up straighter, giving a small salute. “Yes sir. I’ll keep her safe.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Hyacinth threw her salute before trotting away into the darkness. Vigil watched her go for a moment, then proceeded on his own way once more.

He had a train to requisition.

~~***~~

“What’re we going to do, Mac,” whined Rainbow. She was doing the airborne equivalent of pacing back and forth before the big red stallion, who stood as still as a statue, watching her.

Rainbow floated back and forth with her hooves behind her back, her head bowed in thought as she tried with all her might to think of something – anything.

But she was coming up empty.

“Think… Think! Applejack could be gone any minute now! There’s gotta be someplace they took her.”

Big Mac glanced away in thought, his anxiety hidden remarkably well behind a stoic mask. “They coulda taken her through the Everfree,” he offered.

It seemed like the most logical conclusion to him – no guards patrolled the wild forest. With so many changelings, Vigil could move unimpeded through the woods without fear of being followed.

Rainbow’s frown deepened. “If they were gonna do that, why’d they bother with such a show earlier? They could’ve just come from the Everfree and pulled back.”

But then she hesitated. What if that’s what they’d been trying when they first attacked her and AJ? More and more, the Everfree seemed increasingly likely, but that posed another problem.

The Everfree Forest was massive, and most of it never saw sunlight under all the foliage that grew there. She’d have a better chance at finding a cup of cider post-season.

She groaned again, closing her eyes for a moment. “Ugh… Okay, okay, then where would they take her?”

Big Mac gave her a blank look. Honestly, he didn’t have a sure-fire answer for that; there were just too many possibilities. They could take her through Froggy Bottom Bog and into the deep south, or cut across the Macintosh Hills – for which he was named, and for good reason; the hills were massive, rivaling even the Canterhorn in size in some places.

Worse, the mountain range ran all the way into the Badlands, providing the perfect cover for anypony with the skill to navigate them.

Really, the changelings could go anywhere. They could even make a break up north for all he knew. After all, nopony knew where the changelings made their hives, and as turned around as they’d gotten after the wedding, there’d be virtually no way to track them with any certainty.

But Rainbow was expecting an answer of some sort, so he did what he did best and compressed it all into as short a statement as possible.

“Ah don’t know.”

Rainbow growled in frustration, dropping to the ground and picking up her pacing there. “That’s not good enough! There has to be some way to find her!”

But before she could wear a rut into the ground, a sound drew her up short.

Somepony was chuckling; somepony currently lying in a small crater behind Rainbow. She blinked, exchanging an unknowing look with Big Mac, before turning towards the source.

In the darkness, all she saw was a pair of glowing blue eyes and splayed out legs, a shadow darker than the night around it.

“You… you’ll never find her,” Sergeant Carapace cackled in an agonized baritone. “A-and even if you did… The captain will never let her go. Face it, pup. You’ve lost.”

He flipped over, still laughing wetly. “And once Her Highness gets her hooves on Applejack… heh… hehe… Oof!”

Carapace suddenly found his chest once more supporting the hooves of a rather furious pegasus.

He looked up as she lowered her head towards his, a glare on her face. “Okay, tough guy, we’re either gonna do this the easy way or the hard way. Start talking, or else.”

Carapace could only laugh mockingly. “You… you don’t scare me, little pony. I have seen things that’d make you molt all those pretty feathers of yours! I have endured tortures unlike anything you could ever dream of. You are… nothing!”

Rainbow blinked, raising her head.

“So… do your… worst, pony,” Carapace berated further, spitting out the last word like a curse.

Rainbow’s expression became blank for a second, a thought hitting her.

“Oh, so I guess you don’t know anything,” she stated plainly.

Carapace was taken aback. “W-what?”

Rainbow shrugged, indifferent. “Makes sense. I guess you’re just not important enough to know these things.”

Carapace’s jaw dropped in shock and outrage. Before he could react, Rainbow stepped off of him, turning her nose up. “I mean, it’d be totally awesome and impressive if you did, but since you don’t, what’s the point? I got better things to do than mess around with noponies.”

She hid her grin as best she could for all of the five steps she made before the changeling shouted after her.

“You think… I… am not… important?!”

Bingo.

She turned around, just as Carapace started to stagger to his hooves again, snarling savagely. “I am Sergeant Carapace! I led the attack that crippled the… the entirety of Canterlot’s militia! I answer to… to no one but Her Highness herself, and her generals!”

“And yet here you are, answering to Vigil,” Rainbow pointed out, purposefully sounding unimpressed.

“He… he outranks me, but only just,” Carapace spat. “Curse his royal pedigree… Were it not for that, I would be the one leading this… this operation!”

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

“Oh yes, pup,” Carapace hissed through a wicked grin. “No pony serves Her Highness with more dedication than I! I should be the one to deliver that brat Applejack to Queen… Queen Chrysalis!”

Rainbow tried not to snarl, like her instincts told her. She had to keep him talking, keep feeding into his ego. After all, if she understood one thing, it was a need to laud one’s accomplishments. AKA, boast their tails off.

“And what would you guys want with Applejack in the first place,” she asked. “Seems like kind of a lame target, if you ask me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, little girl,” Carapace cackled sinisterly. “Don’t tell me she never told you? Now who’s the pony out of the know!”

“I know plenty,” Rainbow stated defensively. “I know she’s a changeling!”

Carapace only snorted. “She never told you that she is a changeling queen, did she?”

Rainbow froze, eyes going wide. “Wait, what?”

Carapace’s laughter got louder. “No, she didn’t, did she? Yes, little girl, Applejack is a queen changeling, just like Her Highness Queen Chrysalis, and just like the members of her court.”

Rainbow tried not to show how much that information sent her reeling. The thought of there being more queens than the one they’d faced in Canterlot was… troubling.

But Rainbow managed to stow that away for the time being and give Carapace a condescending look. “And that has so much to do with it because…?”

For the first time, Carapace’s expression faltered. “The Hive… questions Her Highness’s ability to rule as Queen of Queens. If it was anyone but her own court speaking out against her, she’d have the revolutionaries executed. But… she can’t do that with her… her entire court. That would only make things worse.”

Then his grin came back full force, and this time it really did unsettle Rainbow.

“What… what Her Highness needs… is a figurehead; someone to rule for her. And that… that is where your friend comes in, little pony.”

Rainbow glared at him. “Applejack would never do something like that!”

Carapace let out a throaty laugh to the night air. “What… what makes you think she will have a choice, pup? Or did you forget that… Her Highness has a… a way with making others see things her way?”

Rainbow’s skin crawled. A flash of a white stallion – his eyes unfocused and glazed with changeling magic – shot across her mind, and suddenly she felt very uneasy indeed.

“Once Her Highness gets her hooves on little Applejack, she’ll be taught some… some manners. By the time she’s through with her, your little friend will be all-too happy to serve the Hive, just like she should.”

Rainbow snarled, her anger flaring like a fire. “No she won’t!”

Carapace only laughed in her face. “You’re too late, little girl! By now, Vigil will already be on his way to the Badlands! And there isn’t anything you or anyone can do about it!”

He stalked a step closer, grinning savagely. “Nothing can stop us now.”

~~***~~

Vigil strolled down the rows of warehouses, passing beneath pools of lamplight now and again as he made his way to the main office building in the train depot.

Compared to the bright and welcoming designs that plagued the town of Ponyville, the office building was almost jarringly ordinary. While the front was decorated and painted to fit in with the aesthetics of the town, the back was left plain and unadorned, with bare bricks and small, soundproofed windows looking out over the train yard behind it.

Vigil strolled up to the back door and knocked it open, much to the surprise of the earth pony on the other side.

“Oh my,” he yelped, almost falling over in surprise. “I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting – who are you?”

“Vigil, Royal Investigator,” he stated automatically. “Forgive me for not knocking, but I’m in something of a rush.”

“Oh! O-of course,” stammered the earth pony. “What can I do you for?”

“I require the requisition papers for a train that’s about to arrive,” he stated plainly. “Official Guard business.”

He’d used that line more than once in the past few days – official Guard business. It never failed in dissuading questions, and always got the relevant ponies jumping to action.

But for the first time ever, the pony before him hesitated, a frown growing on his face.

“Well, alright, but it’ll have to wait until morning,” he said.

Vigil tensed for a moment in surprise, his brow going up an inch or two. “What?”

The earth pony rubbed at his gray mane uncomfortably. “There ain't no trains coming tonight.”

Vigil became very still indeed. “That… can’t be right,” he stated through clenched teeth. “I had my associate sort it all out.”

The earth pony blinked, confused. “Son, you’re the first pony I’ve seen all night, so unless your associate’s been pulling your leg, I think you heard wrong.”

Vigil could only stare in shock, his mind going blank for the first time in a very long time, indeed.

The earth pony eyed him carefully, concern growing on his wizened old face. “Something wrong, son?”

Vigil’s lips parted for a moment, closed, and then he was running out the door as fast as equinely possible.

~~***~~

Applejack just laid on her side in the middle of the warehouse floor, gazing forlornly out the nearest window. She could just barely make out the stars through the grimy windows and the flicker of emerald light on the window frame.

She cast her thoughts towards her friends. She prayed that Macintosh was still alive. She prayed that Twilight and Rarity were alright. And she prayed that Rainbow had gotten out of that barn.

All she could do was pray, and she prayed with all her heart for some kind of miracle.

That was when the door creaked open.

Instantly every pair of eye in the place flashed towards the protesting metal door. Dozens of shadows broke away from the walls and pipes overhead, dozens of hisses and buzzes issuing a deadly warning to the intruder.

But the moment they saw who it was, the threat died.

“Lieutenant Hyacinth,” one hissed, dropping from his perch in order to stand in front of the lime green mare. “Why are you here?”

Hyacinth gave the drone a reserved glance before turning her blue eyes towards Applejack.

“Captain Vigil ordered me to guard the prisoner personally,” she said in a clipped tone. “We believe that there is a traitor amongst us.”

Immediately the whole room was a-buzz, eyes meeting others and chitters filling the air.

“For security reasons, I need everyone out,” Hyacinth stated. “If anyone approaches, kill them. Am I understood?”

The drone snapped to attention. “Yes, ma’am. By your order.”

“Good, now… out.”

Applejack watched in astonishment as the changelings filed from the room, momentary flashes of emerald marking one departure after another.

Once the last changeling had disappeared into the night, Applejack turned a wary eye towards the only other changeling in the room.

Hyacinth was already looking at her, her eyes gleaming in the diffused light of the warehouse. And then, very slowly, she started to approach. Applejack gave her a warning glare, trying to scoot away from her.

“Berk erff,” she growled warningly, but the changeling ignored her.

Hyacinth came to stand right next to her, her gaze weary, yet unfathomable.

And then, very gently, she placed a hoof underneath the earth pony’s sore shoulder and heaved her up into a sitting position.

Applejack blinked, taken aback, but not nearly as much as she was when the changeling before her wrapped her hooves around her sides and pulled Applejack against her shoulder.

And before Applejack could do more than gasp, the lime green mare erupted in a fireball.

Her coat disintegrated. Her legs filled with holes. These were things Applejack was expecting.

She was not expecting, however, when the flames exploded outward, and in its wake came a long, tattered cloak that enveloped her entirely.

The cloak was… off, somehow. Applejack could see crackles of emerald magic dancing across it as it materialized. It smelled of smoke and char, and yet not a single singe marked it.

“Hold on, Your Highness.”

Applejack’s breath seized in her throat as emerald flames burst into being all around her, and a moment later, the floor dropped out beneath her, throwing her into compressing darkness.

~~***~~

The doors to the warehouse exploded off of their hinges, sending them flying across the open space. But Vigil only caught the last flicker of changeling magic as the portal shut behind Applejack and Hyacinth.

He stared, his jaws clenched in pure, unbridled fury. Behind him, ten changelings lay in heaps, some groaning… some not.

“Find them,” he said in a deadly flat tone.

The nearest changelings cringed back out of fright. When no immediate response was forthcoming, Vigil turned a wrathful eye over one shoulder.

“Now.”

Every changeling scattered. They didn’t care where they went, so long as it was away from the furious stallion.

Vigil watched them go, focusing only on his breathing, his horn crackling with murderous fury.

~~***~~

Applejack let out a gasp as her head burst forth into open air once more. She registered for just one moment the fact that her hooves weren’t on solid ground, and instinctively braced herself.

But instead of plummeting Celestia-knows how far, a pair of strong hooves took hold of her, her ears filling with the sound of soft buzzing.

Instead of the harsh thump on her backside like she’d been bracing for, she found the cold floor gently come up to take her weight.

Only then did Applejack pry open one eye to investigate her surroundings.

A part of her feared yet another trap. She half expected to find more changelings waiting for her, somehow crueler and more wicked than the last batch. But no such mob awaited her. Nothing awaited her, in fact, save for a yawning darkness and the sensation of wood beneath her rump.

That, and the changeling still holding onto her.

“Are you alright, Applejack,” she asked quietly. “Are you hurt?”

Applejack blinked, still totally rigid and stiff as a board. “N-Ner.”

The changeling sighed in relief. “Good.”

Gingerly, she leaned away from Applejack, sitting back.

Now Applejack could see the soft blue glow to the changeling’s eyes, gleaming like lanterns in the dark. They just outlined the ragged hood she had wrapped around her head and the narrow taper of her snout.

“Please, don’t panic,” she said. “I swear I am not going to hurt you.”

Applejack only stared at her strange rescuer, not quite sure what to do or make of the situation. Already past experiences with changelings and their tricks were flashing through her head, especially her blunder with that Twilight imposter.

But the fact that the changeling before her had just rescued her was throwing her for a loop.

The changeling lit her horn, casting a vivid green pool of light around the two. “Hold still,” she instructed, and a moment later Applejack felt her muzzle growing hot.

The binding holding her mouth shut started to glow, and then dissolved into a molten goop that oozed off her face and onto the floor, hissing when it came into contact with the cold wood beneath her.

Applejack shook her head, shaking the liquefied binding from her muzzle as quickly as she could.

“Better?”

Applejack immediately refocused her gaze back on the changeling, the residue on her muzzle forgotten, becoming motionless. “Uh… yeah. Thanks.”

The changeling smiled.

That look took Applejack completely by surprise. In no way had she ever imagined a changeling could ever look so… relieved, and genuinely happy. It looked so odd, so alien, that for a moment she had to consider the real possibility that this changeling was trying to pull a fast one on her.

But, the sincerity in her expression was… difficult to cast aside. You just didn’t look that way without meaning it, even if only a little.

“Uh… Ah’m real grateful fer ya savin’ me, Ah really am,” said Applejack slowly, “but… Why did ya? Weren’t ya part of Vigil’s gang?”

The changeling gave her a patient look, waiting for her to finish before speaking. “Not quite.”

Applejack blinked, confusion really starting to set in. “Well, if yer not with Vigil, then who? Who are ya?”

The changeling’s smile faded almost entirely, replacing it instead with a careful expression.

“I… am Lieutenant Hyacinth, scout and intelligence agent for Queen Chrysalis,” she stated in a hollow tone.

Applejack’s nostril’s flared, her pulse rate spiking.

“But…”

AJ hesitated.

Hyacinth looked her dead in the eye, a small reassuring smile on her fanged lips.

“Formerly… I was known as Captain Hyacinth, personal bodyguard to Queen Carnation... to your mother.”

Applejack’s heart missed a beat, her breath catching in her chest.

“W-what?”

Hyacinth's smile grew still bigger. “It’s okay, dear. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Author's Note

Initially, I was going to continue on a lot further than this, but two things got in the way.
Firstly, I'm dog tired and honestly can't think straight long enough to put everything down.
Secondly, I just bought a cliffhanger sensor, and decided to put it to good use. Worked like a charm, in my opinion.
So, unfortunately, I won't be explaining some things I promised to go over in this chapter... next one, though. I promise.

Now, I know for sure one person called the twist in this chapter, and that honestly amazed me. I thought I was being sneaky!
Anyway, next chapter will be mostly backstory, and it ain't gonna be happy reminiscing, either. This is the point where I'm starting to consider whether I'll need a sad tag or not.

PS: you get a cookie if you know why I chose the name Carnation for Applejack's mother.

Chapter 9: Freedom

Ponyville was no stranger to catastrophe. For a town with little in the way of emergency procedures, the citizenry had already experienced its fair share of crises – from terrifying incidents such as a rampaging Ursa Minor and a baby dragon hitting puberty to the truly bizarre, like parasprites eating half the standing structures in town.

By now, most ponies knew what to do in such situations; barricade themselves in their homes and wait for the crisis to pass. And for the most part, this official unofficial plan of action had paid off.

But that night was different.

Ponies watching the out-of-control emerald blaze consume the familiar vista of an apple orchard from their living room windows suddenly found their front doors pounded on by strong hooves.

“Royal Guard! Open up!”

All across Ponyville, gold-clad stallions pushed into home after home, searching every building from top to bottom.

When asked for an explanation, all they would say was “Official Guard business”. But as quickly as they would come, the guards would disperse, leaving behind them a state of semi-disarray and very uneasy ponies.

And just moments before they vanished into the night, a question was asked to the inhabitants of every household, a flier proffered in front of their muzzles.

“Have you seen these mares?”

And almost every time, they were met with the same response.

“Isn’t that Applejack?” “Applejack?” “Why’re you looking for Applejack?”

Not very many ponies in town would not know the apple farmers face, and those that somehow didn’t were still plenty aware of the Apple family itself. After all, Sweet Apple Acres was rather hard to miss.

But it was the mare pictured next to her that drew the most confusion. The lime-green mare was completely alien to them, and in a town where everypony knew everypony, that was disconcerting to many.

The answer in both cases was the same.

“No… can’t say I have.” “Is she missing?” “Did she get mixed up in something?”

And invariably, the guards would respond the same way.

“Applejack is wanted for aiding and abetting a known changeling. She is believed to be under this mare’s spell, and not likely to be in her right mind. If you see her, please contact us immediately.”

With that, the guards would move on, leaving behind stunned and worried ponies in their wake city-wide.

Those houses and businesses that didn’t open their doors were forced open, splintering doorframes and shattering locks.

Every room was picked over, every possible hiding place exposed.

From one end of Ponyville they worked, moving like a well-oiled machine, but to no avail.

The ponies in question were nowhere to be found.

~~***~~

Applejack moved quietly behind the cloaked changeling in front of her, her eyes never once leaving its back.

Hyacinth’s horn was alight, casting an eerie green glow on their surroundings as she trotted at an easy pace forward.

The apple farmer still had no idea where she was, and that was starting to make her even more uneasy.

The tunnel she found herself walking down was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. The walls looked to be made from one seamless piece of wood, as if they were walking through a hollowed out tree.

The air was stagnant and dusty, and left the taste of wood pulp on the roof of her mouth.

But most of all, it was the silence that was getting to Applejack. Aside from her and Hyacinth’s hooves tapping on the wooden floor, there was nothing at all to hear. It was as if they were deep underground, and if the slope of the tunnel was anything to go by, they were going still deeper…

“Hyacinth, where’re we goin’?” Applejack asked, glancing around.

“It’s not much further,” she responded without turning around.

AJ frowned at her back. She still wasn’t one hundred percent sure if she should be trusting the changeling in front of her, given the way her night’s been going. There was still that nagging suspicion that she was making a big mistake.

But if she was telling the truth…

Apprehension and curiosity ran rampant through Applejack’s head, warring with her suspicion.

If she was telling the truth, however, that left one question in Applejack’s mind that wouldn’t rest.

“Hyacinth, Ah gotta ask ya somethin’.”

The changeling hesitated mid-stride and cast a searching glance over one shoulder, but said nothing. She merely waited for Applejack to speak.

“Yer the one that knocked out Big Macintosh,” Applejack stated. After all, it wasn’t a question.

Hyacinth’s eye’s grew heavy, her expression becoming almost weary.

“Yes, I am,” she said. “It was the only way he would live. If I hadn’t intervened…,” She trailed off, but the look in her eyes conveyed what she didn’t want to say.

Applejack felt a chill run down her spine. “So… you were savin’ his life?”

Hyacinth nodded. “As soon as he stopped interfering, I knew Vigil would prioritize you over him. The spell I hit him with wasn’t a strong one; he would recover before anyone could come back for him.”

Applejack couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. Even if she wasn’t entirely sure if she should believe Hyacinth just yet, the idea that her brother was alright was very much the kind of reassurance she’d been needing.

She could tell that Hyacinth saw through her, too, because she gave Applejack a small smile.

“Come along, dear. There’s something I want to show you.”

With that, she started moving again, the sounds of her hooves once more clattering off the walls back at Applejack.

So, with few options, AJ fell into step behind her once more.

But in the silence, the only thing for her to do was think, and it was starting to drive her crazy.

After only a few minutes of internal turmoil, she once more opened her mouth to speak.

“What do ya think Vigil is gonna do?”

Hyacinth didn’t hesitate this time, though she glanced sideways at a nearby wall in thought.

“If I had to guess? He will turn Ponyville upside down looking for us. I’ve known him for a few years now, and the one thing I can say for certain about him is that he does not tolerate failure.”

Applejack bit her lip, a dark cloud in the back of her mind. “Does… does that mean he’ll go after my family?”

Hyacinth glanced over her shoulder at Applejack, her eyes unreadable. “I doubt it.”

AJ scrutinized her face, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What makes you so sure of that?”

Once more, Hyacinth smiled that unusual, friendly smile. “Because I doubt he’ll get the chance.”

~~***~~

“Golly, Miss Zecora, thanks fer lettin’ us stay the night.”

The reclusive hermit cast a gentle smile from over her steaming cup of tea at the little bow-wearing filly sitting across the table from her.

“But of course, Apple Bloom dear. Tonight, you’ll be quite safe here.”

Apple Bloom gazed around the zebra’s hut, her eyes filled with wonder at the many strange herbs hanging out to dry and the numerous tribal masks adorning the walls. No matter how much she looked, it was all still so intriguing to her.

Zecora’s cauldron, usually bubbling and frothing with some primal brew, sat cold and empty in the middle of the hollowed out tree she called home.

Vials and jars sat carefully arranged on nearby shelves – conspicuously well out of reach of meddlesome fillies.

But even all the wondrous sights inside Zecora’s hut couldn’t distract Apple Bloom for long.

“Ah sure hope Applejack is alright,” she mumbled, her eyes going down once more.

“There, there, sugarcube,” Granny Smith said, putting a bracing hoof around her little granddaughter. “Ya got nothin’ ta worry about. That sister o’ yers is tougher than a Timber Wolf made o’ ironwood.”

“Your grandmother speaks the truth,” Zecora said after a sip of tea. “That Applejack is quite full of youth. Why, I am certain that she is working hard on the farm to ensure you and your family do not come to harm.”

Apple Bloom glanced between her grandmother and the rhyming zebra, then down to her barely-touched cup of tea.

“Well, if ya say so…”

Unbeknownst to the filly, both adults shared a look for just a moment.

Granny searched the zebra’s eyes for a moment, a slight frown on her wizened face.

Zecora merely returned the look calmly before closing her eyes to take another sip.

“Drink your tea, young one. You should rest before the night is done.”

~~***~~

“Hold on a second, Hyacinth. Are ya telling me that ya sent Zecora to look after them?”

Hyacinth nodded, still walking. “I’ve known Zecora for a few years, too. A perk of keeping my base of operations in the Everfree.”

Applejack hesitated for a moment, pausing in her stride. “Is that where we are? Your base?”

“No,” Hyacinth answered cryptically. “This place is far more important.”

Before Applejack could inquire further, the changeling rounded a sharp corner. When next she spotted Hyacinth, she couldn’t help but freeze in place.

The hallways on either side of her had dropped away entirely. She found herself standing on a simple, flat half-circle platform free of adornment of any kind.

And before her loomed a yawning void of darkness too vast for Hyacinth’s lit horn to reveal.

The closest walls she could see quickly soared away from her, up and to either side, before vanishing beyond Hyacinth’s light.

Applejack could hear her hooves echoing back at her in the immense empty space again and again.

But there were other sounds that she could hear, sounds that just didn’t quite seem right. For one thing, she could easily make out the sounds of creaking and popping wood, like trees swaying in a strong wind, yet she felt no breeze.

“What is this place?” Applejack asked, craning her neck this way and that.

Instead of answering, Hyacinth raised her head towards the ceiling. The hood fell across her shoulders, revealing a scraggly short mane shot through with grey.

A single emerald spark escaped her horn, danced through the air for a moment, before flying up to an odd bulb hanging above their heads, way out of the reach of Hyacinth’s light.

And the moment the spark touched it, the bulb erupted with bright, radiant light.

Vines connected to the bulb sparked with life, a magical jolt racing along them towards more light bulbs hanging from the walls.

Within moments, dozens of light sources burst into being. A moment or two longer, and that number quickly grew into the hundreds.

Lights shining with every color of the rainbow filled the once-dark space like Hearth’s Warming lights. And for the first time, Applejack made out just what laid before her.

And what she saw took her breath away.

Just as she’d suspected, she stood on the edge of a truly immense space, halfway up from the floor.

What she was not expecting, however, were the trees.

Thick trunks – bigger around than the towers of Canterlot itself – twisted and undulated together in a warped framework, creating pathways, bridges, support columns, even what could be interpreted as structures and clearly defined alcoves.

Foliage hung everywhere, wild and unchecked. In some places, it made it all the way to the floor. Withered leaves as big as Applejack herself hung on all sides of her like curtains.

And over it all was a dense dome of branches and tree boughs, creating the biggest canopy Applejack had ever seen. Not a single ray of outside light made it past the vegetation, and only a faint sigh of a breeze was barely even audible.

At the very heart of the place stood what looked like a tree, only one of titanic proportions. But… it didn’t look quite right. Its trunk was too inconsistent and twisted, as if someone had grabbed dozens of trees and entwined them around each other.

Light glowed out through the amalgamated tree, sending multicolored shafts of light throughout the huge space, dancing across immense boughs and serpentine trunks.

After a moment, Applejack remembered to breathe.

“Landsakes…”

Hyacinth watched her with a small smile on her face. “Amazing, isn’t it?” she said.

Applejack returned her eyes back to the changeling, her pulse still uneven.

“That’s puttin’ it lightly,” she breathed. “What in tarnation is this place?”

Hyacinth’s smile grew. “This was once our home.”

AJ’s eyes got somehow wider at that. “As in…?”

Hyacinth nodded. “As in our hive.”

Applejack felt a jolt in her chest, and suddenly she really had to swallow. “W-why did ya bring me here?”

Hyacinth turned around to face her fully, her smile fading. “A number of reasons,” she said. “On the one hoof, Vigil likely won’t know of this place. Not many changelings do anymore. And… that should give us time to talk.”

Hyacinth cast a weary eye over one shoulder, her expression becoming nostalgic.

“It’s kind of surreal, being back here after so many years,” she remarked. “In all honesty, I didn’t think it would look as good as it does. No one’s been tending to this place since only shortly after you were born.”

Applejack watched Hyacinth, her chest tightening.

“Back then, we used to call this place Freedom,” Hyacinth went on. “Your mother thought it funny, so the name stuck.”

“Funny?” Applejack repeated, cocking an eyebrow.

“A kingdom in the middle of the Everfree,” Hyacinth mused, as if talking to no one in particular. “Separate from the other hives. Alone… and yet free.”

A look of nostalgia crossed the changeling’s features, a slight smile echoing fond memories of the place before her.

Silence fell over the two for a time. Applejack watched the changeling as she dwelled on the past, a gentle smile on her face.

Something stirred in Applejack’s head – something that hadn’t stirred in a very long time.

It was a question, one that she’d convinced herself a long time ago didn’t matter. And up until then, it hadn’t. But now… it was niggling at her again, a question she’d never found a good answer for herself.

“Hyacinth…”

The changeling snapped out of her thoughts and turned to give Applejack a searching look, but again she said nothing, choosing instead to wait for her to speak.

Applejack bit her lip, steeled her nerve, and stepped forward a step. “Ah want to know… why did Ah turn up at Sweet Apple Acres?”

Hyacinth’s expression fell. She hid it well, but Applejack could just see a twinge of sadness in the back of her featureless eyes.

“That… cannot be explained simply,” she said heavily. “I could tell you, but… I know you have no reason to believe me, and I don’t blame you,” she added quickly. “After everything you’ve been through at the hooves of our kind, I wouldn’t blame you for distrusting me.”

She took a step closer, her expression almost pleading. “But I promise I will tell you everything I can. But before I do that, I need you to follow me for just a little longer. I want to show you something else.”

Applejack took a second to mull it over, but it wasn’t a long consideration.

“Well, alright. Where’re we goin’ now?”

Hyacinth smiled once more, this time in gratitude. “Thank you, Yo—Applejack.”

She then motioned to one side, indicating one of the many winding natural bridges that crisscrossed the long-abandoned hive.

~~***~~

The two walked along the horizontal, weaving tree trunk in silence for a time.

Applejack continued to look around in amazement, still not quite believing her eyes.

There were things around her that just defied her understanding, such as the hollowed out sections of tree trunk that were obviously created in the shape of doorways, and yet opened up onto nothing but a stomach-wrenching drop to the distant floor below.

There were bizarrely twisted branches that were slouched under the weight of light bulbs, branches that bore dried leaves unlike anything she’d ever seen before.

But the more she looked, the more signs of age she found.

Limbs the size of hydra necks lay strewn across the floor in small deadfalls, leaving craters and fissures through the wood-carved floor.

Untended-to foliage was slowly but surely claiming the hive, too. Branches were starting to grow without rhyme or reason, some even blocking Applejack’s path here and there as they sprouted up through the once-cleanly carved tree trunk beneath her hooves.

Overgrowths covered almost everything. Moss and mushrooms grew clustered here and there, forcing Applejack to sidestep now and again.

More disconcertingly, the forces of the Everfree were also starting to take hold. Applejack saw more than a few flowerbeds of Poison Joke scattered along what might’ve once been lounges and thoroughfares, along with countless other varieties of wilted flowers that she vowed to never go near, just in case.

Really, the hive was unlike anything Applejack had ever seen before. It defied her expectations and any of her explanations. It was like someone had purposefully grown a grove of trees into their shapes, but how such a thing was possible escaped her.

At last, she couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

“This place is incredible,” she said, still taking in the sights.

“Your mother took great pride in it,” Hyacinth said. “Queen Carnation had a knack for agriculture.”

“Ah’ll say,” Applejack replied, craning her neck to stare at another hollowed out limb. “Just how much of this place is there?”

“There are two primary chambers,” Hyacinth explained, “and three districts. The one you see around you was where the drones lived and recuperated.”

Applejack turned back to the older changeling. “Recuperated? From what?”

“Most of the changelings that lived in this hive spent most of their time out and about,” Hyacinth said. “Most integrated with pony civilization, but as I’m sure you know, every now and then they needed a place to unwind.”

Yes, that was something Applejack could see.

“But for the most part, the other drones either spent time with ponies, or remained here. We learned very early on that we needn’t struggle to attain the love we needed to power our magic; the ponies in Ponyville were some of the most loving and indiscriminate ponies we’d ever met.”

Applejack couldn’t help but frown a little. “Yer tellin’ me that changelin’s have been ‘round Equestria fer years?”

Hyacinth nodded. “At least, our hive has. No other queen before Queen Carnation managed to find a safe enough place to start one, and back then, queens didn’t tend to play nice with each other, so they preferred to keep their distance from one another.”

They were drawing close to the central tree by then. It loomed over Applejack, bigger than she’d thought possible.

Ahead of her, there was an opening filled with softly radiating light.

“The second chamber lies beneath this one,” Hyacinth explained. “It’s where the nursery was located.”

Applejack hesitated, her eyes instinctively being drawn down over the edge of the bridge towards the ground far below. She instantly regretted it. After all, they were a lot higher up than she’d anticipated.

“But that’s not where I want to take you,” Hyacinth said, regaining Applejack’s attention.

“And… where are we goin’?” she asked.

“The royal quarters.”

~~***~~

The heart of Freedom was even more spectacular than the surrounding outside area.

The entire central tree was hollowed out – or rather, the trunks of dozens of trees spiraled around each other on their way to the sky, creating a void in between them. Light bulbs of every color adorned the walls, turning the space as bright as day.

And up a winding spiral staircase that started from the wall and spiraled up into the utmost center of the hollowed space, hung a chamber wrapped in what looked like roots and vines.

Those very vines and spindly branches clung firmly to a wedge of granite, suspending it almost twenty feet off the ground. That slab acted as a floor for the chamber itself, while the loose vines made up the walls.

Applejack looked around as she entered the chamber behind Hyacinth, and despite her worst fears, she found that the floor was as solid as if it were attached to the ground.

Light streamed in through the walls, striking a crystal chandelier in the shape of tree roots and casting still more prismatic beams of light into every corner of the room.

And directly beneath that, positioned dead center in the chamber, was a bed.

Hewn from stone, it was hardly more than a large oval embedded into the floor, with four ornately carved columns reaching up towards the natural ceiling.

Each column was wrapped in brown, withered vines that still clung stubbornly to the desiccated bulbs of wilted flowers.

The bed was filled with what Applejack thought might’ve been moss of some kind, but age had not been kind enough to keep the rotted matt identifiable.

It was the only piece of furniture in the entire chamber, and yet it dominated the space, grabbing Applejack’s gaze and refusing to let go.

“Here we are,” Hyacinth stated, looking around as she stepped carefully into the room.

As she stepped forward, she undid the clasp of her cloak and slipped it from her frame.

To Applejack’s surprise, she saw that the changeling before her wasn’t as ordinary as the others before her.

The carapace on her back was dull and faded, as if bleached by the sun. Her wings, too, were opaque and brittle-looking. That, and the gray steaks through her mane made Applejack wonder just how old Hyacinth was.

“And… where is here, exactly,” Applejack asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Hyacinth turned to face her before waving a hoof around the chamber slightly.

“This was your mother’s bedchamber,” she said. “And… this is the place where you were born.”

Applejack’s eyes got wide, her heart missing a beat. “What?”

Hyacinth only smiled, then motioned once more. “Go ahead,” she said.

Applejack found herself moving forward, her legs wandering around the room. Once upon a time, she’d wondered about where she’d been born, and who’d given birth to her. But that’d been a very long time ago, indeed, back before she’d even gotten her cutie mark.

Years had buried that curiosity in her. She’d told herself that it didn’t matter; the Apples were her family, and nothing would change that.

But now here she was; standing in the very room she’d taken her first breath. Now, her curiosity was coming back, like a long buried treasure she’d forgotten she’d even had.

“What was she like,” Applejack asked quietly.

She couldn’t see Hyacinth – she was standing behind her – but Applejack could feel her eyes on her.

“Strong,” Hyacinth said. “A lot stronger than most gave her credit for. And… very stubborn.”

Applejack couldn’t help but grin at that. She put a hoof on the stone frame of the bed, feeling its cold, uneven texture.

But try as she might, she just couldn’t see it. There were no bursts of memory or familiarity. Nothing marked this place as special to her. Absolutely nothing.

But her heart wouldn’t accept that. It finally had a chance at the answers it had so sorely looked for over her lifetime, and even if it was a slim chance, her mind just wouldn’t let go of the possibility.

“Ya know,” she found herself saying, “When Ah was just a little filly, Ah thought Ah was cursed, like some kind of werepony from those folk stories. Ah was scared to death of anypony findin’ out, so Ah hid it as best Ah could.”

She turned her gaze towards Hyacinth, and though she knew it wouldn’t be fair, she found herself frowning an accusation at her. “Why did Ah grow up like this? Why did Ah grow up not even knowin’ what Ah was? Can ya tell me that much?”

Hyacinth looked like she’d aged a couple dozen more years. An ancient sadness filled her eyes, one that tugged at Applejack’s heart.

“Applejack, I…,” she whispered, almost too low for AJ to hear.

But after a moment, she forced her composure back into place. She straightened her back, her eyes gleaming with determination.

“Yes, I can, and I will, dear,” she said firmly. “I owe you at least that much. But, before I do, I need to ask you for one more favor.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “And that is?”

“I need your horn,” Hyacinth said meaningfully.

It took Applejack a second to realize what she was getting at, and instantly she was less-than comfortable with the idea.

“Why do ya want it,” she asked nervously.

Hyacinth gave her an understanding look. “Because I know that a changeling’s word means very little to you right now,” she said. “After Vigil and Queen Chrysalis, you have no reason to believe a word I say, even if I were to tell you nothing but the honest truth. So… I want to show you instead.”

Applejack hesitated even further. “How?”

“A spell,” Hyacinth said. “I will show you my own memories, and if you choose to not believe me afterwards… that’s up to you.”

When she saw Applejack was still giving her a look laden with misgivings, Hyacinth softened her expression and smiled reassuringly.

“All I’m asking, dear, is for just a little faith. If you can manage that for even just a moment, I promise I will answer any question you want.”

She sat down and extended one hoof. “Please, Applejack. Just one moment.”

Applejack looked at her for a moment longer, waffling. Even though she wanted answers, the thought of resorting to changeling magic to get it wasn’t exactly inspiring.

But what had Hyacinth done to earn her mistrust? At what point had she done anything to mislead Applejack?

The look on her face reaffirmed that assertion; her eyes were filled with a genuine desire to help.

So, even with every warning bell imaginable blaring in her head, Applejack took a step forward. “Alright.”

In a flash, an emerald fireball consumed her, disintegrating her much-loved coat and cutie mark, leaving behind only disliked black chitin.

The bandages that wrapped around her frame were instantly reduced to ash, vaporizing before Applejack could remember they were there.

When she opened her eyes again, she could once more see the black tip of her muzzle and the amber fringe over her brow, and already she wanted nothing more than to be rid of it.

Hyacinth just looked at her, a twinge of something crossing her eyes. She started to open her mouth to say something, but caught herself.

“Ya got somethin’ ta say?” Applejack said before she could catch herself, and immediately she regretted it. “Sorry. Ah just…”

“I was going to say you look gorgeous.”

Applejack paused, her eyes returning to Hyacinth to find her smiling warmly. “You’ve grown up so wonderfully.”

Applejack couldn’t help but take a step back. Her? gorgeous? in this form? The very idea didn’t quite click in her mind.

“Uh… thanks, Ah guess.”

Hyacinth’s smile grew wider, then she beckoned the young queen over.

Applejack carefully approached. As bidden, she sat down directly in front of Hyacinth, who was still smiling.

“Thank you, Y—Applejack,” she said sincerely. “Now, lean your horn towards mine. This won’t hurt, but it might be a little… alarming.”

Well, that didn’t boost Applejack’s morale.

But, she did as instructed, awkwardly declining her head a little to point her sharp horn towards the other changeling.

Hyacinth gave her one last reassuring look before leaning in, her horn already starting to crackle.

“Now, close your eyes, dear.”

Applejack did so, her stomach lurching uncomfortably.

All she felt was a pinching sensation at the base of her horn, and everything went out like a light.

~~***~~

Slowly, images started to swim back to Applejack. Shapes took form, running together like running paint going in reverse.

Eventually, the shape of a small chamber solidified in front of her.

Instantly, however, she could tell that she was no longer in Queen Carnation’s bedchamber.

All around her, the walls were roughly hewn from jagged black volcanic rock. The low ceiling seemed to press down on her, and though Applejack was not usually one for claustrophobia, she was already feeling uncomfortable within the dark, confined space.

Rather than having furniture arranged in the room, alcoves had been carved from the rock itself, making room for shelves for all manner of things – from the familiar, like books, to the unsettling, like jars filled with unknown and unspeakable things.

Applejack looked around, keenly aware that she was somewhere she shouldn’t be, and yet… not. Something was off.

For starters, the floor felt wrong. Despite the numerous pits and bubbles in the rocky surface underhoof, she felt nothing but cool, even stone beneath her hooves.

“Wh-what? Where am Ah,” she blurted, standing up.

“Settle down, Applejack.”

Hyacinth’s voice radiated in her ears, and yet seemed to lack any direction whatsoever. It came from everywhere and nowhere.

When Applejack felt something touch her hoof, she yelped. Nothing was around her to touch her, and that was making her even more anxious.

“It’s alright, dear,” Hyacinth’s voice said. “You’re only seeing my memories. You are still very much in front of me. See? I’m touching you.”

Applejack looked down at her hoof, and to her alarm, she found that she couldn’t find it, or any part of her for that matter. Her entire body was missing.

But she could still feel it. When she tried, she felt her hoof wrap around the thing that’d poked her, and sure enough it resembled another hoof. It gave her a reassuring squeeze, in fact.

“Wh-where am Ah, though,” Applejack asked, looking around, her pulse still wild with adrenaline.

“An old hive, far away from here.”

“And… Why am Ah here,” she asked.

“Look forward.”

Applejack did so, and about jumped out of her skin. Too late she realized that she wasn’t as alone as she thought she was.

The chamber had two occupants, in fact. Both were lounging on oddly ornate violet pillows and cushions, clearly talking animatedly.

The first thing Applejack noticed was the twin irises in their eyes, ringing around cat-like pupils.

Just from that, she had a very good inclination as to what they were.

Both changelings couldn’t have been much taller than she was, and yet besides the black chitin they were clad in and their holey limbs and manes, they shared nothing in common.

The first one Applejack’s eyes fell on sat with confident poise, certainty and authority practically radiating from her plum-colored eyes.

Her long violet mane hung like a languid curtain around her shoulders and neck, making her look like she was draped in some kind of goo. Her muzzle was oddly squashed, her fangs hanging down past her chin, making her thin face look like that of a viper.

Sitting across from her, the other changeling listened patiently to her speaking, smiling slightly. Her red mane – though not nearly as long as her companion’s – just barely touched her shoulders at its longest point, but what it lacked in length it made up for in volume. Her mane was bushy and unkempt, like a curtain of crimson hanging moss.

Her pink eyes watched her companion’s every little move, and where the purple-maned queen was confident and self-assured, she sat with a subdued dignity unlike anything Applejack had ever seen before.

“Yes, mother’s been awfully uncooperative,” the purple-maned queen was saying, sounding rather annoyed. “I swear, that old nag is so mired in tradition that she wouldn’t lift a hoof to save her entire hive if it meant going against her ‘code’.”

Her companion chuckled lightly. “Phantasma, you’re just being impatient. Sooner or later, we’ll be out on our own without anyone to hold us down.”

The purple-maned queen, evidently Phantasma, rolled her eyes. “See, that’s why we need to work on your motivation, Carnation.”

Applejack couldn’t help but let out a gasp before instantly clamping her hooves over her mouth. A moment later, she remembered that the queens before her weren’t even real, and replaced her hooves on the ground.

But her eyes were glued on the red-maned changeling. On her mother.

Her mother. Her re—no, not quite her real mother, per se, but the very pony that’d given birth to her.

For the first time, she could actually see her birth mother. For the longest moment, she just sat there, unable to think at all.

It took her a moment, but she managed to remind herself to breathe.

Carnation sat with her back slightly turned to Applejack, but she could still see her face. She looked young – maybe only a little older than she was now, in fact.

While she sat stock still in shock, the scene continued to unfold before her.

Phantasma reached over with one hoof and jabbed Carnation in the chest almost accusingly. Applejack had to fight down the urge to shout at her when she saw that.

“You know that everyone is saying you’re an unmotivated good-for-nothing, don’t you?”

Carnation just laughed lightly. “Do they, now?”

She spoke slowly, taking her time to pronounce each syllable to the utmost degree of perfection. “Well, I can’t say that that’s very kind of them.”

Phantasma rolled her eyes. “Oh come now, cousin. Where’s your killer instinct?”

Once more, she jabbed Carnation in the chest, an action that she’d clearly done more than once, seeing as the red-maned queen hardly even reacted.

“Someday, you and I are going to lead our people to a bright new future. You’ve got the smarts for it – that’s the only reason I keep you around.”

Carnation merely smirked at her cousin, giving her a playful look. “Oh, is that right? Well, perhaps I only keep you around for your brawn.”

Phantasma actually laughed at that. “Ha! If anything, I’m the mastermind of this whole operation. And not a half-bad looking one, either, if I do say so myself.”

She finished by flipping her mane, a smug smile on her lips.

Carnation chuckled lightly, but said nothing to the contrary.

Applejack couldn’t help but snort. “Ah’d give her a six-and-a-half,” she said.

Hyacinth chuckled in her ear.

“Queen Phantasma was your mother’s cousin, but despite that, they were quite close; unusually close for queens. Perhaps it was because they both had a common goal, or perhaps they saw each other as equals – I cannot say for certain. All I know for sure is that your mother and her cousin were two of the most ambitious queens I have ever known.

“They sat in this very room for hours at a time, discussing only one thing; how to bring their people into a bright new age of prosperity. It was their sole driving force; even your mother, who no one believed would amount to anything, spent every waking moment thinking on how to do just that.”

Applejack watched the two queens talking, but soon she started to notice bits and pieces of their conversation just… slipping by, words and entire strings of conversation devolving into unintelligible mumbling.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on?” she asked, confused.

“I’m sorry,” Hyacinth apologized sincerely, “but I rarely paid attention to all of their conversations. I was, after all, quite young back then, so my memories will be… incomplete at times.”

Before Applejack could mention anything, Carnation suddenly turned her head… and looked straight at her.

Applejack froze, her breath catching in her throat as their eyes met. For one wild moment, she would’ve bet bits that the queen could see her.

But a moment later, that was proven false.

“Hyacinth, come here for a moment.”

And to Applejack’s immense surprise, she found a changeling walking out of her. The young Hyacinth was only slightly older than a filly – that much was clear.

She was small, smaller than any changeling Applejack had ever seen before, yet she moved with purpose and determination, her features poised well enough to impress any royal guard out there.

But as she moved, Applejack saw something very strange, indeed. The further away from her the young Hyacinth got, the more muddled her surroundings became. Walls began to vanish entirely, devolving into incomprehensible swirling shadows of nothingness while everything in front of the changeling was still perfectly clear and crisp.

It took Applejack a moment to realize just what was happening. After all, how could Hyacinth be aware of every single bit of her surroundings all the time? She didn’t have eyes in the back of her head. So, like the missing bits of conversation earlier, everything she hadn’t laid her eyes on just… faded away.

As the young Hyacinth stepped forward, Applejack also noticed that she was carrying something in her jaws.

The moment she arrived at the two lounging queens, she dropped that something reverently at Carnation’s hooves and backed away.

It was a large, ragged scroll, one that Carnation took in one hoof after flashing the little changeling a small smile before turning to it.

Phantasma didn’t even react to Hyacinth’s presence that much. For as much as she showed, that scroll might’ve just popped into existence at her cousin’s hooves.

Hyacinth bowed before shrinking back against the far wall, once more moving to stand inside Applejack.

Out of sheer discomfort, AJ shifted out of the way to stand beside the little changeling and cast a critical eye over her.

“Are ya tellin’ me ya worked fer Carnation even as a filly?”

“It was my duty,” Hyacinth said indifferently. “As soon as a youngster is fit to work, they work. That is our way. Now, I got off lucky – I was chosen to be Queen Carnation’s handmaiden at an early age, and she was considerably more forgiving than some of the queens I’ve heard of.”

Applejack frowned at that. “That don’t seem right, makin’ children work.”

Hyacinth didn’t respond.

Instead, Applejack felt another jolt run through her horn, making her wince.

When she opened her eyes next, an entirely different scene lay before her.

Once more she found herself in Carnation’s presence, but this time there was no Phantasma.

Immediately she could tell that some years had passed since the last memory. Carnation stood almost a foot taller from before, causing her to tower over Hyacinth’s perspective. Her red mane had grown out rampantly, causing it to drape down past her chest. Her tail dragged along the floor like a train.

There was a different kind of glint to her eyes now; a hard, reserved edge, unlike the gentle look from before.

Atop her head rested a small, almost comical crown adorned with three ruby facets on the end.

“You do not need to follow me, Lieutenant,” she said, her voice still slow and yet harder, firmer.

“Yes I do.”

It took Applejack a moment to realize that it was the memory of Hyacinth that’d spoken, and her only indication that it wasn’t the real thing was the fact that she could hear the voice coming from where her mouth should be.

Once more, Applejack sidestepped out of the memory of Hyacinth out of discomfort, and what she saw surprised her.

Hyacinth had grown up, too. Now she looked more like the typical changeling drone, but the way she carried herself was what struck Applejack the most. She moved in a graceful lope, her slim figure never stopping even slightly.

She held her head high and proud, and though she did not look at Carnation per se, her attention was firmly on her.

The queen turned an eye towards Hyacinth with a heavy look.

“Hyacinth… if this doesn’t pay off, neither of us will survive to regret it for long.”

Hyacinth finally turned towards her queen, and Applejack could almost feel the fierce devotion radiating from her.

“My Queen, I told you that I would follow you to the end of the world. Now that we are actually going there, I have no intention of going against my word.”

Carnation smiled only a little. However, her eyes were still very sad and heavy.

“Hyacinth…”

But to Applejack's surprise, Hyacinth turned away, a bullheaded expression set on her face as she continued to flank her queen down the cold, dark passageway she was trotting down.

“What’s goin’ on?” Applejack couldn’t help but ask.

This time when she heard Hyacinth’s voice, it radiated from nothingness towards her. “This was the day your mother took the biggest gamble of her life. This is the day she took only a small cadre of drones and made for Equestria.”

Applejack felt her heart thump hard in her chest.

“Before this, no one had ever dared venture that far north. It was unknown territory. Whatever possessed her to take such a risk, I will never know, and I spent more time with her than anyone alive. Perhaps she felt… driven to push herself. Maybe…”

Without warning, the memory wobbled.

The sound of hoof falls grew muffled. The memory of Carnation and Hyacinth started to blur and lose its shape, the tunnel devolving almost entirely to muddled shadows.

“What’s happenin’?”

“I-it’s… it’s alright, dear. Just… give me a second.”

Applejack frowned, concern tugging at her. That was not the voice of someone doing alright. Hyacinth was clearly straining.

But a moment later, the image sharpened again. And just as it did, shadow broke away from the nearby wall – a gangly shadow draped in violet.

“So you’re actually going through with it?”

Queen Carnation ground to a halt, as did Hyacinth, their eyes trained on the newcomer.

Instantly Applejack recognized Phantasma, though she, too, was older. She stood considerably taller, yet her frame seemed somehow thinner from before. A small crown rested upon her head, too; one adorned with deep purple gemstones.

She was gazing solely at Carnation with a frown on her thin face, her unusually big eyes clearly glimmering with displeasure.

But Carnation merely returned the look indifferently.

“Yes, cousin, I am,” she replied.

Phantasma narrowed her eyes at Carnation, a look of disbelief on her face.

“Don’t you get what’s at stake? If you fail…,”

“Then I fail,” Carnation said. “But think of what it would mean if I succeed, what it could mean for our kind if I find the source of love we’ve all be hoping for.”

Phantasma cocked a disbelieving brow at her. “You know what’s to the north, Carnation. There’s nothing but ice and snow. You’re chasing a fool’s dream.”

“Those history books are thousands of years old, Phantasma,” Carnation pointed out. “There is no telling what has changed in that time.”

Phantasma was still unmoved. “Be reasonable, cousin. You will do so much more good here, where you can make a difference.”

But Carnation, too, was unaffected by her words. “I have chosen my path, dear cousin, and like you, I must see it to its conclusion.”

She smiled at Phantasma, who was still frowning at her. “And the next time we meet, I hope to do so as friends once more.”

Phantasma’s frown only deepened. “You’re a fool, Carnation. You’re a bloody fool.”

Carnation’s smile didn’t so much as flinch as she started to trot past her fellow queen. “Aren’t we all?”

And with that, they both went their separate ways.

Applejack only watched the scene unfold for a moment longer – until Queen Phantasma faded into the unintelligible fog of nothingness behind Hyacinth – before she felt another jolt run through her horn, and the images faded out once more.

~~***~~

She was standing at the edge of a spiral bridge – a familiar spiral bridge. Light bulbs of every color hung from the walls all around Applejack, lighting up the hollow at the heart of Freedom with all the colors of the rainbow.

And yet, Applejack could scarcely believe it was the same place. Everything was so meticulously manicured and cared for. Verdant green vines wrapped around the nearby banister of cultivated branches – something Applejack hadn’t noticed before – each vine bearing a different vibrant flower.

The ceiling hung with all manner of plants, all bearing flowers as big as Applejack’s head, or even bigger.

Down below, she could hear activity; hooves clacking against wood, voices talking in subdued whispers to each other. She could just hear the sounds of buzzing wings and unintelligible activity beyond the royal quarters, reaching her ears as a mindless drone like Applejack had heard in every major city she’d visited.

This time, Applejack remembered to automatically sidestep out of Hyacinth’s memory, and right away she was glad she did.

Hyacinth had changed again, if only a little; she was now clad in dark armor. For one heart-stopping moment, she looked almost just like Vigil had, making Applejack’s heart miss a beat.

But she was slightly slimmer, and stood with her limbs slightly closer together than a stallion would. Her poise was immaculate, her expression stoic as she stood at attention at her post, eyes sweeping her surroundings – if the erratic splashes of awareness and unawareness were anything to go by.

She stood alone at her post, and yet didn’t seem bothered by that in the slightest. She just kept her attention forward, her senses piqued and scanning for the slightest abnormality…

And that was when something fell on her back.

To her credit, Hyacinth didn’t cry out in alarm or jump half as much as Applejack would’ve. She did, however, whirl around to glare at her would-be attacker, ready for anything.

Hyacinth was not, however, ready for what she saw.

There, resting upon her armor-covered back, was a little, amber-maned changeling.

Applejack’s breath caught once more, her eyes going almost as wide as the memory-Hyacinth’s did.

The little baby Applejack cooed happily as she flopped around the older changeling’s back, laughing and giggling the whole time.

Hyacinth could only stare at her for a moment, and then her eyes were flashing around her hastily, panic creeping its way into her features.

“Wh-what are you doing here, little one?” she asked nervously as she scanned her surrounding for the one she knew would be coming shortly.

The little changeling baby only giggled, her tiny wings thrumming gleefully.

Hyacinth cast a few more glances this way and that, double-checking her surroundings.

And then, once more, she chanced a glance at the hatchling on her back.

Applejack smiled broadly, flashing a single baby fang. “Uppies!”

Hyacinth only blinked at her, nonplussed. It was clear that she had absolutely no idea what to do. She was starting to panic, her hooves fidgeting

And then, very carefully – like she was expecting an instant reprimand – Hyacinth lit her horn, and very gingerly picked up the baby queen on her back.

The baby Applejack giggled hysterically, waving her hooves excitedly as she floated through the air.

But all too soon, she came to a rest again; at Hyacinth’s hooves.

“Okay, listen very carefully,” she said slowly, leaning her head down to be on level with the baby. “Where is your mother?”

Applejack blinked, completely uncomprehending, still smiling.

Hyacinth groaned, leaning back and sitting down. She put one hoof on her forehead and closed her eyes. “Queen Carnation is going to have a cow…”

And then, in a day that was filled with nothing but unexpected surprises, she received one more.

As she sat there, trying to figure out what to do, she felt something squirm its way beneath her hooves.

Instantly her eyes snapped open in alarm as she glanced down.

And there was Applejack, curled up comfortably between her seated hind legs, eyes closed and snoozing gently.

Hyacinth could only stare in disbelief, her every muscle locked up.

She just stared down at the baby with wide, astonished eyes for nearly a minute straight.

And then, very slowly, very carefully, she lowered her forelegs back to the ground… and gently pulled the toddler closer.

Applejack snuggled in, nearly making Hyacinth jump backwards once more.

But when nothing else happened, Hyacinth continued to watch the sleeping baby queen. She visibly calmed, if only very slowly.

And after a time, she even managed to lift her head and very awkwardly continued her vigil.

For only a few seconds.

“Applejack? Applejack!”

Hyacinth froze, every muscle locking up once again. Before she could react, she was caught.

Queen Carnation appeared seemingly from nowhere, swooping down onto the bridge landing as fast as a plummeting falcon.

And before Hyacinth could move away from the baby queen between her hooves, or even stand for that matter, Queen Carnation’s eyes fell on her.

Both changelings stared at each other – one in clear surprise while the other in sheer, unadulterated terror.

There was an eternal moment of stunned silence between the mother and her bodyguard. It took Carnation taking a step forward to snap Hyacinth out of it, and she came back to reality with her mouth flying.

“My deepest apologies, Your Highness! She just came out of nowhere, and I wanted to come find you, but I didn’t want to leave Princess Applejack alone, and then she fell asleep right here and I didn’t know what to do, and –”

“Hyacinth.”

Only then did she seem to notice that Carnation’s expression had softened, once more returning to its reserved composure. Except this time, she was smiling gently.

“I’m not angry with you,” she said. “It was my own fault for letting Applejack slip away from me. And besides, I could think of no one better to look after her.”

Hyacinth just stared in surprise at Queen Carnation.

The matriarch smiled benignly at the changeling. She stepped forward, instantly making Hyacinth tense up.

But she wasn’t interested in her. Carnation carefully lowered her head towards the sleeping baby queen, instead.

“Applejack,” she cooed quietly.

Something stirred in the back of Applejack’s mind, something reacting to that low, beckoning tone.

It was so indistinct, so very indistinct – less than a shadow of a memory, in fact. It was merely… nostalgic familiarity. It was a familiar sense of safety, one that she hadn’t felt in years, and yet one that felt as familiar as her own skin.

“Applejack, honey. Wake up.”

Applejack felt her heart pounding in her chest, her mind stalling, her eyes wide.

She watched as the mother before her gently reached down and closed her lips on the scruff of the baby changeling’s neck, pulling her up off the floor.

The moment her hooves left the ground, the baby Applejack’s eyes opened blearily, unseeing. And yet, she didn’t panic or start fussing.

“Mama…?”

And in that moment, Applejack wasn’t sure which one of her said it.

She watched as Queen Carnation lowered the baby filly onto her back. She carefully closed her wings, wrapping her foal in a gossamer blanket.

Applejack – the memory of Applejack – snuggled in against her mother, already fast asleep.

Carnation hummed softly, a loving smile on her face as she gently kissed her daughter goodnight before turning back to Hyacinth.

“She must like you,” she stated softly.

Hyacinth just stared, wide-eyed, her composure gone. “Y-yes, Your Highness.”

Carnation stared at her bodyguard for a moment, her expression unreadable, and yet… oddly dissatisfied.

“Hyacinth, I have an order for you,” she said, her tone firm.

Instantly Hyacinth straightened up, snapping back to attention. “My Queen?”

Carnation continued to give her subordinate a business-like stare, her expression unreadable.

“I want you to look after my daughter when I cannot be there for her,” she stated.

Whatever Hyacinth had been expecting, it was not that. Her jaw actually dropped, soliciting a bemused grin from the matriarch.

“What? But Your Highness, do you not have nurses? Caretakers more fit than I?”

Carnation’s smile faltered, a slight frown crossing her expression. “Do not look down on your abilities,” she admonished. “I can think of no one more fit for this role than you. I am certain that Applejack will never come to harm with –”

Once more, the memory quivered, trembling under its own weight. Everything froze; Carnation, her mouth still open to speak, and Hyacinth, still staring in sheer disbelief.

Colors began to run out of everything around Applejack, the memory collapsing all around her.

“Hyacinth?” she asked, nervous.

All she got in reply was a strained grunt.

“Just… just a little… a little longer…”

But the memory continued to unmake itself, breaking apart at the seams.

But just before Applejack could brace for darkness to claim her once more, the scene around her instantly snapped back to focus.

Only… not the same one. Like a snake sloughing its old skin, the new memory emerged from the tattered remains of the old, bursting into being all around Applejack. The memory still flickered and contorted dangerously, as if barely holding itself together, but it was holding.

She was once more standing in her mother’s bedchamber. Only now, the bed was wrapped in a verdant weave of flowering vines covered in pure white bulbs.

The bed was filled with soft, loamy moss as green as any Applejack had ever seen before.

And there, lying upon the bed was Queen Carnation. She was lying curled around a baby Applejack, who snoozed gently against her mother’s belly.

Carnation just watched her daughter with a soft, loving smile, her soft voice humming a low lullaby to the darkened room.

But after a moment, she glanced up, straight towards the real Applejack.

AJ froze instinctively, her mind locking up.

“Hyacinth… can you come here for a second?”

Of course… she couldn’t see Applejack. The realization sent equal parts relief and, curiously, disappointment, racing through her.

But before anything else could happen, the memory once more quivered.

“N-no! Not… not that one…!”

But a moment later, the vision solidified once more.

“No… Applejack, you shouldn’t… Let… let it go…!”

Applejack’s attention stayed on the scene before her.

She watched as Hyacinth stepped forward, slow and uncertain. She followed along behind the captain, pulled seemingly by an irresistible force.

“Please, Applejack… you… you can’t see this! It’s… ugh…”

“Your Highness?”

Applejack watched as the memory of Hyacinth stepped up to the edge of the bed, her eyes searching and nervous.

Carnation smiled up at her, her expression the softest Applejack had ever seen before.

In that moment, she didn’t look like a changeling. The aesthetics were there, yes, but… Applejack just couldn’t see it. This couldn’t be a changeling. It just couldn’t be.

Changelings shouldn’t glow with love and happiness. Changelings shouldn’t look so content and at peace. It wasn’t right, not to Applejack.

So then, what did that make the creature lying before her? Just what was she?

As Applejack stared, her mind in turmoil, Carnation pulled one foreleg from her side and patted the bed next to her.

“Join me for a moment, if you will.”

Hyacinth blinked in shock. “Y-Your Highness?”

Carnation merely smiled up at her. “Please. I must see something for myself.”

Hyacinth stood there for a moment, clearly conflicted. But, after nearly five seconds, her sense of duty evidently won out.

Carefully and with much trepidation, she stepped up onto the bed. She moved slowly, like she might need to turn and run at any possible moment.

But Carnation merely smiled at her, indicating where she wanted Hyacinth to lie down; on the other side from the sleeping baby Applejack.

“If you will,” she said softly.

Hyacinth gulped nervously, then very gingerly lowered herself to the bed.

Carnation gave her a bemused look, then lit her horn.

With a barely contained squeak, the changeling bodyguard was pulled in closer, until they were practically lying side by side.

In that moment, Hyacinth’s belly touched the sleeping filly between them.

And to Hyacinth’s surprise, the baby stirred. To her utter disbelief, the filly snuggled up against her, her little muzzle squirming into place against her thigh.

It was clear by the look on her face that Hyacinth wanted nothing more than to jump up and bolt from the room. A flush of color crossed her cheeks as she visibly tensed up.

Carnation just watched her, a smug smile on her face. “I thought so,” she whispered. “Applejack knows her—”

“No!”

~~***~~

With a painful jolt, Applejack snapped back to reality, a crackle of magic popping in the air between her and Hyacinth.

Hyacinth was collapsed on the ground, breathing in ragged breaths, her horn still sparking with residual magic.

The last scene flashed through Applejack’s mind again as she shook the daze from her head, staggering slightly.

It’d been cut short, but… she’d heard it. It’d been there, a faint whisper transferred like an echo as the spell unmade itself.

And now, all she could do was stare at Hyacinth with wide, stunned eyes.

“Yer… Yer my aunt.”

Hyacinth closed her eyes in defeat, her weakened body slumping totally to the floor.

“No…”

“Yes!” Applejack shouted, jumping to her hooves. Her blood was pumping, her heart throbbing in her chest almost painfully. “Ah heard what Ah heard!”

Hyacinth’s expression contorted, her eyes still scrunched shut. “Applejack…”

“Why didn’t ya tell me in the first place?” she shouted. She was shaking all over, and for reasons she couldn’t quite identify.

Was it anger? Shock? She didn’t know.

“Why didn’t ya tell me we were related?!”

Hyacinth’s eyes opened, but she didn’t turn to look her niece in the eye.

“Because I abandoned you,” she breathed. “I left you here… with ponies… to fend for yourself. I left you behind because… because I can’t be your aunt.”

“Bull!” Applejack shouted, her voice almost breaking. “What was stoppin’ ya?”

Hyacinth didn’t respond for a moment, her eyes scrunching up tighter.

But despite her best efforts, no matter how hard she tried, her tears betrayed her.

“Because I am a drone, dear,” she said in a hollow tone.

She wobbled upright, stumbling over her own hooves in her effort to rise. “In any of the memories I’ve shown you, did your mother ever let on that I was her sister?”

Applejack’s jaw dropped, her emotional turmoil forgotten for a moment.

Hyacinth just stared lifelessly at the ground off to the side. “That’s the kind of place a hive is, dear,” she said quietly. “Half the changelings closest to the queen are her own relatives. Chrysalis herself has over a dozen brothers and sisters, and yet she will never see them as more than her entourage.”

“That’s…,” Applejack breathed, stunned.

Hyacinth nodded. “Not right? No, perhaps not… but to us it is.”

She finally turned a sad eye towards Applejack, looking weary and glum behind imagining. “That last memory… I didn't want you to see it; I knew you'd misunderstand. After all, that was the closest Queen Carnation ever came to treating me like her sister. Letting me lay with you on her bed, letting me look after you when she couldn’t…it made me start wanting things I shouldn't have."

She looked away, looking guilty and miserable, like she was admitting to a terrible, filthy secret. “Whenever I saw the two of you together… I couldn’t help but feel envious. I… I wanted so bad for…”

She trailed off, her expression souring as she closed her eyes once more.

Applejack took a step closer, lowering her head carefully. “Fer what?” she coaxed.

Hyacinth opened her eyes just a crack, and despite their featureless plane, Applejack knew that she was looking straight at her out of the corner of one eye.

“I wanted so bad for you to be mine,” she said in a barely audible whisper.

Applejack stared in disbelief, stunned once again.

Hyacinth closed her eyes once more, looking disgusted with herself.

The two stood in dead silence for nearly two minutes straight, neither knowing what to say, or even if they wanted to speak at all. But in the end, it was Applejack who spoke, but not before heaving a sigh.

“Do ya mean that?”

Hyacinth opened her eyes to look at her, still looking like she was on the verge of collapse.

Applejack was watching her carefully, a tentative hoof raised mid-step. “If yer bein’ sincere with me right now… why did ya leave? What kept ya from stayin’?”

Hyacinth glanced away for a moment, then turned fully towards Applejack.

“Do you want to know?”

Applejack nodded, working at keeping her expression even. “Ah do. There ain't nothin’ Ah want more right now. Ah still got more questions than Ah know what ta do with, and right now Ah can’t even rightly think straight…”

She took another tentative step forward before placing a single hoof on Hyacinth’s shoulder, her expression searching. “But… if we really are related, the least Ah can do is give ya a chance to explain yerself.”

Hyacinth stared at her niece for a moment longer, searching her composed expression.

And then, after a moment, a ghost of a smile appeared on her face.

She’s more like her mother than she’ll ever know…

“Alright, dear,” she said stepping forward once more. “Then lend me your horn for just a bit longer.”

But Applejack hesitated. “Are ya sure?” she asked, concern written on her face. “Ya don’t have ta push yerself to the end of yer rope.”

“Yes I do,” Hyacinth stated with absolute certainty. “Don’t worry about me; I’m a tough old nag. I can take it. And if it will give you the answers you’ve been searching for, its a price I'll willingly pay.”

Applejack bit her lip, but nodded. The way Hyacinth was looking at her, she knew there’d be no reasoning with her. All she could do was lower her head, pointing her horn once more towards Hyacinth.

The old changeling smiled a brittle smile at Applejack. She knew they were a long way away from where they needed to be, but… the spark of hope was a tough thing to put out.

Even if things were not going as planned anymore, she still had a goal in mind, And she was dead set on seeing it through to its conclusion.

And so, Hyacinth leaned in and touched her horn to Applejack’s, and a moment later the young queen was once more flung into darkness.

And into an awaiting nightmare.

Author's Note

Uppies!

I must say, I had fun imagining what Applejack's hive would look like. I was adamant that I didn't want to take the stereotypical hole-in-the-ground anthill approach, but that was about it. So basically, everything about it was made from scratch and a lot of dart-board-style decision making.

And also, man this chapter fought me to the bitter end. I must've gone through like three or four different opening acts, and I'm still not one-hundred-percent sold on the ending - could've been more impactful. Still, there's one more chapter of backstory, so who knows.

All that's left now is the fall.

Chapter 10: Carnation

Hyacinth panted under the strain of maintaining the memory spell currently lashing her horn to Applejack’s.

She was tired – absolutely exhausted, in fact. The magical exertion on her body was causing her legs to buckle and wobble, and it felt like gravity was getting exponentially stronger. She barely had the strength left to stand, let alone channel such a complicated spell like a memory transferal.

But she forced herself to. She gritted her teeth and concentrated, forcing herself to think only on her past and not the unbearable need to collapse.

She was almost there, almost done…

The magic around her horn popped and fizzed like a fire on the verge of being smothered. A thin, ethereal ribbon of green light flowed from the tip of her horn, tethering hers to the young changeling queen seated in front of her.

Applejack’s eyes were wide and staring, but no one could tell what she was seeing just by looking at her.

Her eyes burned with brilliant emerald light as bright as a lantern. She was gazing off at some point five feet off to Hyacinth’s left, straight towards a wall, seemingly lost in a daydream.

Alright…, Hyacinth thought to herself, Alright… just a little bit longer. You can do this, Hyacinth. For Applejack… Remember that… For Applejack…

She snarled and redoubled her efforts, focusing with every ounce of willpower and strength she had left in her weary old body.

Hyacinth took one last look at her niece before squeezing her eyes shut.

For Applejack…

~~***~~

Shapes started to materialize in front of Applejack’s eyes, forming from nebulous shrouds of unconsciousness.

But right away, she could tell that this vision was not like the others.

Images appeared before her in a seemingly disjointed chaos, some having nothing to do with each other. Each was like a portrait – a flash blinking in and out of existence as it rushed passed her, forming only long enough to be recognized before making room for others.

In no way did she find herself in a stable environment; everything around Applejack was in constant flux. If it weren’t for the reassuring feel of cold stone beneath her, she might’ve believed that she was tumbling headlong through a vortex.

The first fear that popped into Applejack’s mind was that the memory spell was still unstable; that Hyacinth was too exhausted to maintain it properly.

But just as she started to open her mouth to say something, an order started to manifest in the chaos.

A shape took form before Applejack’s eyes, one that spread out beneath her, and immediately she recognized it.

It was difficult to not know the map of her own country, after all.

But it was the sheer size of the map of Equestria that was throwing her off. It was as massive as a carpet, forcing Applejack to turn her head this way and that just to see each border.

Applejack let her eyes rove over the large map laid out under her hooves for a moment. True enough, she’d seen the exact same thing when she’d attended the school in Ponyville when she was a filly. The thing beneath her even had stains upon it, and tatters along the embroidered canvas edges.

Granted, the map of Equestria in the school house wasn’t big enough to fill out an entire room corner to corner by itself, and Applejack was getting the feeling that this particular one had had magical help to swell to such an incredible size.

As Applejack was just turning to gaze over towards Canterlot, however, she became aware of the room materializing all around her.

This time, as her surroundings slowly took form from inky darkness, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar chamber. Yet, the fact that it seemed to have been hollowed out of a thick tree led her to believe that she hadn’t gone too far – that she was just in one of the many places in the abandoned changeling hive she hadn’t seen before.

The chamber was spacious – perhaps big enough for quite a few ponies to stand in without bumping elbows.

And yet, it was remarkably barren. A number of root-like vines hung from the ceiling, some bearing small grapefruit-sized light bulbs that cast a soft yellow, orange and red light.

A small crystalline chandelier hung in the heart of the bulbs, refracting their light enough to bathe the entire room in bright, warm light.

Besides that and the gargantuan map at Applejack’s hooves, however, there was little else of note.

Applejack herself sidestepped instinctively, already used to where – and who – she’d be standing at.

To her surprise, however, she found Hyacinth not standing at the foot of the map, per se, but rather hovering slightly over it on buzzing wings, her brow creased with thought, her eyes carefully scrutinizing the layout of the terrain before her.

She was staring intently at an embroidered label in the canvas beneath her, one that spelled an all-too familiar name; that of Ponyville.

She was hovering just over a dark splash of green to the south of Applejack’s hometown, and though the label was partially obscured in unawareness, she knew the location of the Everfree Forest well enough.

As Hyacinth hovered on the spot, clearly lost in thought, she happened to glance down towards the part of the map that lay directly beneath her.

When she did, more of the memory solidified around Applejack, revealing still more of the Everfree.

And as she watched, a small wooden column materialized out of an inky black shadow.

It was hardly more than a peg, really – only slightly larger than a chess piece – and yet it sat in its place with obvious purpose, marking some spot deep in the Everfree.

Upon its top rested a small, perfectly rounded ruby.

The moment Applejack laid eyes on the strange thing, the image of Freedom instantly jumped to her mind, and for a moment she saw it sprawled out beneath her hooves as if she were looking down from a great distance upon the real thing; a gargantuan tree canopy exploding out of the deep, dark forest like a mountain.

It lasted for but a moment – a memory momentarily overpowering the other – but it was enough to make Applejack’s heart flutter in anxiety.

“Hyacinth, what are ya showin’ me now?” she asked quietly, nervous.

“This,” said Hyacinth’s voice in her head, “Is Equestria as you know it.”

Applejack once more turned an eye towards the map the past Hyacinth was scrutinizing. This time, the apple farmer regarded it with confusion.

“Ah coulda told ya that,” she said, befuddled. “Any particular reason fer showin’ me this?”

Hyacinth didn’t answer right away, but she didn’t need to.

The Hyacinth currently hovering a few feet off the ground beside Applejack slowly turned around, putting her back to most of the familiar geography.

But what Applejack saw materialize before her eyes from the darkness shocked her.

Hyacinth wasn’t running out of map like Applejack thought she would be.

“And this, Applejack, is the world as we know it.”

Applejack could only gawk in awe.

The map had nearly tripled in size before her. Equestria was but a small portion of the land in comparison to the splotches of brown, red and dark green terrain to the south of it.

There was just so much it; far more than Applejack had ever dreamed possible. Most of it was roughly drawn, and by unskilled hooves who were clearly going more off of memory than anything else, but it was there, and the sheer scope of it was taking Applejack’s breath away.

She saw the Badlands – a familiar splash of rusty red – only it extended much further than she’d thought it might, at one point spreading from the eastern shore to the western.

South of the Badlands lay a mountain range – or at least, that was the impression Applejack got from the crudely drawn saw-tooth patterns crisscrossing the border of the Badlands, from one coast to the other.

And yet, even those two combined were only a small portion of the map – barely even half the size of Equestria itself.

No, what dominated the southern portion of the continent was an immense, ominous splash of dark green.

It stretched on and on for leagues in every direction, coast to coast, right down to the distant peninsula at the land’s end.

“This is where our people called home for thousands of years, perhaps longer,” Hyacinth said. “Since the dawn of our written history, we have dwelled in these lands, eking out a tough existence among the small nations and races that also call this place home.”

As Applejack surveyed the immense jungle-like terrain, she spotted several different markings, all made with what looked like the strokes of a rather course brush.

In one of the northern corners of the jungle was a marking adorned with bull-horns. Not far from that was a small, unobtrusive representation of a head with long ears and a dopey-looking muzzle.

Applejack saw a crudely drawn image of what could’ve been a pony head, except for the number of stripes across its neck and muzzle.

But also among those were less friendly icons – icons with sharp teeth and leery smiles.

And spread sporadically throughout the jungle were a number of representations of ponies – proper ponies, some with horns and wings, and others with nothing special at all.

“Our kind existed here in secret, spread out here and there in hives.”

That was when Applejack noticed the pegs.

The more she looked, the more she saw wooden pegs dotting all over the map, each one topped with a different colored gem stone.

In total, Applejack counted twenty hives spread out all across the harsh south. That was nineteen more than she ever dared to think possible.

“But existing in this harsh environment was… brutal. At its peak, our species numbered only a few tens of thousands. Queens quarreled over the best hive sites and territory disputes constantly. They rarely turned to open warfare, but when they did, the battles were… messy, yet quick.

“Changelings fought over every scrap of love they could get, using whatever methods they could think of to get it. It was a brutal existence, but we had little choice to survive.”

Applejack repressed a shiver as she saw flashes of Hyacinth’s memory materialize like snapshots before her eyes. Each one showed a changeling doing something, often things that didn’t sit well with the apple farmer. These were changelings as she imagined them – lying, tricking, even enthralling helpless ponies the same way Queen Chrysalis did to Twilight’s brother.

It was not a flattering picture, and Applejack felt worse for seeing it. It was a familiar disgust, one that she’d been warring with for several weeks now, but seeing it shoved under her nose very nearly made her sick to her stomach.

But while Applejack worked around her nausea, She noticed the memory of Hyacinth moving through the air.

After taking a second to transition herself, she came to a stop over the dead center of the jungle – directly over another hive marker topped with a deep ocean blue lapis lazuli.

The memory of Hyacinth regarded the hive marker with heavy, unreadable eyes, her gaze unfocusing for the first time thus far.

Applejack, too, turned her graze to scrutinize the hive marker with a frown. A flash of a mountain crossed her mind’s eye; a hollowed out dead volcano, devoid of vegetation and towering far above the jungle below like a granite monolith.

She was just starting to open her mouth to ask Hyacinth a question when the changeling herself spoke first.

“This is where all that changed. Amid the strife and hardship, there arose two queens; each set on one goal; to bring their people into a brighter age free of hardship and suffering.”

A shadow materialized in front of Applejack, making her cringe back in surprise.

Even as the shadows took shape, she didn’t relax the tension in her muscles, especially when she found herself almost nose to nose with a younger version of her own mother.

Carnation couldn’t have been more than a young adult – only a little older than Applejack herself. She was remarkably pony-like in stature, though she was slightly too thin, and too long-legged to be normal.

“One, no one believed would amount to anything. She lacked the drive of most queens, and to many, that made her weak. And yet despite that, she made a move that took everyone by surprise. She took a fool’s gamble.”

The memory warped once more. This time, Applejack found herself walking, following behind an older, much taller Carnation as she walked slowly down a small game trail choked with alien, verdant foliage, headed to places unknown.

“After all, no one had ever attempted a journey so far north. All that was believed to be up beyond the Badlands was ice and snow. But Carnation was adamant. She believed that if there was a solution for her people’s plight, she would find it in the far north.”

Flashes of memory shot across Applejack' vision – snapshots of Hyacinth’s and her mother’s journey across the harsh, unforgiving land, including the numerous graves they had to dig along the way.

“And what your mother found, Applejack, was everything she’d been hoping for, and more.”

Applejack watched as the memory warped yet again, shifting to muddled shadows for half a second before once more materializing a scene before her; one of Carnation, horribly thin and travel-worn, standing upon the peak of a mountain and gazing out at the land beyond.

And there, laid out before her, was Equestria, bright and resplendent under a mid-summer’s sun.

The look on the weary Carnation’s face was unlike anything Applejack had ever seen before, and likely would never be seen again. It was as if Carnation was seeing the light of day for the first time in her life.

Applejack could only stare, her heart lurching once more, as the memory of her mother’s arrival in Equestria faded.

Once more, she found herself standing on that oversized map, only now she was looking down at the Everfree Forest – and the tiny Freedom marker.

“But I won’t lie to you, Applejack,” said Hyacinth soberly, “your mother’s intentions coming here were not purely benevolent. She sought the source of energy her people needed, nothing more.”

Another image of Queen Carnation solidified in front Applejack’s eyes, making her jump back; a queen, standing tall and proud with her back to AJ, her expression fierce and undaunted.

“When she discovered Equestria, that’s exactly what she thought she’d found. She saw it as a resource of near limitless potential… at first. But this land changed her. And it all started with one event.”

As Applejack watched, the image of Carnation changed before her eyes, warping as one memory overpowered the other.

The tall, intimidating queen on a mission disappeared. Her entire demeanor softened; her eyes became gentle, her lips softly curled upwards at the edges.

And as Applejack watched, Carnation sat down and raised her hooves.

A blinding flash of warm violet light made her flinch, and when she opened her eyes again, she saw that Carnation wasn’t alone anymore.

She was holding a small, crying hatchling, who couldn’t have been more than a few hours old.

Before Applejack could get over the shock of that image, yet another memory presented itself to her – a vivid one, momentarily overpowering the others.

She found herself standing in her mother’s bedchamber once again, only this time it was filled practically to the rafters by curious, icy blue eyes.

Queen Carnation was lying on her side on the bed. And in her forelegs was clutched that same tiny hatchling, who’s only concern seemed to be to wail its displeasure to its new world.

Bits of dark green shell still clung to its little black body here and there, which Carnation was wearily trying to clear away with a red towel.

She looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept for hours, possibly even days. And yet, she was still smiling for all she was worth, barely contained amazed laughter occasionally working passed her debilitated composure.

“You did it, baby,” she said in a weak, shaking tone, “You did it! Just look at you… Ha, you’re so gorgeous! I… I can’t believe it.”

The newborn Applejack just continued to cry fitfully, completely unamused with the cold, bright world she found herself in.

Carnation pulled her newborn daughter close against her chest, tears of joy rolling down her black cheeks.

“It’s okay, It’s okay – ssh, ssh. Mama’s got you…”

The present Applejack could only look on in stunned silence, her mind refusing to work.

She hardly seemed to notice when the image of her first moments started to lose its contrast and fade. She just stared at the same spot in front of her and tried for all she was worth not to think.

It wasn’t working.

“Are you alright, dear?”

“Y-yeah,” Applejack said hastily, quickly rubbing at her eyes. “Ain't never been better. Yep.”

Hyacinth hesitated for a moment, then gently put a hoof on Applejack’s.

Neither mare said anything, but after a brief pause, Applejack took the hoof and held it tightly.

She didn’t even mind so much that she could just feel its uneven, holey surface, or that part of that same inconsistency came from her own limb.

She just didn’t have it in her to care at the moment.

Hyacinth gave her niece a moment, only offering a supportive squeeze before continuing on.

“That day changed everything, you know. You changed everything. When you hatched, your mother’s world was set on its head. To her, you weren’t some continuation of her legacy or some tool to advance her agenda. You were her daughter, and she, your mother. You have no idea how revolutionary that idea was to us. To her.”

An image of Carnation and the little baby hatchling appeared before Applejack once more, momentarily causing her breath to catch. It was but a snapshot in time, but it spoke volumes to the mare.

Carnation was lying on her belly, her body frozen in time as she laughed, a warm expression of pure happiness adorning her face.

She was nose-to-nose with baby Applejack, who also looked to be laughing like she was having the time of her life, her tiny holey legs frozen in place as they playfully batted at her mother’s cheeks and muzzle.

It took her a second, but Applejack reminded herself to take another breath.

“After that day, your mother did something she’d never done before then. She started to learn about the ponies of Equestria… and from them.

“Queen Carnation started to see the Equestrians not as a source of power, but as equals, and even as companions. Over the course of just a few years, the hive mingled and bonded with ponies all across Equestria. These were not the tactics our kind had used in the past… and yet they worked.”

Applejack noticed dozens of emeralds popping into existence all across the map – materializing seemingly from nowhere.

They were spread out all across Equestria – from Canterlot to Manehattan, Los Pegasus to Fillydelphia. It seemed like every major city in Equestria had an emerald at it.

The memory of Hyacinth, too, wasn’t where she’d been before. She was now standing off to the side of the map, along with at least two other changelings who silently regarded the map and the little gemstones adorning it.

“For once in our lives, we didn’t need to fight for every little scrap of love. We didn’t need to lie or replace or manipulate. All we had to do… was be us. That was it. No strife. No hardship. No complications. It was exactly what we had all been looking for.

“And for a while, things were looking so promising… Queen Carnation was even starting to plan to meet with Princess Celestia. For the first time ever, we were going to step out of the shadows and make ourselves known to the world.

“But that was not the hand fate dealt us.”

Applejack felt a cold chill run down her spine.

“After all,” Hyacinth continued in a quiet, subdued tone, “Carnation was not the only queen with high ambitions for our people.”

Applejack slowly turned around, looking back towards the heart of changeling territory.

Towards the sneering visage of a towering, gangly figure; one with a languid purple mane adorning her jet-black, viper-like face.

“And she would stop at nothing to achieve them.”

~~***~~

Slowly, colors and shapes began to form in front of Applejack’s eyes, solidifying from nebulous shadows into a familiar bedchamber.

Lights filtered in through the cracks in the walls, striking the chandelier overhead.

However, this time the lights seemed oddly muted, as if someone had turned most of them off.

The interior of the bedchamber was gloomy. A curtain of hanging moss had been drawn over the entryway, and many of the gaps in the walls seemed to have narrowed, letting in less light.

And in the gloom, Applejack made out a familiar shape.

She about jumped out of her skin when she looked down where her hooves should’ve been and found an amber-maned baby changeling looking right back at her.

Instinctively she lurched back, and almost immediately saw the true scene before her.

Hyacinth was lying on a nest of cushions beside Carnation’s bed with a baby version of Applejack between the bodyguard’s front hooves.

The baby was on her back, giggling hysterically and flailing her limbs challengingly at the changeling looming over her.

Hyacinth was smiling gingerly, like she wasn’t entirely sure if she should be enjoying herself, just before she ducked her head swiftly and blew a raspberry on the hatchling’s belly, making her squeal and flail worse than ever.

That was when an emerald veil of magic enveloped the mossy curtain over the door. Hyacinth saw it immediately and raised her head, just as the curtain was parted, and in walked Queen Carnation.

But… something was wrong. She moved slowly, her head bowed slightly. Her wings drooped at her sides, her eyes downcast.

Right away Hyacinth locked on to the glum state of her queen and stood up, much to the annoyance of the baby Applejack, who whined and pawed at her holey legs to get her attention.

“Your Highness? Is something wrong?” she asked, deeply concerned.

Carnation took a moment to answer, her pink eyes flicking up towards Hyacinth like she just realized she was there before once more wandering off into space, her gaze becoming distant and filled with pain.

“Queen Gardenia is dead.”

Hyacinth paled, her black chitin turning almost grey as her eyes got bigger.

“But… but her hive was the strongest left,” she managed to say weakly. “How could she…?”

Carnation raised her head, but her gaze was still far away. “She did not go quietly,” she said softly. “But she and… and my niece did not survive.”

Applejack’s heart clenched in her chest.

“Hyacinth… what’re ya showin’ me?”

“The end.”

Applejack’s heart clenched even harder, almost painfully.

But before she could speak again, the memory of Hyacinth stepped forward, a desperate look written on her face.

“But what of the others? Queen Honeycomb, Queen Cocoon? What of Queen Nightshade?”

Carnation did not meet her bodyguard’s gaze, but the pain in her eyes was evident. “They did the only thing they could to keep their hives alive.”

Hyacinth’s eyes grew still bigger in total shock. “They… they surrendered?”

Carnation nodded heavily.

A deathly silence fell over the bedchamber as Hyacinth continued to stare at her queen with a horrorstruck expression.

Carnation continued to stare into space, her expression barren and lifeless.

And they might’ve stayed like that for hours, neither one knowing what to do or say as the terrible implications of Carnation’s news sank into their hearts.

However, Applejack was not that patient.

The silence was broken when she started crying, jarring both changelings back to their senses.

Carnation turned a sad eye towards her daughter, a brittle smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. It was like she didn’t want to smile, and yet was physically unable to restrain one regardless.

“It’s okay, dear Applejack. It’s okay.”

She carefully stepped forward, and using one long, gangly leg full of holes, she scooped up her daughter and hugged her tightly.

Hyacinth could only watch as Carnation sat down and gently rocked her daughter until she calmed down.

The present Applejack could see that Hyacinth wanted to say something, but for nearly a minute she forced her own silence. She just watched the heavy look on her queen’s face as she gazed upon her daughter.

At last, however, she broke her silence, speaking in a barely audible voice.

“She’s coming here… isn’t she?”

Carnation didn’t seem to react to Hyacinth’s question at first. She just continued to gaze at her daughter, deep-set worry clear in her eyes.

But after a few seconds, she nodded slowly. “Yes… she is.”

Hyacinth cursed under her breath, turning away slightly. For a moment,

Carnation’s memory faded into the unknown as Hyacinth’s attention shifted elsewhere.

But just as quickly, she turned back to her queen, her expression set. “What are your orders?”

Carnation paused, her gaze lingering on the baby Applejack still held tightly to her chest.

Hyacinth took a step closer, her gaze searching. “Should we warn Princess Celestia? She needs to know what’s coming.”

Carnation remained silent for a second longer, still unwilling to look away from the toddler clenched to her front.

That was when the baby Applejack looked up towards her mother, her smile gone, amber eyes big and questioning.

Her mother looked back at her, her eyes unknowable and ancient. And then, she smiled lovingly at her daughter.

“If we do, everything I’ve worked for will be undone,” she said quietly. “Everything we as a whole have strived for… for that shining future… undone.”

Anger worked its way into her face, her eyes bending in an unfamiliar glare.

“She cannot succeed. She cannot undo what we have worked to achieve. If she does, our kind will be nothing but monsters to the ponies. She will kill us all.”

Carnation gently set her daughter down and stood up.

For the first time, Applejack felt intimidated by the creature standing before her. She stood taller than anything AJ had ever seen before – seemingly taller than Celestia herself. She stood taller than life, and with a resolute determination to match.

“That is why she will not succeed.”

Carnation suddenly turned a sharp eye towards Hyacinth, fixing her with a look that made the captain automatically flinch to attention.

“Hyacinth, I want you to organize everyone we can,” she said, “anyone willing to fight.”

Hyacinth hesitated for a moment, a look of concern crossing her eyes. “Your Highness… we can’t hope to stand for long, not against a force that big.”

But Carnation only smiled. She took a step towards Hyacinth, lower her head so that she was on eye level with her.

“My old friend… just because we won’t survive does not mean we will fail.”

Hyacinth gave her queen a confused – and slightly scared – look. “Queen Carnation… what are you planning?”

Carnation just continued to smile, her expression soft once more. “You have your orders, Captain. Organize whoever you can. If anyone does not wish to fight, let them leave. That is their choice to make.”

Hyacinth’s expression hardened. She looked almost like she’d just been insulted. “Your Highness, no one here would dare think about abandoning you.”

She threw a smart salute, a fiercely resolute expression on her face. “I swore I would follow you to the ends of the world. I never go back on my promises.”

Carnation’s smile grew. “… I will keep that in mind, Hyacinth. Thank you. Now, leave me. I need some time to think.”

Hyacinth bowed low. And in a burst of emerald flames, she fell through the floor and was gone in hardly the blink of an eye.

The last thing Applejack saw of the bedroom as it faded into nothingness was the sight of her mother turning, her gentle smile slipping at last.

~~***~~

When next the world solidified around Applejack once more, she found herself surrounded by a state of chaos.

Again she found herself in that room with the gigantic map, but this time the room wasn’t quiet in the slightest.

Dozens of changelings were piled around the map. Some scrutinized its surface with a deep-set frown. Others talked with their neighbors, speaking quickly and in sharp tones.

Above it all, a small team of changelings with long sticks was hovering over the map itself. Every now and then, one would push at a set piece adorning the map, altering its position.

“Captain Hyacinth,” spoke a voice beside Applejack.

She lurched out of the way, just as the memory of the changeling captain turned to regard the drone standing at attention beside her.

“We’ve just received news of more refugees coming in from the Badlands,” he said.

“More?” Hyacinth repeated, clearly dismayed. “How many more?”

“Roughly twenty, captain,” the drone said. “They claim to be from Queen Firefly’s hive.”

Hyacinth sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging. “That’s the fifth group in three days,” she muttered. “And there’s no telling how many more didn’t make it through the Badlands…”

The drone paused for a moment, giving Hyacinth an inquisitive look.

“What should we do with them, captain?”

Hyacinth waved a hoof, not turning to face the drone completely. “The same as the others. Get them situated and inform them of the rules.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With that, he left, buzzing away over the heads of other couriers as they filed into the chamber on the ground.

No sooner did he leave did another drone march up to Hyacinth, snap to attention, and start to give his report.

“Captain, we just got word back from the scouts.”

Hyacinth regarded the newcomer, obvious dread creeping into her demeanor. All around her, the other officials fell quiet, ears turning towards the courier intently.

“And?” Hyacinth prompted, bracing.

The drone bit his lip for a moment, clearly uneasy.

“Queen Phantasma’s forces will reach the Everfree Forest in less than two days.”

No one spoke for a moment after that. Every other conversation ground to a halt as all eyes turned towards Hyacinth.

Applejack herself thought she felt the air get suddenly a lot colder.

After a moment, Hyacinth opened her mouth. She even managed to sound unfazed by the news, even if she was a little too stiff to pull it off.

“How many?”

“Too many.”

Hyacinth heaved a sigh, her shoulders slumping once more.

“Captain… what should we do?” asked the drone quietly.

The changeling captain turned a sharp eye towards her subordinate. “Tell me… you have a wife in Canterlot, don’t you?”

“Yes ma’am,” the drone responded right away.

“What would you do to protect her?” Hyacinth asked. By her tone, Applejack knew that she already knew her answer.

The drone stood up taller, positively glaring with determination. “Anything.”

“Then there’s your answer,” Hyacinth stated.

The drone’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, before he gave Hyacinth a firm nod, his expression set. “Yes ma’am.”

“Good. Now, I want you to—”

“Captain Hyacinth!”

The changeling in question repressed a groan of irritation before turning around to find yet another drone standing before her. This one, at least, had the sense to bow in apology.

“Yes, what is it?” she asked in a clipped tone.

“Her Highness requests your presence immediately,” the messenger replied, still not quite raising his eyes high enough to meet the captain’s gaze.

Hyacinth was clearly pulled up short, blinking in surprise.

“…Very well then,” she said after a momentary pause.

She then quickly turned towards the other drone standing next to her. “Keep me appraised of the enemy’s position. Tell me if they deviate on their course in any way.”

“Yes ma’am.”

And without waiting for another distraction, Hyacinth lit her horn and promptly fell through the floor, disappearing in a flash of changeling fire.

~~***~~

It took the scene only a second or two to reform in front of Applejack, and when it did, she could tell she’d missed something.

She found herself standing next to Carnation, who was walking slowly down a gently arching tunnel.

On her other side, a long section of the wall had been cut away entirely, revealing a breathtaking view of the Everfree forest and the dazzling night sky that gleamed over it.

Aside from the starlight and the glow from the blemished moon, there was nothing to light their path.

In an action that was becoming almost second-nature by now, Applejack sidestepped out of Hyacinth to see her gazing upon her ruler with a look of deep concern.

Carnation herself looked to be lost in thought, her expression oddly composed and emotionless.

Together they walked down the passageway in silence, moving slowly. Hyacinth was clearly waiting for Carnation to speak before she opened her mouth, but the matriarch hardly seemed in any rush to do so.

Without warning, Carnation ground to a halt. She stopped so suddenly that even Hyacinth took a step out of place before she could catch herself.

“Hyacinth,” the changeling queen spoke quietly.

“Your Highness?”

Carnation paused, her gaze drifting off over the vista of the Everfree treetops under a full moon’s light.

“… How are we looking so far?”

Hyacinth scrutinized her charge for a moment, keeping her expression blank. “Your Highness… Permission to speak freely?”

“Of course,” Carnation responded, sounding almost surprised that Hyacinth would ask.

The changeling guard waffled for a second, clearly having second thoughts, before she opened her mouth to speak.

“You wanted to ask me something else, didn’t you?”

Carnation sighed almost inaudibly, her eyes sagging slightly. “Yes… I suppose I do.”

“Then, what is it? You know you can ask anything of me, My Queen.”

Carnation glanced towards the captain, her gaze unknowable. Her pink eyes shown like pale peach disks under the bleached light of the moon.

“Anything?”

“Yes,” Hyacinth responded immediately, taking a step forward. “Name it.”

Carnation continued to look at her bodyguard without inflection for a moment longer before finally opening her mouth. “Very well then. Promise me that, no matter what happens, you will protect Applejack.”

Hyacinth blinked – not out of surprise, but rather confusion. “But of course, Your Highness. You know I will.”

Carnation looked away, out over the seemingly endless expanse of green treetops laid out before her.

“I know you will.”

Hyacinth paused, clearly nonplussed. “Um… is everything alright?”

Carnation didn’t respond right away. Her eyes were once more distant.

“This morning, Applejack changed for the first time,” she said quietly. “I wish you could’ve been there to see it. You should’ve been there to see it.”

Carnation sighed heavily, looking sad beyond her years. “And if it wasn’t for these circumstances, you would’ve.”

For the first time, Hyacinth’s ears fell limp against her temples as she gave Carnation a careful look. “Your Highness, don’t blame yourself for this. You had no way of knowing what Phantasma would become.”

“That’s the funny thing about fate, Hyacinth,” Carnation said. “We have no way of predicting where it may take us. And yet, the consequences are always ours to bear.”

She turned a heavy smile towards her long-time bodyguard. “You are kind to say otherwise, but the truth is what it is. If I had not come to Equestria, these ponies would never have been put in danger. In the end, it is my fault that Phantasma comes on the warpath.”

She looked up towards the Everfree again. This time, a hard edge entered her demeanor – a ghost of the determined, undaunted queen that’d first come to Equestria in the first place.

“And the consequences of that action are ours. Both mine… and hers.”

Hyacinth gazed up at Carnation, her expression riddled with dread and suspicion. “Your Highness…”

Carnation turned towards her bodyguard sharply, catching her by surprise. “Hyacinth. Tomorrow, I am going to have Applejack moved somewhere safe, somewhere where my cousin cannot find her.”

Hyacinth’s eyes got huge as she took a step back in surprise. “What?”

Carnation merely gauged her bodyguard’s reaction, her own expression hard and unreadable.

Hyacinth looked stunned. Never before had Applejack seen her expression so readable and full of emotion.

Shock and dawning realization ran rampant through her face, along with the beginnings to panic.

Judging by the heavy look on Carnation’s face, that was the reaction she’d been anticipating most of all.

“Th-then, let me take her,” Hyacinth said quickly, struggling to recompose herself.

But to both the memory of Hyacinth’s and the real Applejack’s surprise, Carnation shook her head. “No, old friend. I cannot do that.”

“Please, Your Highness,” Hyacinth said, desperation creeping into her voice. “I can look after her! I can keep her safe!”

“Hyacinth…”

“Please, Carnation, let me take her!”

“Hyacinth!”

Hyacinth jumped back a step in shock, as did Applejack. Obviously the bodyguard was as unfamiliar with hearing Carnation shout as Applejack was.

The matriarch affixed her bodyguard with a hard – but understanding – stare, one that made her look somehow taller than ever before.

“I have thought long and hard about this,” she said firmly, her voice still raised slightly. “I know that it is not fair to you, believe me I do, but you are the only one I trust to keep her safe from the others!”

She took a step forward, and the intensity in her eyes drove Hyacinth back a step.

“And can you honestly tell me that she will be happy living our lifestyle?”

Hyacinth winced.

“Applejack deserves far better than what our kind will offer her, Hyacinth, and you are the only one I can rely on to make sure no one interferes with that.”

Carnation’s eyes softened then, her weariness returning. “Our kind does not need another changeling ruler. Someday, I hope you understand that.”

It was clear from Hyacinth’s expression that she wasn’t anywhere near beginning to fathom that statement.

She opened her mouth, clearly intent on fighting it out to the bitter end.

But she never got the chance to.

For the second time that night, the memory faltered, cracks forming around the edges.

It took Applejack a moment to realize that the scene before her wasn’t actually real, but by that point, the memory was unmaking itself, falling apart as darkness rushed over her vision.

~~***~~

Very slowly, images started to solidify before Applejack again. They coalesced lethargically, forming into trees and bushes.

For one dangerous moment, the memory wobbled, fractures appearing around its edges.

Applejack could just see beyond the memory; to a well-lit bedchamber filled with the stench of rotting vegetation.

She heard Hyacinth grunt, coming from simultaneously in front of Applejack and inside her head.

“Come on… almost there… almost done…”

“Hyacinth?”

Applejack got no response, and a second later the fissures in the spell sealed once more.

And immediately she found herself surrounded by chaos.

She was standing on the edge of a clearing; a vast rend in the Everfree forest that ran like a tear from the top of a hill downwards.

And there, spread out as far as Applejack could see, were thousands and thousands of changelings.

Their black shapes darkened the horizon like a swarm of locusts, buzzing low over the tree tops as they literally ripped their way through the forest.

Applejack could see innumerable trees toppling as the horde advanced, some exploding in violent emerald flashes.

They crawled through the clearing, blackening the field in an endless carpet of obsidian forms. Countless icy blue eyes stared back at her, forming an entire galaxy across the ground and sky.

Applejack took a step back automatically, her heart pounding.

That’s when she saw Hyacinth, standing resolutely just under the shade of a tree. Every muscle in her body was tensed and keyed to go.

But when Applejack looked around, she felt her heart sink.

There were only a few dozen changelings standing beside her, forming a single line just beyond the clearing.

And at its head was Carnation. She stood straight-backed and oddly serene, making her the most relaxed creature in eyesight.

She was staring straight ahead, her eyes locked on something at the other end of the clearing.

When Applejack turned to follow her gaze, she felt a chill run down her spine.

At the very heart of the swirling mass of vicious changelings trotted another gangly queen as black as obsidian.

“Well, well, well,” hissed Phantasma, grinning toothily, “This is a surprise.”

Queen Phantasma had changed little from the memories Applejack had seen, at least physically.

She still had a long, languid purple mane that seemed more liquid goo than actual hair. Her long, sickle-like fangs only barely passed her narrow chin, the white contrasting spectacularly against her black chitin.

Her large, bulbous plum-colored eyes stared almost hungrily straight at Carnation, her gaze never faltering.

She was horribly thin, looking borderline emaciated; making her look far ganglier and stilted than any queen Applejack had ever seen before.

Despite that, however, she moved with ease, striding with an obvious swagger in her step and pride in her eyes.

But more than that, there was just something horribly unsettling about her.

Merely looking Phantasma in her eyes sent shivers down Applejack’s spine. Those eyes, she realized, were the eyes of something that placed no value on another’s life.

Abruptly, Phantasma pulled to a halt in the middle of the clearing. The moment she did, her army froze in its tracks behind her; an entire legion freezing in place for a single creature at its head.

“I must say, dear cousin,” Phantasma commented derisively, “I honestly expected you to run and hide. You never seemed like the type to stand your ground.”

“I never had anything worth fighting for before, dear cousin,” Carnation responded smoothly.

Phantasma snorted. “Really? The one time you grow a spine, you pick a losing battle? Why are you even opposing me, Carnation? Just look at what I’ve already achieved!”

She waved a long, holey leg towards her legion behind her. The massive changeling swarm obscured the trees and countryside behind them, making it seem like the very world no longer existed behind them.

“A united changeling empire, free of the petty squabbling of queens too weak to make a difference,” Phantasma gloated, a smug smile on her face, “strong enough to topple any foe, claim any prize!”

Slowly, she put her hoof down, and when she turned back to Carnation, her smile was gone. Instead, she gave her an ominously unamused glare. “A prize that you stand in the way of.”

“Equestria is no prize, Phantasma,” Carnation countered, but the other queen was already laughing.

“No prize?! Were you not the one to tell me it was everything you’d ever hoped for? That it possessed more love than any one place in the world?”

Carnation frowned. “I was wrong, Phantasma.”

“No, I don’t think you were,” she hissed insidiously.

Phantasma suddenly stamped her hoof, producing a loud clap that resounded across the clearing.

And to Applejack’s horror, she watched as several ponies stepped out of the ocean of buzzing, snickering creatures. There were over a dozen of them, all looking dazed out of their minds, their eyes sheened over by changeling magic.

“No…,” Applejack heard herself gag.

Carnation, too, looked pale, her eyes wide.

Phantasma only laughed. “You were quite right, dear cousin! These ponies have more love than they know what to do with!”

Several of the changelings behind her cackled, echoing their queen a thousand-fold.

“I’ve only been in Equestria for a few days, and already I’m feeling stronger than I ever have before in my life!” she went on. “And that was just a small, insignificant settlement. Just imagine what I can achieve after I grind this place into the dirt.”

Carnation’s expression fell, becoming saddened. “Phantasma… don’t you see what you’ve become? How many hives did you destroy in your conquest?”

“All of them,” Phantasma replied indifferently.

Carnation’s eyes widened in shock.

Phantasma merely grinned smugly back at her. “Why so surprised? Did it ever occur to you why we were failing as a species?”

She took a menacing step forward, grinning still wider. “We were so busy squabbling over scraps like a bunch of starving dogs. Each and every hive was concerned only for itself. So… I removed them from the equation.”

Phantasma spread her hooves wide over her head, standing up on her hind legs. “There are no hives any longer! There is just the hive! MY hive!”

“And at what cost,” shot Carnation.

Phantasma glanced down her nose at her cousin, wearing a look one might wear when regarding a carcass.

Carnation took a step forward this time, her brow bent in a hard scowl. “Thousands of years of history, of culture; all gone, because of you. How could you do such a thing to your own family?”

Phantasma stared at Carnation like she couldn’t believe what she’d just said. Then she snorted, followed a second later by a great peel of laughter.

“HA! This land has made you so soft, Carnation! By the Maker, since when has family mattered to you, eh?”

Phantasma continued to laugh, throwing her head back and belting out her amusement in a loud, harsh voice.

Slowly, she worked her way down, going from uncontrollable hysterics to chuckles, to barely repressed snickers, and finally ending with an exhale.

“So are you going to step aside or not,” she asked, humor gone.

“No,” Carnation said.

Phantasma stayed still for a moment, her eyes locked on Carnation in a chilling look that sent shivers down Applejack’s spine.

“A pity… I was hoping you would finally see some sense.”

Carnation’s eyes narrowed. “Once upon a time, perhaps. But you’ve become nothing but a monster, Phantasma.”

Angry acidic sparks started dancing off her horn, furious electrical discharges popping at the air.

That was the moment Applejack glimpsed the true depths of Carnation’s fury, and the sight made her more than a little uneasy.

“Oh, scary,” Phantasma teased, still grinning.

“Pity,” Carnation remarked, “You don’t seem to be frightened.”

“You? Scare me?” Phantasma chuckled derisively. “I'm afraid not.”

“Like I said,” Carnation said in a cold tone, “a pity.”

Phantasma cocked an eyebrow, bemused. “Alright, if you want to play so badly…”

She swung her horn straight up, just as it erupted with sickly green light.

And as Applejack watched, the shadows of the nearby trees started to stretch. It was as if the sun was setting in fast forward, causing shadows to reach out from across one end of the clearing and towards Carnation.

It only got worse when the shadows started to pick themselves up off the ground.

Applejack watched in morbid fascination as each shadow molded itself into a tall, ominous silhouette with a jagged, crooked horn and glowing green eyes.

Without warning, they jumped at Carnation, maws stretching improbably wide.

Carnation scowled, just as she lit her own horn.

With a great explosion of earth and rock, gigantic roots exploded out of the ground, each shooting forward like a javelin, running every shadowy assailant through and popping them like bubbles.

Then, with a flick of her horn, she sent the thick roots rushing across the clearing, tearing up the grass and dirt as they extended, razor sharp tips aimed with lethal intent.

But Phantasma merely grinned in amusement and cast her own spell.

Each oncoming root ground to a halt only an inch from their intended target.

As Applejack watched, they whipped around, ends ripping open like the maws of gigantic snakes.

Carnation frowned, then stamped her hoof.

And the woods on either side of her exploded. Two gigantic tree trunks launched into the clearing, and as they did, their ends exploded and splintered, forming cruel talons.

Each one of Phantasma’s serpentine constructs were smashed aside with such violence that they shattered, sending shrapnel raining back the way they’d come.

Changelings shrieked in pain, their ranks breaking.

Amid the turmoil, Applejack just caught sight of a bright emerald flash.

A split second later, the ground just five feet from her burst into flames.

Applejack yelped and jumped back, just as Phantasma launched herself from her portal, a vicious grin on her face

She’d popped up off to Carnation’s left, and already her horn was crackling with light.

“Look out!” Applejack shouted before she could catch herself, but she was too late.

Phantasma loosed a stream of violent energy from her horn that tore through the air like a lightning bolt, straight for Carnation’s exposed side.

But Carnation herself merely glanced over, her gaze just as cold as ever, just as the deadly ray of magic plowed into her.

A deafening bang rang through the clearing as the spell connected, exploding in a cloud of emerald flame and acrid smoke.

Phantasma beamed in victory, leaning in… only to have the look freeze on her face.

Applejack herself, had to do a double-take.

Where Carnation had been standing, there was now nothing but a blackened, splintered log.

Phantasma’s eyes got wide in shock, her smile falling away.

That was when Carnation burst into being off of Phantasma’s side, her horn already aimed and flaring with light.

Applejack only just heard the hiss of a spell streak by her at almost super-sonic speeds, lighting up the tree beside her for the barest moment it took it to pass.

And then, the air was rent by an almighty explosion of fire and smoke.

Applejack spun around a moment too late, just in time to see the cloud of black smoke hit her in the face.

Her first instinct was to shut her eyes and hold her breath, but the sting of fire smoke never touched her skin.

It took her nearly five whole seconds to remember that the scene before her wasn’t real.

When at last the smoke parted, Applejack found Carnation standing not far away from her, panting heavily.

“Your Highness!”

Applejack jumped yet again when she saw Hyacinth start to rush over towards her queen, only to be pulled up short when Carnation raised a hoof towards her.

“Stay where you are, Hyacinth! This isn’t over yet.”

“No,” hissed an ominous voice from the heart of the swirling smoke. “I have to disagree.”

And to Applejack’s disbelief, she saw the silhouette of a gangly figure still standing at the epicenter of the explosion.

The last vestiges of a shielding spell were scattering to the wind, fizzling like sparks as they faded.

But Phantasma didn’t escape unharmed. She had her right eye clamped shut, and most of the chitin on that side of her face seemed to be marred and disfigured.

Already her changeling magic was working at healing her wounds, but that only seemed to make her visage worse to look at.

She still managed to level a murderous glare towards Carnation with her remaining good eye, however.

“This ends now,” she spat, all humor gone.

Before Carnation could react, Phantasma whipped around towards her, her jagged horn crackling with deadly energy.

Carnation herself had just a split second to lower her own horn and fire just before Phantasma did so in kind.

With a high pitched shrieking sound, both beams of magic crashed into each other, throwing volatile sparks and lances of emerald energy cascading between the two queens.

Magic raged against magic, shoving and pushing against each other in a violent clash of light too bright to look directly at.

The grass between them ignited, shriveling under the intense heat of the combating spells.

Both queens leaned their entire weights – both physically and magically – against their opponent.

“Stop this, Phantasma!” Carnation shouted over the howl of magic. “There is still time to go back! Don’t make me destroy you!”

“You? Destroy ME?!” Phantasma roared indignantly. For a moment, her stream of magic started to push Carnation’s back, tipping the balance ever so slightly.

“You should be standing by my side, Carnation! We were going to rule together, remember!”

“It was never about ruling,” Carnation shouted, forcing Phantasma’s spell back a fraction of an inch.

“It was ALWAYS about ruling,” Phantasma bellowed. “The strong always guide the weak! That was our place, Carnation! Our place!”

Phantasma glared at Carnation with unbound hatred, her teeth bared. “Why? Why are you standing against me?!”

Gouts of angry flames started to roll off of Phantasma’s horn as her rage spiraled out of control. The magic roaring out of her horn wasn’t so much a beam of light anymore as it was a flamethrower.

“Tell me, Carnation! WHY?!”

Phantasma’s spell started ramming Carnation’s back. Inch by inch, she was overpowered.

But as Phantasma’s rage-fueled magic drew ever closer, Applejack noticed something stirring in the air around them.

Tiny motes of light were swirling around the two; tiny, richly purple specks of light.

“Because,” Carnation grunted, “I… love this land. I love it’s ponies and the wonders they have created. I love my hive and my daughter! I love it all with all my heart! And I will NEVER LET YOU HARM THEM!”

Phantasma’s beam of magic was almost to Carnation’s horn, but she didn’t seem to care.

She just stared with resolute determination as swirls of violet energy engulfed the two queens, whirling around them like a tornado.

And as Applejack looked on in amazement, she saw the same swirls of violet energy swirling around her mother’s horn, around her entire body.

By now, Phantasma was starting to take notice. She glanced around, her eyes shooting open wide in shock.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

The two figures were almost completely obscured by now, swallowed by a growing nova of blinding emerald and violet light.

“You fool!” Applejack heard Phantasma cry, her voice filled with fright. “You’re going to kill us both!”

Applejack felt her heart thud painfully in her chest, dread and awe washing over her in equal measure. As she sat there, she just made out her mother through the tornado of violet light for one last time.

And she was smiling, even as cracks split open across her body, issuing forth a bright, clean white light.

Her voice carried over the howling, raging magic, reaching Applejack as if she was speaking right next to her.

“A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye. An end for an end… A life for a life.”

“No!”

Before she knew what she was doing, Applejack rushed forward, lurching desperately towards the disintegrating changeling queen.

She barely made it two steps before she felt something tackle her, throwing her to the ground.

“Applejack, stop it! Calm down!”

“She can’t do it,” she shouted, desperately trying to throw her restrainer off.

“Applejack, calm dow—”

BOOM

The rest of Hyacinth’s words were drowned out by the deafening explosion that followed.

The swirling, blinding nova of light before Applejack detonated with horrifying force, erupting a beam of deep purple light straight up into the sky, blowing apart clouds and outshining the sun.

The last thing Applejack saw was an onrushing wall of pure, unbound magic that scoured everything it touched – trees, boulders; everything.

And then, quite abruptly, it all went out, and she was thrown into darkness once more.

~~***~~

The first thing Applejack became aware of was being crushed to the floor by somepony lying on top of her.

The second thing, that that same somepony was simultaneously holding her down and hugging her tightly. And they were both shaking.

“I’m sorry, Applejack. I’m sorry…”

“She… she’s gone.”

“I know, dear.”

Both mares just lay in silence for the longest time, Applejack’s eyes still staring at the spot her mother had just been occupying.

The memory of her mother, sure, but… her mother, nonetheless.

And now she was gone.

Applejack was no stranger to loss. She’d already lost two parents, after all. But that didn’t make her impervious to that caliber of pain.

It took her nearly ten straight seconds of just staring into empty space to realize that her front hooves were dangling in open air.

That was when she realized why Hyacinth had tackled her; she’d very nearly rushed right off the landing outside Carnation’s bedchamber and into open space.

She saw it, but for the longest time she didn’t comprehend it. She just stared, not really taking anything in. Her eyes burned, but she didn’t cry. She refused to let herself.

For nearly five straight minutes, they both lay there, neither speaking nor moving, until Applejack’s heart finally stopped throbbing quite so hard.

“Hyacinth,” she muttered at last, her voice cracked.

“Yes?”

“Did… did she win?”

“Yes, dear. She did.”

Applejack finally managed to close her eyes and bow her head. It wasn’t necessarily a feeling of relief that washed over her, but it did make her feel a little better.

“After that,” Hyacinth went on, speaking straight into her niece’s ear,

“Phantasma’s horde scattered, fleeing back the way they’d come. And… I accompanied them.”

Applejack felt her heart lurch.

“The remnants of your mother’s hive either did the same, or… went into hiding. I don’t know where they all are anymore. The ones I do know of found new queens to serve, even though things never went back to the way before. Our society was… too fractured for that.

“I wanted to come back for you, Applejack, and a couple times I almost did.”

Applejack glanced over her shoulder towards the old changeling, who didn’t meet her gaze. “Why didn’t ya?”

Hyacinth’s expression smoothed out, becoming unreadable. “Because… I never go back on my promises.”

A second later, she carefully got up, stepping over towards the edge of the landing to look down at the ground far below.

“I blended in with the changelings, all the while keeping my ear to the ground for the first sign of trouble.”

She glanced up, eying a light bulb, but evidently not really seeing it.

“When Chrysalis announced that she was going to invade Canterlot – thus succeeding where the great Phantasma could not – I tried to warn Celestia.”

Applejack’s eyes got wide. “You were the one that tipped her off?”

Hyacinth nodded. “But, I couldn’t be too specific. By that point, changelings were already in Canterlot. And… when I saw that you would be in attendance, I didn’t want to run the risk of having you exposed. So, I had to be a lot vaguer than I would’ve liked.”

Applejack had managed to get to her hooves by this point, and once more she found herself looking at the back of Hyacinth’s head.

“You were at the wedding?”

Hyacinth nodded. “For… most of it.”

“You got blown out of Canterlot with the rest of ‘em?”

Hyacinth hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head. “No. It’s the strangest thing… when the blast reached me, I felt it start to blow me away. But then it just –”

“Let ya go?”

Hyacinth turned around this time, looking curiously at Applejack.

She just smiled weakly back at her. “That’s what happened ta me. Still don’t know how in tarnation it happened, but here Ah am.”

Hyacinth frowned. “I don’t know, either. Perhaps it’s because there is love in our hearts. Perhaps it somehow knew that we had Equestria’s best interests at heart.”

Applejack sighed, shaking her head. “Only pony Ah know who might know would be Twi’…”

Applejack drifted off, a frown crossing her brow. Thoughts of her friends danced through her head, and suddenly she felt very uncomfortable with her surroundings.

Hyacinth noticed. “What’s wrong?”

Applejack sighed through her nose, sitting down. “Just thinkin’ ‘bout my friends. Ah hope they’re holdin’ up alright…”

Again, she was visited by the last thing she’d seen of Rainbow Dash – surrounded by a burning barn, with no obvious way to escape.

She didn’t notice Hyacinth still watching her, her gaze unreadable. “You know, Applejack…”

When the young queen glanced up towards her, Hyacinth smiled. “… One of the reasons why I kept my distance was because I saw how happy you were here.”

She turned around towards Applejack, facing her fully. “Every time I worked up the courage to come check on you, you were always smiling and hard at work. You were always happy.”

Her smile broadened when she saw Applejack’s surprise. “I know that that’s your world, Applejack. But there’s still one more thing I want to show you before we go.”

Applejack piqued her ears, standing up. “Somethin’ else?”

Hyacinth nodded, but to Applejack’s surprise she turned and started to trot away down the spiral ramp.

“Where to, then?” Applejack asked, falling into step beside her.

Hyacinth flashed her a soft smile that momentarily disarmed her niece.

“To your mother’s grave.”

Author's Note

This was a complicated chapter for me. Complicated because it went through a whole freaking bunch of revisions, mostly me shuffling around the sequence of events. I knew what i wanted to get done, but getting there was a pain.

And once more, I fell short of where I wanted to go. So, there'll be one more punch in your feels, before we get back on track.

Fun fact; I initially drafted Phantasma using shadow magic there at the end, as her hatred and rage got the better of her, to better illustrate the stereotypical clash of light and dark, good vs evil, etc.. If anypony was gonna start tapping into that stuff, a genocidal megalomaniac in a rage fit certainly would.
But, I decided that that was a bit odd, and scrapped it last minute.
It's funny... when I first drafted this story, I intended to have Carnation and Phantasma do a short power struggle, and technically have the last two chapters and the next one be a singular entry. If i had a cutie mark, it'd run halfway down my leg, cuz I sure do ramble on...

Anyway, tell me your thoughts. Comment, critique, question my sanity, the usual stuff.
With any luck, we'll be going back to the 6k-7k word benchmark starting next chapter, so things should speed up again, production-wise.

Chapter 11: Louder Than Words

“Ugh, this town is boring…”

Rainbow Dash glowered down over the edge of a thatched roof at the ground below. The material itched and poked uncomfortably against her underside, furthering her irritation.

The rainbow-maned filly rustled her wings uncomfortably. What she wouldn’t give for a good race right then. But Ponyville was filled with a bunch of slowpokes, including some who’d never even been to Cloudsdale before. How was that even possible?

Everything was so boring in an earth pony town. Why’d her dad have to take that stupid job in that stupid weather management opening in this stupid town?

Now Cloudsdale – there was a city. You know a town is awesome when free falling was just another part of an everyday commute.

But this place… This place, ponies were walking. That’s it. Just walking. On a scale of one to ten, Rainbow rated Ponyville as a negative-three, and that was being generous.

This place is so lame…

“Uh… What’er ya doin’?”

Rainbow blinked, momentarily snapped out of her grumpy spat. She glanced around, looking up and around out of habit – you never could tell where a pegasus was going to pop up at.

But to her surprise, it wasn’t a winged pony that was talking to her.

Down on the road running in front of the house, there was a little, orange earth pony filly. She was roughly Rainbow’s age, give or take a year or two, and currently she was looking up at the cyan pegasus with a rather perplexed look on her face.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Rainbow snapped, glaring.

The earth pony blinked. “Ah don’t know. That’s why Ah was askin’.”

She paused, glancing up and down the building with an uncertain look in her eye. “Ya aren’t supposed to be up there. Ya know that, right?”

Rainbow just blew her off. “Pfft, who cares? And why do you talk like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like that,” Rainbow said, cocking an eyebrow. “It’s sounds kinda weird.”

The little filly frowned indignantly. “It does not!”

“Yes it does,” Rainbow shot back.

The little filly below her glared up at her. “Why don’t ya come down here and say that to my face like a real pony would!”

Rainbow’s temper flared. All of the irritation she’d been feeling, all of her pent up frustration at being stuck in such a stupid, lame excuse for a town, and now she was getting talked down to by a filly!

“That’s it, you asked for it!”

~~***~~

“And what do ya have ta say for yerself, little missy?”

The orange filly hung her head low, her little ears flopped down against her head. “Ah’m real sorry fer buckin’ ya through that wall.”

From her spot on the hospital bed, Rainbow grumbled, frowning deeply. Well, trying to anyway; the bandages around her head were making it hard to show what her face was expressing. “You didn’t buck me through it. I got stu—ow!”

Rainbow winced when a hoof came down on her tender head, bonking her noggin lightly – and yet still hard enough to make her see stars.

“And what do you say, Rainbow?” asked her dad meaningfully.

Rainbow glared at him, which he returned evenly. “But Da-ad…”

He just gave her a hard look.

Rainbow sighed loudly, slumping her shoulders. “Fine… I’m… sorry for making fun of the way you talk.”

To her surprise, the orange earth pony gave her a bright smile. “Ah forgive ya, Rainbow! Friends?”

Rainbow grumbled again, leaning back against her pillow. Already she could tell that she was not going to be getting along with this filly.

~~***~~

Rainbow Dash stood uncharacteristically still in an open field, facing the horizon.

Even from so far away, she could clearly see the emerald flickering light coming from the general direction of the Apple family barn. From where she stood, she just thought she could make out the sounds of ponies shouting, but the howling wind at her back kept deafening her to much of anything.

But to her, none of that mattered.

She fidgeted restlessly on the spot, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Her eyes flicked this way and that, searching for something known only to her, and yet not quite seeing it, either. She bit her lip absently – the only true sign of her anxiety.

Rainbow’s wings were held open horizontally, the wind playing with her beaten and burned feathers as she tested the air currents flowing past her.

She said nothing. She did nothing. She merely stood there, oblivious to everything around her.

Big Macintosh watched her pensively. He was seated a few feet away, his yoke once more around his shoulders, the wind tugging at his scruffy mane.

Even though the cuts and bruises all across his body groaned and complained, he ignored it.

He said nothing. He did nothing. He merely sat there, oblivious to everything around him.

Including the changeling he was currently sitting on.

“You… think you’ve beaten... me? I’m just… just catching my breath… and once I do… you’ll both pay.”

Big Mac ignored Carapace’s growling. He just kept his eyes on Rainbow, both out of curiosity and concern.

It’d taken her a long time to finally settle down. Only a few minutes ago, she’d been pacing back and forth at a blistering pace, her panic in total control.

But as the minutes had dragged on by, she’d started to slow down. She stopped talking herself in circles, and eventually ground to a halt entirely. The last thing she said was a muttered “I need to think”, and then she lapsed into the silence she was currently maintaining.

At first, Big Mac had taken that to be a very bad sign. For a while, he was visited by the terrible possibility that Rainbow was losing heart – that she was giving up entirely on ever seeing Applejack again.

But the more he watched, the more he became convinced that something else was going on.

“Good… you’re quite adept at pinning techniques, I see. You are a worthy foe, pony.”

After all, that was not the stance of a pony falling into despair. Her ears were up, her wings almost absently batting at the air every now and then as if begging for flight. Once in a while, her tail would flick almost irritably, as if batting away a bothersome fly.

Maybe Macintosh was seeing things, but it almost looked like Rainbow Dash was…

“But… you’re first mistake was to… let me… catch my breath!”

The air was filled with the sounds of grunting and barely restrained curses. Big Mac felt the strange sensation of something shifting wildly beneath him.

It wasn’t a new sensation – he’d been feeling the same thing for the past ten or so minutes – so he moved it to the back of his mind and focused on more important things.

“… Stop ignoring me.”

Big Mac took a second to consider his next action. He raised one hoof, repositioned it, and brought it down again with perhaps a little more force than one would generally require, producing quite the loud crack indeed.

Of course, the bothersome voice ceased immediately, so it was an effort well spent.

In front of Mac, Rainbow jumped slightly at the heavy thud, snapping back to reality.

“What was that?” she asked, turning to give Macintosh a questioning look.

Big Mac just shrugged.

Rainbow continued to give him a confused look for a moment longer. She opened her mouth, intent on saying something. But before she could, an ominous rumbling reached them first.

Both ponies turned around, looking back into the interior of the farm.

A howling wind blew in from the Everfree, sending small blizzards of red and yellow leaves flurrying every which way.

A rogue storm was forming; one that growled and bellowed with barely contained, escalating fury. Dark, ominous purple clouds rolled over the sky, swallowing the horizon as it went.

Sitting directly in its path sat a sprawling, iconic apple orchard and the chaos consuming it.

Rainbow blinked in surprise. Rogue storms weren’t an unusual phenomenon, especially this close to the Everfree. But it’d been a while since she’d seen one that big.

As if we don’t have enough to deal with…

But as she stared at the billowing thunderhead rushing towards them, she caught sight of something – something small that was flying fast enough to swirl the edge of the storm cloud as it passed.

Something that looked rather familiar…

Rainbow blinked. The proverbial light bulb had just buzzed on in her head.

Something had just occurred to her; something that, on any other day, might’ve been pretty dangerous for anypony in the same general area as her.

“Big Mac. I just got an idea.”

Macintosh tore his eyes away from the storm to look back towards the cyan pegasus. To his surprise, however, he found her looking back at him, and she was once more biting her lip.

“But… I don’t know how much time we have left,” she said slowly, “and, well…”

“Go.”

Rainbow raised her head in surprise – something her expression mirrored perfectly.

Macintosh just gave her an understanding nod. “Ya gotta move quick, right?”

Rainbow nodded, but she continued to look unsure. “Yeah, but…”

She gave him a look of concern, but said nothing. The big red stallion, however, didn’t need a verbal response. “Ah can take care of myself, Rainbow. You go do what ya gotta do… and bring Applejack home.”

The uncertainty instantly fell away from Dash’s features. A look of determination took its place, bending her expression into a focused scowl.

“Don’t worry, Big Mac. I will. I promise.”

And with that, she threw her wings down and kicked off, rocketing up into the sky with a loud boom. She left nothing but a prismatic streak and a blast of air in her wake, and in little more than a split second, she disappeared into the twilit sky entirely.

Big Mac watched her go for a moment, his expression unreadable. And then, with a grunt, he heaved himself up onto all fours.

He had an idea of his own…

~~***~~

Cloudkicker was not having a good day.

First a fire that literally refused to go out, and now one of the biggest rogue storms she’d ever seen. And on top of it all, the one who was supposed to be running the weather team was missing.

A part of her couldn’t help but feel worried about that. After all, Rainbow Dash had never ditched work before. But mostly, she was in too bad of a mood to really think about that.

“Get some ponies to disassemble this storm,” she ordered a nearby pegasus, pointing to the oncoming wall of cloud. “I don’t care if it’s wild; if we can use it to put out the fire, we’re going to use it.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Cloudkicker huffed, rubbing her face with one hoof. Where are you, Rainbow Dash?

Without any forewarning of any kind, she suddenly felt two hooves grab her by the shoulders, and before she could do more than squeak in alarm, she was yanked into the storm cloud in front of her.

As quick as it started, it stopped again. The hooves yanking her off balance suddenly let her go again, and the moment Cloudkicker was free, she immediately reared back into a fighter’s stance.

“Stay back! I know Krav Pega!”

“Chill out, Cloudkicker,” chided a familiar, raspy voice. “It’s just me.”

Cloudkicker’s eyes got wide as her eyes adjusted to the gloom. “Rainbow? Holy Celestia, where have you been?”

A moment later, however, she took in the state of her friend, and her eyes got huge. “And… what the hay happened to you?”

The cyan pegasus grimaced. “Oh, you know… a lot.”

“I’ll say,” Cloudkicker remarked, looking her friend up and down.

‘A lot’ didn’t begin to describe what it looked like Rainbow had gone through. She was covered in burnt patches all over her body, including her wings, and the knees on her forelegs were scraped pretty bad.

Cloudkicker had about a million and one questions to ask, but before she could do more than open her mouth a little, Rainbow was speaking over her.

“Look, I know you probably have a lot to ask me, but I really don’t have time right now. The only reason I’m here is because I need to ask you to do me a favor.”

Cloudkicker turned her head slightly, raising an incredulous eyebrow. “What, now? If you hadn’t noticed, we kind of are in the middle of a crisis here, and I could really use your help fixing it.”

“I told you, I don’t have time,” Rainbow snapped. “If I waste any more time, Applejack will be—”

Cloudkicker hesitated, a peculiar look crossing her face. “Wait… does this have something to do with the guards combing through the town?”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to miss a step, blinking in confusion. “What?”

“Yeah,” Cloudkicker said, suddenly reaching back for her saddlebags. “Shortly after all Tartaurus broke out at the Apple place, all these guards started sweeping through Ponyville.”

Now Rainbow was really confused. “Why would they be doing that? They already caught –”

Again, she clamped her mouth shut, but Cloudkicker didn’t miss it. “They what?”

Rainbow just shook her head. “Never mind. Anyway, what were they looking for?”

“Applejack,” Cloudkicker said, still eying Rainbow suspiciously.

She finally seemed to discover whatever it was she’d been digging around for in her saddlebags and whipped out a single sheet of parchment.

“Her and some other pony I’ve never seen before,” Cloudkicker finished, offering the paper.

And to Rainbow’s astonishment, she found herself staring at a wanted poster; one with Applejack’s face on it, complete with quite the hefty bounty and everything.

But… the other picture sitting next to her friend’s was completely unfamiliar.

“Hyacinth? Who’s that?”

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Cloudkicker said. “According to the Guard, she and Applejack are fugitives or something. There was something about a changeling being involved – I wasn’t really paying attention. Can you believe that?”

Rainbow just laughed nervously. “Heh, heh… weird.”

Cloudkicker gave her another weird look. “Rainbow, is something going on?”

“You have no idea,” Rainbow sighed. “But I can’t sit around and talk about it. Do you know where all the Guard has searched already?”

“Everywhere in town, at least,” Cloudkicker answered. “It’s weird… I’ve never seen so many guards before.”

Rainbow thought for a second, her heart pounding, her head reeling. Applejack had escaped… she’d actually escaped! Atta girl, AJ! I knew you wouldn’t make it that easy!

But Rainbow still had one major problem; finding her in the first place, and Vigil already had quite the head start on her. With most of Ponyville searched, Applejack couldn’t be there.

So, that left only one place left.

“Alright, thanks, Cloudkicker!” Rainbow said, grinning to herself as she turned, already winding up to bolt.

“Wait a second, Rainbow!” Cloudkicker snapped, catching her friend by the shoulder just in the nick of time. “Just what the hay is going on around here? First the Guard say Sweet Apple Acres is under attack by changelings, and now you turn up looking like you went ten rounds with a Timber Wolf! Am I missing something?”

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. “Look, Cloudkicker, I don’t have time to explain. Applejack could be in a lot of trouble.”

“Just answer one question, then,” Cloudkicker pressed.

“Ugh, fine,” Rainbow grumbled, her expression souring.

Cloudkicker narrowed her eyes at the cyan pegasus, as if trying to scrutinize her expression. “Why are the guards after Applejack?”

Rainbow pursed her lips for a second, thinking how to answer that question. “The Guard isn’t.”

Cloudkicker hadn’t been expecting that kind of response. “What?”

Rainbow just looked at her with an odd look. “Cloudkicker… do me a favor, will you? If you see Twilight out there, tell her to remember what that creep Vigil told me yesterday.”

“Who?”

Rainbow groaned in exasperation, her patience ending. “Okay, that’s it. I’m outa here.”

“Wait, Rainbow—”

This time, she wasn’t quite quick enough to react. The cyan pegasus twisted free of Cloudkicker’s grip, and before the weather pony could react, Rainbow shot off into the thick cloud cover, blowing a hole straight through it as she gained altitude.

Cloudkicker could only look on in stunned – and totally, utterly confused – disbelief, her mind reeling far more than ever before.

~~***~~

Rainbow Dash burst through the cloud cover, streaking as fast as she could possibly force her weary, stiff muscles to go.

Lightning flashed through the clouds beneath her, lighting up the dwindling night with strident flashes and grumpy rumblings. Rainbow kept her mind focused, however, bearing in mind her surroundings only enough to avoid the swollen thunderheads all around her. She'd lost enough time already without a bazillion gigawatts lighting her up like a light bulb.

Hang on, AJ… I’m coming.

She grit her teeth even tighter and pounded her wings, producing a thunderous boom of her own as she broke the sound barrier.

Just hang on…

~~***~~

Applejack walked slowly behind Hyacinth, her eyes watching the wooden floor passing by beneath her. The sounds of their hoof-falls echoed back at her off the corridor walls, making it sound like a small platoon was keeping step with her.

They’d left the grand vista of the old, dilapidated changeling hive behind them, and now their only source of light was a small, guttering emerald spark on the end of Hyacinth’s weary horn.

Neither spoke, their silence remaining unbroken since they’d left that sad bedchamber behind. In a way, Applejack was glad for the quiet; she didn’t feel like talking much. But in another way, she couldn’t stand it. The silence was starting to make her think.

Everything she’d been shown kept berating her. Hyacinth’s memories kept playing through her head, again and again.

But it was the images of Carnation that had unsettled her the most. Again and again she was visited by the memories of herself and Carnation, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t force the images back.

They just kept beating her down, like they existed only to make her question a great many things in her heart.

Applejack was so absorbed in her own internal conflict that she didn’t notice Hyacinth slowing, not even as she pulled level with her. She did, however, jump when the changeling spoke.

“Applejack,” she said softly. “Are you alright?”

For a moment, Applejack didn’t answer. She just kept walking. “Ah’m… still pretty confused,” she muttered truthfully. “Ah just… got a lot ta think over, that’s all.”

Hyacinth didn’t say anything. She just watched her niece carefully with those big, featureless changeling eyes.

She could tell that Applejack was still pretty rattled. The fact that she hadn’t changed back into a pony yet was proof enough of that.

“We’re not going far, dear,” Hyacinth said, “but you can take all the time you need.”

Finally, Applejack raised her head again, her twin-ringed amber eyes turning towards Hyacinth. The aging drone smiled kindly back at her in that way that Applejack was still getting used to.

“What about you, sugarcube?” Applejack said, eying Hyacinth with concern.

The changeling looked exhausted, and even though she seemed to be trying to pretend otherwise, Applejack could tell that the tiny spark on the end of Hyacinth’s horn was all she could muster anymore.

“Don’t worry about me,” Hyacinth repeated, giving Applejack a reassuring smile. “I’ve got more than enough strength left in these old bones of mine.”

Applejack was hardly convinced, however.

“You could barely hold that memory spell together,” she pointed out.

Hyacinth pursed her lips, looking forward once more. “That was very advanced changeling magic,” she said. “It was never meant to be used for as long as I had to use it. Some… difficulties were expected.”

Once more she gave her niece a reassuring smile. “But now that that’s over with, I’ll recover before you know it.”

Still, it didn’t sit right with Applejack; forcing Hyacinth to keep working felt… wrong.

“Well, what if Ah pitched in, too?” she offered.

Hyacinth gave her a surprised look – clearly not expecting that kind of question. “That’s… very sweet of you to offer, dear, but you don’t have to…”

“Oh nonsense,” Applejack said, brightening up a little. “Ah’m sure there’s nothin’ to it. How hard could it be, makin’ a little light?”

As she spoke, she lit her horn. The very alien sensation of hot static ran across her forehead for just a moment when –

Crack!

A wild bolt of emerald light exploded off the tip of her horn like a cannon firing, blowing a fiery hole straight through the tunnel roof, cutting all the way through the wood like a knife through warm butter.

Both changelings stared wide-eyed at the smoldering hole, even as Applejack’s horn extinguished itself. Neither said anything for a few moments, their jaws still dropped.

“Let’s… not do that again, dear,” Hyacinth finally spoke up carefully.

“My thoughts exactly,” muttered Applejack, still wide-eyed.

It took her a moment longer, but she managed to recover, and when she did, Applejack sighed. “Sorry ‘bout that, Hyacinth. Ah don’t know why Ah keep messin’ with magic, seein’ how lousy Ah am at it…”

“It’s perfectly fine, Applejack,” Hyacinth reassured. “You were just trying to help.”

Applejack flashed an appreciative smile, but her mood didn’t seem to elevate much. She ignored the look Hyacinth was giving her and continued on, once more secluding herself in her thoughts.

Hyacinth just kept watching her out of the corner of her eye, her expression composed and unreadable.

But in her head, intrigue was starting to rear its head.

Did Applejack honestly just try to use magic on her own?

~~***~~

It took Applejack completely by surprise when they emerged in the open air.

Without any warning signs of any kind, the end of the corridor opened up, looking gnarled and rotted like a fallen log. The moment her hooves touched cold, loamy dirt and a verdant breeze blew past her nose, she realized that she was no longer in Freedom.

Surprised, she glanced back, but all she saw was a huge, hollowed out log sticking out of dense, impenetrable brush, perfectly at home in the overgrowth of the Everfree Forest.

But now she was faced with a whole new predicament – one that she probably should’ve considered.

She was in the Everfree at night.

Shadows ruled the forest, giving an infinite number of possible hiding places for fanged, hungry beasts. The thick tree canopy completely swallowed the sky, and yet Applejack could easily hear the sounds of high winds rattling the branches overhead. Even worse, she could hear an ominous rumbling in the sky far overhead…

Applejack could smell the ozone in the cold, moist air. She may be no pegasus, but it didn’t take one to piece together the warning signs.

“Sounds like quite the storm’s comin’ our way,” she muttered, eying the shadowy mass overhead. “Maybe we should wait it out.”

“We’ll be fine,” Hyacinth reassured. “It’s not far.”

Applejack, however, wasn’t quite so convinced. She hesitated on the spot, even as Hyacinth continued forward, completely indifferent to the darkness around her.

Only when Applejack was in danger of being left behind by the pool of light around Hyacinth’s horn did she hurry after her.

Together they walked through the dark forest, the only light source for miles around. Every little sound made Applejack jump and spin around, expecting to find some beast bearing down on her.

Hyacinth just kept walking, eyes forward and intent on the path she was taking as it materialized through the darkness.

Trees and bushes formed from the nebulous darkness, seemingly popping into existence only as they drew near. The light from Hyacinth’s horn cast disquieting shapes in the foliage, some of which Applejack could’ve sworn moved of their own accord.

But despite Applejack’s building misgivings, she continued right on trotting after Hyacinth. No matter how much she wanted to turn around and find someplace safe – at least until dawn broke – there was something more powerful driving her forward.

There was something she had to see for herself, and her heart would not accept any measure of cowardice in the matter. No matter how much she knew it was going to hurt when she found it.

~~***~~

For nearly ten minutes, Hyacinth led Applejack along a winding trail through the deadly forest, sometimes following paths so faded they practically didn’t exist anymore.

To Applejack, it was one of the longest ten minutes of her life. With every passing minute, the claustrophobia of the dark forest seemed to strangle the bravery from her heart just a touch more.

But as she continued following behind Hyacinth, Applejack started to notice something changing about her surroundings. Something rather ominous.

Old, splintered tree trunks and fallen logs were starting to appear with alarming frequency.

Every couple of yards, the number of standing trees decreased. Pools of open sky were appearing here and there overhead, allowing precious – if not very diffused – light to drift to the ground below. It wasn't much - hardly more than a slightly lighter darkness contrasting weakly against the pitch black - but it was light, and its mere presence made Applejack feel ever so slightly less penned in.

Soon, Applejack found herself walking through a deadfall of snapped, bleached logs devoid of even the smallest trace of life.

By that point, the forest no longer existed on either side of Applejack. For the first time in what felt like hours, she found herself standing under a grumpy, overcast sky, a strong wind at her back.

But Applejack found herself in no field. No, what she saw all around her was more akin to a disaster zone.

Trees were laid down all around her, as if bowled over by an unspeakably powerful gale. Ragged stumps stuck up all around her like headstones. Logs lay in the grass like wind-blown stalks of wheat. It was like some kind of floral graveyard, and the sight was unnerving Applejack all over again.

“Hyacinth, where –”, she started to say, glancing around, but never finished. Her breath caught in her throat before she could.

They were not alone.

There was a light in the darkness; a single, small mote of emerald light. It floated through the air like a lethargic firefly for just a moment before fading away once more.

“Hyacinth,” Applejack hissed sharply, “Ah don’t think we’re alone out here.”

Hyacinth paused, looking around. And yet, she hardly seemed nearly on edge enough, at least for Applejack’s liking. “Why do you say that?”

“Ah saw a light out there,” she said, pointing to the exact spot she’d seen the anomaly.

“Oh.”

Only Hyacinth’s tone of total disinterest could’ve torn Applejack’s eyes away from what she’d seen. Instead, she turned to give Hyacinth a very incredulous stare.

Hyacinth only smiled benignly back at her. “Pay them no mind, dear. It’s only residue.”

Confusion rose in Applejack at that. “Residue? Of what?”

“Magic,” Hyacinth answered as she started walking again. “Very, very powerful magic.”

Applejack’s heart thudded in her chest. Suddenly, she found it very hard indeed to put one hoof in front of the other in order to follow her aunt.

Once more, however, the threat of falling out of the reassuring circle of light Hyacinth was casting won out, pushing her forward despite her ever nerve telling her to do the opposite.

As they moved through the deadfall, Applejack noticed more and more motes of emerald light twinkling in the darkness, fading in and out of existence without rhyme or reason.

Once, one floated right past Hyacinth, missing her by inches before passing into the side of a log and disappearing. Another time, a mote of light passed right over Applejack’s nose, making her skid to a halt so hastily she fell on her rump.

The little spark of magic passed so close to her muzzle that she could feel a faint warmth radiating back at her, tingling her skin with a sensation like static.

As unexpectedly as it came, the mote faded out of existence, leaving only darkness once more.

But it was from that close encounter that Applejack started to realize something – something she should’ve concluded a long time ago.

“Hyacinth… this is changeling magic… ain't it?”

Hyacinth slowed, turning to give Applejack a careful look over her shoulder.

“…Yes,” she said quietly. “This is the aftermath wrought by your mother’s final spell.”

Applejack’s eyes shot open wider, her heart thudding almost painfully in her chest. Of all the places she expected to find herself, this was not one of them.

While astonishment coursed through her, Hyacinth turned her head, a sad look in her eyes as she surveyed the devastated forest.

“Magic never truly fades, not entirely,” she said quietly. “It diffuses and sinks into the land… but it never fades.”

As she spoke, Applejack watched a few of the residual motes of magic as they bloomed into being, floated around mindlessly, then faded once more.

“I believe,” Hyacinth added unexpectedly, “that our presence here is causing the last of her magic to manifest itself.”

Seeing that her words were doing very little to alleviate Applejack’s worries, Hyacinth once more gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, dear. They’re totally harmless.”

To illustrate her point, Hyacinth raised a hoof just as another mote of latent magic drifted by her.

As Applejack watched, she poked the small orb with the tip of her hoof. Or at least tried to, anyway. The moment she touched it, the mote winked out of existence as quick as a bubble popping.

Hyacinth simple replaced her hoof on the ground and gave Applejack another bracing look. “See? We’ll be fine.”

Applejack bit her lip, but nodded.

No matter how much she was reassured, however, there was something about the place that just didn’t sit right with her. No matter how harmless Hyacinth professed it to be, Applejack wanted nothing more than to be gone from there. It just… wasn’t comfortable in the slightest.

There was an eeriness to the deadfall – a haunted quality that disturbed her… and yet simultaneously urged her on.

There was something here… something she needed to see…

“We’re nearly there now,” Hyacinth said suddenly, making Applejack jump back to reality.

“A-alright,” AJ muttered before hastening to follow Hyacinth deeper into the haunted wood. “Though, Ah have ta ask… how much further is it?”

Hyacinth only smiled knowingly. She took a few steps further, then abruptly ground to a halt. Without saying a word, she turned to the side and pointed with one holey foreleg off towards Applejack’s left.

And there, standing like a memorial, stood the sole remaining tree for several hundred yards in every direction.

For a moment, Applejack didn’t even think it was a tree. Its black, gnarled bark looked more like jagged volcanic stone than anything.

Its twisted trunk was nearly twice as wide around as she was, making the thing look squat and terribly deformed. It stood like a lifeless sentinel, its branches stripped of any traces of leaves. Its bare twigs rattled together in the breeze like a wooden wind chime, producing an unsettling sound.

The fact that motes of ghostly light kept manifesting around its base like spectral fireflies did nothing to help its image.

Applejack could only stare at the sad, ugly thing as she approached, walking slightly ahead of Hyacinth now. “What is this?” she asked in a hushed tone. “Ah thought ya said you were takin’ me ta see her restin’ place.”

“I am,” Hyacinth responded.

When Applejack threw an uncomprehending look over her shoulder towards the changeling, Hyacinth merely smiled slightly.

“Ah get the feelin’ that Ah’m missin’ something,” Applejack said, nonplussed. “Is there something yer not tellin’ me?”

Hyacinth glanced away from her niece, instead looking up into the skeletal canopy of the dead tree before her. In the darkness, her icy blue eyes shown like two downcast lanterns under a single spark of green light. “Applejack, When we first met, I told you that there were some things that needed to be shown, rather than told.”

She turned to face a rather confused Applejack, flashing another small, supportive smile. “All you need to do is open your heart, dear. The rest will become clear.”

For the umpteenth time that night, Applejack’s chest thumped hard, her eyes growing big.

“And… how am Ah supposed to do that?”

Hyacinth just continued to smile at her. “Just remember who you came to see.”

With that cryptic remark, Hyacinth planted her hooves and motioned with one black limb, bidding Applejack keep going.

Applejack herself frowned even deeper, then turned back to the twisted tree in front of her. In no way did it even remotely resemble a fitting resting place for anypony, let alone Carnation…

Applejack stepped forward, inching one step at a time.

Her heart was in her throat. At any moment, she expected something to happen. The very air felt tense for reasons unknown to her.

A few steps further, and she came to stand in the shadow of the tree itself.

No sooner had she come to a stop, however, than she witnessed yet another mote of green light wink into existence only a few feet in front of her.

Instinctively she froze in place, legs locking up in surprise.

The orb of light wobbled through the air, drifting mindlessly this way and that… straight towards Applejack.

Despite the overwhelming desire to do otherwise, Applejack remained still. Whether from the last of her bravery making a comeback or simple terror, however, she didn’t know.

She watched as the mote drifted closer on its collision course. Applejack leaned back, bracing…

But when the mote finally touched her black chest, something happened that she would’ve never expected – not in a million years.

She felt the little spark of magic connect with her, sending an odd, warm sensation coursing over her body like a wave of hot static.

And right before her eyes, she watched the mote change from vivid, striking green, to brilliant, rich violet.

That was when the air all around her started to hum. It seemed to quiver with a barely repressed energy, causing the hairs on the back of Applejack’s neck to stand on end.

And then, quite suddenly, the now-violet orb of light heating her chest sank straight into her body.

It came without warning.

Heat shot up from within her, exploding out of her chest and straight into her head like a molten tidal wave. All Applejack could do was gasp as a surge of magic ripped from her, unbidden, erupting out of her little black horn in a blast of emerald light.

And she could do nothing to stop it.

“H-Hyacinth!” she cried out, panicked as she squinted against the blinding emerald magic erupting from her horn in an uncontrollable maelstrom. “A-Ah can’t…!”

It’s alright, Applejack…

Applejack’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes shooting open wide. That hadn’t been Hyacinth…

That was when she noticed the magic swirling all around her wasn’t as out of control as she’d thought.

Right before her eyes, she saw hundreds upon hundreds of glowing green orbs rising out of the ground all around her. They embedded themselves within Applejack’s uncontrolled magical discharge, entwined around it.

As she watched, many of the residual orbs turned from green to brilliant violet, too. Warm purple and vivid green lights swirled in equal measure all around her, lighting up the darkness.

Applejack found herself standing in a nebula of lights, engulfing her and the old, dead tree.

Only… it wasn’t as dead as Applejack had thought.

To her astonishment, she watched as arcs of magical energy raced through the blackened bark. The green light of changeling magic lingered with the strange second pairing, racing up the tree’s twisted trunk like an electrical jolt.

And as Applejack looked on in amazement, the tree came back to life.

Leaves burst into being – pink, spade-shaped leaves that glowed with a radiant, otherworldly light brighter than even the magical cloud surrounding it.

Within moments, a massive canopy hung over Applejack’s head – one bigger than she’d ever thought to imagine.

Motes of emerald and violet light swirled through the air, crackling with renewed vigor, passing over Applejack with a sensation like a reassuring touch.

Applejack could only stare in shock. Her heart thundered painfully in her chest, throbbing like an aching wound.

Her magic continued to flow from her horn, but… it wasn’t out of control. Something was keeping it in check, like a helping hoof taking her weight.

Something… that made her raw heart ache worse than ever.

For just a moment – just the barest, almost imperceptible moment – Applejack felt what she thought was a breeze blow against her front; one that wrapped around her like a comforting embrace…

It’s alright, Applejack…

Something tickled Applejack’s nose – a strange scent, one that tugged at that barely remembered, instinctual familiarity in the deepest recesses of her heart.

You don’t have to be afraid anymore…

~~***~~

Twilight was at the end of her rope. That rarely happened, and when it did, something usually exploded.

She glared her displeasure at the source of her frustrations, her horn alight and sparking indignantly. Before her, a towering inferno of emerald flames lashed viciously at the barrier she’d erected around it, fighting for some way out of its imprisonment.

By now, the Apple family barn was nothing but a heaping pile of ash and coals, and yet the fire still burned.

Trees all around the barn were blackened and stricken of life, leaving them looking like spent match sticks. Smoke still hung thick in the air, creating a black stain across the sky that was visible for miles around.

Fireponies still rushed to and fro, fighting to contain the renegade blazes that had sprouted up throughout the nearby trees.

And worse, the wind was picking up. And all Twilight could think to do was contain the main blaze and hope that starving it of air would finally do the trick.

Burying it under a mound of dirt hadn’t worked. Soaking it in water hadn’t worked. Not even Pinkie Pie’s idea of hosing it down with cake icing had worked.

Nothing was working, and that was frustrating Twilight to no end.

All she knew was that it was magical in nature, but that nature was defying her. It wasn’t unicorn magic, that was for sure. She didn’t have to guess as to what kind of magic it was, but therein laid the problem.

Just how was a unicorn supposed to undo a changeling spell?

The barrier let out yet another ominous groan that was audible to every nearby pony. Twilight grunted, cramming her concentration into casting her spell. She couldn’t afford distractions, no matter how many thoughts of two lost friends tried to bash their way into her head.

But just as she started to wind up for yet another dispel attempt, voices started to make it past her concentration.

Voices that seemed rather alarmed.

“Look at that!” “Holy mother of Celestia, what is that?”

Twilight cracked open an eye, expecting to see something else going wrong with the aberrant fire she was trying so hard to contain.

But to her surprise, the ponies all around her weren’t even looking in the same direction as her.

No, they were all turned towards something far to her right, their eyes on the horizon, their jaws dropped quite spectacularly.

“What,” Twilight grunted, rather irritated, “is everypony looking a—”

Before she could finish, she felt a pair of familiar pink hooves grab her by the chin and snap her head around rather forcefully – hard enough to crick her neck.

“Ow! Pinkie, what are you… doing?”

Her anger fell away when she saw what everypony else was seeing.

After all, a gigantic plume of emerald and violet light was certainly eye-catching.

It radiated out from some point far in the interior of the Everfree, glowing like the brightest city block against the underbelly of the fast-approaching storm.

Despite the considerable distance, Twilight could make out the countless shimmering orbs of light dancing like colorful powdered glass in the sky, filling it with warm light.

The light was so bright that it was starting to cast shadows in the trees, outlining the smoldering orchard and the clouds of smoke overhead.

Every eye was trained on the spectacle, tasks temporarily forgotten. They all just stopped and stared in wonder as the dazzling light lit up the sky.

All… except a select few ponies standing amid the crowd, who each exchanged nervous glances before slinking away into the shadows.

~~***~~

Halfway across Ponyville, another pair of eyes was watching the amazing spectacle.

Vigil stood by the window in his inn room, eyes fixed on the radiant light glowing like an earthbound sun just out of line of sight from him.

He watched it thoughtfully, unblinking, unmoving.

Hyacinth… what are you up to now?

~~***~~

A lone pegasus hovered over the endless expanse of the Everfree, her magenta eyes focused on the radiant display in the distance.

“Applejack…”, Rainbow Dash muttered, and for the first time in quite some time, she felt a surge of hope rush through her weary body.

~~***~~

Hyacinth sat upon the end of a fallen log, keeping her eyes shielded from the blinding magical light.

But even as she sat there, the sounds of arcane howling filling her ears, she noticed the light starting to fade once more.

Slowly, the swirling storm of unified lights started to coalesce, retracting in on itself.

From her place underneath the glowing tree, Applejack watched as her magic was pulled together, reined in by that same gently guiding force from before.

Every mote of violet and emerald, every arc of magical lightning; every single spark of magic started colliding together, producing a light brighter than anything Applejack had ever seen before.

And then, quite abruptly, the entire nova of emeralds and violets imploded like a bomb detonating in reverse.

As quick as a flash, the lights of two different magics crashed together, crushing itself into a single, small point.

A point that fell to the ground like a rain drop, hitting the cold earth and bouncing towards Applejack’s hooves with a light thunk.

And there, lying mere inches away, sat a crown.

It was tiny, almost comically so, making it look like a quintuplet of jet-black stalks tipped with perfectly round topazes.

A thin veil of emerald light still enveloped it; the very last vestige of Carnation’s remaining magic in this world.

Applejack stared down at the thing, motionless, uncomprehending. As she stared at it, the little crown was enveloped in a gout of emerald flames, making her jitter back a step.

And in its place sat an unblemished, pristine Stetson.

Never… be afraid… my dear… sweet… Applejack…

And with that last, barely perceptible whisper in Applejack’s ears, the light of a long-dead queen’s magic went out completely, and all was dark and quiet once more.

A cold, uncaring breeze blew through the deadfall, rustling Applejack’s mane and producing a sigh from the extinguished canopy over her head.

Not a single mote of light flickered in the darkness. Nothing stirred around her in the slightest.

For nearly ten seconds, Applejack just sat there, unable to move.

And then, moving almost automatically, she raised one of her hooves. As if in a trance, she reached down and touched the hat sitting before her.

The tough material was still warm, like it’d just been sitting out in the sun.

A soft warmth spread up her foreleg – a fading energy coming to meet her one final time.

The energy of her mother.

Carefully, and with a trembling hoof, she lifted the hat up, and without a word, set it upon her head.

The moment it touched her head, she smelled that nostalgic scent again; the scent of flowers. Of carnations.

Her hooves started to shake. Then her shoulders. Applejack pressed the brim of her mother’s last gift to her against her face, hiding behind it.

But nothing could hide the glistening drops as they fell from her cheeks.

She didn’t sob. She didn’t wail or bawl. She just let out ragged, shaking breaths through tightly clenched teeth as her heart fell open at last.

Applejack never knew when Hyacinth came up to her. All she remembered was the feel of comforting hooves around her shoulders and the soft, comforting voice in her ear.

“It’s okay, Applejack. It’s okay…”

“Ah… Ah felt her,” she heard herself blubbering in a barely audible hiss. “A-Ah could feel her.”

“I know, dear,” Hyacinth whispered.

But what Applejack said next too Hyacinth off guard.

“A-Ah’m sorry, Hyacinth… Ah’m s-so sorry…”

“Sorry?” she repeated. “Whatever for?”

“Fer hatin’ myself,” Applejack whimpered. “Fer hatin’ bein’ what Ah am… Fer… fer hatin’…”

“Applejack, honey,” Hyacinth muttered softly, rocking her niece gently. “You had every reason to hate being a changeling – every reason. You hear me? All our kind has brought you and your friends is nothing but pain and suffering.”

“B-but Ma… She…”

“Your mother would be nothing but proud of you if she was here,” Hyacinth said kindly.

She pulled her head back, and with one hoof, she lifted the brim of Applejack’s new hat to peer at the soggy, miserable amber eyes beneath.

“Your mother was devoted to Equestria,” Hyacinth continued, “the same Equestria you’ve risked your life on more than one occasion to help save.”

Hyacinth gave her niece a weak smile. The corners of her eyes were starting to sting, too.

“That is why the changelings need somepony like you, Applejack. You are the only one who can save us from self-destruction.”

Upon hearing her words, however, Applejack’s eyes became guarded.

“Hyacinth… Ah ain't no ruler, nor will Ah ever be. You know that.”

She pushed Hyacinth away with one hoof and stood up. Applejack was still shaky and raw with emotion, but she still somehow managed to compose herself, even if only a little.

She swept her new hat from her head, hugging it instead to her chest. “Ah’m real sorry, Hyacinth… but that just ain't something Ah can do.”

But Hyacinth remained oddly unfazed, her expression unchanging.

“Applejack… I’m not asking you to be a ruler. I’m asking you to be an example.”

The breath caught in Applejack’s chest, her eyes widening in surprise. “What?”

Hyacinth smiled. “You are the shining example of everything Carnation stood for. You, Applejack, are everything she ever hoped the changeling people could be! You show that we changelings don’t need to resort to trickery and deception; that we can live in the light! You show that Chrysalis’s and Phantasma’s way is not our only option for survival!”

Hyacinth took a step closer to her stunned niece. “I am not asking you to assume any throne; how could I? All that I’m asking, Applejack, is that you don’t run in fear anymore.”

She then paused, glancing up for a moment into the revitalized tree. “Everything I’ve shown you tonight, I’ve shown you so that you can see; changelings like Vigil are not all we are capable of. Your mother saw the potential in all of us – the same potential that you exemplify.”

Hyacinth looked back at Applejack, her smile warmer and brighter than any yet. “’Our kind does not need another changeling ruler’,” she said. “Your mother told me that so many years ago. It took me a while, but… I understand now. What we need is not a ruler. What we need, Applejack, is a champion.”

Applejack’s eyes shot open wide, her heart thudding in her chest. “Me? But… Ah ain't nopony special, Hyacinth. Ah can’t –”

“It’s not about what you’re not, Applejack,” Hyacinth interrupted. “It’s about what you are.”

Again, Applejack found herself too shocked to answer immediately. “What… Ah am?”

Hyacinth nodded, smiling as bright as ever. “That, dear, is the one thing I want to impress upon you most of all. You are a changeling, yes… but you are also a pony. And no one – not Vigil, not Chrysalis, not even the whole of Equestria – can take that from you.”

Applejack couldn’t respond to that. What could she say?

She just stood there, her mind reeling, her heart pounding ferociously against her rib cage.

But even as she stood there, struggling to comprehend everything that was being shoved into her head, the memory of her mother’s final message ran through Applejack’s mind like a breeze.

Don’t be afraid…

After a moment, Applejack’s eyes drifted off Hyacinth and up into the tree beside her. Pink leaves still hung from the branches, despite losing their otherworldly glow.

But as she watched, a bright splash of light cut across the top-most branches. Overhead, the lumpy underbelly of the overcast sky suddenly developed splashes of pink.

Applejack blinked in surprise, then turned around.

The horizon shined with the golden glow of dawn’s first light, dispelling the ominous shadows all around her. The sun was finally making its appearance, at long last.

Applejack felt the warmth of sun’s first rays touch her chitin, and for the first time in her life… it felt nice.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but in that moment, Applejack could’ve sworn she felt her new hat radiate warmth back at her, too.

After pausing for a moment, she raised the hat to once more rest it upon her head.

Applejack smiled to herself.

“Don’t be afraid, huh…”

And with that, an emerald fireball swallowed her whole, concealing her black chitin behind an orange fur coat once more.

The enchanted hat stayed firmly upon her head, completely unfazed by the fire.

Applejack sniffled and breathed a deep, relieving breath. “Ah think Ah can manage that.”

A warm, comforting wind blew through her mane and coat, and for a moment her chest warmed.

“Thank you, Mama… For everything.”

Applejack touched her new hat, holding it firmly to her head just a moment before turning around to face the one behind her.

“Hyacinth, Ah –”

But the sight of a fast approaching shape in the sky cut her off. That very same shape was blowing donut holes straight through stray clouds as it screamed through the sky.

And it was leaving a prismatic comet tail in its wake.

“Applejack!”

How Rainbow Dash picked out her friend from so far away was anypony’s guess. All Applejack saw, however, was the cyan-colored missile streaking full-speed straight at her. And it wasn’t slowing down.

“Oh horseapples!”

“Applejack! Stop running!”

The mare in question – now running as fast as she possibly could in the opposite direction, threw an incredulous look over her shoulder. “Then stop chasin’ me, ya big – oof!”

Too late. The last thing Applejack saw was a pair of huge, excited magenta eyes and a pair of reaching cyan hooves heading straight for her.

For just a moment, she felt those same hooves grab her around the neck before the rest of Rainbow body-slammed into her, sending the two of them tumbling in a cloud of dust and kicked-up grass.

It took Applejack several seconds after coming to a stop again for the world to stop spinning.

By the time her eyes managed to focus, she realized that she was lying on her back with a beaming, out of breath pegasus standing over her.

“I… have looked… absolutely… everywhere… for… you!” she wheezed.

“R-Rainbow?!” Applejack gasped. “Where in tarnation did you come from?!”

“Nice… to see you… too,” Rainbow panted, still grinning.

“How did ya know where ta find me,” Applejack said, still too stunned to think straight.

“Pfft, I’m… awesome – that’s… how.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. But at the same time, she felt a faint smile trying its hardest to tug up the corners of her mouth.

“It’s good ta see ya, RD.”

Rainbow just beamed wider still, the golden light of dawn just barely touching the top of her head. “Miss me?”

“Ahem.”

Both mares froze, realizing – or in Applejack’s case, remembering – that they weren’t alone.

Rainbow looked around, confused, only to have her eyes fall upon a single changeling, who stared right back at her with a quirked eyebrow.

“You’re late,” Hyacinth stated.

Rainbow’s eyes shot open wide, her nostrils flaring in alarm. In a thrice, she’d whipped around, putting herself between Applejack and the aging drone.

“Who’re you? What do you want with Applejack,” she shot, crouching defensively in front of her friend.

If changeling drones had definable eyes, Rainbow might’ve seen the eye-roll Hyacinth gave her.

But instead of the changeling answering, Applejack grabbed Rainbow’s tail in her mouth and tugged, pulling just hard enough to get her friend’s attention.

“It’s alright, Rainbow,” she said, smiling reassuringly. “She ain't with Vigil.”

Rainbow turned to look at her friend, giving her both a surprised and confused look. “How do you know?”

And then she froze, her eyes going wide as she stared straight into Applejack’s. “Wait… were you crying?”

Applejack cursed internally, rubbing at her eyes furiously to banish the wet streaks from her cheeks.

“It’s been… a long night. And Ah know she ain't with Vigil cuz she rescued me right out from under his nose.”

Applejack then turned her eyes towards Hyacinth, who was watching the two mares very carefully from her perch.

“And… she’s my aunt.”

Rainbow’s eyes shot open wider than ever before as she whipped around, doing one of the quickest double-takes Applejack had ever seen. “Wait, what?”

“Applejack…,” Hyacinth nearly groaned.

“No,” Applejack suddenly shot, catching the older drone by complete surprise. “If yer family, ya ain't gonna hide it no more.”

Rainbow, meanwhile, just kept looking between the two changelings, struggling for all she was worth to make sense of the situation.

“Can somepony please explain what the hay is going on?!”

~~***~~

The sun had risen completely off the horizon by the time Hyacinth and Applejack finally concluded their story, and all the while Rainbow Dash sat in place, eyes wide with shock and amazement.

As the story continued on, however, her eyes started shifting more and more to Applejack, as if searching for some kind of confirmation to what she was hearing.

By the time AJ concluded with a weak “and that’s when you turned up”, she was more than a little aware of Rainbow’s eyes trying to bore into hers.

All three fell into silence for a time; Applejack shifted in the spot, looking anywhere but at her friend, Hyacinth sat still and calm, scrutinizing the pegasus’ reactions while Rainbow herself stared at Applejack with a complicated, stunned expression.

“So,” she muttered after nearly a minute of simply listening to the wind in silence, “it’s true? You’re, you know… a queen?”

Applejack grimaced. “Yes.”

Rainbow frowned for a moment, tapping a hoof against her chin as she contemplated her thoughts. “Huh…”

“Look, RD,” Applejack went on hastily, suddenly feeling on edge, “Ah’m still the same Applejack, Ah just –”

“Geez, Applejack, I know that.”

Applejack fell short midsentence, surprised.

Rainbow Dash simply gave her an exasperated look – like she was the one acting weird. “Why would I think you weren’t? And even if I did, I told you already; I’ll always have your back.”

She then cocked a smirk at AJ. “You’re my friend, Applejack. It’s gonna take a lot more than that to change that.”

Despite herself, Applejack felt a smile tugging at her lips. For the first time in what felt like ages, the ache in her chest receded, leaving in its place only warm contentedness.

She didn’t notice Hyacinth watching her carefully, gauging her reactions.

Whatever she saw in the young mare’s smiling face, it elicited a barely discernible smile of her own.

As she watched her niece, Hyacinth noticed when Rainbow suddenly stood up, catching both changelings by surprise.

“We should probably get going,” Dash said quietly, “before Vigil picks up the trail again.”

The smile slipped from Applejack’s face, leaving her looking oddly unreadable.

Rainbow turned then, looking out over the vistas of the Everfree forest, her own smile fading. “You’ve got relatives in Manehatten, right? Maybe we should –”

“No.”

Rainbow hesitated, pulled up short. “You don’t? But I thought you said –”

“Ah ain't talkin’ about that, Rainbow,” Applejack said, standing up in turn.

She gave Rainbow a look that caught the pegasus’ attention, silencing her.

Applejack was scowling, a fierce look that almost burned in her eyes.

“Ah ain't runnin’ away no more. Ah’m through with it,” she stated.

Rainbow stared at her, eyes wide with astonishment. “Applejack?”

The farm pony turned her head, looking towards the enchanted tree not far away. Its bright pink leaves shown brilliantly against the coming day, sighing and rustling as the wind blew through it.

“Ah ain't gonna let Vigil win. Not now, not ever!”

Rainbow blinked, eyes shooting still wider. “Applejack, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Applejack nodded to her friend, a fierce grin starting to creep over her lips. “Ah reckon Vigil’s overstayed his welcome in Ponyville.”

Rainbow grinned just as savagely back at her friend. “Now you’re speaking my language, cowgirl!”

Applejack nodded to her friend, determination burning in every muscle as she extended one hoof forward. “Let’s go get my farm back.”

Rainbow punched her friend’s hoof with her own, already trembling with anticipation. “Aw yeah! This is gonna be so awesome!”

Both mares were distracted by a flash of green light, and suddenly they found a third, lime-green hoof pressing to theirs.

“Count me in,” Hyacinth said, scowling fiercely.

Applejack and Rainbow hardly missed a step. They nodded, fires in their hearts.

“Time to end this,” growled Applejack.

~~***~~

Twilight Sparkle continued to watch the horizon, still staring in the same direction as the long-faded light show.

“What do you suppose that was,” she asked, curious.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Rarity replied, quirking an elegant eyebrow in confusion.

“It was so… bright,” Fluttershy murmured next to her, hiding slightly behind her mane.

One particular pink mare, however, stood oddly silent, her expression decidedly less bubbly than usual.

When Twilight witnessed that, she felt something uncomfortable squirm in her stomach, an equally unsettling memory flashing passing through her mind.

After all, not everypony is who they appear to be…

“Uh… Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie just blinked, her big eyes reflecting the rising sun. “I think I know exactly what’s going on,” she stated knowingly.

“You do?” asked Twilight, totally baffled.

“Yes,” Pinkie said, her voice suddenly rising with inexplicable indignation. “Mr. Bear is throwing a party out in the woods and he didn’t invite me!”

Twilight could only respond with a hoof to her own face. “Pinkie, I really don’t think –”

“Twilight! Hey, Twilight!”

The unicorn in question blinked, distracted as she looked around inquisitively.

But of all the things she’d been expecting to see, a pegasus floating in for a landing in front of her was not very high on the list.

“Uh… can I help you?”

“Yeah,” wheezed Cloudkicker, struggling for breath, “I need… to talk to you.”

~~***~~

Vigil sat quietly by the window, watching the sunrise as it was slowly consumed by the advancing storm.

But mostly, he just kept his eyes in the same direction as the inexplicable explosion of changeling magic.

And yet, something had been so very odd about it.

That was unlike any magic I’ve ever encountered before. It couldn’t have been just changeling magic. No; there was something else to it… but what?

Vigil tapped his hoof against the ground thoughtfully. Applejack… just what are you?

As he stood there in contemplative silence, Vigil’s eyes finally drifted down from the vanishing horizon – down towards the street below.

There, a battalion of golden-clad stallions was forming ranks. They filled the street from one end to the other; well over four dozen fully armed and armored soldiers, most already standing at attention.

“Sir.”

Vigil glanced over his shoulder as a familiar vermillion stallion poked his head into his room. “The troops are ready.”

Vigil glanced back towards the horizon, eyes searching for the one he knew would be coming very shortly.

“Good. Then I believe it’s time we taught Applejack a lesson in humility.”

With that, he turned around and swept from the room, an icy scowl on his face.

He had some errands to run.

~~***~~

Far, far away, upon a gilded tower's balcony that seemed high enough to scrape the sky, a single, tall mare watched the darkening horizon, her magenta eyes unwavering and unknowable.

But her gaze stayed upon one spot in particular– on a spot that, until recently, had been shining like an emerald, earthbound star.

"Hmm..."

Author's Note

As the great and powerful Heavy Weapons Guy would say, "CRY SOME MORE!"

Sorry for the long wait; life and inspiration have been cruel mistresses lately. Sucks when you got two story ideas warring in your head.

This was another one of those tricky chapters, despite having the rough draft planned out since day-one. Sometimes stories take on a life of their own, and what seemed like a clear cut objective initially quickly turns muddy. But once I started going, darn did it take off! My initial plan for this chapter was about 5-7k words. Kinda missed my mark on that one.

And just so you guys know, (insert brace yourself meme here) there are roughly 2-3 chapters left to go, not counting a possible epilogue (I'll get into that when the time comes). We're not done yet, so sit tight.

As usual, comment/critique/voice concerns & questions, and I'll see you in the next one.

Chapter 12: Changing of the Guard

It was a dull, gloomy morning in Equestria, one that robbed the little ponies of one last warm sunny day before winter.

Roiling storm clouds had swallowed that prospect whole. Flashes of lightning lurking in the storm overhead lit up the grey morning like the flashes from cannons, followed almost immediately by the reports.

Despite the best efforts of the beleaguered weather team, the storm had stampeded on-course. It was just too big, and the scrambled team of pegasi was spread too thin.

Rain was starting to drone against the earth, rising from a sporadic pitter-pattering sound to a constant, quiet drawl. But if the fast-approaching dark curtain was anything to judge by, there was more than just a light drizzle in store. A lot more.

That was the first thing Applejack saw when she rounded one last thicket and found herself standing where the untamed Everfree and a gently rolling pasture met. To her left stretched a wall of forbidding trees and brush, in complete defiance to the tranquil, tamed land on Applejack’s right.

It was a slight disappointment, not being met with the sight of a resplendent Equestria morning sun, but Applejack had far more important things on her mind than inclement weather.

“Alright,” Applejack said, nodding to herself. “Sweet Apple Acres ain't that far off now, and you can bet Vigil’s gonna be there waitin’ for us.”

Applejack could practically feel the presence of the pony standing beside her – exactly where she’d been for their entire trek through the wild forest.

Yet, despite having walked a small marathon on her tired hooves, the cyan pegasus seemed in surprisingly high spirits.

“Scared?” Rainbow teased, her smirk clear on her voice.

“Not even a little bit,” Applejack said back, her expression hard.

“Good,” Rainbow said, smirking confidently, “cuz we got a lot of changeling butt to kick, and if you’re quick enough, I may just leave some for you.”

Applejack’s expression cracked at that, replacing itself with a rueful grin. “Usual wager, then?”

Rainbow’s confident smirk only grew at that. “You’re on.”

Both mares smacked their hooves together, sealing the deal.

“But Ah should tell ya now,” Applejack said, adjusting her new Stetson a bit, “Ah ain't losin’.”

“Bring it on, bug brain,” Rainbow teased before she could catch herself.

Thankfully, Applejack only hesitated for a moment before jabbing Rainbow in the ribs. “My sentiments exactly, ya stubborn mule.”

Rainbow just snickered, jabbing a hoof back at her, the smile on her face one of the most genuine of the long, trying night.

“I hate to interrupt,” quipped Hyacinth, who’d been standing quietly behind them the whole time, “but I have to ask; do you two actually have a plan?”

Both mares stared uncomprehendingly back at her, like she’d just spouted in an alien tongue at them.

“Lady,” Rainbow scoffed, smirking at her, “When you’re this awesome, you don’t need a plan.”

With that, Rainbow crouched low, wings flashing open, and a split second later she rocketed up into the sky with a boom to match any thunderclap.

Applejack and Hyacinth watched as she arced her trajectory, leaving a rainbow in the rainy sky as she tore off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“Welp, we best be after her,” Applejack said, squaring her shoulders, “’fore she hurts herself too much.”

“Just a moment, Applejack,” Hyacinth said abruptly, catching her niece’s shoulder just as she was heading off.

When Applejack turned to look questioningly at her, Hyacinth gave her a searching look. “You know that if you go back, the chances of you keeping your secret aren’t going to be in your favor.”

Applejack looked at her for a moment, then offered Hyacinth one of the most gentle smiles she’d seen in… years.

“Well… Ah guess we’ll just have ta cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Hyacinth could only stare at Applejack in surprise, momentarily at a loss for words.

Applejack smiled a bit bigger before jerking her head in the direction of her friends. “Come on. Those changelin’s ain't gonna buck themselves off my farm.”

But as Applejack started off again, the old changeling bodyguard hesitated, watching her go.

You really are her daughter… aren’t you?

Hyacinth smiled, but she made no move to follow Applejack. She just watched her go, and she too lost in thought to realize she was walking alone.

Hyacinth breathed a breath, savoring it for a moment. And then the smile drifted from her features.

“You go on ahead, dear,” she said. “There’s something I need to do first.”

Applejack hesitated and turned around, a question already on her lips, but when she looked, Hyacinth was already gone. It was like she’d never been there to begin with.

Applejack looked around for a moment longer, frowning. But even as she turned back around and started to trot away, she couldn’t help but feel a curl of unease in her gut. And no matter what she did, she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling.

~~***~~

Meanwhile, on a scarred apple orchard, one pony remained motionless in the open, her purple eyes watching the horizon with deep worry.

Twilight Sparkle ignored the rain that was starting to fall on her head and back. She just kept her eyes trained in the same direction, her thoughts complicated and altogether unpleasant.

Rainbow Dash… Just what did you mean?

Twilight frowned to herself, turning her gaze back to that spot on the horizon – the one that’d been glowing up until recently.

Are you trying to tell me what I think you’re trying to tell me…?

Behind her, her three remaining friends watched with equal parts wonder and trepidation. “I must say, Twilight,” Rarity spoke up, forcing a smile, “You certainly seem to have outdone yourself this time.”

But Twilight didn’t rise to the chance of conversation. She didn’t really react at all, really.

All three of her friends exchanged nervous looks. Even Pinkie Pie looked uncertain as she bit her lip.

“Twilight, darling, are you alright?” Rarity ventured again, this time not bothering to attempt to cover up her concern.

Still nothing.

“…Is it something Cloudkicker said?” Rarity asked, Though she didn’t expect an answer to that question.

It’d been a rhetorical one, after all; of course Twilight was bothered by the news Cloudkicker had given them. They all were bothered by it.

But something the weather pony said had struck Twilight especially. One line from Cloudkicker about recalling some past conversation that left Rarity baffled had apparently left Twilight thunderstruck.

She hadn’t said a word since.

Behind the lavender mare, a dome of brilliant lavender magic glowed like a gigantic neon light. Its surface momentarily flared and spat every time a rain drop had the misfortune of coming into contact with it, leaving momentary flares of light and wisps of steam as the droplets sizzled away.

Inside, the emerald flicker of changeling fire continued, eating away at nothing but a pile of ash and cinders. By rights, it shouldn’t have anything left to burn, and yet it refused to die.

It was guttering as it consumed the last of the air inside the magical prison, but everypony present knew that that wouldn’t keep it down forever.

And yet, the conundrum of such a strange spell hardly seemed to distract Twilight at all. It was like something far worse had presented itself to her, and now she was throwing all of her considerable faculties to make sense of it.

… Hypothetically speaking…

Twilight bit her lip. Something very uncomfortable was stirring in her heart – a possibility she dared not touch.

But all possibilities exist to be explored…

“Twilight Sparkle, you turn around right this instant!”

The unicorn in question finally snapped back to reality, jarred back to the here and now thanks to the anger in her friend’s voice.

She turned around to find a livid Rarity glaring at her with such intensity that Twilight took half a step back, all pretenses gone, her patience at its utmost, dangerous limits.

“I have been standing out in the rain all morning,” Rarity snarled, assuming quite the threatening pose for somepony who prided herself on her feminine grace. Having her mane ruined first thing tended to do that to the mare. “Not to mention losing an entire night of beauty sleep on top of everything else, so you. Will. Not. Ignore. Me!”

Twilight took a full step back now, feeling quite small all of a sudden. “Uh, s-sorry?”

Rarity’s eye twitched. “I don’t want ‘sorry’, Twilight!”

“What do you want, then,” Twilight squeaked nervously.

“A lot,” Rarity said stiffly, “not the least of which being a hot shower and a nice cup of chamomile tea. But what I really want right now is the same thing I think we all want.”

“Yeah!” piped up Pinkie Pie all of a sudden, raising a hoof in declaration. “More party cannons, less sanctions! What does ‘menace to society’ even mean?!”

All three just stared at her for a moment, then to one another, then for the sake of their sanity, gave up on the matter.

But Pinkie's outburst managed to derail Rarity’s frustration, even if somewhat. She at least didn’t seem on the verge of springing on Twilight like a rabid Timber Wolf.

“I… was talking about finding Rainbow Dash and Applejack, darling,” Rarity said slowly, eying Pinkie dubiously.

“Ooooh… Yeah, that, too!”

Twilight bit her lip, however. “I know, but…”

“No buts,” Rarity said sharply, swiping a hoof to emphasize her point. “There’s no telling where those changelings are, or what they’re up to!”

“I know!” Twilight said, louder this time, grimacing. “I know that, but…”

Twilight glanced away, her eyes being drawn to the flickering emerald light contained within her spell.

“… Why are they doing this?”

Nopony had an answer for that, not immediately.

“Did that matter at the wedding?” Rarity asked.

Twilight didn’t move for a moment. She stood still, her eyes locked on the flames but unseeing.

“No… it didn’t.”

Twilight’s expression bent into a scowl then, the uncertainty in her eyes replaced with a hard glint. “You’re right, Rarity. Of course you're right… sorry; I don’t know what got into me.”

She turned around to meet the expectant gazes of her friends, her head held high. “Let’s go find our friends!”

“Well, it’s about time,” Pinkie exclaimed so loudly that all three ponies jumped back – Fluttershy especially, “I was getting bored with just standing around doing nothing! That’s, like, my second least favorite thing to do! Right after watching paint dry, but really, who would do that?”

Twilight couldn’t help a small, apologetic smile. “Sorry, Pinkie. It won’t happen again.”

Pinkie’s smile subdued slightly, turning surprisingly understanding for such a small shift. “Yes it will, because that’s what you do. But that’s okay! That’s what we’re here for; to get your rear in gear!”

Twilight chuckled slightly under her breath, a smile growing despite herself. “Thanks, Pinkie. Now, let’s get mov–”

“Hold it.”

All four ponies jumped and whipped around. Fluttershy practically went airborne with an audible squeal before darting behind Rarity for cover, vanishing behind her dainty frame in a way only the timid pony could.

The first thing Twilight heard was the clanking of metal and the splash of hooves in shallow puddles. Only then did she notice the platoon of Royal Guards bearing down on them.

Armored stallions stood in a half-circle around them, boxing Twilight and her friends against the shield she herself had erected. Each guard was carrying a sharp spear – each of which was currently being leveled straight at the four startled mares.

And at the head of the troop stood a familiar vermillion unicorn.

“I’m afraid you four aren’t going anywhere.”

Twilight stared down the shaft of a spear at the guard on the other end, feeling a cold chill run down her spine that had nothing to do with the building rain.

“What do you guys think you’re doing?” she asked, trying to sound a lot braver than she was feeling at the moment.

The vermillion stallion opposite her merely gave her a cold look. “All four of you are being charged with conspiring to aid the fugitive Applejack and her changeling accomplices.”

“What?!” all four mares cried in almost perfect unison. Even Fluttershy sounded flabbergasted, her voice turning shrill. But the stallion went on like he hadn’t heard them.

“By order of Royal Investigator Vigil and Steel Shod, Captain of the Ponyville Guard Division, you are all to be taken in for questioning.”

“Applejack isn’t a bad guy!” Pinkie Pie shot loudly. “She’s the most un-bad guy good guy I know! And I know a lot, pal!”

Unfortunately, the stallions with the razor-sharp spears weren’t on their side. They advanced a step or two, forcing the mares back.

All except Twilight.

She stayed exactly where she stood, a small quirk to her lips as an idea struck her.

“By my authority as Princess Celestia’s personal student and bearer of the Element of Magic, I order you all to stand down!”

The encircling group of guards hesitated, pausing in their advance. Every one of them turned to look at one another, confused and frankly rather worried, before turning towards their leader.

The vermillion stallion had frozen in place, his eyes growing wide in surprise. “What?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Twilight shot, her smirk broadening, “and I hate to break it to ya, but my authority beats out yours.”

“Y-you can’t be serious,” one of the guards muttered, looking edgy. “Are you telling me she could do that all along? Hey, Moth! You ever hear of this?”

The vermillion stallion could only blink, sweating. “No… I didn’t know the Elements of Harmony had any official authority.”

He licked his lips, suddenly feeling panicked. He had been hoping to do this without resorting to violence; he was no fighter, after all.

Before he could recover, however, he suddenly became aware of the rather ominous grin spreading across Twilight’s face.

“That’s because we don’t.”

Moth could only blink, completely thrown out of whack. “What?”

“Of course, any real Guard would know that,” Twilight stated, still smiling victoriously. “I know one or two, and they know official regulations better than the back of their own hooves!”

Moth’s eyes got wide, suddenly feeling very uneasy.

“As the Princess would say,” Twilight said almost benignly, cleared her throat, then added smugly, “Gotchya.”

In a lavender flash, all four mares disappeared, winking out of existence.

And before Moth could react in any way, the wall of light directly in front of him split open wide.

The changeling fire let out a deafening roar as it erupted back to life with all the viciousness of a bomb detonating. Green flames swelled violently and raged outwards, rampantly chasing after its new fuel source; fresh air.

Before Moth and his troops could as much as twitch in reaction, they vanished in a wall of magical flame and smoke as the explosive backlash swallowed them whole, shooting nearly twenty feet straight out like the muzzle flash of some gargantuan cannon.

Almost immediately the barrier was sealed shut again, choking the contained fire out before it could truly take hold. But the damage was done. Numerous figures laid in the grass, twitching and groaning in pain.

Twilight surveyed the damage from her position slightly to the left of where she’d been before – just far enough to be clear of the blast.

The first thought that crossed Twilight’s mind when she saw how black they’d become was that she may have gotten a little too carried away.

It wasn’t until she saw one of the creatures crack open one of his glowing blue eyes that she saw the truth.

“They… they’re all changelings,” Rarity gasped, her normally white complexion somehow turning whiter as the blood drained away.

“Oh… my,” Fluttershy squeaked, peeking around the fashionista’s frame with utterly terrified eyes. “Does this mean…?”

Twilight’s heart was pounding, too as she nodded stiffly. “It means Applejack and Rainbow Dash are in some serious trouble,” she said.

“Not to mention all of Ponyville,” Pinkie cried, her usual energy easily translating over to panic. “They could be rounding up everypony right now!”

Twilight’s heart seized for a moment. A flash of Princess Celestia – confined in a jade cocoon and suspended high in the air by her captors – raced across her mind.

“We won’t let it come to that!” she stated. “Come o—”

As Twilight started to turn around, she just barely caught sight of a bright flash out of the corner of her eye.

Something searing hot and blinding emerald shot across her eyes, missing them by a hair’s breadth.

Her nose was not so lucky.

Twilight cried out in pain, staggering back a step as her hooves flew up to her muzzle.

“Twilight!” Cried out her friends in alarm, rushing to her aid.

But the unicorn only had eyes for the one that’d attacked her, and just the sight of his mustard coat was sending an even colder chill running down her spine.

“I’m afraid, Miss Sparkle,” stated Vigil in a cold, calculated tone, his horn still hissing with emerald magic, “that is no longer an option for you to make.”

~~***~~

The Guard was everywhere.

Ponyville virtually crawled with golden-clad stallions. Every street corner, every thoroughfare – even the dingy alleyways; every conceivable road in or out of the sleepy village was supervised by a stern glare or two.

Street by street, block by block, Ponyville was locked down. Any pony found out of their homes were quickly detained and dragged off to the Guard post on the edge of town without exception, ID cards or not.

The post office was shut down. Every road in and out of the city was already in the process of being barricaded. Nothing would be getting into town unnoticed… or getting out, for that matter.

Terrified ponies watched from the corners of windows as an entire military column moved through the streets, the flashes of lightning illuminating the gleam of their armor and the wicked edges on their spears.

They just kept coming – more and more, seemingly an endless stream of ponies outfitted for war, all pouring from the guard station on the edge of town.

And in every street and every alley, penetrating through doors and homes, the voices of official criers filled the ears of every pony, and their message filled their hearts with dread.

“Attention Ponyville! By the authority of the Royal Princesses, the Royal Guard has declared martial law! All ponies are to remain indoors at all times; no exceptions! Any pony caught outside will be detained! Any pony caught interfering with the Royal Guard in any way will be detained! Any pony caught aiding the changeling fugitives will be detained forcibly!”

Again and again they belted out their message, leaving nothing to interpretation.

Ponies cowered in their residences, shushing scared children and trying to keep out of sight of any windows for fear of being spotted.

Through it all, the sound of marching droned on and on; an entire army marching through the streets, every hoof moving with a singular destination in mind.

Rain beat against armor. Thunder boomed overhead like a war drum. But nothing fazed them.

The marching column remained ignorant of the worsening storm, and kept their eyes fixated straight ahead, towards their destination; Sweet Apple Acres.

~~***~~

“Twilight! Twilight, are you alright?”

The unicorn in question wasn’t entirely sure which of her friends had spoken; her attention was fixated on the force bearing down on her.

What must’ve been two dozen fully armed and armored stallions stood opposite her, their polished golden armor flashing in the light of a thunderbolt.

Every single spear was pointed straight at her and her friends. Every horn was similarly aimed; too many to hope to outmaneuver.

At its head stood two ponies; a massive, steel grey earth pony and a less impressive – yet somehow far more intimidating – mustard unicorn.

“I’m fine,” Twilight grunted, rising to all fours. The tip of her muzzle was blackened and throbbing painfully, the smell of burnt fur and ionized magic clogging her nostrils like acrid smoke. But she knew it could’ve been much, much worse. “It was only a warning shot.”

“Correct,” Vigil said almost factually. “And in the interest of self-preservation, I’d suggest not testing my aim further.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, but she remained where she stood, her three friends crowding protectively around her.

“Vigil… I should’ve known you were a changeling,” she shot angrily.

To her surprise, however, Vigil hardly even batted an eyelash at being called out, and that fact alone unsettled her even further.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job very well if you did,” Vigil stated coolly, “and I’ve had a lifetime of practice.”

Twilight’s glare intensified, as did her friends’.

“So you’re the one who attacked Sweet Apple Acres,” Rarity accused.

“Not to mention burned down Applejack’s family’s barn,” Pinkie Pie shot, glaring. “How could you do such a thing? What did Applejack ever do to you?”

Vigil himself rolled his eyes while sporadic chuckling and snickering broke out among the ranks behind him.

“You ponies never did have much tactical sense,” he said, his tone flat with incredulity. “After all, the secret to any good plan is a measure of preparation.”

Vigil glanced towards the muscle-bound stallion standing beside him. “And I’m afraid, Twilight, you’ll find that I’m quite prepared.”

The stallion beside him didn’t react in the slightest. He just kept his steely eyes staring straight ahead, standing at rigid attention.

He was a truly huge fellow; a brute of a pony, built like a living steamroller. Silver and brown armor clad his burly frame, matching his brown-and-gray tail.

Clasped against his breast was an insignia unlike the Royal Guards behind him; one of an upright crimson sword superimposed over a stormy grey shield.

Instantly Twilight recognized him; most ponies in town would’ve. “Captain Steel Shod,” she breathed, dread creeping into her voice.

The standing commander of the Ponyville Guard didn’t react in the slightest to the young mare’s voice, only further increasing her unease.

He’d been a rather humorless pony when Shining Armor had introduced him to Twilight, true, but this… this was borderline scary, and it was making Twilight feel a whole lot colder all of a sudden.

“H-Hey, Captain?” Twilight ventured, nervously taking a step forward. “Captain, can you hear me? I’m Shining’s sister, Twilight Sparkle. Remember?”

Nothing. Not so much as a blink. The stallion just stood there, as still as a statue.

“It seems he doesn’t remember you,” Vigil noted uncaringly.

“He doesn’t remember a lot of things,” cackled a voice in the crowd, followed by a sickening wave of laughter from the masses.

Twilight paled as the truth sunk in. “You… what did you do to him?”

Vigil glanced towards the hopelessly outnumbered group of companions, his emerald eyes indifferent. “I already told you, Twilight,” he said flatly. “I prepared. Isn’t that right, Captain?”

“Yes,” grunted the huge stallion, his eyes shining with hazy green light for but a moment. It was enough.

Twilight inhaled sharply, feeling like the wind had just been knocked out of her. That was the same look that’d filled her brother’s eyes at the wedding, along with Cadance’s bridesmaids.

And now, right before her eyes, it was happening again. The changelings had already gotten to the captain of the Ponyville Division before she could—

The Division…

Oh no…

Horror wracked through Twilight as at last, she realized why there were so many guards at Vigil’s disposal. They weren’t just changelings, nor were they just ponies.

They were both.

Vigil watched the dawning realization cross Twilight’s features for a moment before speaking. “It seems you’re starting to grasp the situation you’re in,” he stated. “Surely you know now that fighting isn’t an option, unless you wish to harm innocent ponies in the process.”

Twilight’s insides squirmed, and she and her friends moved just a little closer together.

“What do you want,” Twilight asked. She was still scowling, but with decidedly less fire than before.

“For you and your friends to come quietly,” Vigil stated. “I have no intention of killing any of you, but it is up to you whether you leave here unbroken or not.”

Another flash of lightning raced through the sky overhead, followed immediately by an explosive boom as the floodgates in the heavens opened wide.

Rain, cold and plentiful, crashed down upon their heads in vast quantities. Visibility dropped, the world seeming to constrict down around the four mares, pressing mercilessly down on them.

For the longest time, nopony moved. Twilight stood in place, already soaked to the bone, glaring at Vigil.

Vigil stared back, his gaze ice cold and unyielding. He knew Twilight wouldn’t try to escape; she was no coward, and she’d sooner die than leave innocent ponies behind.

She only had one option left open to her. Twilight had already lost the chess match before she’d even known she was playing.

And then Vigil would have all the pieces he’d need to teach Applejack some obedience. After all, there were far, far worse ways to hurt someone than physical punishment…

The rain crashed down on them for a small eternity, inevitability slow to take hold.

Finally, slowly, Twilight’s mouth opened, her shoulders slumping…

Only for her to hesitate. Vigil noticed her eye flick to some spot overhead for just the barest moment, just a split second after a blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky once more.

“Vigil,” she said suddenly, her voice abruptly quite steady. “I want to ask you something.”

Vigil cocked an eyebrow, scrutinizing Twilight’s expression. “And that is?”

His confusion, however, only deepened when he saw her start to smile.

“Guy who gets squashed like a bug says what?”

Vigil blinked, nonplussed. “What?”

And with a mighty boom, Rainbow Dash crashed down out of the sky like a meteor, hooves first.

Captain Steel Shod didn’t stand a chance. One second, he was standing tall and mindless. The next, he was pancaked against the ground so hard he left a crater.

Vigil turned, stunned beyond belief, to see a pair of seething magenta eyes glaring daggers straight at him from way too close for comfort.

“Sup,” Rainbow growled through clenched teeth, grinning savagely.

“Rainbow!” Twilight and company both cheered and gasped in shock.

“You,” hissed Vigil through tight lips, eyes flashing with hate.

Rainbow Dash grinned mockingly, still crouched low from her impact. “Sorry, I missed. Let me fix that!”

Before Vigil could even react, Rainbow suddenly rocketed back into the air, flipping so fast that she only left a rainbow blur across the changeling’s vision.

That and stars, when she flashed out a hoof towards his jaw, launching him through the air.

But instead of crashing hard to the ground, possibly rolling through the mud a couple times, Vigil’s horn ignited. In a flash of changeling fire, he fell through the wet earth when it came up to meet him, disappearing from sight for a moment.

When he reappeared, he burst into being atop the Apple family house, some fifty yards back.

And for the first time in his life, Vigil’s composure slipped.

“Kill her!” Vigil shouted furiously, ignoring the cut on his lip.

As one, every single guard lunged towards the pegasus, spears flashing through the air as they struck out with lethal intent.

But their target was already a dozen feet up, well out of the reach of their spears.

Rainbow stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry back down at them as she went still higher. “Come get me, chumps!”

The Guard below was all too happy to oblige. With a great clattering of metal and the rustle of feathers, pegasi rocketed up after Dash in droves, moving like a flock of angry birds armed with murderously sharp spears.

But at the same time, as Rainbow looked down below her, she noticed a small galaxy of lights starting to glow in the gloom beneath her. Blues, purples, golds… and lots and lots of greens.

“Uh oh.”

Dozens of unicorns aimed their horns skyward, spells crackling to life and forming fast.

“Hey!”

For a moment, the guards at the front of the formation paused, glancing down. What they saw, however, was a rather perplexing sight.

Before them stood a pink pony, standing rather threateningly on her hind legs. She appeared to be holding onto her unicorn friend with both front hooves, and yet it didn’t seem like she was using her for support. And most strangely, she appeared to be holding onto the unicorn’s tail.

“Say hello to my purple friend!”

And then the spells started to fly.

Bolts of violet magic tore from Twilight’s horn as Pinkie cranked her tail around at a blistering pace. Dozens of guards dropped before they even knew what hit them, ballistic unicorn magic smashing into them hard enough to throw them off their hooves.

The lucky ones were only knocked unconscious. The less fortunate found themselves suddenly… less pony-like. Or animate, for that matter.

Within moments, potted flowers, throw pillows and pleather chairs littered the battlefield like ludicrous tombstones.

The entire formation broke under the suppressing fire, whole squads diving for cover this way and that under a hailstorm of magic, lest they, too, join the menagerie of random objects littering the farmyard.

At the exact same time, the five friends scattered.

Rarity grabbed ahold of Fluttershy, and together the two darted away into the orchard, a contingent of faux and real Royal Guards hot on their tails.

Rainbow streaked up into the sky, leading a whole swarm of pegasi straight up into the awaiting underbelly of the thunderstorm, heedless of the bright flashes of light that lurked within.

Finally, Twilight yanked her tail free of Pinkie’s grip, threw a displeased look over her shoulder at the party pony, before beating a hasty retreat as well, firing spells over her shoulder as they raced after their friends into the interior of the orchard.

Vigil ground his teeth hard, his form flickering with angry emerald light. He flicked his eyes this way and that, following each mare as they fled every which way, entire platoons of guards in hot pursuit.

Broken it is, then.

~~***~~

Applejack galloped at full speed, heedless of the slippery path beneath her hooves.

She’d heard the sounds of explosions and spells detonating coming from the front of the farm from halfway back.

Her heart thundered almost painfully in her chest. The rain’s chill seeped beneath her skin like creeping dread, making her run still faster.

Everypony better be alright…

As she ran, she saw dark shapes on the horizon; a swarm of shadows racing up into the clouds, chasing after a prismatic comet tail.

Well, that answers that question, Applejack thought ruefully. Dagnabit, Rainbow. Would it kill ya ta slow down a bit and wait for me?

She tore her eyes off of her friend as she skidded down a gently sloping hill. Her hooves were already splattered up to her knees with mud, making them slipperier than ever.

A thunderclap detonated overhead so loudly that Applejack actually jumped, nearly losing her balance before sliding to a stop and looking up, this time in worry.

Lightning undulated through the purple clouds, crossing from horizon to horizon in a great fan of spindly light that lit up the darkened morning like an artificial sun.

Applejack bit her lip, her heart clamping tight in her chest.

Rainbow… Ah hope ya know what yer doin’…

She had to take her eyes off the sky. She couldn’t afford to let herself get distracted now; If she stopped to let herself worry every time the pegasus did something reckless, she’d be a nervous wreck by now.

But as Applejack turned to leave, her eyes fell on something. Something that hung in a serpentine coil around a nearby tree branch, right over a shovel.

And the sight of that something caused her to hesitate… and then break out in a big, malicious grin. “Well howdy there. Fancy meetin' you here."

~~***~~

The wind howled in Rainbow’s ears. Rain stung at her face like a million hailstones. Wind punched at her, trying furiously to knock her out of the air.

But Rainbow was no stranger to flying through storms. No weather pony would be, and she was no exception. She knew how to fight turbulence, regardless of how stiff her body felt.

Once more, she glanced over her shoulder to find the guards from before gaining on her, surging forward with almost frightening hast. Each had their spear lowered towards the mare, aiming straight for her vitals.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted over the howling wind and thunderous rumblings in the clouds around them, “You guys might not want to do that!”

“Shut up!” roared the pegasus closest to her, glaring dangerously at her.

“Suit yourself,” Rainbow called with a shrug, then angled herself up and started to climb further.

And the pegasus made the mistake of trying to cut her off. He angled his nose higher, leveling his spear upwards, leading his target.

He never knew what hit him.

With a deafening explosion louder than anything anyone present had ever heard before, the storm let loose its fury. A flash of blinding electric light, and the guard found out exactly what a couple hundred gigawatts felt like.

Rainbow glanced over her shoulder again to see a smoking form streaking back to earth, shimmering in emerald light.

The guards behind her stared in shock as their comrade dropped like a fly, then glanced back and forth between each other.

“Hey,” Rainbow shouted, catching their attentions. “You guys ever play chicken with a lightning bolt?”

Another flash of lightning, another spear-tip struck with such force it shattered, and another guard fell from the sky. “Guess not!” Rainbow laughed, and kept going.

The guards exchanged irritated looks, just before the storm was lit up by new flashes – emerald ones.

Rainbow glanced over her shoulder once more, only now she found herself met by the sight of over a dozen furious icy blue eyes gleaming in the dark of the storm cloud. Dribbles of molten gold fell off their frames as their armor melted away, leaving the changelings bare and unadorned.

That still didn’t save one of them from getting turned into a living florescent light bulb.

“Wow, that was a big one,” Rainbow cackled, rolling onto her back to watch their antics. “You guys doing alright back there?”

The changelings snarled and hissed, wings buzzing furiously as they continued to give chase.

Then their horns started glowing.

Yet Rainbow only gave them an unimpressed look. To their surprise, Rainbow suddenly veered to one side, wound up a hoof, and kicked the side of the storm cloud.

Ka-BOOM!

“Wow, three at once! Ha ha, that was awesome!”

~~***~~

Twilight dove into a ditch with reckless abandon, narrowly avoiding a veritable cascade of spells. She slid down to the bottom on her stomach, splattering herself up to her neck in mud and debris.

But she had more problems than a filthy coat.

Spells were striking all around the lip of ditch, detonating with loud bangs and pops. All manner of colors strobed in the air above her; pinks, blues, reds – all colors of the rainbow, even if the predominant shade was the same sickly green.

“Keep her pinned down!” she heard someone bellowing at the top of his lungs from a safe distance. “Don’t give her a second to cast her magic!”

And they weren’t. The ditch was too shallow for Twilight to take a proper stance for casting anything more than the simplest of spells without getting struck from every direction.

True, she could probably just teleport, but all she could see were a few tree tops and the length of the ditch itself; unless she raised her head to locate a destination, she wouldn’t be going far, and doing that was veritably suicide at this point.

A green ball of acidic magic detonated on the edge of the ditch, scooping out a chunk of dirt and mud and spraying it in every direction; including all over Twilight.

All she could do was shield her head with her hooves to keep the worst of it out of her eyes.

“So much for being taken alive,” Twilight muttered sourly. She wasn’t panicking or as afraid as some might be in her situation. Mostly, she was just annoyed.

She started inching along on her belly, trying to keep as low of a profile as possible while the guards rained spells down on where they thought she was. They were hitting the same spot with such ferocity, in fact, that they were turning it from a drop off to a ramp with each explosive impact.

If I can just get around them, she thought to herself, I might be able to take them by surprise. There sure were a lot of them, though… And where the hay did Pinkie go?

The moment she thought that, she heard someone scream, followed almost immediately by an alarmingly heavy thud.

“W-where did that come from?!” someone shouted in alarm.

Something came whistling in over Twilight’s head like a cannonball, moving so fast that no one saw it coming until it was far too late.

Twilight heard another cry of alarm, only for it to be cut short by another impact.

The spells had almost completely let up by that point. The Guard's ranks were in complete disarray, running for cover as another projectile whistled through the air, arched high through the air, and struck true.

Finally, Twilight had to risk it. She just had to see what was going on beyond her hiding place.

She peeked her eyes over the rim of the ditch, scanning. Yet what she saw defied explanation.

Guards were retreating, pulling back to a safe distance in a panic. That part she could understand easily enough.

What she couldn’t understand was the mounds of cake debris littering the field she was in, more than one sprouting hooves from their bases.

These were no small confections, either; each pile of cake and frosting mush was nearly as tall as Twilight was. Whatever they’d been, they’d probably have been more at home at a wedding reception, rather than a battlefield.

While Twilight just stared, trying to fathom what she was seeing, she became aware of cheering in the trees behind her.

“Yeah that’s right! You’d better run!”

Twilight turned around, overwhelmed by disbelief. “Pinkie?”

Despite being drenched from ear-tip to hoof, the pink party pony smiled hugely at her just as always, bright and sunny even if the weather was anything but. Her usually bouncy mane was so soaked that it hung in a limp, drenched tangle, somewhere between depressingly flaccid and goofy poof.

“Yahuh?” she asked, blinking inquisitively like it were any other day.

Twilight glanced back towards the confectionery-devastated battlefield, not entirely sure where to begin.

“How did you do that?”

“Catapult.”

Twilight turned back around, at a loss for words. “What?”

Pinkie turned her head and pointed back behind her; towards, to Twilight’s complete and utter disbelief, an honest-to-Celestia catapult made from logs lashed together by rope.

“Isn’t it just the neatest thing?” Pinkie gushed, bouncing in place. “I found it in the trees back there, just sitting around!”

Twilight just gaped at the construct before getting up, but stepping closer didn’t make it shimmer out of existence, no matter how improbable the thing was. It was crude, true, but a catapult was still a catapult.

“I mean, I didn’t even know Applejack had a catapult,” Pinkie continued to jabber, zipping over to inspect her prize. “It’s no party cannon, but mine’s in the shop, and as my granny Pie always said, when life gives you lemons, make war machines! Or… something like that. She got a little wacky after a while.”

Twilight had to focus on her breathing; anything to distract her away from the edge of insanity that she was getting precariously close to.

“Okay… Okay, you found a catapult. That happened… But where’d you get so much cake?” Twilight asked, gesturing behind her.

Pinkie snorted at that, bemused. “Where’d I get cake… pfft.”

Twilight’s eye twitched. She’s just being Pinkie Pie… she’s just being Pinkie Pie…

But after the night she’d been having, it was getting a lot harder to just push that aside.

“Oookay, I’m just gonna… Look, we gotta find our friends,” Twilight said slowly, struggling to get the gears in her head moving again.

To her surprise, however, Pinkie’s expression fell a little. “…Does that mean I gotta leave the Partypult behind?”

“Yes,” Twilight said bluntly.

“Aw…”

Twilight’s expression softened. If she wasn’t so covered in mud, she might’ve patted her friend’s head reassuringly. She just looked that distraught at being parted from her new toy. “Come on, Pinkie. It’ll be there when we get back. We just gotta –”

“Hold it right there!”

“Oh for the love of Celestia,” Twilight growled, spun around, and blew a charging guard clean off his hooves with an irritated blast from her horn.

In a flash of emerald, the guard’s disguise fell, leaving a discombobulated changeling lying in the wet grass.

“I am not in the mood right now!” shouted Twilight, her patience fraying dangerously thin.

But the guards were already rushing back in droves.

Three more had already vaulted over the ditch Twilight have been taking cover in and were closing fast, spears leading the way.

Before either mare could do anything to protect themselves, however, yet another projectile hissed by, this time missing Twilight’s ear by a fraction of an inch.

But this time, it was no frosted treat.

The guards ground to a halt in alarm as the body of an unconscious changeling sergeant sailed into two of them, scattering them like bowling pins.

The third also managed to skid to a standstill, but he made no move towards the two ponies. He was staring at some point behind Twilight; a point slightly taller than she was.

He wasn’t the only one, either. Several guards had paused, taken aback, their eyes fixed on something in the trees behind Twilight.

Even Pinkie was looking back, eyes wide with shock. Only, she was starting to smile excitedly.

So, Twilight had to ask.

“Is there somepony behind me?”

“Eeyup.”

~~***~~

“No… no… hmm… no…”

“Um, Rarity? Maybe we should…”

Rarity waved a hoof at her friend without turning away from her work.

She and Fluttershy were standing in the relative cover of a tree, taking shelter from the storm as best they could. Rarity’s horn was glowing with light blue light, her magic enveloping a myriad of items floating in the air in front of her, and she was going over those objects with a practiced, critical eye.

“Too small… too short… ugh, too filthy… Does Applejack not care for the condition of her own tools?”

Fluttershy fidgeted nervously, looking over her shoulder. They weren’t very far away from the farmyard; she could still make out the shapes of the chicken coops through the sheeting rain, outlined quite well by the dome of light Twilight had made where the barn should've been.

Flashes of magic were just barely visible not far off; the signs of a pitched battle on the opposite side of the farmyard from them.

But even over the sounds of thundering rain, Fluttershy could easily detect another sound – that of dozens of hooves charging towards them, and they were getting closer with truly alarming speed.

“Rarity, I think… we really should…,” Fluttershy squeaked, her voice easily lost to the deafening drawl of the storm.

“Too heavy… What does this thing even do?” Rarity muttered, oblivious to the sounds of fast-approaching guards.

But the guards were not so oblivious to them.

“Halt in the name of the law,” shouted a voice behind them, a guard locked on and homing in like a heat-seeking missile.

Fluttershy saw him coming and started to hyperventilate. Her hooves flew up to tug on Rarity’s side, trying desperately to draw her attention.

The guard lowered his spear, charging full tilt straight for his prey, unimpeded…

“Aha!” Rarity cried happily, beaming. “Perfect!”

And with that declaration, Rarity spun on the spot and brought a shiny, perfectly shaped spade down on the guard’s head, producing a loud clang of metal on metal.

Before the guard could stop the world from spinning, he found himself smacked again; this time by a full frontal blow to the face, striking him so hard that it dented the metal, imprinting the stallion’s vaguely startled expression right onto the thing that’d rendered him unconscious.

“Oh, goodness,” Rarity muttered to herself, inspecting the ruined shovel with a remorseful eye. “I certainly hope Applejack wasn’t too fond of this.”

She didn’t have too long to consider how she’d pay her friend back, however.

A flash of emerald lit up the gloom, and the next thing Rarity knew, a bolt of acidic light had struck her improvised weapon, crumbling it to dust.

She yelped and jumped back, jittering back a step as a trio of guards stepped forward, chuckling darkly to themselves.

“End of the line, little ponies,” the center-most stallion growled as he advanced, glaring, spear tip aimed straight at his quarries.

More guards emerged from the stormy gloom, stalking towards the two mares from all directions.

There were well over a dozen of them, both unicorns and earth ponies. Most moved dispassionately forward, legs carrying them towards their targets almost mechanically.

Others stalked towards Rarity and Flutteryshy like predators, hunched threateningly low as they menaced closer and closer.

Both mares clung together, eyes wide with fright.

The stallions only looked back with mixtures of stern glares and malevolent sneers. “Time to come with u—”

Before he could finish, something bound tight around the faux guard’s neck, constricting him into silence.

His eyes bulged in shock as the same thing yanked him clean off his hooves, launching him backwards through the air. He barely managed to get his head around in time to see the length of braided rope wrapped around him and an orange hoof winding up, and the last thing he remembered was the sensation of his snout inverting into his skull.

Even over the rain, everyone present heard the sound of the impact of hoof-on-face clear as day as it rang out with a nasty crack.

The guard’s helmet was launched clean off his head from the force of the blow, clattering to the ground in front of Rarity’s hooves.

But she didn’t pay it even a little attention. She’d just caught sight of her savior.

“Applejack!”

The farm pony grinned, tension releasing in her shoulders at the sight of her unharmed friends. “You two alright?”

“Us?” Rarity gasped, flabbergasted. “What about you?”

Before Applejack could answer, the stallions on all sides started shouting.

“There she is! Get her!”

“Hold that thought, sugarcube,” Applejack said, a scowl on her face as she rounded on her first assailant. “Ah got a bet ta win.”

~~***~~

Vigil stood atop the Apple family roof, a simple veil of magic shielding him from the rain.

He surveyed the chaos gripping the farm; the distant flashes of spells detonating, the shouts and cries of ponies locked in fierce battle.

But even as he watched, a fresh battalion of troops was marching through the front gates, ready to join the fight.

Vigil couldn’t help but grin to himself. Such a hefty security force for such a small town… the princesses certainly didn’t want anything happening to their most favorite six subjects.

Of course, now they were his security force. For a last minute improvisation, the results had certainly paid off in spades.

Twilight had to know – or at least be able to guess at – the forces Vigil had at his disposal. And yet she and her friends chose to fight it out to the bitter end.

If she wishes to put some of her own kind in the hospital, she’s free to it, Vigil thought. but unlike her, I have all day…

“Captain Vigil!”

The disguised changeling looked down from his perch to find an out of breath guard standing in the yard below. “What is it?”

The stallion struggled to gain his breath for a moment, then straightened up. “We found her! Applejack’s in the west orchard!”

Vigil felt a new rush of energy fill his body, but he fought to hide his excitement. “Good. Bring her in.”

But the stallion hesitated for a moment. “We’re… trying, sir.”

Vigil quirked an eyebrow at him. “And why is that?”

“Well, she’s armed, sir.”

That took Vigil very much by surprise. Applejack? Armed? “With what?”

The stallion looked reluctant to answer, like he half expected to be vaporized if he did.

“A… lasso.”

~~***~~

“And that’s five,” Applejack said, grinning with satisfaction. After all, seeing the fruits of her labor always made her feel accomplished.

True, work rarely involved beating the ever-living daylights out of a never-ending stream of bad guys. But really, Applejack wasn’t feeling particularly nitpicky at the moment.

She stood on all fours in a circle of incapacitated guards – some changelings, some not.

Her tail twirled in the air, whipping a lasso over her head as she watched the next wave of enemies rush forward.

But rather of throwing her weapon at them, she instead snapped it down towards something more on ground level.

With a practiced yank, she cinched the lasso’s loop shut around a hoof-sized rock lying in the mud before tugging the cord back towards her.

Now she stood up on her hind legs, using her stronger forelegs to control the now-weighted end of her lasso through the air.

The first guard to reach her found out why.

With a precise tug, she sent the cord of rope shooting forward at the exact right moment in its rotation, snapping it forward like a whip to strike the guard full in the face before he even saw it coming.

“Six,” Applejack counted, grinning to herself as she yanked the rope again, sending it flying back to her.

But instead of catching it, she let it keep going, sending it straight into a flanking guard’s face and dropping him, too, to the mud.

“Seven.”

But when she saw neither pony shimmer with emerald light, she hesitated.

Two regular ponies lay unconscious in front and behind her. That fact alone made her chest squeeze.

It shouldn’ta come ta this…

She bit her lip, her heart heavy. As much as she knew it was necessary, beating up even manipulated ponies wasn’t going to be the highlight of her day.

But she also knew who was responsible, and she had every intention of getting even.

The guards were coming again, rushing her from every direction. Contemplation time was over.

Rarity and Fluttershy watched from a few feet away with a mix of amazement and worry as Applejack proceeded to demolish an entire squad with nothing more than a length of rope and a lot of physical power.

She moved as if dancing, jumping to and fro to evade spears and hooves while lashing out with her own weapons. Anyone getting too close didn’t stay there for long, usually with some assistance from a pair of hind legs and all the power they contained.

And that lasso of hers just kept working past the guards’ defenses. Whether by addled minds or simple inexperience with weaponry, the guards found themselves hard pressed to protect themselves from the weighted end of Applejack’s weapon.

But more guards were rushing in from all directions. The word had gotten out, and now a small army was converging on the same spot.

Applejack, however, wasn’t going to make it easy for them. She was tired, true, but she was a whole lot more determined, not to mention furious.

She didn’t seem to notice that she was slowly losing ground, inch by shallow inch. She didn’t seem to care that she started to find herself on the defensive more than offensive as the vast numbers of guards slowly but surely put more and more pressure on her.

She just kept fighting for all she was worth, fighting through the rain and mud and thunder.

Applejack swung her lasso low, sweeping it hard and fast an inch over the ground. One guard managed to jump over it, but his companion never even saw it coming.

He felt the course braid hit him in the hoof before it bent around the sudden obstruction, going round and round his legs, going faster and faster as the length shortened. It spun around his neck in a dizzying whirl before finally the lasso ran out of rope entirely, and the rock wrapped in the end was smashed against the side of the guard’s head hard enough to knock him out cold even through his helmet.

The rock hit the stallion in the head so hard, in fact, it shattered into a thousand pieces on contact.

Applejack bit back a curse as she tried to yank her lasso back, only to find it stuck fast as the stallion hit the ground, pinning the rope under his burly body.

And not a single guard missed it.

“Now! She’s stuck!” someone shouted, already rushing forward.

Before Applejack could spin around to face her aggressor, however, she heard a loud, gong-like clang that rang through the air.

When she turned around, she found the stallion crumpling to the floor, the imprint of a shovel’s spade smashed into his face.

That very same shovel was floating several feet in the air on a sheen of soft blue light.

Only then did Applejack realize that the battlefield wasn’t hers alone, if the multitudes of unconscious ponies and changelings were anything to go by.

“Technical difficulties, darling?” asked Rarity, uncharacteristically out of breath as she stepped up beside her friend, her horn alight. “Don’t worry; it happens to the best of us.”

She was a mess. Mud was splattered all over her usually immaculately groomed coat, and her prized mane was soaked and dirty. Really, it was a wonder she wasn’t losing her mind at the moment.

“Thanks, Rarity,” Applejack grunted, stepping up beside her friend. Of all the ponies Applejack imagined she’d find herself back-to-back with in the heart of a brawl, the fashionista had certainly not been one of them.

“You doin’ alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, casting an eye over her friend’s tarnished appearance.

“Oh, I’ve been better,” Rarity grumbled bitterly, “but I’m finding my own way to vent –,” she struck another guard with the flat side of her spade, hitting him so hard he cartwheeled through the air, “—my frustrations.”

Applejack made a note to never anger Rarity within reach of weighted objects.

“Where’d Fluttershy get off to,” Applejack asked, dodging another spear thrust.

Another loud clang, and that guard, too, hit the ground with a goose egg sprouting on his forehead.

Before Rarity could respond, however, Applejack heard another scream behind her.

She never made it around before spotting a stallion flying through the air – one with a distinct lack of wings.

“Oh, she’s doing alright, I think,” Rarity said, sounding unconcerned while continuing to magic her weapons into the faces of her enemies.

And when Applejack turned around, she saw why.

How Fluttershy had managed to find a bear, Applejack would never know. And yet there she was, and there the bear was; a little yellow bundle cradled carefully in one of the hulking beast’s muscle-bound arms.

And the bear was not amused.

He was snapping spear shafts like twigs with a single swipe of his claws while roaring with fury, denting armor and helmets with each furious blow he connected, and he was connecting a lot of them.

When Applejack looked, she thought she could just make out the reason for the bear’s fury.

Fluttershy was tenderly clutching at one hoof, ringing it gently. “Oh, oh ow,” she bemoaned softly, “that really hurt. Ow…”

If she actually sounded hurt, Applejack might’ve bought it, too.

Of course, the bear didn’t know any better, and he was in full on Papa-Bear-Mode now. Even with one claw filled by a little yellow pony, he was scattering guards left and right, either through fright or a punishing impact.

But even as he worked at pounding every living thing within reach into the ground, Applejack noticed several unicorn guards standing back and taking aim at his sides.

Everyone heard the loud boom as something came screaming in low and fast from the sky, punching a hole straight through the storm clouds overhead.

Rainbow Dash made her grand entrance on the fray by tackling one unicorn, then another and another, wiping out an entire row in one go.

“Twenty nine!” she cheered, flipping through the air before landing beside Applejack and Rarity, popping up on her hind legs to free up her front hooves.

“Thirty,” Applejack stated smugly, just as she got done smashing a guard into her knee.

Rarity could only give them an exasperated look. “Please don’t tell me you’re competing for the larger body count.”

“Okay,” Rainbow snickered, snatching up a spear to fend off her thirty-first opponent.

“Some things never change,” Rarity sighed, just as she floored yet another guard of unknown number.

Both Applejack and Rainbow exchanged looks, rolled their eyes, and went back to work.

That was when they heard the sound of buzzing wings in the sky.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about those guys,” Rainbow remarked with dawning recollection, just as they turned to look at the darkening sky.

“That’s just what we don’t need,” Applejack grumbled, trying to wrestle a spear from number thirty three.

A swarm of changelings came diving out of the sky, wings pinned to their sides as they careened straight towards the battle.

Almost in unison, each and every one of them put their heads down, and suddenly the sky was filled with meteors of emerald fire.

“Oh ponyfeathers,” Rainbow cursed, grabbing for her friends before it was too late.

Yet she never got the chance to play the hero.

A ceiling of violet light exploded into being over their heads, turning from arcane energy into a solid, unyielding barrier in a split second.

None of the bombarding changelings ever saw the obstruction in front of them. They just plowed straight into it at speed, splatting against the magical wall of light and stopping dead.

“I learned that one from my brother!” shouted a familiar voice in the distance.

“Twilight!”

Twilight was running down a nearby hill as fast as she could, a pink party pony right on her heels, charging full tilt for the warzone between her and her friends.

But as Applejack watched, she witnessed another pony stampeding along behind her, moving a lot faster than she’d ever seen him move before.

“Macintosh…”

The big red stallion certainly looked worse for wear, but there was a fire in his eyes she’d never seen before as he put his head down and charged straight into the unsuspecting flank of the enemy, crashing into their ranks like a bulldozer.

Twilight, too, was trying to make it across the battlefield towards her friends, but there were a lot of bodies between her and them, and more were on the way.

“We gotta get to her!” Rainbow shouted over the din of battle, upper cutting her fortieth adversary into the air.

“That would be lovely, wouldn’t it,” Rarity snapped as she send another guard flying. She hit him so hard that the spade handle finally gave out, snapping in half from the force of the impact.

Ignoring the disapproving frown Applejack was giving her, Rarity simply grabbed ahold of the shovel’s end in her telekinetic grip and went back to work.

She tossed the splintered handle towards Applejack, who immediately used it to parry a spear thrust from her thirty eighth enemy.

The three friends were at the very epicenter of the battle, cut off from both Fluttershy’s rampaging bear and Twilight’s group. They were where the opposition was thickest, and all three of them were starting to wear down.

“We have to get out of here,” Rainbow cut in again, fending off two stallions at once with a broken spear shaft.

As Applejack turned to look at her, her incredulity fell away at the sight of her friend staring at her meaningfully.

“We got a lot to talk about,” Rainbow said with just as much implications. “Don’t we, AJ?”

Applejack bit her lip, suddenly feeling very uneasy. “Now ain't the best time,” she snapped, bludgeoning number forty two with her improvised bat.

“And when is?” shot Rainbow while focusing on avoiding getting impaled.

Applejack opened her mouth, intending to say something… only for it to fade.

Don’t be afraid…

She was chickening out again. Everything was falling apart around her; innocent ponies were getting hurt, her entire hometown was likely in danger, and all because she’d kept the truth from the ones that mattered most; her friends.

If she’d just told them the truth, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad…

But now they were running out of options. A sea of guards surrounded them, obscuring their view of their friends. It seemed like every capable stallion in a ten mile radius around the farm had come running.

Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity were standing with their backs together just to keep from getting flanked, each covering the other, but it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

Unconscious stallions and changelings littered the ground around them, making precarious footing in the mud even more treacherous.

But Applejack could feel her friends standing back to back with her, fighting for all they were worth.

Why things had devolved so far mattered little at the moment. Her friends were here, in danger right now. There would be time for everything else later.

That didn’t change the fact that they were running low of escape routes…

“Applejack! Rarity! Rainbow!”

All three mares turned in the direction of the voice, looking in the general direction of Twilight and her group.

“Get to Fluttershy!” she ordered, followed by a bright flash of violet and a loud bang. “If you can, get to Fluttershy right now!”

“And how exactly does she expect us to do that,” Rarity complained, catching a spear tip on her dented and cracked spade head before it could stab her in the shoulder.

She never noticed Applejack and Rainbow exchange looks.

“Rainbow,” Applejack said levelly, “get Rarity to Fluttershy.”

Rainbow hesitated, however, before pressing harder against her back, bullheadedly refusing. “I’m not leaving you alone down here! You'll get torn to pieces!”

“Ah’ll be fine, sugarcube,” Applejack countered evenly.

She could still see the profile of Fluttershy’s bear friend, and with a quick judging of distances, she placed them at about twenty yards away.

That was twenty yards riddled with back-to-back armored stallions and lots of spears.

Rainbow seemed to be more than a little aware of that fact.

“I can carry both of you,” she said, while at the same time trying desperately to keep a stallion from throwing her over. They were running out of time, and Rainbow’s stubbornness was robbing them of what precious few seconds they had.

Applejack knew that if they went together, they’d provide a single target to hit. Rainbow was fast, but not untouchable. They needed an element of surprise and confusion.

The guards were pressing in, narrowing the gap even further, spears leveled like a bulwark straight at the three.

Applejack ground her teeth, frustrated. “We ain't,” she snapped as she spun around and grabbed ahold of her friends, “got time,” she tensed every muscle in her body, squeezing every bit of strength she could out of her weary body, “ta argue!”

And with that, she flung Rainbow Dash and Rarity into the air, tossing them clean over the heads of every stallion bearing down on them.

For just a moment, every eye turned up when Rarity started screaming in panic in the split second before Rainbow grabbed ahold of her and snapped open her wings.

That split second was all Applejack needed.

She braced her forelegs, digging them into the mud around her hooves as she lifted her hind legs, taking aim at one of the unconscious bodies lying near her.

She ground her teeth, forcing every ounce of strength out of her body as she cocked each hind leg back like pistol hammers.

For just the barest moment, her form flickered, tongues of green flame licking off of her body. And then she kicked her legs with explosive force, bucking out with all the strength she possessed.

Her intended victim, an unconscious changeling lying behind her, was struck with so much force that he was launched clean off the ground like a missile, plowing through an entire column of stallions before they ever knew what’d hit them.

Without wasting a moment, Applejack spun back around and bolted down her newly created avenue, narrowly avoiding a latticework of spears as they fell where she’d been standing.

Immediately, guards started trying to closing the gap around Applejack, bodies pressing together in their attempts to tackle or grab the earth pony.

She dodged as best she could, lunging as fast as she could down the seemingly endless twenty-yard-long stretch she’d created.

When a stallion jumped out in front of her, Applejack summersaulted, pushed off with her forelegs, and planted a flying kick straight into the stallion’s chest, launching him like a missile.

He made it only a few feet before a powerful limb swatted him aside, tossing his limp body out across the mob.

Finally, Applejack could see it; a clearing, hewn from the army of changeling-possessed guards and their possessors by a massive pair of bear claws.

Rainbow and Rarity were already waiting for her, though they were sprawled in the mud – much to Rarity’s horror.

Rainbow, however, was focusing hard on Applejack, motioning desperately for her to hurry.

And Applejack very nearly made it.

She felt a painful tug on her rear, her tail going taut. Her traction failed her as she was forced to a standstill. Her legs milled through the mud for a second, and then she went muzzle-first into the mud.

“Applejack!” Rainbow cried, lurching forward automatically.

Applejack herself whipped around to find a stallion with her tail in his mouth. And he was starting to drag her back into the throng.

The apple farmer instinctively dug her hooves into the dirt, burying them up to her ankles in her desperate bid to keep from sliding back into the sea of bodies behind her.

Her tail was too long for her to buck the guard off it, but with every one of her legs locked in the mud, he wasn’t making much headway, either.

Of course, he did have friends.

Applejack felt a hoof trying to wrap around her barrel, intent on yanking her clean off her hooves and away from her friends.

She could see Rainbow charging across the clearing towards her, fearless of the forbidding spears aiming towards her. "Get your hooves OFF HER!" she roared, practically spitting fire.

But just as Applejack’s hooves started to leave the ground, just as Rainbow leapt at her in a desperate bid to save her, Applejack saw a blinding flash of violet light.

She barely made out three new ponies standing in the clearing, followed by a flare of purple magic.

And suddenly, everything ceased to exist around her.

~~***~~

Vigil watched from the nearby hill, his hooves freezing midstride as he saw the flare from Twilight’s horn. He saw the exact moment when all seven ponies and one forest creature disappeared in a flash of magic, leaving behind a scene of chaos and devastation.

Vigil paused for a moment, his teeth ground together so hard it was a wonder any of them hadn’t fractured. But then he whipped around, motioning towards a nearby guard.

“Get everyone to Ponyville,” he stated. “Do not give them a single moment to rest or recuperate.”

“Sir?” asked the guard, sounding nervous.

Vigil wasn’t bothering to hide his irritation, and he wore a truly murderous look on his face. Yet, there was also a steely focus as sharp as a razor’s edge. He hadn’t lost his temper yet.

"Applejack and her friends cannot be allowed to catch their breath," he seethed. "We have to keep the pressure on them before they can come up with a plan."

The guard hastened to follow his superior, who was clearly moving with a goal in mind.

“Sir, they could be anywhere right now,” he pointed out.

“No,” Vigil said through clenched teeth, “not anywhere. Ponies need to visualize the destinations of their teleportation spells, and there is only one place Twilight Sparkle would know well enough to reach from this range.”

He glanced back at the guard beside him, making him quail. “They are not getting away. Not now, not ever. And there is nothing they can do to stop us except relent."

Vigil started walking again, fury rolling off of him. "It's about time we taught them that."

~~***~~

With an explosive blast of steam and heavy grinding of gears and machinery, the train engine hauled itself and its forty cars out of the Canterlot train station, picking up speed with every yard.

Before the last laden car passed the end of the platform, the locomotive had already picked up an incredible head of speed as it roared down the tracks, barreling towards a small, besieged village in the distance...

Author's Note

This chapter... this freaking chapter...
This has to be the single most frustrating thing I've ever worked on. The edits, the massive rewrites... I am so glad it's over with.
And like I knew I would, I ended up cutting this one in half.
However, that means that for certain there are two chapters left for sure now, plus a short epilogue if I decide to make a sequel.

Anyway, I hope you folks like it. Lord knows I slaved away at it long enough...

As usual, tell me your thoughts, questions, critiques; whatever, and I'll see you in the next one.

Chapter 14: Last Chance

Rainbow worked her tired muscles for all she was worth, forcing herself to fly ever higher into the thick banks of storm clouds in the sky.

Her wings complained and burned, but she ignored it. Her drive far outweighed any inclination for rest.

Rainbow kept her eyes squinted to protect them from the rain pelting her face. She could feel a static tingle tickling at her feathers and coat, relaying rather redundant information at this point.

Yeah, I know there’s lightning up here. Go figure.

But perhaps most of all, she was aware of the pony currently clamped down as tight as a pony could get around her midriff. It wasn’t exactly the most comfortable of holds, and Rainbow had to fight down the desire to squirm every now and then.

It was clear to the pegasus that Applejack wasn’t really having the time of her life. One quick glance over her shoulder confirmed it; the farm pony had her eyes screwed tightly shut and her muzzle buried in Rainbow’s mane in order to keep the sting of the rain off her face.

But AJ wasn’t complaining. She wasn’t doing much of anything for that matter, which was starting to concern Rainbow.

Finally, the tired pegasus leveled out. She fanned her feathers slightly and relaxed her legs marginally, slowing the pair down a little – much to the relief of her taxed muscles.

A moment later, Rainbow and Applejack burst out of the cold, wet interior of the storm, leaving a residual comet tail of cloud fluff mingling with Dash’s prismatic afterimage for nearly a hundred yards.

But they weren’t out of the storm. They were merely between layers.

On all sides of Rainbow – including above and below – the dark, rain-laden clouds roiled and fumed, crowding together like incompatible puzzle pieces.

It was a haphazard, eccentric gap through the storm that went this way and that without rhyme or reason. But at least Rainbow could actually see more than a foot in front of her muzzle.

Lightning occasionally lit up the interior of one cloud or another from the inside out, and the resulting thunder was positively explosive in volume.

But besides the occasional blinding flash, everything was dull and gloomy. All Rainbow could see were shades of blue and grey in this strange, nebulous landscape.

“Whoa Nelly…”

Rainbow glanced over her shoulder, and was surprised to see Applejack not only had her eyes open, but she was even starting to lift her head to glance around.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Rainbow called over the wind in her ears.

Applejack didn’t reply, but even with her hat slightly obscuring her face, and even with the gloom veiling her, Rainbow could still see the wondrous glimmer in her eye, even if she was biting her lip out of anxiety.

After a moment longer, Rainbow turned back to keep an eye on where they were going – she didn’t feel much like sailing into an active thunderhead. That’d ruin her day for sure.

“You know he’s gonna be waiting for us, right?” Rainbow said abruptly, speaking loud enough for her words to reach Applejack but little else.

“…Ah know,” her friend responded after a moment’s hesitation.

“What are you going to do?” Rainbow asked.

Her question caught Applejack by surprise. She stared at the back of Rainbow’s head for a moment in surprise, but the pegasus didn’t turn to meet her gaze. Yet, both her ears were spun around to face the farmer, making it clear she was expecting an answer of some kind.

But really, there was only one honest response Applejack could give.

“Ah don’t rightly know,” she responded truthfully, frowning thoughtfully. “But… it ain't gonna involve a stern talkin’ to, that’s for sure.”

She expected that Rainbow would agree with that sentiment, at least the last part.

After everything Vigil had done to her family, to her property, and to all those innocent ponies living in Ponyville, it was fair to say that they were well past the point of talking out their differences.

But instead of voicing her agreement, Rainbow remained silent for a moment.

“Applejack, promise me something,” she said, her tone oddly serious – just for the fact that it was serious. No bravado, no teasing tone, no nothing.

Applejack blinked in surprise, then said, “What’s that?”

“Promise me,” Rainbow said firmly, “that you won’t do something else stupid.”

Applejack’s chest tightened like a vice, momentarily gagging any response she might’ve given her friend.

Rainbow kept watching where she was flying, but Applejack wasn’t fooled into thinking that her attention was aimed ahead of her.

“I know guessing how other ponies feel isn’t really my thing,” Dash said, “but… Just don’t do something stupid, okay?”

Applejack’s first instinct was to snap at her. It was a reflex, really; she was beginning to get really tired of being called stupid by Rainbow. Just who did she take her for?

But all her throat made was the first squeak of a harsh comment… and little more. She paused, her prideful temper petering out just as quickly as it’d flared up.

After all, could she honestly say that Rainbow didn’t have a point? She’d never admit it out loud, but she knew mistakes had been made, the biggest of which had been the catalyst for this entire fiasco.

Once more, Applejack bit her lip and dropped her gaze. “Only… on one condition, sugarcube.”

Rainbow glanced back then, confused by the subdued tone in her friend’s voice. “What’s that?”

Applejack didn’t quite meet Rainbow’s gaze. What little of her face Rainbow could make out looked rather anxious… and downcast.

“That ya’ll help me keep it.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened in surprise, a chill running down her spine.

An explosive thunderclap rent the air, filling both mares’ ears with the resounding boom as the responsible lightning raced across the clouds below them.

With her ears still ringing, Rainbow was beginning to realize something; that her worries maybe weren’t all that unique to her.

The past few hours had taken such a toll on them, physically and emotionally, that much was clear, and a pony could only be pushed so far.

Every pony had a line that should never be crossed. So how much could Applejack be pushed before she reached hers? It made Rainbow truly nervous to think that neither of them knew.

But…, Rainbow thought to herself, we’re in this together, to the very end.

She scowled, heart pounding hard in her chest. And no matter what, I’m not letting Applejack face Vigil alone.

With that, her mind was made up. I won’t let her cross that line. No matter what.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly,” she chanted with all the seriousness of a blood pact.

Applejack looked up, taken by surprise. Rainbow’s hard expression broke slightly, just enough for a small curl to develop in one corner of her mouth – a prompt, one Applejack realized was meant for her.

“… Stick a cupcake in my eye,” Applejack finished quietly.

Rainbow’s smile grew then, turning toothy and daring, ending her inexplicable lapse into solemnity. “I can’t hear you!”

“Ah said stick a cupcake in my dang eye,” Applejack snapped back, though with no authentic bite to her words. The irritation just wasn’t there.

“That’s better!” Rainbow said with satisfaction as she turned back to watch where she was going. “Now hang on, cowgirl, we’re almost –”

To Applejack’s surprise, however, Rainbow cut herself off. Her head perked up quite abruptly and her ears stood at attention, swiveling this way and that curiously.

“What’s the matter?” Applejack asked, glancing around, too. But all she saw was dark, semi-formless banks of gray.

“Did… you hear that?” Rainbow asked hesitantly. “I could’ve sworn I heard…”

This time, when she trailed off, Applejack heard it, too; an alien sound not belonging to the storm, yet slightly too indistinct to be made out over it.

Applejack raised her head in order to look around. Despite the building vertigo, she swept her eyes around her surroundings, searching for that sound.

It sounded almost like… a voice.

“Applejack! Rainbow! Wait up!”

Both mares blinked in unison, completely taken by surprise. Several forms were materializing in the darkness; shadows that grew more and more defined, until quite suddenly several winged shapes burst through the nearby clouds.

And there, each riding upon the back of a Royal Guard and flanked on either side by two escorts, was none other than Twilight and Pinkie.

The guards were working their wings for all they were worth, trying with all their might to close the distance between the two groups. They were just managing, but it was costing them every ounce of strength to do it.

“Slow down, Dash!” Twilight cried out over the storm’s gale. “We’re coming with you!”

Both mares just stared in shock. It almost felt like they were seeing a mirage, what with Twilight seated precariously on the back of a panting and wheezing pegasus. Even Pinkie’s happy squeals of “Wee!” seemed so surreal.

“Twilight?” Applejack shouted, struggling to get her voice over to her friends. “What’re y’all doin’ here? Ah thought Shining didn’t want ya leavin’ his sight!”

Neither Applejack nor Rainbow heard Twilight’s sheepish chuckle, but they certainly saw the way she rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah… He probably won’t be too happy with me later,” she called over. “But it’ll be worth it if we can bring an end to this!”

They were almost flying in formation by now; all four pegasi guards and their passengers were only about a dozen feet off Rainbow’s right side.

“When Shining said he couldn’t afford to send anypony to help,” Twilight explained, “I… well, I kinda sorta snuck off when he wasn’t looking.”

“And I came along, too!” Pinkie piped up brightly.

“Yeah, that too,” Twilight admitted, glancing at the pink pony before looking back at Rainbow. “Now will you two slow down a bit? We need to come up with a plan if we’re going to beat Vigil!”

Applejack opened her mouth, intent on saying something. However, Rainbow beat her to the punch.

“What about the princess,” Dash pointed out. There was a note in her voice that immediately caught Applejack’s attention, causing her to glance at the pegasus curiously.

All she could make out of Rainbow’s expression, however, was a wary frown.

“This is more important,” Twilight said exasperatedly. “Now, will you two please get over here?”

But Rainbow continued to hesitate. She was keeping a healthy distance between herself and Twilight, her eyes never once leaving the unicorn’s.

Applejack frowned at the back of her friend’s head. Any other day, she might’ve said she was being ridiculous. A part of her still wanted to, but could she honestly say such paranoia wasn’t warranted today?

As much as Applejack didn’t want to, she cast a look over towards the group flying alongside them. It was just so difficult for her to be suspicious of any of –

Another lightning bolt lit up the gloom, throwing every detail about the six ponies into sharp relief.

And in the brilliant flash, something caught Applejack’s eye.

Something about Twilight’s face was off. There was mud, yes, and a couple scratches, too. Even the burn on her nose was where it should’ve been.

But… something didn’t look right. Everything was where it should’ve been and how it should’ve been, but…

How it should’ve been…

Twilight was looking at her just like she always did; keen and focused. Exactly the opposite of how she’d been the last time Applejack had seen her.

Applejack’s entire body tensed, her heart stopping for a bare moment as the realization hit her. Rainbow’s suspicions were justified.

For just a moment, she locked eyes with the thing wearing Twilight’s familiar visage, who just smiled almost benignly back.

Applejack never heard it, but she saw the unicorn mouth something, still smiling sweetly, something that looked almost like, “Oops.”

“Rainbow!” she shouted in warning, “Move! That’s not –”

A bolt of emerald light lashed out before Applejack could finish. It happened so fast that she only barely registered the flash off Twilight’s horn before it was all over.

For just a split second, Applejack felt Rainbow roll beneath her, instinctively banking away from the flash of acidic light. But not even she could react fast enough.

The air was rent by a deafening bang mingled with a cry of pain that sent a lance of ice into Applejack’s chest.

She felt a concussive punch hit her in the chest, and for a moment she even felt the blistering heat off of the magical blast wash over her side.

And in the next harrowing second, they were falling.

Applejack clutched desperately at Rainbow, even as all her insides were thrust into her mouth. “Rainbow!” she cried out at the top of her lungs, panic-stricken.

She could hear Rainbow groaning and cursing. She was trying to right their course, but for some reason she just couldn’t quite do it. It was like she couldn’t get the wind under her wings again.

As the storm clouds rushed up to claim them, Applejack threw a worried glance to one side.

What she saw sent an ice cold chill down her spine.

Rainbow’s right wing had taken the brunt of the blast. Thick curls of smoke trailed behind it like a comet’s tail, obscuring most of the damage from sight.

But the bits of blackened, savaged feathers Applejack could see hurt her almost as much as the damage was clearly hurting Rainbow.

“Ponyfeathers,” Rainbow spat through gritted teeth. “This… this is gonna ruin my day…”

She tried to level out, but having only one good wing to commit to the task made it a virtual impossibility. It was all she could do to keep from tumbling end over end, for Celestia’s sake.

Again, Rainbow cursed under her breath. She struggled through the fiery pain, doing everything she could do to keep gravity from winning.

She was failing.

Rainbow threw a glance over her shoulder, looking back behind her.

Four shadows were in hot pursuit, plummeting towards them like a pair of oversized falcons. They were closing the distance with alarming speed, eyes locked on target.

Rainbow desperately fought to stabilize, but her smoldering wing just couldn’t take it. Lights popped before her eyes every time she tried.

But as they fell, a voice reached Rainbow’s ears again; one that sent a chill down her spine.

“Hang on, girls,” called Twilight’s voice in a sinisterly cheery cadence completely conflicting with the situation, “We’ll catch you!”

Rainbow snarled. She knew exactly what they really intended to do, and thus she knew exactly what she had to keep from happening.

“Applejack, hang on!” she roared, just before she took a deep breath… and snapped her wings to her sides.

Gravity was all-too happy to take over then, and down the two friends went, dropping right out of the sky like so much dead weight.

Rainbow clamped her various limbs to her body as tight as she could, giving the lashing wind nothing to grasp at her with. She nosed down, going nearly vertical into what she prayed would be a death-defying dive.

As instructed, Applejack hung on for dear life. Her eyes were fixated directly between Rainbow’s slanted back ears, morbidly transfixed. She was almost physically unable to tear her eyes away, as if missing one detail would spell the end of her.

She watched as they plunged headlong into the clouds, disappearing into smothering, cold murk.

They were going faster and faster; Applejack could feel it. The wetness of the laden storm cloud slapped her in the face harder and harder as Rainbow picked up speed, tearing sightlessly through the dark cloud with reckless abandon.

But it wasn’t dark for long. Another brilliant flash of emerald changed that, followed by another and another.

Even though neither of the two mares looked back, they knew their pursuers weren’t far behind. The two were going so fast that Applejack could only hear the bangs like brief pops and cracks, their sources fading behind them almost as fast as they popped up.

But in the dark, dense cloud, their pursuers were firing blind. Applejack could see flashes of acidic light popping up all around them, but none were striking true. For now.

Down through layer after layer of stormy clouds they went. Down... down... ever faster, racing inevitability...

“Applejack,” Rainbow shouted at the top of her lungs, her words barely reaching the pony in question at all. “You might want to close your eyes!”

Applejack stared with a mix of incredulity and anxiety at the back of Rainbow’s head. “What in tarnation are ya…” she shouted, but almost immediately she was driven to silence.

The clouds had just parted before them.

Applejack knew she should’ve expected to see the ground barreling towards them, but that didn’t mean she was prepared for it.

The entire world looked like a vast, immeasurable wall stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction, and it was currently rushing up at gut-wrenching speeds to meet them.

Only then did it click in her head that they were going to crash. Only this time, there wasn’t going to be a bale of hay to cushion the landing.

But even as that realization hit her, Applejack registered something on the ground below. There was a formation down there – an unnatural formation that did not belong with the lay of the land.

And Rainbow was plummeting right for it.

“Here we go!” Rainbow shouted, braced, and snapped open both wings.

Pain shot through her like molten metal. Lights popped in front of her eyes, very nearly throwing her into darkness entirely.

Rainbow let out a scream of mingled pain and effort, forcing both wings to stay rigid with every single measurable ounce of strength she possessed.

She arched her back, fighting the nearly unstoppable downward pull with everything she had.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, her course changed. Little by little, her dive bomb was turned into an arcing swoop.

But it wasn’t enough. She was going too fast, and her damaged wing was too weak.

To Rainbow’s credit, she didn’t give up, not even as the ground closed the gap.

The last thing Applejack saw before she closed her eyes was an expanse of stone and timber flying at them with absolute finality before everything went out, and she knew no more.

~~***~~

“Come on!” bellowed Shining Armor at the top of his lungs, waving a foreleg over his head to get the attention of the troops around him. “Everypony on me! Push towards the library!”

All around him, steel clanged against steel, spell clashed with spell, and more than one structure suffered for it.

But this was not a fight Shining had ever thought he’d live to see. Not even in his most twisted of nightmares did he ever imagine he’d be pitting the Guard against… more of the Guard.

All around him, guard stallions were locked in combat with identically clad guard stallions. It was impossible to tell who was who, and in the confusion the battle was in danger of devolving into a senseless free-for-all.

And in that confusion, it was getting so very easy to make very costly mistakes.

To his credit, Shining spotted the spear lowering just before it was too late. A stallion he’d assumed belonged to his own division was charging almost side by side with his own troops, but with far more lethal intent.

Shining just managed to erect a shielding spell an instant before the imposter could plunge his weapon into his side.

The magic in his barrier didn’t react too kindly to having a length of steel rammed into it, and with a vicious crack of energy, the offending weapon was reduced to wood and steel confetti.

“Nice try,” the Guard Captain shot, then solved the problem with a prompt magic blast to the guard’s ironically unguarded face.

He eyed the unconscious stallion lying on his back for a moment, then glanced around once more.

No other aggressors had tried the same move, but he knew it was only a matter of time; time which they were starting to run out of.

However, progress was slow; painfully slow. They may only have needed to go just a few blocks, but… it sure was a long, grueling few blocks.

The enemy was disorganized and fought like an anarchistic mob, not the trained fighting force they should’ve been. But there were a lot of them, and they seemed aware enough to take advantage of the chaos filling the streets.

With the initial shock of the counter-attack behind them, the brainwashed guards had rallied, and had even managed to interpose their entire force between Shining and his ultimate goal.

Just like they’re stalling for time…

Shining gritted his teeth. He knew he was missing something, but there was so much on his plate that he couldn’t afford to go looking into it. The entire town was in chaos and every mare, stallion and foal therein was at risk. Deviating any amount of attention away from ensuring their safety wasn’t an option.

So instead, he did the only thing he could think of; he turned to his sister.

Twilight was dutifully staying by his side, just like he’d told her. But it was obvious from the look on her face that there was someplace else she’d much rather be.

She kept glancing over her shoulder, eyes looking back the way they’d come.

Far away, the guard post loomed. It was just visible through the rain against a sliver of light on the horizon, marking the distant edge of the storm. The interim between heaven and earth glowed like a distant wall of fire, as if the land beyond Ponyville had been set ablaze.

But Shining could guess it wasn’t the monolithic central tower at the post’s heart that kept drawing her attention. Not exactly.

“Twilight,” he spoke.

Immediately she snapped her head around so fast it was a wonder she didn’t give herself whiplash in the process. “Huh?”

Yeah, she’s out of it…

For a moment, Shining paused. His sister truly did look like she’d been through a lot. Aside from the mildly concussed expression on her face, she was splattered from horn to hoof in mud, which did little to hide the various scrapes and scratches marring her coat. Then there was the burn across her nose, perhaps the most disquieting tell of the night she’d endured.

Taking in the state of his sister, Shining very nearly thought better of asking what he’d initially been intending to ask. It just didn’t feel right.

But if he intended to end this whole mess soon, he had very little choice.

“Twiley,” he said, though with an uncomfortable heart, “Could you do something for me?”

“What?” she asked, blinking questioningly at her brother.

Shining glanced around, noting the near total standstill they’d come to. There were wall-to-wall bad guys just in front of his offensive line, and they were moving forward like a conveyor belt, replacing the fallen almost instantaneously.

They were running out of viable options with each passing second…

Once more Shining tightened his jaw, then he turned to look his sister dead in the eye. “Can you teleport to Princess Celestia from here?”

For a second, the dazed look left Twilight’s eyes. The moment she heard the word ‘princess’, a modicum of focus returned to her mind.

“Princess… Teleport… I can try,” she said, but no one could’ve missed the uncertain note in her voice.

She then scrunched her eyes shut tight. Every muscle in her body tensed, and after a brief pause, her horn sputtered to life.

But the light lasted only a few seconds before dissipating again, fading out with a feeble spark of magic.

“I’m sorry,” she panted, slouching. “I… I can’t…”

Shining Armor patted her shoulder reassuringly. “It’s alright, Twiley. We all have our limits.”

That answer didn’t seem nearly good enough for the young unicorn. “But… if we don’t hurry…”

“If this is about your friends, don’t worry,” Shining reassured. “I sent some of my best men to –”

“Captain!”

Shining turned around, expression hardening, just as a pegasus guard skidded to a halt next to him.

Shining recognized the young stallion, considering he’d only just given him and a hoof-full of others very specific orders, orders that did not involve being anywhere nearby.

Shining noted, however that the corporal looked like he’d already seen action; there were cuts and dents on his armor, and he was missing his spear entirely.

As the guard threw a salute, Shining couldn’t help but feel his gut tighten. Why do I get the feeling I’m not in for good news?

“Corporal, why aren’t you with your unit?” Shining asked sharply, hiding his misgivings perfectly.

“Sir, Sergeant Halberd sent me to tell you that the unit has encountered heavy resistance along Mane Street,” the young stallion reported, slightly out of breath.

“Mane Street,” Twilight spoke up suddenly, catching both guards’ attention. “That’s… that’s four blocks from the guard post.”

“He’s requesting reinforcements,” continued the corporal, regaining Shining’s focus. “If we don’t get more, we won’t be able to push through their line.”

Shining cursed under his breath. With all the fighting before him, it was hard to believe the enemy had enough resources to hold out on any other front at all.

But while he stood there, hastily trying to come up with a solution, one of the ponies nearest him spoke the thing that was bearing the most on his mind at the moment.

“But Rainbow and Applejack are headed that way,” Spoke up Pinkie Pie, looking alarmingly distressed.

“Well, if they made it through, they did before the enemy got there,” the pegasus responded.

Again, there was that niggling feeling in the back of Shining’s mind.

Two ponies just happen to slip by a force strong enough to halt some of his most veteran fighters, and at the same time the enemy just happens to jam itself between him and his ultimate goal, grinding progress to a standstill.

Shining turned then, aiming his gaze not at the corporal or Pinkie or Big Mac, or even Twilight for that matter. No; instead, he turned his gaze towards the fifth member of their group.

Or… at least, where she should’ve been.

Shining couldn’t help but tense in surprise at finding he was one green mare short, however. And yet, he could’ve sworn…

“Where’d she…,” he started to question, but was drawn up short when he heard a loud sigh right next to him.

Distracted, Shining turned in the other direction. For a moment, he met the equally searching gaze of Big Mac, who blinked, then they both looked down between them.

There stood Pinkie Pie, looking resigned. “I guess it can’t be helped, then,” she sighed sadly.

“Pinkie, what’re you—”, Twilight started to question before a pink hoof was thrust at her, silencing her.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to resort to this,” Pinkie muttered. “But I guess I have no choice…”

“Pinkie, what are you talking about,” Twilight asked nervously. The way her friend was acting was starting to make her very, very uneasy.

Pinkie didn’t turn to meet her gaze. What she did do, however, was take several steps forward and place herself in front of the group.

“I’ve been holding back,” Pinkie said without turning around. “I never, ever wanted to have to do this. But… if these ponies are gonna threaten my friends and make everypony sad, then I have no choice!”

To everypony’s surprise, Pinkie suddenly rose up onto her hind legs, and in a move only she could fathom, she raised her two front hooves to her mane.

“No pony messes with my friends,” she muttered. All the while, she rummaged around in her poofy curls, searching for something.

And then, each hoof seemed to latch onto something on different sides of her head.

“No –” she shot, raising her voice. At the same time, she yanked out one hoof, pulling out perhaps the most bizarre thing Twilight had ever seen ever come out of a mane; a pair of pearly white dentures.

“—PONY!” she finished, yanking out her other hoof.

And in that hoof sat a small, oblivious-looking reptile.

Twilight felt her eye twitch. “Pinkie…”

The party pony paused, then glanced over one shoulder. “Ssh, Twilight, I’m being dramatic.”

Pinkie cleared her throat, recomposed herself with a grim façade, and then quite suddenly rammed her other hoof into her scaly friend’s mouth.

“Play time, Gummy,” Pinkie whispered to her pet, just as she yanked her hoof free as fast as she could.

Pinkie’s pet alligator continued to stare off into space for a moment, seemingly catatonic and indifferent to the world around him.

And then, an unsettling gleam flashed across his eyes as he spread his jaws wide, revealing his newly equipped, pearly white false teeth.

Both eyes zeroed in with alarming focus on the nearest stallion – the first of many – before all Tartaurus broke loose.

~~***~~

“Applejack… Applejack, wake up!”

Applejack came to with a jolt and a spasm, her eyes fluttering listlessly ahead of her ability to operate them.

The first thing she became aware of was all the new aches and pains spread out across her body. But, she had a body – that much was clear – so that could only mean she was still alive. Somehow.

Applejack groaned and flipped over onto her belly, her battle with consciousness not going well.

“Ruh… Rainbow?” she said blearily.

Something moved nearby; something pony-shaped. “Come on, Applejack! You gotta get up!”

But the pony in question was having some difficulty doing just that. Her head was coming on again, but slowly.

For a moment, she noted the inconsistent shape of the thing she was lying on top of. It felt like she was lying on a pile of things, really, and some correlated with the freshest of the new pains covering her body.

Yet, interestingly, Applejack didn’t feel any rain anymore. She could hear it in the background, tapping against something behind her and droning endlessly. A light, cold breeze blew over her, and as it did, a few ice cold drops fell on her flank, sending a shiver up her body.

For a moment, a thought occurred to her – one that she had to voice.

“Where… where am Ah,” she asked, massaging her head with a hoof.

“Get up, Applejack!” insisted that voice again. “We’re here! We’re at the guard post! You have to get up now!”

Everything suddenly hit her like the mother of all sucker punches. Her eyes snapped open, her brain hitting the ground running.

They’d been flying so high up… and then there was Twilight… and then there was an explosion… and they were falling.

“Rainbow!” she gasped aloud, jolting upright.

To her utter surprise, she didn’t need to look far to find her. One look to her right, and she found a pair of magenta eyes looking straight back at her.

Finding Rainbow hardly a few inches away from her nearly caused Applejack to tumble right back over again with a surprised yelp.

“Easy there, cowgirl,” Rainbow chided, though the teasing note didn’t quite sound authentic, “It’s just me.”

Hearing the forced humor in her friend’s voice reminded Applejack just why they’d crashed, and instantly her eyes shot down to Rainbow’s side.

Her entire right side was scorched, from shoulder to flank. The smell of burnt fur hung in the air, clinging to Applejack’s nostrils horribly.

And her wing… every inch of it was blackened and charred. What scant few feathers remained were mangled and barely even recognizable.

Applejack didn’t miss how Rainbow’s wing hung slightly, like she couldn’t close it properly against her side…

“Rainbow, yer wing…,” Applejack said, the color draining from her face.

“I’m fine,” Rainbow said flatly, though she didn’t quite meet Applejack’s eye.

“Yer not fine!” Applejack pressed, stepping closer. Panic was starting to eat at her, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t fight it down. She’d seen Rainbow hurt before; it was practically a weekly thing that she’d beat herself up doing Celestia-knows-what.

But all of those instances were nothing like this…

Applejack about jumped out of her skin when she felt a hoof catch her shoulder. “AJ, I’m fine,” Rainbow stated with firm finality. “It’s just a couple feathers, okay? They’ll grow back before you know it.”

But it was going to be a long couple weeks before they did, Rainbow noted internally. But considering the alternatives, she could live with the consequences… somehow.

Applejack, of course, wasn’t buying it. She could see the pain in her friend’s expression, even if she was trying to cover it up.

“Rainbow…,” she muttered, her ears falling almost as much as her heart.

But the cyan pegasus completely ignored her. She turned completely around, in fact, a bullheaded look on her face. “Look, how about we worry about trying to find Vigil and those captive ponies instead,” she snapped irritably.

But after just a moment, she glanced back over her shoulder, her expression softening. “I’m okay, AJ, I promise. I’ve been hit a lot harder by lightning bolts, believe me. If it’ll make you feel any better, we can go straight to the hospital after the awards ceremony, but right now we got more important things to worry about.”

Applejack bit her lip. The sight of Rainbow’s mangled wing still sat heavy on her conscience, but no matter how much she wanted to tend to it, she knew Rainbow well enough to know that she’d have none of it. She’d have an easier time dueling Vigil and his entire entourage with a single hoof tied behind her back than in changing Rainbow’s mind.

At last, Applejack conceded defeat, no matter how tired she was of doing so with her cyan friend.

“Alright, Rainbow. But do me a favor and don’t push yerself too hard, okay? It’s just the two of us out here, and Ah can’t go around savin’ yer flank every five minutes.”

“If anypony’s gonna be doing some saving, it’s me,” Rainbow snapped back challengingly.

“Then we better get to the savin’ part,” Applejack said back. After glancing around a bit, she located her Stetson and quickly replaced it on her head.

That being accomplished, she looked up, and for the first time took in her surroundings in greater detail.

She was standing in some kind of a hall with a soaring roof and walls of stone blocks. The timber frame of the structure was visible between the dark rocks in the walls, exposing wooden columns as thick around as a pony.

Tables and chairs littered the entire grand area, creating many little islands scattered about the floor. Some were stacked high with papers while others bore a mug or two. It was a hectic clutter with organization known only to those that’d made the mess in the first place.

All along the walls were tall bookshelves and cases filled to the brim with scrolls and tomes, some of which looked fit to burst right off the shelves. Again, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the order of things, a fact that’d likely drive a certain lavender unicorn utterly mad.

Even higher up on the walls hung long tapestries in alternating fashion, going from gold to silver to gold, each bearing either a crescent moon or a dazzling sun.

When Applejack turned her head around, her eyes settled upon a rather glaring wound in her surroundings; a hole, blown through what must’ve once been a window on the wall behind her, letting the sounds of rain and thunder in unmitigated.

She couldn’t help but stare at the hole for a second or two in amazement; it looked like the work of a cannon, not an out-of-control pegasus.

Aside from the pony-made hole, most of that back wall was made up of tall, slender windows filled with stained glass filled with armored ponies posing in various valorous ways – aside from the one she and Rainbow had blown through, which now depicted quite the heroic set of ankles and little else.

Those windows were the only source of light in the hall. A number of lanterns hung from the ceiling on long wrought iron chains, but not a single candle was lit. Only diffused, muggy light issued from the windows, bringing the interior of the hall barely into the visible range, but little else.

“Where in the hay are we?” Applejack thought aloud, looking around in amazement.

“I already told you,” Rainbow said in minor annoyance, “we’re at the guard post. We have to be.”

“Ah meant were specifically,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh… no idea,” Rainbow amended sheepishly. “We’re probably pretty high up in the tower, though. I’m kinda surprised no one was here waiting for us.”

Applejack turned her head again, eying back out the hole Rainbow had made in the wall. But aside from rain clouds and lightning, there was nothing to see beyond the improvised entrance, especially no pursuing pegasi.

And that was giving her a very bad feeling.

“Why do Ah feel like that ain't a coincidence,” Applejack muttered darkly, frowning.

“Because it isn’t.”

Both mares whirled around, assuming defensive positions at each other’s side. Neither had to look far for the source of that familiar voice, however.

Far across the spacious hall, standing upon a balcony overlooking the floor, stood a singe stallion. Even in the faint, gloomy light of the room, neither Applejack nor Rainbow could mistake his mustard coat and jet black mane.

“Vigil,” Applejack growled, glaring angrily at the changeling.

If Vigil heard it, he was unfazed by the clear threat in her voice. “So, the arrant queen and her loyal bodyguard have finally arrived,” he said, his tone icy and cold. “I was beginning to wonder if you would make it at all.”

“What, hoping we wouldn’t get the chance to kick your flank,” Rainbow jeered.

Vigil just gave her a cold, withering look, his mouth a hard line. “All you’ve managed to do is delay my goals, increasing the collateral damage to everyone around you,” he stated.

His eyes slipped off of Rainbow, affixing Applejack with a hard glare instead. “Everything that’s happened – the damage to your friends, your family, to everyone you know; it is all your fault, Applejack.”

“Shut up!” Rainbow bellowed at the top of her lungs. Her wings flashed open before she could catch herself.

No one missed the way she winced when her injured wing snapped up, shaking loose another broken feather. But Rainbow worked around the pain, grinding her teeth with frustration and anger, using the pain to fuel her rage.

“Don’t you dare blame Applejack for everything you’ve done! Everypony that’s been hurt; it’s all because you can’t take no for an answer!”

Vigil once more looked at Rainbow, his eyes somehow more uncaring than before. “And yet, if she’d simply accepted my offer in the first place, no one would’ve gotten hurt at all. Ponyville would still be in one piece.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” Rainbow snarled, fury peaking. “There is no Ponyville without Applejack. You think you can just take her away and everything would be fine?”

“Compared to how it is now, yes,” Vigil stated indifferently.

“Why you,” Rainbow spat, her eyes practically spitting fire.

Until an orange shape moved in front of her.

Rainbow blinked in surprise as Applejack took a step in front of her, interposing herself between Vigil and her friend.

“Yer right, Vigil,” Applejack admitted somberly. “Everythin’ that’s happened to my friends, my family… to Ponyville and the farm… it’s all because of me. Ah know that.”

Rainbow jolted forward, unable to believe what she was hearing. “Applejack, this isn’t your fault,” she said.

But Applejack’s head lowered just a bit more. “That’s the funny thing ‘bout fate, sugarcube. There ain't no way to predict where it’s gonna take us, but the consequences are always ours ta deal with. Ah learned that today.”

Applejack’s head lifted then, her gaze lifting to settle squarely on Vigil. “if Ah’d come clean with ya and the gals, none of this woulda happened. We coulda nipped this in the bud ‘fore it got this bad. But… Ah didn’t.”

Applejack chuckled humorlessly to herself. “Some Element of Honesty Ah turned out ta be, huh?”

“Applejack, that’s not true,” Rainbow said firmly. “You know that.”

“That’s why Ah know this is my responsibility,” Applejack stated just as resolutely. “If Ah’m the one ta blame, then Ah’m gonna own up ta what Ah did wrong, and do everythin’ Ah can ta make it right.”

She raised her voice suddenly, shouting at the top of her lungs, throwing her voice at the focus of her anger. “Ya hear that, Vigil? Ya ain't gonna win, no matter what ya do ta me, and Ah’m gonna make ya pay for EVERYPONY ya hurt along the way!”

Vigil stared back at her, his mouth a razor thin line. “Yet again, ‘Your Highness’,” he said coldly, “you misunderstand. You see… I’ve already won.”

“Uh, I call cow patty,” Rainbow said, voice dripping with skepticism.

“Deny it all you want,” Vigil responded indifferently, “but the simple truth of the matter remains. I’ve won.”

“And how do ya reckon that,” Applejack challenged, cocking an eyebrow.

“Did you ever stop to wonder why I mounted a full-scale attack on Ponyville,” Vigil asked.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said with dubious incredulity, “be… cause you’re evil. What’s not to get?”

Vigil had to fight down the urge to roll his eyes. “Call it what you like, the simple fact of the matter is that everyone in that ridiculous village will know who – or rather, what – perpetrated the attack on them.”

Applejack’s eyes grew wide as the realization struck her just as Vigil went on.

“Every mare, stallion and foal will have the fear of changelings put into their hearts, as it should be. Even if you succeed here, Applejack, you will be nothing but a monster to them. It is inevitable that, one day, you will be cast out, and then you will have no choice but to come to us.”

Applejack felt cold under Vigil’s icy glare, like he was literally freezing the blood in her veins.

“In the end, you will serve Her Highness Queen Chrysalis. It is only a matter of how much pain you want to put yourself through,” he stated. “If you come with me now, the attack on Ponyville will end. Your friends and family will not be harmed any further. Or… you can let this drag out to the bitter end. The choice is yours, though we both know what the inevitable outcome will be.”

Silence fell over the hall, save for the telltale rattle of rain and wind pelting the walls and windows and the bellowing crack of thunder.

Applejack stood stalk still, her eyes wide with shock, her mind reeling. Rainbow attempted to keep her brave, enraged façade, but even she felt her heart clenching tight in her chest.

Rainbow was determined not to look at her friend in order to gauge her reaction. But it was getting increasingly harder by the second.

Vigil merely waited, supremely confident. All there was left to do was wait for the proud mare to relent…

“You underestimate us.”

Vigil blinked in surprise. Those words had come from Applejack – he’d seen it. What was more, the look she was giving him wasn’t one of defeat or resignation.

To his complete disbelief, Applejack was looking right back at him exactly as before; determined, undaunted… unbowed.

“You just don’t get it, do ya,” Applejack shot hotly. “You ain't ever gonna know what it means ta be a pony.”

Applejack took a step forward, a razor sharp edge to her glare. “Ya may get ‘em ta hate ya for a while, Ah ain't gonna deny that. But there ain't a single honest pony under Celestia’s sun that ain't capable of forgiveness! All they need ta see is the good in somepony’s heart, and they’ll give ‘em a chance without so much as a second thought!”

Applejack raised one hoof and placed it over her heart. Only then did she notice how hard it was beating as it pounded against her ribs, but she didn’t allow herself to get distracted by that – not even for a second. “Ah saw that for myself when we all met Zecora, and Princess Luna, too. And… Ah experienced it myself, thanks ta Rainbow.”

The cyan pegasus blinked once in surprise, but said nothing.

“It ain't gonna be easy,” Applejack went on, her voice dropping slightly, “Ah know that… But there’s a whole heap o’ folks out there countin’ on me. That’s why Ah know this is a fight worth fightin’.”

Applejack took another step forward, her eyes positively burning now. For just a split second, Vigil could’ve sworn he saw a flash of amber pulse through her eyes like the glint off a twin set of topaz.

“And Ah ain't ever gonna back down. Ah’m through with runnin’.”

Vigil stared down at the two ponies, his expression of disbelief unusually easy to read. For a moment, words failed him entirely.

A part of him had anticipated she’d resist; it was practically a certainty, though he’d held out hope that she’d be at least a little sensible and selfless.

But this… He had not expected this. Applejack was resisting, but not out of some stubborn, bullheaded sense of denial.

He could see it plain as day on her face; she meant every word she’d just said without even a twinge of doubt. She actually believed what she was saying was reality.

“Foolishness…,” he growled, filling the silence that’d fallen between them. “What complete foolishness. What you are saying is nothing more than ideological fantasy.”

Vigil glared back at Applejack, and it was a real effort on his part not to grind his teeth. “If you wish to fight to the bitter end, there’s no need for such delusion.”

“Ah ain't deluded,” Applejack snapped furiously. “Ah meant every word Ah said!”

“Yes, and that’s what worries me,” Vigil responded in a clipped, thin tone. “You actually think that’s the way the world works. Well then, ‘Your Highness’…”

Without warning, Vigil’s horn crackled to life. Barely restrained sparks of fury shot off the tip, his entire horn glowing as if engulfed in angry flames.

“It’s time you faced reality,” he seethed, just before he lowered his head and jabbed his horn straight at his target.

A fireball tore out of the tip, lighting up the entire hall in a bright, eerie green light for the split second it took for it to streak to its target.

But the spell was never intended for Applejack, or Rainbow. Instead, it ripped into the masonry between them and Vigil, colliding with a deafening bang. The entire hall – possibly even the whole tower – trembled under the force of the impact.

Rainbow and Applejack leapt back instinctively, but it was already too late.

They heard something crack and splinter. Green light raced through cracks beneath their hooves, growing from the epicenter of the spell’s impact to fill every corner of the room.

When Applejack looked down, she saw exactly what was happening. The mortar between the stone bricks underhoof was glowing brilliantly with changeling magic. And before her very eyes, it was eroded away into nothing.

Applejack and Rainbow only had enough time to gasp sharply and instinctively grab hold of one another before the entire floor beneath them collapsed under its own weight and took everything with it; every table, every book case, and more importantly, both mares.

Applejack’s hind legs wheeled helplessly through the open air for a moment in a futile bid for traction that just wasn’t there anymore, and then she found herself plummeting all over again.

Both mares cried out in panic as they fell amid a chaotic avalanche of debris as it thundered down en masse, taking out everything beneath it. It was by some miracle alone that Applejack and Rainbow weren’t crushed or bashed amid the tumbling chunks of building material, but it was a hollow comfort.

Because they knew what had to come next.

Applejack only just registered the sight of the ground sailing up towards her. She braced for the inevitable, only barely having enough time to pray to be spared from the hailstorm of timber and stone raining down all around her…

Something like a mid-summer’s breeze blew over her without warning.

The apple farmer barely registered a bright flash of emerald, a compressing darkness… and the world disappeared entirely.

~~***~~

Vigil stared down into the yawning hole he’d made of the hall’s floor, a brow quirking up.

Even amid the chaotic clutter and rising dust cloud, he hadn’t missed the bright green light that flashed through the darkness below.

In no way had that come from Applejack. It was too polished, too refined. Almost like…

“Your timing is impeccable as always, I see,” Vigil stated aloud, still eying down into the abyss below.

Yet, he was more than acutely aware of the presence behind him. The emerald flicker of light had been so subtle, too.

He knew of only one with that level of skill with teleporting. And she was just the mare he was hoping to see.

Vigil turned then, aiming a frigid glare over his shoulder at the one behind him.

A seasoned changeling stood behind him, one with light gray streaks shot through her scraggly mane and a hard edge to her featureless blue eyes.

“So, you finally decided to show yourself,” Vigil said, the venom barely contained in his voice. “I was beginning to wonder if I’d have to hunt you down myself.”

Hyacinth met his glare, thoroughly unfazed. “You certainly are in a bad mood,” she commented, doing a much better job at hiding the bite edging her words.

“And whose fault do you think that is?” Vigil quipped, eyes narrowing.

Without waiting for a response, he turned back around, once more throwing his gaze out the smashed window and to the inundated land beyond. Or, more importantly, towards the plumes of smoke rising throughout the vague shapes of buildings in the distance.

“If you hadn’t interfered,” he stated, “I would not need to go to such lengths. Arranging such a display was never a part of the plan.”

Once more, he leveled a look at Hyacinth that could’ve chilled an ice cube. “And then you went and betrayed me.”

Hyacinth met that look without care, indifferent to her former captain’s rising anger. “Saying I betrayed you implies I was on your side to begin with,” she stated coolly.

She could barely see the tint of confusion in the back of Vigil’s furious glare, but it was barely a footnote.

“I see… Well, once I return to the Hive with Applejack, I’ll be sure to track down the one that sent you and see to it that her end is not a pleasant one,” he said in a thin voice.

Hyacinth’s indifferent, stony façade broke for a moment, giving way for a slight frown to cross her brow. “Vigil… enough. It’s over – you have to know that. You’ve failed, and yet you continue to make matters worse. Surely you must see that your only hope now is to cut your losses.”

“I do not need you to tell me what is happening around me,” he snapped. This time, he turned around fully to face his former subordinate, his expression icy and murderous. “You are as much to blame for this mess as Applejack and her friend. The two of you forced my hoof on this matter.”

Vigil squared his shoulders, every muscle in his body tensing. “Queen Chrysalis requires a figurehead for our kind to rally behind. Only then will her rightful place as Queen of Queens be secured.”

Hyacinth sighed lightly in resignation. “I expected as much. Well… I tried Applejack’s way.”

Almost immediately after she finished speaking, all of the emotion in her expression seemed to wither up and die, leaving only unfeeling, uncaring ice in her eyes.

“Now I’ll try my way.”

And with that, both changelings lunged at each other with a murderous hiss.

~~***~~

Applejack was ejected into the open air once more with all the gentleness of being fired out of a cannon.

She yelped, legs wheeling through the open air fruitlessly as she went up… then right back down, landing soundly on her rump.

But the first thing Applejack became aware of was not the sharp pain in her tailbone, though it was a close second. No, the first thing she noticed was the strange smell in the air around her.

The air was stuffy and stagnant, and bore an almost rubbery aroma to it, mixed with something sour.

In the near-total gloom around her, Applejack could make out numerous strange, alien shapes all around her. She couldn’t tell where she was, or even if she was in a pony-made room or some kind of beast’s lair. All she knew for sure was that the space was confined, almost to the point of being claustrophobic.

There were strange sounds all around her – shifting… creaking… moaning…

“Ow…”

“Oh horseapples! Rainbow!”

Applejack could just make out the pony’s form lying splatted on the ground, spread eagle amidst something too lumpy to be soil…

“This… day… sucks… so bad,” she moaned emphatically, not even bothering to rise.

Applejack immediately rushed to her side, deeply worried. “Are ya alright, sugarcube?”

Rainbow just groaned again, but it was the disgruntled, long-suffering note in that groan that spoke volumes for her case.

Just as AJ reached her friend, however, something cold and brittle touched her hoof. She paused, taken aback by the crisp crunch not dissimilar to eggshells being trodden underhoof.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack muttered to herself, trying to pierce the gloom to see just what she’d stepped on. It felt odd; rubbery, yet rigid, like plastic, and yet so very brittle at the same time.

That was when she became aware of another voice groaning in the darkness – one too light to belong to Rainbow.

“Wha… where am I…?” the voice moaned, sounding groggy and dazed. “And… You’re not Bon Bon…”

Rainbow yelped and jolted upright and off the figure of a mare. For it was a mare, even if all she could see of her was bare traces of golden eyes and a white streak in her mane.

“What the…!” RD gasped, completely thrown for a loop. “Where’d you come from?”

“I could ask you the same…,” the mare started to say, but trailed off. Judging by the fact that her eyes were starting to grow wide, she’d just realized who was standing over her.

“…Rainbow Dash? How’d you get here?” she asked, the drowsiness slipping out of her voice almost right away.

“I have no idea,” Rainbow said with absolute certainty, earning her a baffled look from the mare beneath her.

But Applejack was less unknowing. She’d been subjected to a changeling’s teleportation spell plenty of times in the last twenty four hours to pick up on their nuances.

And immediately, a culprit jumped to mind. “Hyacinth,” she muttered.

Her voice was just loud enough to draw Rainbow’s attention, drawing her gaze towards her. “What, you think she had something to do with this?”

“Ah’d bet bits on it,” Applejack stated with certainty.

But that just left the all-important question; just where in the wide world of Equestria were they?

As she sat there pondering, however, an idea started to emerge in her head, one that made her skin crawl.

Suddenly, the crunchy brittle bits underhoof shot up to the forefront of her mind.

Abruptly, Applejack was moving, feeling her way through the darkness.

“Applejack, what’re you doing?” Rainbow asked, perplexed. She could hear her friend moving around in the darkness, but could only make out her shape moving away from her and little else.

Rainbow’s answer was not a verbal one. Instead of a spoken explanation, what she got was a peculiar, wooden thud as Applejack’s hoof collided with something solid.

“There…,” she muttered to herself, then raised her voice. “Ah found the door… Ah think.”

“That’s great,” Rainbow said hesitantly, “but what are you…?”

She heard the door rattle, then again – louder this time.

“Of all the… it’s locked,” Applejack growled.

But rather than give up, Rainbow heard her continue to try to force the door open. Pretty soon it sounded like she was all-but assaulting the dang thing, what with the grunts of effort and the loud bangs of hoof on wood.

“Just… one… more…!” she grunted, cocked her legs, and struck out with all her strength.

But it wasn’t the door that gave up. It was its hinges.

With her last buck, Applejack sheered the door clean off its frame with such velocity that it shot into the hallway beyond hard enough to strike the far wall, split, and fall over.

“There,” Applejack breathed, ignoring the pair of stunned eyes staring at her from behind. “That should…”

Applejack had just turned around, and what she saw drove her comment into the furthest recesses of her mind.

With the light of the torches out in the newly opened corridor invading the once-dark room, Applejack got her first true glimpse of the horror that laid inside, made all the worse by a single fact.

She’d been right.

The entire space was filled to the brim with dozens upon dozens of jade, glass-like cocoons. Whatever purpose the room bore was completely obscured behind a literal curtain of changeling pods.

Some looked almost disturbingly elegant, like glass bird cages blown from expert hooves, while others could've been crude wads of material affixed to whatever surface could bear their weight.

They all hung from the ceiling and clung to the walls in dense clusters so thick that hardly anything was visible of the stone masonry they were secured to.

And in every single one hung a pony. Familiar faces hung all around them, suspended upside down within jade pods.

Young, old, stallion, mare; all were present in the collection. Not one stirred, and were they in any other natural position, they could’ve simply been sleeping peacefully.

Only a small alcove by the door existed that wasn’t filled with comatose prisoners, and nearly all that small space was taken up by Rainbow and a minty green mare lying on the ground beneath her.

She was covered in bits and pieces of what’d once been a cocoon, most of which had been shattered presumably by Rainbow when she’d collided with it. Bits of green shell littered the area, and seemingly the only bit that remained was the swirly stem that jutted off the low ceiling.

For a moment, Applejack could only stare, her brain failing her. “Holy… mother of Celestia,” she breathed, horrorstruck.

“There’s got to be dozens of them,” Rainbow said, just as flabbergasted.

She seemed to completely forget about the mare beneath her, who seemed to be losing more and more color by the second as she looked around.

All three took a minute or two to recover. The shock still rattled around inside Applejack’s head, but she was starting to fight it down.

“Come on, RD. We gotta get these ponies down,” she said, still shaken.

Rainbow was still for a moment, eyes still wide and staring, before she focused again. “Right…”

As Rainbow shook the daze from her head, Applejack approached the other mare in the room.

She was a unicorn – one with a minty green coat and – currently very frightful – golden eyes.

“You doin’ alright, sugarcube?” she asked, smiling a little.

“Been better,” the unicorn mare sqeaked.

“Well don’t you worry,” she stated. “We’re here ta rescue ya. Now… mind tellin’ me yer name?”

“Lyra,” the mare responded right away. “Lyra Heartstrings.”

“Ah know you,” Applejack said, the name ringing a bell. “Yer always with that Bon Bon gal when she drops by the stand ta buy apples every week.”

“Y-yeah, heh, that’s me,” Lyra said, chuckling a little, sounding slightly sheepish.

Applejack smiled a little more. “Well, just sit tight, Lyra. We’ll get this all sorted out right quick.”

“Hey Applejack,” called Rainbow abruptly, interrupting the two, “Could you, I don’t know, give me a hoof?”

“Don’t go gettin’ yer tail in a twist. Ah’m comin’,” Applejack sighed, trotting over to her friend.

Rainbow gave her an impatient look, but said nothing. Instead, she fell into step beside her friend as they approached the nearest cocoon, shoulders squared.

“Reckon we aughta just buck it?” Applejack said as they drew level.

“Why do you even have to ask,” Rainbow griped, rolling her eyes theatrically.

“Well, we don’t wanna hurt the pony in… side…”

Rainbow glanced back to the apple farmer, confused, only to find that the mare in question wasn’t even looking at her.

No, her eyes were dead set on the pod in front of her, her eyes growing wider and wider as she ground to a halt.

“Applejack, what’s…,” Rainbow started to say. As she spoke, she followed Applejack’s gaze, peering into the glassy confines of the changeling pod.

And there, hanging upside down, apparently sound asleep… was Lyra.

Both mares froze, shock wracking through them once more, striking them both momentarily dumb.

But the minty-green unicorn hanging inside the pod didn’t miraculously shapeshift into something that’d make more sense.

As one, both Applejack and Rainbow exchanged looks, then glanced over their shoulders in unison.

A minty unicorn mare just stared back at them, perplexed, big eyes blinking curiously. “What’s up?”

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged another totally discombobulated look.

Had that Lyra not just come out of a changeling pod, the conclusion would’ve been a very easy one. But she had come out of one of these prisons. That fact alone just didn’t mesh with any explanation the two ponies could come up with.

After a long, drawn out moment, it was Rainbow that spoke up first. “Lyra… Are you a twin?”

The unicorn gave Rainbow a look like she’d just been asked what colors tasted like. “Not the last time I checked. Why?”

Rainbow once more looked at her friend, a totally lost look on her face. “Well I’m stumped.”

The unicorn looked back and forth between the two, nearly as lost as they were. “What are you two – ohmygosh!”

Both Rainbow and Applejack jumped nearly halfway out of their hides when Lyra yelped like that. When they spun around, they found the mare peering into a completely different pod, much to their surprise.

“Bon Bon! Bon Bon, wake up!” she cried out, panic-stricken, pounding her hooves against the outside of the pod, causing it to sway slightly.

The occupant didn’t rouse in the slightest. Both Rainbow and Applejack could see her dark blue and contrastingly bright pink-streaked mane hanging down around her ears, exposing the nape of the imprisoned mare’s creamy neck.

But no matter what Lyra did, the pony in the pod didn’t so much as twitch in reaction.

“Bon Bon!”

A pang of pity hit Applejack then. She took a step forward and opened her mouth, only a split second away from offering her assistance.

Rainbow’s hoof caught her first, however.

Applejack threw a slightly indignant look at her friend, only to find the pegasus looking wide eyed not at her, but at something off to the farmer’s right.

Using the same hoof she’d just used to waylay her friend, Rainbow pointed without a word, though her wide eyes said enough.

A part of Applejack very much didn’t want to turn to look. But a sense of morbid curiosity won the debate, if only just.

Applejack turned to face the thing Rainbow was still pointing at; another cocoon, hanging amid countless others.

A cocoon imprisoning a pony with a dark blue and pink mane.

Behind Lyra and unbeknownst to her, both Rainbow and Applejack were sharing yet another deeply confused, now slightly disturbed look, but it was Dash that summed up their thoughts in a single sentence.

“Just what the hay is going on around here?

Author's Note

Yes, I'm not dead, but could I be any later?
I do apologize for the steadily increasing wait between chapters, but this one especially was a tricky one to work with -- especially that last scene. I must've wrote it, scrapped it, rewrote it, re-scrapped it, reimagined it, almost threw it out entirely, and then settled on that. In the end, though, I think it'll be for the better, and I can keep my original idea for the way the next bit will play out. So there's that.
And by now I know I probably sound like a freaking broken record, but I'll keep saying it anyway; two more chapters to go! For sure this time! For realsies! Pinkie pr-- no, probably shouldn't go that far...
Anyway, I'll try to get the next one out in a more timely fashion (Finals should be over next week, and then I have the whole summer knock on wood to devote to writing.
So, give me your feedback, and I'll see you in the next one.

Chapter 15: The End of Irony, Part 1

Chapter 15: The End of Irony
Part 1

Hyacinth skidded to a halt with a grunt, her hooves scraping jarringly across the stone wall she clung to. She’d barely come to a halt when she vaulted again, narrowly missing a jet of acidic magic.

Somewhere above her, she could hear the thrum of rapidly beating wings keeping pace with her. Vigil was flying close to the roof, dodging rafters while trying to line up more shots at his adversary.

For an older changeling, however, Hyacinth was surprisingly quick. She veered and swerved agilely through the debris of the massacred chamber they dueled in, neatly avoiding shattered support columns and precarious piles of stone masonry.

Each blast Vigil unleashed added to the growing devastation, and he showed no signs of slowing down. Again, he slashed his horn from one side to the other, flinging a volley of acidic green fireballs in an arc at his hated enemy. But yet again, Hyacinth changed direction with very little warning, easily out maneuvering the deadly projectiles, each producing a mere crater and tremble in the walls, but a distinct lack of a dead changeling.

This time, however, Hyacinth strafed to one side in midair, quickly lit her horn, and took a potshot at Vigil.

It was a shot in the dark in more ways than one, however. Instead of finding a changeling hidden in the shadows among the rafters, the spell struck on the very supports he was hiding behind.

Yet, unlike Vigil’s spells, Hyacinth’s resulted on a mere flash and bang, cracking the timber it struck, but achieving little else.

Vigil eyed the damage for a moment, eyes narrowing. “You’re tiring,” he stated loud enough for Hyacinth to hear him.

Once more, Hyacinth veered through the air, this time ducking behind a broken column for cover. She took cover beneath where the column had once held up a floor, all four holey hooves clinging to the cracked surface for support.

“So will you, if you keep up like this,” Hyacinth countered, though the edge was taken out of her threat by the way she was panting.

It’d been a while since she’d felt her age quite this much, and it was starting to irritate her. I’m really getting too old for this…

She knew that, pound for pound, she was at something of a disadvantage. Vigil had the high ground, the stamina, and the magic. All she had going for her was experience, and a distinct knowledge on how to apply it.

Hyacinth stayed still. Where she was, she couldn’t see her target. But by raising her ears, maybe she wouldn’t have to…

“I wonder,” Vigil responded casually, still a ways overhead, but no longer moving around. “I have the most loving ponies in town fueling me. And you’re going to challenge me with what? A single queen’s gratitude?”

“You never were very imaginative,” Hyacinth almost laughed.

The moment Hyacinth saw the flash of emerald magic, she threw herself from her perch as fast as she possibly could. A split second later, the column exploded on a blast of changeling fire, leveling what remained of it and launching shattered fragments in every direction.

Hyacinth tumbled through the air, flipping completely around so that her hind hooves led the way towards a fast approaching obstruction.

But she wasn’t out of control. What she was doing was concentrating. Her timing had to be perfect.

Her horn came to life for a moment, and what would’ve ended with a sudden, bone-crunching stop on a slab of awaiting stone masonry was cut short by a gout of emerald flame.

Vigil saw the flash of her spell in the darkness, causing him to hesitate in midair. His eyes flashed around, well aware of the imminent attack. And sure enough, he caught sight of the portal ripping open on the wall behind him out of the corner of his eye.

He quickly dodged to one side, neatly sidestepping a flying hoof as Hyacinth careened by like a cannonball, missing him by a sparse inch or two.

What he was not expecting, however, was for her to tear open another ring of emerald flames and disappear yet again, vanishing before he could get his horn around to retaliate.

And he most certainly did not anticipate its counterpart popping into being on the rafter directly beneath him. Such a narrow avenue never once crossed his mind.

Of course, the hoof colliding hard with his bottom jaw changed that notion rather quickly.

Vigil grunted as he was sent spinning through the air, a tooth parting company with his mouth. He just barely managed to keep himself from bashing his head against an unforgivingly hard support strut.

He corrected, alighted on a wooden beam, then immediately jumped out of the way of an incoming holey limb.

He nimbly hovered back a step or two, landing lightly upon another length of hewn timber.

But Hyacinth did not pursue him. She lithely touched down on her own rafter instead, balancing with the grace of a cat, each leg placed almost daintily together and eyes on her adversary.

Rather than launch his own counter offensive, however, Vigil paused, his eyes narrowing.

“What is your game, Lieutenant?” he asked suspiciously. “I am having trouble deciphering your actions.”

Hyacinth cocked a brow at him, featureless blue eyes fixing him with an odd look. “I was under the impression that my intentions were quite clear.”

Vigil was unmoved, however. “When we first met here, you had the element of surprise. You were in the ideal position to end this before it even began. And now here you are once more, not pushing an advantage.”

The older changeling drone’s expression remained unreadable, her face oddly stony. So, Vigil went on, eyes narrowing further. “You are stalling the inevitable at best. At worst, you’re simply wasting my time.”

Much to his surprise, the corner of Hyacinth’s mouth curled up, and yet simultaneously it was devoid of any trace of humor. “As I said; unimaginative.”

A sound of splitting wood rent the air without warning. Suddenly, the rafter Vigil was balanced on gave way right beneath his hooves, splintering along a hairline fracture, one charred with changeling magic.

The changeling’s eyes got big as, for one second, he teetered off balance.

It was all Hyacinth needed.

In a flash, her wings thrummed through the air at full speed, launching her like an obsidian arrow straight at her off-balance adversary.

Vigil only had enough time to fire off a single knee-jerk jet of magic in self-defense, but yet again the veteran changeling sprang out from in front of it, darting upwards.

The next thing he knew, a pair of hooves had him by the shoulders. Hyacinth heaved, flipping in midair in order to throw all her momentum and weight into Vigil.

Like a trebuchet, she threw herself up, over and around, heaving Vigil right off his already precarious footing before sending him flying straight at the nearby wall.

A flash of green magic, a gout of changeling fire, and suddenly Hyacinth was reminded that she wasn’t the only one that could teleport.

It only took Vigil a split second to sink into his own flaming portal, and then right back out again – directly over Hyacinth.

She had no time to react. All she felt was an explosion of pain as the changeling captain’s hooves collided with her back.

Vigil struck home with such force that they both were sent plummeting back to the ground, one on top of the other.

Just as Vigil braced for a sudden, jarring landing, he once more saw Hyacinth’s horn sputter to life.

Yet again, both changelings were thrown into tight, squeezing darkness for just a moment before being jettisoned back out again – this time going in the opposite direction.

Instead of going down, Vigil suddenly found himself going back up out of a still intact balcony. Now with gravity no longer cooperating, his momentum died just enough for the other changeling to flip out from under his hooves.

Hyacinth twisted through the air like a cat, swiveling around to face her adversary before landing on the carpeted balcony with a grunt… only to buckle a second later.

She fell to one knee – nearly two – but doggedly managed to keep from collapsing entirely. She coughed and wheezed, but kept her voice in check.

Hyacinth snarled, forcing herself to stand upright no matter how much it hurt to do so. Come on… come on… just a little longer. Just… have to buy a little more time…

A loud thud announced Vigil’s landing opposite her. His wings fanned aside clouds of dust around him, clearly exposing his dark scowl and blazing horn.

His horn crackled with deadly emerald light that grew brighter and brighter by the second, and there was no mistaking how he intended to apply the building energies.

Out of pure defiance, Hyacinth’s horn sparked and guttered to life, the sheen of magic slower to respond to her call. “Not yet,” she spat.

And in perfect, almost choreographed unison, both changelings loosed their spells at one another. Two jets of murderous light streaked towards one another, clearing the distance between their casters in a heartbeat.

Both spells collided in midair with a mighty blast and explosion of iridescent flame, and to Vigil’s utter disbelief, not one made it past the other.

Mostly.

A single, tiny ray of light made it through the carnage of clashing spells – a small bit of arcane shrapnel, stripped of nearly everything it had in the fiery exchange. Yet, it still held enough of itself to whistle through the air and strike true.

Vigil’s eyes widened still further in disbelief as, with a crack, his captain's helmet split right down the middle and clattered to the floor.

He could feel the tiny burn mark slightly to the right of his horn, but he couldn’t believe it. For a long moment, he couldn’t fathom what’d just happened. But eventually – eventually it sank in.

Somehow, some way, no matter how illogical or impossible it may seem, Hyacinth’s spell had overpowered his. Her magic had overwhelmed his.

No logical synapse in his head could accept that. It just wasn’t possible! Unless…

And then it clicked.

“You didn’t intervene to save Applejack…,” he breathed. “You…”

“Hey, Vigil!” called a distant, all-too familiar voice.

Hyacinth had never seen Vigil blow up before. At the most, He usually dropped his tone to a flat, icy clip and glared daggers.

Even in that moment, saying the changeling ‘blew up’ may have been a bit of a stretch. True, the look he turned to give that speaker could’ve melted lead from across the room, and he certainly seemed half a second away from doing something rather violent.

But no matter how livid he became, it didn’t change what he saw, even as she scowled right back at him with fierce green eyes, supremely unfazed.

Standing atop a peak of rubble piled on the floor below was the very mare he’d expended so much time, resources and frustration on catching. And yet there she was; scuffed up, covered in grime, and yet just as resolute as ever.

“Applejack,” he breathed through clenched teeth.

Applejack met his hateful glare steadily. A cold, wet draft from one of several now-shattered windows dragged languidly at her mane and tail, causing them to shift and sway slightly.

“It’s over,” she said loudly. “Y'all have lost.”

Vigil snarled as he turned to face this most frustrating of apple farmers.

Hyacinth saw her chance… but couldn’t take it. She grunted, nearly falling over in her efforts to stand up properly. She panted, little sunbursts popping in front of her eyes. It was an uphill battle just staying upright; attacking just wasn’t in the realm of possibilities for her.

Despite the lack of emerald light glimmering across her back, fiery pain still shot up and down her spine with every little move she made. The lack of healing magic just meant it wasn't external damage she was plagued with.

“Applejack, what are you…?” she panted.

For a moment, their eyes met. But when they did, something made Hyacinth pause.

“Just take it easy there,” Applejack said. “Ah’ll have this over and done with before ya know it.”

Hyacinth hesitated, the barest trace of a frown crossing her brow. Just as she started to part her lips, however, a different voice intervened.

To her surprise, Vigil let out a clearly audible scoff. “Is that so, ‘Your Highness’?”

Applejack returned her gaze back to the other changeling, her expression hardening once more. “’Fraid so. Ya wanna know why?”

Vigil cocked an eyebrow at her, curious despite himself. “Enlighten me.”

Before Applejack could answer, a loud bang of wood on stone sounded behind Vigil.

Even as he turned his head to investigate, however, a voice reached his ears.

An impossible voice.

“Cuz you ain't got any idea who ya picked a fight with.”

And there, standing in the entrance of a now-open door, stood an orange earth pony.

Vigil stared dumbfounded at none other than Applejack. He simply had no other response.

“Ya think ya have all the answers,” said her voice – this time coming from behind him again.

Vigil spun around once more, and yet again he found himself staring at another Applejack as she strode out of what’d once been a portcullis.

“Ya think ya know everything there is ta know ‘bout this land,” said yet another Applejack as she stepped out from around a decimated support column. “And everyone that lives here."

“All yer doin’ is assumin’,” shot a fifth Applejack as she stepped around the pile of debris the first was standing on.

“The truth is ya don’t know a dang thing ‘bout this place,” stated a sixth Applejack, appearing from the other side of the first’s perch, “or anythin’ ‘bout the ones livin’ here.”

“And you ain't ever gonna figure that out,” shot the seventh Applejack to appear – one emerging through a broken door at one end of the balcony. “And if ya ain't even capable of learnin’ what it means ta be us –”

“Then you ain't ever gonna win!” they all shouted in unison.

Vigil could only stare in disbelief. Hyacinth’s spell overcoming his had made more sense than this.

Speaking of whom, not even Hyacinth herself could fathom what she was seeing. Were it not for Vigil constantly turning around and around to stare wide-eyed at the veritable mob of her nieces, she would’ve started to assume that she’d broken something in her head, too.

But she could see them, and more importantly, she could see the look of sheer, uncomprehending bafflement on Vigil’s face. Somehow, someway, what she was seeing was real, no matter how hard she found it to believe.

Vigil, however, was finding it a lot harder to reconcile. “What…?” he said in a mute tone, too stunned to feel remotely angry at the moment.

“Confusing, huh?”

That voice, at least, hadn’t belonged to the throng of Applejacks. No, it belonged to someone worse.

This time, Vigil felt no hesitation in whirling around to glare at the newcomer.

And there stood Rainbow Dash, smiling widely like a prankster enjoying the fruits of her labor. She was leaning against the only other doorway on the balcony, appearing totally at ease.

“Gotta admit,” she went on, “it kinda confused me a bit, too. I mean, I thought for sure your goons would’ve noticed. But I guess a pony’s a pony, no matter how they look.”

Vigil’s fury was starting to return to him now. “You… what did you two do?”

Rainbow had the audacity to give him a reproachful look, much to his welling indignation. “Us? This is all on you, pal. We didn’t do squat.”

Once more, that teasing smirk came back, this time possessing a knowing edge as well. “Still can’t figure it out? I thought you were supposed to be some kind of smartypants.”

Vigil bared his teeth. Sparks sputtered along his horn, crackling murderously.

Seeing that, Rainbow’s smirk only grew. She leaned away from the door frame and took a few steps forward.

At some point, her mangled wing had been wrapped in what looked almost like strips of table linens, fixing it in a close position against her burnt side with a length of pastel patterned fabric. Still, it did little to fix up her shabby appearance.

“You never stopped to wonder why there was a lone changeling in Ponyville, huh?” she asked knowingly. “Well, the truth is she never was to begin with.”

Not only did Vigil’s eyes get big all over again, but so did Hyacinth’s.

“You counted on Applejack’s family. You counted on her friends,” Rainbow went on loudly, her tone becoming positively threatening now. “But you never, ever thought to count on her hive, huh?!”

Vigil froze. For one long, long moment, his mind ceased to function. He just stood in place, struck dumb.

Such a simple explanation... how could he have overlooked something so simplistic?

A bright flash of emerald light caught his attention. Then another, and another. When finally he came to his senses enough to look around, he noticed one Applejack after another being consumed by a fireball of iridescent green flame.

One by one, each orange coat of fur was replaced with tough, leathery chitin. Blonde manes and tails were blasted away to charcoal-like tatters. Whole limbs were shot through with holes beyond number. Emerald eyes were transformed into uniform, icy blue planes.

False Stetsons immolated into nothingness. Gossamer-thin wings sprouted into being. Little black horns burst forth upon seven different foreheads.

Vigil turned his eyes from one changeling drone to the next, still unable to regain his composure. They just glared back, some with bared fangs and others with almost playful sneers.

Then he came to the last one – the one standing by the knocked open door, the second one to have appeared.

There, his featureless blue eyes came to rest upon a pair of amber, double-ringed eyes that glared back at him.

Despite being the size of an average pony, Applejack – the real Applejack – seemed to tower over Vigil.

Her stance was a perfect mirror of her pony guise’s; straight-backed, confident and strong. Not a solitary square inch of her gave off discomfort or unease like before.

Perhaps the thing he noticed the most, however, was the thing sticking up off the top of her head, protruding out of her mane.

Even though the darkness of the chamber hid most of the crown from view, all he needed to see was the quadruple set of topazes gleaming in the faint light to comprehend what they were, and the overwhelming implication they carried.

This, he realized almost immediately, was not the creature he’d seen hiding nervously in a little shack not long ago. This, he realized, was something else entirely. This was someone else entirely.

“Who…?”

It took Vigil a moment to realize that that’d been his own voice; a single word, slipping past before he could stop it. Such a thing in itself was completely unheard of, and he instantly clamped his lips shut once more.

Applejack glared back, real anger spiking in her eyes.

“Ah am a pony of Equestria,” she stated, completely contradicting the changeling buzz in her voice, “and an Apple before everythin’ else.”

She took a threatening step forward then. Something crackled along her horn; a fulminating discharge that popped loudly in the air.

“And Ah hope ya remember what Ah told ya about makin’ me repeat myself.”

Vigil couldn’t help but take a step back – much to Rainbow’s amusement – but there he stopped himself.

To say he had some questions might’ve been something of a gross understatement.

“Where… where did you get these…” he managed to say, paused, then glanced to one side towards one of the inexplicable changelings that was hissing at him.

Applejack glanced away from Vigil, instead turning her eyes towards the only true pony in the entire room.

Rainbow looked like she was on the verge of bursting out laughing at this point, yet she still met her friend’s look quite knowingly.

“You might be better off asking yourself a different question,” Rainbow said, grinning hugely, “such as, who they are.”

~~***~~

“We’ve always been here, living behind the scenes,” said one of the freshly freed changelings. She, like all of her peers, was trying to make herself appear as small and unthreatening as possible.

They clustered together amid a sea of shattered cocoon shell fragments, huddled together in the middle of the room. The light of the door cut straight across their group, though the ones outside of the revealing light were still easy enough to see, thanks to their glowing blue eyes.

Applejack, Rainbow, and a small herd of real ponies stood opposite their group. Lyra was practically clinging protectively to that creamy mare she called Bon Bon, her eyes a mix of confusion, wariness and worry.

“When Queen Carnation… um… passed on,” the changeling at the front of the group continued to say, “we scattered. We didn’t know what else to do… and even if they didn’t know it, the ponies took us in. We could blend into the crowds without raising suspicions, so...”

She bravely attempted a smile, trying to break the tension in the room. “We’ve been in Ponyville ever since, where we could keep an eye on you.”

Applejack’s heart thudded in her chest. It’d been pounding hard ever since the first drone had skittishly revealed itself, but that thump seemed particularly hard.

“Y’all have always been here?” she asked almost breathlessly.

Every one of them nodded, more uneasy smiles blossoming in their fanged muzzles. “I’m sorry we hid. We just…”

The foremost changeling exchanged a nervous look with her closest peer. “It’s stupid, I know, but… we were afraid.”

Applejack blinked in pure surprise. “Afraid? What for?”

The drone bit her lip nervously. “That… we’d have to go back to living like changelings.”

Of all the explanations, Applejack had not been expecting that one. Even after hearing it, it seemed almost like a lie. Yet, she knew a sincere look when she saw one, and these changelings were acting about as sincere as one could get.

“…Why?” she asked.

Even though her eyes were nothing but featureless blue planes, Applejack could almost feel the drone’s eyes turn to look at her.

“A queen leads a hive,” she said, sounding almost morose. “The hive gathers love to be strong, in turn make the queen strong, and allow the hive to grow. This is the paradigm we’ve all grown up knowing – what our kind has always known. But… we like being ponies.”

“We love it,” someone else chirped.

A muttered, buzzing chorus of agreement followed his declaration.

“We’ve always tried to keep an eye on you,” the first one went on hastily, almost as if to reassure. “We’ve followed you on so many of your adventures. We wanted to try to get to know you without… you know… actually getting to know you. Because… we were afraid that if you found out about us, you’d try to build your own hive. It was stupid of us, I know, but… we don’t want to go back to how we used to live.”

She turned to wave a hoof over her fellows then. “We have families; loved ones. Ponies that love us… and we love, too.”

Applejack and Rainbow stared with wide eyes. Even some of the ponies behind them were starting to stare in amazement, rather than fear and anxiety.

“So please, Your – Applejack,” she went on. “Please don’t make us go back to that lifestyle. We… don’t have the heart for it anymore.”

Several of the other changelings raised their voices then, speaking one on top of the other, their voices just loud enough to be made out. Only bits and pieces made it into Applejack’s stunned ears, but it was more than enough.

“I love Pinkie Pie’s parties. They’re always such a blast…”

“I don’t want to stop being in the Rainbow Dash fan club…”

“Winter Wrap Up is always so much fun, even if I’m lousy at it…”

“I want to do more Tornado Duties…”

“…no more muffins…”

Their words overwhelmed Applejack for the longest time. She just… couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Again and again she heard changelings – living, breathing changelings professing how much they loved Ponyville and the ones that lived there. Again and again she heard them mention the names of her friends…

“Wait… now – Hold yer horses!”

Applejack finally found her voice again, and even if it needed a little revving up, she managed to raise it up over the din of changeling voices filling the small chamber.

When she shouted, the drones instantly fell silent, apprehension once more filling their eyes. Even some of the ponies behind her had jumped and looked at her. Rainbow, too, was giving the side of her head a rather surprised look, but she ignored it.

“Ah ain't gonna make ya go back ta Freedom,” Applejack stated. “That just ain't right.”

She looked around at each gathered changeling in turn, a slight reassuring smile tugging at her lips. “Y’all seem ta forget; Ah have family here, too, and friends, and lots of other ponies Ah care a whole lot for.”

Still well aware of a lot of ponies staring rather hard at the back of her head, Applejack took a step forward, and after restraining a nervous gulp, said, “That bein’ said… Ah gotta ask a favor of y’all. Ah… need yer help.”

~~***~~

Vigil could only stare wide eyed at both Rainbow and Applejack. “That’s… that’s not possible,” he stated. “My men should’ve…”

“Yeah, they should’ve,” shot Rainbow, her grin turning into a smirk. “But they didn’t. I guess finding a bunch of ponies that look like one another just isn’t all that strange to you guys. You all do kinda look the same to begin with.”

“And just because we didn’t know your secret phrase,” one of the drones hissed, “Your thugs never thought twice about it. After all, we don’t exist, do we?”

Vigil’s expression soured then. He was starting to recover from his dose of shock now, but before he could quite get there, another – more familiar – voice spoke up then.

Or rather, she started laughing.

Vigil turned an incredulous eye towards Hyacinth, who had broken out in a fit of wet chuckles.

“Heh… aheh he... That… sounds exactly like something you’d do, Vigil,” she chuckled, even if her voice was strained. She’d finally managed to force herself up into a proper standing position, though it was clearly costing her.

She grinned tauntingly at the changeling captain, baring her pearly white fangs in the process. “So very… unimaginative.”

Vigil became very still then. His eyes stayed locked on Hyacinth’s, his body tensed to the breaking point. It was subtle – almost imperceptible – but as Hyacinth looked tauntingly back, she thought that, for a moment, she saw one of his widening eyes twitch.

“Is that so,” he seethed through clenched teeth. “You keep calling me… me… unimaginative.”

He took a threatening step towards her. His horn crackled ominously, sparking in fitful indignation. “I, a changeling captain in Her Highness Queen Chrysalis’ swarm… unimaginative?”

Vigil’s horn crackled, popped… and then raged back to life, as bright as ever.

Everyone took a step back in shock. Even Hyacinth managed to rear back a little.

“Do you think I wouldn’t anticipate your move, lieutenant?” he growled. “Did you honestly believe that I would be so stupid as to leave all the ponies in one place?”

Now it was Hyacinth’s turn to stare in shock.

“I don’t care how many drones you magic into being; they have all lost their killer instincts to this… this place.”

His horn glowed brighter and brighter. Furious tongues of emerald flame licked at the cold air around him, as if the magic being channeled into the sharp black spike on his forehead was all-too eager to escape into the world.

Several of the changelings around him started to back away, increasingly worried looks on their faces.

“I, on the other hoof,” Vigil stated flatly, “am not so blunted.”

He lowered his head once more, aiming all of his rage and frustration straight at the focal point for a large portion of both.

He summoned up all his anger and hatred, and fired it straight at Hyacinth.

And for the umpteenth time that day, he missed.

Two shapes – a black and amber one moving alongside a cyan, rainbow-hued one – flew through the air with lightning speed, just barely outpacing the murderous ray of light as it shot from Vigil’s horn.

For a moment, though, Applejack thought that maybe – just maybe – she’d been just a little too slow.

She felt the searing heat of the deadly ray of magic as it passed within a millimeter of her amber carapace. It passed so close that for one adrenaline-filled, horrific second, she could’ve sworn that that would be the last second she’d ever experience.

But in the next moment, she hit the ground in a tumble, somehow still very much alive.

A quick look verified that the others were still with her, too.

Despite her expression being snarled up in pain, Hyacinth continued to pant fitfully. Beside her, lying on her back, Rainbow was blinking back starbursts in her eyes. Only a slight, drawn out groan conveyed the agony of landing on a broken wing.

At the same time, the bolt of magic continued right on by, streaking straight over their heads and to the wall behind the three mares before colliding with a sound like a thunderclap.

The whole savaged chamber trembled with the force of the spell, sending a fitful tremor racing through the room like a shockwave. It coursed through the walls all around those present, shaking dirt and loose debris from the high ceiling with the repercussion.

And with a great crack of suffering stone, the weakened structure began to buckle, sending fissures racing in every direction with a sound like a cannon going off.

At the epicenter of every one of those cracks was a smoldering crater still fizzling with magic. Vigil’s magic.

Everyone’s eyes got wide as the air was filled with the sound of splitting stone and shredding timber. Half the room shifted, sagged, and then one entire side of the chamber came down with all the thunder and fury of a landslide.

The collapsing ceiling by rights should’ve been the very thing that ended them all. Applejack could only stare up as vast tracks of the arched ceiling came crashing down right on top of her, her hooves clinging tightly to both Hyacinth and Rainbow.

Just before she closed her eyes and waited for the end, however, she saw a bright, jade plume of light. One that was getting close very, very fast.

The next thing she knew, she was being shunted into squeezing darkness, and then right back out again; this time on a decidedly less perilous foothold.

The first thing Applejack felt was the merciless lash of rain smacking her in the face with icy drops. The second thing; the mud as she fell back to earth on her back, eliciting a yelp of pain from both Rainbow and Hyacinth from their own rough landings.

And the third thing Applejack felt was the rush of air as an entire section of the tower came down.

It tore itself away from the rest of the monolithic construct, crashing down in one massive slab to the earth below. A cloud of dust surged over the courtyard like a smothering blanket of fog, choking the air all around the fallen trio for a moment or two.

The entire tower groaned in suffering, from top to bottom. Supports cracked and bowed under the untold tonnage being shoved off onto those that remained, but somehow the load was held.

As the dust cleared, all three mares stared up at the eviscerated, unsteady thing, wide eyed. From where they laid in the mud, each had an unerring view of the absolutely horrendous damage inflicted by Vigil’s spell.

The wake of destruction left a gaping, ragged wound on the side of the tower, exposing the skeletal frame of the structure wherever it wasn’t torn away completely and eviscerating nearly half a dozen chambers in the process. It was as if someone had taken a gargantuan spoon and scooped out a massive chunk of the structure. Everything visible inside the gigantic rend was cracked, ruined stone and splintered, suffering timber with hardly a single, recognizable surface to the mangled landscape.

Either by divine act or sheer dumb luck, however, the tower remained tall, but not a soul who looked upon it would’ve mistaken the unsettling kink its top half had developed.

All three mares in the courtyard half expected the whole thing to simply cave to the forces of gravity and come crashing down in its entirety.

Yet, despite swaying ominously, it stayed upright. For how long, though, was a different matter entirely…

“Applejack!”

Applejack was the first one to turn her head around, her eyes scanning over her surroundings hastily.

On all sides of her were tall, pure white tents – makeshift barracks set in place of the real thing, which was still hardly more than a skeletal hulk on the far end of the yard. Piles of timber and stone still sat littered all around it, awaiting the workers that would affix them into place.

Behind her, the massive boundary wall resembled an equally massive, yet jarringly incomplete puzzle. Large sections of the fortification were missing entirely, sometimes to the point of separating one section of the wall from the other completely.

Towering scaffolding covered the wall like a reinforcing splint while huge cranes loomed in the sky above; some still loaded down with literal building blocks the size of sheds. Applejack could hear the unsettling creak of the braided ropes as they swayed in the wind, their heavy loads swinging to and fro on the storm.

This, she realized, was the true face of the guard post.

She regained her focus when a drone gingerly alighted on the muddy ground beside her. “Are you three alright?” she asked in concern.

More were coming in for a landing all around the three, each looking worried.

“Sweet Celestia, I’m never going to get used to that,” Rainbow complained, shivering in discontent.

“We’re fine, thanks ta you,” Applejack grunted as she got to her hooves laboriously.

“I-it was nothing,” squeaked another, smaller female changeling, embarrassed. “I didn’t do much…”

“You did plenty, Bumblebee,” reassured the first changeling before turning back to Applejack.

But just as she opened her mouth to speak further, something bright caught her attention out of the corner of her eye – enough to cause her to turn her head to investigate.

Far overhead, atop the now-lopsided roof, a tongue of changeling fire was just fading into the rainy air.

Vigil was standing high up on the rain-soaked parapet, gazing down at the gathering. Even with such a great distance between the two parties, no one could’ve mistaken his air of complete indifference to the destruction he’d just caused.

A cacophonous peal of thunder raced across the sky with explosive volume, throwing the entire courtyard into stark, blinding relief for an instant.

For the entire time it took for the thunder to rumble itself into silence, both Vigil and his quarry stared daggers at each other, neither backing down in the slightest.

“Bumblebee, was it?” Applejack said suddenly, causing the drone in question to stiffen in surprise.

“Um… yes, ma’am?”

“Ah need a favor from ya. Do ya think you can get me up there?”

Bumblebee fidgeted nervously. “W-well, I can try, I guess…”

All the while this was going on, Rainbow was looking between both changelings, a frown growing on her face with every pass.

“Applejack, just what…?”

“Rainbow,” Applejack said suddenly, just as the mare in question clambered upright. “Ah need ya ta get everypony ta safety.”

Dash tensed for a heartbeat. She didn’t even pause to consider that request in the slightest. “No way,” she said sharply, “Like hay I’m gonna let you go in there alone!”

“If you’re going to go,” Hyacinth added, still panting fitfully, “at least let us come with you. You don’t have to face Vigil by yourself.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow said loudly. “We can help! Don’t –”

“Rainbow!”

This time, the pegasus faltered, her voice fading into silence.

Applejack never turned to face her friend. She just kept her eyes on Vigil, and Rainbow at her back.

“You and Hyacinth have been coverin’ my flank a lot lately,” Applejack said somberly. “Yer always gettin’ between me and all the bad stuff that’s out ta get me. But Ah can’t hide behind ya forever, RD. This is somethin’ Ah gotta do myself.”

At last she turned to meet her friend’s wide, searching gaze, only she responded to it with an oddly gentle smile.

“Ah’ll be fine, sugarcube. You know Ah will.”

Rainbow stared wide eyed at her for a moment, at a complete loss for words. And then, after a moment, she nodded slightly. “Don’t… don’t you even think about breaking our promise.”

Applejack’s smile grew a bit at that. “Ah wouldn’t dream of it.”

“And… if you get yourself hurt,” Rainbow snapped, suddenly surprisingly threatening, “or – or really hurt, I am going to smack you so. Freaking. Hard.”

Applejack chuckled a little. “Ah’ll hold ya to that, then.”

Rainbow struggled with herself for a moment – warring with her desire to stay at her friend’s side and to do what she was being told to do. She understood that it was important, but… just how important to her?

In the end, she grunted in annoyance and spun around, putting her back to Applejack. “Alright,” she snapped at her friend without looking at her, “but don’t make me regret this.”

Though she didn’t see it, the smile fell away from Applejack lips then. “Don’t you worry. Ah won’t.”

Rainbow grunted again, then jerked her head, still refusing to look her friend in the eye. “Then get going already, before I wise up and change my mind.”

Once more, she would never see Applejack’s nod of confirmation, even if she imagined it herself.

Applejack then turned towards Bumblebee, who had her horn lit and was apprehensively standing by.

She nodded once more, and a second later she found a ring of fire erupting around her hooves. The muddy ground beneath her seemed to fall away, and a moment later she’d vanished into the cold, tight darkness beyond.

Rainbow only waited until she heard the sound of the portal popping out of existence behind her before she started running as fast as she could. “Come on,” she barked. “We got some ponies to evacuate! Let’s go!”

But even as she ran, she felt lousy with herself, like she was going against her very nature in that moment. It twisted her up inside, in fact, and already she was second guessing herself.

Applejack… you better win. Don’t you dare make me regret this.

~~***~~

For the first time in Applejack’s life, she didn’t find herself tossed bodily out of the other end of the portal.

Rather than being sent flying through the air, Applejack bounded back into the open, stormy air. An automatic, knee-jerk flutter of her wings kept her from tumbling end over end, and she touched down with her front hooves on the storm-soaked, freezing stone of the lopsided tower’s roof just a moment later.

All around her were littered heaps of stone, mortar and timber; the building blocks of what would someday have been a soaring spire. As it was now, however, there was nothing to mitigate the rain and wind sweeping across the wide open space.

Despite the distinctive lean the roof had acquired, most everything was where it was supposed to be. The angle wasn’t so bad that things were rolling away, but it certainly wasn’t even terrain.

And of course, Vigil was waiting for her. By the time Applejack had landed, he had already turned to face her.

He’d stepped down off of the parapet, but otherwise he still stood in the same area, calmly awaiting her arrival.

“You know,” he commented, his emotions masked behind deadly calm, “You continue to surprise me, even now.”

Applejack met his gaze, though she made no attempt to hide her dislike for the changeling in front of her. “Got any particular reason why?”

“There are several,” Vigil responded, “but, I think what surprises me the most is how much of a hypocrite you turned out to be.”

“Pardon me?” Applejack shot, bristling.

“You heard me, ‘Your Highness’,” Vigil said back coolly. “Again and again you proclaimed yourself to be one of them” – he jerked his head stiffly towards the Ponyville skyline behind Applejack – “and yet here you are, leading a small band of drones, standing before me as a changeling queen.”

For a moment, Vigil’s gaze drifted up in order to scrutinize the small – but undeniably authentic – crown that rested upon the top of Applejack’s amber-maned head.

“I can only hope that some of your naivety finally wore off,” Vigil went on. “It would do you some good to face reality sooner than later.”

Applejack’s eyes drifted up for a moment – in the direction of her crown – before coming back down to rest on Vigil.

“Sorry ta disappoint ya, Vigil, but nothin’s changed,” she stated, giving Vigil pause. “Ah already told ya; Ah ain't no queen. But Ah don’t need ta be one ta understand responsibility.”

She took a step forward then. “And right now, Ah got a responsibility ta set this right; to all those ponies ya went and hurt, and to all those changelin’s whose lives yer goin’ ta ruin.”

Vigil cocked an eyebrow in surprise. “Oh? Since when have you cared about changelings? Why would you even care about them?”

“Because my Ma had a dream,” Applejack stated, “and Ah am gonna see it come true. And there ain't no way yer gonna get in the way of that!”

The longer Applejack spoke, the more sour Vigil’s expression became. He was silent for a moment after she’d finished, his fanged lips a razor thin line.

“A dream… that is all that drives you?” he scoffed. “A dream is a fantasy. A wish. Nothing more. I carry reality; undeniable, inevitable. True. “

Now it was his turn to take a menacing step forward, his expression bending into a merciless scowl. “You are a changeling. They are ponies. The two cannot coexist; no prey would ever accept its predator. It is the law of nature.”

Vigil glared hard at Applejack, his expression unbending – unrelenting. “You will serve the changeling nation, in the end. You will be the force the drones rally behind, and through you, the swarm will be united once more.”

Applejack didn’t back down; not in the slightest, even with Vigil bearing the full weight of his words down on her. Her stance didn’t falter, not even a little bit.

“So then tell me, ‘Your Highness’,” Vigil asked coldly, “how do you intend to fight thousands of years of fact with a single night’s worth of wishful thinking? How will you fight nature?”

“Ah figure,” Applejack said, squaring her shoulders, “Ah’ll start by tannin’ yer hide.”

A bright, radiant flash of emerald lit up the roof. A green tongue of flame shot up into the air, and in its wake stood a Stetson-wearing earth pony.

“And Ah’m gonna do it the same way my folks taught me,” she growled. “The earth pony way.”

In a flash, Applejack’s tail swiped a number of bricks from a stack standing beside her. In that same move, she pivoted on her forelegs, spun one hundred-eighty degrees, and fired a rapid series of bucks – one hoof for one stony projectile.

Vigil reacted almost instantly, firing off three flaming blasts from his horn before diving to one side.

It was still a near thing.

He felt the brush of air as one ballistic brick sailed within inches of his head and out into the rain-filled sky beyond. A second narrowly missed one knee, only to slam into the parapet so hard it embedded itself into the thick stone.

Vigil’s wings buzzed into action, sending him shooting to one side. At the same time, his horn erupted to life, just before he loosed a destructive ray of green magic straight at the same stack of bricks Applejack had just pelted him with.

The spell struck so hard it send more building blocks spraying in every direction in a deadly volley of shrapnel.

For a moment, it looked like Vigil had struck true as stone pelted from one end of the roof to the other in a cloud of dust.

A flash of blonde hair proved him wrong, however. Applejack hadn’t been behind the pile of building materials at all.

She sprinted across the roof, darting this way and that. At the last second, she vaulted clean over yet another stack of bricks. Simultaneously, her tail once more flicked, scooping up one of the wet stones just before a jet of emerald flame could pulverize it.

Applejack hit the ground, spun completely around on her forelegs, and flung her projectile through the air.

Vigil barely saw it whistling through the air at him, just giving him enough time to blast the oncoming missile to powder.

“Is that the best you’ve got, ‘Your Highness’?” he called. “You’re going to have to try harder than that!”

Vigil threw his head up, his horn growing brighter still. He grunted as he channeled as much magic into his horn as he could, just before swinging it down in a slashing motion.

A beam of intense magic erupted from the end of his horn and cut straight into the wet roof like a hot knife through butter before swinging from one end of the roof to the other, with one orange pony standing in the way.

Applejack tensed for just an instant before diving at the last second to one side, just as the deadly torrent of magic swiped by, leaving a trail of almost surgically sliced, red-hot stone going from one parapet to the other, cutting apart a pallet of wooden shingles along the way. Those shingles burned fitfully, struggling against the pouring rain to take off.

Applejack eyed the new wound in the tower warily, feeling each slight shift in her hooves like an earthquake. And yet, despite groaning and settling every so slightly, everything held together somehow.

“Understand now?”

AJ’s eyes immediately snapped back up to the changeling still hovering just over the edge of the lopsided roof.

“Your hooves alone aren’t going to see you through this, not this time,” Vigil stated coldly with a hard glare to match. “Your ‘earth pony way’ isn’t going to be enough to beat me.”

To his surprise, however, Applejack only grinned at him. “Ah wouldn’t go jumpin’ the gun just yet,” she said.

Her eyes were resting on Vigil’s cheek. Confused, he moved the tip of one hoof to touch the spot, only to have his confusion change to surprise once more.

His cheek stung from a razor thin, two inch long knick. The feel of tingling healing magic on his hoof only confirmed it; he hadn’t escaped Applejack’s barrage as unscathed as he’d figured.

Applejack’s smirk only grew as Vigil’s eyes widened in surprise. “So what were ya sayin’ just now?” she jeered.

Vigil’s expression once more composed itself into a furious scowl. “Now who’s making who repeat themselves,” he shot, just as he fell onto the wet roof on all fours.

In the next instant, his body disappeared in a blast of iridescent flames.

His black chitin vanished behind a growing coat of purple fur. His body shrunk in size, becoming slimmer. His short, scruffy mane experienced a sudden explosive growth, becoming long and nearly straight, with a pair of streaks running through it.

Once the wave of fire had disappeared, Vigil was gone. In his place, Twilight Sparkle took a threatening step forward.

Applejack leaned back in surprise, her eyes going wide before recomposing a split second later into a hard scowl.

Vigil had the appearance down pat, except for the fact that ‘she’ had an air about her totally unlike anything Twilight would possess. The fact that ‘she’ was still wearing a cold, detached expression only added to the strangeness of it.

“You forget just what you’re up against,” ‘Twilight’ said in a cold, inflectionless tone totally unlike anything she’d normally ever use.

Applejack bared her teeth, bristling. “Hey! That ain't fightin’ fair!”

The fake Twilight huffed, cocking an incredulous brow at her adversary. “That’s the point.”

‘Twilight’s’ horn then crackled to life with a sickly green sheen of magic. “What’s the matter, AJ? Afraid to beat up your own friend?”

Applejack snarled, her scowl growing. Hearing Twilight’s voice practically spit the cowpony’s nickname back at her like a profanity was pushing it too far.

“Ah wouldn’t bet on it, Vigil,” she shot, bristling.

‘Twilight’ gave her a thoroughly unmoved look. “Good,” she said without inflection, “because we’re just getting started, AJ.”

Applejack snarled, baring her teeth. “Stop callin’ me that!” she shouted, and lunged.

‘Twilight’ merely smirked, her horn radiating even brighter before she abruptly swung it down.

And with a grunt, she loosed a ball of intense emerald fire from her horn, sending it roaring like a wounded animal through the air.

Applejack’s eyes grew wide as the fireball streaked straight towards her, moving way too fast and carrying way too much power to dodge in time.

Instinctively she ground to a halt, but the only thing she could do was lower her head and brace…

~~***~~

“Come on! We’re almost there!” shouted Rainbow, her hooves pounding across the slick grass.

Behind her galloped a group of ponies, all moving in a single mass across the open court yard. Dead ahead was a wide hole in the fortified wall; beyond that, the shapes of countless thatched roofs and plumes of dust and smoke loomed in the distance.

If Rainbow had paused to take in the scene around her, she might’ve realized just how odd it was; ponies running away from a guard post, with changelings on all sides.

That, perhaps, was the most surreal attribute of the entire situation. A small group of changelings ran along with the freed ponies, herding the scared, rather perplexed bunch towards safety in a manner to impress any cowpony.

But at the moment, Rainbow was too busy trying to focus her attention to take notice of anything that wasn’t directly in front of her. She was trying with all her might not to let her mind wander, because she knew that if it did, she’d only find it even harder to keep moving in the same direction.

Just gotta get all these ponies to safety, then I can go back for her. No sweat.

Rainbow ground her teeth, her good wing ruffling restlessly. Absolutely no sweat at all. Yep…

“Rainbow…”

The mare in question was so wrapped up in her own head that she almost fell right on her face. She did jump, and in the same motion, snapped her head around to look over one shoulder – back behind her.

Even though Rainbow wasn’t entirely used to seeing her in her natural form, she didn’t have to spend much time trying to identify Hyacinth. The grey streaks in her mane gave her away.

Of course, she was also being levitated a foot or so off the ground on a veil of green magic, a fact that she was clearly trying not to be outwardly indignant about. But there was just no way she was going to be carrying herself anywhere with any due haste.

“What’s up?” Rainbow asked, trying not to sound irritated at being startled.

Hyacinth hesitated, however. Her expression was heavy, even pained – and in a way that had nothing to do with her injuries.

“Why are we letting Applejack face Vigil by herself? Wouldn’t it be better if we were there with her?”

Rainbow’s frown grew. She turned back to watch where she was going, however, and took a moment to answer. “Yeah, probably,” she said, her tone subdued.

“Then why –?”

“Because if there’s anything I get, it’s a pony’s pride.”

Hyacinth’s eyes widened a little.

“And Applejack is the second proudest mare I know,” Rainbow went on. “Right now, even if I really don’t like it, that fight is a matter of pride. No matter what, it’s something Applejack has to do for herself. It’d never be a victory to her if she didn’t win it herself.”

A begrudging chuckle passed her lips, if only just. “Even if it really ticks me off sometimes… her pride is the thing I respect the most about her.”

Hyacinth didn’t respond right away. She only looked at Rainbow for a second or two, her expression unreadable. She scrutinized the back of the pegasus’ head pensively, before opening her mouth, a question on the tip of her tongue…

BOOM!

The sound of explosion raced across the sky overhead, echoing off of the walls of the guard post.

Almost instantly, the group came to a halt, scared ponies and nervous changelings alike hitting the deck with startled yelps.

Rainbow immediately whirled around, her eyes locking dead on the source of the sound; the roof of the central tower.

Emerald flames were only just starting to fade into choking smoke, both of which shot out nearly ten feet over the side of the roof itself.

The tower groaned louder still, shedding loose chunks of itself in alarming quantities as it rocked from the force of the detonation. It still refused to fall, but at this point it seemed to be little more than good fortune and pure structural stubbornness that held it together.

Rainbow looked on with wide eyes and a terrible, twisting sensation in her chest. “Applejack…”

~~***~~

The fireball had struck with a deafening sound unlike anything Vigil had ever heard before; like two plates of glass grinding across each other. The high pitched keening sound most certainly was not a natural sound, that much was sure.

And once the smoke had cleared, Vigil saw the truth of the matter.

Applejack was still standing in place with a contoured, horrendous scorch mark bowed around her.

Fires burned on either side of her, emerald flames quickly spreading from one pile of lumber to the next, completely undaunted by the pelting rain.

Applejack cracked open her eyes, more than a little surprised to find herself still in one piece, only to find still more emerald flames. Except, these flames were haloing her head.

Her hat flickered with a fiery light; a burning guise destabilized by the force of the spell.

For a moment, Vigil could just make out the shape of an intensely glowing crown sheathed amid a Stetson-shaped fire, burning as bright as the sun.

A second later, and its form stabilized with an indignant hiss into a cowpony hat once more.

“Clever,” the false unicorn grudgingly noted.

“Nah,” Applejack said back, “that was just me gettin’ lucky.”

'Twilight' huffed. “So far, luck is all you have,” ‘she’ stated.

‘Twilight’s’ horn came to life again. “For all your power,” she noted, “it’s a pity you have no idea how to apply it.”

Applejack tensed, bracing for the next spell.

Only, it never came.

With a violent heave, the roof suddenly sagged. The entire top half of the tower shifted, coming even closer to toppling over completely.

Whole stacks of bricks, lumber and other building materials shifted, some skidding whole feet down the precariously leaning ground.

One in particular – a pallet piled high with boxes of rivets and bolts – shifted so much that the tarp covering it came loose.

Applejack saw it, and immediately an idea struck her.

While ‘Twilight’ struggled to regain her balance, the stronger earth pony turned and lunged at her target; the tarp itself.

The faux unicorn cursed and fired off a reflex spell, missing Applejack by a wide margin just before she apparently dove behind cover.

But she was doing anything but hide.

Applejack clamped her teeth down on the one remaining tie still tethering the pallet to its cover, and yanked.

One solid tug, and suddenly the whole thing came loose. Mother Nature took over from there.

On a powerful, storm-fueled gust of wind, the tarp flew through the air like a loosed sail, sweeping rampantly across the roof – and straight towards the changeling.

‘Twilight’ cursed once more, but aside from searing a small hole through the oncoming veil and instinctively jumping back, she had no escape.

The tarp hit her full in the face so hard she toppled while the whole thing engulfed her bodily. At least, for a moment or two.

In a burst of changeling fire, Vigil changed shape. The emerald flames ate through the covering, reducing it to ash in a thrice.

Only to find an oncoming orange mare barreling down on him.

Vigil didn’t even have time to defend himself as Applejack leapt – hind legs first – straight at him. What little he did manage to raise his hooves was completely inconsequential against the sheer force of Applejack’s ferocious buck.

All of the air rushed out of his lungs as both her hooves connected squarely with his chest with enough force to shatter his dark armor. That alone was the reason why his ribs weren't reduced to powder.

Vigil was sent tumbling end over end just from the kinetic punch imparted upon him. He flipped through the air at dizzying speeds before finally coming to a halt again; courtesy of the parapet.

He coughed out a number of choice curses as he crumpled to the ground again, struggling to regain his breath.

Applejack, meanwhile, hit the ground on all fours with a loud thud. “That was for my barn!” she roared before charging full tilt towards the dazed changeling. “And this is gonna be for everypony in Ponyville!”

She jumped, reeling back a hoof one last time.

And in a puff of emerald flames, Vigil disappeared.

In his place laid a beaten, bruised Apple Bloom.

Applejack’s eyes went wide in shock. And for a moment, she hesitated, her fury stalling.

“Wha—”

A pair of seemingly iron-hard hooves connecting with her barrel cut her short.

All the air in Applejack’s lungs was literally kicked out of her by a pair of small, yellow hooves that carried a lot more strength then they should have.

“Pathetic,” said a high pitched, youthful – yet coldly threatening – voice in her ear.

Applejack could hear the familiar voice of Apple Bloom, even if it was completely devoid of emotion or accent, yet it still took her a moment to comprehend what it signified.

Before she could, another crushing hoof connected solidly – this time with Applejack’s lower jaw.

The strength that little hoof struck her with far exceeded what a little filly should’ve been capable of. Despite its small size, the hoof connected with the force of an adult, not a child.

Applejack was hit hard enough to send her flying back several feet before landing flat on her back with a heavy thud on the unyieldingly hard ground. She coughed and flipped over onto her side, little sunbursts dancing before her eyes.

A blinding flash of emerald light caught her attention, and when she looked, she found her false little sister gone, a full grown changeling once more taking her place.

Vigil breathed hard, a pair of hoof-shaped bruises on his chest shimmering with emerald light.

“Equestria has made you soft,” he grunted, just barely keeping his panting in check. “You’re a changeling. It’s time you start acting like one.”

Applejack was just starting to stagger upright again when Vigil’s horn started crackling all over again.

“I’m tired of wasting time,” he stated, “but we’ll have plenty of it on our way to the Hive; plenty to work on your behavior.”

“Don’t… go gettin’ ahead of yerself,” Applejack panted. She’d propped herself up by then – enough to glare defiantly back at Vigil. “Ya haven’t won yet.”

Vigil’s expression soured even more at that. “I beg to differ.”

His horn grew brighter still, building up a spell fit for downing a queen.

And once more, the tower groaned.

At first, Vigil paid it no mind; he was too focused on his goal. He was so close now – just a second longer…

Something broke deep within the tower then. One beleaguered support folded, then another and another.

And suddenly, the tower was toppling.

The roof leaned more and more, going almost perfectly diagonal before catching itself again with a jarring jolt.

Vigil staggered, rearing up and wheeling his forelegs through the air for balance. But before he could properly regain it, something hit him in the shoulder.

That was when he noticed an entire hardware store's worth of building materials sailing at him.

Stone blocks, bricks, lumber of all sizes, shingles, rivets and all the tools needed for working them was sliding and crashing straight towards him in an avalanche of deadly missiles.

Instinctively his wings kicked into overdrive, throwing him out of the way of an oncoming block of granite the size of a cart.

The workbench, though, he never saw coming.

Applejack watched as Vigil vanished behind the solid oak table, disappearing from sight entirely. However, she had more pressing matters to worry about than keeping an eye on her adversary.

She was slipping across the wet ground. In front of her, a smashed parapet and a truly gut-wrenching plummet to the earth below. Behind her, a tidal wave of very heavy objects. Simply put, her prospects weren’t much better than Vigil’s.

Instinctively she flipped onto her belly and scrabbled at the stone with her hooves, desperately seeking traction that just wasn’t there.

Heavy blocks and solid timber were thundering down all around her now, some missing her by miraculous inches alone. And the ledge was getting very close, very fast.

Out of pure desperation, Applejack changed, dispelling her pony façade in a flash.

“Come on, dagnabit,” she growled to herself, and slammed her hooves down as hard as she could.

Emerald sparks of magic shrieked off of her hooves with a loud grating sound, but to her immense surprise, she found herself slowing.

Suddenly, there was traction where there hadn't been any before. The stone seemed to grab at her, in fact, refusing to let her go.

Finally, after skidding nearly four feet, Applejack ground to a halt at last. But if the empty air under her hind legs told her anything, it’d been a very near thing.

She kicked her back hooves, trying to find something to cling to, but there just wasn’t anything there; just open space and a long, long way down.

Of course, Applejack didn’t have time to breathe a sigh of relief, either. A pallet smashing the parapet beside her to bits reminded her of that.

She looked up, just in time to see a lamp-post sized wooden strut sailing straight at her like a one ton javelin.

Applejack braced, flinching, only to have the strut impact the roof hardly six inches from her right hoof with such force that it ripped apart the stone roof like a wrecking ball.

The entire ledge Applejack clung to started to fall apart, whole stretches crumbling to pieces – including the stone beneath Applejack’s hooves.

She clambered desperately at the disintegrating roof, but it was a lost cause, especially when the entire ledge she clung to simply broke away completely.

And a split second later, the tower started falling all over again, coming down directly over Applejack’s head like a titanic gavel. This time, there was nothing that could stop it.

The top half of the tower tore itself completely away from the lower half with a terrific, explosive sound beyond compare, ripping up the timber frame and crushing stone to powder.

And then it all came down in one colossal mass with nothing to stop it but the world below. The little, plummeting changeling queen caught between the two wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Applejack knew she only had one chance if she ever intended to live without the knowledge of what getting hit by a tower felt like.

She gritted her teeth, already doubting herself as – for one of the first times in her entire life – she made a conscious effort to flap her gossamer-thin wings.

It went without saying that she’d never flown before. She’d had more practice with magic than she’d had at using her wings.

But she had no choice, and the plummeting half of the tower was very good motivation indeed.

Applejack tensed, closed her eyes, and threw herself from the tumbling ledge. At the same time, she worked her wings as hard as she could.

To call what she did ‘flight’ might’ve been a bit off the mark. It was more like controlled falling.

With the alien sound of her own wings buzzing in her ears, Applejack managed to keep herself from tumbling end over end at the very least. She even managed to get herself going in a direction that didn’t have a building dropping on top of it.

But that was about all she managed. She just couldn’t get the lift to keep going anywhere but down, and her wings themselves felt only marginally more effective than using her hooves to fly. If anything had gotten in her way, that would've been the end of it. Luck had yet to abandon her, however.

The ground came rushing up to meet her, but instead of her hitting it straight on, Applejack struck the wet, muddy grass at an angle, landing squarely on her chest with a yelp, and bouncing once before hitting the ground on her side.

And a split second later, she felt the rush of air as several hundred tons of building hit the ground less than fifty meters from where she lay.

The tower connected hard with the earth, producing an almighty, earthshattering impact unlike anything Applejack had ever heard or felt before. The ground heaved, debris shot high into the air, and a dense, choking blanket of dust rushed outward, swallowing the courtyard – and all those that lingered in it – whole.

~~***~~

Applejack came to in a sea of smog and dust that still choked the life out of her surroundings. Even the flash of lightning was hardly discernible in the haze.

All around her she could see the hulking shapes of demolished masonry that’d been buried in the ground and decimated beyond recognition.

Changeling fire burned somewhere amid the ruins, sending diffused, flickering emerald light through the billowing clouds of dust.

Cold rain pattered all around Applejack. Gusts of wet wind blew banks of smog in her face, soliciting more than one cough from the dazed changeling.

Besides the wind and a few tattered streamers of fabric, everything around her was disquietingly still.

Applejack coughed a few more times while trying to make out her surroundings through narrowed eyes, but there just wasn’t much to see except countless looming silhouettes.

But when she went to stand up, something kept her down. Only then did she notice the crushing weight lying across one hind leg.

What looked to have once been a section of wall was pinning her to the ground. It was a miracle that the thing hadn’t flattened her entirely, in fact.

Applejack tugged a few times, but learned better very quickly. A broken bone could be very persuasive.

But while she panted and struggled to think of her options, something shifted nearby, resulting in a clatter. Applejack looked around quickly, trying to find the source of that noise. But she didn’t need to look far.

Two orbs of blue were advancing through the dust clouds towards her; orbs attached to a dark, obsidian shadow.

Applejack watched as Vigil staggered towards her, his heavy breathing sounding almost like growling. As he drew closer and more details became apparent, she saw that he was covered in cuts and bruises, and seemed to be favoring one foreleg over the other.

But he was advancing, and she had no way of getting away.

“This… has gone on long enough,” Vigil grunted savagely.

His horn was already aglow, his intentions clear. “Apologies, but… Your dream ends here, ‘Your Highness’.”

Applejack glared back, intent on being defiant to the last. But no matter what she tried, her leg wasn’t coming free.

Vigil lowered his head – and immediately was struck bodily by something. Or rather, somepony.

With a furious cry, Rainbow landed squarely on his back, nearly throwing them both to the ground with the force of her collision.

Applejack watched in stunned silence as her friend bit down hard on Vigil’s mane, yanking his head up and away from her.

Vigil himself bellowed aloud, his spell jettisoning harmlessly off into the sky above.

“You little…!” he shouted furiously. His hoof suddenly shot up, grabbing ahold of the foreleg Rainbow had wrapped around his neck, and with another shout, he flipped to one side, taking the cyan pegasus with him.

Vigil landed bodily on his side, slamming Rainbow down hard on her injured wing.

With a pained shriek, her grip on the changeling came undone. No sooner did she let go than did Vigil roll back to all fours. Only now, he was giving her a truly murderous look.

“At the very least,” Vigil snarled, horn sparking and popping with barely repressed fury, “I’ll settle for breaking the Elements of Harmony, one way or another!”

Applejack watched in horror as Vigil now turned his horn on her friend. Only, there was no way the spell fulminating there was non-lethal.

“No!” she cried, struggling worse than ever to break free.

Time seemed to dilate before her eyes, slowing to an almost sluggish, agonizing crawl.

Vigil stepped up closer while Rainbow rolled on the ground, panting in pain. His horn grew brighter and brighter with acidic light.

Rainbow was struggling to rise, but there was no way she’d get up in time to get out of the line of fire.

Unless, of course, a second pony got to Vigil first.

Out of nowhere, a beaten, banged up changeling leapt on Vigil, this time colliding with enough force to send them both tumbling in a pile to one side.

Through the billowing clouds of dust blowing over the scene, Applejack watched as Hyacinth struggled upright just soon enough to strike Vigil across the face, sending him staggering back a step.

Before he could recover, Hyacinth jumped at him again, jaws flung wide.

Applejack never saw it, but she heard Vigil’s uncharacteristic bellow of pain, his form rearing back.

In the next instant, he flung Hyacinth off of him, one of his hoof staying on his shoulder.

Hyacinth rolled, yelping in pain as she went over a rock before stumbling upright in the same move.

Only to find Vigil leveling a charged horn straight at her.

“Why,” he seethed, loosing a spell.

Hyacinth reacted just barely in time, conjuring a weak jade field in front of her, which barely absorbed the spell before destabilizing.

“Won’t,” Vigil growled, firing another spell.

Again, Hyacinth intercepted it, only to have her shield shatter almost instantly in a shower of white-hot sparks.

“You,” Vigil shot, louder, as he fired yet another spell, decimating Hyacinth’s shield but sending it hissing over one shoulder.

“DIE!”

His final spell, surging with all his hatred and sheathed in a blade of emerald flames, launched off the top of his horn with a sound like a gunshot. Hyacinth’s barrier never stood a chance.

And neither did she.

A mild look of surprise crossed Hyacinth’s expression as the spell connected with her forehead.

And, with a sound like splintering glass, her horn shattered into a dozen, fizzling pieces.

“NO!” shrieked Applejack, her voice breaking. “HYACINTH!”

But it was already far too late.

Her aunt was picked up from the force of the spell, carried back a foot or two, and deposited unceremoniously on the sodden ground, where she remained without so much as a twitch, surrounded by the dying fragments of her own horn.

Author's Note

In a way, I loved working on this chapter. It's probably one of my most favorite ones... once I got it right.
Before that, ho-ho-holy crap was it a pain in the plot! Quite literally, but I'm just glad I didn't have to resort to altering the last chapter to make it work (which was on the list of solutions as "absolute last resort").
I've had this chapter in mind for such a long time, so I had to get it just right. Of course, when that started to not work, I had to rework it, like so many elements in this dang story. Fun fact: originally, this entire confrontation was supposed to take place on top of City Hall, and would've only involved a short exchange rather than all of this..

Also, I want to express my appreciation to all of you readers for tolerating my ever-increasing wait time. It really does mean a lot to me, especially when the flow of ideas just doesn't... well, flow. So yeah... thanks. it means a lot.

And on a side note, I wonder if I should put a 'gore' tag up there, considering dat ending... Tell me your thoughts on that.

We're almost there folks! The next chapter will probably be a whole lot shorter, so fingers crossed I get it out in a timely manner. So, until then, you know the drill - comment, critique, question, all that jazz - and I'll see you in the next one.

Chapter 16: The End of Irony, Part 2

Chapter 16: The End of Irony
Part 2

He was running full tilt, blazing through orchards as fast as his powerful legs could take him. The burly stallion’s heart was thundering in his chest, creating a pain unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

He’d heard the cries coming from the back of the orchard, followed by the terrible sounds of a Timber Wolf’s howl, the heart-stopping scream of a filly, a cacophonous boom… and silence.

The big stallion feared what he’d find at the secluded end of the farmland. He knew Timber Wolves weren’t meat-eaters – kind of hard to be without stomachs – but that didn’t stop them from trying. And the results were always… grisly.

Please… don’t let Applejack be hurt. Ah’m beggin’ ya…

But just as he was nearing the rear fence of the farm – the one measly barricade between his family’s land and the ever present, ever merciless Everfree – the big stallion thought he heard something coming from a thicket not far ahead.

Voices, and… crying.

For a moment, his heart stopped in his chest as his worst fears cut at him like a knife.

“APPLEJACK!” he bellowed, panic-stricken, as he plowed through the dense thicket without a second thought.

The scene he emerged onto was one of devastation, but not the kind he’d been dreading.

Scorched twigs and branches lay strewn throughout a small clearing, border to border, and at its epicenter lay something in the vague shape of a Timber Wolf.

It’d been disfigured horribly, most of one side an unrecognizable tangle of savaged branches and twigs. And more disconcertingly of all, alien green fire licked out of its hollow chest, burning the remains from the inside out.

The big stallion only registered this for half a second before his eyes fell on the one he’d been desperately searching for… plus one.

Big Macintosh had beat him to the clearing, it seemed. The young colt was standing near one end of the clearing, putting him not far from the adult stallion, his hooves around another figure.

But the thing he was holding was no pony. It had no fur coat, and instead was covered in tough, leathery chitin as black as coal. Its legs were shot through with innumerable holes, much like the creature’s little amber mane.

But this was no monster. No; it was exactly what he’d come to find.

Applejack, however, did not seem so relieved to see her surrogate father erupt onto the scene, apparently beside himself with fury.

On the contrary; she was utterly terrified.

Her eyes got huge in fright, and the work horse witnessed her do something he’d never seen her do before; she cringed away, shrinking into her brother for protection.

But her father was anything but angry. No, he was relieved beyond comprehension. In fact, he very nearly collapsed from the sheer force of it.

He was so overcome that it took him a second to realize that his little adopted daughter was babbling in absolute terror.

“A-a-Ah’m sorry, Papa! Ah didn’t mean to! Ah just got so mad, and-and it just – it just – Ah didn’t mean ta do it! I-it just happened! Ah promise Ah won’t do it again! Ah want ta be a proper earth pony, Ah swear! Ah-Ah—”

She was silenced, however, when the big stallion rushed towards her, and with a sharp breath, pulled her in for a tight, shaking hug.

“Oh thank Celestia yer alright,” he said, his voice laden with relief. “Yer not hurt are ya? Are ya alright?”

It took Applejack nearly five whole seconds to fathom what was going on. First, she registered that her father wasn’t trying to crush her to death as punishment – though his vigorous hug was borderline doing it anyway. Second, that he was asking her if she was alright.

“A-Ah’m fine, Papa,” she said nervously, still not sure if she was in trouble or not. “B-but Winona… She got bit.”

When Applejack mentioned it, her father became aware of a whimpering, whining sound not far away.

He looked up, away from the little amber head he was pinning to his chest, and noticed Big Macintosh cradling a tiny, shaking furry bundle with one foreleg.

One of the puppy’s hind legs was bleeding a little. She’d probably need a few stitches, but she’d be fine.

“Winona’s fine, honeybunch,” the stallion soothed. “We’ll get her down to a vet and she’ll be right as rain ‘fore you know it.”

Applejack tilted her little head up then, careful to angle her sharp horn to one side so as not to poke her father, and looked him in the eyes nervously.

There were streaks under each eye from her tears, glistening in the daylight. `“Really?” she asked hopefully.

Her father smiled, then wiped one of her cheeks with a hoof. “Have Ah ever lied to ya, Applejack?”

She gazed up at the big stallion’s smile, at last coming to the realization; she wasn’t in trouble at all. “No,” she said quietly.

Her father smiled a bit more, then patted her on the head. “Alright then. You best get changed then go find yer Mamma. She’ll be in a right state.”

“But Winona,” Applejack said, starting to panic again as she turned around.

But Big Mac was already rushing away, going as fast as he could hobble on three legs, the other cradling a little injured puppy safely against his chest.

“Mamma first,” Her father instructed firmly, “then you can run down to the clinic.”

If her ma ever lets her out of her sight again, that is…

Applejack nodded, though she was biting her lip with one pointy canine nervously. “Alright…”

“That’s my girl,” the stallion praised. He then leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, right under her little horn, then let her go.

Applejack took a few steps back, and in a flash of emerald light, she was once more the little earth pony filly everypony else in town had taken a shine to.

She offered a weak smile, then turned and galloped away, rushing off towards the farmhouse.

It wasn’t until after she left that the smile started to slip from the big stallion’s face, a crease of worry replacing it.

Only then did he allow himself to turn around, eyes sweeping first over the snapped and burnt twigs littered around his hooves, then to the demolished Timber Wolf… and then beyond it; to the shattered, blackened tree behind it, and the one behind that, and the one behind that…

Ah just got so mad…

The farmer stallion gazed at the smoldering, blasted wound in the forest’s edge before him, and in his heart, he felt very worried indeed.

~~***~~

A thunderous death knell boomed across the sky over a scene of utter devastation. The rain pelted down from the heavens without feeling or care, chilling whatever living thing they touched to the bone.

But Applejack hardly noticed the flash of lightning through the dust and smoke, or the icy bite of the rain drawling in her ears.

Her eyes stayed irrevocably fixed on the motionless form lying amid the obscuring clouds and the shattered fragments of a black horn – fragments that still bled a faint, wispy green light into the winds like a fading smoke.

Applejack wasn’t aware of feeling anything. The myriad of emotions she should’ve been processing simply failed to connect with her head. The only sensation she could feel, in fact, was the hard, reverberating thud in her chest. Not even the throb in her leg could compare.

That, and a faint stirring in the back of her mind.

... move…

Hyacinth was down. This fact hit Applejack again and again, each time as fresh as the last. She was down… and she wasn’t getting back up.

Move…

Little sunbursts popped in front of Applejack’s eyes, the very edges of unconsciousness crawling at the fringe of her vision. Only then did she realize how hard she was pulling herself forward – trying desperately to free herself from the ruin crushing her leg.

Move!

Even as her broken leg screamed at her to stop, she kept trying to drag herself forward – towards her aunt. She gritted her teeth against the pain and swelling frustration, ignoring everything beside the task at hoof – including the building heat in her skull.

MOVE!

And just like that, the unyielding pinning force holding her in place was gone. There was no warning or noticeable shift in the weight crushing down on her. It was as if the thing simply ceased to be.

Applejack wasted no time with questions, however. She threw herself forward, already in a three-legged sprint before she’d even properly stood up.

“Hyacinth!” she cried as loud as she could, all the while staggering and hobbling as fast as her bruised legs could carry her.

She was barely aware of a set of glowing blue eyes suddenly snapping onto her, fixating on her as she rushed towards her destination.

Vigil, however, only gave her a look of complete surprise. He blinked, in fact, rather perplexed by the sight of the young changeling queen rushing – albeit haphazardly – across the mud and grass.

How did she…?

BAM!

Something immensely heavy crashed down hardly ten feet from Vigil with enough force to send a shockwave through the soaked ground, causing the very mud underhoof to leap in alarm.

Vigil turned his head, wide eyed, just as an entire shattered wall collapsed fully onto its side, adding yet another crater to the yard.

And if it wasn’t for the angry sparks skittering across the broken stone, he may have never understood just where it’d come from, no matter how deeply unsettling it struck him.

Not far off, Rainbow’s eyes had gone wide – far wider than ever before, and with each passing second, her face seemed to get steadily paler and paler. But it wasn’t Hyacinth her eyes were centered on anymore.

“Apple… jack?” she grunted, forcing herself to speak through the pain and building unease.

But the farm pony ignored her. She was barely aware of anyone speaking to begin with. All of her focus was trained on Hyacinth, scanning desperately for even the faintest sign of life.

At last, after what felt like an eternal slog across the rainy yard, Applejack finally came upon where Hyacinth lay, no matter how much she dreaded what she’d find.

The first thing her eyes fell upon was the almost cleanly shorn stump barely protruding from the center of her forehead. Thin wisps of escaping magic still drifted from what remained of Hyacinth’s horn.

Even as Applejack watched, however, the already dim light was guttering lower still. To her horror, she found the healing flicker over Hyacinth’s many wounds to be barely more than a dim glow, on the utmost verge of going out entirely.

And then, just as the worst dread yet began to sink into Applejack’s heart, she saw a twitch.

“D… don’t cry…”

Applejack gasped, tensing in surprise.

Hyacinth’s blue eyes were barely open more than halfway, but there was no denying the fact that the lighter depths of those eyes were turned towards Applejack.

No one could’ve mistake how little was left in those eyes, however. The light of awareness remained, but hardly anything else had the strength needed to surface. It seemed to be sheer force of will alone that kept her from fading entirely.

Immediately Applejack switched gears. With her heart thundering in her chest, she pulled herself closer. Yet, she found her hooves only capable of fluttering uselessly, panic overriding any potential course of action.

“Hyacinth, yer – just hang on!” she said, her voice very nearly breaking again. “Yer gonna be just fine! A-ah’ll get ya to a doctor and – and –”

“Applejack…,” Hyacinth sighed, exceedingly patient given the circumstances, as if she had all the time in the world.

But Applejack didn’t seem to hear her. She kept babbling, all the while trying to get her brain to work in a way it refused to. She just couldn’t concentrate. “J-just stay with me, ya hear? W-we’ll get yer horn fixed as good as new, a-and then…”

“Applejack…”

“J-just don’t you d-dare leave me, alright?” Applejack said, working very hard to keep her voice as steady as possible. She was failing. Even when she tried to make her words sound stern, it just didn’t carry any weight whatsoever.

With each passing second, what little strength she had left caved even more. She was tired – emotionally and physically. She just… didn’t have the strength for it anymore.

“Y-ya can’t leave me,” she managed to choke out.

Finally, her hooves found direction. They cradled Hyacinth’s beaten and broken head to her almost of their own accord, acting instinctively.

“Ah… Ah can’t… Ah don’t know how ta do this without ya” Applejack whimpered into her aunt, forcing her eyes shut tight. “How am Ah supposed to…?”

“The same way…,” Hyacinth breathed airily, “… you always… have, Applejack.”

Applejack opened her eyes then, to find another pair looking back at her.

Hyacinth’s smile was beyond weak, but it was there – barely. “You haven’t needed me… or anyone else… to stand on… your own four hooves… have… have you?”

While Applejack struggled with some sort of an answer, Hyacinth weakly forced one of her hooves to rise, gently pressing it to Applejack’s chest.

“You… are strong, Applejack. Stronger than… than anyone else… here,” she went on, patting her niece right over her heart. “So… you have to… you have to be that pony now.”

Not a single spark of magic glittered across any of her wounds anymore, but she hardly seemed care in the slightest.

Hyacinth pulled herself closer, her face becoming slightly strained. It was only the strength of her drive that kept her from passing out at that point, but even that unbending determination was starting to fail her.

“Get going, Applejack,” she grunted “Win. For… for your friends… for Ponyville… for us… all of… all of us… and for… for you, too.”

Applejack gulped, chest throbbing still harder. There were so many things whipping around inside her head – too many to organize.

And then, very slowly, she found the strength to nod her head just a tiny bit. “Ah… Ah promise, Hyacinth.”

Hyacinth’s expression softened then. The tension in her body started to ebb. She smiled again – softer this time, her normally tough demeanor cracking in that moment. “That’s… my girl,” she said softly. “I… I am… proud of you… dear. I… am proud of the pony… in… in here…”

Her hoof tapped Applejack over her heart again.

Hyacinth’s weak smile returned then, her muscles relaxing still further. “I… love you… very much, dear.”

Then she coughed, coming dangerously close to sounding like a chuckle. “Ah… so… so that’s what it’s like to… to say… to… say…”

The rest of her breath simply escaped passed her lips, the end of her sentence never to be.

Finally, not even her will could fend off the inevitable. Her eyes drifted shut, her consciousness surrendering at last.

Her hoof slipped from Applejack’s chest, and she moved no more.

The sound of the rain came rushing back to Applejack’s ears; deafening, all-encompassing. For the longest time, that sound was the only one she heard. It was the only one she allowed herself to hear.

In any other situation, she would’ve broken down completely; just given in to the overwhelming pain in her chest.

But… perhaps it was just her imagination. Maybe it was simply wishful thinking. But in that moment, Applejack was more than content to believe the weak, fluttery touch of air on her chest had nothing to do with the wind.

Her heart seemed to quiet. Her sniffles became subdued. Applejack didn’t break down, even though she very much wanted to; it seemed like such an easy thing to do – infinitely simpler than picking herself up.

But that was what she did. Because she’d made a promise.

Applejack gently set Hyacinth’s head down and stood up. She turned and took a step forward, placing herself between Hyacinth… and the one responsible. The one responsible for everything. The razing of her barn, the chaos filling her hometown, the pain and suffering inflicted on her friends… and now this.

Vigil stood in the same place, his breath regained. He hid it fairly well, but he couldn’t help but eye Applejack warily. The very air around her seemed to hum with barely repressed emotion, and something far deadlier.

“Rainbow,” Applejack said somberly, causing the mare in question to jump. “Look after Hyacinth for me, would ya?”

Rainbow was silent for a moment, her eyes wide and searching. But the amber-maned changeling didn’t turn to meet her gaze. “Applejack?” she asked nervously. She’d never seen her friend like this… and it was doing more than worry her.

Rainbow had seen her friend irritated. She’d seen her pushed to the end of her patience on more than one occasion – having been responsible for half of them herself. She’d even seen Applejack mad.

But this was the first time she’d ever seen her this livid.

“It’s alright, sugarcube,” Applejack said, still using that unsettlingly low tone. “This’ll be over ‘fore ya know it.”

Rainbow’s heart thudded unpleasantly at that. “O-okay,” Rainbow said, trying hard to cover up her misgivings, “but don’t forget your promise.”

Applejack paused at that, but not for long. “… So long as ya don’t, neither.”

Applejack’s comment only made Rainbow all the more uneasy. But she kept her comments to herself, even if against her better judgment.

Eyes never once leaving her friend, Rainbow hefted herself to her hooves and started to move towards Hyacinth, all the while giving Applejack and Vigil a wide berth.

Rainbow had enough sense to know that the space between the two changelings was about to become a very inhospitable place. But that didn’t stop her from watching.

Vigil spared the cyan pegasus only a momentary glance before returning his cold gaze to the one standing in front of him. “Finished?” he asked.

Applejack’s response was to take another step forward. Heat once more throbbed in her head, resulting in thin curls of steam rising off of her horn as it dried itself.

“Eeyup,” Applejack grunted.

Not far off, a chill ran down Rainbow’s spine. There was only one reason why Applejack would speak like that, and it was giving her an even worse feeling.

Vigil took notice as well, but he only hesitated for a moment. “Good,” he said in a clipped tone, eyes narrowing, “because so am I.”

Without wasting another moment, Vigil squared his stance, his horn surged to life, and with a loud bang, he loosed a stream of numbing magic straight at his target – enough to put any pony into a coma for weeks on end.

He knew Applejack wouldn’t dodge, not this time; not with Hyacinth and Rainbow only a short way behind her. And sure enough, she didn’t even twitch towards her right or left. Vigil knew this would be the end, one way or another.

At least, those were Vigil’s thoughts. After all, what other possible tricks could a changeling queen have?

Vigil’s spell struck home with a high pitched shriek, exploding up and out as it hurled itself against something that refused to give way.

Understandably, Vigil himself was rather perplexed. He frowned, his patience fraying still further.

“Your crown won’t last forever, Applejack!” he shouted over the ungodly shrieking sound grating against his eardrums. “How long do you plan on hiding behind it?”

“Hey, doofus!”

Vigil’s irritation spiked still further as his eyes snapped onto a cyan figure standing slightly to one side of where Applejack was – just far enough to make herself clearly visible.

Her and the soggy Stetson she was waving in the air.

Vigil’s eyes widened in dawning comprehension at the sight of Applejack’s crown in Rainbow’s grip – clearly placing it far from where it should’ve been.

Then… what is…

“Ah ain’t hidin’!” shouted a voice over the continued shrill complaint of colliding magic.

Vigil’s eyes immediately snapped forward again. Through the shower of sparks flying through the air in every direction in front of his target, he could just make out a pair of holey forelegs braced in nearly six-inch long tracks scraped into the drenched earth.

But what had initially forced Applejack back wasn’t anymore. In fact, Vigil’s spell didn’t even seem to be touching her…

“Me hidin’ is what started all this!” Applejack shouted again. “Ah hid from my friends and everypony Ah cared for, all because Ah was scared!”

Something even brighter than Vigil’s spell was welling up just on the other side, growing bigger and bigger with each passing second. Slowly, Vigil began to realize that his stream of magic wasn’t bending around an obstruction anymore. To his astonishment, he found it being met in kind by a torrent of wild, unrestrained caustic flames that rolled off of a single shaft of blinding, white-hot magic.

But to call what Applejack did a ‘spell’ might’ve been too much of a grandiose description. There was nothing refined or controlled about the discharge that ripped from Applejack’s horn at all. It was simply raw, untamed magic in its most basic, most primal form, but there was a whole lot of it.

And for the first time in Applejack's life, her magic was responding exactly as she intended it to, and with gusto.

“Ah was scared of losin’ my friends,” she went on, shouting at the top of her lungs around the deafening howl of her own surging magic. “Ah was scared of hurtin’ my family, and everypony who relied on me!”

Her magic surged still further, tearing into Vigil’s spell like a rabid animal, ripping the emerald column to shreds as it advanced. No matter what he tried – no matter how much of his reserves he tapped and cast at his adversary – there was no regaining the ground he was losing.

Pretty soon, the spectacular collision of magic wasn’t mere inches from Applejack’s face, but several feet in front of it – and growing.

“But Ah still got everypony hurt anyways!” Applejack bellowed, her voice divided down the middle between fury and pain. “Includin’ those Ah didn’t even know Ah had rootin’ for me!”

Applejack snarled, her anger adding fuel to an already tumultuous fire. Flames leapt in every direction, overshadowing Vigil’s increasingly punier-looking ray of magic.

The very ground between them heated to the point of shedding puffs of steam as the mud and yellowing grass baked under the intense heat.

“Ah’m sick of hidin’! Ah’m tired of bein’ scared! For all those lives ya tried ta ruin, and all those dreams ya almost destroyed, Ah aint gonna let myself be afraid of NOPONY!”

Applejack’s magic exploded in torrential volumes off the tip of her horn, surging forth from a font within her she never knew she possessed, or had never bothered trying to tap.

Her unrefined spell wasn’t just shoving Vigil’s back anymore. It was leaping clear over it.

Like an eclipse, streams of raging magic rolled over the edges of Vigil’s spell, scorching the earth around him and assaulting his eyes with blinding emerald flames.

Vigil barely felt his hooves started to skid, but when he did, he’d already been shoved back nearly two feet.

“Ah’m gonna stick to my word,” Applejack roared. “Ah’m gonna make everythin’ better; for Ponyville, for my friends, and ALL those changelin’s wantin’ a better life here! And there ain’t NO way Ah am ever goin’ ta let ya STOP ME!”

Vigil’s eyes widened, his breath stilling for but a moment.

Vigil knew what was coming, but in that crucial moment, he stalled. His tactical sense failed him, grinding to a halt between his inability to admit defeat… and the sneaking suspicion of having that very prospect barreling towards him like a tidal wave.

Magic howled all around him, parting just barely before his face. Loose bits of rubble and pebbles were flying through the air all around him, borne on a searing wind.

But even from the roiling heart of an emerald firestorm, the only thing ricocheting around his head were those last words he’d heard before everything had been consumed by wrathful roaring.

Why… does that sound so…, he thought, just an instant before his forelegs parted ways with the baked ground, and everything went white.

~~***~~

Vigil managed to refrain from yelping as he was slammed against a tree hard enough to linger in the same spot for a moment or two before crumpling on top of a lichen-choked bough in a heap.

“You’re getting sloppy, trainee,” stated his attacker from overhead.

Vigil snapped his head up, snarling in frustration. There stood another changeling, one who occupied the underside of a gigantic branch that twisted over his head. She stood directly over him, in fact, with her flank facing the gnarled, vine-choked trunk Vigil had just introduced his rump to.

Hyacinth’s statement had not carried much bite to it – it came out sounding more like a warning, rather than a harsh reprimand. And yet, it still bore the same impact on the younger changeling.

Vigil immediately scrambled back onto all fours, bristling with anger. Yet, Hyacinth stayed on the same upside-down vantage point, as cool as ever.

Despite seeing the look Vigil gave her, Hyacinth remained infuriatingly unimpressed. She didn’t say anything or react in the slightest, instead opting to wait for the move she knew to be coming.

And sure enough, Vigil abruptly loosed a streak of corrosive green magic straight at her, hoping to catch the senior changeling off guard.

Hyacinth’s reaction was almost alarmingly simplistic. She didn’t deflect the spell or intercept it – like Vigil had been preparing for.

No, she simply darted back a step.

The spell struck the thick branch near its base, disintegrating a large crescent right out of the wood. As a consequence, the whole thing drooped, groaned, and collapsed with a loud crack of splintering wood.

Vigil could only look on as the fruits of his labor came screaming down on top of him, all-too eager to teach him his lesson.

“I have a question for you, trainee.”

Vigil tried not to grumble, but he couldn’t unbend the scowl on his face. “What would that be?”

He glanced to one side – towards the changeling lounging almost casually next to him, looking perfectly at ease.

Hyacinth, however, kept her eyes up – towards the distant jungle canopy and the thin traces of sunlight working their way through the muggy air.

“You put such a value on perfection,” she began, “so much so that even a little slipup is enough to infuriate you.”

“That’s not a question,” Vigil noted coldly.

Hyacinth pursed her lips for a moment, and a split second later her hoof shot out like a snake, striking the younger changeling in the side.

Vigil yelped aloud, unable to restrain his voice in time. He was at least spared the indignity of clutching at the throbbing point of impact, though that was mostly due to the fact that there was a rather sizable pile of sundered wood lying on top of him.

Only Vigil’s upper half stuck out into the open air, while the rest was irrevocably pinned to the soft, mushy ground, sparing him not a single shred of dignity.

“You’d do well to remember which of us is the instructor here, Vigil,” stated Hyacinth pointedly.

Vigil grimaced once more, but managed to hold his tongue with some chagrin.

After watching the trainee for any further signs of insubordination, Hyacinth went on. “You push yourself harder than half the trainees, and half the time all that accomplishes is you losing your temper.”

Hyacinth scrutinized the side of Vigil’s face, and even though he felt her gaze on him, he refused to meet it in kind.

“Your emotions are constantly getting the better of you, and yet you continue to push yourself in the exact same manner regardless. Why is that?”

Vigil’s lips pursed, his expression darkening. “I fail to see how that is relevant,” he grunted.

He practically felt Hyacinth’s eyes narrowing at him. “Ma’am,” he corrected quickly.

Hyacinth relaxed again, but her eyes stayed on the pinned drone, who was starting to look rather incensed about his situation. “It is relevant,” she stated. “It isn’t pure stubbornness that’s pushing you, otherwise I wouldn’t be wasting my time here.”

Vigil’s grimace only worsened at that, but he knew better than to say anything. Even if Instructor Hyacinth was marginally more forgiving than the other instructors, that didn’t mean she wasn’t above discipline.

Hyacinth continued to dissect the younger changeling’s expression and the mystery behind it. “So then, I have to ask you, Vigil; what drives you?”

Vigil remained silent for a long time, but after a second or two, Hyacinth witnessed the younger drone’s visage lose that sour edge it’d developed.

“…An end to all this pointless fighting,” he grunted, almost too low for Hyacinth to catch. “Ever since Queen Phantasma changed everything…”

Hyacinth eyed Vigil for a moment in silence, much to his annoyance. There was an unreadable look on her eye before finally, after a long pause, she parted her lips.

“You lost your queen.”

It wasn’t a question. It was a mere statement – a point of fact – bearing with it a tone Vigil did not care for. “I don’t need your pity,” he snapped icily, refusing to meet her gaze.

To his surprise, however, no reprimand came, even if his action had been the height of disrespect.

“I don’t pity you,” Hyacinth said, her tone now surprisingly hard to read. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t sympathize.”

Now Vigil couldn’t help but glance at his instructor. Hyacinth wasn’t looking at him anymore, however. She instead looked out over the jungle, as if she could see the dozens of other trainees and their instructors running through drills all throughout the jungle canopy.

“So many changelings are in the same situation as you,” she said. “So many queen-less with no other choice but to fall in with another hive… and so many queens willing to fight over those unclaimed assets for their own gain.”

Hyacinth took a deep breath and let it out slowly – coming very close to sighing, in fact. “It’s tragic… the victims of Phantasma’s crusade are the ones perpetuating her legacy.”

Vigil followed Hyacinth’s gaze then, turning it to peer out into the dense, vibrant jungle before him. “I just want to see an end to it,” Vigil said. “I want to see an end to this chaos. I want to see that brighter future.”

Vigil never saw it, but Hyacinth grew very still then, her eyes once more turning towards him. But she said nothing, and likewise kept her demeanor cryptic.

“And…,” Vigil continued on, suddenly struggling to pull himself free with a snarl. “If there is some way I can make that happen… If I can help keep those dark times behind us … then there is no way I will allow myself to be unable to accomplish it, no matter what the price!”

So that’s it…

~~***~~

Images swam before his eyes, slowly – and rather unexpectedly – solidifying into a dull, despondent grey. But… Vigil could see it. As inexplicable as it was, his eyes opened unto the underbelly of a spent storm.

No more rain fell. No more wind blew. For the first time in quite a while, everything was just… quiet.

“I… I’m… alive?” he grunted in confusion, but the sound of his own voice confirmed it. That, and another.

“Yup.”

Wearily, Vigil turned his head to one side; facing the one who’d spoken.

Applejack stood there, turned away, her eyes ranging out over some vista beyond the rubble. She didn’t acknowledge Vigil’s presence, at least outwardly. If she hadn’t been the one to speak, he might’ve thought she didn’t even know he was there.

“Ah ain’t like ya, Vigil,” Applejack stated. “No matter how much Ah hate ya… Ah ain’t like ya.”

Vigil didn’t even have the strength to express his mild surprise. But at this point, could he really say that he was, in all honesty, surprised?

“Even to the very last… you defy my expectations,” Vigil muttered. “No matter what I do… I can’t break you.”

Applejack turned one eye towards the feeble, wrecked changeling lying on the ground behind her. She’d held back at the last possible moment… but it’d been a very near thing. The fact that he was there at all was a small miracle in itself.

Vigil looked back at her, holding her gaze for a moment. Yet, there was no hatred in her eyes anymore. Sure, it wasn’t a very welcoming look she gave the changeling. But in that moment, all she showed… was apathy.

“It’s not that Ah’m defyin’ yer expectations, Vigil,” she stated plainly. “You just don’t have the right expectations ta be judgin’ with.”

Vigil blinked at that – wearily. “I wonder…”

He turned his head then, looking back up into the dull, cloudy sky. “I… I have devoted my life to serving Her Highness. I swore I would give anything… do anything, to ensure her reign… to ensure her… stability.”

“I swore I would do anything…,” he repeated, his eyes tracing the lighter cracks in the motionless clouds above. “To make sure… the damage done by Queen Phantasma… was never repeated. But I wonder…”

He paused for a moment, his dim, exhausted eyes becoming distant. “I wonder… when did hatred become a part of the equation?”

Applejack remained silent, choosing instead to watch the changeling quietly.

For a long time, neither of them spoke; Applejack being unsure what to say, and Vigil too lost in his own thoughts to speak up anyway.

And then, in a voice barely even audible to Applejack – one intended for no one in particular – Vigil’s lips parted.

“I’m… sorry… Gardenia…”

Applejack’s eyes widened in surprise, her heart thumping painfully in her chest, but she kept her questions in check.

Without warning, Vigil turned his head slightly, once more focusing his gaze on the young queen standing beside him. “I… won’t apologize,” he stated. “You… wouldn’t take any solace from it anyway… Everything I’ve done… I would do again… without question. I would burn… a thousand Ponyvilles… if it meant not descending back… back into those dark times.”

Applejack frowned, but Vigil ignored the look she gave him.

“I… ordered my forces out of Ponyville,” he went on. “They will keep the ponies fighting… fighting to the bitter end. The ponies of Equestria will hate our kind for what we’ve done here.”

Applejack felt her heart thump even harder, the shadow of panic lurking in the back of her mind.

Vigil then tried to flip over onto his side. It was a weak effort, however, one that cost him more strength than he’d expected and accomplished next to nothing.

“The odds are going to be stacked very much against you… But if you truly intend to keep following this foolish path of yours, Applejack,” he forced out, “If you honestly believe you can… undo history… then do me a favor.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow incredulously. “And what might that be?”

“…Don’t fail.”

That response was perhaps one of the most unexpected things Applejack had ever heard. It took her completely off guard, ruining whatever retort she could’ve countered with.

After a moment, Vigil turned back towards the sky, his expression stony. “It may be a fool’s errand. But if you succeed… perhaps… just perhaps… I did not waste my time here after all.”

Vigil closed his eyes and turned his head to one side, away from Applejack. “Or… maybe I… did...”

Applejack blinked. Had Vigil just…?

“Applejack!”

The apple farmer tensed instinctively, eyes darting around quickly. No matter how distant the speaker had sounded, there was no denying how alarmingly familiar that voice sounded.

And in the silence, she could hear that it wasn’t just one pony who was drawing ever closer.

“Applejack! Where are you?”

She could make out well over a dozen sets of hooves now – all barreling at quite the clip closer and closer, headed straight for her. Perhaps more alarming was the sound of clanking and rattling armor that seemed just as intent on closing the distance between them as well.

For just one instinctive moment, Applejack started to shift. It was a knee jerk response, one honed over years and years of having the need to conceal herself ingrained into her brain.

But she caught herself. It took a great conscious effort, but she managed to stop the emerald flames before they could wrap around her.

Applejack was too nervous to do anything. Her instincts told her to run and hide, to tuck away this shameful side of her and go on pretending she was just as strong and reliable as ever.

But her heart could not lie, not anymore. Fear and shame had been its shield, but now… now it had no choice in the matter. So, instead of doing something – anything – she did something far, far harder.

She did nothing.

She stilled herself, forcing herself to stay absolutely motionless in every way possible, denying herself any opportunity to escape. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t do anything. She just stayed petrified on the spot, waiting as the first set of hooves rounded the nearest corner and immediately ground to a halt.

Applejack didn’t want to look – not initially – but after steeling her nerves, she forced her head around to face the gathering behind her.

Over a dozen battle weary Royal Guards all looked back at her, as did the tips of their spears. At first, Applejack didn’t spot a single friendly face among them. Everypony glared daggers at her, hate and exhaustion mingling to varying degrees across every pony she looked at.

Well… save for four.

Several pairs of eyes stared unblinkingly back at her, each set wider than the last. Three pairs of blue eyes and set of deep purple – all four gazed at her, not one missing a single detail.

Each one took in Applejack’s black, scuffed up chitin, her scruffy, dirty amber mane – especially eying the charred and shorn end to her tail and the limp hind leg she kept just a few inches off the ground.

They stood in silence for nearly five solid seconds, just staring back and forth, until at last, Applejack offered a weak smile to the group before her.

“Howdy, girls.”

Author's Note

Well I lied. I'm going with the cliffhanger ending anyway. Hah!
I actually did that to simplify the wrap up. Sure, this chapter isn't it's usual epic length, but that's just because it felt like embellishing any further would be rather unnecessary. I don't know; it just seemed like the right thing to do.
I actually considered combining this chapter with 15, considering it's length, but I didn't feel like making people reread what would've been close to a 20k word chapter, so you get two.

Anyway, next chapter will be the final chapter, not counting the epilogue, which I'm doing separately again. Blog post will probably be going up about the various other ways I intended to deal with Vigil (from initial concept on). Until then...

Chapter 17: One And The Same

Dear Princess Celestia,

I know I ain’t one for longwinded speeches, but this time, I have something to say. I wanted to say that this time, I wasn’t right all along. I don’t have all the answers I thought I did.

About a month ago, Canterlot was attacked by the changelings. I know you probably don’t need reminding of that, but that attack made me realize something about myself. Something I never wanted realized, so much so that I ran from it as much as I could, and for all I was worth…

By now you’re probably a mite bit confused as to what I’m talking about. Well then, I hope you have some time to spare, because I want to tell you something.
I want to tell you everything…

~~***~~

Twilight stared transfixed at Applejack’s strange yet brilliant topaz eyes, her mind going unusually quiet for the first time in a long time.

Rarity, in a rare moment of lost composure, stared in slack-jawed astonishment at Applejack. So great was her shock that she didn’t even seem to mind the rather large muddy puddle she stood in.

Incredibly, Fluttershy stood in plain view, though she had the distinct air of being on the verge of a fainting spell; at least, more-so than usual.

Next to her stood Pinkie, who had a rather oddly blank expression on her face. She stood quite motionless, in fact, and seemed too taken aback to react; a very unique moment indeed.

Applejack could only brace herself. She forced herself to meet the eyes of each and every one of her friends, no matter how titanic of a chore it seemed to be.

At the very least, she kept herself from running, which in itself was no small miracle. For once, Applejack understood what Fluttershy went through on a near daily basis.

But for what felt like a small eternity, she was not the only pony frozen in place. All of her friends stared at her, seemingly unable to comprehend what they were seeing.

“App…?” Twilight started to say at last, speaking in a hushed tone. But it was not her that ultimately spoke up the clearest.

A white hoof cut her off as it was thrust in front of her face.

Shining Armor stepped forward then, gaining Applejack’s undivided attention. But all she had to see was his scowl. He didn’t raise his voice beyond conversational levels, but there was no disguising the bite to his voice that was anything but friendly.

“Guards,” he ordered flatly, “take the changeling into custody.”

Well, Applejack couldn’t say she hadn’t been anticipating that reaction.

The guards behind him seemed beyond eager to do as ordered. Spears lowered, they advanced with grim faces…

“Wait!”

~~***~~

I think the closest I ever came to revealing myself was during that dang Running of the Leaves last year with Rainbow and Twilight.

Rainbow Dash… she got me so gosh darn riled up. It’d been a long, long time since she’d gone and made me that mad.

And when Rainbow’s wings came free and she started to fly off… Landsakes, I about lost it. I remember thinking to myself, “if Rainbow can use her wings, why can’t I?” Seemed only fair at the time.

But at the last second, I noticed that RD was still pretty darn close, so… I ain’t too proud to admit my temper got the better of me when I chose to tackle her instead, just to give her a piece of my mind the earth pony way.

It’s funny, really… Rainbow’s the one that constantly seems to be out to do nothing more than drive me up a wall. And yet, when the chips are down, there ain’t nopony else I’d rather put my faith in…

~~***~~

Every guard automatically froze in place as a rainbow blur cut across their vision. Out of nowhere, they suddenly found their path blocked by a single, battered and beaten pegasus.

Rainbow stood before the array of lances without fear, hooves spread wide and a defiant snarl on her face. “You guys aren’t laying a horseshoe on Applejack!” she shouted so loudly that several guards took an automatic step back.

Even Shining paused at that. “Applejack?” he repeated, momentarily taken aback. But he recovered almost right away, only this time he turned his scowl on Rainbow instead.

“Rainbow, snap out of it!” he barked. “That’s a changeling, not –”

“I know!” Rainbow countered sharply. “And she is Applejack!”

She then turned her attention towards her friends, a small plea edging into her eyes. “Can’t you girls see that? She’s Applejack! Our Applejack!”

Shining’s scowl only grew. “That’s just her influence talking!” he said, his patience growing ever thinner. “Now I’m going to ask you one more time, Rainbow. Move, before I have to do something we’re both going to regret!”

“No!” shot Rainbow petulantly, shaking her head even as the rest of her friends gasped aloud.

“Shining, don’t!” yelped Twilight, suddenly grabbing at her brother’s side. “Rainbow’s still –”

“RD!” Applejack cried at the same time, alarmed. “Stop actin’ stup—”

“Ah-HAH!”

Everypony present leapt nearly a foot in the air at a certain pink party pony’s loud exclamation.

Pinkie was abruptly pointing one hoof straight at a now-wide-eyed Applejack. Stranger still, she seemed to be grinning quite hugely.

~~***~~

When I was little, I never really felt comfortable just being off the farm. Back then, I was constantly worrying that somepony would find out about me. When I was around my family, I never had to worry about that, so I always just preferred the farm over hanging around Ponyville. I knew I’d get picked on at school if everypony found out I wasn’t like them.

Then along came Pinkie Pie…

Nowadays it’s hard to believe Pinkie was once never a part of Ponyville at all. She certainly took the town by storm, and even if she sometimes seems a couple bales short of a full hayloft, there ain’t a pony out there who wouldn’t take a shine to her.

All it took was one of her parties, and suddenly being in Ponyville really didn’t seem to bother me all that much anymore…

~~***~~

“I knew it!” Pinkie declared, much to more than one pony’s incredulity.

“How could you possibly know, Pinkie?” Dash asked skeptically while still maintaining her protective posture, though the distraction took some of the tension out of her tired muscles.

“That’s easy,” Pinkie giggled at Rainbow. “I know everything about my bestest friends! How else am I supposed to throw super-special parties for them? Oh, and I saw her when she was a teeny-weeny Appletini, too, so that helped.”

“So wait,” Rainbow went on, temper flaring as a realization struck her, “you mean to tell me… after all that worrying I did over AJ… all I had to do was go to you in the first place?!”

Quite abruptly, using a speed only Pinkie could accomplish, the party pony leaned up conspiratorially against Rainbow, shielding her muzzle with one hoof. “First rule of Personal-Pinkie-Promise: do not talk about Personal-Pinkie-Promise!” she hissed.

“Pinkie, that’s just crazy!” Twilight proclaimed in a loud voice, flailing her hooves through the air. “You knew Applejack was a changeling all along and you didn’t think to, I don’t know, tell somepony?! Don’t you think we should’ve been told somepony we know wasn’t who they said they were?”

Without warning, Pinkie was then pushing up against Twilight, cheek to cheek, still speaking in a low whisper. “Second rule of Personal-Pinkie-Promise: do not talk about Personal-Pinkie-Promise!”

“Hold on a sec, sugarcube,” Applejack couldn’t help but speak up, immediately regaining everypony’s attention – and giving Twilight a chance to recompose herself before she blew something up. “Are ya serious? Ya knew about me bein’… bein’ a changeling from the get go?”

“Of course, silly,” Pinkie said as brightly as if she’d just been asked what her favorite color was.

“But… how?” Applejack asked, thoroughly flummoxed.

Once more, Pinkie’s smile grew, only this time her expression seemed to soften, losing some of that bubbly, childish naivety and replacing it with something slightly warmer. “When I first came to Ponyville, I wandered in through your orchards. I… kinda sorta got lost; I’d never been off the farm before. And I saw you taking a nap under a great big apple tree.”

Applejack’s eyes got wide in surprise. Hastily she tried to recall such an event, but aside from remembering something about a damaged roof and needing to stay out of the adults' way, there just wasn’t much for her to remember.

“I remember thinking to myself ‘wow, I’ve never seen a pony like that before’,” Pinkie went on. “I wanted to go over and say hi, but you looked really tired, and I still wasn’t used to talking to strangers just yet. But when I went back, that pony was gone, and that made me a little sad, but I was sure I’d see that pony again someday. I always kinda thought the two of you sorta looked alike, but now I know for sure! Soooo…”

Pinkie cleared her throat with her usual theatrical flair, then abruptly stepped forward so suddenly that Applejack automatically recoiled, extended a hoof, and flashed a bright, winning smile. “Hi! My name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s yours?”

Applejack blinked, totally at a loss for words. “Sorry,” Pinkie giggled almost sheepishly this time, “I’ve wanted to do that for a really long time. I practiced and everything! I swore the next time I met that funny-looking filly, I’d get her to be my friend, because she was the first pony I ever met in Ponyville! So… friends?”

“Uh… Pinkie, we sorta already are,” Applejack noted in bemusement.

“Yep,” Pinkie chirped happily. “But now I’m friends with earth pony Applejack, a-a-and changeling Applejack!”

Even in the situation she was in – not to mention the ordeal she endured – Applejack couldn’t help but feel the beginnings of a smile tickling at the edges of her weary muzzle.

“Ah hate ta break it to ya, sugarcube, but those are the same gal,” she said. “They… always have been, then and now.”

Pinkie’s smile grew still wider, her demeanor just as unfazed by exhaustion and exertion as ever. But for once, it wasn’t her that managed to speak up first.

“Can we please focus for a moment,” spoke up Rarity suddenly, drawing Applejack’s attention.

~~***~~

I ain’t gonna lie; I never much cared for Rarity when we were fillies. Real water and oil thing we had. Whenever she wasn’t talking about being a proper lady, she was getting on my case about how I looked. I took a lot of pride in being an earth pony, even back then, so having her insult that always got under my skin.

But when my folks passed… That was when I learned that those who cared about me gave me strength. When I lost Ma and Pa… Granny thought I was suffering from broken heart. I just didn’t have the strength to do anything for the longest time. Even now, I don’t think I ever fully recovered what I lost.

And then, one day, Rarity just came up to me and started talking like there’d never been any bad blood between us, even gave me the cupcake she’d got for lunch’s desert. Wouldn’t take no for an answer, neither.

We’ve somehow been friends ever since…

~~***~~

The fashionista took a tentative step forward, turning a look onto Applejack that automatically added more tension to her body. It was a sharp, critical look; one that Applejack couldn’t help but feel very self-conscious under. “Then, does that mean… are you really…?”

The smile slipped away from Applejack’s lips then. “That’s right,” she said somberly. “Ah’m… Ah’m really sorry fer keepin’ it from y’all, but… after the weddin’…”

Rarity didn’t say anything right away. She stared Applejack dead in the eye, her sapphire eyes a whole lot more intimidating than Applejack ever noticed before.

After what felt like several long minutes, Rarity closed her eyes and sighed resignedly. “Well… I can hardly say I blame you, darling.”

As everypony around her turned to give the pearly unicorn a deeply incredulous look, said pearly unicorn trotted forward, her nose held high. “Honestly speaking, though, it certainly explains how you can manage to be so un-pony-like on a routine basis. A mare toiling away on a farm… at least that’s one more mystery solved.”

“Hold on, Rarity,” Twilight said quickly, rediscovering her voice at last. “How can you just believe her like that?”

Rarity looked over at her friend only after she’d come to a halt beside a rather nonplussed Rainbow. “Why, it’s simple, darling,” she said, speaking as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. “Applejack cannot tell a lie, remember?”

Now it was Shining’s turn to speak up. “Rarity, Applejack’s been lying to you all from the start,” he pointed out, his words causing Applejack to wince.

But Rarity was unimpressed. “And I’m sure you told everypony about those special magazines you kept under you bed as a colt, didn’t you?” she asked with full knowledge of what the answer would be.

Sure enough, Shining fidgeted uncomfortably. “How did you – that’s not important!” he corrected himself hastily.

“My point is,” Rarity said calmly, disregarding Shining’s fluster, “that sometimes we don’t lie, per se. We just… leave things out on occasion.”

Rarity glanced over her shoulder, catching Applejack’s nervous eye. “Nopony likes showing off their weaknesses,” she said. “To confess to something of this magnitude now… Well bravo, I say! The amount of courage – of bravery – it took to just be here… I can hardly imagine two traits any more like Applejack!”

Applejack couldn’t help but raise her head a little at that. “Then… does that mean ya forgive me, Rarity?” she asked hopefully.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far just yet,” Rarity huffed, turning away. “I was put through quite the ordeal on your account – and mark my words, there will be consequences for that. But we will discuss compensation once we get this all sorted out.”

Applejack bit her lip, already not looking forward to that particular conversation.

But now there were three of her friends standing with her; three more than she had ever dared hope for in this situation. Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow… Their presence almost defied belief. And yet there they were, all three standing with her, even though they knew the truth.

But it wasn’t just Applejack that was noticing this.

“Are you girls crazy?” Twilight asked, giving all three a nervous, questioning look in turn. “What if you’re wrong? This is really serious you know; too serious to just leave up to gut feelings and hunches. Right, Fluttershy?”

Now, having the timid pegasus not respond verbally to a question wasn’t anything unusual. Only this time, it sure felt unusual to Twilight.

So, with a feeling a dread in her stomach, she turned towards the yellow pony… only to find her missing entirely.

“Fluttershy? Where are…?” Twilight started to ask, but it sure didn’t take her long to find her.

~~***~~

You know, of all the ponies I know, I always imagined it would be Fluttershy that I'd let in on my secret first. I couldn’t tell you why; it just… always felt like that, to me. With her knowledge of all sorts of critters, I sort of imagined that maybe, just maybe, she’d know what I really was.

But… for once, it wasn’t ‘Shy that was the timid one. What if I was wrong? What if she didn’t know? And… what if I scared her off? It weren’t no rational way to look at it, but… things close to the heart rarely have anything to do with rational thinking.

It seems so backwards, I know; having to try to build up the guts to talk to Fluttershy of all ponies. But that’s the way it was.

And you want to know the worst part? Somewhere deep in my gut, I always got this feeling… like she saw through me every single time. Every time she came by to check up on Winona, or just take her for a walk when I was too busy, or whenever she came by to ask for my help wrangling some critter or other… it always felt like she did it just to give me an opportunity.

Fluttershy ain’t real good with words… but most of the time, she doesn’t need to be…

~~***~~

“Fluttershy, not you, too,” Twilight sighed, crestfallen. She’d just spotted her yellow friend – who was currently checking Rainbow’s bandaged wing very critically.

At the sound of her name being called, Fluttershy squeaked and skittered back a step while trying to make herself appear as small as possible. “Oh, um… j-just a little, yes… sorry…”

“But why?” Twilight asked, a slightly desperate note in her voice.

Fluttershy did her best not to look anywhere near the array of spears still pointing at Applejack as she spoke. If she saw them, it was very likely that she’d be unable to answer at all.

“Because Applejack’s still our friend,” she mumbled. “I don’t think she would’ve got so hurt if she wasn’t. B-but that’s just what I think – it’s okay if you don’t agree…”

Fluttershy glanced towards each of her friends, receiving smiles and nods of encouragement in return. “And… if Rainbow , Rarity and Pinkie say she’s Applejack, then I do, too.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie piped up, pumping a hoof in the air. “Don’t you think if she was a big fat liar-liar-tail-on-fire, she wouldn’t have put herself through so much for us?”

“That’s right!” Rainbow stated loudly. “AJ worked her tail off, all because she wanted to protect all of us! And besides; before the wedding, she didn’t even know what she was!”

Both Twilight’s and Shining’s eyes got big with shock at that declaration, but Rainbow hardly paused a moment to register it.

“She must’ve been terrified,” Rainbow went on, a crack developing in her voice, “but she still put on a brave face and powered through, just because she never wanted to let any of us down, no matter if we might not do the same for her!”

“Rainbow…,” Applejack muttered, but aside from an ear twitch, the cyan pegasus showed no signs of ever hearing her.

“And besides, darling,” Rarity added, eying Twilight knowingly, “I thought you’d already figured all of this out for yourself.”

Shining Armor blinked, twice. “There’s no way that’s true. Right Twiley?...Twiley?”

~~***~~

I remember when I heard that somepony from Canterlot was coming to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration that I felt a whole new spark of hope. The way I saw it, if anypony in the whole wide world would know about what I really was, or if I was cursed or something, it’d be one of those super fancy, knowledgeable ponies.

I tried to put my best hoof forward with Twi’, but I may have ended up going overboard in the process. I just really wanted to get in her good graces before she left for Canterlot again. Of course, we ended up becoming good friends anyway, despite my initial reasons for wanting to get to know her.

But as time went on, I started to realize that maybe she didn’t know. When that whole Cutie Pox mess sprang up, my first thought was that somehow my condition was responsible for it. I panicked and took Apple Bloom straight to Twilight. Had I been in any worse of a state of mind, I might’ve even given away my secret then and there – anything that’d help Apple Bloom get better.

So when the true cause came up, I couldn’t help but be so relieved. It was only hours later, when I was fixing to go to bed that it finally sank in. Twilight probably didn’t have any idea what I was, either. Twilight was smart – a whole lot smarter than me – but she wasn’t all-knowing. I’d known it was a longshot all along, but the realization left me feeling lousy for a few days anyway.

But after a while, I just resolved to let it be. Being what I was… it didn’t change who I was in the least. I always wondered, but I could deal with it – forever if I had to.

And then the wedding happened…

~~***~~

Twilight glanced at her brother, trying very hard not to look guilty. “I’ve… been trying to put the pieces together for a while,” she admitted. “And no matter how little sense it makes…”

She then looked back towards Applejack, meeting the changeling’s alien amber eyes searchingly. “There’s still so much I don’t know that I wish I knew,” she said, a hint of exasperation in her voice usually reserved only for puzzles that refused to be solved. “But… what I have pieced together…”

She took a step forward then, still keeping her eyes locked on Applejack’s. “You really are Applejack, aren’t you? All this time… this is who you really were?”

Applejack managed another small smile, one meant to reassure. “Yer talkin’ like ya never got ta know me, sugarcube,” she said.

“Did I?” Twilight asked suddenly. “Did any of us?”

“Of course ya did,” Applejack responded. She took a step forward, once more bringing tension to the guards’ postures. “And Ah promise – Pinkie Promise, even – that Ah’ll tell ya everythin’ ya want to know. After hidin’ from y’all for so long, it’s the least Ah can do. All Ah ask is ya give me a chance ta explain myself.”

“Well, that seems reasonable.”

For a moment, it registered in Applejack’s brain that it hadn’t been Twilight that’d responded that time.

No – if the suddenly saluting guards were anything to go by, it was somepony far, far worse.

~~***~~

You know, the first time I met you, Princess, I was dang near scared to death. I felt absolutely sure you’d see right through me, and then who knows. Maybe you’d have me arrested. Maybe you’d find a way to cure me of whatever ailment I had.

That little hope was the only reason I didn’t bolt from the room the moment you appeared after we beat Nightmare Moon and returned Princess Luna to her old self.

Even after that, I always made sure to put myself on my absolute best behavior whenever I was around you, just in case I was wrong and you were testing me or something.

And even though you never let onto anything, I always thought you knew. If anypony in the whole wide world had to know, it had to be you.

But… when the wedding happened, and I found out what I really was… I’d never been so terrified of a single pony in my entire life. After everything that queen did to you and everypony, not to mention almost all of Equestria... Well, I knew that everypony had a limit to what they would be willing to forgive.

And when you ordered that any changeling found in Equestria was to be chased out, I figured that my fears were justified.

But I couldn’t just run away. I couldn’t leave my life behind. So, I resolved to keep my secret till the day I died. I’d stay Applejack, the earth pony, and never, ever be one of those changelings.

But…

~~***~~

The crowd of guards parted before the form of a towering, snow white mare as she strode regally forward on long, slender legs.

Not a scratch or single speck of dust so much as marred Princess Celestia’s coat or mane, and each and every one of her feathers were exactly where they were meant to be.

Not even her gilded hooves were dirtied; the grass seemed to dry just moments before her hooves touched them, the mud baking seemingly out of sheer respect for her presence alone.

In appearance, Princess Celestia looked just like she always did. She might’ve been out for a leisurely stroll and happened across the scene by pure happenstance.

However, it was the complete lack of a smile that totally derailed that visage, and the fact that her mouth formed a straight, thin line instead was a thousand times more terrifying to Applejack than any glare she’d yet been subjected to.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight gasped, immediately going rigid as her thought process locked up for a moment. “There you are! I-I mean, where did you – I mean…”

Twilight only fell silent upon hearing a single, soft chuckle from the regal monarch.

“My apologies for falling behind, Twilight,” Celestia replied, nothing in her voice giving away her mood in the slightest. “However, I just had a rather enlightening conversation that I found very difficult to pull myself away from.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, truly baffled.

Instead of answering, however, Princess Celestia merely stepped to one side, exposing the small group behind her.

All eyes fell on the small troop of changelings standing huddled together in a pen of armored stallions. None made any attempt to flee, but it was clear to see that none were particularly enjoying their situation.

Having a whole other group suddenly become all-too aware of their presence only made their nervousness triple, resulting in more than one quivering individual.

“U-um…” squeaked the familiar voice of Bumble Bee, “uh… h-hello, Miss Applejack, ma’am. How are you?”

“Everyone…,” Applejack gasped under her breath. Even though she wanted to, she didn’t trust herself to move. All of a sudden, her heart started beating harder than ever, a real edge of panic creeping into her chest.

“These changelings were escorting a group of ponies away from the post,” Celestia explained, looking back towards the huddled mass. “They surrendered peacefully, and have since been nothing but cooperative.”

Applejack once more eyed the group, biting her lip. To her surprise, she found a couple of small smiles turned back towards her, as if their owners were saying not to worry; that everything was alright.

“And, for some reason,” Celestia continued, her soft voice immediately regaining Applejack’s undivided attention. The regal alicorn was looking straight at the apple farmer, and for the first time ever, Applejack couldn’t help but really appreciate just how much bigger than her Celestia was. “The only thing they will talk about is you.”

Applejack tensed, her breath catching.

“Each and every one of them seems to believe that you are Applejack,” Celestia continued, eyes scrutinizing the apple farmer for the slightest reaction, “The very same Applejack who aided in saving Equestria numerous times already.”

As she spoke, her eyes moved off of the young, amber-maned changeling and to the small group standing with her, each of whom had grown rather still. “And it seems like they are not the only ones under that impression.”

“That’s because she is Applejack,” Rainbow said in her best ‘isn’t that obvious?’ voice, earning her a hard elbow in the side from Rarity and a very scathing look from Twilight and her brother.

“And I say that isn’t possible,” Shining countered heatedly, “not with the Apple family’s longstanding history of being earth ponies.”

“Well maybe you’re just biased,” Rainbow shot.

“And maybe you’re just stubborn!” countered Shining.

The argument would’ve continued – perhaps for quite a long time, even – if it weren’t for a pair of zippers sealing their mouths shut simultaneously.

“Will both of you please calm down?” Twilight asked, frustrated – a fact only magnified by her hornache returning with a vengeance. “This isn’t getting us anywhere!”

Now stripped of their ability to speak beyond incoherent mumbles, both ponies could only give her begrudging looks of apology. Of course, that didn’t stop them from giving each other sour looks.

Princess Celestia observed all of this take place in silence, letting it all play out before speaking again. “It seems to me that there is a very simple way to find the truth,” she said knowingly.

That certainly got every single pair of eyes squarely on the Princess of the Sun. Celestia restrained a bemused grin at the unanimous looks of confused surprise.

“There… is?” Applejack asked, more baffled then nervous.

“Why yes,” Celestia responded, and for the first time a hint of her warmer nature leaked through in the softening of her words. “After all, it is something only the true Applejack can accomplish.”

All of Applejack’s friends looked at one another, hoping that somepony at least knew what she was talking about. But no one present had even the slightest clue as to what the princess was talking about, so once more all eyes turned searchingly to the monarch herself.

“And… what is that exactly, Yer Highness?” Applejack asked.

For the first time, a slight smile passed over Celestia’s lips. But, instead of speaking the explanation, Celestia raised her head and pointed her horn skyward. Her horn came alight with golden energies that grew brighter and brighter, before discharging with a loud bang, filling the air above the gathering with a blinding burst akin to sunlight.

And as everypony shielded their eyes against the dazzling glare, something materialized out of thin air, answering a summons no one heard but all witnessed.

It was an unexpectedly small thing that descended in a sphere of magic to hover on eye level of everyone present. As the light of Celestia’s spell faded, six pairs of eyes fell upon a familiar, gem encrusted blue box.

The moment the case came into view, Applejack’s heart somehow found a whole new pace to settle into – one that was starting to make her feel short of breath. “The… the Elements of Harmony?” she gasped, both stunned and confused still further.

“Indeed,” Celestia said, her expression once more becoming unreadable. “Before leaving the castle, I had them prepared – just in case the situation proved far worse than I had feared. Seeing the rather unexpected turn of events that has taken place, I am glad I took the extra precaution.”

Using her magic, Celestia pried open the gilded lid of the case, exposing the priceless artifacts inside; five golden necklaces, and a single star-topped tiara.

While everypony stared in slack-jawed astonishment, Shining Armor finally managed to wrap his hooves around the zipper binding his lips shut and yank it open, breaking the spell.

“Your Highness,” he said hastily, “don’t you think giving a changeling one of the Elements is just reckless? What’s to stop her from trying to steal it? How is this a test?”

A bemused look flashed through Celestia’s eyes, as if Shining had just made a mildly amusing jest. “You let me worry about that, Captain,” she stated, and in no way was the implication of her words lost on anyone present – least of all Applejack.

While the others fidgeted nervously, Celestia reached into the case containing the Elements of Harmony with her magic, and extracted a single golden necklace – one set with an orange gemstone.

“The Elements only react when in the presence of their bearers,” Celestia stated. “That is the reason why Twilight and her friends – and they alone – are able to wield their power. If this is not the real Applejack, then the Element of Honesty will not recognize her, and this matter will be closed.”

Princess Celestia then closed the Elements’ case before giving Applejack a meaningful look.

The apple farmer took that as her cue. Applejack took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and started moving forward.

~~***~~

I’ve come to realize something, too, Your Highness; something a whole lot more important.

I realized that harmony can be found in the most unlikely of places; that there is always some measure of good, even among evil – light for every shadow, no matter how big that shadow might be.

I’ve come to realize that who I am and what I am don’t need to conflict with each other. Because they’ve been one and the same all along. I was just too bullheaded and scared to see it...

~~***~~

She ignored the ranks of spears that followed her every move, promising nothing but a swift end if but one hoof was placed out of line. The only thing Applejack kept focused on was Princess Celestia and the Element of Honesty floating in the air beside her.

She only took a few steps forward, but it felt like one of the longest walks of Applejack’s life. And yet, it came to such an abrupt end that for a moment, she wondered if she’d moved at all.

Celestia offered nothing but an appraising look to the young changeling queen before bringing the golden necklace to Applejack’s throat.

Applejack expected to feel the cold, unyielding touch of metal the moment the Element of Honesty touched her. What she felt, however, was completely different. For one thing, the surface of the thing that touched her was as comfortably warm as if she’d been wearing it all day long.

The moment the necklace touched her, the clasp on the back snapped shut, clamping itself to the mare almost possessively. The apple-shaped topaz gemstone at the necklace’s front suddenly shone with a dazzling light, as if being struck by the absolute perfect ray of light to show off every single one of its facets.

For a moment, though, Applejack craned her neck in order to get a look at the gemstone itself. A topaz… just like my crown…

While Applejack was temporarily lost in thought, everyone else stared at the glowing Element of Honesty fastened to her black, leathery neck.

“Well, I think that settles it,” Celestia said, at last allowing her usual kind smile to grace her lips. Only then did the silence in the rest of the group break.

With a cheer – and inexplicable puff of reserve confetti – Pinkie simultaneously leapt into the air in sheer exuberance, paused, and then dove for Applejack in a maneuver defying everything but the party pony’s grasp on reality.

Of course, Applejack only heard the cheer before she found herself caught up in a great big hug.

“It really-really-really is you!” Pinkie cheered, still hugging Applejack tight enough to force her to balance precariously on her one good hind leg – her forelegs being pinned to her chest. “I mean, I was really-really sure, but not really-really-really sure, but now I am!"

“Well duh,” Rainbow drawled, rolling her eyes, having just undone her own lip-binding zipper. “I’ve been trying to tell you that all along!”

“Yes, and we’re sorry for not taking your word for it,” Rarity said back in such a way that got Rainbow eying her suspiciously.

“Are you being sarcastic, or do you really mean that?” she asked.

Rarity glanced at Rainbow out of the corner of her eye, but kept herself turned away. “Yes.”

While Rainbow gave the side of the fashionista’s head a dirty look, Shining Armor was having some difficulty coming to grips with what he was witnessing.

“Then… does this mean…?” he muttered to himself, staring wide eyed at Applejack. Then he shook his head as if to rid himself of a bothersome fly before turning towards Princess Celestia again. “It must be a trick,” he said. “How can this be the real Applejack? What about her family? How does this –” he jabbed a hoof at the battered anomaly in front of him “—make any more sense?”

Celestia exercised only patience as she gave the Captain of the Royal Guard an understanding look. “I understand your reluctance to believe otherwise, but this is no trick, Shining Armor. The magic of the Elements of Harmony cannot be so easily fooled. Not even a changeling can replicate what it truly means to be Applejack on a level that is more than skin-deep.”

“Y…yes, Your Highness,” Shining said reluctantly, but it was obvious from the look in his eyes that he was trying very hard to find some reason to not believe it. After all, he’d been fooled once before – he would absolutely not let it happen again.

Then, Celestia returned her gaze back to Applejack, her smile fading somewhat. Instead, she looked on the young changeling with intrigue – like a puzzle she’d never before encountered. “But Shining Armor does raise a good point,” she admitted. “While this test does answer a few questions, it leaves many more to be answered. So then, I think you’ll understand when I say that I have quite a few questions for you, young changeling.”

“And so do we,” Twilight said, catching Applejack’s eye. Seeing those double-ringed, amber irises was still a rather novel experience to her – one that she wasn’t entirely sure if she was fond of or not.

Applejack nodded. “Ah know, sugarcube,” she said. “And Ah’ll answer whatever questions y’all have. Ah pro—”

“Your Majesty!”

Applejack was cut off as a stallion came running towards the group, completely ignoring the strange scene before him and fixating on Princess Celestia alone.

The guard was not in good shape. His armor was dented and cracked, and by the looks of the bruises and cuts on his forelegs, he’d been fighting for a long time without a weapon. Just by looking at the state of him, it was obvious that he didn’t come bearing good news.

Celestia caught on to this immediately and composed her features accordingly. “Is something the matter?” she asked.

The guard threw a sloppy salute while attempting to catch his breath. “The… the enemy is converging on this position, Your Majesty,” he informed her. “They’re throwing everything they’ve got at our defensive line.”

“How is that possible?” Shining Armor asked sharply. “We had the numbers advantage when we got here! How are they still fighting?”

“I don’t know,” the battle-weary guard said, fidgeting. “As soon as we knock them down, they just get right back up! We’re doing everything we can to not kill anypony, but they just refuse to go down!”

“It’s the changelings,” Twilight spoke up, dread in her voice. “They must be forcing the guards to fight.” She then turned towards Applejack and Rainbow, a questioning look on her face. “Didn’t you girls say they’d stop once you freed the ponies they were feeding off of?”

“Vigil has another group tucked away somewhere else,” Applejack said, ears falling. “The changelin’s are usin’ their love to keep the fight goin’.”

Shining Armor scowled at that, muttering a curse under his breath. “Well then, we better go hunt down those changelings before this situation gets any worse than it already is.”

Applejack flinched inwardly at that as her eyes turned towards the high perimeter wall. Now that she was listening, she just thought that the dull thumps and booms of distant spells seemed closer than before…

The ponies of Equestria will hate our kind for what we’ve done here…

Applejack bit her lip as Vigil’s words drifted back to her. Not if Ah have anythin’ ta say about it…

“Wait,” Twilight said suddenly, an idea striking her. “We could use the Elements of Harmony! We have them right here – surely that’d break the changelings’ control!”

“My thoughts precisely, my faithful student,” Celestia stated amid a chorus of agreements. “With the aid of the Elements, it should be –”

“Hold on a sec, everyone.”

~~***~~

But… I ain’t afraid anymore, not after I found out about all the ones counting on me behind my back… and the ones who sacrificed and gave so much.

I know now that I got a responsibility to all those out there just like me; who are too scared to stand up and be who they ought to be; themselves.

I know now where I came from and a mother I never knew, who gave everything she had for a cause nopony will ever know about; who willingly paid the ultimate price for ponies who would never know who she was.

That is why I ain’t ashamed of who I am anymore. I’m going to stand tall, not for myself, but for something a whole lot more important; for everyone.

I’m going to stand tall because that’s just the kind of pony I am. And I’m never going to back down, because that’s the kind of changeling I need to be.

~~***~~

All eyes turned towards the speaker – towards Applejack.

“Just hold on fer a second, everypony,” Applejack repeated, meeting the confused looks of each of her friends in turn.

“But… why?” Twilight asked, frowning a little. “With the Elements of Harmony, we could end this right now.”

“Ah know,” Applejack said. “Ah know the Elements would fix everythin’. But…”

She turned towards Princess Celestia, who only looked at her curiously. “This… is all my responsibility,” Applejack said. “It’s because of changelin’s that we’re all in this mess. So… it should be changelin’s that make it right.”

A slight look of surprise crossed the Princess of the Sun’s countenance, appearing and disappearing faster than most ponies would ever be able to witness. “And how will you do that,” she asked, genuinely curious.

“Ah… Ah don’t know,” Applejack admitted, fidgeting a little. “It may not even be possible. But if my kind is goin’ to ever start to make amends with everypony, this has ta be the first step.”

Applejack then gestured towards the gilded case containing the rest of the Elements of Harmony. “If Ah can’t do it, we can just use the Elements instead. Just please… give me a chance.”

Princess Celestia scrutinized Applejack’s amber eyes, raising an eyebrow thoughtfully. And then, very deliberately, she closed the case and set it down on the grass beside her.

“You are right, Applejack,” Celestia said. “Correcting the physical damage done here today would be a simple matter. But to repair all of the damage will take something more.”

Celestia turned to the guards closest to her and nodded slightly. Each one looked at each other, and then lifted their spears. Many were reluctant to do so – removing one’s weapon from a changeling of all things just felt incredibly unwise.

“You will have your chance, then,” Celestia stated. “I pray it is all you’ll need.”

“Then,” Applejack said hesitantly, “Can Ah ask a favor of ya?”

“Of course,” Celestia responded, caught slightly surprised.

“Ah’m gonna need ta talk with those changelin’s.”

~~***~~

Today, I learned a valuable lesson. About heritage and about responsibility, among other things. It's because of all those around me that I can start moving forward again; that I can see what needs to be done.

My Mama may not be here anymore, but she left behind her mission – a mission that is now up to me to get done. Not just for changelings, and not just for ponies... but for everyone.

But, above all else, I learned probably the most important thing of all...

~~***~~

The group of changelings watched Applejack approach with a mix of intrigue, worry and anxiety. Not one of them overlooked how she had to hobble on three legs just to get to them or the slow, weary gait she accomplished the trek with.

Even with healing magic skittering across virtually every limb she possessed, Applejack pushed herself forward as if all she felt was a dull ache and little else.

Once she was within the ring of still-unsure guards penning the group in, the changelings stepped forward to converge around the battered queen.

“Applejack, you don’t have to do this,” one of them told her – a familiar drone, by the sound of her voice; the one that’d spoken on the group’s behalf before.

“Yes Ah do,” Applejack replied. “But… Ah don’t think Ah can do it myself, so… Ah’m gonna need all of yer help.”

“Does… does that mean we get to play heroes?” chirped the familiar voice of Bumble Bee.

“We ain’t playin’,” Applejack chuckled. Then, she turned to look at each changeling around her. It felt so weird – less than twenty-four hours ago, seeing their chitinous, fanged faces and featureless blue eyes would’ve only stirred disgust in her heart. And yet here she was… How quickly things changed.

“This may be our one shot at this,” Applejack said as she looked around. “So Ah gotta ask y’all; is there any way we can end this?”

Several changelings looked at each other, exchanging thoughtful looks for a moment before turning back to her. “I think so, yes,” said the first changeling again. “There is a spell that should work, but it'll take all of us to make it strong enough..”

Immediately Applejack was apprehensive. “Ah don’t know if Ah can…”

A holey hoof gently touching her shoulder interrupted her. “Yes you can,” the drone said firmly, smiling. “We’ll help you.”

Applejack bit her lip with one sharp canine, then nodded. “Alright… what do Ah need ta do?”

The drone’s smile grew warmer. “Focus on everything good in your life – your friends, your family, everything and everyone you care for – everything you love. The rest will take care of itself.”

Once more, Applejack nodded, this time with more confidence. The other changelings nodded in return, then began backing up.

“You fellows might want to get back,” one of the changelings warned the guards standing around them.

“Give them some room,” Celestia ordered. Only then did the guards move back.

All the while, the changelings were forming a circle nearly twelve feet across with Applejack at its center. One by one, they raised their horns into the air and closed their eyes. One horn after another lit, and as each one glowed to life, a tendril of emerald magic slithered like a streamer towards the next, and the next and the next, until a thick cord of radiant green light formed a perfect circle over the changelings’ heads.

Applejack watched the halo form in wonder, then she steeled herself. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding for a rather long time.

She let her mind fill with all the faces of everyone she cared for and the memories attached to them; Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, countless cousins, nieces, aunts and uncles… Twilight Sparkle and Spike, Fluttershy and her animal friends, Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Pinkie and her innumerable parties and bemusing eccentricities. And…

With a torrential rushing feeling, magic surged up from within Applejack, firing from deep within her and exploding off the tip of her horn and into the sky overhead.

Only… this was nothing like the burning, wrathful surge from before. Instead of an untamed discharge of emerald fire and lightning, a column of blinding light shot high into the sky. A column of more than a single color.

Eyes burning green-hot, Applejack’s gaze fell on the howling beam of light firing off her horn – more specifically, the blinding violet core at its heart.

Pink and green sparks danced through the air, mingling together as the column of light shot up high into the sky – higher and higher, high enough to punch a hole straight through the empty storm clouds overhead and to the clear blue sky above.

Magic hummed in the air, staining it emerald and violet as each drone added their own magic to the torrent. Long tongues of magic wrapped up and around the pillar of light, keeping it in check and adding their strength to the building spell.

Memories and faces danced before Applejack’s eyes, blinding her to what was happening around her. They whizzed by faster than she could recognize them, and yet each and every one of them held a special place in her heart.

A purple unicorn flailing in frustration… A white mare falling onto an awaiting couch… a pink pony laughing riotously at a joke she’d just cracked… A yellow pegasus guiding half a dozen ducklings through a busy street… a pair of magenta eyes, a cocky grin, a cacophonous sonic boom…

Applejack never noticed her hooves leaving the ground as the spell bore her up several feet into the air.

The magic was accelerating, creating an otherworldly howl as it built up further and further, supercharging the very air. At its very top, the magic was converging – compressing together into a dazzling ball of light as bright as the sun.

And then, Applejack felt a tug inside of her – in her heart, in her mind, in every fiber of her being.

And the spell detonated.

With a terrific bang that could’ve been heard for miles and miles around, the ball of light atop the pillar of changeling magic exploded, sending a shockwave of emerald and violet fire roaring across the sky.

The blast of released magic tore away the gloomy skies, blasting apart the clouds as the ring of light expanded in every direction towards the horizon and letting the sun bathe the land in glorious sunlight at last.

A hot, jade-tinted gale followed behind the shockwave, washing over the land below as it passed, leaving nothing but twinkling motes of green and pink light dancing in its wake like powdered glass.

The sudden gale caught the battling guards completely by surprise, causing plenty to flinch and even stagger in some cases. And yet, when the rush of air passed, the guards paused.

All throughout Ponyville, stallions were stopping in place, blinking rapidly and shaking their heads fitfully. Those that recovered first looked around in complete bewilderment, more than one finding himself locked hoof to hoof with another of the Guard for reasons he did not know.

The blast of magic continued onward, soaring across the sky over Ponyville. The magically charged wind reached through walls and windows, filling every nook and cranny as it passed.

And in the depths of a closet inside Ponyville inn’s basement, that very gale found well over a dozen jade cocoons hanging in the darkness, but not even they could halt the gust. They were smashed aside, sending several disoriented ponies crashing to the floor.

All throughout Ponyville, burning fires were abruptly snuffed by the powerful discharge. Clouds of smoke were blown to the four winds, leaving not a spark behind.

And on a distant farmland, a stubbornly burning emerald fire met the oncoming wind, only to be trampled beneath the gale until nothing but char and a violet dome of magic remained.

Finally, the multicolored wave rolling over the sky started to peter out. Its energies spent, it faded from sight until nothing remained at all.

But it left behind a peerlessly blue sky radiating with the sun’s brilliance. And in the air, far and wide, fragments of green and pink light flickered and flitted like dust in the suddenly still air, leaving streamers of both colors winding through the heavens for miles around.

~~***~~

Applejack felt her hooves touch down on solid ground again, but it took her a second longer to register it. Her eyes stayed on the clear sky, even as her strength failed her completely, and she toppled…

Straight into a pair of awaiting hooves.

“Ah… Ah did it,” Applejack breathed, eyes unfocused, body slumped limply against another.

“Yeah… you really did.”

“Does… this mean it’s… over now?” she asked.

“What do you think?”

Applejack smiled slightly to herself. She let her head come to a rest against a soft, fuzzy shoulder. “Yeah… Ah guess it is, isn’t it?”

“I knew you could do it, cowgirl.”

Applejack chuckled once – too weak to contribute anything more. “Ah… couldn’ta done it without ya… Ya know that, right?”

“Yes you could’ve. That’s what makes you, you.”

“Not this time,” Applejack sighed. “So… thank you, Rainbow. Fer bein’ there.”

“Anytime, AJ,” Rainbow said in her ear, just as the last of Applejack’s strength faded, and she drifted away into darkness, and she knew no more. "Anytime."

~~***~~

Today, I learned it’s not about what I’m not – but what I am.

I am an Apple – a sister, a cousin, a niece, and much more. I am a farmer and hard worker. I am a friend others rely on.

I am an earth pony. I am a changeling.

I am Applejack.

And that… that was a lesson worth learning.

Author's Note

Ah, I really enjoyed writing this one. Everything just flowed so easily, even if things didn't go nearly like I'd planned even two chapters ago.

Fun fact: progress on this chapter was going so well that I initially intended to release it a day after the previous, just to catch you guys off guard. I missed that mark a tad, but I'm still pleased with the speed at which this got done.

Anyway, all that's left is to wrap up some loose ends in the epilogue, and hopefully that'll be coming along shortly, too, so I'll see you guys in the last installment.

Chapter 18: Rebuilding

Applejack fell silent at last; after what felt like hours upon hours of talking. And it could very well have been several hours, what with the late afternoon sun streaming in through the many arched windows.

Before her, three regal ponies stood in silence, absorbing the momentous tale they’d been told.

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna – who looked a little groggy and hadn’t been too pleased with being roused as such an ungodly hour – and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza stood across from Applejack, eyes fixed on the amber-maned changeling before them.

Now that Applejack had fallen silent, the main banquet hall inside City Hall had similarly hushed. All of her friends stared at her, at a loss for words. Even the guards standing at attention along the perimeter of the room exchanged a look or two, unsure what to think.

Her story told, all Applejack could do was wait in silence. She fidgeted a little, trying to get into a comfortable position where the fresh cast encasing her broken leg all the way up to her cutie mark wasn’t jabbing her.

Much like Applejack herself, all of her friends were covered in bandages ranging in size from small band-aids to pads and even a gauze wrapping or two. To look on Applejack and her friends, one might think they’d just stepped off of a brutal battlefield.

The banquet hall itself showed signs of this very warzone. Decorations and furnishings sat scattered across the edges of the room in disheveled heaps. And of course, no one could’ve missed the rather sizable hole where the second story balcony should’ve been, which let in a beam of sunlight into the center of the hall like a spotlight.

“That… is quite the tale, Applejack,” Princess Celestia said at last. “I can honestly say that this is far from anything I could’ve predicted.” Her eyes lingered for a time on the small crown Applejack wore, a strange glint crossing her eyes.

“Yes, quite the tale indeed, Miss Applejack,” Princess Luna agreed. She had perhaps the most critical look in her eye of all the royal ponies standing at the head of the room, letting not a modicum of her true judgment leak through her composure.

Princess Cadance remained silent, her expression blank and unreadable as she gazed upon Applejack – the same as she’d been doing ever since laying eyes on her after arriving in Ponyville some hours ago. Whether she didn’t trust herself to speak, her simply didn’t have the words to speak with, was anypony’s guess.

Captain Shining Armor stood close by her side, standing at attention and gazing straight ahead. His armor would need some fixing, but for the most part he appeared as proud and chivalrous as always... unless, of course, you were Twilight and Cadance, in which case they were well versed with Shining’s mannerisms enough to know when he was sulking. His insistence on not meeting anypony’s eye and responding only with simple yeses and noes was evidence enough of that.

Celestia sighed lightly, a sound that was barely audible even in the total stillness of the hall. “It’s hard to believe that so much has happened right beneath my nose for all these years… But to think that changelings have endured such hardships…”

“It certainly does help to explain the motives behind their recent transgressions,” Princess Luna agreed, frowning slightly.

“Indeed it does,” Celestia said with a nod.

“Wow,” mumbled Twilight, causing Applejack to turn to look at the unicorn behind her. “I… I had no idea…”

Applejack smiled at her downcast friend, but she didn’t have much to say that hadn’t already been said. Ah know I shoulda told you girls sooner… Ah had ta keep it to myself… It weren’t no thing…, all had been used, some more than once.

“So then, young changeling queen,” Princess Celestia began again, regaining Applejack’s attention. The alicorn was once more giving her a speculative look as she spoke. “What do you plan on doing from here on?”

When she saw the confused look on the young changeling’s face, Celestia offered a slight smile. “There is no telling how many innocent changelings are hiding in Equestria at this very moment,” she expounded. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that you intend to do something to change that.”

Applejack expression twisted uncomfortably for a moment, then she nodded. “Yes, Yer Highness. Ah do.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow inquisitively while everypony looked apprehensively at Applejack. “What will you do?” she asked.

But Applejack hesitated at that. “Well… Ah don’t rightly know yet,” she admitted. “But, Ah will figure somethin’ out, and when Ah do, ya’ll be the first ta know.”

Celestia smiled, a look bordering between bemusement and appreciation. “I would appreciate it,” Celestia said back. “But in the meantime, it seems that I will have a few announcements to make.”

Though no one saw a visible change in the monarch, Celestia heaved an internal bemused sigh. So much for it being a slow day today…

“So, wait,” chimed in Rainbow Dash suddenly, refocusing the Princess of the Sun. Of all of Applejack’s friends, Rainbow had obviously come out of their ordeal the worst for wear. She was covered in bandages, especially across her burnt barrel and scuffed knees. Perhaps most evident, however, was the large, amorphous block of white plaster encasing her broken wing at her side, keeping it in a neutral position. “Is… is that it? You know… nopony’s getting banished, or thrown in a dungeon, or…”

While Luna rolled her eyes openly, Celestia chuckled. “No, not this time, I’m afraid. Not for you and your friends, anyway. However…”

Rainbow had never before gone from sighing in relief to snapping to attention so fast before in her life.

“I would very much like to talk with Applejack and the rest of the changelings in private,” Celestia went on, all traces of humor gone.

“But… why?” Rainbow asked, feeling even more nervous now.

Celestia turned to regard Applejack for a moment before glancing back to the beaten up weather pony. “Even if Applejack does not know much, any insights into the behaviors, tactics and abilities of changelings would prove invaluable in helping to safeguard against another incident in the future,” she explained. “All of you have been through so much today already, and your families are undoubtedly worried. I have used up enough of your time as it is.”

“But…,” Rainbow muttered, eyes turning between Celestia and Applejack apprehensively.

“Don’t worry,” the alicorn added, eying Rainbow with a glint in her eye, “I’ll only be taking a few more minutes of her time, and then I’ll leave her in all of your capable hooves.”

While the rest of her friends – minus one – turned to leave respectfully, Rainbow couldn’t help but frown to herself, confused, as she headed to the door.

Only a moment or two later, the door slammed shut again, leaving the room five ponies fewer. With their reassuring presences missing, Applejack glanced over her shoulder apprehensively. While they weren’t the eyes of her friends, a dozen or so featureless blue eyes looked back at her with various reassuring smiles and expressions.

The group of changelings stepped forward in order to stand with Applejack and not a few feet behind her.

Celestia turned to the guards lining the room, and after giving them a meaningful look, they bowed out as well. Now, only the royals of Equestria, the Captain of the Royal Guard and a group of changelings remained.

Shining glanced around the room, frowning still deeper. “Your Majesty, maybe we should…”

“Shiney,” Cadance said, speaking for the first time in hours, “It’s fine. You worry too much.”

Shining Armor huffed, but remained silent – and about twice as sullen as before.

Celestia watched Shining for a moment, then turned back to the group. “Well then, I suppose first question’s first.”

She took a step forward, meeting Applejack’s questioning gaze. “I have been wondering for some time now… but what exactly was that spell you performed earlier?”

Applejack bit her lip, not sure how to respond, only to be saved when one changeling stepped forward. “Um… if you’d like, Your Majesty, I could explain.”

“And may we have your name?” Princess Luna asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“U-um… all the ponies around Ponyville call me Roseluck, Your Majesty,” the changeling said nervously.

Applejack couldn’t help but turn to look at the changeling in surprise. She knew that name; she often times saw the florist and her sisters when she took her cart to market. She’d never talked much with them, but to say they’d never met – especially in a town as small as Ponyville – would be very inaccurate.

Roseluck smiled sheepishly at Applejack, plenty aware of where her mind must be at the moment, before looking back towards Princess Celestia. “What would you like to know?”

Celestia smiled. “Anything you can tell me about it,” she said. “The effects are obvious enough, but if a unicorn could replicate it, we could spare a lot of ponies a repeat of what happened here today.”

Roseluck nodded. “Well… it plays off of the building blocks of changeling magic,” she said. “Do… do you know what those are?”

Celestia pursed her lips, fighting back the first thing to pop into her mind. However, Shining Armor wasn’t quite as reserved.

“It’s trickery, isn’t it?” he asked, ignoring the look Cadance gave him.

“That… would be the obvious answer,” Roseluck admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. “And if you asked most changelings, that would be their response. But… I’d like to think that’s not the case.”

She turned her gaze back to Applejack – perhaps for the sake of her nerves. “A lot of changelings think the foundation of changeling magic is lies and deceit. But, I believe it has more to do with imagination.”

Seeing the surprised look on Applejack’s face, she went on. “I… know that sounds like semantics, but please hear me out. We aren’t tricking so much as playing make believe,” Roseluck explained. “Where unicorns use their imaginations to come up with spells to fabricate their magic into a useful tool, our magic is practically incarnated directly from it. It can affect us just as much as it affects others.

“We can take on the shapes of ponies because we can imagine ourselves as looking like them. We can heal because we know that’s not how we’re supposed to be. On the flip side, that is also why we have changelings with scars, even though we should be able to heal any non-fatal injury with time; because they want to have them, not because they were given them, though that does play a part. And yes, we… influence the minds of others by imposing our own version of reality on them to make it theirs, too.”

A smile crossed Roseluck’s fanged lips then as she looked at Applejack. “You probably don’t know this… but that guise you normally wear? You created it yourself; any changeling can, and it usually becomes the most prevalent during childhood. Children are very creative, you know. The way I look normally, too – I invented myself. After all, we’re not taking anything from a pony to look the way they do; we just use their appearance as a blueprint to mimic in order to simplify matters. So why can’t we envision our own? It’s… handy for blending in with the masses. A changeling only mimics other ponies for convenience or in order to… acquire their love.”

Roseluck turned back to Celestia then, her smile slipping away. “So, to answer your question, Your Majesty, what we did was the opposite of imagination. We countered make-believe with its antithesis; truth.”

Everypony’s eyes grew wide with surprise. “Truth?” Celestia repeated.

Roseluck smiled and nodded. “That was why Applejack could perform the spell; because she’s… well… honest. By focusing on all the ponies she loves – honestly, not imaginatively – she wasn’t focusing on the things that she wishes were real, but the things that were real. She could never trick herself into believing anything but reality was, um, real. So… until the spell passes, we’re all playing by her vision of reality.”

Applejack’s eyes widened even further in surprise. “What’s that supposed ta mean?”

Roseluck turned towards Applejack again, smiling slightly. “You didn’t wonder why none of us changed? We… can’t. Not for a while, anyway. We… can’t lie, at least, not magically. Our magic is there… we just can’t utilize it.”

“And… Ah did that?” Applejack asked, astonished.

“With some help,” Roseluck chuckled. “Don’t you worry, Your – Applejack. We knew what we were getting ourselves into.”

“And it’s for the best, anyway, right?” one of the changelings said behind her. “No more lies, just like Applejack wanted.”

“Love undermined the other changelings’ spells,” Roseluck went on, turning back towards the intrigued princesses, “Just like it did at the Royal Wedding, and then truth nullified their – and our – magics in their entirety. Such a spell is usually an absolute last resort devised by changelings to combat opposing hives, because it takes away our very means of survival, at least temporarily.”

“So can we replicate it,” Shining asked, suddenly very interested in the conversation.

“More than likely,” Roseluck answered, her voice raising a couple octaves out of nerves, “but it’d take a huge source of magic to achieve the same coverage. It took everything the lot of us had just to cover all of Ponyville. And there are ways to beat it, but for handling everyday drones...”

“I’ll put together a research team once we get back to Canterlot,” Shining stated.

Celestia looked at him out of the corner of one eye, but just as she opened her mouth, a telltale creak echoed across the hall.

“Did somepony say research?”

Celestia couldn’t help but smile humorously at the sight of Twilight Sparkle’s head sticking out from around one of the double doors at the end of the hall, followed momentarily by four others, all wearing variously sheepish looks on their faces.

“That won’t be necessary, Captain,” she said, struggling to restrain laughter as she turned towards Shining Armor. “I have the perfect candidate in mind for the task.”

She then turned back towards the end of the hall, raising an amused eyebrow. “And I thought I asked for some privacy,” she stated with no real edge to her voice.

“Oh, um, right… sorry,” Twilight said sheepishly, and in a flash of violet, all five eavesdroppers vanished completely.

Celestia chuckled aloud, drawing a look from her sister. “Well then, now that that’s out of the way,” she said, recomposing in the flash of an eye, “Let us continue…”

~~***~~

A few days later…

Applejack sat alone in her room, tapping idly at the corner of her desk. She gazed down irritably at a single, clean sheet of paper that sat infuriatingly blank before her.

A flickering candle provided the only light in the room, but at this point it’d burned so low that it was hardly more than a puddle of wax in its candleholder and was starting to make a mess on Applejack’s desk.

But the apple farmer just ignored it. The light of the candle reflected in her amber eyes as she stared unseeing at the thing before her, totally lost in thought.

On the right side of the desk sat an inkwell and quill, sitting in the exact some place they’d been in for the past few hours – minus a few thousand micro adjustments that put it in the absolute perfect place possible. So, naturally, she fidgeted with it absently again.

Next to that, hanging on the corner, was her Stetson. Applejack’s eyes lingered on it for a moment, but they didn’t stay there for long.

Come on, Applejack. It’s just a couple o’ words. Nothin’ to it…

And yet, try as she might to organize her thoughts, she just couldn’t come up with anything that sounded right. All she had to do was start writing, than then –

A knock on the door snapped Applejack out of it.

“Oh good gravy…” she muttered to herself angrily, then turned towards the source of the offending noise. “Who is it?”

The door swung open, revealing the large shape of Big Macintosh filling the doorframe.

All things considered, he looked halfway decent. Aside from a glaring butterfly bandage on his eyebrow and a brace on one knee, he’d shrugged off most of his injuries like they were nothing. Applejack could still see the breaks in his fur coat from shallow cuts, and he moved with a noticeably stiff gait, but all things considered he had bounced back with surprising speed.

“Evening, Big Macintosh,” Applejack greeted. “Somethin’ the matter?”

“Eeyup,” he responded, stony as ever. “It’s mornin’.”

Applejack blinked, then blinked again. Then, she turned her head towards the window and – sure enough – witnessed the dull pastels blooming on the horizon that heralded the imminent day.

“Oh… so it is,” Applejack said slowly.

…

“…Ponyfeathers…”

Big Mac looked his sister up and down from the doorway. He was still trying to get used to seeing her changeling form as a normal thing now, and it was taking some doing trying to unlearn his defensive habits. And he was going to have to get used to it, too; with that cast on, Applejack wouldn’t be doing any shapeshifting for some time yet.

“Still havin’ trouble writtin’?” He asked. He was less asking and more giving Applejack a chance to vent, as it was clear to anypony who looked at her that she was irritable.

Sure enough, Applejack sighed and flopped against her desk, her eyes closing wearily. “It’s silly,” she mumbled. “All Ah gotta do is start writtin’ things down… but I don’t wanna say the wrong thing. This is somethin’ that’s too important to mess up.”

Big Mac nodded in understanding. Ever since she’d been released from the hospital, Applejack had spent whatever spare time she could trying to write something – something she wouldn’t elaborate on besides it being important, though the big red stallion had a pretty good hunch that it had something to do with the changelings in town, if not all over Equestria.

“It’ll come when it’s good and ready,” he said. “But ya also need yer rest, so don’t go gettin’ yerself stressed over it.”

“Little late for that,” Applejack sighed heavily. “And if Ah don’t get it down now, Ah ain’t gonna get the chance ‘till this evenin’.”

“Then let it wait ‘till then,” Big Mac responded simply. “It ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

Once again, Applejack sighed. “Ah just… don’t want ta put it off for –”

She was interrupted by a warbling voice rising up from the floor below, up the stairs and down the hall to the eldest Apple siblings. “Breakfast! Come ‘n get it!”

“Guess that’s that, then,” Applejack sighed. She’d already lost a whole night’s worth of sleep – might as well not add missing breakfast to that list.

It took her some doing and a little buzzing from her wings to extract herself from her chair – maneuvering with only the use of one of her hind legs was still a skill that eluded her. But after a few seconds, she came to a proper standing position on three legs, her cast-covered leg sticking out slightly to one side.

“Come on, Big Mac,” she said, offering a smile at the suddenly heavy expression on the big stallion’s face. “Let’s get to it ‘fore Apple Bloom eats it all.”

But even as she spoke, an uncomfortable twinge ran down into her stomach, settling as a heavy lump in her gut. Apple Bloom…

~~***~~

Negotiating the stairs to the ground floor of the Apple household was still a chore and a half. Applejack refused to resort to her wings, as that was practically begging for an accident, and everything had just been put back where it should’ve been after the changelings ransacked the place; no need to start rearranging things with her skull.

Big Mac pretended like he wasn’t trying to help his sister, but the fact that he slowed his own pace down to a crawl was not lost on Applejack. He knew she’d never accept anything short of a coincidental save anyway.

Still, after taking nearly twice as long as she would’ve liked, Applejack finally reached the landing all by herself. Only then did Big Mac suddenly get over his bout of lethargy and trot into the dining room.

Close on his heels, Applejack limped in after him and looked around. The table in the middle of the room was already dressed in linens and stacked with plates piled high with pancakes, eggs and toast.

Applejack could just see Granny Smith in the other room, idly fixing one last plate for the table while humming a tune only she knew the rhythm to.

And sitting at the table, idly poking at her pancakes with a fork, was Apple Bloom. She seemed lost in thought, her eyes distant and expression equally far away.

For a moment, Applejack paused in the doorway, heart thumping in her chest.

“Mornin’,” Big Mac said as he claimed a seat. “Mornin’,” Apple Bloom said back, not really paying attention.

Once again, Applejack waffled in the doorway, and likely would’ve stayed there for a while if it weren’t for Big Macintosh catching her eye and giving her a meaningful look.

Applejack gulped, then opened her mouth. “Mornin’, Apple Bloom.”

The little filly flinched, her internal musings forgotten. She looked up slowly, and for the first time noticed the changeling at the other end of the room that was giving her a hopeful smile.

Right away, a frown formed on her face. Then, without a word, Apple Bloom hopped off her chair, and a few moments later she was out the door.

Applejack sighed, deflated. Well, least she ain’t shoutin’ no more…

“Oh, don’t go takin’ it personal, honeybunch,” Granny Smith reassured, having witnessed the whole thing from the other room.

“How else am Ah supposed ta take it, then,” Applejack muttered sullenly. “It’s my fault she’s mad at me in the first place.”

Granny Smith exchanged a look with Big Macintosh. “Don’t go beatin’ yerself up over it,” the elder Apple said. “She just needs some time to herself, dear, that’s all. When she’s ready ta talk, she’ll let ya know.”

Granny Smith then moved forward to give her battered granddaughter a reassuring nuzzle. “Apple Bloom ain’t one ta hold a grudge. You’ll see.”

Applejack restrained another sigh as she eyed the patio door, which was still slightly ajar from the filly’s exit. “Ah… suppose,” she said, though in no way was her heart in her words. “Ah hope so, anyway.”

~~***~~

Breakfast hastily wolfed down, Applejack soon found herself hobbling down towards road to Ponyville by herself, moving perhaps a bit slower than she normally would’ve liked to as she closed the distance to the front gate – minus one barricade, of course.

Given her injured leg, she’d been excused from any chores left to do around the farm before winter. But days off were not something she fancied, and already she was aching for something to do – if only to distract herself from thoughts of her little sister. There Ah go, thinkin’ again…

“Applejack! Hey, Applejack!”

The amber-maned changeling ground to a halt and looked around, startled out of her own thoughts by the sound of her name.

To her surprise, she found her way barred by a pony leaning on the front gate to the property in order to peer at her – a distinctly purple pony.

“Mornin’, Twi’,” Applejack greeted, forcing a tired smile. “Yer up and about early.”

Like every mornin’, for the last couple o’ days…

Twilight paused, looking Applejack up and down. Even though she was still very unused to the sight of the apple farmer’s true form – and associating said appearance with something other than an enemy – she was still well versed in the symptoms of an all-nighter. “Are you alright, AJ?” she asked.

Applejack grunted, offering a noncommittal shrug. “Been better, Ah suppose. Oh, and Ah’ve been meanin’ ta thank ya for that tea ya gave me.”

Twilight brightened up a bit at that. “Oh, so it took care of your hornache? I wasn’t sure if it would, since you’re… well, you know.” She finished by laughing nervously. “My mom used to give me the same tea when I was growing up, so I thought if anything could do the trick…”

“Yep, worked like a charm,” Applejack chuckled, brushing off the studious mare’s awkwardness. Even though Twilight had accepted her, it was obviously going to take the unicorn a while before things went back to normal. “So, what can Ah help ya with today, sugarcube?”

Twilight paused for a moment as she reorganized her thoughts. “Oh, nothing. I just wanted to see how you were doing, that’s all.”

And ponies tell me Ah’m a lousy liar…

“That all?” Applejack asked, shooting her friend a knowing look.

“Well… and to maybe… talk a bit more?” she asked, equal parts sheepish and hopeful, like a child asking to bend the rules just a teensy weensy little bit.

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle. It hadn’t taken Twilight long to latch onto the untapped source of knowledge of changelings, and now she just couldn’t help but grill Applejack for all she was worth. In many respects, she was like a kitten with a ball of yarn that she was bound and determined to get her bits’ worth out of.

“Of course, sugarcube,” Applejack said kindly, smiling. “What do ya –”

“Applejack!”

That was about all the advance warning Applejack received before suddenly finding a very wide pair of magenta eyes in front of her. All Applejack could register about their owner, however, was the rather panicked look adorning her cyan face.

“Run for your life!”

Applejack staggered back a step, eying a very terrified Rainbow Dash. She was jittery, practically jogging in place in sheer panic, eyes wide and rapidly scanning her surroundings, free wing flared in anxiety. Seeing the usually brazen and confident mare in such a state was more than enough cause for concern. “Rainbow, what’s –”

“No time!” Rainbow cried, grabbed hold of Applejack, and started running as fast as her legs could carry her.

“Um… bye?” Twilight called, waving a hoof goodbye in complete bewilderment, but already her friends had moved quite a ways from her.

“Rainbow – ow! Ah can’t run that fast!” Applejack complained, but Rainbow wasn’t slowing down. She hauled the apple farmer back the way she’d come, running full tilt for the farmyard.

“Hurry up,” Rainbow yelped, looking around quicker than a skittish lamb, “before she finds us!”

“Who, Rainbow?” Applejack asked, now starting to feel on edge herself. “And will ya please slow down?!”

“Slow down later, hide now,” Rainbow blurted fearfully. Her eyes flew around the empty yard, looking desperately for cover. The barn was obviously a no-go; only a bare timber frame stood where the new barn would soon stand. So, that left only one option to the panicking mare.

Rainbow bucked open the front door to the Apple family household, dragging Applejack the whole way.

“For Pete’s sake, Rainbow,” Applejack shouted exasperatedly, “what in the wide world of Equestria has gotten into ya?!”

“Ssh,” Rainbow hissed fearfully, just as she yanked open a closet, grabbed Applejack by the shoulders, and threw her in.

By the time Applejack righted herself with a long-suffering groan, Rainbow had snapped the door shut behind them, forcing the two of them to sit practically on top of each other in the confined space.

“So help me, Rainbow,” Applejack seethed, “If this is one of yer half-baked pranks…”

“Will you please be quiet,” Rainbow hissed, real terror in her voice. “She’s going to –”

A low, ominous creaking sound drove her to horrified silence. Somewhere beyond the closet, a door was slowly swinging open, bit by bit, producing a sour note of complaint from a hinge.

Now, even Applejack’s irritation gave pause. She froze in place beside Rainbow, eyes fixed on the door in front of her. Something was moving on the other side, slowly clip-clopping across the wooden floor beyond. One step… two steps…

“Oh Rainbow Daaash,” issued a low, sing-song murmur. “Oh Applejaaack…”

Applejack’s eyes got huge as suddenly she realized what was going on, and the true horror that was about to befall her. All she needed to hear was that voice – that horribly familiar voice – to start her own trembling.

Something metallic was opening and shutting in slow, methodical rhythms just beyond the door, opening and shutting… opening and shutting… snip… snip…

The sounds of hooves were growing closer now. Applejack and Rainbow clung together, struggling to remain quiet.

“You. Will. Be...,” sang that voice again, just on the other side of the door.

With a loud bang, the door was thrown wide, revealing the pale fiend that waited on the other side; one surrounded on all sides by an arsenal glinting trimmers, curlers and various other tools of unspeakable horror.

“FABULOUS!” Rarity shrieked victoriously.

Rainbow and Applejack did the only thing that could be expected of them in such a situation; they screamed bloody murder.

~~***~~

Rarity hummed idly to herself, smiling contentedly. At last, all was right with the world once more. “There,” she said, taking a step back to take in her work, “doesn’t that feel so much better?”

“Rarity, you’re creepy sometimes,” Rainbow grumbled back at her, looking grumpy. “You know that right? Because you totally are.”

Rarity blushed sheepishly, nervously laughing a little to herself. “I’m sorry about that, Rainbow. Was this all a bit much?”

Rainbow’s response was to give her a very sour look. After all, she was currently strapped to a salon chair with all manner of cords and rope. “Ya think?”

Applejack, at least, had been spared the indignity of restraints, but that was only because she’d surrendered peacefully. She couldn’t say that she hadn’t been expecting something like this happening sooner or later, though Rarity’s… approach… was anything but predictable.

Rainbow, on the other hoof, had put up a valiant fight all the way into Ponyville, but their inevitable goal could not be changed. Rarity was a mare on a mission, and that mission had only one destination in mind.

The Day Spa.

So, there they were – one very reluctantly, one slightly less so – sitting in a luxurious salon with a group of ponies working over the mares, subjecting them to every treatment possible. And they were not enjoying themselves.

More than once, Rainbow yelped and attempted to jump upright. “Watch the hooves!” she’d complain, but there wasn’t much she could do.

Rarity herself just couldn’t find it in her to sit idly by, and it was only because of her friendship with the owners of the spa itself that she was allowed to pick up a pair of trimmers and a comb and pitch in.

First on her victim list was Rainbow, who looked on the verge of lashing out at the next living thing that got into biting range. Had she not been tied down, things probably would've gotten quite messy indeed.

But, despite the pegasus’ attitude, Rarity could finally take a step back and appreciate her work. At last, all of the burned hair in her mane and tail had been groomed out, even if it meant cutting both a little shorter than the pegasus particularly liked in order to even everything out. The fashionista had been having nightmares about the… state… of her friend’s mane, so for the sake of her own sanity, she’d been left with no choice but to take drastic steps.

Now, with her mane properly brushed and trimmed, Rainbow very nearly looked like a true mare and not some wild child. All of the colors in her mane were neatly ordered without one intruding on the other. The endless tangles had been worked through, and the uneven ends had been properly leveled. After a good washing, Rainbow’s mane even seemed to sparkle in the overhead lights. Truly, she was the image of a proper mare.

At least, until she shook her head like a dog.

“Ah, much better,” Rainbow sighed, her mane unkempt all over again.

Rarity sighed in defeat. Alas, it just wasn’t meant to be…

Then she set her sights onto Applejack, who was morosely enduring a hooficure from a rather courageous Lotus, who seemed both fascinated and stymied by the changeling’s holey legs.

“Rarity, is this really called for?” Applejack asked, fidgeting uncomfortably. She really didn’t care for the feel of ponies touching her chitin so much.

“I’m sorry,” Rarity said pointedly, coming back from her apologetic state, “but I can’t hear you over the sound of you compensating me for that fiasco with Vigil.”

Applejack sighed heavily in response and turned away.

“Besides,” Rarity went on, brightening up as she stepped closer, brandishing a pair of trimmers and a hairbrush with her magic, “A queen should look her absolute best!”

“Ah ain’t no queen,” Applejack deadpanned, “and Ah don’t ever want ta be one. Why would Ah?”

Rarity just gave her a blank look, like Applejack had just declared herself majordomo of the marble people. “…Yes, a queen should look her very best.”

Applejack sighed, hitting herself in the face with a hoof. “Look… Rare? Ah’m just Applejack, alright? Ah ain’t royalty.”

“Oh, but I beg to differ!” Rarity announced, taking her place behind her friend’s chair. “Now hold still; this will only take a moment. What was I saying… oh yes! But you are royalty, Applejack! Were you not the one to tell us all about your mother, Queen Carnation?”

Applejack grimaced. “That’s different, and you know it.”

“I fail to see how,” Rarity responded, surveying the damage to Applejack’s mane. Compared to the nightmare that had been Rainbow’s hair, Applejack’s had come through her ordeal relatively unscathed, save for the burned, ragged end to her tail, which would require immediate tending to. At least Applejack had brushed it at some point or another, which was more than could be said for her other friend.

“Rarity, can ya please just listen ta me,” Applejack asked, her patience fraying. “Ah ain’t no queen, alright? Ah’m just Applejack, same as always.”

Rarity pursed her lips and paused halfway through working a brush through her friend’s tail. “Yes, I suppose you are,” she said in an odd tone. “Dependable, responsible, a natural-born leader… I guess that is who Applejack is, isn’t it?”

Applejack turned around to look at her friend, raising an eyebrow. “What are ya gettin’ at?”

“Oh, nothing, darling” Rarity dismissed, going right back to work. “Just talking out loud, that’s all. Don’t mind me!”

Applejack frowned in suspicion at the fashionista, who did everything she could to pretend not to notice her friend watching her.

~~***~~

“Freedom!” Rainbow cheered at the top of her lungs, flinging herself out of the accursed Spa and into the glorious day beyond. It was a pity she couldn’t fly, or else she’d be well on her way to the safety of the stratosphere where no hoof file would ever reach her again.

Applejack was right behind her, moving as fast as her three good legs could take her. It was only by the mercy of her bandages that she’d been spared from most of the spa’s nastier treatments. Though, if she was perfectly honest with herself, that back massage had been pure magic.

With a lazy yawn, Applejack walked after Rainbow. By then it was approaching noon, and already Applejack was feeling in desperate need of a nap.

“Remind me to never, ever, ever make Rarity mad,” Rainbow said over her shoulder. “She gets… groomy.”

“Don’t need ta tell me twice,” Applejack replied sincerely.

Together the friends walked down the cluttered street, still rather out of it from their harrowing experience.

It didn’t take Applejack long, however, to notice the sounds of hammers and saws ringing out from every direction, causing her to look around.

From one end of the street to the other, ponies wearing hardhats and strapped with tool bags worked amid dozens of organized clutters of building materials, all bound for the many damaged houses or businesses that lined the scarred street. Walls were being reframed, roofs thatched, windows replaced – even the road was being resurfaced in some places – and all on a monumental scale.

But ponies weren’t doing the bulk of the work.

The word had gotten out about Ponyville’s secret residents, it seemed. Applejack had heard about the announcement in Canterlot – virtually every pony in Equestria had by then. The groundbreaking revelation of there being changelings living among ponies filled every front page of every newspaper, magazine and tabloid after all, and the reactions had been just as varied, if not more-so.

It was still an odd sight to many, however – black figures buzzing through the air to and fro, working with a meticulousness that was almost disconcerting to witness. Despite a few inexperienced individuals, the group of changelings proved to be quick learners, and now they were at the heart of many projects – sometimes several to a drone – displaying uncanny teamwork and coordination in everything they did. They would likely be going to bed stiff and sore, but not one was complaining in the slightest.

It’d seemed like such an obvious move to make; if changelings were ever going to be trusted in Ponyville, having them pitch in with the rebuilding from the attack seemed like a no-brainer to Applejack – a sentiment quite a few ponies shared in kind, including Princess Celestia and – to Applejack’s pleasant surprise – even Mayor Mare, just to name a few.

The sight of collaborating drones and ponies brought a feeling of optimism to Applejack’s heart. Progress was being made on more than one front, and just witnessing ponies and changelings working together in any capacity made Applejack all the more hopeful.

It’d taken them a while – and even now there were a few distrustful looks thrown here and there among the ponies – but eventually, cooperation started to win out as the changelings’ good intentions slowly but surely sunk into the dumbfounded residents of Ponyville, and even those that came from abroad to see the spectacle for themselves couldn’t help but walk away with their perspectives at least called into question.

And if it were up to Applejack, she’d be right there with them, doing her part to fix the damage she herself was partially responsible for. But her broken leg – and more convincingly, the demands her doctor and even her family – put an end to that desire. So, even if it did her good seeing changelings and ponies getting along, the best she could do to contribute was offer advice and a demonstration or two on how to properly do something.

Of course, that didn’t mean she was completely cut out of the loop. That became clear when a voice called down to her from above.

“Miss Applejack! Miss Applejack!” called out a drone, who had paused in the air halfway across the street to wave a hoof.

Recognizing her voice, Applejack grinned up at the excited changeling. “Howdy, Bumblebee. How’s it goin’?”

“Great!” Bumblebee said happily. “Just got done fixing the roof on Colgate’s house. Thatching a roof is hard work, but it’s also kind of fun once you get used to it!”

Applejack chuckled. “So Ah take it nopony’s been givin’ ya trouble?”

At that, Bumblebee faltered. “Well… no, not really. Not nearly as much as I thought, anyway. Everypony’s been really nice.”

“Bumblebee!” called out an impatient voice, causing the drone to flinch in midair. “Hurry up! We still have – oh! Good day, Applejack.”

By then, the farmer had managed to locate the speaker; another drone, one on ground level this time, who was quickly trotting over bearing a smile of her own.

“Same ta you, Roseluck,” Applejack greeted with a smile. “You girls been busy?”

“A bit,” Roseluck said, exhaling. Her chitin was covered in beads of sweat, but at the same time she was smiling widely. “Last time I worked with my hooves this much, we were still building Freedom. I have to say… I didn’t realize how much I missed this.”

“Glad ta hear it,” Applejack chuckled in response. “Ya need help with anything?”

At that, Roseluck paused. “Er… I think we’ve got everything under control, Applejack. Maybe you should –”

“Hey Applejack!”

Once again, Applejack was distracted by another drone, this time one who paused midway through hammering a nail into a roof strut to wave. Other changelings were looking around by then, each calling out and waving.

“Hey, Applejack! Nice to see you!”

“Not pushing yourself to hard, I hope!”

“Happy Nightmare Night!” “…It’s November…”

When one called, another would look up, and soon changelings up and down the block were waving and shouting greetings. Perplexingly, however… Maybe it was just Applejack’s imagination, but there seemed to be quite a few more changelings than she’d remembered seeing before…

But even as Applejack’s ears were temporarily overwhelmed by the well-wishes of a dozen different changelings and even a pony or two, it didn’t take Applejack long, to start picking up on other, quieter voices all around her.

“Hey, is that…?”

“That can’t be…”

“So she’s really…”

“No way… all this time…”

Applejack did her best to ignore it, however. She kept her eyes forward and did everything she could to keep from glancing in the direction of the whispers. She’d sworn to herself early on that she wouldn’t let the muttering ponies get to her, and for the most part she could – at least, a lot more than she ever would’ve been able to before.

What bugged her, however, wasn’t the fact that they were whispering about what she was, but the fact that they were whispering about her, period. A part of her wanted to hear what they had to say about her – to confront them head-on… but mostly she didn’t think she’d have the heart for it…

The amber-maned changeling jumped when she felt something bump into her side – or rather, somepony.

“C’mon, cowgirl, enough with the long face,” Rainbow groaned, rolling her eyes. “They’re just talking. No big deal, right?”

Applejack eyed Rainbow curiously, quirking a brow. “Don’t go tellin’ me it ain’t botherin’ you, RD,” she said.

“Well duh,” Rainbow shot, catching Applejack completely off guard. “I have a reputation to keep, you know.”

She then turned slightly and jabbed one hoof against her friend’s chest, once again catching Applejack by surprise. “So as my friend, you are obligated to start being, like, five times more awesome, starting right now. And moping? Totally not awesome. So cut it out.”

Applejack blinked, looked down at the hoof pressed against her front, then back up. And to her surprise, it actually worked. Applejack snorted, cracking a rueful smile.

“Eh, better,” Rainbow shrugged, unimpressed, “We’ll have to work on it.” But as she turned back around, she was smiling, too. “And lesson one; don’t think on an empty stomach. Let’s get some lunch, then we can go over lesson two.”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle under her breath. Rainbow didn’t respond, but she still puffed up, a smug grin plastered on her face as she headed off.

Applejack just rolled her eyes. Good gravy…

But just as she started to fall into step beside her friend once more, something down the road caught her eye, causing her to freeze in place.

The little bow-wearing filly spotted her at the same time, too. Apple Bloom stopped mid step, eyes going wide. And then she turned and darted down a side street, disappearing from sight entirely.

“Hey!” Rainbow called, but the filly was already gone. “Geez, is she still avoiding you?”

“Yup,” Applejack sighed, good mood dissipated. “Apparently Big Macintosh and Granny Smith took her to see me while Ah was still out cold from castin’ that spell. It ain’t real hard ta tell how that went…”

Applejack avoided meeting the look Rainbow was giving her and forced herself to start walking again. “Granny reckons she just needs some space, and she come ‘round when she’s ready to.”

Rainbow remained still for a moment, watching her friend before opening her mouth. “But what do you reckon?” she asked.

Applejack paused, but then resumed walking. “Don’t you go worryin’ about that, sugarcube. Ah’ll handle it.”

Still, the cyan pegasus remained in place, and very quiet. Applejack was on the verge of turning around to snap at her friend to get a move on when Rainbow suddenly spoke up again. “You know what? You go on ahead. I just, uh, remembered something I have to do. Weather pony stuff – you wouldn’t understand.”

And before Applejack could do more than give Rainbow a very suspicious look, the brazen pegasus turned tail and darted away.

“Rainbow!” she shouted warningly, but already she’d skirted around a corner and was gone. And no amount of three legged shambling on Applejack’s part would ever close the distance. “Rainbow!”

~~***~~

After searching for nearly an hour, Applejack was finally forced to give up. She was tired, her temper was frayed to the breaking point, and she hadn’t seen so much as a solitary blue feather of her friend.

Giving up was not something she intended to do, but at the moment, she desperately had to cool her head. By that point, she’d wandered into the park, one of the few places she could go without several pairs of eyes tracking her every move at any given moment, which had only made things worse.

Applejack picked a patch of yellowing grass beneath a tree laden with fiery red, yellow and orange leaves and collapsed bodily onto it with a heavy thump.

Already she was feeling the limits of her endurance, which only helped to remind her how far she was from fully recovering after virtually emptying her entire magical reserves. It frustrated her, almost as much as the thought of Rainbow doing something foolish, but what could she do?

Grimacing angrily to herself, she put her head down on the prickly ground, intent on fuming in silence for a few minutes. Or, possibly getting some shut-eye, whichever came about first.

A light, cool breeze played with her mane and tail, tickling her ears. Out here, the racket of construction was distant to the point of barely being audible at all. Even the slightest rustle could drown it out in its entirety, in fact.

Each rustle, however, no matter how small, filled her mind with another sound altogether. The sound of the tree branches above shifting in the wind brought back the memory of a secretive, withering place far from where she was laying…

The sound of a twig snapping nearby brought her roughly back to reality, causing her head to jerk up.

But aside from a barely audible squeak of alarm, Applejack’s initial survey of her surroundings turned up nothing. Of course, that only narrowed down the list of possible suspects.

“Fluttershy? That you, sugarcube?” Applejack asked loudly, still glancing around for any sign of her timid friend.

A moment later, she heard still more rustling, and suddenly a yellowing bush developed the oddest pair of sapphire eyes.

“There ya are,” Applejack said with a smile. “Whatcha doin’ in a bush?”

“Um… nothing, really” the shy mare responded quietly.

“Uh-huh,” Applejack deadpanned. “That have anythin’ ta do with me?”

“Oh no, of course not,” Fluttershy said quickly. “Well… maybe a little…”

Applejack sighed and sat up with a grunt. Fluttershy hesitated, then nervously emerged from the brush and took a few tentative steps closer.

“Um,” Fluttershy started, rubbing the knees of her forelegs together nervously. “How… how are you feeling?”

Applejack noticed her friend eying her cast apprehensively, but for a reason beyond fearfulness this time. “Useless,” Applejack sighed heavily. She allowed herself to sag back down onto her belly while kicking her forelegs out in front of her for her to glare at. “Apple Bloom’s mad at me, Rainbow’s gone off ta do Celestia-knows-what, and ta top it all off, Ah ain’t got the strength to do a dang thing about it anyway! Ah wish Ah'd just hurry up and get better already, but the one time Ah wish Ah had my healin’ powers, they’re shot.”

“They’re still not working?” Fluttershy asked, taking another tentative step closer. She was warring with her urge to tend to the injured changeling, and the fact that she was… well, a changeling. Despite telling herself over and over again that this was Applejack, the sight of her alien form was still an immense hurdle for her to overcome completely – more-so than most of the things in her life. She was making progress, considering she’d only been exposed to it for a couple days now, but…

“There’s still some of that spell goin’ around, Ah reckon,” Applejack replied grumpily. “It comes and goes, but for the most part… no.”

“You poor thing,” Fluttershy said softly, sitting down next to her friend. “You really should be in bed until you feel all better.”

Applejack grumbled, her wings batting the air irritably. “Ah have ta feel better now,” she grunted.

“But you don’t,” Fluttershy pointed out. Her tone wasn’t harsh, but the lack of hesitance was just as firm. Of course, that only lasted a second or two, before she was once more shrinking into herself. “I-I mean… it seems like you should rest, and then you can handle all sorts of problems, especially the really important ones.”

Applejack glanced towards Fluttershy, who was idly double-checking a patch of gauze’s secureness to the apple farmer’s shoulder. As much as she wanted to pretend otherwise, she had to admit – no matter how grudgingly – that Fluttershy had a point. She was tired, she was irritable, and her dangerously shallow patience weren’t good factors to be trying to achieve anything with.

“Ah… guess yer right,” Applejack admitted, slumping still further on the wilted grass. “Ah wish ya weren’t but… facts are facts, Ah guess.”

Finally, with one last sigh, Applejack heaved herself up onto her hooves while Fluttershy watched carefully. “Guess Ah’ll head on home, then.”

Then she gave a big, jaw-popping yawn, exposing nearly all of her pointed teeth to the open air. Now that she was settled down, the weight of sleep deprivation was starting to get to her, making a bed seem increasingly appealing. “Golly, Ah could sure use a nap right about now…”

A gust of wind came rushing through the park, the cold air nipping at Applejack’s exposed chitin. The scents of autumn intruded on the apple farmer’s nostrils, reminding her of the orchards… the woods… and the memories of a forgotten place.

Freedom… she still wasn’t sure if she should go back. A part of her knew she should. Sooner or later, she would have to. There was bound to be more there for her, and the curiosity was proving to be a hard temptation to beat. Yet, Applejack knew almost for certain it would take an emotional toll on her. So, it was a question of what she would be willing to subject herself to.

She’d already heard whispers amongst the changelings – hopes of rebuilding their old home. At the moment, they were nothing but wishful musings, but deep in Applejack’s heart, she didn’t think they would stay as such.

But as she continued to think on the matter, the memory of someone else inevitably surfaced, making her heart clench all the tighter…

The loud bong of a bell rang out over the city, causing Applejack to jump. The clock tower was striking the hour – once, twice, three times.

Applejack turned in the direction of the clock tower, hesitating on the spot. Is it really that late already? At this rate, Ah ain’t gonna be up fer Pinkie’s “Welcome Again to Ponyville” or whatever party…

But as Applejack’s eyes roamed over the autumn-tinted skyline, a large shape caught her eye – a distant archway, sticking up like a wrought iron tiara atop a nearby hill – one separate from the hustle and bustle of Ponyville itself; close enough to be a part of the town without actually being a part of it. Just the sight of it caused a heavy lump to settle into Applejack’s gut, ridding her of what little tranquility she’d gained.

All of a sudden, a nap became the furthest thing from the young changeling’s mind. “On second thought… there’s somethin’ Ah gotta do first.”

She smiled at Fluttershy then, who was giving her a worried look. “Thanks for talkin’ ta me, ‘Shy. Ah’ll see ya around.”

Fluttershy watched as her friend walked away, her insides squirming. Applejack?

~~***~~

The walk out of the park and up to that distant archway was a slow, meticulous one, and not because she only had so many legs to make the trip with. Even after arriving on an immaculate lawn, Applejack kept her gaze down and her pace even. She was in no rush to get where she was going.

It’d been a while since she’d last walked that dirt path, but now… now she had a new reason to do so. One last turn, and suddenly she was faced with her destination.

Before her sloped the side of a gently rolling hill cleared of everything but a few immaculately manicured trees and hedges. That, and a countless number of white stones, jutting up in ordered rows out of the ground.

Like always, the Ponyville Cemetery was a quiet, tranquil place. Not many ponies came by, not without special cause. So, in that moment, Applejack had the entire place to herself. The gates were open, and without a single living soul in sight, Applejack silently let herself in, trudging down a path she’d long since committed to memory.

She hung an immediate right, walked two rows down along the fence, turned left, headed eight rows in, and turned left again until she came to an all-too familiar plot of land sequestered under a willow tree a short distance from the rest.

The moment she rounded that final corner, she was greeted by the sight of one large slab of snow white marble nearly as wide as Applejack was long and topped with a pair of stone apples, their conjoined stems forming a single heart; a painful sight in itself for Applejack to see.

But immediately to the side of that, occupying a small, unobtrusive spot beneath the overhanging willow tree, sat a column unlike any in the graveyard. It was made from polished granite, for one thing, with a simple bust adorning the top and a bronze plaque on its center.

Applejack’s eyes were drawn to it as she approached, her gaze first going to the small glass vase filled with fresh flowers at its foot.

Atop the headstone sat a slightly larger-than-life bust of flawless ashy grey stone. And yet, the likeness was so simplistic and threadbare as far as features go. It was as if the maker had been in a rush and only carved out enough what was absolutely necessary for the shape of the head to be distinct, but bothered with little else. At first glance, the thing would’ve been more fitting of a mannequin. It seemed to have no expression, as if the individual it was representing was simply standing at attention.

But if someone took the time to actually look, they would see that the bust wasn’t as blank as one might think.

Each eye was set with a large, peerless sapphire, causing them to look featureless, yet striking. Each eye flashed in the afternoon sun, gleaming as if they held an intelligence all their own. It was almost as if they were looking out towards the horizon, waiting for every dawn to come. The uneven scruff along the back of the bust’s neck even had thin filaments of silver streaking through it that gleamed in the sunlight.

Next, as if drawn by some irresistible force, Applejacks eyes drifted down to the plaque affixed to the headstone, which bore only a simple inscription just a few lines long, and yet it only took those few words to cause her heart to ache with a well known pain.

Hyacinth Apple
Devoted Aunt
Devoted Protector
Devoted to the Very Last

Hyacinth Apple… Even though her aunt wasn’t even a pony, the moment Granny Smith had learned about her, she’d become committed to having her placed on the Apple family’s plot, right next to Applejack’s parents. There’d been no formal induction into the family or any such nonsense. It was as if she’d been a part of it all along.

And if that wasn’t enough, Princess Celestia herself carved the bust, only saying “It was the least I could do for her, after all she’d done for us”.

Applejack sat heavily on the grass, gazing up at the bust of her aunt somberly. Seeing her here, next to her parents, always made it real for her.

She was gone. After only being in her life for a single night… she was gone.

But… if she hadn’t been there…

Applejack reached up with one hoof and unceremoniously swept the small crown from her head. Already she was finding herself forgetting she was even wearing it at times.

She set the crown down before her – between herself and the tombstone in front of her. The moment her hoof left it, emerald magic engulfed the small crown, struggled for a moment, then settled down once again in the shape of a Stetson.

“How’s it goin’, Ma… Pa… Hyacinth?” she started, speaking soft and low. “Ah hope everythin’s great on your side. What am Ah talkin’ about… of course it is.”

Applejack turned her eyes slightly, redirecting them towards the large headstone for both her parents. For a moment, she paused, licking her lips. “Ah… Ah did it. Ah… ain’t hidin’ anymore, just like the both of ya always wanted. It’s… well, it’s still pretty dang scary, Ah ain't gonna lie… but Ah’ll find a way ta pull through. Ah just…”

Applejack’s eyes drifted back towards the Hyacinth’s grave, becoming pained. “Ah… wish ya were still here, Hyacinth… Ah don’t know how Ah’m gonna do it without ya, Ah honestly don’t… And there’s still a whole heap of things Ah wanted ta ask ya. About where Ah come from... about Mama... But… Ah can’t no more.”

Applejack looked down towards her hooves, her gaze settling on her Stetson instead. “Ah know it ain’t right of me ta think it… but sometimes Ah find myself wishin’ ya hadn’t show up when ya did. Maybe then we’d get some other chance, further down the road, when we didn’t have so much ridin’ on us. Maybe then ya’d still be here…”

Her eyes became distant then, not particularly seeing anything as the few memories of her aunt she had played through her mind.

“But… if ya hadn’t showed up, things probably would’a gone a whole lot different, wouldn’t they? Would Vigil have still lost? Would that Applejack even be the same Applejack sittin’ here now?”

She raised her hooves, looking at them heavily. “No… that Applejack was a coward. She was willin’ ta run and run and never face her problems, so long as it meant keepin’ everypony else happy. Her friends, even her own family… So long as she stayed the same pony in their eyes, nothin’ else mattered ta her. She would always be strong and dependable Applejack and never have ta admit she was flawed.”

Applejack replaced her hooves back on the ground and became still for a moment or two, letting her mind drift this way and that for a moment. “That’s not who Ah am anymore. Ah can’t be, not after everythin’ ya showed me about where Ah come from. Ah… Ah ain’t gonna say Ah ain’t afraid anymore… nopony can say that. But Ah can say this for sure; Ah ain’t a coward anymore.”

She turned her eyes back up towards the bust of her aunt, meeting its inanimate gaze. “It ain’t gonna be easy, but nothin’ worth doin’ ever is, right? But Ah will find a way, or my name ain’t Applejack.”

But after a moment or two, she sagged once more, her crestfallen ears drooping. “Ah just… wish ya were here ta help me find out how…”

An errant breeze sighed through the willow tree, ruffling Applejack’s mane. It was the only response she got; everything else around her was totally silent and still.

Well… save for the soft rustle of a hoof on the grass behind her.

Applejack turned her head slightly, just as a small form took a seat in the grass beside her.

Apple Bloom didn’t look at her, or even acknowledge Applejack’s presence at first. She kept her eyes forward, an oddly solemn look on her face as she looked ahead; towards Hyacinth’s gravestone.

Applejack tensed, freezing in place out of surprise. But she didn’t speak up, or make a sound of any kind.

For nearly five solid minutes, neither of them said a word. Apple Bloom had the barest trace of a frown on her face – a ghost of the look she’d given Applejack before, but whether it was diminished or merely reined in was anypony’s guess.

Applejack just carefully observed her little sister, until at last, the filly opened her mouth.

“What was she like?” she asked.

Applejack paused, thinking on how to respond. “Hyacinth?”

To her surprise, however, Apple Bloom shook her head. “Ah don’t mean her… Ah mean Applejack,” she said. “Did ya know her much?”

It was in that moment that Applejack finally put the pieces together, but all the realization did was cause her more heartache. After all, what did ponies know about changelings? That they take the place of loved ones...

“Ah knew her real well,” Applejack responded. “Better than… most, Ah reckon.”

Apple Bloom bit her lip and fidgeted with her hooves. “What… what was she like?”

“Why don’t ya tell me,” Applejack said, catching the little filly of guard.

“Huh?” was Apple Bloom’s response – that and her head cocking to one side in confusion.

Applejack smiled slightly. “Ya know her pretty darn well yerself, sugarcube,” she said kindly.

Apple Bloom blinked once, and then abruptly turned away, her frown growing. “Well Ah know fer sure my big sis ain’t no coward,” she said with certainty, “and Ah know my big sis wouldn’t ever hide somethin’ from me. She wasn’t scared of nothin’!”

Applejack restrained a grimace, instead looking back towards the gravestone in front of her. “She’s scared of one thing, Apple Bloom,” she said quietly.

Apple Bloom turned her head sharply, as if daring the changeling beside her to contradict her.

Applejack smiled again, though this time she had to work at getting her lips to rise. “More than anything… she is scared ta death about losin’ everypony she cared for.”

Again, Apple Bloom’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Her friends,” Applejack continued on, eyes becoming distant, “her family… and especially her little sister. So, if that meant keepin’ somethin’ under wraps, then that’s what Ah was gonna do.”

Apple Bloom’s frown suddenly flared up again, and abruptly she was on her hooves. “Yer not the real Applejack, so stop talkin’ like ya are!” she shouted loud enough to cause Applejack's ears to ring. “Ah know Applejack, and she would never cover somethin’ up! S-she would never lie about not really bein’ my sister!”

Applejack’s heart twisted painfully in her chest, almost hard enough for her to clutch at it.

To her surprise, Apple Bloom didn’t run away again. She was shaking from head to hoof and glaring worse than Applejack had ever seen before in her life. But she was still standing her ground somehow.

Applejack was silent for a moment in order to get herself under control again before opening her mouth to speak. This might be the last chance she ever had to convince her little sister.

“Apple Bloom… did ya know that Big Macintosh goes ta bed every night with that Smarty-Pants doll of Twilight’s?” she asked.

That completely threw the furious filly off, so much so that for a moment it seemed like she forgot that she was angry. “Wait… what?” Apple Bloom said, confused. “What does –”

“Did ya know Granny Smith gets a hankerin’ fer oranges every once in a while,” Applejack continued, “Or that yer uncle Apple Split is as bald as a buzzard underneath that toupee of his?”

Apple Bloom, by now, looked thoroughly confused. “What are ya talkin’ about?” she asked. “Why are ya tellin’ me about that?”

Applejack smiled. “My point is, sugarcube, that we all got things we ain’t proud about. We don’t go fibbin’ about it, but we don’t go broadcastin’ it fer everypony ta know about. You saw it yerself when ya went and did that Gabby Gums nonsense.”

As always, Apple Bloom squirmed uncomfortably upon hearing that name.

Applejack raised a hoof and lightly patted her little sister’s head once or twice, catching her by surprise. “So, this is mine,” she finished. “It don’t change who Ah am on the inside, not one bit, but that don’t mean somepony might misunderstand if they'd found out.”

Apple Bloom bit her lip, her angry look starting to turn into a slightly constipated frown. “How do Ah know yer not just tryin’ ta trick me?”

Applejack sighed a little. Obviously, this wasn’t going to be that easy. “Alright then, try me,” Applejack said bluntly.

Yet again, Apple Bloom found herself struggling to make sense of the changeling’s words. “Try what?"

Applejack smiled a bit more. “There’s really only one way ta tell if Ah’m a liar or not, right?” she said meaningfully.

Finally, Apple Bloom caught on. “Oh yeah!” she gasped.

Applejack chuckled. “So, ya want ta make a wager?” she asked.

Apple Bloom stood up straighter at that. “Ya mean like a bet?”

“Yep,” Applejack replied.

Apple Bloom’s eyes seemed to gleam brightly at that. “Alright, yer on! And if Ah win, ya gotta show me where the real Applejack is!”

The changeling chuckled again, unable to restrain a smile. “Alrighty then, sounds fair.”

“So,” Apple Bloom asked, attempting to scrutinize the changeling’s expression, “what’re ya goin’ ta bet?”

Applejack’s smile widened still further. “If Ah win, Ah’ll introduce ya to the real Applejack,” she stated.

Apple Bloom frowned, confused; was this a trick? But then she grinned to herself. Either way, she would be getting what she wanted. Might as well play along.

“Pinkie Promise?” she asked.

“Cross my heart, hope ta fly,” Applejack resighted easily, “stick a cupcake in my eye.”

There, Apple Bloom thought to herself, now she has no choice! Alright… what ta do…

She sat down, placing a hoof to her chin while she thought. Then, she had an idea. “How about we start with some questions,” Apple Bloom asked slowly, as if gauging her opponent’s reaction carefully. “Of course, only Applejack would know the answers.”

That, of course, only made Applejack chuckle a little, but then she nodded. “Sounds fair. Alright, fire away.”

Apple Bloom grinned to herself. There was no way the changeling was going to be getting these right…

~~***~~

“And that’s how Ah got ya, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo unstuck and outta that rain barrel for the third time in a week,” Applejack finished on a bemused note.

Apple Bloom could only stared in slack-jawed disbelief at the amber-maned changeling. How did she get all those right?! Can she really be…

For nearly an hour now, she’d been bringing up every little obscure memory and event she could think of in an effort to trip her opponent up, and yet every time, she filled in whatever blank Apple Bloom tried to create. Twice already the changeling had even corrected her on one detail or another. It was almost like…

Then something struck Apple Bloom, and she pointed an accusing hoof at her opponent. “Yer cheating!” she declared.

“Now why would ya go and say something like that,” Applejack asked, affronted.

“You must’ve used yer weird changeling magic ta copy Applejack’s memories! Or – or…” Apple Bloom declared, struggling for answers – anything that at least seemed plausible. “Or…”

“Apple Bloom,” Applejack said calmly, “changelin’s can’t steal somepony’s memories. Don’t ya think that changeling queen would’a done a better job trickin’ everypony at that weddin’ if she could?”

“But…,” Apple Bloom floundered, grasping at straws. “Maybe she… forgot?”

Applejack had been smiling slightly ever since Apple Bloom started questioning her. But when she heard her little sister say that, something changed in her expression.

It wasn’t much, but a sad edge worked its way into the look she was giving Apple Bloom. “Sugarcube… is it really so hard ta believe that Ah’m yer sister?”

“Well of course it is!” Apple Bloom whined, flailing her forelegs. “Yer not even a pony! How can… how can ya…”

She trailed off, visibly deflating. “Ah… Ah just want my sister… But then Ah find out she wasn’t even real in the first – ow!”

Applejack had finally had enough. She’d been exercising her patience as long as she could, but after a day like the one she’d been having, she was starting to get in short supply. And that comment was the absolute last straw.

So, it was at the end of that patience that Applejack raised one hoof and sharply knocked Apple Bloom on the head. It wasn’t a hard blow to any degree, but it certainly got the filly’s attention, as was Applejack’s intention.

“Now you cut that out right now,” Applejack snapped sternly. “Haven’t ya been listenin’ ta a word Ah’ve been tellin’ ya?”

Apple Bloom, still in a state of shock, reached up with both hooves to wrap them around her head, looking completely disbelieving of what’d just happened.

Applejack sat before her, looking down on her with upset eyes. “Ah have been yer sister all along, Apple Bloom,” she stressed, leaning towards the little filly slightly. “Ah’ve always been yer sister, ya hear me? From the first day Ma and Pa brought ya home from the hospital ta this very moment right here and every moment in between, Ah ain’t been anythin’ else but yer big sis, and Ah’ve been dang proud ta be it, too!”

Apple Bloom was looking up into the changeling’s big amber eyes now, a look of shock still plastered on her face. For the first time, she could see the pain in those alien double-ringed eyes, as if they were begging her to just listen. But also… some familiar glint that defied even the strangeness of those eyes…

“Ah want my sister back, too, sugarcube,” Applejack said, her voice dropping. “And Ah want ta keep bein’ yer sister… and Ah ain’t ever gonna stop wantin’ ta be that. Not now, not ever.”

Apple Bloom was still for a moment, her body locking up. Then, she sniffed, seemingly absently, paused… and in the next instant she was bawling her eyes out. It was like a barely restrained dam had simply busted, and out came everything tucked away inside Apple Bloom’s heart.

She let loose a wail in the vague shape of words, just before flinging herself forward. She didn’t care that it wasn’t a pair of furry forelegs that caught her. She didn’t care that it wasn’t a fuzzy chest that she was pulled into. In that moment, all she cared about was the warmth of the one comforting her.

“Ah-Ah,” Apple Bloom cried into Applejack’s front, “Yer-y-yer real! Ya – hic – ya –”

“Ssh, Ah know, sugarcube,” Applejack said softly into her sister’s mane. She kept her eyes shut tight, just in case they decided to start leaking, too. “It’s alright… Ah swear – Ah swear – Ah ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

Apple Bloom’s response was to simply keep crying while clinging to her sister for dear life, as if fearing she’d fade away all over again if she let go.

No more words were said between the two. Both sisters clung together as tightly as they could, each one too afraid to let go for even the smallest reason, lest the spell be broken entirely.

~~***~~

The day was on the bordering on evening when Applejack and Apple Bloom walked along the extensive border fence of Sweet Apple Acres, the front gate in sight.

For the fifteen or so minutes it took to walk from the cemetery to that very spot, both sister’s had been talking almost nonstop. Or, more precisely, Apple Bloom had been almost babbling out of a mix of nerves and excitement.

There was still a note of caution in Applejack’s heart, and the atmosphere between her and her little sister wasn’t quite back to normal. That being said, it’d come a long way already. Their bond would heal in time; that much she could tell. How long it took was irrelevant – the fact that she had a chance at it was all that mattered.

“So,” Apple Bloom started again, catching Applejack’s attention, “about what ya said earlier… Does Big Mac really still have Twilight’s doll?”

Applejack chuckled, grinning. She’d been smiling for a while now, and it just wasn’t getting old for her. “Sure as sugar, but don’t go givin’ him too much grief. That big galoot’s always been a real softie.”

Apple Bloom pondered that for a while, allowing the two to walk along in silence for a time. They passed along a road flanked on either side by fields of gold and brown, with a fiery red bush or tree here and there. Nothing arose to disturb them, much to Applejack’s enjoyment. Finally, it felt like she wasn’t being pulled around by her mane every which way by everypony she knew…

She let her little sister babble on and on about things, waging a one-pony conversation at the speed only an energetic filly could. And yet, even with an excited filly bounding circles around her, she wasn’t bothered in the slightest. On the contrary, she felt better than she had all day.

On they walked – or limped, in Applejack’s case – for several minutes, and with each minute, things seemed to get just a little bit better.

As Applejack nudged the unlatched front gate to Sweet Apple Acres open with her nose, she couldn’t help but take notice of the lightness of her heart, as opposed to when she’d been there last. Suddenly, the things weighing on her mind didn’t feel quite as heavy. She found herself not looking at the monumental load of things that needed to be done, but rather how to best go about doing it.

But as the weary apple farmer trudged up the well-worn path towards her home, she noticed something odd.

Though the sun was still in the sky, it was not terribly long for this world. The heavens were just starting to turn reddish in color, and clouds were developing yellow and pink underbellies.

Yet, not a light was on in the household.

Confused, Applejack cautiously approached the front porch, glancing around. Without a soul in sight, however, her nerves hardly were put to rest.

With Apple Bloom kept slightly behind her, the changeling stepped forward and carefully nudged the door open, equal parts confused and apprehensive. The events of just a few days prior were still rather fresh in her mind, after all.

Of course, getting a blast of confetti in the face was not something she’d been preparing for.

“SURPRISE!” bellowed a whole lot more than one pony from just on the other side of the door, just as every light in the house switched on with astonishing choreography, momentarily blinding the startled pair on the doorstep.

The first thing Applejack saw was the streamers and decorations that lined all the walls and rimmed the ceiling. Very little of the ceiling was actually even visible beneath a swarm of bright, colorful balloons. Any more and the house might’ve floated away on all the helium.

But the only thing Applejack truly needed to see to get her brain working again was the banner that stretched across the fireplace on the left-hand side of the room – a flowery, twelve-foot long thing with the words “Welcome to Ponyville Again!” plastered in big bold letters from one end to the other.

And there, just on the other side of the door, were well over a dozen ponies, all standing practically shoulder to shoulder just to cram into the small living room.

But more than that; there were black shapes intermingled amid the kaleidoscope of colorful coats and manes – a very noticeable repetition to be sure.

The entirety of Applejack’s living room was packed to capacity, with more faces poking in from around doorframes and even peeking down from the upstairs landing.

At the very front of the pack was a very familiar set of widely grinning unicorns, pegasi and one very bouncy earth pony.

“And that, ladies and gentlecolts, is why I love my job!” Pinkie Pie cheered, beaming as wide as she possibly could, pumping a hoof in the air.

It took Applejack nearly five seconds to recover from the shock of the noise and light hitting her in the face. The entire time, her friends just gazed expectantly at her, waiting eagerly for her reaction.

“Wh-what,” Applejack started, regaining the use of her voice. “What’re y’all doin’ here?”

“Waiting for you,” Pinkie said happily. “It is kinda hard to throw a surprise party without surprising somepony!”

“But why in my house?” Applejack added. “Ah though ya were throwin’ the party at Sugarcube Corner.”

Pinkie only gave her a meaningful look, waggling her eyebrows before saying, “And who told you that? Huuuh?”

“Rainbow di—”, Applejack started, only to stop as her eyes got huge in dawning realization. “Rainbow…”

Seeing the look her friend was giving her, the rainbow-maned pegasus couldn’t help but chuckle nervously. “Eh-heh… gotcha?”

Applejack sighed, putting a hoof to her forehead. But there was no hiding the smile that spread across her fanged lips. There was a whole bunch of things she wanted to say, a whole slew of emotions she wanted to voice. But in that moment, it was the simplest that seemed the most meaningful.

“Thank ya, everypony,” she said truthfully. “Ah mean it… Thank ya.”

Each of her friends smiled at her, and even if there was still some awkwardness in their expressions, they were completely outmatched by the honest emotions in those smiles. “What are friends for?” Twilight said simply.

For some reason, Applejack couldn’t help but snort a little at that. “Yeah… Ain’t that the truth.”

And then, she raised her head, eyes gleaming as she shouted over the heads of everypony present. “Alright, now where’s my fiddle? Ah’m gonna show y’all how we Apples party!”

~~***~~

It truly was a party to remember.

It wasn’t just that Pinkie Pie had pulled out all the stops, called in a favor or two and brought in her go-to DJ all the way from Canterlot, and all within the span of a short six-hour timeframe.

It wasn’t just the choice of venue, which quickly spilled out to encompass most of the farmyard. Trees – including some lifelessly blackened stalks that used to be trees – were draped with countless strings of lights that lit up the yard and some of the surrounding orchard, giving the partiers plenty of room to get their groove on, or to simply mingle.

It wasn’t even the inclusion of so many changelings, who were equal parts nervous and thrilled at basically having a Pinkie Pie certified party thrown in their honor. All over the yard and everywhere in the house, groups of ponies and changelings stood around, talking amicably about this and that while others danced on the improvised dance floor in the middle of the yard. Of course, there were a couple nervous individuals – such as Bumblebee, who was trying really hard not to notice Cloudkicker eying her.

It was a combination of all these things – each facet incredible in its own right, all linked together to make something truly one of a kind. Even as the sun went down and gave way to star-speckled darkness, the party went on.

Laughter filled the cold air in the orchards. Not one pony or changeling seemed bothered in the slightest by the harsh nip in the air; they were too busy having fun to notice.

Applejack watched it all from a corner of the balcony, smiling contentedly to herself. She could not say she’d never been this happy before, but… it was certainly in her top five. She'd had her fun with the fiddle, finally filled her belly with all manner of baked goods, including a slice or two of fresh apple pie. She and Twilight had finally gotten a chance to talk, and while the conversation quickly proved to be way out of the changeling's league, especially when the studious unicorn started bringing up magical theorem, it was still enjoyable in its own right.

There was this knot inside of Applejack that was coming undone – a twisted up, uncomfortable spot inside her heart that she’d learned to ignore. Now it was coming undone the more she sat there and the more friendly smiles she got. And honestly, she didn’t quite know what to do with herself because of it.

She felt like whooping and hollering, like running around like a crazed mare. She felt… unburdened. Yes, that was the word, she realized. In that moment, she felt unburdened.

“What’re you grinning about?”

Applejack refocused then, just in time to notice a cyan pegasus plopping down next to her.

Rainbow flashed her a grin before turning back to look out over the party. “You know, I think Pinkie finally managed to put together a party just as awesome as me,” she remarked.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yer just sayin’ that ‘cuz Big Mac tapped that cider barrel we had in storage.”

“You know it!” Rainbow said enthusiastically, beaming excitedly. “Best. Party. Ever!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. She’d noticed the little dollop of foam right on the tip of Rainbow’s nose almost right away. An explanation hadn’t been necessary in that regard.

“So, are ya tellin’ me ya staged all this?” Applejack asked abruptly.

When she saw Rainbow giving her a confused look – her mind still lost in memories of spiced beverage goodness – Applejack waved one of her hooves over the party.

It still took a moment for Rainbow to catch up, and then she responded by violently shaking her head. “ Uh-uh, no way. You might be my best friend and all, but there is no way I’ll put myself through… Rarity… just for your sake, bug-brain. Things just kinda worked out that way.”

Applejack rolled her eyes at that. “Ya’ll break yer wing tryin’ ta save my sorry flank, but Celestia-forbid ya gotta get a hooficure on my account,” she teased.

Rainbow winced. “Well, having to get a lift from mom or dad every night to go home isn’t exactly awesome, but if it’s between piggy-back rides and having my hooves messed with, I’ll take the piggy-back rides any day of the week.”

Applejack couldn’t help but give her a weird look. “Ya live with yer parents?”

Rainbow huffed, turning grouchy. “Why does that surprise everypony? They’re just really busy all the time, that’s all…”

“Sorry,” Applejack said sheepishly. “Ah just never thought about it, Ah guess.”

“You and half the ponies I know,” Rainbow grumbled, rolling her eyes. “And they’re mad at me enough as it is for, and I’m quoting mom here, ‘being a stupid reckless foal’. Like she has any room to talk… so, can’ we talk about something else?”

Applejack pursed her lips at that. “Alright. How about this?”

With a lightning fast flick of her wrist, she swatted Rainbow harshly on the nose, causing her to yelp. “Hey! What the hay was that for?!” she whined, furious.

“That,” Applejack shot, unfazed by her friend’s indignation, “was for stickin’ that thing where it didn’t belong.”

Rainbow gave her a confused look, which the changeling met with a hard look of her own. “Ah know ya had somethin’ ta do with Apple Bloom comin’ ta talk ta me earlier,” Applejack said stiffly.

Rainbow, at least, at the sense to look sheepish. “I was just trying to help you out, you know.”

Applejack sighed irritably. “Yes, Ah know, sugarcube, but Ah also told ya that Ah’d deal with it.”

Rainbow rubbed her nose for a second – it hadn’t been all that hard of a smack, really – then spoke up. “Yeah, on top of everything else, too, I bet,” she said.

Applejack looked back at her, surprised. “What’re ya talkin’ about?”

Rainbow looked out over the party, averting her gaze, “I just figured, you have enough on your plate to deal with right now, you know? You didn’t need to be worrying about your little sister on top of everything else. Besides, Apple Bloom had to figure it out sooner or later; why not sooner? And anyway, I didn’t even tell her to do much. I didn’t even know where you were, you know.”

Applejack eyed her friend curiously. “Then what did ya tell her?”

Rainbow shrugged, still determinedly looking the other way. “Nothing really. I just told her this story I know ‘bout one of the bravest mares I know. Maybe you’ve heard of her?”

Applejack sighed, shaking her head. “What am Ah goin’ ta do with ya…”

Rainbow flashed one of her signature grins at her friend, looking at her out of the corner of her eye. “Forgive me?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ah didn’t buck ya through a wall, did Ah?”

Rainbow chuckled that infuriating chuckle Applejack hated so much – so much so that she couldn’t restrain a smile in response.

The two sat together in silence after that, side by side, battered and bruised and broken in a place or two, but happy nonetheless.

At last, everything was as it should be…

“Hey, Applejack!” someone called, catching both mares off guard. Neither of them had noticed the peach-colored unicorn sidle up in front of them until she called out and waved a hoof. “Great party!”

“Uh… thanks?” Applejack responded, confused by the compliment.

The mare just beamed, turned around, and walked back into the fray, disappearing almost right away.

“See?” Rainbow said, nudging her holey friend, “ponies are warming up to you already!”

“Ah suppose yer right,” Applejack mumbled, though something odd was nagging at her.

Who exactly was she?

~~***~~

Applejack sat at her desk, eyes locked on that accursed piece of paper once more.

She was alone in her room. The sounds of the party were dying down. Apple Bloom was already sound-asleep – in Applejack’s bed, where she’d been for several hours already.

The night was young, yet still a little noisy as the party broke up, providing plenty of unwanted distractions for the mare.

But this time was different.

Applejack smiled slightly to herself as she picked up the eagle-feather quill from the ink well and started to write.

Dear Princess Celestia…

~~***~~

Meanwhile, in a windowless, dank stone room far from the rural country, a single changeling lay chained every which way to a bed, though given the thick covering of gauze and bandages, he wouldn’t be moving very far on his own anyway.

Vigil stared up at the ceiling, watching a lantern sway slightly back and forth above him. He was waiting for the inevitable to come. Ever since he’d woken up, he’d been bracing for it, and the only thing he could do in preparation was wait until…

With a loud grating sound, the latch on the heavy wooden door in front of him slid open, and with a little magical shove, the bulky thing was forced open with a weary groan.

First to enter the room were two alert guards, who swept the room with a sharp look before taking their positions on either side of the door. Behind them strode a single stallion wearing a collar and tie. He was ash grey with a stormy blue, slicked mane that matched his sullen eyes and stony demeanor.

“So,” he said in a low baritone as the door slammed shut behind him, “you must be Vigil.”

The changeling eyed the stallion for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “I’m afraid you have me at… something of a disadvantage,” he said hoarsely. “Who are you?”

“You can call me Mr. Colt,” he stated, “but I’m not here to talk about me.”

“I hope not,” Vigil grunted, “I’m not in much of a listening mood.”

“Then we’ll make this quick, shall we?” Mr. Colt said tersely. “What is your goal in coming here?”

Vigil paused for a moment, his eyes drifting up towards the gently swinging lamp again. “To locate, recover and regroup any changelings misplaced after the failed attack on Canterlot,” he stated.

“And did you?” Mr. Colt asked critically, raising an eyebrow. That had been a lot easier than he’d anticipated…

“A few,” Vigil said. “Those with any sense should’ve been able to make their way to the Badlands by now…”

“So then,” Mr. Colt went on, “what was your purpose in attacking Ponyville if your mission was purely recovery?”

“The mission changed,” Vigil answered dully. “After discovering the changeling queen Applejack, her capture became our top priority.”

“For what purpose?”

“To unite the queenless changelings under her,” Vigil said, still watching the roof, “and through her ensuring Queen Chrysalis’ rule went unchallenged.”

Mr. Colt paused, his hooded eyes narrowing further. “You certainly seem to be in a cooperative mood,” he noted.

“Consider this a long overdue act of defiance,” Vigil sighed.

“And why’s that?” Mr. Colt asked.

This time, Vigil didn’t answer. He didn’t seem to realize anyone was in the room with him anymore, for all the heed he paid them.

“Mr. Vigil,” Mr. Colt said, filling the silence that’d fallen, “what is so special about Applejack to warrant such methods?”

Vigil actually snorted at that, coming dangerously close to laughing. “Hmph… you ponies have no idea what’s going to happen to her.”

“Is that a threat?” Mr. Colt asked, as cool as ever.

“Take it as you will,” Vigil said dismissively, his chains rattling as he attempted to wave a hoof. Then, he lowered his gaze to look straight at Mr. Colt, a knowing glint in his blue eyes. “But… mark my words… someday… you will wish I had taken her off your hooves. But if you want her so bad… fine then; take her. Just remember… you had your chance.”

Mr. Colt’s eyes narrowed still further. This time, he didn’t need to ask for verification. “You think your kind will resort to war to claim Ms. Applejack?”

For the first time in a long time, a smile crept onto Vigil’s face as he flopped back against his pillow. “And… I was the unimaginative one…,” he said to himself before snorting.

Mr. Colt eyed Vigil for a few moments longer. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, there came a knock on the open door behind him.

Turning, he found a guard standing at attention and giving him a salute. “Sir, the warden would like to have a word with you.”

Mr. Colt paused, then straightened up. “Very well,” he said. He then turned back to Vigil, giving him a cold look. “It seems we’ll have to continue this conversation some other time.”

Once more, however, Vigil snorted. “Hmph… I doubt that.”

Mr. Colt eyed Vigil again – this time in suspicion. But then he signaled to the guards, and walked out. “You,” Mr. Colt said to the stallion waiting on the other side of the door, “watch him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything.”

“Of course, sir,” the stallion responded.

Then, Mr. Colt and his entourage of guards turned the corner and headed off, the sounds of their hooves echoing off the narrow passageway beyond, leaving Vigil and the guard alone.

Vigil watched the stallion who was still looking after the retreating figure of the interrogator. There was a distant door slam, and then everything went deathly quiet. At least, for a moment or two.

The armored stallion let out a low, impressed whistle, his posture relaxing a modicum. The guard turned then, redirecting his electric blue eyes towards the restrained drone beyond the still-open door. “What a mess eh?” he sighed, shaking his head. “So much destruction… ay, what a waste.”

Then, the guard flashed a dauntless smile that was all parts leisurely and confident, like its owner couldn’t be any more at ease. “You certainly got carried away, didn’t you, amigo?”

Vigil kept himself composed, even if a jolt of surprise ran through him. “You… What is Aconita’s guard dog doing taking out the trash?”

The stallion sighed heavy, visibly deflating. “Ah, you had to go and ruin the mood… Now this is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth…”

He then advanced into the cell, all the while looking quite disgruntled. “I’m not here to kill you, anyway. Who am I to deprive Her Highness, eh?”

Vigil’s eyes widened in dawning realization as the ‘guard’ advanced into his cell, still grinning lazily. “But, before that… I hope you’re still in that cooperative mood of yours,” he said, just as the cell door swung shut again with a loud bang.

~~***~~

Ponies were drifting away from Sweet Apple Acres in droves. Now that the festivities were over, the only thought on many of their minds was a warm bed, maybe a snuggly loved one, and a good night’s sleep.

The only exception was perhaps a single peach-colored mare making her way into town, humming idly to herself, her mind alive with fresh possibilities.

So… it was that apple-obsessed baker after all… she thought to herself. How very interesting…

The unicorn grinned to herself, restraining a slight chuckle. She paused in her stride for a moment in order to glance back over her shoulder, towards the distant farmhouse still distinguishable by all the lights still twinkling in the trees surrounding it.

“Hm… yes,” she hummed to herself, “This is going to be just… perfect.”

Author's Note

Surprise chapter!

So, in writing the epilogue, i realized I had enough material for one more chapter. So, you get an extra long one, just for being awesome.

I'm not too happy with the way this chapter kind of meanders around a bit. But considering how much I had to tie up, it was bound to happen.

Also, Psycho Rarity is best Rarity. That is all.

Now, onto the finale...

Epilogue: A Brighter Tomorrow

Mornings in Canterlot always seemed to start so abruptly. The moment Princess Celestia raised the sun, the entire city seemed to come to life as abruptly as a race starting.

The nightly revelers went to bed, and the breadwinners set out on another busy day, all taking place like clockwork.

Even in the castle, activity seemed to pick up threefold just within the first few minutes of the sun cresting the horizon. Guards switched posts, maids bustled about getting the castle ready for the flood of aristocrats that came for the day court.

Princess Luna had long since departed the castle to rest. Princess Celestia was in the process of going over her itinerary for the day. And in one of the many towers peering out over the land of Equestria, another – slightly less known – princess gazed out towards the coming day.

Princess Cadance sat by the opened window, her expression deeply troubled. She paid no attention to the very chilly morning air blowing in her face, or paid the wind any mind at all as it stole around her bedchamber, intent on snatching away every bit of warmth it could.

Cadance stayed wrapped up in her somber thoughts – the same ones she’d been warring with for days now. And like all those times before, she was rolling a small object around in her hooves absentmindedly, all the while biting her lip…

The sound of a door opening behind her barely even disturbed her. However, the sound of a voice gave her enough cause to tear herself away from her troubled thoughts.

“Cadance? Is everything alright?” asked Shining Armor.

He was already dressed in his completely repaired armored uniform, ready to face the day. And yet, his wife was still undressed, her gilded attire lying cluttered around the foot of their bed as if messed with, but ultimately set aside.

Shining Armor had never seen the pink alicorn so upset before. Usually she was the one getting him up in the morning, not the other way around.

Of course, he had his suspicions as to what had brought around this change in his wife. He’d been willing to keep quiet, but…

“Is this about Twiley’s friend?” he asked.

He knew that had to be it. Ever since she’d discovered that Applejack was a changeling – and a queen, just like the one that’d imprisoned her – Cadance had been getting more and more distant, day by day. Of everypony he knew, she was the one taking the revelation the hardest, and that only served to upset Shining even more.

“You shouldn’t worry about Applejack, honey,” Shining ventured, taking a few steps closer. “The Elements of Harmony recognized her, after all. I’m sure, whatever her intentions are in being here…”

“It’s not that…,” Cadance said quietly. Her voice was difficult to dissect, something that concerned Shining. Was it just his imagination, or was there an unsteady quaver to her words?

“I… I should’ve known,” Cadance went on with some difficulty. “After all this time, why didn’t I think to… I should’ve at least considered it.”

“Cadance, what are you talking about?” Shining asked, approaching his wife from behind. “Nopony could’ve known Applejack was a changeling the entire time. Not even Twilight picked up on that, and she saw through that changeling queen at the wedding no problem.”

“That’s not it,” Cadance said, shaking her head.

“Then what is?” Shining asked. He finally reached his fretful wife, and wasted no time in putting his arms around her.

Cadance let out a shaky breath and leaned back into him, some of her tension fading away at his reassuring touch.

“Cadance, talk to me,” he muttered in her ear. “What’s wrong? You know you can tell me.”

“I know, Shiney… I know…,” Cadance breathed, inclining her head to nuzzle the underside of her husband’s chin.

“Then what’s bothering you,” Shining asked, neatly avoiding her horn.

For a moment, Cadance stayed quiet, her hooves still fiddling with the object between them nervously.

She was silent for nearly a minute, her eyes turned back towards the rising sun. And then…

“She… she had a daughter,” the alicorn breathed in a voice so low it was barely audible even to Shining. “She had a daughter all this time… and I never knew.”

Shining looked at his wife’s face in confusion, but she paid him no mind.

“Who are you talking about?” he asked.

Cadance sighed, glancing down at her hooves. “Somepony I used to know… a long time ago,” she said.

Cadance sighed again, heavier this time. “It’s okay, Shiney… I’ll be fine. I just feel like such an idiot for not even considering… I’ll think of something to make it up to her.”

Shining Armor blinked, totally lost at this point. But he didn’t say anything. Odds were Cadance would open up in time. She always did, once she was up to it.

“Well, I guess we should get going, shouldn’t we?” Cadance asked, turning a small smile on her husband. “I’ve kept you from your duties long enough, Captain.”

There was that faintly teasing note in her voice again, and it was all Shining needed to bring a smile to his face. “As you say, milady,” he said back stoically, soliciting a quiet giggle from Cadance.

Finally, Shining let his wife go, and she in turn stood up. But just before she turned to leave, she gingerly levitated a small, black object back into its display case by the window, right where the sun could shine off the set of rubies atop its spindly obsidian frame; the same place it’d been for nearly two decades…

~~***~~

“Applejack… Applejack…!”

The apple farmer grumbled, sticking her head further under her pillow and away from that unwanted noise. She’d missed enough sleep lately as it was; she was not too thrilled about losing any more.

But that voice just wasn’t going away. It kept wheedling at her, getting louder and louder and more and more insistent as the one speaking drew ever closer despite her best efforts to ignore it.

Even for her, however, trying to ignore a door banging open and a pony bursting into the room was proving very irksome.

“Come on, AJ! Wake up, wake up!” called the frustratingly familiar voice of Rainbow Dash. “You have to get up right now!”

Rather abruptly, Applejack sat up slightly in bed, if only to level a deathly glare at her ‘friend’. “Sugarcube…,” she said in a tone of bittersweet ice, “what in the wide, wide world of Equestria would be so gosh dang important ta warrant wakin’ me up before the crack ‘o dawn?”

Needless to say, she was not in a very good mood that morning.

“Ah told ya ta wait,” came Big Macintosh’s voice from the hall, sounding nervous. He had wisely decided to stay out of direct line of sight with his surrogate sister.

“What’s Rainbow doin’ here…,” grumbled Apple Bloom from Applejack’s other side, only now rousing since her pillow had moved.

“My question exactly,” Applejack grumbled back sourly.

“Look, I’m sorry for just barging in here, but this is important!” Rainbow said exasperated – and more importantly, rather loudly. “Applejack, you have to come with me right now!”

Applejack once more glared at the cyan pegasus. “Give me one good reason why Ah should,” she stated pointedly.

“I told you; it’s important!” Rainbow whined. “Would Twilight send me if it wasn’t?”

Despite her bad mood, Rainbow’s words gave Applejack enough cause to hesitate. “Alright, what in the wide world of Equestria would Twilight want with wakin’ me up at the crack ‘o dawn?”

“Technically,” Rainbow deadpanned, “it’s almost midday.”

“Rainbow,” growled Applejack warningly through clenched teeth. “What. Does Twi’. Want.”

“Look, I could tell you, AJ,” Rainbow said, an odd note in her voice, “but I really, really doubt you’d believe me if you didn’t see it for yourself.”

Once more, that got Applejack’s attention just enough for a little curiosity to work past her irritation.

Finally, with a groan, Applejack pulled herself from her bed, stumbling onto her three good legs. “Alright, Ah’m comin’,” she grumbled.

“Oh, and you’ll need this,” Rainbow suddenly added, and before Applejack rightly knew what was happening, she found her Stetson being crammed on her head, which lasted all of half a second before the crown’s disguise crumbled away to nothing.

“My crown?” Applejack asked, now very confused. “Why would Ah need my crown?”

“Trust me, AJ,” Rainbow said seriously, “Just wait until you see this.”

~~***~~

Applejack was all-but pushed out her house by her agitated friend, who was moving pretty darn fast for a wing-clipped pegasus.

The aftermath of last night’s party still littered the house and yard, and yet the state of her property hardly seemed to be on the minds of anypony but her.

What surprised Applejack, however, was the fact that there wasn’t just one pony that’d come to get her – there were five.

“Everypony,” Applejack said in surprise, turning to each of her five friends in turn out of real confusion now. “What’re ya… no wait, what’s goin’ on?”

Twilight and Rarity exchanged apprehensive looks. “You… are going to want to see this for yourself,” Twilight said nervously, her horn twinkling to life. “Hang on.”

How exactly Applejack was supposed to ‘hang on’ while being teleported was anypony’s guess. Besides, it happened so fast that she didn’t even have time to react to being fired through time and space in the flash of violet magic.

When next the world snapped back into being around her, Applejack found herself just at the bottom of a hill. A very busy hill, in fact.

All around her, Applejack could hear activity; ponies talking in low, quick voices, some darting this way and that.

“Come on, Applejack,” Rainbow called, already a few feet ahead, as impatient as ever. “Hurry up!”

“Hold yer horses, Ah’m comin’,” Applejack snapped, just as she started limping her way up the gently sloping hill.

But as she made her way up, she made it snippets of conversation on all sides of her; conversations that were only adding to the mystery for her.

“Oh man, did you see…?”

“Where did they come from…?”

“You don’t think they’ll…”

“What’re they here for…?”

The more Applejack looked around her, the more she found regular ponies looking this way and that nervously. Every one of them was on edge, and yet it wasn’t pure panic that was getting to them.

“I wonder, are they like…?”

“Maybe they’re…”

“Maybe…”

Applejack glanced to her side, towards Twilight, who only nodded towards the top of the hill.

There, to Applejack’s surprise, stood a group of black shapes with their backs to the ponies milling about on the hill behind them. Already Rainbow Dash was standing in their midst, her good wing flared anxiously as she gazed out at something.

“Roseluck,” Applejack called, and was rewarded by the sight of a drone turning her head quickly. “What’s goin’ on? Why’s everpony so worked up?”

The drone exchanged a look with one of her peers, then motions for Applejack to come closer. “Good, I’m glad you’re here,” she said, sounding a little relieved. “I told Ms. Sparkle to hurry, but…”

Roseluck turned away then, her eyes seemingly unable to avert themselves from some spectacle just on the other side of the hill. “I… never thought there’d be this many so soon…”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow curiously, just as she climbed the last few feet to stand atop the hill’s gently rolling summit.

And there, just on the other side, were changelings. Lots, and lots… and lots of changelings.

Applejack could see their procession like a trail of ants that wound down a long dirt path from near the foot the hill she was standing on all the way out until sheer distance claimed them. The entire road was absolutely choked with changelings of all ages and sizes, some pulling carts laden with strange, exotic knickknacks. Some buzzed low over the ground to spare their tired hooves from further abuse on the road.

There must’ve been hundreds of them, all travel worn and exhausted, every single one of them slowly trekking their way from the south…

“The Hive must have listening posts here in Equestria,” Roseluck theorized. “Word must’ve spread to the Wilds some time ago.”

“But who are they?” Twilight asked, eyes roving over the seemingly never-ending ribbon of migrating changelings.

As Applejack looked out over them, she noticed several making their way up the hill towards them. They must’ve spotted the group standing at its top, and now the entire flow of changelings was coming straight towards them, small groups at a time.

“They’re… the queenless,” she breathed, her heart thudding with the realization.

“And they’re all here because of you, Applejack,” Roseluck added, drawing the apple farmer’s gaze. “You’ve started something, you know. Something big.”

Her expression became more careful as she scrutinized the young queen’s movements. “So… what will you do?”

Applejack blinked at the drone, her expression blank. Then, she cracked a rueful grin. “Me? Not much. But it ain’t all up ta me, is it?”

Roseluck blinked, taken aback.

Applejack’s smile grew, becoming slightly toothy. “So let me ask ya, Roseluck; what’re y’all gonna do?”

Roseluck blinked, taking a second to respond. And then, her smile grew. “I… am going to go do what a pony would do,” she declared.

“Me, too!” chimed in Bumblebee from the group.

“Count us in,” Twilight put in, stepping up beside her friend.

“Always,” stated Rainbow, taking her place on Applejack’s right and flashing her a smile. Applejack grinned back, her heart soaring.

“Alright, everypony. Let’s go greet the newest Equestrians!”

And together – ponies and changelings – they all descended from the hill towards the first group to meet them halfway.

Of course, when the first wave of changelings saw the approaching group, they ground to a halt. And when they noticed who – or rather, what – was leading the charge, they immediately hit the ground.

It still took Applejack a few long seconds to realize why each and every one of the drones before her seemed to have unanimously lost control of the muscles in the front half of their bodies, and when she realized that they were all bowing before her, she couldn’t help but fidget uncomfortably.

“Ugh… that ain’t right,” she grumbled in discontent, squirming uncomfortably.

She stepped up towards the first drone currently prostrating on the ground before her, who tensed nervously upon seeing her hooves approach. But when he witnessed the changeling queen herself extend a hoof towards him, he couldn’t help but look at it at a loss.

Then, nervously, he chanced a glance up at the queen… and found her smiling coaxingly back at him. A queen – smiling!

“C’mon, enough of that,” Applejack chuckled. “Up you get.”

The drone paused, confused and nervous all at the same time. Dare he chance it? But, if the rumors were true…

Still beyond nervous, he reached out a hoof towards the imposing limb of the queen before him. And to his utter astonishment, she took him by the hoof, and pulled him upright.

On all sides of her, drones were being helped upright by not only drones, but even a few brave ponies.

Applejack looked around at the growing mass of featureless blue eyes before her. Already there were scores of them, and with each passing moment, that number multiplied at an alarming rate. When drones couldn't see over their fellows, they took to the air to get a look at the young changeling queen.

And yet, Applejack only felt a little jitter of nerves. Having so many eyes turn towards her from so many angles wasn't her most favorite sensation in the world, but in that moment, it also wasn't the worst, either.

“Ah’m only gonna say this once, so listen up,” she said, raising her voice for as many drones as possible to hear. “Ah ain’t yer queen. Ah ain’t here ta tell ya how ta live yer lives. The only one who can tell y’all how ta do that is yerselves. From here on out, we are all equals! Every drone, every pony, everyone!”

Several of the drones looked at each other, nervous and anxious. And yet, there was a glint in their eyes; a hope. Dare they call it as such? Hope?

“This is where everythin’ changes,” Applejack stated. “We either go back ta how things were and hope things get better… or we make things better fer ourselves. It ain’t just up ta me, or up ta you, or you, or any one o’ you. It’s up ta all of us, changelin’s and ponies! Y’all want that brighter tomorrow? Well then… let’s get ta work.”
An electric charge ran through the ever-growing crowd. The buzz of words ran down the line, drone to drone, mare to stallion. In its wake was energetic excitement that thrummed with the sound of insect wings and wondrous voices.

And as Applejack looked around, she noticed it start to happen.

Here and there, a changeling stepped forward cautiously towards a pony. And then, nervously, they would flash a small smile and extend a hoof.

Ponies eyed the changelings curiously, but after only a short delay, the changelings’ smiles were met in kind, as were their extended hooves.

“You know what this means, right?” Roseluck said in Applejack’s ear.

When the young queen turned to look at her, she found Roseluck smiling warmly at her. “Everything is going to change for us. Everything…”

Applejack blinked at her, then she turned back to observe the swelling mass again. And then, a few moments later, she snorted.

“Well… wouldn’t that be ironic.”

~~***~~

The
End

~~***~~

Author's Note

And that's all she wrote, ladies and gentlemen. I ended up cutting out one last bit which will make a good opening to the sequel, so... yeah.

This has been, and probably will always be, one of my most favorite things to work on, due in absolutely no small part to all you fans out there. Seriously; I want to thank all of you for sticking with this fic to the end and enjoying it along with me.
So, thanks for all the support from day one to the very end. Even you new folks who just picked this up; if you got a kick out of this, then that makes all the blood sweat and tears so very worth it.
So, consider this fic dedicated to all of you; it wouldn't have made it this far without your enthusiasm and support.

So, I hope to see you guys around. So, until then, peace!

Chapter 1: The Secrets We Keep

“More Apple Fritters, coming right up!”

The teal blue stallion’s declaration was met with a hearty cheer from several dozen other earth ponies, some of which were already eagerly scrambling to claim a plate or two.

Apple Split could only smile at the huge gathering splayed out before him; over a dozen family members, some of which he hadn’t seen since he was a tiny colt, were all present and accounted for. By the looks of it, not a single Apple had missed out on the event, and odds were ponies down in Ponyville were well aware of that fact, too, given the ruckus they were all making.

Hoedown was up on the farmhouse porch playing a banjo with an almost maniacal zeal while his little daughter, Fiddlestick, watched with utterly rapt attention.

Ponies were hooting and hollering and more than a few were up and dancing, and even Aunty Granny Smith was doing her darnedest to shake a hoof or two.

Nearby, Macintosh was peering into an aromatic vat of cooking fritters, his eyes uncharacteristically wide with intrigue.

Well, he was trying, anyway. The little colt just wasn’t quite big enough to get his nose over the lip of the pot to peer inside, but he certainly was getting a nose-full of the sweet, sugary seasonings.

Apple Split couldn’t help but chuckle. “Ya hungry, Mac?”

The little colt looked up slowly, but instead of saying anything, he just nodded.

Split chuckled to himself again. Well, he’s certainly got the silent part of ‘strong and silent type’ down…

The teal earth pony stepped a bit closer, glancing around in a conspiratorial sort of way and dropped his voice.

“Well, tell ya what. Since you’ve been such a big help, how bout Ah give ya a reward fer workin’ so hard?”

That got the red colt’s attention.

For the first time, his eyes lit up, and when he started furiously nodding his head, Apple Split could’ve sworn he heard a cowbell rattling.

“Ha, alright, alright, settle down now. Just sit down right there and give me a few. Just gotta get the next batch out fer coolin’ off.”

He was only halfway done before Mac had already claimed a chair and clambered into it. He may be a colt of few words, but he certainly was displaying his expectancy well enough without them.

Split shook his head, still laughing to himself before turning back to his duties.

With expert ease and precision, he quickly snatched one of the baskets hanging from a cauldron and dipped it into the boiling vat.

One swift motion later and out came his prizes; three fresh, steaming fritters, so moist they looked to be in imminent danger of disintegrating into a single mushy mass.

At the table, Mac was gazing over like a pony seeing for the first time. Any wider and his eyes might just fall out of his little head. It’d be a memory Apple Split never forgot; the sheer awe in his big eyes was truly something to see. The long tendril of drool, however, was not quite as charming.

“Stop teasin’ the poor boy, Split.”

The stallion in question turned to see a brown-coated mare trotting away from one of the other cauldrons, the handle of a fritter-filled net in one corner of her mouth. She shot her cousin a rueful grin that was somewhere between amused and admonishing.

“Keep pressin’ yer luck and ya’ll probably be walkin’ home minus a limb or two,” she teased. “The kid eats like a horse.”

Split rolled his eyes. “We’re all horses, Apple Seed.”

“Now yer just gettin’ insultin’,” his cousin chided back playfully.

“Just hurry up and get me a plate already, ‘fore we have to explain why Mac’s gnawin’ my leg off.”

Apple Seed laughed, very nearly spilling her own plate.

She, like Apple Split, was no stranger to fritter-making. It was almost a practiced dance for her; practically prancing forward in time with Hoedown’s hectic tune, and with an almost dainty buck of her hind quarters, she sent the Apple family specialties arcing through the air, straight onto an awaiting platter – all performed seemingly in a single swift motion.

It’d taken her years of practice, a couple wasted fritters and a black eye or four to achieve such a rhythm, and odds were that there’d never be another fritter-tosser like her again.

Pity her accuracy wasn’t quite as good.

True, she got the treats onto awaiting plates with unerring accuracy. Unfortunately for the owner of one particular plate, however, the still-molten fritter was more than a little… well, molten. And he was rather hungry.

“Hot-hot-hot!” he screeched, somehow managing to play hot-potato with his own tongue.

To his credit, the stallion still swallowed the fritter whole, even as he dove for the only nearby source of relief; an apple bobbing barrel.

While nearly every Apple in the general vicinity had a laugh at their family member’s expense, Apple Seed neatly snatched up an unclaimed plate and deposited it on Split’s back in one pirouette, continuing her dance like nothing had even happened.

The stallion wasn’t sure if she was playing a joke on him or not, because she just winked and pranced away, barely contained snickers trailing behind her.

Ah swear I'll never get that mare...

Still, Apple Split made use of the plate to deposit his own cache of fritters before they dissolved on him.

While still casting an eye towards the clearly-still suffering family member – if the loud glug-glug sound was anything to go by – Split made his way back to the fritter table.

But that was when he made a rather unexpected discovery.

“Hey, where’d all them apple fritters go?”

Normally, the absence of apple fritters was not an unusual thing. Usually they were lucky to keep more than a plate or two filled, even at maximum production.

And that’s the way it’d been… up until a few seconds ago. Now there was only a flipped plate and a couple syrup smears, most certainly not the state they’d been in when Split had turned his back.

Now, initially, he had a pretty good idea who was responsible, having seen how… voracious… a certain red colt could be when hungry, and he was halfway around to glare an accusation at little Macintosh when a strange sound caught his attention.

He couldn’t be sure, but… it sounded almost like a child cooing, and… burping?

Following the sound, he stuck his head down beneath the table, and came across a rather unexpected sight.

“And… who’re you, little one?”

“I’m Appwejack! Mo appwe fwitter?”

Of all the things he’d been expecting to find, it was not a little baby filly sitting amid the carnage of what’d once been two plates-worth of fritters.

She was splattered with syrup – there was even some in her little mane – and her distended belly looked like it should’ve been painful. And yet she was all smiles and sunshine.

Apple Split couldn’t help but give the filly a huge smile.

“Aw, well ain't you the just the most precious little thing,” he laughed.

Applejack smiled back more than a little hopefully.

She reached behind her and grabbed hold of the plate lying toppled over on the dirt, and with a little effort, presented it to the adult before her.

“Mo fwitter pwease!”

The older pony chuckled under his breath before reaching down and scooping up the little filly.

“After we get ya cleaned up.”

With that, he set the gorged filly on the table.

To her credit, Applejack only pouted a little, perhaps still envisioning more sugary treats in her imminent future.

To Apple Split’s surprise, he found Macintosh leaning over the table at him, gazing towards the little filly with curiosity. “Howdy, Mac. Come to see what all the excitement was about?”

He nodded without looking away from the orange toddler seated in front of him.

“You two know each other?”

Mac finally looked away from Applejack, but before Split could see his response, somepony called out behind him.

“Hey Split! We got fritters ready fer… coolin’? What’s goin’ on here?”

The stallion in question turned towards Apple Seed, who was trotting over, a curious look on her face.

More specifically, she was aiming that curiosity towards a certain little orange baby pony.

“And… who’s this?”

“I’m Appwejack,” cooed the filly in question.

“Aw,” Apple Seed giggled, “well ain’t she just the cutest little thing. But…”

She paused, thinking for a moment. The longer she thought, the more her brow furrowed until she had developed quite the confused frown.

“Who is she?”

“I ain't got the foggiest,” Apple Split responded, scratching his head.

Both ponies exchanged bewildered looks, scratching chins in thought before turning to the only other pony present.

“Uh… Macintosh.”

The colt in question looked up, once more distracted away from the little orange filly in front of him, who’d worked her way around to regard him, too.

“Do ya know who this here filly is?” Apple Split asked, gesturing towards Applejack.

Macintosh glanced between uncle and aunt, down to the filly, and then with very big eyes…

He shook his head.

~~***~~

Several years, a couple adventures and one wedding later…

It was a beautiful autumn day, the first in a while.

It was that magical period just before the Running of the Leaves where all the trees were filled with nothing but fiery reds, oranges and yellows, and the chill in the air was just enough to wake anypony up in a hurry, but not enough to warrant bundling up just yet.

In the sheltered, shaded places, the scent of rain water and wet earth still clung to the air, a byproduct of several days of backlogged weather, but otherwise it was a brisk, wonderful day that warranted at least a few minutes to appreciate.

Even at a certain apple farm, the orchards had become an almost magical place, each row almost glowing under the noon sun, and when the cold breeze picked up, one could almost imagine the trees were filled with dancing flames.

By any standards, it was a good day to stop and smell the roses.

And Rainbow Dash was not enjoying any of it.

In fact, to her, a ‘good day’ sounded like doing exactly the opposite of what she was currently doing; being out and about, and more importantly, awake.

“Twilight,” she groaned, hovering a few inches off the ground by the tips of her wings alone, “remind me again why I have to come with you?”

The purple unicorn in question trotted a few paces in front of her, looking rather absurd wearing yellow galoshes to ward off the thin layer of mud caking the country road.

“Come on, Rainbow,” Twilight said without turning around. “Aren’t you a little worried?”

In truth, she was more than a little worried.

Okay, so she may have asked Twilight to come with her to Sweet Apple Acres to check up on their friend. That’d been before she’d found out somepony in weather management forgot to log nearly a month’s worth of weather, and most certainly it’d been before the three long… long days of playing catch-up she’d just gone through.

To say Rainbow was dead on her hooves would be an understatement.

But she was worried. And she didn’t do worried.

“Maybe just a little,” Rainbow brushed off.

Twilight just rolled her eyes. She knew her friend well enough by now to tell when she was downplaying. “To tell the truth, I wanted to check up on her sooner, but… well, you know how things have been since the wedding.”

Rainbow just grunted.

Twilight seemed to take that the wrong way, because she threw a reassuring look over her shoulder at her friend. “I’m sure Applejack’s doing just fine. Hay, with Applebuck season over, I bet she’s having a nice, quiet day on the farm!”

~~**~~

“How in tarnation did y’all do that?!” Applejack cried, aghast.

She was staring at the Apple family barn, which had somehow developed a rather large hole in one of its walls – a pony-shaped hole.

A short ways off stood three little fillies, all covered in grime and dust, looking about as guilty as three fillies could get. The only Pegasus of the group – an orange filly with a purple mane – had bits of splinters in her coat, and seemed to be a little wall-eyed.

Now, Applejack had a very good idea about what had happened. But considering the Scootaloo-shaped cutout was very nearly encompassing the barn’s soaring roof, too, Applejack just couldn’t wrap her head around the sheer mechanics of it.

“We, uh, kinda… sorta… built us a catapult,” said Applejack’s sister, Apple Bloom.

Her big sister rounded on the little, bow-wearing filly with a truly astonished look on her face. “How?! No, scratch that – WHY?!”

This time, it was Scootaloo who responded, if not rather drunkenly. “Cutie Mark Crusader Astronauts, ya-ay,” she warbled, throwing a hoof up into the air before falling over onto her back.

Applejack was horrified. But, being Applejack, she reigned herself in before she could blow up. Instead of screaming at the fillies, she breathed in long and deep, put one hoof to her face, and counted to ten.

Her head was already throbbing something fierce, so she chose the short, succinct approach for laying down the law.

“Apple Bloom? Yer grounded,” she said tersely.

“Aw…”

“Sweetie Belle?”

The white, pink-maned unicorn stepped forward, head bowed apologetically.

“Yer grounded,” Applejack finished.

“What? But… but you’re not my sister,” Sweetie Belle tried to complain, trying very hard not to sound petulant. She failed.

And Applejack was not in the mood for it.

Applejack gave her a look that instantly wilted her defiance. “Yer grounded.”

“Yes Miss Applejack, ma’am,” Sweetie Belle whimpered.

“Same goes fer you, Scootaloo,” Applejack growled, but when she turned around, she found the little filly still lying on her back, her legs in the air.

“Oh horseapples…”

That was the scene Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle made their grand entrance on – a damaged barn, an enraged Applejack, two cowering Crusaders and one unconscious pegasus.

“I feel like I missed something,” Twilight remarked, somewhere between bemusement and worry.

The unicorn’s comment caught Applejack’s attention, drawing her gaze away from the downed filly.

“Twi? What’re y’all doing here?” she asked, confused. Applejack only glanced towards the rainbow-maned Pegasus hovering in her wake, who was trying very hard not to laugh at the spectacle laid out before her. She was failing, but she was trying.

She’d seen Rainbow Dash around the orchard enough by now to not really care why she was there. If she had a tree for every time she found the ornery Pegasus napping in one of her trees, she’d have a whole other orchard by now.

However, the purple unicorn was something of an abnormality.

“Oh, I just came to visit,” Twilight said as she approached. Her eyes roved over the scene once more. “Um… is now a good time?”

Applejack frowned, but kept her comments to herself. Twilight “just visiting” never really happened, either. Call her crazy, but she was getting the sneaking suspicion that the unicorn wanted something…

And before anyone else could say a thing, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“Oh golly, Scootaloo sure looks hurt!”

“Yeah, we better get her to the hospital!”

And without further explanation, the two grabbed their friend and bolted in a cloud of dust. The two newcomers watched them go, truly confused, before turning towards Applejack for an explanation.

Applejack’s frown deepened as she heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

No more questions were asked on the matter.

“And Ah’m sorry, Twi, but Ah ain't got time to chitchat right now,” she added, turning away.

Only to have her path immediately blocked by a cyan pegasus.

“Oh come on, AJ! You’re always busy.” Rainbow Dash griped.

She had a notorious – and almost infamous – habit of getting right in a pony’s face when she was frustrated or angry. That day, it didn’t do her any favors, especially with Applejack’s current mood.

“At least some of us are,” the tired farmer snapped.

Rainbow, being the explosive mare that she was, was only an instant away from pointing out the Tartaurus she’d been through these past few days in as loud a volume as equestrianly possible when Twilight intervened.

“Applejack, we’re just worried is all.”

that derailed her irritation, redirecting her attention back to Twilight.

“Worried? Whatever for?”

Twilight’s expression turned somewhat sheepish, but mostly she looked somber, like she was trying to be very careful with her choice of words.

“Well, ever since the wedding…”

Applejack shift uncomfortably and sighed. This was not the first time she’d had this discussion, and considering she knew it was going to end the same way, it probably wouldn’t be the last, either.

“Ah already told ya that ah’m fine, sugarcube.”

“You took a whole week off afterward,” Dash deadpanned, sounding as unconvinced as she looked, and considering she was hovering with her hooves crossed over her chest, that was very. “You never take time off.”

“Rainbow has a point, and now you’re working twice as hard as before,” Twilight said, taking a careful step forward.

“We all had some issues after the changeling –”

“Ah told ya, Ah’m fine,” Applejack interrupted, stamping her hoof.

Twilight flinched back half a step, which of course made Applejack feel lousy.

“Ah… Ah’m sorry, sugarcube. Today’s… taken it out of me.”

“Headache?”

Applejack blinked, then turned once more to Rainbow.

“Wha…?”

RD shrugged, playing at being aloof. She was even reclining on her back while still airborne – a feat only a Pegasus like her would ever think to try, let alone master to such a nonchalant degree.

“You get headaches. That’s, like, the only time I ever see you take a break.”

Dash had been expecting a wide variety of emotions; astonishment, embarrassment if she was lucky.

She was not anticipating panic.

“Ya've been spyin’ on me?!”

Both mares once more found themselves backing away from Applejack a bit.

“No, no,” Rainbow said quickly, waving her hooves, “I just heard you tell Big Mac sometimes, then you’d go off somewhere to rest and – hey, why are you getting on my case? I’m trying to be considerate here!”

Applejack had to almost physically wrestle with herself to keep herself from exploding this time.

In the back of her head, her headache clenched down like a vice, squeezing…

It was making her short-tempered, she knew that, but as long as both Twilight and Rainbow lingered around, she couldn’t do a darn thing about it, and that was making her even more irritable.

She didn’t like snapping at her friends – made her feel downright lousy, in fact – and the fact that it was her friends that were making her irritated made her feel even worse.

“Why does it even matter, Applejack,” she heard Twilight ask.

“Ah-Ah just like some privacy sometimes, is all,” she said quickly.

Neither mares bought it, but they didn’t have the luxury of questioning further. They were interrupted by an immense red form appearing from around a tree like he’d been hiding there the whole time.

Stoic and passive as ever, Big Macintosh surveyed the scene with only his eyes. He stood nearly head-and-shoulders taller than anypony present, and that fact alone was enough to get their attention squarely onto him.

“Everythin’ alright?” he asked, turning to his sister.

“Yeah, Big Mac,” Applejack sighed, leaning her head against one hoof. “Just having a… talk.”

Both mares exchanged sheepish looks, but said nothing. So Applejack used the opportunity to press on.

“Look, it’s mighty kind of ya to be worried about me, but Ah’m tellin’ ya everythin’s fine. I just took the time off to clear my head, so quit sweatin’ the small stuff.”

She offered a weak smile; an apology of sorts. “Ah’m sorry fer yellin’ at ya. That wasn’t fair. But Ah got a lot of work to get done before we bring in winter, so… why don’t ya’ll come ‘round some other time?”

Twilight spent a couple seconds searching her expression, her frown only deepening. “O…kay, Applejack. Some other time then.”

“Ah’ll hold ya to that.”

Rainbow, however, didn’t look like she was ready to back down just yet. She had on that stubborn look Applejack knew almost too well – partly because she could mirror it almost perfectly – but luckily it didn’t have to come to an endless merry-go-round of arguing.

“Come on, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “Let’s go.”

When the Pegasus showed no signs of complying, Twilight sighed, lit her horn, and dragged her friend out by the tail, much to her chagrin.

“Hey! Twilight, we talked about this!”

“Arguing won’t do anything, Dash,” Twilight stated.

Rainbow fell silent until they were well out of earshot of the two siblings, but her glower remained in full force.

“You know she’s lying, right?”

“Of course.”

~~***~~

Applejack watched them go before breathing a sigh of relief. That sigh almost snarled up at the end when her head compressed painfully from the inside. But she cast it aside as best she could.

“Welp, back to wor-oof!”

It certainly wasn’t one of Applejack’s more graceful moments; turning and immediately colliding with a big red barrel chest.

“Big Mac, what in tarnation are ya – ”

“Nope.”

Applejack blinked, confused. “Nope? What’re ya –”

She was cut off when she saw the hard, meaningful glint in her brother’s eye.

“Yer not workin’ no more – not today,” he stated.

“Like hay Ah am!” Applejack snapped. “Don’t you start gettin’ on mah case, too!”

“Ah’m gettin’ on yer case cuz nopony else will,” Big Mac said flatly. It was the closest thing to a snap he was going to get, but the effect was the same; it made Applejack flinch a little.

It was rare for her brother to ever get angry. Most of the time, he was careful not to step on anypony’s hooves, even when somepony deserved a good stomp or two, and while his current demeanor couldn’t really be considered furious in any capacity, it was how stern he spoke that drove the point home to the farmer mare who knew his moods.

“Ah can still work,” Applejack complained, but even to her it was starting to sound more petulant than defiant. “Ah… Ah don’t need to rest. Ah can muscle through it, just you see.”

“Ya never have before,” Big Mac pointed out.

His eyes softened, becoming almost sad. “An’ it’s hurtin’ me seein’ ya try.”

Big Mac never talked about his feelings. Hay, he rarely talked.

Hearing her brother actually voice his emotions on not one but two instances back to back made Applejack cringe… and finally cave. At least, in poor grace. She was a stubborn mare, after all.

“Ah… Ah don’t want to…”

“Ya need to.”

“Ah don’t want to need to…”

“Don’t matter.”

Applejack hung her head, the pain of her all-too familiar and much-hated headache pounding away at her ability to formulate arguments.

When she spoke next, her voice was barely even in the audible range.

“Ah… ain't one of them.”

Even though it was hardly a whisper, anyone could’ve heard the miserable quaver that shook through each word.

A hoof came to rest against her head, ruffling her mane through her hat.

“Ah know.”

When Big Mac removed his hoof from her head, Applejack looked up into her big brother’s face.

What she saw was a welcome sight; a small, yet heartfelt smile adorning his face.

“Go rest up,” he ordered. “Ya’ll feel better.”

He was right, of course. Applejack always felt better once the headache passed; not so prone to temperamental outbursts and irritation.

But still… she was more than a little reluctant. But what else could she do?

The answer was simple.

She sighed and nodded her head.

“Alright, you win. If ya need me… ya know where to find me.”

“Eeyup.”

Applejack could only heave a sigh at that before she trotted off, head held low, as she made her way not to the farmhouse, but to the edge of the property entirely – to the edge of the Everfree Forest.

~~***~~

The trek was a quiet one, through orchards that rarely got the attention of anypony but the farming family. Back here, the trees were older, more gnarled; some of the trees were older than Applejack, and possibly older than Ponyville itself.

While the ordered rows remained, the wild, unchecked sprawl of the trees made this part of the orchard feel more like a manicured extension of the dreaded woods that lay just beyond.

Tree canopies mingled overhead, creating a continuous mass of shade only broken up by the occasional dapples of autumn sunlight finding its way to the cool earth below.

As she approached, Applejack could just make out the boundary line; an ancient fence that barred off the Apple farm from the untamed wild that loomed within a stone’s throw from the fading wooden border.

And there, sitting amidst the oldest trees the farm had to offer, sat a run-down old shack.

Calling it dilapidated would be too harsh. Calling it rustic would be too kind. It was somewhere in between; a well-used, lived-in cabin that’d likely seen more winters and summers than anyone but the elderly matron of the Apple family herself, and it wore its age with grace.

It was a small, worn thing, whose paint had long since been stripped away by the ravages of time, leaving in its wake bleached wooden slats. The roof sagged, the windows were grimy and crusted, and the choice of locale was anything but ideal.

And to Applejack, it was home away from home.

She quietly marched up to the front steps, making the porch creak and pop in familiar ways as it took her weight, and carefully pried the front door open.

The house smelled of dust and ancient, ingrained notes of cinnamon; a nostalgic aroma that brought back years of memories. Most of the paint on the inside had faded, as well, but Applejack could just make it out – partly because she knew where to look, and what to look for.

Almost everything in the shack had been removed; furniture, mostly. Only a few old pictures hung from the wall – displaying family members Applejack had no personal memory of – a few cupboards adorned the kitchen, and in one of the four rooms of the house, a small bookcase, desk, and a lumpy cot were all pressed up against one corner, directly beneath a window.

Applejack headed for that cot, letting countless memories of days spent dwelling on that very mattress wash over her as she approached. She almost collapsed straight into it, her body begging for some form of rest.

But she hesitated.

Instead, her eyes drifted over to the corner of the room; towards a vanity mirror that’d stood there for as long as she could remember.

It was shaped almost like a horribly elongated apple; one stretched to be nearly twice Applejack’s height. The wooden frame still had a faint, faded coat of red paint, topped with two green leaves at the very top with a cobweb spanning between them and the wall behind it.

Even though the mirror was old and dusty, Applejack could still clearly make out her own form, silhouetted as it was by the cascading afternoon light flooding into the room from the window behind her.

She could easily make out the familiar orange coat and long blonde mane, the emerald eyes and the trio of apples stamped on her flank; all things she knew to be hers.

But she couldn’t help but stare at it with unease.

It was irrational – it was just a mirror, after all – but in her heart, she feared it.

Because she knew what would soon occupy it.

For just one more moment, she considered toughing out her near-debilitating headache. If she could… if she could just overcome this obstacle…

But it was hopeless.

With every passing second now, her head beat her down harder and harder.

Resigned, Applejack swept the hat from her head and dropped it to the floor in front of her.

She trained her eyes on the Stetson for a moment until, finally unable to restrain herself any longer and much to her guilty relief – she let go.

She closed her eyes against the bright emerald flash that tried to penetrate past her eyelids, and for a moment, she felt a heat comparable to the hottest summer day course over her body, tail to nose, starting from her hooves and working up her body as quick as a gust of hot air.

And for a moment, she basked in the sheer relief of having her headache disappear from her aching, wearing head.

It was as if an immense weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Tension she’d been unaware of loosened throughout her body. Already she felt lighter, more healthy.

She sighed in release and sagged a little… before opening her eyes.

The mirror was not reflecting her anymore.

Nowhere in its mostly clear surface was there an orange earth pony mare with bright green eyes and a long mane the color of freshly lain straw.

Instead, a monster dominated the mirror; a black creature with limbs full of holes like they were munched on by caterpillars. A creature with a fiery orange mane and a matching set of eyes – eyes ringed with not one, but two sets of irises around cat’s eye slits.

A creature with pointed fangs and gossamer, translucent wings and an amber carapace across her back and a gnarled horn upon its head.

A creature called a changeling.

Applejack stared at the monster in the mirror, and it stared back with forlorn eyes.

Up until recently, that creature hadn’t bothered her, hadn’t made her feel like her heart was shriveling.

But now, every time she saw it, all she could see was a mass of emotionless, merciless, icy eyes staring back at her, grinning and cackling without pity. Every time she saw that face now, she remembered the wedding; fighting monsters wearing the faces of her friends, challenging a queen so twisted and heartless that it’d nearly broken hers.

Every time she looked into her own eyes now, all she saw was the memory of that queen and the evil she’d nearly ushered into Equestria.

Was that what she was? All this time, all these years… had that been what she was?

Without really thinking about it, she found herself standing directly in front of the old mirror, facing the creature almost nose to nose.

She scowled at the creature, and it scowled back, hatred in its eyes.

Here, she saw her answer.

“Ah ain't one of you,” she told it quietly.

The creature mimicked her perfectly, speaking in time with her.

“Ah never was, and Ah never will be.”

She leaned in closer, so close that her nose was just barely kissing the cold mirror’s surface.

“My name is Applejack. Ah ain't no pony, but… Ah ain't one of you.”

Author's Note

And so it begins...
This story was the byproduct of a night of drinking... followed by a morning of thinking.
I always found it weird that that pony at the Apple family reunion had no idea who AJ was. You'd think her parents would've introduced the family to her or something, and they were clearly alive back then, seeing as Apple Bloom couldn't have been born yet.
So my explanation? Changeling. Shut up, I was hammered.
Anyway, feel free to comment, critique and question my sanity. Lord knows I do it enough on a daily basis.
And before anyone asks, yes - I did take the end of the Canterlot Royal Wedding into consideration.
Let the hi-jinks ensue!

Chapter 13: On the Brink

The world snapped back into being just as suddenly as it’d vanished. For all Applejack knew, she could’ve been blinded by a camera flash for as long as the spell seemed to last.

And yet, immediately she knew things were different. For one thing, icy rain wasn’t pelting her coat, soaking her and chilling her to the bone. For another, there weren’t grasping hooves grappling with her body any longer. But perhaps the biggest indicator of change was the simple fact that the air lacked the distinct sounds of battle.

Of course, Applejack had only a split second to peripherally recognize familiar landmarks; a horsehead bust lording over a round desk in the center of a room ringed by long alcoves carved from the wooden walls, creating horizontal rests for many, many books.

Her attention was, after all, less focused on the room at large, and more centered on the cyan blur currently flying mid-leap towards her.

Applejack only had enough time to brace instinctively before a mud-splattered, slightly singed Rainbow Dash crashed straight into her, sending them both toppling end over end across the library floor.

By the time the world stopped spinning, Applejack found herself flat on her back, her head banged up against a wall with Rainbow lying in a tangled heap on top of her.

“Ow,” Rainbow groaned into AJ’s chest.

“Ow,” Applejack agreed, rubbing the back of her head.

She felt Rainbow suddenly tense, going momentarily motionless before springing up onto all fours.

Just as Applejack cracked open an eye to see why, she felt something smack her across the face – something suspiciously in the shape of a hoof.

“Ow!” she complained, louder this time, opening her eyes to glare at Rainbow. “Now what the hay was that for?”

To her surprise, however, Rainbow threw the glare right back at her, looking furious. “That’s for almost getting caught again!”

Applejack paused, momentarily derailed from anything but lying on the ground and staring at her friend in surprise.

“And if you ever do something that stupid again,” Rainbow growled hotly, jabbing a hoof against the cowpony’s nose a couple times, “I… I’m going to punch you a lot harder. Like, a lot.”

Applejack blinked, crossed her eyes to inspect the muddy, quivering hoof pressed rather hard against her nose, then looked back at Rainbow’s angry expression.

“I can only save your tail so many times before it starts getting old,” Rainbow huffed, straightening up. “Keep that in mind the next time you decide to… do…”

Just as she was about to finish her threat, Rainbow rose completely upright and had been halfway through turning away – as one last angry punctuation – when she caught sight of something that drove her to silence, her gaze locking on something around Applejack’s hind hooves. Something that made her eyes go wide.

At the same time, Applejack heard every one of her friends gasp in unison in voices laced with shock.

After a puzzled moment, Applejack followed their gazes. What she saw temporarily made the dull throb on the back of her head seem rather insignificant.

The end of her tail was gone. Nearly six inches had failed to make the jump through space and time with her.

Instead, all she had was a blackened, jarringly shorn tail tip far shorter than it should’ve been. And if Applejack looked just hard enough, she could’ve sworn she could make out the outline of teeth…

“I’m sorry, Applejack,” she heard Twilight say, sounding anxious. “I tried my best, but…”

When Applejack tore her eyes off her shortened tail, she noticed Twilight struggling to stand. She looked dazed, and she was massaging the base of her horn, wincing every now and then.

“If I’d been closer, maybe I could’ve…,” Twilight said, ears flopping limply against her head.

Applejack once more regarded her shortened tail for just a moment. Then, she smiled at her friend. “Aw shucks, it ain't no big deal, sugarcube,” she reassured. “It’s just hair. It’ll grow back.”

Still, Twilight bit her lip, her eyes staying on the damage her spell had caused. She continued to remain quiet and observant as Applejack worked her way out from under Rainbow, rising and dusting herself off.

It was a vain effort, considering how dirty she was. It’d take more than a casual hoof to wipe herself clean.

But no sooner did she rise did she find herself struck yet again by a pony gone ballistic.

“Applejack!” cheered an overly exuberant voice in her ear. The owner of that hyperactive voice had her arms around Applejack, and was trying her darnedest to crush the life out of her.

“Pink…ie,” Applejack gasped, struggling to breathe around the herculean grip on her chest. “Air… air!”

It was a mercy when the jubilant pink pony finally dropped Applejack, letting her crumple once more to the ground in a heap, gasping for breath.

But she’d barely even sat up again when she was enveloped by another – much less life-threatening – embrace.

“I knew you and Rainbow were alright!” Pinkie cheered, snuggling cheek-to-cheek. But even as she professed her glee, Applejack still felt the barely perceptible tremble to her limbs that had nothing to do with her chilled coat. “I knew Vigil was lying about you guys!”

Applejack flinched, tensing for a moment. She was still for a beat, and then she raised one hoof to gingerly pat the party pony’s poofy mane.

Sometimes, it was so easy to forget that Pinkie wasn’t emotionally immune to everything not happy and funny; that she was just as capable of experiencing anxieties. It just took a whole heck of a lot more to get her to the point of showing it.

Seeing her normally happy-go-lucky friend on that verge made Applejack feel all the more guilty.

“Sorry, Pinkie,” she said earnestly, “’bout makin’ ya worry.”

Pinkie pulled away and beamed as wide as always, letting slip nothing. “It’s okay,” she said simply. “You and Dashie are okay, so I’m okay!”

All of a sudden, a look of groundbreaking realization seemed to dawn on Pinkie. Suddenly she dropped Applejack, whirled around, practically screamed “Dashie!” and vaulted through the air before her target could do more than cry “Oh bu—”.

Applejack couldn’t help but quirk an eyebrow at the eccentric pink mare as she tackled Rainbow right off her hooves. Maybe she’d been a bit hasty in her judgment.

While Rainbow fought a desperate battle to pry herself free of the pink pony’s clutches, Applejack once more worked her way upright, and without further interruptions, she finally took in her surroundings properly.

Sure enough, she found herself seated in one corner of a familiar tree library, her head only a few inches from the red painted front door.

Simple lamps hung from the ceiling, filling the space with warm, inviting light that completely contrasted the dark, gloomy shadows peeking in through the windows.

And of course, the light illuminated the rest of her friends, who were all standing on the other end of the room, their filthy visages conflicting quite spectacularly with the clean, carefully maintained room they were standing in.

Fluttershy’s bear friend was looking around warily, eying his surroundings with suspicion. He at least felt comfortable enough to place his charge back on her hooves, but he seemed in no mood to let his guard drop.

At the same time, Fluttershy seemed rather torn. She kept looking between Rainbow Dash, clearly distressed by the nasty black splotches covering her body, only to redirect to fretting over the numerous shallow cuts on the hulking bear’s forearms.

Rainbow herself was finding herself on the business end of Pinkie Pie’s boundless excitement. She’d managed to get free of Pinkie’s grip and was standing in one spot, enduring the party pony’s exuberance in silence while Pinkie whipped around her at dizzying, improbable speeds, babbling like a filly on the sugar rush of the century.

Meanwhile, Big Macintosh, clearly not used to being teleported, was looking around with a mix of wonder and confusion, like a foal shown some incredible magic trick.

It was something of a bitter relief for Applejack to see that her brother hadn’t incurred a great deal of new battle wounds. But even with numerous cuts and bruises, the big stallion barely even seemed affected in the slightest.

But as Applejack’s gaze wandered the room, taking in familiar, friendly faces, she became aware of something. Or rather, a lack of something.

“Uh… Where’s Rarity?”

Immediately the excitement in the room ground to a halt as everyone looked around. But Applejack wasn’t the only pony coming up one pearly white unicorn short.

“Rar—” Twilight started to call, worry filling her voice.

The sound of a distant door slamming shut beat her to the punch – that, and the sound of running water that had nothing to do with the rain bombarding the library.

In an instant, the entire atmosphere in the room changed – going from worried to sheer, unbridled disbelief in a heartbeat.

“She isn’t,” Applejack said, aghast.

“She is,” Twilight sighed, smacking herself in the face.

For a couple seconds, everypony just looked between each other, as if searching for some verification as to what had just happened. But the sound of a shower turned on full blast was verification enough.

“Somethin’ ain't right with that gal,” Applejack grumbled, sitting down to rub her temples. “She just… she just ain't right in the head.”

Several of her friends snickered at that, too relieved to be bothered by the fashionista’s eccentricities in the slightest.

After all, here they all were, together once more. Everypony was accounted for and safe, and the relief at that fact was almost palpable.

That fact was starting to sink into Applejack, too, and it was making her feel better than she had felt all night. Finally having so many familiar faces surrounding her eased the long-held tensions inside of her like a knot being pulled undone.

And it seemed like the same could be said about her other friends. There were smiles on each of her friend’s muddy faces and relief in their voices as they all converged, tensions falling away from their bodies.

All except one.

It took Applejack a moment, but she noticed that one of her friends was still subdued and quiet.

Twilight was still staring at the blackened and burnt end of Applejack’s tail. She looked upset, true, and AJ could almost transcribe the self-kicking that was going on in her head just by reading her expression.

But there was something else in her gaze. It was like she was waiting for something to happen, something she was clearly hoping beyond hope wouldn’t come to pass.

That look was making Applejack uncomfortable, and for reasons she’d rather not look into.

“Er… Everythin’ alright, sugarcube?” she asked Twilight carefully, trying to keep her composure even.

When she spoke, the room went quiet once more, all eyes redirecting towards the purple unicorn. That hadn’t entirely been Applejack’s intention, and now she was only feeling more uncomfortable as a consequence.

Twilight jumped slightly, distracted, and finally turned to meet her friend’s searching gaze, looking a little sheepish. “Uh, yes – I mean… what about you?”

Twilight’s expression turned into a frown as she refocused, confusion winning out over the myriad other emotions displayed on her face. “Last time I saw you guys, you were covered in bandages. But now you look fine.”

Applejack cursed internally, glancing down at her forelegs. Only then did she remember that they’d been wrapped in gauze not long ago – gauze that’d been reduced to ash when she’d changed last.

Now her legs were muddy, a little scuffed up, but more importantly, bare. And very much lacking any trace of burns.

For a moment, Applejack couldn’t help but stare at herself in surprise. Had her healing powers already run their course? Well, that sure was quick…

But as Applejack continued to inspect her forelegs, a creeping sense of unease started to overtake her. It was almost imperceptible, oozing stealthily into her insides. By the time she became aware of it, her nerves had already taken hold.

Because she knew what had to happen next.

“Twi’,” she started to say, forcing herself to speak, no matter how much she didn’t want to.

Applejack bit her lip, then glanced up, meeting the purple unicorn’s gaze. Twilight looked back at her, questioning. There was nothing in her eyes that should’ve scared Applejack. And yet, they were terrifying.

For a moment, Applejack’s nerves won out. She turned away, opening her mouth to proclaim something her brain hadn’t fully contemplated. It wouldn’t have been a lie, per se; she could simply bring something else up. After all, their situation had more than enough topics to escape to.

Her eyes, however, fell on another pair – a magenta pair. Rainbow just looked back at her, an expectant glint in her eye. When their eyes met, one corner of her mouth twisted up slightly.

She nodded just a little, her demeanor filled with nothing but pure confidence like always. Only this time, it seemed to make the room feel just a little bit less threatening. And that was all Applejack needed.

Applejack forced back her scowl, mentally kicking herself before turning back to Twilight.

“Twi’,” she started to say, speaking through a wall of reluctance. “The truth is…”

“Twilight!”

Everyone jumped and whipped around. Even the bear sitting unobtrusively in the corner sprang to his feet, on edge once more.

Twilight was the first to get her head around to look in the direction of the speaker, who’d just come to a halt at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor.

“Spike?”

The baby dragon halted mid-sprint, his eyes going wide when he noticed the muddy crowd occupying the ground floor of the library. He seemed bleary-eyed, like he’d literally just jolted out of bed in a panic.

He took several seconds to take in the crowded library, eyes going from one pony to the next, especially lingering on the grumpy bear slouching in the corner.

That was going to take some explaining.

“Uh… did I miss something?” he asked, shaking his head a couple times. But when he opened his eyes again the scene before him remained exactly the same; giant predator and all.

Twilight, however, frowned at the baby dragon, suspicion on her mind. “Spike… were you sleeping?”

Spike continued to blink, rubbing his forehead. “Sleep doesn’t usually come with a headache,” he grumbled.

Now Twilight’s frown was an irritated one. “Spike, how could you be sleeping at a time like this?”

“Hang on, Twilight,” Spike said defensively, “I don’t even know what happened. One minute I’m going to check up on Apple Bloom –”

Applejack blinked, taken by surprise. “Wait just a minute. Apple Bloom was here?”

Twilight nodded. “That’s why we were at the farm tonight. She came running over saying the farm was under attack and that you were hurt.”

Applejack turned towards Rainbow, who gave her the same look of confusion in return. “But, she’s…,” Applejack started to say, only to save herself at the last moment.

Twilight only barely glanced at her when Spike started to explain himself, gaining priority.

“Yeah,” Spike went on quickly, popping himself in the temple once or twice, “and after you left she said something weird, then ran upstairs. I went to see if she was alright, and the next thing I know, I’m getting woken up by her.”

Spike ended by jerking a thumb over his shoulder. Only then did the group notice that he wasn’t alone. There was a unicorn descending the stairs behind him. A lime green unicorn.

“Please pardon my intrusion,” said Hyacinth as politely as polite could be, “but we don’t have much time.”

Nearly everyone in the room gasped in shock, jumping back a step. Fluttershy took it a step further and disappeared entirely, vanishing seemingly into thin air.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash weren’t nearly as shocked as their friends, but even they were taken off guard by the changeling’s unexpected appearance.

However, they weren’t the ones to speak up first.

“Wait… I recognize you,” Twilight said in dawning realization. “You’re the one on the wanted poster Cloudkicker had. You’re the one Vigil’s after!”

Applejack and Rainbow blinked, once more sharing a look – this time, a truly bewildered one.

Even Hyacinth was pulled up short. “That’s… one way of looking at it, I suppose,” she said slowly. After all, she couldn’t necessarily dismiss it, not really.

When Twilight heard that, her eyes brightened in a way only a solved puzzle could cause them to gleam. She took a step closer, the cogs in her mind working of their own accord. “So that’s what’s going on! You got mixed up with Applejack, and because of that, Vigil and his goons have been turning Ponyville upside down looking for you! It all makes sense now!”

She never saw the dual facehoof that took place behind her.

Instead of answering right away, Hyacinth paused, then turned her gaze over to the only two ponies not giving her a nervous stare. “I take it you haven’t explained things yet,” she said to Applejack and Rainbow, quirking an eyebrow.

“Well we were about to,” Rainbow said testily, “until you two turned up.”

“I see,” Hyacinth said, her eyes settling on Applejack with a silent look of apology. Applejack gave an understanding smile in return, but said nothing.

Upon hearing their exchange, Twilight once more reverted to confusion. “You know her, too, Rainbow?”

The pegasus grimaced. “It’s kind of a long story, Believe me. But she’s cool.”

Twilight clearly wanted more than that, but she was interrupted when Hyacinth raised her voice.

“We don’t have time for the long version of things,” she said firmly. “Vigil’s forces will be here shortly, so let’s cut to the chase.”

She stepped passed Spike, who was still shaking the sleep from his head. Twilight maintained her distance, frowning warily.

Hyacinth took a few slow steps in the direction of her niece, keeping Twilight in the corner of her eye while doing her best not to spook her.

But for just a moment, Applejack saw her eyes flick over to her and quickly scan over her frame, registering every little nick and scuff in the time it took her niece to figure out what she was doing.

“Look, Twilight Sparkle,” Hyacinth said suddenly, intercepting the unicorn’s question before she could do more than open her mouth, “I’d be more than happy to answer your questions later, but right now we don’t have the time. There is an entire army out there intent on either capturing or killing all of us, and if we don’t stop it now, there is no telling how far Vigil will go.”

Twilight’s frown deepened. “I still don’t understand why,” she said. “Why is he after you?”

Hyacinth was silent for a moment, her eyes appraising the young unicorn in front of her.

But just when Twilight thought she wasn’t going to receive any kind of answer at all, Hyacinth proved her wrong.

“I understand that tonight is not a night to be trusting blindly,” she said. “After all, not everypony is who they appear to be, are they?”

Twilight’s eyes got huge, her pupils shrinking at her words. Her very familiar words.

…not everypony is who they appear to be…

“You’re…,” Twilight breathed, thunderstruck.

Hyacinth merely smiled slightly. “A guardian,” she said, and for half a second, her eyes flicked over to some point beside her, “trying to protect the one dearest to me.”

Twilight froze in place, turning as still as a statue. She was all-but petrified for a small, timeless eternity as her eyes got still wider. But on the inside, her mind was working faster than it had in a very, very long time.

Twilight didn’t turn towards her, but for just one moment, one of her ears twitched in the direction of the one standing closest to Hyacinth, as if denoting just where – or rather, with whom – her thoughts were.

Applejack glanced between the two, uneasiness in her heart. Twilight’s eyes were gleaming…

“Alright.”

Everyone in the room did a double take, going from Twilight to Hyacinth and back.

Whatever reaction they’d been anticipating, that was not it. Not by a longshot.

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike interjected, joining the ranks of the confused. “Didn’t she just say…?”

“I know what she said, Spike,” Twilight said curtly. She never took her eyes off Hyacinth, but some of her composure came back, her features resetting into a demeanor of determination. “But if Rainbow vouches for her, then she can’t be so bad, right? Besides, we don’t exactly have time on our side.”

Hyacinth’s smile wilted, a serious edge glinting in her eyes. “That is correct. The more time we waste, the longer Vigil will have to come up with a new plan of action.”

“What more could he do?” Rainbow cut in sourly. “He’s already taken over Ponyville and made Applejack a criminal. What else is there?”

“And why take over Ponyville in the first place,” Twilight added, frowning. “It makes no sense.”

“I can’t be sure,” Hyacinth admitted. “Vigil is making him and his men far too visible. The risk he’s taking… It’s not like him. He must be up to something. I just wish I knew what.”

“So, what’re we supposed to do?” Rainbow said, rising into the air a little to fold her hooves across her chest. “Just how many bad guys are we supposed to beat down before he gets the message?”

“Too many,” Twilight said, thinking hard. “There was a whole guard division moved to Ponyville after the attack on Canterlot.”

Rainbow hesitated, her irritation slipping slightly. “Is… is that a lot?”

“Yeah. That’s a lot.”

Silence fell over the library for a few long seconds. No one knew what to say to that.

The light of reunion was gone by this point. All that was left was the uneasiness of everyone present, and the challenge that laid ahead – a challenge that only seemed to get bigger and bigger as it approached.

It took it a little while, but finally the question was asked that was on everypony’s mind.

“So what’re we supposed to do?” Rainbow asked the silent room.

At first, no one answered. No one had a good answer for how exactly a small group of unarmed ponies were supposed to take on an entire army and win.

Well… almost no one.

“There is a way.”

All eyes turned towards Hyacinth as she looked around the room. “When changelings embed themselves into a society, it can be almost impossible to get them out,” she explained. “Even a small group like the one here in Ponyville can turn the entire population against itself without ever risking exposing all of their operatives. But… there is a way to beat them.”

“And that is?” Twilight prompted, hopeful despite herself.

“We attack the source of their power,” Hyacinth said simply, tapping a hoof meaningfully. “We cut them from their sources of love. Without that, they won’t have the magic to keep control of their assets, and the whole problem will unravel itself.”

“And how do we do that?” Rainbow asked.

“Vigil will have a… cache of sorts hidden away somewhere,” Hyacinth explained.

No one resisted the urge to shiver at that. Even Hyacinth looked uncomfortable with her own choice of words.

“Once we find that,” Hyacinth went on, “we free the ponies. Without those ponies giving the changelings the love they need for their spells, Vigil will have no choice but to either surrender or retreat. He won’t have the power to fight.”

“And whatever plans he has for Ponyville come to an end,” Twilight said with a nod.

“Exactly.”

“Just one problem,” Rainbow pointed out, raising a hoof. “How are we supposed to find this cache?”

Hyacinth only gave her a knowing grin. “Because I know where it is.”

~~***~~

A blaze of emerald fire lit up the darkened room, flaring into existence for a moment as a magical hole ripped open on one of the bare stone walls.

Vigil cantered quickly through the gaping portal without breaking stride. He moved quickly and precisely, his goal already in mind.

But he wasn’t alone. Several more changeling portals bloomed into being on the floor, walls and ceiling, depositing half a dozen obsidian forms into the awaiting chamber.

The commotion didn’t go unnoticed however.

As Vigil strode forward, he noticed several blue eyes blinking open in the darkness, surveying the intruders from a safe distance.

No one approached the group; no one needed to. Vigil simply raised his voice, addressing not one but rather all present.

“Send the word,” he ordered. “We move now.”

An excited buzzing filled the chamber for a moment, hissing voices whispering excitedly amongst each other.

And just like that, the room emptied. The scuffling of hooves on the floor and walls receded, and quite abruptly Vigil and his entourage were alone.

Through it all, however, Vigil did not so much as miss a step. He continued right on walking at a brisk pace, cantering over to a heavy, studded door.

“No more mistakes,” he muttered to himself, lighting his horn as he telekinetically shoved open the door before him.

And beyond that door was a rain-drenched balcony; a balcony jutting from the side of a monolith of stone and timber rising far above the earth, lording over the cityscape of the small, waterlogged village at the bottom of its hill.

~~***~~

“The guard post?” Twilight repeated, astonished.

Hyacinth nodded gravely. “Yes. That is where he will be keeping the ponies whose love he and his men are feeding off of, now that he’s taken control of the division.”

“How are we supposed to even get in there,” Rainbow said exasperatedly. “The guard post is a fortress! No way they’ll let us just waltz in the front gate.”

“The post is still under construction,” Twilight pointed out, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “With all the guards Princess Celestia had posted here, they had to do a lot of last-minute renovations to the layout. Most of them aren’t even close to being finished, either.”

She looked up at everyone present then, meeting each of their gazes. “Once we get past the guards, getting in should be easy.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked impatiently, flicking her tail in agitation.

“Rainbow’s right,” Applejack agreed with a nod, scowling. “The sooner we get this over with, the better.”

“Yeah!” piped up Pinkie, taking a step forward. “Nopony messes with Ponyville but us!”

“Um…,” mumbled Fluttershy to no avail, “maybe we should… um… tell Princess Celestia…?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow said loudly, completely missing the yellow pegasus’ demure voice. “It’s time we bucked Vigil right out of town!”

“But… what about…?”

Hyacinth, however, pursed her lips. “Well, for one thing, I can’t be sure that Vigil won’t –”

She never finished her sentence.

Before she could voice her concerns in their entirety, the whole library gave a fitful tremble, rattling windows and fixtures in time with a distant, ominous boom that was too earthbound to be thunder.

And that was when the screaming began.

Every pony in the library stared at one another, wide eyed with rising terror. Then, as one, they all rushed to the nearest windows, piling together to get a good view.

What they saw brought a cold chill into their hearts.

Fireballs were raining from the sky. Green fireballs.

As they watched, several collided with houses and homes, tearing holes through walls and thatched roofs.

Windows blew out. Drywall and bits of roofing material joined the growing clouds of dust shooting into the air as changeling after changeling dropped from the cloud-ridden sky in envelopes of acidic fire.

That was all it took to throw the entire population into full-blown panic.

Doors were flying open all up and down the street from the library as countless ponies bolted from their damaged homes, screaming and shouting in fright.

The whole time they ran, changelings were coming down all around them, impacting the ground like cannonballs as they fell amongst the panicking masses.

Applejack could only stare in horror, her heart thudding painfully in her chest. “Vigil’s attackin’ Ponyville!”

“Ya think?!” Rainbow snapped back. “Come on! We gotta do something!”

That was all the direction her friends needed. Together, they all ran for the door, adrenaline already pumping.

Hyacinth, however, hesitated. There was an ominous feeling in her chest, one that was only escalating the more she thought on it.

“Wait!” she called, but it was too late; the ponies were already yanking open the front door and preparing to dash into the sheeting rain beyond.

She cursed under her breath, eyes flicking to the emerald flashes beyond the door that were quickly popping up city-wide.

Something’s not right… This isn’t like Vigil at all. What is he up to now?

But she didn’t have a good answer, and that was really worrying her.

At the last second, Twilight hesitated, and that was to throw a look over her shoulder towards the nervous baby dragon still standing at the foot of the stairs.

“Spike, send emergency letter thirty-nine B, then tell Rarity to get moving!”

Spike blinked, startled even further. “Rarity? She’s here?”

But Twilight ignored him. Instead, she chose to turn towards a nearby bookcase of all things. “Come on, Fluttershy! We gotta move!”

“You go,” came Fluttershy’s shrill, frightened voice. “I’ll just… wait for Rarity! I’ll just stay here and…,”

Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but another, much louder detonation decided the matter for her.

“Alright, just… be careful,” Twilight muttered before turning around and disappearing out the door, her form fading into the deluge that awaited her.

That left only four inhabitants standing in the nearly empty – yet rather muddy – main room.

It took only half a second for Spike to recover, spin on his heel and fly up the stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Hyacinth watched him go for a moment before turning towards the still open door lolling in the low wind.

She could easily hear the sounds of explosions and panic over the rain and thunder.

It wasn’t the most inviting of exits; that was for sure.

But Hyacinth merely squared her shoulders and exhaled slowly. Well then… time to settle this once and for all.

She turned in the direction of Fluttershy, who – to her surprise – was looking back at her nervously.

“Lock and barricade the door, dear,” Hyacinth instructed. And with that, she, too, vanished out into the stormy morning and was gone.

~~***~~

Ponyville was in chaos, simply put.

Scared and panicked ponies took off in any direction that wasn’t currently blowing up.

Changelings swarmed through the darkened sky, illuminated only by their spectral blue eyes and vivid green magic.

Every now and then, one would dive-bomb the city, crashing with reckless abandon into whatever may be unfortunate enough to lie beneath it; park benches, lamp posts, even houses were being demolished, slowly but surely.

Applejack and company emerged onto this scene of total panic; the only stationary ponies in a street filled with a mob of panic-stricken mares and stallions all running in the opposite direction of the carnage.

It only got worse when Applejack noticed that it wasn’t just flashes of emerald magic that were raining destruction on the town. She found that out when an ocean blue spelled hissed passed her right ear, missing it by only a few inches before blowing a chunk out of one of the tree library’s many balconies.

“The Guard and the changelings are working together!” she heard someone shriek at the top of their lungs. “Everypony, RUN!”

A split second later, a bright flash of jade lit up the rainy street, and an entire house exploded off its foundations with an ear-shattering bang, sending debris the size of washing machines soaring high through the air on a plume of changeling fire.

“Look out!” Rainbow cried in Applejack’s ear, an instant before she tackled her to one side. A split second later, a shattered support strut struck the ground exactly where Applejack had been standing with enough force to carve a trench through the cobblestone street before falling flat on one side with a heavy thud.

Applejack blinked in astonishment, eyes locked on the thing that’d very nearly flattened her. “Thanks, RD.”

Rainbow just smiled. “What would you do without me?”

Before the deadly projectiles could find any more would-be victims to crush, the sky overhead seemed to change color.

Twilight grunted, forcing every bit of magic out of her horn that she could. One by one, she snatched up the chunks of falling rock and timber midair, and with a gasp, she forced them all to a standstill, some coming within arm’s reach of cowering ponies.

“Yay! Way to go, Twi’!” Pinkie cheered jumping up into the air.

Twilight, however, wasn’t quite so chipper. She groaned as she forced her head up, struggling against what felt like the weight of the world.

She could feel every object she was suspending in the air like they were crushing down on her.

There were few times in Twilight’s life where she found herself pushed to her limit magically. No one act had ever done it, and this instance was no exception.

And in that moment, she was feeling that rarely seen limit. A night filled with nothing but large, complex spells that pushed her own abilities every time were bound to take their toll on anypony.

This spell in particular was not beyond her abilities, but… the building exhaustion nearly was.

All Twilight could manage was to heave the bulky objects away from anyone they may hurt. She forced them through the air, eyes pinned shut tightly, visualizing her goal, focusing on it alone, until finally her horn sputtered out.

Every chunk of rock she’d been supporting midair dropped like so much dead weight, crashing together with thunderous impacts in one solid line nearly two ponies tall, spanning from one end of the street to the other just as the last pony darted passed.

She wobbled, staggered, but somehow managed to keep her hooves beneath her.

“There,” she gasped breathlessly, “that… that should buy us some –”

Bang!

Another flash of magic, this time a golden one, and Twilight’s hastily created barricade was reduced to gravel and kindling.

Everyone shielded their eyes and faces from the pelting debris as it rained down on them, cringing back a step or two in the process.

As the ponies were just beginning to recover, however, a loud, bellowing voice rang out over the sounds of destruction, booming forth to meet everyone’s ears.

“Seize them all! Let none escape!”

Twilight and her friends stared in complete shock in the directions of the speaker, taken aback.

“Steel Shod? But… but I squashed him!” Rainbow cried, somewhere between shock, horror and indignation.

“Not hard enough, looks like,” Applejack said sourly.

“I can fix that,” Rainbow snarled, crouching low.

At the same time, the towering stallion’s eyes fell upon the mares and stallion standing in front of the iconic tree library.

Through the dust cloud, only the changeling magic burning in his eyes could be seen of the huge stallion, but it was enough to tell just where all of his attention was aimed at.

“There they are!” he bellowed, thrusting a hoof towards the group of ponies.

“Here we go again,” growled Applejack, baring her teeth in a snarl, just as a whole column of guards lowered their spears and rushed en masse with a fierce battle cry out of the dust cloud.

Applejack was just starting to think that maybe they’d made a mistake standing their ground against so many lethal spear tips when she heard another bellowing voice – this time coming from behind her.

“Everypony! Duck!”

No one even hesitated to think about it. Applejack and her friends hit the mud as fast as they could, and still without a moment to spare.

For at that moment, a huge shadow went flying over their heads, missing them by mere inches.

Even as addled as the guards were, they had enough sense left in them to understand that a flying piece of timber was not a good thing.

The entire front line ground to a halt, but not one of the guards had enough time to dodge the oncoming support strut before it collided with them hard enough to knock nearly two whole ranks right off their hooves.

Charging ranks of guards collided with the knocked over ones, and suddenly it turned into a giant pileup of flailing limbs and armor.

Applejack blinked in shock, then glanced over her shoulder.

Big Mac was wiping his hooves, frowning. “We ain't got time to sit ‘round,” he stated simply.

He was right. Already the guards were showing signs of recovering. Applejack and company had only a few seconds before they’d be up again.

So, together, all five mares sprung upright, turned around, and bolted without a moment’s hesitation.

“This way!” Twilight shouted over the din, and when Applejack looked, she saw her friend motioning down a seemingly random street free of guards and bombarding changelings. At least, for the moment it was.

Together with her friends, Applejack whipped around and bolted after the unicorn without hesitation, each working their legs as fast and hard as they could.

Most of them, anyway.

“Uh, why are we running away?” Rainbow asked rather heatedly, flying alongside Applejack.

“Cuz we got bigger fish ta fry,” Applejack pointed out. She turned to give her friend a hard look. “We get to the guard post, we free all the ponies, then we tan Vigil’s hide.”

Rainbow sighed grumpily, somehow managing to pout mid-flight. “Oh alright…”

Applejack just rolled her eyes and kept running.

At the same time, up ahead, another hasty conversation was taking place.

“Are you sure about this, Twilight Sparkle?” called Hyacinth, catching up with the unicorn.

“Positive,” Twilight said with absolute certainty, not taking her eyes off the road in front of her. “My brother made me memorize where the post was, in case of emergency. If we stick to the outskirts of Ponyville, we’ll get there in no time.”

Hyacinth couldn’t help but feel slightly impressed with the unicorn. Instead of charging straight through Ponyville – and likely the bulk of Vigil’s forces – she had the presence of mind to skirt around the worst of it.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on that, however.

She heard the changeling’s cackling long before she ever glanced up to see the little fiend, enveloped in a sheath of emerald flame, streaking straight towards them.

Hyacinth frowned in annoyance, then lit her horn.

“Watch out,” she barked, throwing one hoof roughly into the changeling’s intended target; Twilight.

She yelped as she staggered to one side, very nearly toppling to the ground as she struggled to keep her balance and momentum. But more importantly, she shifted just far enough to one side for Hyacinth to cast her spell.

Just a split second before the changeling could collide with the hard, wet earth, he suddenly found the ground notably less solid.

By the time he even know what was happening, he’d already sailed straight through the awaiting portal Hyacinth had ripped open in the street.

There was a beat, and then the changeling came screaming – literally screaming in panic – improbably out of a nearby building’s wall before crashing into the house next door with a nasty crunch.

Without missing a step in her gallop, Hyacinth glanced over to her side, politely meeting Twilight’s stunned gaze.

“Yes?”

“N-nothing…”

~~***~~

The group tore through city street after soggy city street, taking corners with as little speed lost as possible.

With each block they passed, the cluster of buildings seemed to get thinner and thinner. Little by little, the hills beyond Ponyville became more and more prevalent on the horizon as the fringes of the town drew ever closer.

But the longer they ran, the more the chaos caught up to them.

Again and again they heard the sounds of top-heavy guards skidding through the mud and slick cobblestone streets behind them with a helpless yelp, usually ending with a thud or bang as some inanimate object aided in stopping them cold.

Changelings continued to hail from the stormy sky, some crashing to earth only to immediately vault back into the air for another go. So far their targets seemed arbitrary and based on whim more than strategic importance, but over time their aim was getting more focused.

Spells struck all around them, blowing chunks out of buildings and streets. One came so close to Applejack’s leg that she felt pebbles pelt her legs.

“Come on,” Twilight shouted from the head of the group, “We’re almost…”

Her voice died when they rounded a corner at speed… only to come to a screeching halt.

They’d finally reached the outermost limits of the town. On one side and behind them stretched the familiar, inviting vista of Ponyville – now marred by fires and smoke and the occasional detonation of magic.

Everywhere else, however, was open, soggy countryside and rolling fields and brown grass.

And everywhere they looked, there were guards.

Every possible avenue – from the thoroughfares to the smallest of side-streets – was blocked off by brainwashed stallions and undisguised, cackling changelings.

The air buzzed with pegasi and changeling wings, giving Applejack and her friends absolutely no avenue for escape.

“Where you going, little ponies,” one of the changelings jeered, much to the amusement of his fellows. “You girls lost?”

“Nope!” replied Pinkie, still as incomprehensibly chipper as always, bouncing in place. “We’re just on our way to the guard post to –”

“Pinkie!” Twilight snapped, cutting her off, but she, too, fell quiet when she heard still more dark chuckling breaking out all around them.

“Funny,” came a disembodied changeling’s voice through the crowd, “We were just about to offer to take you there.”

Lightning crashed overhead, momentarily outlining every single adversary currently staring Applejack and her friends down.

As she looked around, sizing up her enemy, Applejack met Rainbow’s eye once more. “Forget everythin’ Ah said earlier,” Applejack stated in a private aside.

Rainbow grinned viciously, striking her hooves together. “Tanning hides in five…”

~~***~~

Vigil swept his eyes over the scarred and battered streets of Ponyville, ignorant of the screams and explosions all around him. In fact, the smell of burning rubble drifting along in the wind was almost pleasant to him at the moment. It was the sign of a plan going accordingly.

He continued to watch the mayhem unfolding in the town from the guard post’s highest balcony, partly overseeing, partly enjoying the show. After a night filled with nothing but frustration and failure, it was nice to finally see his labors bearing fruit.

A simple veil of changeling magic over his head kept the rain off him, but he hardly cared at the moment either way.

He cared about it even less when he noticed a changeling flying to a stop in midair in front of him before giving a crisp salute.

“Captain, we have Applejack and her friends cornered,” he reported without inflection. “They’re resisting, but we should have them under control shortly.”

Vigil’s eyes drifted off of the cadet for a moment, instead turning towards Ponyville once more. Or to be more specific, one particularly hectic spot on the outer-most reaches of the town.

“Good,” Vigil said, perfectly masking his smile. “See to it that they don’t slip away this time.”

For a moment, his expression hardened as he glanced over his shoulder, meeting the six pairs of icy blue eyes glowing in the darkness beyond the door behind him.

“No mistakes,” he stated.

They all nodded without question, and in six emerald gouts of flame, disappeared entirely.

The changeling in front of Vigil saluted again, turned, and flew off into the downpour once again, leaving the changeling captain alone on his balcony.

Only then did Vigil allow himself a small smile. Everything was finally going according to plan.

~~***~~

For the second time that morning, Applejack found herself in a desperate fight for her life against a seemingly never ending onslaught of adversaries.

No matter how many she knocked down, more just kept coming. The square was filled with alarming numbers of unconscious guards already, and with every buck and punch she threw, she added still more to that pile.

But right away, she knew something was different. The changelings, it seemed, had wised up.

Applejack could see them, lingering in the background, taking potshots at her and her friends with spells on occasion, safe behind an absolute crush of armored stallions.

So far none of their spells were connecting… so far. But that was only because of the guards between them. Still, there’d been some close calls already.

When Applejack bucked yet another guard into still more of his companions, she had to quickly dive to one side to avoid a jet of emerald light as it streaked through the newly created opening. It went wide regardless, reducing a nearby “Welcome to Ponyville!” sign to a pile of smoking ashes.

Not far off, Twilight was struggling against several unicorns at once. She blinked in and out of existence here and there, dodging strident blasts of magic before taking aim and firing her own spell in return.

But she, like every one of her friends, was wearing down.

At one point, she connected a transmogrify spell dead on a stallion’s chest, and yet he hardly spent ten seconds as a potted begonia before snapping back to a very disoriented stallion once more.

Twilight bit her lip when she saw that. There was a terrible ringing in her ears, and her hornache had developed into a full blown migraine at that point.

She was distracted, however, when Rainbow came skidding to a halt next to the purple unicorn with a yelp, sliding to a stop on her back. She was up just as quickly, but Twilight noticed she wasn’t putting very much weight on one of her hind legs.

“Rainbow, you’re –” Twilight started to gasp – both out of shock and out of a need for breath.

Rainbow ignored her pointedly, snarling. She had more important things to worry about.

The guards that’d thrown her off balance were already rushing to fill the gap between them, bellowing and waving their spears.

Rainbow bared her teeth, leaned back, then shot forward like a bullet, thrusting her forelegs out in front of her.

The first stallion only had a split second to register the incoming blue blur before a pair of hoofs collided with him so hard he was knocked to the ground.

Rainbow planted her hooves on the stallion, flattening him still further to the ground, as she went end over end. Propelled by her momentum, she sailed rear hooves first straight into the face of the guard behind the first, striking him with enough force to send him cartwheeling back the way he came.

But the impact sent a lance of pain up her injured leg, making her wince.

It was all it took for Rainbow to miss her footing, sending her crashing to the ground with a pained yelp.

Every nearby guard whipped their heads around, drawn to the agonized sound like sharks to blood.

“Get her!” she heard from some point behind her.

She just barely managed to turn her head just far enough to see the one who’d spoken; a muscular stallion, rushing straight towards her, spear aimed straight at her exposed side.

“Oh… crabapples…”

Rainbow winced, bracing…

“Rainbow!”

Her eyes shot open again, just as she heard a loud clang of metal on metal. “App—”

But what she saw caught her completely off guard.

A green earth pony was standing over her on three legs. The fourth was clasping a spear in its crook, whose tip was jammed into the shaft of the oncoming stallion’s weapon, shoving it harmlessly into the cobblestone.

“Hyacinth,” Rainbow gasped.

The mare ignored her, keeping her focused gazed trained on the stunned stallion.

With a sharp twist, she yanked the spear free, spun on the spot, and struck the guard on the side of the head with the butt of her weapon, throwing him to the ground.

She went up on two legs, continuing to spin, and swung the spear across her shoulders, switching hooves, and swatted away another spear before introducing its owner to the other end of her weapon, knocking him out cold.

“Get up!” she barked, fluidly dodging another thrust.

But for a moment, Rainbow was transfixed. Hyacinth moved with ease, transitioning from three to two – even to a single leg when needed. At one point, it was as if the old changeling was dancing, except each step usually ended with a weapon flourish and another dropped stallion.

She only snapped out of it when Hyacinth grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her upright.

“I’m not going to tell you again,” she snapped irritably.

“Er, right,” Rainbow said back sheepishly, jumping to all fours.

“Good,” Hyacinth said, though she sounded too focused to really be pleased, “Now, you need to get to Appleja—”

A frenzied cry cut her off. Both mares turned around, just in time to see no less than five stallions making another push, charging in unison.

Hyacinth and Rainbow had no choice but to give up still more ground by jumping out of the way before they could get skewered before once more returning to defending themselves.

For at that point, there was little else they could do; defend themselves. There were too many attackers coming at them at once to even consider taking the offensive.

Little by little, they were losing ground. Inch by inch, foot by foot, they were forced back.

With the entirety of Ponyville’s defensive force bearing down on just six ponies, it was a miracle that they hadn’t been overrun already.

But those same six ponies were tenacious. They fought with growing desperation and burning determination, refusing to give in even as they were pushed back into a corner.

Pinkie had somehow acquired a baseball bat – “in case of baseball emergency” – and was doing her level best to play the world’s largest scale game of Whack-a-Diamond-Dog, all the while crying out “Bonk!” with each successful hit.

Big Macintosh had a stallion by the ankle, and was using his own – slightly more alive – bludgeon to beat down everything in his general vicinity.

Yet, even as the body count rose to staggering numbers, the changelings kept driving the guard onward. As soon as any guards roused from unconsciousness, they rose and continued fighting.

After a while, even Rainbow started to realize how badly the odds were against them.

Hyacinth’s pilfered spear shattered across another’s. Pinkies bat disintegrated under a changeling’s spell. Big Macintosh lost his grip on his unwilling weapon.

Finally, exhausted, out of breath and beaten, Applejack and her friends put their backs to the one place the guards weren’t pouring out of; the open fields beyond Ponyville and a small, despairingly exposed platform affixed with a tiny, flimsy shack that sat between the ponies and the open countryside.

They backed up slowly as the seeming inexhaustible army menaced closer and closer, spears leveling towards them.

Lights popped in front of Twilight’s eyes, her horn sputtering and fizzing fitfully. She was leaning heavily on Pinkie’s side, but the sheer magical strain she’d put on her body was making it difficult to even stand.

Big Macintosh was breathing hard, exuding great plumes of hot steam with every breath he took. He’d incurred a shallow cut over one eye in an attempt to protect Twilight when she’d fallen to the ground, and now that eye was clamped shut to keep the blood out.

He’d placed himself in front of Pinkie Pie, who was taking the time to try to rouse her purple friend properly. But despite her forced cheer, everyone saw how flaccid her mane had become.

Rainbow limped backwards on only three good legs, putting herself stubbornly in front of Applejack and Hyacinth, who were both backpedaling at Big Mac’s side. She was hardly more than a few inches ahead of Big Mac, and yet to his sister, it felt like a mile.

Together, they all backed up the platform’s ramp, never giving the enemy a chance to strike at their backs.

But even as they radiated nothing but defiance, each and every one of them knew that they were running out of options.

They were tired, they were outnumbered… they were beaten.

Applejack cursed internally even as she struggled for breath.

“Alright… alright, they got a lot of them,” Rainbow wheezed begrudgingly. “I think… I think we’re… even now.”

Applejack bit her lip. She kept her eyes on the back of her friend’s head, her chest tightening.

Rainbow looked… terrible. And yet, even though she was covered in mud and burns, even though she was covered in dozens of cuts and bruises, and even though she was hobbling on only three good legs, she showed no sign of giving up. She would fight to the bitter end if she had to.

And Applejack knew who the responsible party would be if it ever came to that.

“Rainbow, Ah… Ah’m sor—”

“Don’t you start with me,” Rainbow snapped irritably, temper flaring without warning. “Cuz I don’t want to hear it.”

But after a moment, her fire started to gutter. Her wings deflated, falling horizontally outward. “But… you know… in the one in a million off chance we don’t make it… I just want you to know that… It’s seventy eight to seventy six.”

She glanced over for a second, catching Applejack’s eye and smirking weakly. “You owe me twenty bits.”

Applejack paused. For a moment, she couldn’t move. It was as if for one heartbeat, the world stopped in its tracks.

And in that small, infinitesimal timeframe, all Applejack heard were Rainbow’s words bouncing again and again in her head, echoing down inside her.

…in the one in a million off chance we don’t make it…

…Off chance we don’t make it…

…Don’t make it…

She’d heard Rainbow say those words, but… for a moment, she didn’t believe it. But slowly… slowly it began to dawn on her.

They weren’t going to make it.

And it was all because of her.

And with that, the world came back into crystal clear focus. Applejack didn’t care that she felt tired, or that her hooves were throbbing from kicking so much. She didn’t care that she was drenched to the bone with sweat, mud, blood and rain.

All she cared about was that her friends, her family, Rainbow… they were all in danger because of her.

And she was not going to stand for it any longer.

Applejack stopped backing up. She planted her hooves, and even though her eyes fell on the cruel, glinting spears as they inched closer and closer towards her, she no longer feared them.

In that moment, she didn’t fear anything.

“Ah promised myself Ah was through with runnin’…”

Rainbow hesitated before glancing back towards Applejack. Only then did she notice she’d come to a complete stop.

Even if only by a single step, now she was the one at the front of the group. And yet, she didn’t seem to care in the least, even as more and more spear tips starting to point towards her instead.

“AJ?”

Applejack didn’t turn towards the sound of Rainbow’s nervous voice. She just kept staring down the closest guard.

“Nopony else is gettin’ hurt cuz of me today,” Applejack growled. “Ah ain't lettin’ that happen anymore.”

Suddenly, she raised her head, aiming a sharp glare further back through the amassed ranks – towards the icy blue orbs lurking in the shadows.

“You changelin’s want me, don’t ya? Well here Ah am!” she bellowed at the top of her lungs. “Stop playin’ games and come get me!”

“Applejack!” Rainbow gasped, horrorstruck, but Applejack ignored her.

If anything, she took a step forward. The nearest spear blade was well within arm’s reach; plenty close for a lethal thrust through the chest.

But Applejack merely glared, unfazed. Anger pulsed through her, annihilating any last vestiges of fear and cowardice like a tidal wave.

For a moment, her eyes pulsed amber in the gloom. A single tongue of emerald flame rolled off her cheek.

No one missed that. Absolutely no one. But Applejack was too focused and too furious to care.

Applejack opened her mouth once more, fury peaking. “COME GET –”

A loud, throaty howl rent the air, drowning out her bellow.

All heads turned as one in the direction of that howling sound, equal parts surprised and alarmed.

That was when everyone seemed to notice the glinting steel tracks laid in the ground right next to the platform the group of ponies were standing on. Only then did the masses start to understand just what that seemingly random platform was.

It was a train station.

Everyone present learned that for themselves when a train came barreling down the tracks with a full head of speed, gushing steam and smoke worse than an enraged dragon on the rampage.

And the moment it came in sight of the station, every single wheel locked up.

The air was filled with an ungodly shrieking of protesting metal on metal. Fountains of angry sparks poured from the tracks worse than a fireworks display as the whole thing ground to a halt, ton by ton, car by car.

Every eye was on the train at this point as it finally came to a standstill with a loud blast of pressurized steam.

Not a single light was on in the train. The windows were all dark and ominous, betraying nothing of the interior.

So when the doors on every car eased open in unison, Applejack was already bracing for the worst.

For a moment, nothing happened. Only the rain made any sound in the tense silence, pounding against the train’s metal roof and the scores of armored ponies waiting on the battle worn group’s other side.

But in a split second, all of that changed.

With a mighty roar, a crush of ponies surged from every single train car like a tidal wave. And each and every one of them was clad in gold.

Before the brainwashed mass of guards could even begin to react, an entire legion of Canterlot’s finest plowed straight into their ranks, shattering spears and bowling over entire platoons before they even knew what hit them.

Suddenly, it wasn’t the battered and weary group still huddled together on the train platform that was outnumbered.

Cries of panic mixed with war cries as the Canterlot Division washed over the Ponyville Division with the power and speed of a tidal wave, uncontested and unmatched, giving their adversaries little time to react at all.

Applejack could only stare in total, near-uncomprehending disbelief as guard after guard charged passed and around her and her friends. Already the Ponyville Division had been pushed back to the buildings on the edge of Ponyville. Only then did true sounds of battle begin.

It was Rainbow who managed to recover the use of her voice first. “Holy mother of Celestia, where’d these guys come from?!”

“Well, I couldn’t let you girls have all the fun.”

Only that voice could’ve caused everypony present to tear their eyes off the spectacle taking place before them and turn to the one pony standing behind them.

The white stallion smiled back at their stunned faces, thoroughly enjoying their reactions.

“Shiny,” Twilight breathed aloud, focus returning to her weary gaze.

Captain Shining Armor smiled more gently at his younger sister as he stepped forward. “Sorry I’m late, Twiley,” he said, giving her a one-armed hug.

“Then… then, you got the letter?” Twilight asked, peering up at her brother. Her head still rang like a church bell, and focusing on anything felt like torture. But for this… for this, she could bear it.

“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Shining stated simply, stepping away once more, a smile still on his face. “All I know is that Princess Celestia ordered us mobilized and ready to fight.”

He glanced away from his weary sister for a moment, surveying first her friends and then the battle raging in the streets beyond the train platform.

Already the changeling-controlled division was rallying. Clanging spears and shouting filled the rainy morning air. Flashes of explosive magic were once more lighting up the gloom as unicorn platoons dueled throughout the streets.

“I have to say, though; I wasn’t expecting to be fighting Steel Shod’s men,” Shining added, frowning. “I almost didn’t give the signal to charge until I saw you guys on the platform.”

Twilight grimaced, rubbing her horn fitfully. “Yeah… changelings do that.”

That got Shining’s attention. “Did you say ‘changelings’?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow interjected, “And they’re using the guards as meat shields.”

Everyone winced at the bluntness in her choice of words.

“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Shining stated with certainty.

Rainbow couldn’t help but grin at that, already eager to get back into the fight. She could be tired later; there were butts to kick now.

“Aw yeah, and now we got our own army to back us up!” Rainbow cheered, her bravado coming back with a vengeance.

But Shining only gave her a rueful grin. “I hate to break it to you, but we’re not the cavalry. We’re just the entourage.”

~~***~~

“Ah, that’s so much better,” Rarity sighed, trotting happily out of a steam-filled bathroom, her mane and coat damp but presentable.

She hadn’t gone through her entire grooming routine, however; there was a state of emergency that needed dealing with. But the important thing was that she was once more comfortable in her own coat and thus decidedly less inclined to commit equicide on the next living thing she came across.

“Twilight, darling,” Rarity called through the library, “You really must tell me where you get such lovely mane conditioner!”

But when nopony answered, Rarity couldn’t help but pause. Usually her friend was quite punctual with her replies. She was considerate like that.

So, still magicking a brush through her mane as she walked, Rarity made her way to the ground level, feeling equal parts miffed and concerned.

But when she entered the main room of the library, she wasn’t met with the sight of all of her friends.

No, she only spotted two, plus one rather gargantuan bear.

Spike, Fluttershy and her bear friend were all leaning up against the front door to the library. And not just leaning casually either; the grizzly had his back pinned to the door, his clawed feet scrabbling against the ground as he forced his entire weight against it.

And a moment later, Rarity found out why.

The entire library shook with the force of a collision on the front door. It was hard enough to just barely shift the bear a fraction of an inch, the door bowing out in a way that couldn’t be structurally healthy.

And then she heard the voices. Quite angry voices, by the sounds of them.

“Open up right now!” someone was bellowing on the other side of the door as it was struck again.

“No one’s home!” Fluttershy squealed. She was pushing both hooves against her animal friend’s fuzzy belly, but with little to no effect. Every blow on the door nearly toppled her onto her backside every time.

“We can hear you, idiot!” bellowed the pony on the other side of the door, followed by another attempted breach.

“No you can’t!” Fluttershy squeaked in a tiny voice barely audible by even the ones in the same room as her.

Rarity could only blink in surprise, taken aback. “Fluttershy… what’s going on?”

The yellow pegasus snapped her head around to look at the unicorn. Nearly instantly she’d spun around completely and folded herself into a sitting postion, as if trying to cover up misbehaving.

“Oh, hello Rarity,” she said with a small smile. “Are you feeling better?”

Rarity blinked once more as she started to step closer, confusion and concern warring in her head. “Are you alright, dear?”

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said, then paused. “Well, kind of… okay, no, not really.”

“Don’t worry, Rarity!” chimed in Spike, using his best valiant voice, “Nothing’s getting through this—”

Bang!

Another powerful blow landed on the door – this time one so powerful it punted the baby dragon halfway across the library like a soccer ball.

“Meant to do that!” Spike said loudly as he sprang to his feet and rushed back to the door.

“What is taking so long? Hurry up and break down that door!”

With another unified bellow, the door to the library trembled and groaned.

Outside, four burly guards backed up, then body-slammed the door to Golden Oaks Library with all of their combined weight.

And yet the door itself barely even budged. Its front was ruined by countless hoof imprints etched into the red-painted wood. Deep cracks and fractures spider-webbed across the door, and each impact of a guard added still more cracks.

It couldn’t last much longer, and yet the barrier refused to fall.

Behind the group of guards, a single changeling glowered. “Captain Vigil wants those ponies and that baby dragon now! Put your backs into it, maggots!”

An entire regiment of guards stood patiently at his back, waiting for the moment they would be called into action.

Another heavy impact, and the door buckled a little.

Just one more…

But what he heard next wasn’t the satisfying sound of the door splintering.

No, it was the resounding boom as the sky overhead ripped itself open.

The storm clouds were blown wide apart, wide enough to cut the rain short over a whole block.

And through that rend in the sky came the blinding light of day far brighter than the hour should’ve warranted.

The regiment of guards spun around, hooves raised to protect their eyes from the blinding light as a beacon as bright as the sun fell from the sky, borne by huge, angelic wings.

Guards, changelings and cowering ponies alike could only stare in shock and awe as Princess Celestia herself set her hooves down on the beleaguered city streets.

The very air around her crackled and heated. Steam rose around her hooves as rain water vaporized.

There was no benevolent smile on her face, or matronly kindness. There was only a graceful scowl far belying the anger just barely kept in check.

“I am only going to say this once,” she stated, an edge to her tone. “Lay down your arms and surrender. You will not come to harm.”

The changeling hesitated, then cocked a chitinous eyebrow. “And what can the benevolent, peace-loving princess of Equestria threaten us with?”

His horn flared for a moment, and as one the regiment of guards spun on their heels to face their former monarch, lowering their spears mechanically.

But Celestia was unmoved. “It would be unwise for you to find out.”

The changeling only snickered. “Please. You were beaten by Queen Chrysalis. You don’t have a vicious bone in your body.”

Again his horn flared, exerting his control over the guards around him. “Kill her.”

But the guards didn’t move.

After a moment, the changeling’s smirk faltered as he looked around. “Did you lot not hear me? I said kill her!”

Nothing. The guards stayed motionless, muscles tensing but unresponsive.

With a snarl, the changeling flared his horn again. The guards’ eyes glowed like emerald coals, but they refused to move.

“What in the name of Phantasma is going on?! Why aren’t you listening to me?!”

“Perhaps,” offered Celestia calmly, drawing his attention, “You underestimate the convictions of my Guard.”

The changeling only stared in shock and dawning comprehension as Celestia’s long horn came to life.

And out of her horn burst an explosion of golden light as bright and resplendent as the day.

For a moment, all was lost to the light as it bathed over everything like an earthbound sun.

The changeling could only yelp and cover his eyes in fear as everything around him was whited out, the searing light burning like a midsummer’s day against his exposed chitin.

But just as suddenly as it started, the light faded again, until there was nothing but gloomy skies once more.

The changeling blinked, but after a cursory scan, he found himself to still be in one peace.

He peeked through his hooves – literally through them – and sure enough, he found Celestia still looking back at him, calm and unthreatened.

And after a moment, he saw why.

The guards were shaking their heads, some popping themselves in the temples as if trying to alleviate a headache.

They blinked, then opened their eyes. Their plain, un-enchanted eyes.

“H-how did you…,” squeaked the changeling, but all he achieved was garnering the attention of everyone around him.

“Changeling!” somepony shouted, and suddenly an entire regiment’s worth of weaponry was aimed at the little drone’s body, walling him in.

Celestia only looked down on the changeling, meeting the disbelieving look he was giving her with cool pity.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

~~***~~

Twilight could only stare at the column of warm, radiant sunlight beaming down over the heart of Ponyville.

She and her friends stood there, mouths agape. Of all the possibilities, she had not been expecting the princess of the sun herself to make an appearance, much less get involved in the conflict.

Her sentiments were not alone, either. Changelings all across the battlefield were pausing, real fear in their eyes now, giving their adversaries a chance to push them back still further.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said with a mixture of awe and shock. “She… she came?”

“She’s the one that mobilized the division,” Shining explained. “She didn’t explain why, but now I see she had good reason.”

But nopony else standing on the train platform was quite as mystified. Several pairs of eyes turned automatically, facing towards the distant tree line of the Everfree; towards the same spot that’d once been alight for all to see…

There was one pony, however, who didn’t look.

Applejack gazed out over the battlefield with a heavy expression. It wasn’t just physical weariness that was plaguing her. It was something else.

Her anger had subsided, tamped by the shock she’d just endured. But it wasn’t gone; it was merely in check once more.

Every now and then, she’d glance up towards the gaping hole in the cloud cover and up towards the bright sapphire sky peeking in on the drenched, war-torn city below.

That sight should’ve been a joyous one. Not only had the gloom been banished somewhat, but one of the royal pony sisters themselves had come to fix things. Things might finally, finally, be going their way.

But, to Applejack, it meant something else entirely.

She was almost out of time…

“Shining Armor…,” Applejack said grimly, catching the captain’s attention. For a moment, she kept her eyes on the unfolding battle, each clang of metal and pony cry falling on her heart like a lead weight.

But then she squared her shoulders. She forced herself to stand up taller.

She wasn’t beaten yet. She could fix this. She would fix this. One way or another…

Applejack turned then, meeting the guard captain’s questioning gaze. “We gotta get to the guard post,” she said. “It’s the only way we’re gonna stop the changelin’s attackin’ Ponyville.”

“She’s right,” Twilight added, stepping up beside her. “The changeling leader is keeping ponies captive there. If we can free them, the changelings will be crippled.”

The guard captain couldn’t help but give his sister a surprised look. By now Shining Armor should’ve been used to the seemingly limitless boundaries of Twilight’s knowledge, but every now and then she said something to catch him completely by surprise. This was no exception.

“Are you sure, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded with absolute certainty. “Trust me.”

That was all the reason her brother needed. After all, though he’d never ever admit it to his little sister, there was debt he owed her, one he had every intention of repaying someday. “Alright. Once we’ve met up with Princesses Celestia, I’ll rally some troops and we’ll push towards the guard post.”

Twilight started to nod in agreement, but ground to a halt halfway down when someone spoke nearby.

“That won’t work.”

That was when Shining noticed the lime green mare standing unobtrusively off to one side. The fact that he’d completely missed her up until that point sent warning bells through his head, instinctively tensing every muscle in his body.

Without thinking, he imposed himself between the unknown quantity and his weary, still slightly unsteady sister, frowning suspiciously at the stranger.

“Who are you?” he asked sharply, using his best authoritative voice.

What really took him by surprise, however, was when two of the nearest ponies leapt between the two of them, waving frantically.

“Wait!” Rainbow cried, hovering in the air in front of Shining’s face. “Time out, time out! She’s on our side.”

“Rainbow’s right,” Applejack agreed. “Hyacinth’s been helpin’ us out!”

Shining looked hardly convinced. He’d already heard the magic word – changelings – and was now plenty wary because of it.

But when Twilight tugged lightly on his armor – something she hadn’t done in a while, he noted, not since the hornache she got after getting her cutie mark – Shining felt himself waver ever so slightly.

“It’s alright, Shiney,” Twilight said, meeting her brother’s gaze. “She’s on our side.”

Shining Armor paused, suspicion still warring in his mind. But the word of his little sister was a hard thing to simply cast aside…

“Alright,” he said grudgingly, not relaxing in the slightest as he turned back to the unknown pony. He may have faith in Twilight, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of his own assessments. “Then tell me; why won’t what work?”

Hyacinth’s frown deepened for a moment before she spoke. “We can’t afford to waste time going from one end of Ponyville to the other,” she stated. “I understand that Princess Celestia must be protected, but if we don’t push towards the post now, we will lose our only chance to resolve this before it’s too late.”

Shining frowned even more, still far from swayed. “In case you haven’t noticed, my men and the princess are resolving the situation right now. Whatever the changelings are up to, it won’t go any further than this.”

Hyacinth could tell that Shining had already made up his mind; nothing she said would’ve even dented his resolve. The stubborn look on his face attested to that, and it was not putting her in a better mood.

Quite the opposite; she was starting to lose her patience.

Hyacinth raised a hoof, thrusting it out towards the brawl taking place just beyond the train station.

“Tell me, captain, how many changelings do you see out there?” she asked pointedly.

Shining’s eyes narrowed further, but he humored her and cast an eye out over the battle.

Guards dueled with guards in a body-to-body skirmish of clashing steel and thunderous hooves.

Pegasi bobbed and weaved through the air, fighting an aerial battle like sparring birds of prey.

Unicorns exchanged fierce spells back and forth, alternating between barrages of magic and protective shields, supercharging the air with crackling arcane energies.

Earth ponies abandoned all pretenses altogether and were locked in a block-wide hoof fight, shattering spears and inflicting more than one concussion courtesy of flying bucks going this way and that.

It was a scene of absolute pandemonium, with friends and enemies being hardly distinguishable at all. Gold clad stallions warred with gold clad stallions, and it was getting increasingly difficult to tell who was who, and which side was actually winning.

But the more Shining looked, the more he saw the same thing; stallions, and stallions alone were locked in intense battle.

There wasn’t so much as an icy blue glint or flicker of emerald fire to be seen, nor the little black buzzing nightmares they belonged to.

Within only a few sparse seconds, Shining came to a very perplexing – and even more foreboding – conclusion; that there wasn’t a single changeling in sight.

He’d been certain he’d seen them when the train had first pulled up. There was no way he’d missed those telltale eyes in the crowd.

But now… they were gone. Completely and totally gone.

“You see, don’t you,” Hyacinth spoke up suddenly, snapping the guard captain’s attention back to her.

Hyacinth was still frowning at him, her eyes never once deviating from Shining. “Vigil is pulling out,” she stated. “He’s about to withdraw so he and his troops can regroup and bide their time, waiting for the perfect time to strike again.”

She pointed again to the pitched battle being waged by fraternal enemies. “Steel Shod’s men won’t stop fighting until the changelings either let them go or can’t maintain control any longer. All you and your men are accomplishing is exactly what Vigil wants!”

Shining paused, glancing out over the battle again. But this time, he didn’t seem quite so resolute as before.

“We need to get to the guard post now,” Hyacinth continued to stress, “or else we may never get the chance to end this for good!”

For a moment, Shining thought about it, long and hard. What she was saying made sense, but he stilled failed to see one important detail.

“Why?” he asked, refocusing his gaze on Hyacinth. “Why would this ‘Vigil’ do this?”

Hyacinth’s face spasmed for a brief second, her patience wearing dangerously thin. “We don’t have –”

“Cuz he’s after me.”

Both ponies fell silent, eyes turning to the side.

Applejack turned her head to meet their gazes, her ears wilted, her tone coming dangerously close to being pained. “All of this is my fault. The changelin’s are attackin’ Ponyville and hurtin’ innocent ponies cuz they’re after me.”

Shining’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but he didn’t say anything.

Applejack felt her other friend’s eyes on her – one pair in particular – but she ignored them and kept talking.

“But,” she went on, strength returning to her voice and features, “Ah promise ta set it right.”

She turned to fully face Shining, her demeanor completely free from doubts or reservations. “That’s why Ah’m goin’ to the guard post, one way or another.”

Shining was rather taken aback. Having a declaration such as that thrown in one's face was difficult to counter, that was for sure.

He was distracted, however, when Twilight spoke up, her tone reaching an almost panicked pitch.

“Wait a minute, Applejack. We should go to Princess Celestia first. Don’t you think she deserves an explanation?”

Applejack paused under the look Twilight was giving her. There was more to that question, more than she was saying.

Don’t you think we deserve an explanation?

Applejack bit her lip for a moment, but didn’t back down. “Ah know, Twi’. But ya have ta trust me, alright? If we wait, Ponyville ain't never gonna be safe as long as Vigil is out there, and he’s gonna stay out there until he gets what he wants, or Ah stop ‘em.”

Her expression hardened, her insides clenching at that notion. “Ah ain't gonna let that happen. Nopony else gets hurt cuz o’ me.”

“Then, we’re coming with you,” Twilight said firmly, but at this her brother interjected.

“No way, Twiley; you’re not leaving my sight,” he stated with finality. “Cadance would kill me if anything ever happened to you, not to mention mother.”

Twilight really looked panicked now. She kept looking between her friend and brother, warring with her desire to remain by her side and with her need to make sure the princess was still alright – as unlikely as it was that she’d actually be hurt.

She opened her mouth again, ready to argue to the death. But a soft nudge on her side brought the pointless, panicked ranting to an end.

Automatically, Twilight turned her head, only to find Pinkie smiling slightly at her.

“It’s okay, Twilight,” she said softly. That alone made Twilight pause and listen. “We’ll just have to be really, super-de-duper fast, right?”

“Pinkie, what are you saying?” Twilight asked nervously.

Pinkie merely glanced away from Twilight, a knowing smile on her face. “We’re not gonna stop her,” she said.

Twilight blinked, then turned around.

And in that gut-wrenching moment, she saw an orange farm pony bolting across the cratered, broken square in a dead gallop.

“Applejack!” Twilight cried, jolting forward automatically. But it wasn’t Shining that caught her first. It was Pinkie.

“Pinkie, what are you –” Twilight gasped.

But all she got was a sad smile in return.

“We can’t do anything for her now,” Shining said, though he sounded more than a little upset by that. “Come on! The sooner we rally with the princess, the quicker we can go find her!”

“But…,” Twilight mumbled desperately, fear clawing at her heart.

“It’s alright, Twilight.”

She turned once more to Pinkie, who was still smiling at her. When their eyes met, her smile only grew bigger and toothy. “Applejack said it, didn’t she? She’s gonna make everything better.”

“How can you say that?” Twilight said, somewhere between exasperation, frustration and fear.

“That’s easy,” Pinkie giggled. “She doesn’t lie. Remember?”

Twilight just stared at her, wide eyed. “Pinkie…”

The party pony looked away from her, still smiling almost serenely, eyes turning to follow their friend as she ran away.

Specifically, on the whole, unblemished tail that trailed behind her.

“Applejack never lies.”

~~***~~

Applejack tore as fast as she could through the chaos and mayhem, heedless to the voice calling her name behind her. Her eyes were pinned on the distant tower looming on the horizon.

Her jaw was set, her mind made up.

This was how it ended. One way or another.

“So…”

Applejack very nearly fell on her face out of sheer surprise. She whipped her head around in shock, but sure enough, there was a cyan pegasus flying almost lazily on her back right beside her.

“Are we really gonna be running the whole way?” Rainbow asked.

“Rainbow,” Applejack sighed, turning her eyes to watch where she was going once more. “Ah suppose it was a bit of a stretch hopin’ ya’d stick with Twi’.”

“Wow, you really need to pick your bets better,” Rainbow remarked, soliciting a begrudging chuckle from her friend.

“You’re not doing this by yourself, AJ,” Rainbow added, her tone becoming serious.

“Ah know,” Applejack replied, smiling at her friend.

Rainbow smiled back cockily, then jerked her head over her shoulder. “Come on, cowpony. We got us a town to save.”

Applejack nodded. She hopped, crouched low, then sprang high into the air, legs splaying out wide.

But instead of the cold, unforgiving ground coming up to meet her, she found a soft, slightly muddy and burned pegasus there to break her fall.

She wrapped three of her legs around Rainbow’s shoulders and midriff tightly and clamped the fourth down hard on her Stetson, just as the pegasus shouted “Hang on!” tilted her nose up, and with a single, powerful flap of her wings, the two friends shot up into the sky.

~~***~~

Vigil watched from his balcony, his eyes locked on the prismatic comet tail arching through the smoke and dust clouds obscuring Ponyville.

He just stood there, watching the two mares closing in.

He did not panic. He did not run for cover or even show the faintest trace of anxiety.

No, all he felt was anticipation.

Everything was finally going according to plan.

Author's Note

Finally, FINALLY this is done. Ugh, you people would not believe how frustrating it's been working on this.
And guess what? I cut it short again! Le sigh...
But, that means I can now devote a whole chapter to the final battle, so... there's that.

Thank you all for the continued patience, by the way. I know the updates have been getting slower and slower, but I appreciate the lack of 'MOAR' spamming in my inbox. Knocking on wood right now

Anyway, let me know what you think, as always, and I'll see you in the next one.