Lunar Orbit

Chapters

Mortal Deleted Scenes: Alicornication
Mortal Deleted Scenes: Tea
Mortal Deleted Scenes: Epilogue
One Giant Leap
Starcraft: Wings of Everfree
Durance
Me Little Pirate: Friendship Be Magic
Nightmare
Sunset
Where The Heart Is
Marked
The Weather Merchants
The King's Lament
The Counterfeit Sister
The Elements of Style, Part 2
Untitled Discord Fragment

Mortal Deleted Scenes: Alicornication

I started writing Mortal long before season 3 started and rumors of Twilight's ascension began. The opening was somewhat different. The original prologue is below, followed by the first scene from chapter 1.

The carriage wheels tore up small clumps of sod as they rolled through the cemetery, slowing to a halt before a row of pristine marble tombstones. The unicorn pulling the carriage shrugged the harness over his rich vermilion coat and, with a heavy sigh, let it fall to the ground. His breath steamed faintly in the cool air.

The unicorn ambled to the side of the carriage and opened the door. “We’re here, Mom,” he said.

“Thank you, darling,” came the response from inside. “Help me down, please.”

An elderly white unicorn tottered out of the carriage, leaning heavily on her son as she went. Her withered legs were barely thicker than her horn, except for the swollen joints at knee and shoulder. Her mane was the same arresting violet it had been in her youth, but the chemicals Rarity used to maintain its color and shape had left the hairs thin and brittle. She wore a heavy coat and matching shawl against the cold.

On her other side, she was supported by an old friend. Fluttershy’s body showed few signs of her age; although her mane had faded to a rose-tinted white, she moved with all the grace and power of a mare of forty.

Behind them, a rolled-up blanket and a wicker basket floated in a nimbus of azure light. Rarity’s magic, at least, was as strong as ever. She leaned on Fluttershy while she telekinetically spread the blanket in front of a tombstone. She made her slow way over, supported by the ponies on both sides, before they gently settled her onto the blanket. Fluttershy opened the basket and produced a chocolate cake, a bottle of champagne, and a pair of bright orange party hats.

The younger unicorn stood up. “I’ll be at the fountain when you need me.” He turned to go.

“Sunstone.” Fluttershy put a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s so sweet of you to take us out here.”

“I know how much this means to Mom. To both of you. I’m happy to do this.”

“One of my grandfoals should be helping you, at least.”

“They’re busy. It’s apple bucking season, and they’ve got to worry about the wedding in a couple of weeks, too.” Sunstone wiped the sweat from his brow. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not too old to pull a carriage just yet.” He trotted off, leaving the two old friends alone.

Fluttershy slipped the garish hat on Rarity’s head before putting on her own. “This is the smallest birthday party we’ve had,” she said.

Rarity’s teeth were clenched tight. She magically popped open the bottle and poured two flutes of champagne. Two more glasses sat untouched in the basket. “You know Rainbow Dash doesn’t like to come here anymore. Not since Applejack died.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Still, for Pinkie’s birthday… well, I hoped.”

“It’s her decision.” Rarity’s voice was firm, but she looked at the ground as she spoke. “I do wonder where Twilight is, though. It isn’t like her to be late.”

“Oh, that’s right. She left this.” Fluttershy reached into the basket and produced a scroll. Rarity floated it across the blanket and unrolled it.

My dearest friends,

I’m so sorry, but I’ll have to miss Pinkie Pie’s birthday party this year, as Princess Celestia has called me to Canterlot. I explained how important this day is, but she insisted. I’m sure she has a good reason. Make sure to save me a piece of cake.

In Memoriam,

Twilight Sparkle

Rarity frowned. “The princess had better have a marvelous excuse for this.”

“Let’s not get angry,” said Fluttershy. “Not today.”

“I suppose not.” Rarity straightened her shoulders. “Shall we begin?”

Fluttershy nodded. She set several candles in the cake and lit them. Rarity looked up at the tombstone. She swallowed once, then again, and began to sing. Softly, Fluttershy joined in.

“Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Pinkie
Happy—”

Both ponies pulled back as two bursts of magenta flame sprang into existence before them. The wind whipped the hoof-sized firebursts away, leaving two scrolls to fall to the blanket, one in front of each pony. The messages were sealed with purple wax bearing the mark of a six-pointed star.

The friends exchanged a look, then opened the letters. A quick glance confirmed that the contents were identical.

I have big news. Meet me at the library as soon as you can.
-T.S.

Rainbow Dash flew low to the ground, Twilight’s mysterious message still running through her head. She longed to put on a final burst of speed to reach the library door, but fought down the urge. The doctors all said that if she pushed herself too hard, her wing might give out entirely and she’d never fly again. That would be—

She stopped herself. She couldn’t even think about it. And so she flew slowly, as though the excitement wasn’t burning a hole in her chest. They hadn’t gone on an adventure since… Sun and Moon, it must’ve been fifteen years, at least. It was before Pinkie’s grandkids found their cutie marks, anyway.

She banished thoughts of the past as she landed and pushed her way into the library. Rainbow Dash barely had time to notice Rarity and Fluttershy, propped up on cushions in the middle of the room, before she found herself shouting for joy and leaping forward, ignoring the twinge in her shoulder.

Rainbow Dash buried her face in Twilight’s neck. “Stars above,” Dash gasped. “It’s incredible.”

Twilight returned her friend’s nuzzle. “It is rather a lot to get used to,” she said.

“Let me look at you.” Rainbow Dash pulled herself away and took a step backwards. Twilight Sparkle had changed. Her mane and coat glistened faintly with an inner light. Her horn was longer and finer, yet it somehow seemed more solid, more real, than ever before. And those wings. Sun and Moon, those wings. They were graceful, powerful, sleek… even during her prime, Rainbow Dash would have done anything for wings like those.

Rainbow Dash looked her friend up and down for well over a minute, trying and failing to keep from giggling at the sheer joy of seeing Twilight Sparkle looking so incredible. Finally, she spoke. “You got young.”

It was true. Twilight’s body was strong and lean. She stood straight and tall for the first time in years. The wrinkles were gone from her face, her coat had regained its luster, and the vibrant streak of rose had returned to her mane. More than that, she carried herself with the energy and confidence they had all lacked for decades.

Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Technically it’s ageless, not young.”

“But, what is…” Rainbow Dash paused, searching for words and finding none. “I mean, what?”

“I was just telling the others,” said Twilight. “Princess Celestia told me she’d always hoped I’d be ready for this, and that now she’s confident I have what it takes, and then she helped me look within myself and find the potential to change, and then… and then this.”

Rainbow Dash felt like her grin was going to split her face in two. “Oh my gosh. This is… oh my gosh. I’m so proud of you.”

“We all are,” said Fluttershy. “You’ve worked so hard for this.”

“So how does it work, exactly?” said Rarity. “Any heavenly powers?”

“I’m not actually sure yet,” said Twilight. “There’s a lot more that Princess Celestia needs to tell me, but I just had to teleport back and show you girls before anything else. I’ll tell you the details as soon as I can.”

“Man, who cares about that?” said Rainbow Dash. “What’s important is that you’re a princess from now on. I mean, you’ll be a princess forever!”

“Oh, my,” said Fluttershy. “I didn’t even think of that. Do we have to call you ‘Princess’ now?”

“Well, you don’t have to,” said Twilight. “But yeah, it’s ‘Princess Twilight’ to most ponies, I guess.”

Rarity wiped away a tear. “Your brother would be so happy if he could see this.”

“Heh.” Twilight smiled wistfully. “He’d be the only member of the family who wasn’t an alicorn.” She sighed. “I still miss him. I guess I’ll have to get used to outliving ponies.”

“That reminds me,” said Fluttershy. “We brought back the cake, like you asked.”

“What cake?” Twilight shot her a blank look. “Oh, wait. Right. Thank you, I’d love some.”

Rarity levitated the chocolate cake out of the picnic basket resting by her hooves. “What about you, Rainbow Dash? Care to join us?”

“I dunno.” Rainbow Dash shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. “You guys know this is a little creepy.”

“You didn’t have a problem with it last year,” said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash’s head whipped around to face Twilight. “Things were different last year.”

“Quite right,” said Rarity. “We’ve always had this little memorial with five of us, before. Going down to four is bad enough. Please don’t make it three.”

“It’s what Pinkie would want,” said Fluttershy. “She’d hate for you to be sad today.”

“Okay, fine,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s still weird, though.”

This next scene occurred early in chapter 1, after Twilight's first conversation with Celestia.

“There you are.” Twilight opened her eyes to see Princess Cadence. “I see Celestia’s started your training already.”

“Yeah,” said Twilight. “It’s tough, though. I don’t think I’m making much progress.”

Cadence nodded. “I remember how hard it was when I first learned. Here, come with me. You look like you need a break, and there are other parts of being an alicorn that you need to learn about.”

Twilight followed as Cadence made her way to the balcony. “Like what?” she asked.

“Like this.” Cadence unfurled her wings and leapt over the railing. She flew in a short curve to face Twilight again, hovering in place. “Come on out here, and I’ll teach you some of the basics.”

Twilight peered over the balcony’s edge. The Gloaming Tower extended past the edge of the cliff that supported Canterlot. She found herself looking down a drop of several thousand feet to the gently rolling hills below. “Maybe I should stay over the balcony.” Twilight flexed her wings. “I haven’t actually used these things yet.”

“Not once?”

Twilight shook her head. “I’ve been more focused on the magic side of things. My unicorn magic is so much more powerful, and there’s alicorn magic to explore, too. I just haven’t had time.”

“We’ll have to fix that.” Cadence alighted atop the railing. “The first thing is to make sure you beat your wings in time with each other. If they’re not coordinated, you won’t stay level. Go ahead, give it a try.”

Twilight tried. It took several attempts, and Cadence had to correct her form more than once. Her wings still felt foreign, like they were a part of somepony else’s body that had been accidentally loaned to her. Eventually, however, Twilight managed to heave herself off the ground.

“Hah!” she cried. “I’m flying! I’m actually flying!” Twilight hovered perhaps a foot above the balcony—or attempted to hover. She tilted and jerked from side to side in her fight to stay upright. It didn’t feel weightless, like she’d expected; instead, it felt as though she was constantly clawing her way upwards while gravity hauled her down. A heady, invigorating feeling overcame her, like galloping across an open plain and scaling a cliff face at the same time.

“Good job,” said Cadence. “You always were a quick learner.” She hopped off the railing and hovered in the open air. “Now follow me. I’ve got plenty more to show you.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I’m still new at this. Falling to my death is not part of the plan.”

“You’ll be fine. You’re immortal, remember? I’ve put myself back together after worse scrapes.”

Twilight grinned and flew her shaky way beyond the balcony. Cadence folded her wings and dove. With a whoop of awe and terror, Twilight followed.

Mortal Deleted Scenes: Tea

“Remind me again. Do I put the leaves in now or after?”

“Boil the water first, then add the leaves,” Rarity called from outside the kitchen. “I’m surprised you don’t remember. That’s how many times you’ve done this for me?”

“I dunno,” said Rainbow Dash. “A bunch. Tea’s not exactly my special talent, though, y’know?” She put the kettle over the stove, then went back out to the lounge of the Carousel Boutique and sat down across from Rarity at a mahogany table.

“Thank you nevertheless,” said Rarity. “I’m glad you came by, and not only because of your mobility. We don’t see enough of each other. I know getting back up to your house isn’t easy on your wings.”

Rainbow Dash shuffled her hooves. “I can use the exercise anyway. Besides, I don’t want to leave you alone in an empty house like this.”

“I’ll have you know this is highly unusual. My husband is seeing the doctor about his stomach, but he should be back before too long. My son is off doing… well, I don’t know what, but it’s high time he did it. That colt spends entirely too much time around the house.”

“Hey, you can’t blame him for taking care of his mom.”

“I know,” said Rarity, “and I don’t know how I’d possibly manage without him. I just wish Sunstone could be living his own life instead of waiting around for mine to end. A colt his age ought to have children of his own. Anyway, if you can worry about my living situation, then I get to worry about yours. Moving back into that old cloud house? Really?”

“It’s fine.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I’ve always been a pretty independent pony. I just need some space lately, is all.”

“If you say so.” An uncomfortable quiet descended on the two ponies.

The silence was broken by a high-pitched whistle. “Oh, hey, there’s your tea. Be right back.”

Rainbow Dash hurried into the kitchen and found Rarity’s porcelain tea set. Not for the first time, she found herself wishing Rarity could get tea bags like a normal pony instead of insisting on this loose-leaf stuff. Soon enough, she returned, bearing a kettle of what hopefully tasted like tea.

“Thank you, darling.” Rarity levitated the kettle and poured herself a cup. “Would you be a dear and fetch that pamphlet on the shelf, there? I think you might be interested.”

Rainbow Dash went to the shelf. “The Wonderbolts Derby? Why do you have a Wonderbolts Derby schedule?” She grabbed the pamphlet and returned to the table, only to find Rarity had poured her a cup of tea. Rainbow Dash suppressed a sigh. Rarity meant well, but Rainbow had never managed to acquire the taste for the stuff.

“I was thinking we could all take a trip to Canterlot,” said Rarity. “It will be such fun, now that Twilight is an actual princess. Can you even imagine? And we’d be just in time to attend the big race, of course. The Wonderbolts would be thrilled. You know how much they look up to you.”

“All the way to Canterlot? Rarity, you can’t even make it to the kitchen.” Rainbow Dash took a polite sip of her tea. She instantly regretted her decision as the drink scalded her tongue.

“I know, I know. But Sunstone is so helpful. I’m sure we’ll make it work.”

“Weren’t you just telling me how he needs to live his own life?”

“I suppose,” said Rarity. “It’s just that I haven’t been anywhere in ages. I try to be gracious, but it can be hard. It’s like life has slowed down, somehow. We used to go everywhere. We used to be so free. It’s just so frustrating.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash flexed her wing muscles, feeling the too-familiar twinge deep within. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Author's Note

This scene was supposed to go in the first chapter. It's one of my favorite bits of exposition, but the mood totally killed the Laughter theme I was going for, and unfortunately I couldn't find another place where it would fit.

Mortal Deleted Scenes: Epilogue

Twilight Sparkle followed behind her youngest son as they made their way through the cemetery. He walked slowly, eyes lingering on every grave before he moved on. “There’s so many,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine that every one of these used to be a pony.”

“Yes,” said Twilight. Sunrise was young, not quite eighty years old. Nopony had died for a millennium before his birth. “It wasn’t just ponies, you know. Zebras and changelings and everyone else used to die, too.”

Sunrise stopped and looked at her. “Everyone?”

Twilight nodded. “Everyone.” Explaining death to the younger generations was always a challenge. Sometimes the idea of it seemed absurd even to her.

“Sun and stars,” said Sunrise. “How could anypony go through the day, knowing everyone was going to die?”

Twilight concentrated, remembering. “I guess it was the only way we knew how.”

Sunrise turned away and tapped the nearest tombstone with a wingtip. “Who was this one?”

The stone was inscribed with a sigil of a shooting star. It wasn’t the original headstone, of course; they had been replaced more than once, when the granite wore away. “Her name was Cloudchaser.”

He walked on. “And this one?”

Three butterflies. “Fluttershy.”

Twilight thought she had hidden the catch in her voice, but she never could slip anything past Sunrise. He looked back at her. “Tell me about Fluttershy.”

“To be honest, I don’t really remember. It’s been so long.” Almost three thousand years. “She was a good friend, though, I remember that. I loved her very much.”

A shadow flitted over her. Moments later, Rainbow Dash landed beside them. “Hey, guys. Honey Apple said I’d find you here.”

“Grandma!” Sunrise embraced Rainbow Dash almost before she finished landing. She wasn’t literally the kid’s grandmother. Three or four “great”s preceded the title, but it had been a long, long time since ponies had paid attention to such things. “This is a nice surprise.”

“Yeah, well,” said Rainbow Dash, “I wanted to be here the first time you saw this.”

“You were there during the first days, right?”

Rainbow nodded. “I was there, alright. I’m the third alicorn there ever was, not counting the Royals.”

“What was it like, before?”

It was several seconds before Rainbow Dash answered. “Scary. It was scary, and it hurt. And it was frustrating during those early centuries, when so many ponies still chose to die. Watching that without helping was real hard.”

“I don’t understand,” said Sunrise. “Why would a pony choose to die?”

“They thought it was the right thing to do,” said Twilight. “I thought so too, for a long time.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Not for that long.”

“Long enough.”

Rainbow Dash followed her gaze to the headstone. “You better not be beating yourself up about Fluttershy again. You were too late for her, but you saved the rest of us.”

“Yeah,” said Sunrise. “Compared to everything you built, what’s one more death?”

Twilight looked at him. “She was my friend.”

“Seriously,” said Rainbow Dash. “You’re making me worry.”

“It’s okay.” Twilight composed herself. “The guilt isn’t a big deal. I can go decades without thinking of it. I only get this way when I’m here, in this place.”

“We can leave,” said Sunrise.

Twilight looked up at the sun, blinking. “No. This is important. You need to understand, and I need to remember.”

“You tell him about Macintosh yet?” said Rainbow Dash.

“No,” said Sunrise. “Who?”

“Oh, have I got some stories for you.” Rainbow Dash indicated the tombstone beside Fluttershy’s. “He was Fluttershy’s husband, way back when. This one time, Scootaloo and her friends—you know Scootaloo, right?—anyway, they hit him with this love potion, only it was super powerful. So then he…”

Twilight tuned out the story and took in the scene, watching her youngest child listen raptly to her oldest friend. In the background, she could see the city that had once been humble Ponyville. It was strange; she had lived there only half a century, but it felt like more of a home than places she had stayed ten times as long.

“Hey, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash was saying. “You there?”

She snapped back to reality. “Sorry, what?”

“I said, let’s go. Pinkie and Rarity will be waiting by now.”

“Waiting?”

Sunrise chuckled. “You really were out of it. Grandma Dash got them to come to Ponyville today.”

Twilight felt a smile creep across her face. “Wow. This is a real reunion.”

“Hey, I know how you get when you come here. I gotta do something. Now are we going, or what?”

“Of course.” Twilight nodded. “Let’s go see our friends.”

Author's Note

This is the original ending I'd planned for Mortal. Ultimately, it raises more questions than it answers, and it draws the focus away from the story's conflict—Twilight's choice between Celestia or everyone else—and towards the high concept. That would've been putting the cart before the horse, so I scrapped this and wrote the final scene with Twilight and Luna instead.

One Giant Leap

Princess Celestia was never alone. Her royal person was the beating heart of the Equestrian nation, and ponies flowed to and fro in a constant stream, bearing order and wisdom to the far corners of the world. She spent most of her time at the center of a crowd, and the rest in small meetings and sober conclaves.

It had taken a good deal of time and effort for Celestia to shoo away the councilors, courtiers, confidants, advisors, admirers, students, servants, bureaucrats, and busybodies who attended her every waking moment, and still she was not quite alone.

“I am glad of thy arrival,” said Luna. “I feared affairs of state would keep thee overlong.”

This was the closest thing to privacy Princess Celestia had known in months. Why, then, did she feel so self-conscious?

“Of course I came,” said Celestia. “I said I would be here, didn’t I?”

The two of them were the only living beings in Luna’s study. Two walls of navy blue were taken up entirely by shelves that stretched three stories to the domed ceiling, every inch crammed with strange tomes, grotesque statuettes, bits of machinery, foreign artwork, and other curios. The other walls were hung with white gossamer curtains. A black marble table sat in the center of the room, with dark purple divans on all four sides.

Luna sank onto one of the divans. “Indeed thou didst,” she said. “Shall we begin?”

Celestia nodded and took a seat opposite her sister, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over her as she did so, as well as… other emotions. Her heart was pounding like an oncoming train, but feigning serenity was like breathing: it took more effort to stop.

Luna’s horn shone faintly as she levitated a game board of polished spruce and two rosewood bowls from one of the lower shelves and slid them softly onto the table. She lifted the lids off the bowls, revealing two sets of small, nearly flat stones, one white and one black.

The corner of Celestia’s mouth twitched up as she took the bowl of white stones. “I’ve missed this,” she said. A millennium of practice, hoping this day would come. “Now, how many stones of handicap do you want?”

“Handicap?” Luna scowled. “I would play this game on even terms.”

Celestia’s smirk never wavered. “You haven’t played Go in a thousand years, Luna.”

“Not true! I have been practicing with Lodestar.”

“Your attendant?” Celestia pursed her lips. “I’m surprised. She doesn’t seem like the type.”

“I taught her,” Luna admitted.

“It’s good to see you two bonding, but a couple of games against a novice can’t undo a millennium of neglecting your skills.”

Luna tossed her head in annoyance, sending her mane drifting like a slow-motion meteor shower. “As thou wilt. Set the handicap.”

“Seven stones.”

Luna glared, but levitated seven black stones across the board. One by one, they struck the traditional starting points with a sharp tak sound. Theoretically, Luna now had control of almost the entire board. In a remotely even match, it would have been an insurmountable advantage.

Of course, Celestia mused as she placed her first stone, it wasn’t a remotely even match. Luna’s strategies would be a millennium out of date and rusted from disuse.

They played in silence for long minutes. Despite Luna’s efforts to keep her contained, Celestia seized control of two corners and began extending her influence towards the center of the board.

“I have missed this as well,” said Luna. She placed a stone, attacking a group of her sister’s pieces. Tak. “How long is it since last we played? Eleven hundred years?”

Celestia ignored the attack and placed a stone in unclaimed territory on the other side of the board. Tak. “One thousand, one hundred, and eighty-three years.”

“Thou rememberst so well?” Tak.

“Very. I offered you a handicap, I can’t remember how much. You rejected it.” Tak. “I started winning. You moved my stones when you thought I wasn’t looking.” The ancient image of her sister’s sullen face, nursing her wounded pride, flashed through Celestia’s mind. She remembered it as vividly as the cackling Nightmare.

Tak. Luna placed a stone in silence.

“I didn’t say anything. I let you think I didn’t notice. I never asked you to play Go again.” Tak. Celestia’s stone connected two of her own threatened groups, strengthening both, and simultaneously attacked Luna’s adjacent group, bringing it one step closer to death. “I should have handled it better. I’m sorry.”

“Thou art apologizing for my dishonesty.” Tak.

Tak. “I’m apologizing for cutting you off when you needed me most.”

“My actions were my own responsibility.” Tak. Luna’s move was an entirely defensive attempt to shore up a wall that had seemed unbreachable a turn ago.

“We’ve had this conversation before. Let’s not have it again. We came here to play Go, not to argue.” Tak.

“In truth, I called thee here for another purpose.” Tak. “I have a request.”

Celestia looked up from the board, a slow smile spreading across her face. “You came up with an innocent reason to see me in private, so nopony would suspect! That’s remarkably deft. Your courtly skills really are coming back.”

“They are indeed. Thus, my request. I wish to resume my full duties as a princess of Equestria.”

“You’re getting there.” Tak. “You did a fine job of leading the rebuilding effort after the changeling attack, and your agricultural commission turned out well enough, aside from that thing about the yams.”

“Minor tasks, worthy of a trusted aide. The Princess of the Night would have more.” Tak. “I have prepared a list of offices I would assume.” Luna levitated a scroll from the shelves behind her and placed it beside Celestia’s bowl of stones.

The parchment crackled as Celestia unrolled it. Her eyes widened at its contents. “What? Luna, this is too much. First Justiciar? Equestrian Treasurer? Minister of Roads? How long does this go on?” She drew the scroll to its full length. It was slightly shorter than the game board.

“It is yet less than a listing of thine own offices.”

“I picked up my duties slowly, over hundreds of years. I never added this much at once. I understand that you want more responsibility, but you shouldn’t overdo it.” Celestia passed the scroll back to Luna. “Pick two of these. We’ll try it out and see how it goes.”

“It is said that we rule Equestria as equals. Is that a lie? Wilt thou deny my commands whenever thou wishst?”

Celestia suppressed a sigh. So this was another of Luna’s attempts to test her boundaries. Well, it was healthier than the months she had spent avoiding her courtly duties. “You’re still recovering,” she said. “You know that. Six months ago, you were too nervous to leave these chambers more than once a week or so. In time you will be my equal again, but for today, you aren’t in any shape to lead a nation.”

“And I presume it is thy sole privilege to determine when I am ready?”

“When you’re ready, you won’t need my permission.”

“Ah.” Luna grinned. “A test, then. I may even enjoy this.”

“That isn’t what I—”

“I will take the third and the twenty-fourth offices I have listed.”

Celestia shrugged inwardly. She wasn’t in the habit of turning down opportunities like this. If Luna wanted a test, then she would have one. Celestia turned back to the scroll. “Minister of Roads, I see. That’s a lot of responsibility, but I’m sure you’ll be up to the challenge. What else?” Her eyes scanned further down. “What, really? I thought that one was here as some kind of joke.”

“I assure you, I am in earnest. That position is vital to my plans.”

Celestia looked up with an incredulous stare. “Captain of the Wonderbolts?”

Spitfire descended through the early morning mist to join her comrades. The Wonderbolts were normally a boisterous lot, shouting and joking whenever more than two of them were in the same place, but today the only sounds were occasional dark mutterings and the wind screaming through Ghastly Gorge. Spitfire landed on the tip of a narrow outcropping, facing her subordinates and putting her back to the gorge. Her strangely elongated shadow stretched out before her.

“Alright, boys and girls!” she shouted. “Quiet down and listen up!” Not that she needed to quiet them, today, but the habit was hard to break. “You’ve probably heard the rumors by now. Well, I just got confirmation. Princess Luna’s taking over.”

A dozen voices broke out at once. Spitfire relaxed inwardly. This, she knew how to deal with.

“SHUT UP!” Spitfire had to shout several times before attention was focused on her once again. “Right. Now, there’s no use complaining. This comes from the big C herself. I tried asking Princess Cadence to stop her, but no luck there. Like it or not, this is happening. Okay? Good. Any questions?”

“Yeah!” A green-scaled hand shot up in the air. “What in the hay does some fancy princess know about running the Wonderbolts?”

“She’s supposed to be thousands of years old,” said Spitfire. “I bet she knows just about everything.” Spitfire wasn’t feeling nearly so confident, but she had to lead by example, at least for the next few minutes.

“But she doesn’t know us,” continued the dragon. Spark wasn’t fully grown, but he was still half again as big as a pony. Getting uniforms made for him was always a pain. “She’s an outsider. I don’t care how wise and powerful she is, she doesn’t know the first thing about how we work.” There was muttered agreement from the ponies around him.

“Hey!” said Spitfire. “She’s still our princess. Let’s remember to—”

“YOUR PRINCESS IS QUITE CAPABLE OF SPEAKING FOR HERSELF.” The force—it was too loud to be merely a voice—shook the ledge under Spitfire’s hooves. Pebbles broke free and tumbled into the gorge. When Spitfire recovered her senses, she turned towards the source of the sound.

Princess Luna rose from the depths of Ghastly Gorge. Spitfire had never seen her in daylight before, but she had to admit it was impressive. Princess Luna was framed by the rising sun, making it painful to look directly at her, but Spitfire couldn’t tear her eyes from the red-gold sheen playing over that immaculate coat. She suddenly understood why Princess Luna had wanted to meet here, of all places.

Princess Luna landed on the ledge beside Spitfire, who unconsciously moved aside to make room. “There are objections to my taking command,” she said at a much more reasonable volume. “I will allay your concerns.”

“Um,” said Spitfire. “Good. How?”

“There is an ancient law, dating back to the origin of the Wonderbolts. When there are multiple qualified contenders for the position of captain, it is tradition to settle the matter with a race.”

“You can’t do that!” Soarin stepped forward from the mass of pegasi. “Nopony’s done that in a thousand years!”

Princess Luna fixed him with a level stare.

“Oh,” said Soarin. “Right. Never mind.”

She turned to Spitfire. “What sayst thou?”

“What if I win?” said Spitfire.

Princess Luna paused. “I had not considered that. What is thy wish?”

“I keep command of the Bolts, of course.”

“Of course.”

Spitfire pressed forward. “And we get a new lounge for the barracks. The old one is getting kinda janky.”

“You will have one regardless. My servitors shall have nothing but the best. I trust that is all?”

“Sure,” said Spitfire. “It’s a deal. Where and when?”

“Here. Now.”

“I like your style.” Spitfire turned to their audience. “Hey, Soarin! You get to be judge. Fleetfoot, you’re picking the course.”

What followed was a chaotic half hour as Fleetfoot marked a route through the gorge and the Wonderbolts spread out to watch. Soarin took his position at the finish line. Spitfire and Princess Luna lined up at the edge of a jagged outcropping. Spitfire stretched her wings while Princess Luna stood placidly.

“We ready?” said Spitfire. Princess Luna nodded.

“Okay,” said Spark. “Ready, and… GO!”

Spitfire leaped off the ledge. At her side, Princess Luna dissolved, turning into a dark blue mist. The mist darted forward, too fast to be seen as anything more than a faint blur. Seconds later, the distant figure of Princess Luna appeared at the finish line.

Spitfire pulled to a halt. “Wait,” she said. “What?”

A burst of cobalt light. Princess Luna hovered at her side with an understated smirk.

“Hold on!” said Spitfire. “That doesn’t count! This is a flying contest, not a… a whatever that was contest!”

“As thou wilt. Return to the start, that I may defeat thee at thine own game. I shall inform our judge of thy request.” Princess Luna teleported away with another cobalt flash.

Spitfire flew back to the ledge. Seconds later, Princess Luna popped into existence beside her. Spitfire spread her wings and put on a brave face, but she was shaken. She had flown races she knew she could win before, and she had flown races she knew she would lose, but she had never flown when she was so thoroughly confused. Spitfire couldn’t help wondering what other tricks Princess Luna had prepared.

“You guys ready?” said Spark. “Alright, GO!”

Both ponies dove off the edge, trading height for speed. They leveled off bare meters above the stagnant river at the base of the gorge. The wind of their passing kicked up two parallel sprays of water as they rocketed forward. Spitfire found herself grinning. This was more like it.

Princess Luna was faster, somehow, but Spitfire had flown Ghastly Gorge more times than she could count. She knew every twist and turn, and more importantly, every whorl and eddy of the wind currents that twisted through the canyon like a bag of angry snakes. Spitfire used every subtle advantage the air could give her, and it was barely enough to keep up. The two ponies flew neck and neck, gaining or losing a few feet depending on the wind.

Halfway through the race, Spitfire’s wings burned with fatigue, and Princess Luna showed no signs of tiring. Still, Spitfire couldn’t keep a confident smirk from her face. Just ahead, the racecourse passed through the infamous Wind Tunnel, a dark cavern that reached to the top of the gorge. The crosswinds inside were strong enough and unpredictable enough to be a serious danger even to experienced flyers—except for a layer of still air just below the cavern’s roof. Spitfire climbed several ponylengths, positioning herself to take the smooth route.

Princess Luna seemed to catch on. She followed Spitfire’s movement, rising up below the pegasus. Princess Luna’s bulk forced Spitfire to rise out of the way rather than risk a crash. With a start, Spitfire realized that Princess Luna was on course for the smooth route, while her own trajectory would carry her straight into the tunnel’s roof. She grimaced and sank, attempting to force her competitor down as she went. Princess Luna responded by veering up. Spitfire hastily followed suit, barely in time to avoid impaling herself on Princess Luna’s horn.

The two ponies continued their shallow climb as they streaked towards the Wind Tunnel. Now they were both on a collision course with the roof, but neither was willing to break away and lose speed. Beads of sweat ran down Spitfire’s face, and not only from exertion. They were barely a dozen yards from the cavern. Spitfire pulled up sharply, prepared to fly a loop and dive into the tunnel. She never got the chance.

Princess Luna simply continued forward. She wrapped her wings tightly around herself just before she slammed into the solid rock of the roof and disappeared in a shower of rubble and dust.

Spitfire halted her flight to hover above the tunnel and watch in horror. The roar of the crash went on and on, sounding like the world’s biggest dragon chewing a mouthful of boulders. The dust faded, revealing a princess-sized hole in the cavern roof, and still the grinding, smashing noise continued. Spitfire could only gape.

The far side of the cavern roof exploded outwards, flinging rocks the size of foals into the river below as Princess Luna burst out of the tunnel. She was now traveling at half her original speed and coated in a layer of pulverized rock, but otherwise none the worse for wear. She unfurled her wings and continued forward, trailing pieces of gravel behind her.

“What?” Spitfire said to nopony in particular. “What in the ever-whatting what?”

It was half a minute before Princess Luna noticed her competition was still hovering in place, dumbfounded. When she did, she reversed course and flew to Spitfire. The rest of the Wonderbolts followed suit, gathering around the two of them in a rough sphere.

“Will that suffice?” said Princess Luna.

“Yeah,” said Spitfire, fighting to keep the quaver from her voice. “Yeah, I think we’re good.”

“Not so fast!” Spark hovered with his arms crossed over his chest. “That was supposed to be a test of flying, without any intrinsic magic. That was definitely intrinsic magic right there.”

“She just flew through fifty yards of solid rock,” said Soarin. “I don’t care if she used her magic whatsits, I think maybe we should do what she says, now.”

“The judge hath spoken,” said Princess Luna.

“Okay,” said Spitfire. “Now what, Captain?”

Princess Luna shook dust and flecks of rock from her coat. “There shall be no drastic changes. Your duties will continue as before. As the first of my followers, you will be called upon to perform additional tasks from time to time, and you shall enjoy my favor, should you require it. In two nights’ time, I shall appear at your barracks to review my troops. Spitfire, thou wilt lead the Wonderbolts in your day-to-day business, as before.” She paused. “I fear I know not the modern term for such a pony. Thou mayst choose thy own title.”

“Any title?” Spitfire tried to hide her grin, and failed.

“It matters not.”

“Right. Let’s go with general.”

“Can you do that?” said Soarin. “I don’t think generals are supposed to answer to captains.”

“Don’t you dare screw this up this for me, pretty boy.”

“Very well, General Spitfire,” said Princess Luna. “There is but one more command. Henceforth, when the Wonderbolts are called to respond to danger, you will summon me as well. All Equestria will see what your princess is capable of.”

Author's Note

This was going to be a kind-of not-really sequel to One Small Step. I had a beginning and an end planned out, but it needed about 3000 words of middle and I had no idea what could go in there.

Starcraft: Wings of Everfree

1: In Which Strangers Come To Ponyville

Twilight stepped over a shattered branch, following the trail of destruction deeper into the Everfree Forest. Traveling through the forest was normally slow going, but now, charred bits of splintered wood were all that remained of the dense undergrowth. Whatever had come this way, it had hit the forest with enough force to knock down trees and smash boulders. The trail of devastation at least twenty yards wide and long enough that Twilight couldn’t see the end, although maybe that was just because of the smoke. Morning light barely reached the forest floor through the gray haze.

“Twilight,” said Fluttershy, “are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, what could possibly do something like this? It was probably something really scary.”

Twilight glanced over her shoulder, to where her friend followed behind her. “Exactly! Whatever’s out here, we need to know more about it. My books don’t know what did this, and Zecora doesn’t know what did this, so the only way to find out is to go and look.”

“But it’s just the two of us.” Fluttershy flapped her wings to clear away a particularly dense cloud of smoke. “Isn’t that, you know, dangerous?”

Twilight shrugged. “Nopony else wanted to come.”

Fluttershy mumbled something.

“What was that?”

“I said, I didn’t want to come either!”

Twilight paused briefly to levitate a fallen tree out of their path, dislodging the ashes that had once been its outer bark. Beneath, the tree still glowed red with heat. “You did make me promise not to explore the forest alone after that time with the cockatrice.”

“Um, this isn’t what I had in mind. When a giant ball of fire falls from the sky, ponies should go away from it, not right towards it!”

“Well, somepony has to—hold on. Do you hear that?”

Both ponies paused to listen. “Somepony’s talking up there!” said Fluttershy. She dashed ahead, towards the sound. Twilight did her best to keep up.

They crested a small rise, and the end of the trail came into view. Lying half-buried at the end of a long furrow in the earth was an enormous construct of an unfamiliar gray-black metal. The thing was slightly smaller than Applejack’s barn, and it had been smashed to the point where Twilight could barely guess what it had looked like intact. Several gaping holes had been torn through the side of its center capsule, and a thick, oily smoke poured from the largest of these. A pair of charred fins projected from the capsule’s side. One ran parallel to the construct for its entire length, but the other had apparently sheared off about halfway down its length.

As Twilight got closer to the… whatever it was, the voice became clearer. “Atmospheric containment lost,” it said. "This vessel requires assistance." The voice was odd. It wasn't only that the rhythm was off, with pauses in the wrong places. It also had a strange, almost mechanical quality that was unlike anything Twilight had ever heard. “Atmospheric containment lost. This vessel requires assistance. Atmospheric containment lost. This vessel requires assistance.”

Fluttershy halted a dozen yards short of the monstrosity. “W-what… what is that?”

“I don’t know,” said Twilight. “It sounds like that voice is coming from inside it, though.”

“We should, um,” Fluttershy involuntarily took a step backwards. “We should look inside.”

Twilight bit her lip. “Are you sure? You were just telling me how dangerous all this was. Maybe you were right.”

Fluttershy swallowed. “Somepony’s in there, and he needs our help.” She started forward, slowly but resolutely. Twilight sighed and followed.

The two ponies poked their heads in through one of the breaches in the thing’s side. The interior was filled with a light haze of smoke, but not enough to obscure the harsh red lights illuminating a tangle of wires, pistons, hoses, and stranger devices. Twilight stepped over the jagged edge of the breach and ventured inside.

“This vessel requires assistance. Atmospheric containment lost. This vessel requires assistance.” The voice was painfully loud in here.

It was coming from a mesh panel in the wall. Fluttershy trotted up to it. “Um, hello? Can anypony hear me?”

The voice cut off abruptly. A short series of high-pitched beeps came from the panel. Then, “Command authority not recognized. Disconnecting.”

“Are you alright? Do you need help?”

There was no reply. Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak again, when—

A clatter sounded from deeper in the structure. Something rose up from behind an enormous pipe. It stood on two legs like a minotaur, and was just as tall. Its skin was metal, and its eyes glowed with an unnatural green light.

The two ponies backed away. The creature advanced, but only managed a single step before it collapsed to its knees.

“It’s hurt!” Fluttershy rushed towards the creature, then abruptly halted. A long knife had appeared in the creature’s hand, Twilight wasn’t sure from where. Fluttershy hesitated, then approached again, slower.

“Careful, Fluttershy!” called Twilight. “That thing could be dangerous!”

Fluttershy turned to look at her. “It’s hurt,” she repeated. She returned her attention to the creature. “Shhh, it’s okay. I know you’re scared. I just want to help you. You’re safe now.”

The knife slipped from its fingers and clattered to the metal floor. The creature wobbled, then fell over with a heavy thud. It did not move.

“Eep! This is bad! Twilight, we need to get back to Ponyville so I can help it!”

Twilight hesitated. The whatever-it-was could be dangerous, but it did need their help. Besides, this creature was their only clue to whatever was going on. “Alright.” She trotted to the creature’s side and poked at the canister slung across its back by a wide band of some unknown material. “Hmm, what do you think this could be?” It was a metallic tube, perhaps three feet long and six inches in diameter.

Fluttershy barely glanced at the dull gray container. “Oh, I really don’t know. Can we please go now, Twilight? Quickly?”

Twilight nodded. There was a brief flash as she teleported the three of them away.

Most of Ponyville was still staring at the floating island. Ever since it had come plummeting from the sky, the enormous construct of golden-bronze metal and blue crystal sat hanging over the Everfree Forest. Nopony knew what it was or how it stayed in the air, and even more worryingly, its shadow was at least as large as Ponyville itself. Ponies had stopped what they were doing to gawk and try to figure out what in the name of the Sisters was happening.

Applejack had stared for a while before deciding she had no idea what the thing was, and looking harder wasn’t going to get her any answers. It was harvest season, and while a crop of apples might not be as exciting as a mysterious sky-island, it was something Applejack could work on. Only a few minutes passed before Applejack had returned to work. Still, she did glance at the thing every now and again.

Applejack stopped. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t put her hoof on what. She thought she saw movement above her, but when she turned to look, there was only blue sky. Applejack shrugged and moved on to the next tree.

Three pillars of bluish-white light appeared next to the tree. Applejack stumbled back in shock. Within seconds, the pillars resolved themselves into a trio of unfamiliar creatures. The foremost of them was a tall, slender being that stood on two legs, rising to nearly three times the height of a pony. Its skin was a pale blue, and it wore a light breastplate made of the same strange metal as the floating island. Its face had no mouth or nose, only two eyes that shone with a soft white light. The second creature appeared similar, although Applejack couldn’t make out much detail under the blackish-purple cloak that shrouded all but its face and hands.

The third creature was even stranger. It was a mechanical monstrosity made entirely of that golden-bronze metal. The thing rose a head higher than its companions, and its four spiderlike legs gave it a breadth equal to its towering height. A cylindrical torso rose from the junction of its legs. A pair of long hollow tubes that looked like elbowless, fingerless arms projected from its enormous shoulders. There was no face or head that Applejack could see.

The light faded, and the creatures stood under the trees of Sweet Apple Acres as though they had always been there. Applejack briefly considered trying to hide, but the creatures were already staring right at her.

A deep, echoing voice boomed forth from the metal giant. “The area is secure, Executor,” it said. “Sensors detect only the one life-form nearby.”

“Understood.” The breastplate-clad creature stepped towards Applejack. “You there. You will tell me of the Terran ship that crashed near this village.” Its voice was higher and more feminine than the giant’s, although it had the same echoing quality.

Applejack’s mind raced. She was hopelessly out of her depth, but she knew a few things for certain: these creatures were huge and terrifying; they were trying to talk to her; and they were on Apple family land. For lack of a less confusing option, she focused on that last fact and settled into the familiar pattern of hospitality.

“Ah, well, I wish I could help you folks,” she said, “but I can’t say as I know what you mean. I ain’t never heard of a Terran, and there’s no water nearby for any ships, neither. Is there, uh, is there anything else I can help you with?”

The creature turned back to its companions. “This is pointless. The natives here are too primitive to be of use.”

“Perhaps,” said the cloaked figure in a voice like rustling leaves, “but perhaps you underestimate them, Selendis. Allow me to try.”

“As you will,” said the one called Selendis.

The cloaked figure approached Applejack, moving with the casual grace of a skilled athlete. Applejack stood her ground as the figure crouched down beside her, bringing his head nearly level with her own. “En taro Tassadar, small one,” he said. “I am called Aregal.”

“Pleased to meet ya,” Applejack said on sheer reflex. “I’m Applejack, and this land hereabouts is Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Well met, Applejack. My people, the Protoss, have come to this world on a mission of grave importance. I, for one, believe your kind can help us.”

“Well, I’ll help if I can,” Applejack said dubiously, “but if y’all are looking for a ship I can’t do much.”

“The Executor does not speak of a ship as you would know it,” said Aregal. “This is a vessel that travels between worlds, but it was damaged as it fled from my home. You would have seen its fiery trail when it fell through your sky.”

Applejack nodded. “Yep, I saw that. It fell into the Everfree Forest, over there.” She pointed with a hoof. “That woulda been earlier this morning.”

“Our fleet has found the wreck of the Terran vessel already,” boomed the metal giant’s voice. “The native tells us nothing we do not know.”

“We do not seek the ship.” Aregal stood and faced the giant. “We seek the one who piloted it, and that which she stole from us. Of them, there is no sign.”

The giant took a single enormous step towards Aregal. Its barrel-thick leg sank into the soft earth. “Do you truly believe these natives can find what our fleet’s Observers cannot, Prelate?”

“Certainly,” said Aregal. “They know this land as we never will. We would be wise to respect their knowledge.”

“Patience, Eidar,” said Selendis. “We will hear what this Applejack has to say before we judge.”

Applejack stomped a hoof. “I’m right here, you know. There’s no call to go on talking like I’m somewhere else.”

“Indeed,” said Aregal. “Applejack, a thief took something of great value from us. That thief is a creature called a Terran, and she was on the vessel when it crashed. She fled before my brethren arrived, however. Will you and your people help us find her and recover what is ours? The safety of my home depends on your answer.”

“Well shoot, when you put it like that, there ain’t no choice at all. There’s gotta be somepony in town who can help you. C’mon, let me take you fellas around Ponyville.”

2: In Which Violence Is Contemplated

When she came to, the first thing Nova did was take a quick inventory of her wounds. Her body ached all over, especially her legs and especially her head. The pain was distracting but not disabling. She decided to ignore it.

The second thing she did was check her equipment. She was still wearing her combat gear, a skintight suit of light powered armor that covered every inch of her body. Nova cast about for her rifle for several seconds before remembering she had lost it during the rush to escape Shakuras. Her knife was gone as well, but her sidearm was still on her hip, and two lockdown grenades remained in her pouches. The suit’s communications array was still functioning, but it wasn’t picking up any signals nearby. All in all, her situation wasn’t too bad.

The canister was missing.

That was very, very bad.

Only then did Nova take stock of her surroundings. She was lying more or less on a bed that would have barely been large enough for a twelve-year-old, set in a room of rich hardwood filled with shelves of brightly-colored books. Sunlight streamed in through an open window. Even through her mask’s air filter, she could tell the atmosphere on this planet was absolutely pristine.

Voices were coming from outside the room’s single doorway. “There’s no way I’m going to write the princess when I don’t even know what’s going on! Students are supposed to be able to figure things out! What would she think if I asked for help without even trying to research it?”

“If you say so.” The second voice was much softer. Nova increased the gain on her suit’s sensors to hear. “But, um, could you please try to figure this out so that you can call her? This might be more than I can handle, and I don’t want a repeat of what happened with Philomena. Better to get the princess’s help as soon as we can. I mean, if that’s alright with you.”

“No problem. I’ll get right on it. There could be a hint in that tube thing the creature was carrying. I’ll see if I can get it open.”

“No!” Nova lunged to her feet, or tried to. Her legs wouldn’t cooperate, and she tumbled off the bed, flopping onto the floor with a loud thump. The voices stopped.

Two small, brightly-colored aliens appeared in the doorway. Nova vaguely recalled seeing them in the haze of smoke and pain that followed her Raven’s crash-landing. She had no idea what they were, but they weren’t Protoss and they hadn’t tried to kill her yet, so diplomacy might still be an option.

“Are you alright?” asked the yellow one as it trotted closer. “Oh, you shouldn’t be out of bed! I don’t care if you’ve got metal skin, falling like that can’t be good for you.”

“Metal skin?” said Nova. “Oh, you mean the suit.” A surge of vertigo stuck her as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. She pulled off her visor with its glowing lenses and sensors, and then removed the armored hood beneath, revealing her face. If these aliens knew anything about Terrans—which seemed unlikely—they would be able to tell she was about thirty years old, still young enough to be dangerous. Nova ran a gloved hand through her platinum-blonde hair, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated under the hood. “See? Not a robot.”

The two aliens exchanged a look. “She has a face,” said the yellow alien.

“She can talk,” said the violet one.

They turned back to Nova. “How are you feeling?” asked the yellow one.

“Pretty banged up. The ship’s inertial dampers overloaded during the crash, so I got knocked around a bit. My suit’s diagnostics say there’s no major trauma, though.”

“Um, what does that mean?” asked the yellow one.

“It means I’ll probably be fine in a few days.” Carefully, Nova hoisted herself up and sat on the edge of the bed. The movement made her head spin, and she winced as she settled into place. “What kind of aliens are you two?”

“We’re not aliens,” said the yellow alien.

“Not around here, anyway,” said the violet alien. “We’re ponies. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend, Fluttershy. How about you?”

“I’m Nova, from the Dominion. Um, the Terran Dominion. I’m a Terran.”

Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat. “I’ve got a few questions to ask you, Nova. What was that thing we found you in? How did you get hurt? What’s a Terran, and what brings you to Equestria? Why was—”

“Twilight, please!” interrupted Fluttershy. “Look at her. She needs to rest, the poor dear. You’re about to fall right asleep, aren’t you?”

Sleep sounded wonderful, but Nova couldn’t let herself rest just yet. “The canister I was carrying. What happened to it?”

“You mean that big tube?” asked Twilight. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. It’s just in the next room. Why?”

“I need it.” Nova started to rise to her feet.

Fluttershy gently pushed her back down. “Oh, um, you probably shouldn’t be walking around just yet. I’ll get it for you.” Nova nodded dully as the pony trotted off.

“Was there something in there that can help you?” asked Twilight. “I can open it up for you.”

“No! No. Opening it would be too dangerous.”

The pony frowned. “Dangerous? Why?”

“The canister is shielded,” Nova said. “Open it, and the Protoss will sense what’s inside. It’ll draw them here like a beacon.”

Twilight frowned. “And… that would be bad?”

“It’s bad. If you’re very lucky, they’d only kill you for helping me. If you’re unlucky… well, they’ve burned entire worlds for less.”

“What? Why would anypony do that?”

“Twilight, please, let her rest,” said Fluttershy as she returned with the canister. “You can ask Nova all the questions you want when she’s feeling better.”

“But she said—”

“Twilight.” Fluttershy pinned her friend with a look so fierce that Nova couldn’t help but flinch, even if it wasn’t directed at her. “She needs to rest.”

“Right!” said Twilight. “Okay. Rest it is.”

Fluttershy deposited the canister in Nova’s lap. “Here’s your canister. And now you’re going to go right to bed so you can get all better.”

Nova nodded. She needed more intel, but the alien was right: she was in no condition to be doing much of anything. Besides, she really didn’t want that stare turned her way.

The two ponies turned to go as Nova settled herself in the undersized bed as best she could. “Honestly,” muttered Twilight, “could this day get any weirder?”

Applejack led the Protoss through the empty streets of Ponyville. The sun was still high in the sky, but not a pony was in sight.

“You said the others of your kind would help us,” said Eidar, “yet they have avoided us at every turn. Those who did not flee tell us nothing of value.”

“I reckon they’re a mite nervous, is all,” said Applejack. “Y’all look a bit scary at first. We can try the library next. Twilight knows just about everything there is to know ‘round these parts.”

Selendis stopped walking, and the other Protoss followed suit. “I tire of this,” the Executor announced. “We are no closer to finding the Terran than we were.”

“What’s a Terran? Is it anything like a heron? I met a heron once. He was really tall, but not as tall as you.” Pinkie Pie was bouncing in circles around the Protoss. Applejack wasn’t sure where she had come from. “Ooh! Have you ever met a heron?”

With a mechanical whirring noise, Eidar’s body swiveled to face the newcomer. “You do not fear us, as the others do?”

“Well you do look pretty big and mean.” Pinkie Pie hopped on Eidar’s leg and perched on the knee joint. “At first I got really scared and I wanted to hide, but then I remembered that Zecora looked scary, and she turned out to be nice after all! So I realized you must be nice too, no matter what you look like. That was when I remembered you’re new to Ponyville, and that means I have to throw a party for you so that everypony can meet you!”

“You speak wisely, pink one,” said Aregal. “It is rare insight that looks past the surface form to the substance beneath. We would be honored to attend your party.”

“We will not,” said Selendis. “There is no sign that these natives can lead us to the Terran, and so we have no more time to spend among them.”

“With respect, Executor, I disagree,” said Aregal. “Applejack and her friends could prove to be invaluable allies.”

Selendis nodded. “Very well, Prelate. If you wish to pursue this path, I will not stand in your way. You will represent the Protoss at this ‘party,’ along with as many of your Dark Templar brethren as choose to join you. Praetor Eidar, you will establish an outpost nearby so that we may come and go with ease. Send patrols through this settlement, as well. I must return to the fleet and direct the search.”

Pinkie Pie turned to Aregal with pleading eyes. “So there will be a party after all?”

“So it would seem,” said Aregal.

“Yippee!” Pinkie leapt off of Eidar’s leg. “I’ve got a lot to do to get ready and also I have to invite the whole town and I mean the whole town so I’ve got to go see you later!” She sped away in a pink blur, then promptly returned. “Don’t go anywhere! I mean you can go somewhere else in Ponyville but don’t go too far away or else I won’t be able to find you when the party’’s ready!” The pony dashed off once again.

Aregal turned to regard Applejack. “Your friend is unlike any creature I have encountered.”

“Heh, yeah. Pinkie’s always been a bit, well, Pinkie.”

“Executor,” boomed Eidar, “I am receiving a transmission from the fleet. It would appear some of the natives can fly. One is currently attempting to land on the Mothership.”

“Very well,” said Selendis. “Destroy it.”

“Hold up!” said Applejack. “You can’t do that! That’s a living, breathing pony you’re talking about!”

“Such an action could jeopardize Prelate Aregal’s relationship with the natives,” Eidar said calmly.

Selendis waved a hand dismissively. “Deal with it however you choose, Praetor, but do not allow the creature to breach our security. I will signal the Warp Prism to return and take me from this place.”

“I will instruct our fighters to force it to ground,” said the giant. “A Sentry should be able to contain the creature thereafter.”

“Careful, now,” said Applejack. “Don’t you go hurting nopony.”

Eidar bobbed his torso in what Applejack supposed was meant to be a nod. “It should be harmless enough. Come along and observe, if you wish.”

“Oh, you’re awake,” said Twilight. “That’s encouraging.” She stepped into the spare bedroom where her guest was recuperating. Twilight had a lot of questions that needed answering—more than she had when Nova first arrived, in fact.

Nova faced Twilight, turning away from the moonlit window and moving aside so she couldn’t be seen from the streets. The Terran was sitting up in bed, looking much more composed than the first time they had spoken. “The Protoss are here in your village,” she said.

“I know,” said Twilight. “Word’s been spreading quickly. I’m wondering how you knew, though. They didn’t come close enough to the library for you to see them, did they?”

“Ocular implants are standard procedure these days,” said Nova. She must have noticed Twilight’s look of confusion. “I can see pretty far,” she explained.

“Ponies are saying the Protoss are looking for you.”

“Yes,” said Nova. “They’re trying to catch me and kill me. Do you plan on letting them?” She spoke with unnerving calm, as though she were discussing the relative merits of two different biographies.

“Of course not! I’m not about to let anypony hurt you, you know that. But why on Equestria would they want to kill you?”

“They want this.” Nova patted the dull gray metal canister where it rested on the bed beside her. “It’s a powerful psionic artifact called the Uraj. The Dominion needs it for our research, but the Protoss will do anything to find it. They can’t trace it because of the shielding in the case. At first I thought they’d be able to track me by my psychic activity, but it looks like that’s no danger as long as I’m in this settlement. My psionic radar shows short bursts of activity all over. I guess you ponies are psionic, too. They won’t be able to find me that way.”

“What does psionic mean?”

“It means you can sense or alter the world around you with your thoughts. Mind-reading, thought control, telekinesis, that sort of thing.”

“Oh!” Twilight perked up. “You mean unicorn magic. Only some ponies can do that.”

“Most Terrans can’t, either,” said Nova, “although I can. The Protoss are the only known race that’s universally psionic.”

Twilight climbed up onto the bed. “I think you should meet my friends,” she said as Nova shifted aside to make room. “They’re good ponies, and they might be able to help you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Nova. “The fewer ponies who know I’m here, the safer I am.”

“My friends would never put you in danger!”

“Not on purpose, I’m sure,” said Nova, “but think about how badly you want to tell them about me. They’ll want to tell their own associates, and so on. Sooner or later, somebody will let something slip to the Protoss, and my position will be compromised. It’s best if only you and Fluttershy know. This is just basic operational security.”

Twilight frowned. “Well, okay,” she said reluctantly. “You’re the one in danger, so I’ll do it your way. I’ll ask Fluttershy not to tell the others, either. So what’s your plan now? You’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like, of course.”

“The Protoss fleet can’t stay here indefinitely. I’ll lie low until they’re called away. Once they’re gone, if your people will lend me a ship, I can return to the Dominion and complete my mission.”

“A ship?” Twilight frowned. This was going to be harder than she’d thought. “Well, it’d be a bit of a journey to get to a harbor. What are you trying to cross, the Strait of Gibhalter? The Arabian Sea?”

“What? No, I need a spaceship, not a sea craft.”

Twilight gave Nova a dubious look. “Nopony can travel through space. What would you even breathe?”

Nova closed her eyes, leaned back against the wall, and sighed. “So you don’t have space travel. Okay, then. I left a comm drone in orbit before I crashed, so I can try calling for some friends to take me home. I hate to take anyone away from the fight, but it looks like the only way to finish the mission.”

“Fight?” Twilight had heard a lot of confusing things from this Terran, but the matter-of-fact way she talked about violence unnerved her in a way that even Nightmare Moon’s posturing never had. “What fight?”

“Take your pick.” Nova shrugged. “We’re trying to defend ourselves from Zerg raids and sporadic Protoss assaults on our colonies, there are the border skirmishes with the Kel-Morians, and that’s not to mention Raynor and his gang of terrorists. There’s always a fight going on out there somewhere.”

“But, I mean…” Twilight hesitated, trying and failing to come up with a delicate way of asking. “You wouldn’t kill anypony like the Protoss do, would you?”

“Of course I’ve killed people,” said Nova. Twilight recoiled in horror, but the Terran continued. “Look, it’s a dangerous sector out there. If killing something is the only way to save myself or my comrades, I’m not going to hesitate.”

“That’s just… that’s not how the world works! There’s always another way to solve your problems. You never have to kill anypony!”

Nova rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how things are among your people, but when you’re dealing with the Protoss, mercy isn’t an option. Make no mistake, if they find me, they will kill me, and I’m not planning to go quietly. I’m only hiding because I can’t call in a tactical nuke or something.”

“Tactical nuke?” Twilight sounded out the unfamiliar phrase. “I don’t know what either of those words mean.”

“Well, tactical is something that relates to tactics—”

“I know about adjectival forms of nouns,” said Twilight. “What’s tactics?”

“It’s the skill of defeating your enemy on an individual or squad level.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “You mean you fight so much you have a word just for being good at it.”

“Lots of words. Tactics is different from, say, strategy or logistics. Fighting is important, Twilight. People who can’t fight, die. Now that the Protoss are here, that’s a lesson you’ll need to learn.”

Twilight shook her head. “No. There’s a better way, and I’m going to find it. Now, what’s a nuke, and what is it used for?”

“Twilight? Are you alright?” Spike peered into Twilight’s room, where the pony was curled up in bed with a copy of Starswirl’s Meditations on Life. Spike had seen her reading that book many times before, whenever she was especially sad and thoughtful. “Comfort reading,” she had called it.

This was different, though. Twilight was staring into the distance, clearly thinking about something else. Spike had never known her to have trouble focusing on a book.

“Spike, I…” Twilight trailed off. “Come here, please.”

Spike obediently climbed onto the bed, wondering what was going on. Twilight wrapped her hooves around Spike and pulled him into a tight embrace. Spike returned the hug. Were Twilight’s eyes wet? Had she been crying? “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Oh, Spike. I just learned about some terrible things that… that nopony should ever build. Things that nopony should ever have done. There was—” She swallowed. “I just want to hold you. I just want to know that you’re safe.”

“Hey. Everything’s alright, Twilight.”

“I hope so, Spike. I hope so.”

3: In Which A Party Is Held

Rarity had been quite surprised yesterday when she first heard rumors of giant creatures searching through Ponyville. With that warning, she had been somewhat less surprised when Applejack and Fluttershy barged into her boutique and demanded she accompany them, but she was still less than pleased to find herself galloping beside them through Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy had offered to make it up to her by watching Sweetie Belle for the night, but that was small consolation.

“C’mon, y’all,” said Applejack. “We ain’t got no time to lose!”

“Yes, you’ve made that quite clear,” Rarity gasped. Applejack was clearly making an effort to slow down to a pace that the other two ponies could match, but Rarity still struggled to keep up. “If this mysterious task of yours is so important, though, why didn’t you get Pinkie Pie as well?”

“I tried,” said Applejack, “but she’s planning a party, and y’all know how she gets. She just said something about bunting and took off running ‘fore I could get a word in.”

“Understandable, I suppose. And what of Twilight?”

“Oh,” said Fluttershy from where she flew above the other two. “I asked her. Twilight’s busy.”

“I told you this here’s important, Fluttershy!” said Applejack. “You mean Twi’s too busy to help out her friends?”

“Um. Yes.”

“Can you at least tell us what she’s doing instead?” asked Rarity.

“Oh. Um, no.”

As unexpected as that answer was, Rarity decided not to press the issue. Fluttershy, of all ponies, wouldn’t keep secrets without a good reason. “And Rainbow Dash?” she asked.

“That’s kinda the problem,” said Applejack. “Hurry up, the valley’s just ahead.”

The three ponies came to a break in the trees and pulled up short at the sight in front of them. The trees had been cleared from a shallow valley of two or three acres, and half a dozen enormous, perfectly regular blue crystals floated motionlessly several meters above the grass. Each was nearly the height of Applejack’s barn and perhaps a third as wide at the middle, tapering to points at the top and bottom. They were encircled by thin collars of that golden-bronze metal the Protoss favored, although the collars never quite touched the crystals themselves and seemed to hover of their own accord, as well. Roughly a dozen Protoss in heavy armor moved among the structures, along with a similar number of floating griffon-sized constructs built of gold metal.

The ponies stood and stared for perhaps a minute before Applejack broke the silence. “That weren’t there an hour ago,” she said slowly. “These fellas work fast.”

“Oh no, your trees!” said Fluttershy. “What happened to your trees?”

“I hate to say it, but apples ain’t our biggest problem just now.”

Rarity let out a soft sigh. “Those are the largest jewels I have ever seen.”

Applejack and Fluttershy turned to look at her.

Rarity cleared her throat. “What I mean to say is, this is obviously important, but I don’t understand your rush. What particular problem did you have in mind when you called us here, if not the trees?”

“That.” Applejack pointed. At the outskirts of the Protoss encampment, a hexagonal dome of force, barely visible as a faint shimmer in the air, rose perhaps ten meters from the ground. Another Protoss construct, this one an intricate device of golden metal encircling a pony-sized sphere of glowing blue energy, was projecting a thin stream of light that was apparently maintaining the dome. Underneath it, a familiar pegasus pony flitted about restlessly.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy darted forward, with the other two close behind. “What are they doing to Rainbow Dash?”

“Dunno,” said Applejack. “From what I heard, I think she was messing with that big floating island of theirs, or something. The Protoss stuck her in that there whatsit, and that’s all I know.”

Rainbow Dash looked up as the trio of ponies approached. She rushed to the edge of the dome and pressed her face against the inside of the force field. “Hey!” she called. “Am I glad to see you guys!” Her voice was muffled by the dome, but still audible.

“Rainbow Dash!” said Rarity. “Are you alright?”

“Pretty much. Just cooped up and kind of sc—uh, confused. Any idea when they’re gonna let me out of this thing?”

“That’s why we’re here,” said Applejack. “Don’t you fret. This’ll get sorted soon enough.”

The earth trembled beneath their hooves. The ponies looked up as a mechanical giant approached from across the valley. Fluttershy glanced about for something to hide behind, found nothing, and collapsed into a quaking pile of pegasus.

Rarity glanced at her friend. As much as she might have wanted to do the same, that was no way to make a first impression on… on whatever this thing was. Besides, Applejack was facing the monstrosity without fear, and she seemed to have some idea what was going on. Rarity put on her number three smile and turned to the golden beast.

The giant’s enormous legs covered distance quickly, and soon enough it stood before the ponies. Applejack stepped forward. “Everypony, this here’s Eidar. He’s in charge of the Protoss ‘round here, and he ain’t half as scary as he looks.”

“En taro Adun, little ones,” boomed Eidar. “I am honored to meet warriors of the pony race.”

“Eidar, I’d like you to meet my friends,” said Applejack. “These’re Rarity and Fluttershy.”

“Charmed,” said Rarity. Fluttershy let out a squeak that might have been meant as a greeting.

Applejack hesitated. “’Course you already know Rainbow Dash, here.”

“We’ve met,” spat Rainbow Dash.

Rarity tentatively approached the giant. “Forgive me for asking, Eidar, but I can’t help wondering what you’re doing to my friend. Is it really necessary for you to keep her in this… thing?”

“I fear I must,” said Eidar. “This pony tried to board our Mothership. If I order the Sentry to release her from the force field, she could threaten the fleet once again.”

“Hey!” said Rainbow Dash. “I wasn’t threatening anything! I was just exploring.”

Applejack cleared her throat. “I’m sure that’s the truth. Rainbow Dash don’t always keep to herself when she oughta, but I’ve never known her to do nothin’ real dangerous.” She paused. “Not on purpose, anyhow.”

“I cannot know her intentions,” said Eidar. “What matters are her actions, and my orders are to make certain she does not repeat them.”

“I’d say you’ve done a fine job,” said Rarity. “I think it’s safe to say everypony is quite impressed with the gravity of the situation, thanks to you. Now that you’ve made it clear just how strongly you feel about this, I’m certain Rainbow Dash won’t be doing any more exploring, whether she’s released or not.”

“Hey!” cried Rainbow Dash. “Who says?”

Rarity fixed Rainbow Dash with an exasperated glare. “Do try to keep up, darling,” she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

“Oh, right,” said the pegasus. “Uh, lesson learned. Staying away from flying islands.”

Rarity continued as though she had not been so rudely interrupted. “So you see, Eidar, keeping her imprisoned is nothing but a waste of your extremely valuable time.”

“Likely true,” said the giant, “but I cannot take the chance. What if you are wrong?”

“Surely anypony as big and powerful as you doesn’t have to worry about one little pony,” said Rarity.

Eidar’s torso swiveled to face Rainbow Dash in her makeshift prison. He paused for several seconds, considering her, before rotating back in Rarity’s direction. “A fair point,” he said. “Your friend does appear harmless.”

“Oh, come on!” Rainbow Dash kicked uselessly at the forcefield. “I’m right here, guys!”

“She is free to go,” continued Eidar, “but be warned. Should any of your kind approach the Mothership again, I will not order them captured. They will simply be obliterated.” He turned to the construct. “Lower the force field.” The Sentry emitted a rapid series of clicks, and the wall of energy vanished as though it had never existed.

“Hah!” Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air and flew in a broad loop around the clearing. “There we go!”

“Thanks, Eidar,” said Applejack. “You folks won’t regret that.”

“I hope so, for your sake,” said Eidar.

Twilight Sparkle hadn’t wanted to go to Pinkie Pie’s party. She wanted to stay as far away from these Protoss creatures as possible, but she had made the mistake of telling Nova about the invitation, and the Terran had insisted that Twilight attend. Missing the party could be suspicious, she said. Twilight had to act exactly as if she weren’t hiding an interstellar fugitive.

And so Twilight found herself in Sugarcube Corner. Most of her friends were absent, probably still away on that adventure to Sweet Apple Acres that Fluttershy had mentioned. The scene inside superficially resembled any of Pinkie Pie’s innumerable parties. Sugarcube Corner was festooned with balloons and streamers, and dozens of ponies made their way between tables piled high with desserts of all sorts while festive music played in the background. There were two differences setting this gathering apart from the usual Pinkie party, however. Most obviously, eight or ten Protoss were in the bakery as well, hunched over to avoid hitting their heads on the ceiling. These Protoss lacked the heavy armor Twilight had seen their kind wearing in the streets of Ponyville. Instead, they favored light robes and tunics in shades of blue and violet. They stuck together in twos and threes as they navigated the party.

More subtly, this party was missing the carefree atmosphere that usually came with Pinkie Pie’s events. The ponies were subdued in the presence of the unfamiliar creatures, and although an energetic tune was playing, nopony was dancing. The tension seemed to be affecting everypony.

Every pony but one, Twilight corrected herself. Pinkie Pie grinned like the maniac she was as she tied a blindfold on one of the Protoss, who was crouching down to her level. Twilight approached curiously. Pinkie Pie slapped a piece of sticky felt into the Protoss’s four-fingered hand, grabbed him by the shoulders, and spun him around several times. “Okay, okay!” she said. “Readysetgo!”

The Protoss rose to his feet, turned slightly, and walked directly towards a colorful poster of a tailless pony hung on the bakery wall. He stopped in front of the poster, reached forward with the felt tail, paused briefly to consider, then stuck the tail squarely on the pony’s hindquarters. He stepped back. “Well, friend Pinkie? Did I succeed?”

“Ooh! Ooh! Take a look!”

The Protoss pulled off the blindfold and regarded his perfect placement. He said nothing, but allowed himself a small nod.

“You’re amazing!” said Pinkie Pie. “I’ve never seen anypony this good at Pin the Tail on the Pony! Are you sure you’ve never played?”

“Quite sure,” said the Protoss. “I have not encountered any sort of ‘games’ before.”

Twilight arrived alongside Pinkie Pie. “I don’t get it,” she said. “How did you do that so perfectly?”

“I am one with the darkness,” intoned the Protoss.

“Hi Twilight!” said Pinkie Pie. “Aregal, meet Twilight Sparkle, she’s one of my very best friends! Twilight, this is Aregal. He’s a second-funnest giant monster I’ve ever met!”

“I am honored,” said Aregal. “Applejack has spoken of your wisdom.”

“Uh, thanks,” said Twilight. She had no idea where to take the conversation from there. She turned to Pinkie Pie for support, but her friend had vanished, somehow. How did she always manage that?

“Twilight Sparkle,” said Aregal, “I must ask for your aid. My people have need of your knowledge.”

“Oh?” she said. “What’s going on?”

Aregal folded himself and sat on a couch built for somepony less than half his size, yet somehow managed to make the position look relaxed and balanced. “We have come in search of a thief. A creature called a Terran came to my home planet and stole the Uraj, a crystal of great power. The thief fled here, and we followed. We must recover the Uraj whatever the cost. It is my people’s last and best defense against the Zerg swarms. Every moment the Uraj is missing from Shakuras, my home is in danger of being devoured by the Queen of Blades and her spawn.”

Twilight frowned. Nova hadn’t mentioned anything about stealing the Uraj, but then again, Nova never did say how she got it. That wasn’t lying, exactly, but it sure wasn’t honest. Twilight wondered if the Protoss were really as bad as Nova said. She decided to find out. “What about the Terran? What will you do if you find your thief?”

“Kill her, of course.”

Twilight barely managed not to gape. She wasn’t entirely surprised by the answer, but she had no idea how to respond to the thought of casually killing anyone. One thing was certain: even if Nova really was a thief, Twilight still had to protect her.

“Your orange friend has spoken of you as a scholar among your people, Twilight Sparkle,” said Aregal. “Will you help me understand your ways?”

Twilight remembered Nova’s instructions. She had to act as though she had never seen a Terran in her life. What would she say to the Protoss if she weren’t trying to hide Nova from them? “Of course,” she said. “A party isn’t really the best place for it, though. Why don’t you come to the library afterwards?”

Aregal nodded. “As you say.”

“You did what?” said Nova.

“I invited Aregal here,” said Twilight.

Nova paced back and forth across the library’s living floor. She felt the fear of discovery now, for the first time since she had crashed on this backwater, but she had long since learned to put fear aside when it wasn’t useful.

The light coming through the windows was fading to a cheerful shade of rose as the sun approached the horizon. Nova had left the shades open to keep an eye on the position of the enormous Protoss Mothership. It was still hovering above the forest where her own vessel had crashed. “I can’t risk getting that close to a Dark Templar. They’re experts at stealth. Hiding would be next to impossible. This is bad.”

“I was just doing what you told me,” said Twilight. “If I had nothing to hide, I’d definitely ask a stranger to come here.”

Nova refused to let her frustration show. The alien was trying to help, after all. She was just horribly inexperienced. “It’s okay,” she said. “We can adapt. I’ll need somewhere else to hide until this place is safe again.”

“Everfree Forest,” said Twilight. “There’s plenty of undergrowth to hide in.”

“No good. The Protoss have robotic Observers with sensors that can see right through the foliage. I need to stay among ponies, so my heat signature and psionic activity won’t stand out.”

“How about Fluttershy’s cottage?” said the alien. “She already knows you’re here, and nopony else goes there very much, but it’s not empty. It’s way on the edge of town.”

“Perfect,” said Nova. “Give me the coordinates, and I’ll get moving.” She picked up the canister containing the Uraj crystal and slung it across her back.

“Hold on,” said Twilight. “What if the Protoss find you while you’re outside?”

“I’m trained in stealth,” Nova said, “but it is still a risk. Staying here is also risky. If they find me here, though, you’ll also be in danger. There’s no reason to take that chance.” Nova found herself wondering why she cared what happened to this alien. Twilight was a valuable asset, she told herself. Protecting her was vital to the mission. That was all, surely.

Twilight nodded. “I’ll draw you a map.” The alien psionically levitated a parchment and quill from one of the many desks scattered throughout the building. Nova watched closely as the alien began to sketch. That explained how these creatures built their technology without hands. It was only a few minutes before she finished a surprisingly detailed map of the village.

“Thanks.” Nova examined the map, committing the route to memory, before putting the parchment in one of her suit’s pouches. She strode towards the stairs leading down to the library’s entrance. “I’ll move out as soon as—”

The sound of a door opening came below. The two of them froze and exchanged a nervous glance. Nova gestured towards the stairs. Twilight nodded and descended.

Nova pulled on her suit’s hood and visor, moving slowly so as not to make a sound. She thumbed a button on the visor’s side, turning her audio scanners up to maximum. She heard the distant words as though they were right next to her.

“—come to continue our conversation,” came the rumbling voice of a Protoss.

“Right! What can I help you with?” Twilight’s voice was heavy with forced cheer. Nova made a mental note to teach her ally to lie better, if she had a chance.

“I have observed three tribes among the ponies. Applejack has told me of your physical differences, but I would know more of your tribes’ hierarchy.” Twilight’s amateur distraction seemed to be working, then.

“What do you mean?” said Twilight.

Slowly, carefully, Nova made her way towards the far wall with its window to the outside world and relative safety. She tested her weight before each step, only moving forward once she was sure the wood beneath her would not creak and betray her presence.

“Who leads the unicorns?” said the Protoss. “Who leads the pegasi? How do the heads of the tribes settle their differences?”

“Ponies don’t work that way. We don’t live apart like that. The mayor leads all of Ponyville, and all the mayors and duchesses and princes and whatnot answer to Princess Celestia.”

Nova reached the window and silently slid it open. A tranquil breeze ambled into the library, but failed to penetrate her hood’s air filter. The ground was perhaps fifteen feet below, and she saw no sign of anyone in the street.

“Intriguing,” said the Protoss. “Tell me more of this princess.”

Nova slid out the window and dropped, landing lightly in a loose crouch.

“What was that sound?” came the Protoss’s voice through her amplified hearing.

“Probably just some books falling over,” said Twilight. “It happens sometimes. Now, the princess is…”

Nova rose to her feet and slipped off into the evening.

“…and then they put aside their differences and decided to share the land,” Twilight finished. “With the strife over, the windigoes lost their power and fled, and that’s how Equestria was made.”

“I see,” said Aregal. “Would that my own people lived in such harmony.”

“Why? How are the Protoss different?”

“In ages past, we split into two factions, much like your three pony tribes of old. The Khalai remained on our home world of Aiur. My own people, the Nerazim, were sent into exile. We wandered the stars for a time before settling the planet of Shakuras. For hundreds of years, we lived apart… until the Zerg came. The swarms descended upon Aiur and slew most of the Khalai, save those who escaped to Shakuras. We tried to reunite, but there was distrust and conflict, as with your own people. It even turned to war, briefly, but that ended before the Zerg turned to Shakuras. We used the Uraj to power a great weapon and drive the Zerg from our home, but relations between the two tribes remain… tense.”

“You fought a war? Protoss killed other Protoss?”

“Sadly, yes. It is a long tale, full of pride, tragedy, and betrayal.”

“But I still don’t understand how these two tribes are actually different from each other,” said Twilight.

“I will not delve into the details of the Khala,” said Aregal. “Suffice to say that the Khalai live for duty and honor. They are the ones who wear their heavy armor into battle. My own people are more… subtle.”

“I’ve seen more than those two types, though. What about that giant metal thing with the four legs?”

“Ah, yes. You speak of Eidar. He was once a warrior of the Khalai, until he was struck down during the civil war. His dying body was sealed in the machine you have seen. It keeps him in a semblance of life and allows him to continue fighting for the Protoss.”

“That sounds horrible,” said Twilight.

“Perhaps. But we have need of every warrior, and Eidar will not abandon us so long as an ounce of strength remains in his shattered body.”

Fluttershy half-stumbled into her bedroom, thoroughly exhausted. Rescuing Rainbow Dash had been tiring enough. After coming right home to deal with Sweetie Belle and her friends, she wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed. She had caught the girls faking sleep twice, but this time she was certain the three of them were really out for the night. Now she could finally—

Fluttershy sensed something behind her. She spun around to find a giant shadow looming over her with burning green eyes. Before she could scream, a cold, steel-clad hand clamped over her mouth.

“Don’t worry,” came Nova’s voice, barely above a whisper. “It’s me. Stay quiet.”

Fluttershy was less than reassured, but she forced herself to nod.

Nova tentatively released her. “The library’s been compromised, for now. I’ll be staying here until tomorrow.”

Fluttershy rubbed at her jaw. The Terran’s grip would probably leave a bruise. “Oh. Okay.”

“I was expecting you to be alone. I nearly barged in on those kids before I saw them.”

“If you asked me before you came here,” Fluttershy said reproachfully, “I could’ve told you about them.”

“There was no time. Anyway, I need somewhere secure to sleep.”

“The cellar locks from inside, I guess.”

“That will do. Thanks.” Nova was gone almost before Fluttershy realized she was moving.

Fluttershy sighed. She had helped lots of injured creatures in her time, but none of them had been as pushy as this Terran, afterwards. Usually they were friendlier once Fluttershy nursed them back to health. It was like dealing with a giant Angel Bunny. Well, there was nothing for it. She crawled into bed, hoping that Nova would be in a better mood after a good night’s rest.

4: In Which A Search Is Conducted

Twilight Sparkle peered through her telescope, trying to get a good look at the distant pillar of crackling blue devastation tearing through Everfree Forest. From the library’s balcony, she could see the hovering Protoss island-ship incinerating swathes of the Everfree Forest with some sort of unspeakably huge magical cannon. Twilight hoped this didn’t have anything to do with Nova’s disappearance. The Terran had left the library only last night. Now, the sun wasn’t even fully risen, but something had clearly disturbed the Protoss.

Ponies feared what they did not understand, Twilight knew. If she could understand this cannon, then maybe she could lessen the horrible sense of doom that sat in her stomach like a rock. Twilight was too far away to see much detail with the naked eye, but when she tried aiming the telescope directly at the brilliant Protoss weapon, it nearly blinded her. Now she was trying to look near the edges of the beam, but a haze of smoke washed out the details.

“Twilight.”

She leaped into the air and spun around, nearly upsetting the telescope. “Don’t do that!”

“Sorry.” Nova didn’t look particularly sorry, Twilight thought. The Terran stayed in the doorway rather than joining Twilight on the balcony. “I made it back without incident. I take it you got rid of the Protoss?”

“He left, yes. What’s that?” Twilight gestured at the pillar of light behind her.

“I’m not exactly sure. I’ve never seen a weapon that big. You should come inside before someone sees you and wonders who you’re talking to.”

Twilight nodded and hurried into the library. The more she saw of the Protoss, the more reasonable Nova’s precautions seemed. Even Nova’s talk of killing… Twilight would never approve of it, but she was starting to understand why Nova thought that way. That realization scared her as much as the Protoss themselves.

“I meant to talk to you before you left,” said Twilight. “I talked to Aregal at the party. He said you stole that crystal of yours from the Protoss.”

“I did,” Nova said. If she felt any shame, she hid it well. “Before that, it was on a Dominion world. The Protoss took the Uraj in a raid. Quite a few of us died, that day.”

“Let me guess,” said Twilight. “If I go back further, someone else had the crystal before your Dominion.”

Nova nodded approvingly. “Now you’re getting it. It doesn’t matter who had it before. What matters is who has it now.”

Twilight paused. “Wait a minute. Where is that crystal?” Nova was never out of sight of her canister, but Twilight couldn’t find any sign of it, now.

“I hid it while I was out. That way, if I do get caught, I’ll still have some leverage over the Protoss.”

“Where?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

Twilight huffed. “You don’t trust me?”

“The less you know, the safer we both are.”

Applejack was used to waking up to the soft light of dawn. She was not used to waking up to the harsh light of a Protoss weapon incinerating the Everfree Forest.

“Just what in the hay do y’all think you’re doing up there?” she demanded of the aliens in front of her house. Finding them had been the second-most surprising thing to happen in the minutes since Applejack had awoken. This was not shaping up to be a very good day.

“Our search has proven fruitless,” said their leader, a stocky Protoss clad in robes of gold and blue who had introduced herself as High Templar Khaytuun. “It is time for more drastic measures. If the Terran is in the forest, the purifier beam will drive her out. Or perhaps she will simply be incinerated. If so, the Uraj itself will survive the blast, and recovering it from the detritus will be a simple matter.”

“But you’re destroying the forest!”

“The Uraj is the cornerstone of our world’s defenses against the Zerg,” said Khaytuun. “It is the difference between life and death for my people. I would happily burn a thousand forests to cinders, if that is what we must do to recover it.”

Applejack looked towards the distant weapon. “How do you know your crystal even in the forest?”

“We do not. That is why we were sent here.” Khaytuun gestured to the Protoss who had accompanied her. There were a dozen armored warriors, as well as two Dark Templars in their shadowy cloaks. “The Terran cannot be far from her ship. She is either in the forest, in your orchard, or in the settlement. I am told you have been helpful, and Executor Selendis has no wish to turn the purifier against your livelihood. We will search the farm on foot rather than incinerate it.”

“I thought you trusted me,” said Applejack. “I tell ya, there ain’t nopony else on this here farm.”

“I do not doubt your word. Still, the Terran is a skilled infiltrator, as we learned to our sorrow, and there is no limit to her kind’s treachery. She may be hiding on your land without your knowledge. We will search, and you will help us. The sooner we find the Terran, the less damage your forest will suffer.”

Applejack rubbed her chin. “And if she ain’t here, neither?”

“Our warriors are searching the town even now. There is nowhere left for the thief to hide.”

The door to the boutique flew open. Rarity nearly dropped her sewing in shock as an armored Protoss ducked through the pony-sized door. By the time he was standing straight, Rarity had recovered her composure. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“We have come to search this dwelling for signs of the Terran infiltrator.” The Protoss strode forward as more of his kind streamed into the shop.

“Not to worry,” said Rarity. “There are no infiltrators here, Terran or otherwise.”

“Perhaps,” boomed the Protoss, “but we were instructed to search every building in this town, and so we shall.”

Rarity wouldn’t have minded helping the Protoss, she decided, if they had only asked nicely. She didn’t care for their attitude one bit, however. “I’m terribly sorry, but we can’t have that. I haven’t the time, and I’d sooner not—hey! Don’t touch that!” She rushed towards a warrior who was shoving aside racks of clothes. “Those are extremely delicate!”

The warrior turned to face her. “Tread carefully, little pony. You will not stand in our way.”

“Oh, that is it,” said Rarity. “You want to barge into my home and push me around like some kind of lackey? Well, I don’t think so, buster!” She stalked forward with fury in her eyes.

The warrior dropped into a battle stance. Twin blades of bluish-white energy, each nearly as long as a pony, sprang to life from the ends his golden bracers. The other Protoss moved to surround Rarity.

“Hold.” A four-fingered hand fell lightly on the warrior’s shoulder. “We did not come here to fight.” The hand belonged to a Protoss in a cloak of deepest indigo that shimmered like the night itself. Rarity forced her attention away from the magnificent fabric and to the Protoss who wore it. He had entered without her noticing, an impressive feat from a creature three times the height of a pony.

The blades vanished and the warrior stepped back. “As you say, Prelate Aregal.”

Aregal crouched down to Rarity’s height. “I apologize for my companions. The Khalai never learned the art of subtlety.”

Rarity nodded. She knew what it was like to deal with friends who were… overly blunt. “I trust you have an explanation for this?”

“Our quest grows more desperate. The Executor has commanded us to search your town for our quarry. If you would be kind enough to help us, then we can be gone from this place quickly, with little disruption.”

Rarity looked over the Protoss standing about her boutique. There were eight of them, resplendent in armor heavy enough to stop a manticore’s claws. “I suppose I can’t stop you anyway,” she said. “Very well, conduct your search. But be gentle! I won’t have you ruining my designs.”

“I don’t like this,” said Twilight. “They’ll be here in less than an hour, I think.” She was peering out the library window, reporting on the movements of the Protoss search parties. There were at least half a dozen, Twilight had said, and the closest was searching a house barely forty meters away.

“I evaded them once,” Nova said with more confidence than she felt. She was sitting on Twilight’s tiny bed, well out of view from the streets below. “I can evade them again. Just distract them below as long as you can, and I’ll—hold on.” A faint beeping from her suit indicated an incoming transmission. The comm drone she had placed in orbit before her crash was receiving something and relaying it down to her. Nova pulled her visor over her eyes and played the transmission.

The familiar face of Colonel Starkwolf sprang into being in the center of the visor’s screen, superimposed over her vision. Bethany Starkwolf’s close-cropped hair was more gray than brown, and her face was like the aftermath of a bombing run.

The speakers in Nova’s hood sprang to life. “Damn, girl, if you ain’t more trouble than you’re worth.” Starkwolf’s voice was raspy after decades of chain-smoking cigarettes. Nova was briefly thankful that the transmission didn’t include smell. “We got your message, alright. Good thing, too. We never woulda tracked you to that backwater planet you managed to find. Now, if the Protoss ain’t killed you yet, you just sit tight, ‘cause today is your lucky day. Looks like you got your very own knight in shining armor.”

Starkwolf disappeared, and was replaced with a face Nova had only seen in propaganda posters. He wasn’t much over twenty, with perfect blond hair and a jawline that was made to be carved into marble. “You’re fortunate I was with the fleet when your transmission came in,” said Prince Valerian Mengsk, heir to the throne of the Terran Dominion. “The Uraj is vital to one of my… other projects, and I intend to retrieve it. We’re on route with the Bucephalus, the Daedalus, and the Hecate. That should be more than enough to drive off the Protoss. Valerian out.”

The transmission ended, leaving Nova with an unobstructed view of Twilight Sparkle, who was staring at her curiously. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Oh, yes.” Nova couldn’t suppress her grin. “It’s past time we had some good news. Help is on the way, Twilight. Three Battlecruisers worth of help.”

Fluttershy had kept the fillies inside through the morning. She wasn’t about to let them outside while the forest was burning. That had been the plan, anyway.

“Scootaloo!” she shouted as she burst outside. “Scootaloo, come back here!”

“But I wanna see!” Scootaloo was scaling the outside of the chicken coop, wings beating furiously as she clambered towards the roof.

Fluttershy grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and set her on the ground. “It could be dangerous out here. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Apple Bloom’s voice came from behind. “But how will we know if we can’t even take a look?”

Fluttershy whirled. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had followed her outside. “Girls! Go back inside, please.”

“Aw, but—”

“No buts.” Fluttershy herded the two of them into the cottage. “Stay put, now. This is serious.” The fillies nodded, cowed by whatever they saw in Fluttershy’s expression. She turned back to Scootaloo, who was once again climbing the coop.

Scootaloo saw her coming. She let out a squeak and dropped to the ground. Before Fluttershy could grab her, she scurried underneath the coop. The space was too narrow for a full-grown pony to follow, as Scootaloo surely knew. “Scootaloo! Come out of there right now!”

“Hey! What’s this?”

Fluttershy stuck her head beneath the coop as far she could. Scootaloo was prying at something stuck to the floorboards above her. “Now isn’t the time to play! Please, come on out and—” Fluttershy stopped as she realized what Scootaloo had found. Nova must have hidden her canister here when she stayed over, last night. “Oh, my.”

Scootaloo unscrewed the canister’s cap. “Look! It opens!”

On the bridge of the Mothership, the crew paused as a surge of psionic energies touched every Protoss mind.

“Ready a Warp Prism,” commanded Selendis. “I must go the surface immediately.”

“Stay here,” Aregal told his warriors. “See that the town remains under control. I will investigate.”

“Whoa,” said Twilight. “Do you feel that?” She was struck by the sensation of a short, sharp shock as a strange magical pressure washed over her mind. It was distant, but powerful enough that she could feel it clearly even here.

“Melt me down for scrap!” Nova cursed. “That’s the Uraj! Something must’ve happened to its shielding.” She leaped up and hurried to the library stairs, pulling a curious metal device from a sheath at her hip as she went. “If we can feel its psionic signature, then the Protoss can, too. I have to get to it before they do.

“I’m not letting you do this alone.” Twilight followed, struggling to keep up with Nova’s long-legged strides. “What’s that thing you have?”

“P-38 Gauss pistol. Seven hundred rounds per minute. Depleted uranium shells.” Nova went down the stairs four at a time.

“I don’t know what that means,” said Twilight.

“It’s a weapon. Smaller than I’d like, but it’ll have to do.” Nova reached the bottom of the stairs and ran for the door.

“I won’t let you kill anypony!”

“And when they try to kill me?” Nova didn’t wait for an answer. She threw open the door and burst onto the street, breaking into a sprint as she went. Twilight galloped after. The streets were empty of ponies, thanks to the Protoss raids. They ran towards the source of the strange magic.

They rounded a corner and nearly collided with Eidar. The behemoth’s torso rotated to face them with uncanny speed. Before Twilight even had time to worry, the thing’s massive arms fired twin bolts of radiant magic.

Nova was already diving aside. The bolts exploded against the ground where she had been a moment before. Bits of sod smacked against Twilight’s side hard enough to bruise. Nova landed in a roll that brought her back to her feet, flinging a hoof-sized object at Eidar as she rose.

There was a magical flash as the object struck some sort of shield around Eidar. The object burst with a sound like a balloon rubbing against hair, sending tendrils of energy to dance across the giant’s chassis. Eidar froze for a moment, then began twitching at random, swiveling his torso to and fro while taking small, useless steps with his gargantuan legs.

Twilight stood rooted to the ground. “What… what just…”

“Lockdown grenade.” Nova kept running, never even breaking stride. “That won’t disable it for long. Let’s move!” Twilight forced herself to run, leaving Eidar behind.

The queer magical sensation grew stronger. Twilight could feel its emanations pulsing like a bass drum in the back of her head. She was so distracted by the feeling, it took her several minutes to realize they were heading towards Fluttershy’s house. Soon enough, the cottage came into view, as did the two Protoss warriors standing guard outside the door. The Uraj’s call blazed from the cottage like an unseen sun.

“Terran! You will die!” The warriors conjured a pair of magical blades from their enchanted bracers and charged.

Twilight was ready this time. She cast two quick spells, and in place of the fearsome warriors was a pair of oranges storming forward on tiny, gold-armored legs.

“Strange,” said Nova, “but effective. I’ll finish them off.” She pointed her weapon at the Protoss.

“Don’t!” said Twilight. “Don’t you dare kill them!”

“It would be a kinder fate than leaving them as… what is that, some sort of citrus fruit?”

“It’s just a simple fructomorph spell. It’ll wear off in a day or two.”

Nova’s aim never wavered as she spoke. “And what will you do once it wears off and they try to kill you again?”

“Maybe they won’t try to kill me if I don’t go around killing their friends! Did you—”

A rush of movement. A Dark Templar cloak slipped off the roof of Fluttershy’s chicken coop and charged Nova as fast as anything Twilight had ever seen.

Nova froze, wearing a look of concentration that Twilight instantly recognized as spellcasting. A momentary flash of blue light sprang from Nova’s head and struck the Protoss, who staggered to a halt. He stood still for several seconds while Nova collected herself. “Leave,” she commanded.

“Leave,” the Protoss repeated in a flat voice. “I… yes. Leave.” He turned and walked away, towards the Everfree Forest.

“Faster,” said Nova. The Protoss broke into a run.

“You just took over his mind!” Twilight almost shrieked. “I can’t believe you did that!” Twilight’s own forays into mind control had been limited but disturbing, and had never brought anything but pain to everypony involved. Even then, the most dangerous spells she knew were not nearly as blunt or invasive as the one Nova had just used.

“Would you prefer I’d killed him?” Nova stepped over the fructomorphs as she went to the cottage door and cracked it open.

Two Protoss stood with their backs to the entrance. One of Aregal’s massive hands was clamped around Sweetie Belle’s withers, suspending her at the Protoss’s shoulder level. A blade of green-white magic extended from the bracer on his other arm and stopped inches away from her throat. The filly was all but catatonic with terror. The other Protoss, an unfamiliar female in lighter armor than the warriors usually favored, held a bright violet crystal the size and shape of Princess Celestia’s horn. The waves of magic radiating from the crystal were unmistakable. Fluttershy had backed into a corner, shielding the cowering forms of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo with her outstretched wings.

Nova’s every muscle was as tense as a steel cable. She slowly raised her weapon and aimed it at the Protoss holding the Uraj.

Aregal whirled, dropping Sweetie Belle to the ground. “Selendis!” he cried. “Behind you!”

Subtlety abandoned, Nova rushed inside. Her weapon spat out flashes of light and the most tremendous noises Twilight had ever heard. A sphere of magic blinked into existence around Selendis. The shield sparked and rippled as projectiles struck it too quickly to be seen. Bits of hot metal ricocheted around the room and smoldered against the wood where they came to rest.

The weapon stopped flashing, and its thunderous roar was replaced by a soft clicking sound. Nova stepped back as Selendis turned to face her, slowly. “How good of you to show yourself.”

Twilight hesitantly entered the cottage. She had vague ideas of keeping the situation from getting any worse, but was too dazzled by the light and sound to figure out exactly how. She saw Fluttershy ushering the foals out the back of the cottage.

Nova cast her mind control spell. The blue bolt passed through Selendis’s shield and struck her squarely.

Selendis shook her head, as though dispelling the last vestiges of sleep. “Impressive for a Terran, but I am the Executor of this fleet. I learned to crush stronger minds than yours before I finished the third stage of my training.”

Nova’s hand darted for some device on her belt. Selendis made a short gesture with her free hand. A column of purple magic enveloped Nova for half a heartbeat. She cried out once and collapsed bonelessly, landing on a pastel blue coffee table and smashing it to pieces.

That was enough to snap Twilight out of her daze. She stepped forward, glaring upwards at the Executor. “What did you do?”

Selendis ignored her and looked to Aregal, who had somehow made his way behind Twilight. “Take the Terran back to the fleet. We have what we came for.”

“You hurt my friend!” Twilight was almost shrieking, now.

“Your friend?” Selendis turned her glowing eyes on Twilight. “You ponies knew of her presence? Perhaps we are not done here, after all.”

“I never wanted any of this! I never wanted you here! Go away!” Magic surged through Twilight’s horn. Selendis vanished in a flash of magenta light, teleported to… Twilight wasn’t sure. Away.

Almost instantly, Selendis reappeared with a burst of rippling blue magic. “That was a mistake.”

Twilight stomped a hoof. She threw the full force of her will behind the spell, this time. Selendis vanished once again. Twilight found herself wondering how far away she had ended up.

When the Protoss did not immediately reappear, Twilight rushed to Nova’s side. She couldn’t see any sign of injury, but she wasn’t sure if Nova was breathing. Twilight leaned in to take a closer look.

Selendis burst back into existence. “Enough,” she said, a note of rage creeping into the steady calm of her voice.

Twilight hissed and ground her teeth. “You hurt my friend!” She began gathering her magic.

Selendis’s eyes flared with power. The space around Twilight filled with crackling blue lightning that tore burning chunks from the walls.

Twilight had studied magic under many teachers, but the very first had been her older brother, whose special talent was protection. She instantly conjured a shield on pure instinct, holding the lightning at bay in a sphere just large enough to protect herself and Nova.

With a great, shuddering breath, Twilight gathered yet more power. Her horn felt ready to burst, and her vision was shaded magenta, as though she were looking through colored glass. Twilight took all the emotions of the past days —all her fear, frustration, and grief—and poured it into one spell. Her legs trembled beneath her and white spots appeared before her eyes as Twilight struggled to contain the power overwhelming her body.

Twilight’s voice reverberated as she spoke. “I said, go away!” A flash, brighter than the sun. When Twilight could see again, Selendis was gone, and the ground where she had stood was covered in a fine dusting of ash.

She stood still, keeping her magic about her in case Selendis returned once again. Not until it became apparent that Selendis was gone for good did Twilight let herself relax. Her magic winked out and she stumbled to her knees. Twilight wanted to collapse into sleep, but Nova still needed help. Now that she was close, Twilight could see Nova’s chest gently rising and falling, but she was still—

An arm snaked from behind her and wrapped around Twilight’s throat. It jerked her off the ground in a single motion and crushed her against a muscular Protoss torso. Twilight couldn’t breathe. Her own weight was squeezing her windpipe closed. She struggled, but the arm was as hard and unyielding as iron. She tried to summon her magic, but could not concentrate over her rising panic. Blotches of nothingness appeared in her vision. Her struggles slowed, then stopped.

“I am sorry, friend Sparkle,” Aregal’s voice rumbled in her ear, and then there was only darkness.

5: In Which The Princess Intervenes

Applejack galloped through Ponyville, fighting down a rising sense of panic. When Fluttershy had arrived at the farm, three terrified fillies in tow, her story had convinced Applejack that she would find Ponyville in chaos. Instead, the town was silent, save for small bands of Protoss who watched her warily as she passed.

Through a gap between two houses, Applejack spotted sunlight glinting off Eidar’s chassis. She hurried towards him. Applejack wasn’t certain what she intended to do, exactly, but she knew she had to do something.

She found Eidar in the middle of a grassy road, facing Aregal. Around them were half a dozen armored Khalai and nearly as many of Aregal’s Nerazim in their tenebrous cloaks. The two factions stood in separate groups, each behind their own leader. Applejack frowned. That was new.

“—located the Executor’s psionic call,” Eidar was saying. His towering body dwarfed Aregal’s, but the Dark Templar appeared as composed as ever. “It appears she is on this planet’s moon, somehow.”

Aregal’s eyes widened. “Indeed? Then your followers on the Mothership must recall her at once.” Aregal glanced at Applejack as she arrived, then turned his attention back to Eidar. “Without her leadership, I fear for the fleet’s unity.”

“We cannot,” said Eidar. “Creating the wormhole would drain the Mothership’s energy reserves for some time. We would be at a disadvantage if a threat should appear before we recharge.”

“Your caution will cost us time,” said Aregal. “There are no dangers here.”

“If there are no threats, then there is no need for haste. I have dispatched a Warp Prism. It will reach this planet’s moon, retrieve Executor Selendis, and return to the fleet within days. In the meantime, we will not relax our vigilance.”

Applejack approached the pair of them. “Beg pardon,” she said, “but what in the hay did y’all do to Twilight?”

“Yes,” said Eidar, never turning away from Aregal. “What has become of the Terran’s ally?”

Aregal faced Applejack, looming over the pony. “Your friend was aiding the thief. We captured them both, but not before Twilight Sparkle transported Executor Selendis to your planet’s moon. My people have imprisoned both fugitives within stasis cells.”

“To what end, Dark Templar?” Eidar’s lack of a face made it difficult for Applejack to read his emotions, but the way he shuffled his bulky legs was anything but calm. “The Executor made it clear what fate awaits the Terran. I demand you turn the prisoners over to the Khalai to face justice.”

Aregal stepped towards Eidar until the two were only inches apart. “The situation has changed. Selendis did not know the Terran was in league with the ponies. She may wish to handle the situation differently. The prisoners will face her judgment, not yours.”

Applejack stomped a hoof. “Hold up, now. Twi’s a good pony. Whatever she did, I know she did it for a good reason.”

“Then perhaps you can help me discover her purpose,” said Aregal. “Will you speak to her?”

“’Course I will.”

“Good.” Aregal nodded. “Eidar, I trust you can keep order here in town while we deal with this.”

“As you will.” Eidar turned and marched back towards his followers.

“This way, friend Applejack.” Aregal set off towards the farm. “We will hear what Twilight Sparkle has to say.”

Author's Note

A bit of silly fun I was writing whenever I didn't feel like tackling more serious projects. It's been several months since I've touched this, though, so it's time to admit I probably won't come back to it.

Durance

Harvest Bloom tugged at the straps of his armor. The steel plates never sat right, no matter how long he wore the trotting thing. They covered his back and head, but left his legs and chest unguarded. The armorers only worried about attacks from above.

Beside him, three other earth ponies sat by their crossbows and peered through the hut’s windows, searching the skies for any sign of the enemy. The hut’s inhabitants, two foals and a mare too young to be their mother, huddled beneath the wooden table that squatted in the center of their one-room home. As if that would give them any protection when the darts fell.

Bloom wondered what had happened to the foals’ parents. He wondered who the mare was: perhaps an older sister or an aunt or a kindhearted neighbor. Unpleasant thoughts, but better than wondering what would happen when the pegasi arrived.

“This is stupid,” said Forge. “It’s been, what, four hours? Five? If they were gonna come, they woulda been here by now.” Still, the hulking stallion didn’t take his eyes from the window and the dull gray clouds beyond.

“They’re coming,” said Sergeant Hibiscus. “The captain said they’d hit this village next.” Her crossbow’s head leaned against the rough windowsill, while its butt was planted firmly in the rushes that passed for a floor. The bows were huge, powerful things, longer than a pony and nearly as heavy.

“What if he’s wrong?” said Sunny Stream, glancing about as though he expected to find the captain standing behind him.

“The captain’s never wrong,” said Hibiscus. “Stay sharp. They’re coming.”

Silence returned. Bloom would have been less terrified if they were at full strength. There had been eight of them in Hibiscus’s squad when they set out from Holstallion, but the Turnip sisters had caught the flux, and Bronze had caught a pegasus dart in the lung, and Valebright had just disappeared. Deserted, probably, but who could be sure? And now there were only four. Bloom would have given anything to be back home, instead. Buttercup would be sowing the fields, now. He wondered how she fared while he was away.

“There,” said Forge. “Look, there they are!” He bit down on the handle jutting from his crossbow’s side and jerked it upwards, aiming it at the sky. Forge raised one enormous hoof over the pedal that would fire the massive weapon.

Harvest Bloom followed Forge’s gaze, but saw nothing—no, wait, that was a glint of metal in the sky. It was far away, but moving fast. So very fast. There were others nearby, at least half a dozen, flying towards the village in an orderly wedge. He raised his own crossbow, struggling with the weight. To his left, he saw Sunny do the same.

“Steady!” said Hibiscus. “Wait for the signal.” Then she clamped her mouth around the handle of her own crossbow, and there was no more talking, only the sound of their frightened breathing and the coos of that mare trying to comfort the foals.

The pegasi shot closer. Bloom saw wings, now, stretching away from their steel-clad bodies. They flew low and fast, barely higher than the thatch rooftops. That was good. If they somehow knew about the ambush, the pegasi would have flown much higher. Harvest Bloom took aim, adjusting the crossbow with his forelegs. The pegasi were over the village. Any closer and they’d be able to drop those darts. Bloom could see their faces. Where was that trotting signal?

Finally, the flaming arrow arced across the sky. Bloom stomped on the trigger. The bow’s prod snapped forward with a jolt that shook him from his teeth to his hooves. The lethal steel soared upwards, joining the storm of bolts from nearly every window and doorway in the village.

Bloom didn’t wait to see if he hit anything. He didn’t want to know. He hauled the crossbow flat and threw his weight against the built-in lever, forcing the string back, ignoring the riot of shouts from outside the hut.

“Hah!” cried Forge. “Cloudpounders never knew what hit ‘em!”

“I saw two go down,” said Hibiscus. “We’ve got this! Keep it up!”

Bloom’s crossbow was drawn back as far as it would go. He grabbed a bolt from the quiver on his flank, wrestled it into place, and rushed back to his position at the window. There was no sign of the enemy. “Err ey go?” he slurred around the crossbow. His voice was swallowed up by the pandemonium of battle.

The darts’ approach was barely audible over the din. There was only a faint whisper as they pierced the hut’s thatch roof. When they struck, though, they struck with thuds loud enough to make themselves known. The screams were even louder.

Bloom dropped the crossbow and scanned the hut. Half a dozen pegasus darts stood upright like some horrible parody of corn stalks, buried several inches in the floor. They were wicked things, with flanged steel heads and shafts of lead or bronze as long as a pony’s leg. This was the second time Bloom had seen them. One quivered in the ground barely two hooves away from his rump. The screaming went on. Bloom tried to quiet himself. It took him several seconds to realize the cries weren’t coming from him.

Forge was thrashing on the ground. Bloom rushed over and held him still. Forge was half again as heavy as Bloom, but his struggles were weak. A bronze shaft protruded from his haunch. The dart had gone right through his armor.

“Hold still!” Bloom shouted in his comrade’s ear. “You’re making it worse.”

Forge choked out something unintelligible. Bloom nodded as though he had heard. Forge calmed down enough that Bloom could begin stripping the armor around the wound. He wondered what he was doing. He didn’t know how to treat a wound like this. Behind him, Sunny and Hibiscus fought on.

Everything hurt. Lightning Launch couldn’t tell where one wound ended and the next began. He forced his eyes open. He was in a dark place with a single fuzzy point of light, illuminating a pony who swam in and out of focus. She was dabbing some sort of poultice on Lightning’s foreleg. He tried to pull away, but his leg only shifted a few inches.

“Hold still,” said the pony. Her voice was muffled by the poultice held in her mouth, but it was still the sweetest sound Lightning had ever heard.

He held his leg in place while the pony continued her work. It stung, but not much worse than he hurt already. He took a closer look at the angel treating him. Her coat was a pale pink where it peeked out from under her brown woolen cloak, heavy with pockets and pouches. The hood concealed her mane, but her blue eyes shimmered like two lapis jewels. Her touch was precise but firm, and her wings—

Something was wrong. “You’re not a pegasus,” Lightning said. His voice sounded dull in his own ears.

“That’s right,” said the earth pony.

“But how did you get in the barracks?”

“This isn’t your barracks.”

“Then where—”

“Shh. Rest.” The earth pony raised a hoof and gently closed Lightning’s eyelids. Darkness swelled and swallowed him up.

For the first time in decades, Siege Solid was frightened. The sight of a squad flying home at half strength or worse had become all too familiar, but this time, the missing ponies included her siblings. Coltsdam should have been undefended. The raid was supposed to be an easy one. Something had clearly gone wrong. As she made her way between the rows of tents and to the clearing where the squad’s three remaining ponies had landed, Siege Solid compressed her fear into a jewel of cold rage.

Only one of the ponies saluted at the centurion’s approach. The second was busy binding a puncture wound in the third’s belly, so Siege ignored the breach in decorum. “What in the name of Discord’s mad eyes happened out there?” she barked.

“An ambush, sir!” said the pony—Gale something-or-other, if Siege remembered her name. “The groundbound waited until we’d almost landed before they started shooting. There must’ve been at least fifty of ‘em. I saw Lightning Launch and Zephyr go down in the first volley.”

Siege Solid loomed forward. “Tell me you didn’t just leave,” she growled.

Gale took a half-step back. “No, sir! We regrouped, and Fealty led us back in. The plan was to punch through, grab our ponies, and get out. I don’t know if they were dead or just wounded, but either way we didn’t want to leave them behind.”

“But you did.”

“We had to. There were only three of us left, and there was no end to the trotting groundbound.”

Siege rubbed her eyes. It wasn’t this pony’s fault, she told herself. Anypony with half a brain would have flown away. The earth ponies were the ones responsible. “Lightning went down, you said?”

Gale nodded. “I saw it. Took one in the leg, and he wasn’t too far from the ground. He went down, but I’ll bet feathers to fodder he’s still alive.”

“And Fealty?”

“I don’t know. She wasn’t with us when we left.”

Siege stepped towards the other two soldiers. “Tell me one of you knows what happened to my sister.”

The two shared a helpless look. “Sir,” said the wounded pegasus, “it was crazy in there. You could barely tell up from down.”

Siege wanted to kick him in the face. Instead she stomped a slate-gray hoof hard enough to hurt something in her knee. “What about the other three?”

“Zephyr got shot in the throat,” said the third pony. “No way she’s not dead. Water Dancer got caught in one of those trotting nets. I didn’t see what happened to Phalanx.” The other two nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” said Siege. “That’s one dead, two captured, and two maybe.”

“Sir,” said Gale, “I want to go back. I don’t like leaving anypony behind.”

“We’re going back, alright,” said Siege Solid. “We’re taking the whole century, this time. Now, get some rest. We move at first light. You lot will fly with third squad until we get back to strength.”

Dusk had fallen. Harvest Bloom and the rest of the squad were huddled around a small fire. Hibiscus had found a sack of beets, somewhere, and Bloom was boiling the roots along with the last of their oats. The leaves he saved for later.

“They say we won,” said Sunny Stream.

“Doesn’t feel like winning,” said Bloom.

“By hill and vale, Bloom, don’t you ever cheer up?” said Forge. He lay in a crossbow-hauling wagon that Bloom and Hibiscus had converted into a rolling bed. Forge was in no shape to walk, and the field hospital had not looked like a good place to stay, crowded as it was with blood and moaning ponies. “We got the fuckers. We won.”

“We got four of the fuckers.” Bloom looked into the pot over the fire. Its contents were reasonably close to a porridge. “How many did your friend say we lost, Sunny?” He grabbed an unfinished wooden bowl, scooped up a portion, and passed it to Forge.

“Three killed, and five were hurt bad,” said Sunny. “That’s counting Forge. Also two villagers, she said, but I don’t know if she meant injured or dead.”

Harvest Bloom nodded. “Ten of us. Eight soldiers.”

“Nine soldiers,” said Hibiscus. “Some filly went missing from Ridgeback’s squad. She’s either run off or dead under a rock somewhere, I’ll bet.” She took the next bowl from Bloom.

“Doesn’t feel like winning,” said Bloom.

“This is as good as it gets, away from a castle,” said Hibiscus. “Flying doesn’t make for fair fights. Trust me, this is a victory. If we didn’t have the captain, it’d be worse.”

Bloom passed a bowl to Sunny. “Doesn’t seem fair,” said Sunny. “We’re as brave as any of them.”

Forge laughed. “If this was fair, I’d still be making horseshoes in Holstallion. Those cloudpounders don’t like fair very much.”

“Hey, this actually tastes like food,” said Sunny. “Not bad.”

“Pegasi aren’t so bad,” said Hibiscus. “Unicorns, now, unicorns are dangerous.”

“Here we go.” Forge rolled his eyes. “Come on, Sarge, I’ve already been shot today. I don’t need another story about your war with Mustang le Fay’s hornheads on top of that.”

Hibiscus stared into the fire. “You laugh,” she said, “but that was where the captain learned how to fight. I never would’ve made it out of Tintagelding without him.” She blinked and looked up with a smile that almost reached her eyes. “And where would you colts be without me?”

“Closer to the fire, I bet,” grumbled Forge.

Sunny poked Harvest Bloom in the shoulder. “Hey. Your food’s getting cold, there.”

Bloom glanced at his untouched bowl. He still felt vaguely ill. The image of the doctor cutting the dart from Forge’s flesh wouldn’t stop playing before his eyes. Bloom couldn’t tell if he still smelled of blood, or if it was only in his head. He had no idea how Forge could be so casual only hours later. The pain was obvious in his eyes, if not in his voice. “I’m not hungry,” Bloom finally said. He pushed himself to his hooves and strode away.

Author's Note

I swear I was going somewhere with this.

I like the setting, and the characters aren't bad, but the plot I had in mind is darker than I want and too melodramatic even for me. Eventually I combined this setting with the characters from another story idea that was almost-but-not-quite working, and I have high hopes for that project.

Me Little Pirate: Friendship Be Magic

Nopony looked up when Twilight Sparkle stepped into the dockside tavern. It was a dark, low-ceilinged place, crowded with figures covering the entire range from “shady” to “disreputable”. Twilight did her best not to let her nervousness show. You can do this, she told herself. You’ve read all about places like this.

Twilight resisted the urge to go through her saddlebags and dig out the note. She found its presence reassuring, even though she had read over and over, enough that she could recreate it entirely from memory.

My dearest, most faithful student, Twilight,

You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely, but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books! My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony’s life than studying, so I’m sending you to join a crew of your choosing. It will do you good to supplement your education with some practical experience. You will need to become familiar with every aspect of running a ship before you are fit to take on my name and lead a crew of your own.

Sincerely,
The Dread Pirate Celestia, Scourge of the Seven Sea Ponies

If there was ever a place to find a pirate crew, this was it. Hisponyola was a haven for rogues and lowlifes of all sorts, and the Dead Mare’s Chest was the most infamous tavern on the island. Twilight scanned the crowd, searching the dingy tables for a likely-looking group of louts. There was no shortage of ponies, but Twilight wasn’t sure how to tell the pirates from the pickpockets, burglars, and vagabonds. Unless that pony—

Surely it couldn’t be—

It was!

Twilight cantered through the tavern to the table in the darkest corner. Half a dozen ponies and stranger creatures were clustered around it, laughing uproariously. Twilight waited for a lull in what passed for their conversation before approaching the unicorn who was unquestionably the group’s leader. The others at the table gave her a wide berth, which was no mean feat considering how crowded the tavern was.

“Um, excuse me?” said Twilight. “Captain Bluemane? My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’ve read all about your exploits, and I have to say I’m extremely impressed with what you’ve done. I’m actually looking to join a crew myself, and I’d be honored if you’d let me serve under you on the Great and Powerful. I have a letter of introduction from the Dread Pirate herself, as a matter of fact.”

Captain Bluemane turned and regarded Twilight coolly. Twilight smiled back.

Bluemane turned back to her crew. “Somepony deal with this fangirl,” she said. “Captain Bluemane has no time for such foals.”

Twilight’s hopes sank as one of Bluemane’s pirates, an enormous griffon, stood up.

And up.

By the Heavens, that thing was huge.

“Listen, dweeb,” said the griffon, “the captain’s trying to enjoy a quiet drink, so why don’t you buzz off?”

“Um, right,” said Twilight. “Only I really need to join a pirate crew, and yours is the best around, so I’d really like to talk to—”

The griffon reached for Twilight with a single enormous talon. “You’re dorkin’ up the seas, landlubber,” she said as she shoved.

Twilight tumbled backwards and crashed into a table, knocking it askew. A half-full flagon clattered to the ground beside her, spilling its contents everywhere.

“Hey! I’m drinkin’ here!” A hoof grabbed Twilight by the throat and lifted her up. Twilight found herself face-to-face with a blue pegasus pony. Her rainbow-colored mane was gathered into half a dozen long braids, and there was a peg in place of her left rear leg. “What’s the big idea, huh? Do I gotta beat some sense into you?”

Twilight tried to talk, but all that came out was a high-pitched squeak. She frantically pointed over the pegasus’s shoulder.

“Huh?” The pegasus glanced back and saw the griffon approaching with claws unsheathed. “Oh.” She released Twilight, who collapsed to the floor again.

“If it isn’t Dash Three-Legs,” sneered the griffon. “Outta my way. I gotta teach this dweeb here a lesson.”

“I shoulda known this was your fault, G,” said Three-Legs. “You spilled my drink. Nopony spills my drink.”

Nearby patrons began backing up. Some covertly reached for weapons.

“Yeah?” said the griffon. “You gonna do something about it?”

Three-Legs lunged forward. The griffon swiped at her with a giant talon, but Three-Legs beat her wings once and soared clear over the blow. She twisted and bucked, and the peg leg caught the griffon squarely in the chest. She went sprawling back and collapsed in a heap.

“Hah!” cried Three-Legs. “I’ll take you any day of the week, G! I’m the best fighter in the Ponish Main, and don’t you forget it!”

Captain Bluemane gestured. Four of the ponies at her table stood up. Two produced heavy clubs, and one drew a short, broad knife.

“Oh,” said Three-Legs. “Horsefeathers.” Then she said some things that Twilight had never read in a dictionary. She turned and flew away. As Bluemane’s pirates charged, Twilight took off after Three-Legs.

Three-Legs was fast. Faster than anypony Twilight had seen before. Her missing leg didn’t hold her back in the air, and the pirates had no hope of catching her. Twilight summoned her magic and teleported to the exit, reaching it just as Three-Legs did. The two of them spilled out onto the street together. Twilight was about to keep running, but stopped when she saw Three-Legs relax.

“Why are you stopping?” asked Twilight. “They’re right behind us!”

“Nah.” Three-Legs settled to the ground. “Pirate code. Streets of Hisponyola are neutral ground during the day.”

“Oh,” said Twilight. “That wasn’t in the books.”

“Yeah, the pirate code doesn’t really go in books. Who are you, anyway? How’d a lubber like you end up in the Chest?”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m looking for pirates, and the Dead Mare’s Chest is supposed to be the best place to find pirates.”

“Well yeah, it’s the only place with good booze and no lawponies. Well, good-ish booze. Well, it's alright. But why are you looking for pirates?”

“Right! I need to join a pirate crew.”

“Really?” Three-Legs eyed Twilight’s cutie mark. “Your special talent wouldn’t be navigation, would it? We just lost our navigator.”

“I’ve studied navigation, and that’s just as good. What happened to your last navigator?”

“Yeesh.” Three-Legs winced. “Poor Star Swirl. Wasn’t pretty. Anyway, you’re gonna want to talk to the captain. C’mon, this way.”

The two of them trotted off. “By the way,” said Three-Legs, “my name is—”

“Dash Three-Legs,” said Twilight. “I heard the griffon.”

Three-Legs bristled. “You don’t call me Three-Legs. Nopony calls me Three-Legs. You saw what happened to the last guy who called me Three-Legs.”

“Right,” said Twilight quickly. “Dash, then.”

Author's Note

I had forgotten all about this one.

This was written in late 2011. People were talking about a collaborative pirate-themed fic. This happened, and other people wrote some filk, but that's as far as it got.

Nightmare

I'm trudging through the forest, forcing one hoof in front of the other. After I threw my new best friend Twilight's welcome party, and the disastrous Summer Sun Celebration, and the hours and hours of research, I was exhausted even before the forest's trials began. Now, I barely have the energy to fear the unnatural darkness as it blots out the moonlight.

"I think I stepped in something," comes Applejack's voice.

Fluttershy screams.

"It's just mud," says Applejack, and then she sees the face.

It looms out of the dimness, horrible and misshapen. Shrieks fill the air, then the sound of galloping hooves.

"Wait!" says Twilight. "Wait, don't go!"

I shiver but stand fast as my friends' hoofbeats recede. I poke the face with a tentative hoof. "It's... wood?"

"Let me see." Twilight's horn lights up, revealing the face as nothing more than a gnarled tree trunk and my own imagination. I can't help giggling at the absurdity.

"It's not funny!" snaps Twilight. "The others ran away and now we're all alone!"

"Not alone," comes a voice, and the night itself steps into the hornlight.

Twilight leaps into a defensive stance. "Nightmare Moon!"

"Thou art not far wrong," says the pony. "We have come to aid thee."

"Stay back!" says Twilight. "You'll never... uhhh." She slumps to the dirt.

I rush to her side. She's breathing. "What did you do?"

"She sleeps," says the pony. "As thou dost. Wake up, my little pony."

And then Mr. Cake is shaking me and there's sunlight coming in my bedroom window. "Rise and shine! Today's a big day!"

"But," I say, "The moon and the night and the Nightmare Moon!"

He gives me one of those Mr. Cake looks. "Did you have a bad dream?"

I'm walking through town and everything is normal. It must have been a dream after all. And then I see her.

She notices me staring. "Um. Hello?"

This can't be happening. Should I tell her? She'll never believe me. I gasp, and run away.

"Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only thing that can stop her," says Twilight, "but I don't know what they are, where to find them—I don't even know what they do!"

I go straight to the one book that helped, last time. "The Elements of Harmony," I read, "A Reference Guide!"

Twilight darts over. "How did you find that?"

"It's just mud," says Applejack, and then she sees the face.

My friends are screaming, but this time I know what to do.

Author's Note

For reasons that seemed sensible at the time, I agreed to write a sprawling adventure epic in 500 words. According to my math, 500 is less than 1000, so this can't be published on its own, even though it's actually a finished story (unlike the other works in this collection, which are either not finished or not stories). If I ever write enough of these to warrant their own collection, I'll split them off.

Sunset

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.

But as time went on, the elder sister grew proud. The ponies relished and played in the day she brought forth, but slept through her sister’s beautiful night. One fateful day, the elder unicorn refused to lower the sun to make way for twilight.

The younger sister tried to reason with her, but the arrogance in the elder's heart had transformed her into a wicked tyrant, Corona Blaze. She vowed that she would engulf the land in eternal day.

Reluctantly, the younger sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using their magic, she defeated her older sister and banished her permanently from Equestria.

The younger sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.

Sunset Shimmer slammed the book shut and rolled the kinks from her neck. Now that she was done with the stupid storybook, she could get back to her real studies. A twitch of her horn summoned a burst of cyan magic that brushed the old tome from her desk. Before it thumped to the ground, she was already finishing a second spell to levitate a glossy new treatise into its place. She delved eagerly into the arcane diagrams and spell formulae.

It was annoying, how Princess Luna kept diluting Sunset Shimmer’s lessons with these silly detours into mythology and history and other useless subjects. Still, she made sure to learn the material, and learn it well. The princess was the wisest, most powerful pony in Equestria, and putting up with a few worthless distractions was a small price to pay for being her personal student. Sunset Shimmer had access to the most advanced materials, enough clout to speak with the foremost experts in every field, and personal instruction from the greatest magician who ever lived.

And… it was nice, sometimes, to have her around. Princess Luna was the only pony who could keep up with Sunset Shimmer as she bounced from topic to topic, drawing connections between fundamental aura theory and recent breakthoughs in applied morphology, or speculating on how horn length affected astral attunement. Even with the so-called experts, Sunset Shimmer needed to slow down and spell out every obvious detail before they could understand. With Princess Luna, she could just… talk.

And there was so much to talk about. The treatise described a variant classification of thaumaturgical interdependencies, but the authors barely seemed to understand their own ideas. Sunset Shimmer flipped back to the start and read through again, envisioning the new model. She slowly added pieces to her mental diagram until she had a sprawling three-tiered model of the whole thing. Yes, this approach was fascinating. She couldn’t wait to tell the princess. It suggested a connection between—

“There you are, Sunset!” The high-pitched voice tore her concentration to shreds. Her model vanished like dew in the morning sun, replaced by the library’s mahogany floors and clerestory windows and, incongruously, half a dozen giggling ponies. It was Twinkleshine, of course, with her gaggle of empty-headed hangers-on. “Moondancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard,” she went on. “You wanna come?”

This was why they had interrupted her? Did they even know what a library was for? “I have better things to do than socialize,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m going to re-read Advanced Elemental Magical Practices and then practice for my advanced summoning spells exam.” Princess Luna planned to administer the exam personally, and Sunset Shimmer’s performance would be perfect. She levitated the books into her panniers and slung them across her back. “Maybe you can help me, though. Do you know a good place where a pony can get some studying done? A quiet place?”

Glowering, Twinkleshine stepped forward and opened her mouth. Before the tirade could start, Sunset Shimmer fixed the pony with her best glare, channeling the intensity that would have been devoted to her studies. Twinkleshine faltered. “Maybe the Vesper Tower,” she mumbled.

“Perfect!” Sunset Shimmer said through a false smile. “And don’t worry, girls. When the princess asks what the city’s most diligent students are up to, I’ll be sure to tell her all about your little party.” She turned her back and walked away.

“Does that pony do anything except study?” Twinkleshine said in a whisper that Sunset Shimmer was pretty sure she was meant to overhear. “I think she's more interested in books than friends.”

****************************************

The rainbow lights faded, leaving Corona Blaze sprawled in a heap among shattered bits of armor. The largest piece was the great ivory helm, a jagged crack now running along its dome. The pony seemed smaller, somehow, and her burning mane had faded to a softer glow, pink and turquoise and cobalt.

As the Elements’ power dissipated, the sense of wholeness they brought dissolved as well. Sunset Shimmer tried to hold on to the feeling, but it slipped from her grasp like dust through a sieve. She felt empty, alone, worse than she ever had before… no, she felt exactly the way she had always felt before she came to Ponyville. She’d just never known until now that there were other ways to feel.

“We did it!” came Pinkie Pie’s shriek from behind her. “We totally saved Equestria!” Sunset grit her teeth. Source of limitless magical power or no, these ponies could get annoying.

“Gee, Sunset,” said Applejack, “I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship.” She laid a hoof on Sunset’s withers, and for half a heartbeat, the sense of wholeness flared again in her breast. Okay, maybe there was something to this friendship thing after all.

“Indeed you do,” came Princess Luna’s voice.

Sunset Shimmer whirled. Princess Luna walked soundlessly across the castle floor, calm and collected as though this were a perfectly ordinary visit.

“Princess.” Sunset’s eyes tensed. “You never told me the story was real.”

The princess half-smiled. “You never would have believed me. Instead I told you to focus your studies on friendship. I knew you had enough magic, and I knew you had the strength to let friendship into your heart.” She turned to Corona Blaze. “Now if only another will, as well. Princess Celestia.”

Corona Blaze lifted her head and let out a little wordless gasp.

“It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this,” said Princess Luna. “It’s time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to lead together, big sister. Will you accept my friendship?”

Corona Blaze—Celestia—struggled up to her forelegs. She stared at Princess Luna with trembling eyes, half-turned away as though she were about to bolt. Finally her gaze softened. “I—”

There was a flash of rose-colored light, and a purple unicorn appeared at Celestia’s side. Sunset Shimmer blinked. A teleport like that took more magic than any three of her teachers together could muster. She could barely cast the spell herself. Who was this unicorn?

Sunset had only a moment to wonder before the unicorn launched a ray of raw magic at Princess Luna. The princess conjured a cobalt shield, stopping the attack harmlessly. Sunset Shimmer gaped, stunned by the unicorn’s sacrilege.

“Twilight Sparkle,” said Princess Luna. “I owe you an apology.”

Twilight Sparkle stood before Celestia, shielding her with her body. “You leave her alone.”

Rainbow Dash streaked forward, the Element of Loyalty glowing crimson at her throat. “Out of the way, pipsqueak.”

“Enough, Rainbow Dash,” said Princess Luna. “Twilight, there’s no need for this. We’ve stopped fighting. Celestia is coming home.”

“No.” Twilight Sparkle looked to Celestia. “No, it’s not over. You can win another day. You’re better than this. You’re better than her.”

Celestia’s eyes darted from one to the other. “I,” she said, “I don’t… I need to think…”

“I’ve missed you so much,” said Princess Luna. “Please.”

Twilight Sparkle took a breath. “I believe in you.”

Slowly, eyes squeezed shut, Celestia reached out a hoof. She took the cracked ivory helm and clutched it to her breast. Twilight Sparkle stepped closer, her face a rictus grin. A flash of rose, and they were gone.

It was Rarity who broke the stillness. “What in Equestria was that?”

“My two greatest failures,” said Princess Luna.

Where The Heart Is

It was a fake Hearth’s Warming dinner, but Top Notch had cooked as though it were the real thing. Her best tablecloth was nearly hidden beneath the platter of honey-glazed carrots and asparagus, the tureen of mashed potatoes drowning in butter, the bowl of strawberries and grapes and blackberries, and all the rest. There was no way the three of them could eat it all, but then, that was rather the point.

“Wow, Mom,” said Carrot Top. “You did all this for me?”

“Of course, dearest,” said Top Notch. “It’s not often we get you home with us.”

Beside her, Tip Top harrumphed. “Not often enough, you ask me,” he grumbled into his mustache. “Don’t see why you can’t stay for Hearth’s Warming. Just two more days. Think it’s important.”

“It is important,” said Carrot Top. “Swarm Siren can’t visit her family, so the girls and I figured we’d show her a real Equestrian Hearth’s Warming.”

“That’s awfully sweet of you,” said Top Notch. “Still, if you’d rather be with us for the holiday, I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“They’re my friends,” said Carrot Top. “I want to be with them.”

“Supposed to be at home on Hearth’s Warming,” said Tip Top.

Carrot Top pressed a hoof to the bridge of her nose. “Mom. Dad. I care about you. That’s why I came here today. But I’m building my life in Ponyville, okay? It’s a special place, and I’m a part of it, and, and, that’s important to me. Okay?”

“Certainly, dearest,” said Top Notch. “You should spend the holiday wherever you think is most important. If that means being away from home… well, then it means being away from home, that’s all.”

Carrot Top walked into her house, luggage handle in her mouth, and kicked her way past Bon Bon’s boots, Derpy’s flying goggles, and molted bits of Swarm Siren’s exoskeleton. After spending all day on the train, her neck ached and her legs were cramped and she wanted nothing so much as to collapse in her own bed and never ever leave.

She nudged open the door to her bedroom, only to be greeted by a set of gray hindquarters. The pony’s head was out of view, rooting through Carrot Top’s wardrobe with all the finesse of a griffon mating dance. Dresses and sweaters lay discarded at her hooves.

“Derpy,” said Carrot Top, “what are you doing?”

“Oh!” Her friend whirled to face her, bonking her head on the wardrobe’s side. A blouse slipped from its hanger. Derpy squealed and lunged, catching it, but knocking three more hangers loose. She lunged again, bonked face-first into the wardrobe’s door, and slowly slid to the floor.

“Sorry!” said Derpy. “Ow. Sorry.”

“Oh, Derpy.” Carrot Top exhaled slowly, trying not to let herself smile. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Now. What are you doing?”

“I, um.” Derpy stood, Carrot Top’s rumpled blouse draped over a foreleg. “It’s a surprise.”

“Well, good job. I’m surprised.”

“That’s not what I mean!” Derpy bent and began scooping up the fallen clothing.

Carrot Top stepped forward. “Maybe I should handle that.”

“No!” Derpy darted between her and the wardrobe. “No, I mean, you can’t look in there yet. You’re supposed to see it tomorrow, for Hearth’s Warming, and it’s supposed to be a surprise.”

By now Carrot Top was completely failing to hide her grin. “Did you get me a present?”

“I can’t tell you! It’s! A! Surprise!”

“Alright. I’ll go make us some smoothies while you finish up. Will you be done in ten minutes?”

“Uh.” Derpy glanced dubiously at the pile of clothing about her. “Maybe?”

“Well, get me when I can come back, okay?” Carrot Top turned to go.

“Okay. And Carrot?”

“Yeah?”

Derpy nuzzled Carrot Top’s neck. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“You know what they say.” Carrot Top leaned against her friend. “There’s no place like home for the holidays.”

Author's Note

Written for Chris because of reasons.

Marked

You must judge, as you read this tale, whether Ward is a coward. Some would say he ran from his guilt, and that is true, in a way. But first, Ward faced his guilt candidly and grappled with it—and he was broken. Then he ran, never looking back for fear of what he might see.

Another pony, faced with that same guilt, would pretend not to notice. He would live always with a little scream locked inside his heart, and kiss his wife with a little scream locked behind his lips, and watch his children with a little scream locked behind his eyes, and if you asked him, he would tell you he was happy, so long as you asked under the bright warm light of the sun.

But perhaps they are both cowards.

Coward or no, Ward fled Canterlot, with its towers and boulevards, and his friends and comrades in the Guard. He fled to Ponyville, and you will say he did not go far; but if the two places are close in distance, they are far in spirit. Ponyville is a quiet place, and it never reminded Ward of his past. But try as he might, he could not start again.

He volunteered at the school, but the foals kept asking him what it was like in the Guard, and he was afraid that sooner or later he might tell them, and so he left. He helped with the Flower-Painting Festival in spring, but Rainbow Dash kept trying to share stories of fighting off the changeling invasion, and eventually he ran out of nervous laughter and left. He went to the book group at the library, but Twilight Sparkle was always there, and she knew, she never said anything but everyone knew Celestia shared everything with her and so she knew, and eventually he got tired of avoiding her eyes and left.

The dream came again, that night.

Fire and chaos and screaming. The shining marble streets of Canterlot were clogged with fleeing ponies. Every way he turned, changelings buzzed low, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Faces flashed by him, distorted impossible grimaces. Ward found himself rushing to the front. Ponies saw his armor, saw the shield that marked his flank, and parted for him. Protecting these ponies was his purpose.

Then he was at the fountain square. It was deserted save for the changeling, horrible eyes and coal-black shell, hard angles and wicked edges. Somehow it seemed terribly fragile and small. Ward didn’t want to fight it, but he had to, it was his purpose, so he lowered his head and charged.

This time, he decided. This time I’ll just scare it. Maybe rough it up a little. Drive it away.

And then it was on top of him biting clawing and he just wanted it off and he lashed out and its broken body was all over the fountain and all over his forelegs and all over the shining marble streets.

He ran through the streets again, and ponies ran away screaming, but this time they ran from him.

He awoke, soaked in sweat, and lay shaking in the darkness. Then he found quill and paper, and he wrote a letter to Princess Luna under the light of the stars.

Even then, Princess Luna was not loved. She was not feared, either, or at least not so much as she had been.

Ward told her everything in that letter. He wrote of the invasion, he wrote of the dreams, he wrote of the doctors who could not help him, and he wrote of his flight to Ponyville.

Please, he wrote.

The next time the dream came, Ward was not alone. The streets were the same, filled with the same panicked crowd, and the same purpose drove him to the same fountain square, but when he arrived, there was no sign of the changeling. The Princess of Dreams stood in its stead.

“You must face your fear,” said Luna, “or the nightmare will never end.”

“I have,” said Ward. “Stars help me, but I have. I can’t stop thinking about it. What I did to that changeling—”

“No.” Princess Luna tapped a hoof, and the world fell away. “This dream is grief, and it is guilt, but it is not fear.” She stepped close, filling his vision. “Yet there is fear in you. What do you fear? Why do you cling to this nightmare?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“You choose your guilt because you fear to leave it behind. Why? What is so terrible that you must do this to yourself?”

Ward would have stepped back, if he could. “I don’t know!”

“You know.” A cold smile touched Luna’s eyes. “Perhaps your waking mind does not, but this is the land of dreams, and here, you cannot hide. Now tell me, little pony. What do you fear?”

He awoke, shaking harder than ever before.

Ward arrived at the library just before sunrise. He had never considered Twilight Sparkle his friend, before—but if you lived in Ponyville in those days, and you had no other friends to rely on, you would find yourself at that door.

If seeing him so early bothered her, Twilight Sparkle hid it well. She made coffee as Ward told her everything. Finally she set the steaming mug before him and asked, “So how can I help?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

Twilight Sparkle nodded. “Princesses can be like that, sometimes. What was it she said? That you were choosing to feel guilty?”

“I think she was saying I’m scared to not feel guilty.”

“Mm.” She blew the steam off her cup. “Well, what would it mean if you didn’t feel that way?”

“After what I did? I’d be a monster.”

She paused. “You think what you did was monstrous?”

“No,” he said slowly. “No, I don’t. It was an accident, and I was protecting ponies. That’s my special talent—my purpose. But it’s… sometimes a pony does something like that without meaning to, or sometimes a pony does it just because it’s easier. You see?”

“I don’t,” said Twilight Sparkle. “How do you tell which it is?”

“By whether they feel bad! The ponies who feel bad are the ones who never wanted to do it. The ones who don’t feel bad, they’re the ones who start trouble, the ones who might do it again.”

Twilight nodded. “So you’re worried you might do it again?”

“No,” Ward said through clenched teeth. “I won’t do it again. Not ever.”

The sun went down, and Ward dreamed.

This time, after it happened, he found himself in the princess’s throne room, his armor still stained with the changeling’s viscera.

“You must face your fear,” said Princess Luna.

“I did!” said Ward. “I’m trying! What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Luna drew back, eyes teetering between amusement and offense. “You asked for my aid.”

“Yes! I want the dreams to go away! I want all this to stop!”

“Truly? Then say the word, and I will remove your memory of the event. You need never think on it again. Is that what you want?”

Ward said nothing.

“Then tell me, little pony. What do you want?”

“I want out,” he said. “I’m trapped, and I can’t leave. I want to stop thinking about what I did. But I can’t, not if I’m going to keep protecting ponies.”

“Then stop protecting ponies,” said Princess Luna.

“But I have to! It’s my special talent!”

“Ah, yes. Of course.” Her eyes fell to the shield that marked his flank. “You were given a purpose, long ago. Perhaps it even fit you, once. But no longer.” Her eyes were far away. “I have seen this before.”

“You have? Great! So what do I do?”

“You must first understand your special talent. You must understand where it ends, and where you begin. Understand what you would be without it. Only then can you choose your path.”

“You know my friend Rarity?” said Twilight.

Ward nodded. “The dressmaker.”

“Right. Whose cutie mark is three jewels.”

“That is a little odd,” said Ward.

“Her special talent is finding gems with magic.”

Ward frowned. “That’s very odd.”

Twilight wrapped her hooves around her mug. “I asked her, once, why she didn’t work as a miner or something where she could use her talent more. She told me, ‘But Twilight, I don’t want to look for jewels. I want to make dresses.’ So that’s what she did.”

Author's Note

So this one was gonna be about how people change and destiny is bullshit. Ward realizes he doesn't have to let his mark define him, stops holding himself to the ideal of protecting people, and so stops holding on to the guilt that he thinks he needs to keep himself from going overboard. He moves on to some completely different profession that's fulfilling and has nothing to do with his mark. Roll curtain.

The Weather Merchants

“You have to be wary when you’re on land,” Mom said. “The groundbound aren’t like us.”

Thunderbird rolled her eyes. “I know. You said.” She beat her wings harder, as if she could pull the Cloud faster and escape. Of course, Mom was pulling in the harness beside her, along with the rest of the family—the Cloud was huge, built from as much rain as they could all pull, and the three rooms carved into the cloudstuff all fit easily into the top third of its mass.

“You don’t know,” Uncle Ranger said from above. He kept watch instead of pulling because of his weak wing. No one would ever tell Thunderbird what had happened to it, but she was pretty sure he’d been hurt in a war. She’d noticed the way he got quiet whenever someone mentioned the Legion. “You’ve heard about it. That’s different.”

“I’ve watched,” Thunderbird said. She was sick of watching. Every time they got to a town, she always stayed in the Cloud and looked at the big ponies while they went down and did all the interesting things. But now she had her mark, so it was time for her to learn the other half of the family trade.

“You’ve watched,” said Mom, “but you’ve never dealt with ponies outside the family. They’re not like us. They’ll get you for everything you’re worth, if you let them.”

“I know. I’ll be good.”

Mom and Uncle Ranger burst out laughing.

Thunderbird glowered at nothing and beat her wings even harder.

Mom recovered first. “Oh, my little bird,” she said. “I was your age, once. If you stay out of trouble, I’ll drink the Cloud.”

“Then why are you telling me this?”

“To make sure you can handle trouble,” said Uncle Ranger. “You’re not some citystuck sucker. You’re a free pegasus.”

“They’ll get you for everything you’re worth, if you let them,” Mom said again. “So don’t let them.” She smiled, showing teeth. “When we’re down there, you get them first.”

Bonfire trotted down the largest of the town’s five streets, dodging the grown-ups who hurried this way and that. Usually he loved nothing more than to watch all the ponies going everywhere and doing everything, but today was going to be even better. It felt funny, leaving the castle on his own. Almost scary, but a good kind of scary.

He’d had to argue, to get out here. At first Dad wanted to come too, just to watch Bonfire get his shoes. That wasn’t fair, though. Mom always said that he could go into town without a grown-up once he turned eight years old. Well, now he was eight, and she’d said. It still took a while before Dad let him.

The shops around him seemed bigger than usual. Most were two whole stories tall, pressed closer together than anything back home in the castle. Bonfire could see unicorns haggling inside every third shop. Most of the customers were freeholders, except for a few serfs and earth ponies. The Weather Market started tomorrow, and ponies were getting ready.

In what felt like no time at all, he was at the smithy door, the big wooden one with the iron bands. Bonfire pushed. The door was heavier than he was, and it moved slowly, but he pushed and pushed until it was all the way open.

Beyond was a single big chamber filled with wonderful things. There were racks of strange tools, a broken plow as big as a grown-up, and a half-finished suit of shiny steel barding. And of course there was the forge. Just now it was cold, but the brick hearth was still the grandest thing in the room. Next to it stood Solid Steel, with a broad knife and whetstone in his horngrip.

Steel put down his things and sketched a bow.“Young master Bonfire. Are you ready?”

“Yes!” Bonfire rushed forward and stuck out his hoof.

Steel chuckled. “Not just yet. I need my tools, first.”

Bonfire froze. “Oh.” He bounced from hoof to hoof as Steel puttered around, collecting pincers and rasp, hammer and nails, and finally the shoes themselves. It took forever.

Finally Steel took Bonfire’s forehoof in his red-orange horngrip and turned it face-up. “Hold still,” he said.

Bonfire held still. The rasp and clippers trimmed down his hoof. It felt weird, but it didn’t hurt.

Once the hoof was smooth, Steel nailed the shoe in place with tiny hammerstrikes that shook Bonfire’s whole leg. It went on and on, and also it took no time at all. Then they were on to the next hoof.

Steel was hammering in the third shoe when Bonfire saw the filly. She was peeking from behind a doorframe, but she stood tall when she saw Bonfire looking. She was a deep blue, almost purple. Her mane was the green of old bronze, and her eyes were orange like fire. She was just barely bigger than him, and when she walked forward, he heard the clink of metal shoes on the stone floor.

Bonfire blinked. “What are you doing here?”

The filly giggled. “I live here, silly.”

“Starling,” Steel said without looking up, “I told you to stay upstairs when I’m working.”

“She should stay,” said Bonfire. He was a big pony, now that he had his shoes, and noble besides. Steel should listen.

Starling came forward, stopping just far enough that she was in no danger from stray hammerstrikes. “Are you a traveler? I haven’t seen you in town before.”

“I live in the castle,” he said. “I’m Bonfire.” As he spoke, Steel set down his newly-shod hoof and took up his last remaining leg.

She shrugged. “The castle is almost as good. I’m Starling.”

“I heard. Isn’t that a pegasus name?”

“It’s my name. I’m a unicorn.”

Bonfire nodded solemnly. “Is Solid Steel your dad?”

“Yeah. He’s a smith, but I’m gonna be a knight.”

“Me too! My mom’s the best knight there is.”

“Nuh uh!” said Starling. “Flamerider is the best knight. Everyone knows that.”

“Flamerider was from Canterlot. It doesn’t count if you’re not from Tintagelding.”

“Who’s your mom, then?”

“Bastion!”

“She’s a pretty good knight,” Starling allowed.

Mirror Sheen strode through the grass two steps behind her closest ally, the one who had stolen her throne. She stepped high, keeping her gown from dragging in the muddy field between the town walls and the weather merchants’ camp. The gown was an elegant cerulean, chosen to set off her silver-white coat without overshadowing Bastion’s garb, a tawny dress which should have looked modest over her slate gray coat. Thanks to Bastion’s ruined face, marred by three ragged scars and the perpetual glower from her remaining eye, she looked fierce whatever she wore.

It was a fitting appearance, Mirror Sheen mused. Bastion was no politician, no matter what rank her scheming husband had managed to grab for her. Even for this simple welcome party, Bastion brought half a dozen armored guards stomping through the mud behind her. Had Mirror Sheen been in her place—as was her right—she would have brought courtiers instead.

“I don’t like this,” Bastion said.

Mirror Sheen glanced at her, then looked ahead to where the merchants were setting up. “It seems fine to me,” she said. “Their cloud looks big enough, and the camp is coming along well.” Tintagelding’s serfs were almost done erecting a fence around the campsite, driving the last of the stakes into the ground.

The pegasi themselves were pitching tents and carrying trunks down from their cloud. It was a big cloud, thrice the size of a serf’s hut, with a healthy gray shade that boded well for this year’s harvest. The upper third was smooth and sculpted, speckled with neat square windows, all atop an amorphous blob that looked almost natural.

“The camp is fine,” Bastion said, “so long as those ponies stay inside it. I don’t want them spending any more time among us than they have to.”

“The weather merchants? They’re no worse than any other merchants.” Dearie and her family were, if not exactly honest, then at least close enough to work with. It had been far too long since they’d visited.

“Mm,” said Bastion. “Those trunks they’re unloading. They brought more than just weather to trade.”

“I should hope,” said Mirror Sheen. They needed the rain most of all, but there were any number of goods that Tintagelding couldn’t make on its own.

“My husband wanted to buy any bloodwort they have,” said Bastion. “He used our last in curing your daughter’s pox.”

Mirror Sheen shook her head. “They won’t have any bloodwort.”

“He said it’s important.”

Mirror Sheen managed not to roll her eyes. “I don’t doubt it’s important. Your husband knows more herb lore than any pony I’ve met. But I know trade routes. Bloodwort comes from the buffalo lands, so you’ll find it on caravans coming by the western routes through the Earth Pony Republic. Weather comes from the south and southeast, mostly from the Haydriatic Sea. Important or no, these pegasi won’t have your herb, and asking would only make us look ignorant.”

They were close, now. Two familiar pegasi broke away from the group and flew over to meet them. Dearie, whose light pink flanks were now starting to get fat; and Ranger, the big brown brute. Dearie flashed a small smile her way, while Ranger looked over their guards like a dentist evaluating a rotten tooth.

They met at the gap in the fence that served as a gate. “It’s good to see you, Dearie,” said Mirror Sheen. “After all these years, I thought you must’ve switched to a different route.”

“Routes are for you groundwalkers. The wind blew us your way this time, is all. I hope the baron is well?”

“Fallen in battle,” said Mirror Sheen. It was getting easier to talk about her husband; she managed to keep her voice level, this time. She plowed ahead before Dearie could offer any shallow condolences. “This is his sister, Bastion. She rules Tintagelding as baroness regent until my daughter comes of age. Bastion, allow me to introduce Dearie of the pegasi, and her brother Ranger.”

Dearie bowed. “My lady.”

“Welcome to our lands,” said Bastion. “May your stay be fruitful.” She cleared her throat. “Mirror Sheen will handle Tintagelding’s negotiations for your weather.”

“I get why she’s here,” said Ranger. “Why did you come out here, my lady?”

Bastion returned his stare. The two shifted their weight, as though they were about to charge each other. Mirror Sheen took a cautious step back.

“Two reasons,” Bastion said at last. “First, I’d like a count of your group.”

“Six,” said Dearie. “There’s me and my brother here—” she tapped Ranger’s side, and some of the tension left his neck— “there’s my husband, his mother and father, and also my oldest daughter. I have two more children, but they’ll stay up on the cloud.”

Bastion nodded. “Second, to explain how your visit here will work. This camp is yours for three days. When the sun is up, you’ll be welcomed in the market square, to do your business with our farmers and tradesponies. When the sun is down, your ponies will be in your camp and no one else will. We’ll post sentries to make sure everyone stays where they’re supposed to. You will only go to the farms when you’re making weather, and you will be escorted by myself or Mirror Sheen when you do so.”

“The curfew is fine,” said Dearie, “but we need to go to your farmers to set up deals, not just to make rain.”

Bastion shook her head. “I’d like to keep your people separate from my people wherever we can. Such meetings have ended badly, in the past. You’ll trade with the farmers at the market, where we can keep an eye on things.”

“Not flexible enough,” said Ranger.

“He’s right, I’m afraid,” said Dearie. “We’ll both miss some valuable trading opportunities.”

Bastion set her jaw. “Nevertheless.”

Mirror Sheen suppressed a sigh. Everyone was setting up to argue about the first idea they had, and no one was thinking about how to get what they actually wanted. It would have been funny if it weren’t so typical.

She cleared her throat. “Bastion, you’ve already suggested the solution to this problem. You or I can escort them to the farms, to observe the deals and make sure nothing goes amiss.”

“Hm,” said Bastion. “If you’re willing to watch them, then I suppose so.”

“Good,” said Mirror Sheen. “Dearie?”

She shrugged. “It’ll do.”

“Fine,” said Bastion.

When Mirror Sheen and Bastion returned to the castle, the first thing they did was go straight to Triumph, the captain of guards, to make sure sentries were posted around the weather merchants’ camp. Bastion cast a confused glance at Mirror Sheen, probably wondering why a merchant’s daughter was following her to military meeting.

Mirror Sheen just smiled back. As long as Bastion didn’t ask aloud, Mirror Sheen wouldn’t have to say how certain she was that Triumph and Bastion would muck up the negotiations, if left to their own devices. Those two wouldn’t recognize diplomacy if Queen Corona’s personal ambassador gave them a signed treaty describing the term. Fortunately, Mirror Sheen convinced the warhorses not to post guards inside the camp itself.

“One other thing,” Triumph said. “Do they have any news about the troubles in the Earth Pony Republic?”

Bastion shook her head. “The merchants came from the opposite direction. They brought news from the Pegasus Empire, and were asking what we’ve heard from the Republic. It’s their next destination, and our information is more recent than theirs.”

Triumph frowned. “I don’t like this. I was worried when it was just the refugees and stories about monster attacks. But now we’ve heard nothing from the Republic for… how long is it, now?”

“Four months,” said Bastion evenly.

“Right. One month of quiet was a relief. Two was weird. By now… for all we know, Discord’s legions could’ve overrun the lot of them.”

Mirror Sheen frowned. It was earth pony refugees who had caused her husband’s death. “What does this have to do with us?”

“If something dangerous is happening, we need to prepare,” said Triumph. “Maybe we should be getting ready for monster attacks, or more refugees, or who knows what. We don’t know. We need to send scouts.”

Mirror Sheen nodded. The last thing they needed was even more trouble from the dirt ponies.

“Any expedition would have to be strong enough to defend itself,” said Bastion, “and the journey would take months. If something dangerous is coming, we can’t afford to send an expedition.”

“But the merchants are going there anyway! We can get them to come back here and report, after. Pay them or something, I guess.”

“We’d have to trust the merchants,” said Bastion.

“They have no reason to lie to us,” said Mirror Sheen. “We just have to trust their self-interest. I think it could work.”

They were interrupted when Bonfire rushed into the room, followed by Beauty Blue. “Mom! Look!” Bonfire reared and waggled his forelegs. Torchlight glinted on his steel shoes.

Bastion broke away and inspected her son’s hooves, turning her face to see with her good eye. “It’s sturdy work,” she said. “Were you scared?”

“Of course not!”

“Good. Let’s go show your father. I know he’ll want to see this.” She glanced back. “We’ll continue this later.”

Triumph headed off, and Mirror Sheen was alone with her daughter.

“Mom?” said Beauty Blue. “I’m older than Bonfire. Why does he have shoes and I don’t?”

“You can have shoes if you want them,” said Mirror Sheen. “Bonfire has shoes because he will be a knight. Soldiers wear them, for marching and for striking.” She gathered her courage. “Do you want to be a knight?”

“Dad was a knight.”

Mirror Sheen swallowed. “He was.” Sun and Stars, if Beauty wanted to learn war to stay connected to her father, Mirror Sheen didn’t know how to dissuade her…

“That’s why he died,” said Beauty Blue, “isn’t it?”

“Yes. He was killed in a battle.”

Beauty Blue nodded. “I don’t want to be a knight.”

Mirror Sheen let out the breath she’d been holding. “Okay.”

“Mom? Will Bonfire get killed in battle, too?”

“He won’t be a knight for years and years.”

“Right. But when he is? Will he die?”

Mirror Sheen sighed. “I don’t know.”

Bonfire hurried through the town . It hadn’t been easy to sneak out of the castle, but today was the Weather Market. He had to see it.

Except he didn’t know where it was. The town looked like normal. It was busy, and on any other day he would have loved to watch the ponies go by, but today he was looking for pegasi. Where were they?

A shadow passed over him. Of course. They were up. There were two of them. Bonfire watched them fly, cutting through the air as they descended. They landed in front of the smithy and went inside.

Bonfire went around to the smithy’s back door. It was open, and he could see the pegasi inside, talking to Solid Steel. The bigger pegasus wore heavy panniers that clinked when he moved.

“—not much time,” Solid Steel was saying. “I won’t be able to do anything complicated before you leave.”

“That’s fine,” said the big pegasus. “It’s simple work.”

“Alright. Let’s take a look, Mister… I didn’t catch your name?”

“Because he didn’t say,” said the other pegasus.

The big one shot her a look. “Watch it, little bird.” He turned back to Steel. “Call me Ranger. And I need you to complete these.” He took a pannier in his mouth and upended it over the dirt floor. Half a dozen metal things clattered out, all sharp angles and wicked edges.

Bonfire moved closer, hiding behind the big broken plow to get a better look.

Solid Steel’s face was tight. “You want me to make lightning darts?”

“Just the shafts. I’ve got enough heads, and that’s the hard part.” Ranger poked one of the things. Each was as big as his hoof, with three barbed blades coming to a point, and an empty socket at the back. “I’ll want shafts two thirds of a leg long, with one end blunt and the other made to fit the heads. Bronze will do, but lead would be best.”

“I had a cousin got killed by those,” said Solid Steel. “I’m not making darts for you to drop on unicorn soldiers.”

Ranger rolled his eyes. “Don’t plan on dropping them on soldiers. I’m not about to die because some lord or other says boo. Storm and thunder, I started trading weather to get away from all that.”

“But you want lightning darts.”

“Listen, friend. You live in a city. You’ve got walls to keep the world out, and soldiers to do the killing for you. That’s wonderful, truly.” Ranger’s smile wasn’t quite straight. “But my family spends our days out in the wild. If bandits set on us, or a sphinx tries to eat us, or what have you, then we need to protect ourselves. So yes, I need lightning darts.”

Steel pawed at the ground. “I suppose that’s fair,” he said. “So long as you can pay.”

Ranger reached into the other pannier. Bonfire heard the clatter as he dropped coins onto the table.

Solid Steel frowned. “Never seen money like that before.”

“Pegasus coins. Silver is silver, friend. You’ll want to weigh them, of course.”

“Boo,” whispered a voice in Bonfire’s ear.

He jumped, but managed not to shout. Starling was right on top of him, grinning like she’d eaten the last piece of cake.

“You shouldn’t be here,” whispered Starling. “Let’s go before my dad sees you.”

“So what if he sees me?” said Bonfire. “I’m just watching.” But all the same, he followed Starling out the back door. The big ponies didn’t look up from their haggling.

“If you wanted to sneak in someplace,” she said as soon as they were out under the sun, “you should’ve just told me. I’m the best at it.”

“I didn’t want to sneak anywhere. I just wanted to see a pegasus.”

“I guess,” said Starling. “But you still shouldn’t sneak into my dad’s forge.”

Bonfire blinked. “I thought you said you liked sneaking into places.”

“Sure. But this is my dad’s. It’s different.”

“Who’s sneaking where?” came a voice from above.

Bonfire looked up to see the girl pegasus from inside, hovering like a hummingbird and grinning like a cat. “How’d you get here?”

“I flew. You groundbound never look up. First rule of sneaking, kid: go where they don’t expect you.” She lowered herself to the ground. “For instance. Say you want to sneak into the pegasus camp. What do you do?”

Bonfire and Starling glanced at each other. “Do it at night?” said Starling.

“No! That’s when they’ll be watching for you! Whenever my mom sneaks into a place, she does it in the day, by going with a bunch of ponies who are supposed to be there.”

“Oh!” said Starling. “So that’s how you’ll get us into your camp?”

“Yeah. But we can’t go with Ranger. He’s no fun.”

Starling nodded. “I’ll get some cloaks for me and Bonfire. What’s your name, anyway? I’m Starling.”

“I’m Thunderbird. I’d better get back to Ranger, for now, or he’ll start looking for me. I’ll come up with an excuse to split up and then meet you here.”

“Great,” said Starling. “See you.”

Author's Note

This was going to be the first of many planned sequels to An Earth Pony Orphan In The Unicorn Court. In hindsight, I'm really glad I went with the self-contained installments approach to that series. That way, at least I got the one story published before I left the fandom.

The King's Lament

(With apologies to Steve Earle)

About a thousand years ago, in the old days of yore
I saw my first crystal in the jewelry store
In the jewelry store, when I was thirteen
I thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen

l asked if I could have one when I grew up
Mama dropped a dozen eggs and she really blew up
She really blew up and I didn't understand
Mama said the crystal is the devil's right hand
She really blew up and I didn't understand
Mama said the crystal is the devil's right hand
The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the crystal is the devil's right hand

I got my first crystal as a starry-eyed colt
Shines as bright as lightning but it can’t match a bolt
It can’t match a bolt and I’d soon understand
It can satiate your hunger but it can’t make it end

Then I used dark spells to get a big tiger’s eye
All my friends left me but I didn’t know why
I never knew why and I didn't understand
Sombra says the crystal is the devil's right hand
Never knew why, I didn't understand
Sombra says the crystal is the devil's right hand
The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Sombra says the crystal is the devil's right hand

Well I learned about some ponies in a faraway spot
Heard tell of their crystals so I conquered the lot
Conquered the lot, made them my thrall,
Made them mine for crystals and of course I kept it all
The Princess of the Morning came to stop my reign of dread
Asked me why I’d done it, have mercy, I said
Have mercy I said, you don’t understand,
Nothing sought the crystals but the devil's right hand
Have mercy I said, you don’t understand,
Nothing sought the crystals but the devil's right hand
The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Nothing sought the crystals but the devil's right hand

Author's Note

Fun fact: if Johnny Cash has recorded a cover of a song, it is invariably the best version of that song that exists. There are no exceptions.

The Counterfeit Sister

Part 1: The Impostor

The schoolhouse doors flew open and a torrent of foals burst forth onto the streets of Ponyville. As the young ponies spread away in every direction, three fillies separated from the tide and took shelter at a small picnic table.

“Ugh, I am so happy to get outta there,” said Scootaloo as the crowd flowed around them. “Math is so boring!”

“I dunno, I thought it was kinda neat,” said Apple Bloom. “I liked learning how all the shapes work.”

“Yeah, well, what are we gonna do now?” Scootaloo glanced around. The flow was shrinking to a trickle as the school emptied.

“Ooh!” Apple Bloom perked up. “What about architecture? I bet we could get us some architecture cutie marks!”

“Yeah!” said Scootaloo. “Or pole-vaulting!”

“What do you think, Sweetie Belle?” said Apple Bloom.

“Hm?” Sweetie Belle looked over. “What did you say?”

“I said, what are we gonna do today?”

“Oh, I can’t do anything today,” said Sweetie Belle. “I have to get home.”

“Again?” said Scootaloo. “Come on, we’re never gonna get our cutie marks at this rate!”

“I’m sorry, but I need to be with my sister. She’s taking the afternoon off so we can be together.”

Apple Bloom frowned. “Rarity? Taking a day off?”

“Oh, well,” said Sweetie Belle quickly, “I guess she must not be very busy. Anyway, I have to go.” She hopped off the bench and trotted away.

Apple Bloom watched her leave, then turned to Scootaloo. “Did that seem a mite weird to you?”

“Nah,” said Scootaloo. “If I had a big sister, I’d want to be with her, too.”

“Well sure, but why the big change? Sweetie Belle don’t hardly do anything with us anymore.”

“The real question is, what are we gonna do without her?”

Apple Bloom sighed. “I guess we can try getting pole-vaulting cutie marks, like you said. It ain’t the same with just two of us, though.”

A lone unicorn crept between the trees of the Everfree Forest. Moonlight filtered through the leaves and gleamed white on her coat.

“My queen!” A harsh, buzzing voice sounded from the trees. “You return to us!”

The unicorn looked up. “Are we alone?”

“Of course. My scouts report you were not followed.” A changeling in a light breastplate and helm stepped into view.

“Good. I tire of this body.” A pillar of green light burst from the ground and enveloped the unicorn. Her body twisted and pulsed for several seconds as it underwent its magical transformation. Finally, the light faded, revealing the tall, slender form of Queen Chrysalis. “Ahh, that’s better. Take me to the encampment.”

“At once.” The changeling set off through the undergrowth. “I am glad to see you once more, Highness. Morale is low without you, but now that you have come to lead us once more, all my fears are put to rest.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Captain Firetip,” said Chrysalis. “I wish I could abandon Ponyville, but the plan still isn’t complete. I just need to hear how your mission is going before I return to those horrible ponies.”

“Are they proving difficult, my queen? Do they suspect your true nature?”

“No, nothing dangerous, but these ponies are insufferable! At least in Canterlot, I was impersonating a princess, and so they paid me the respect I am due. Without that authority, I must be far more careful in the role I play. To be treated as just another commoner… well, I shall have my revenge soon enough.” Chrysalis cleared her throat. “Which reminds me. Your mission. What has happened to my hive?”

“See for yourself, Highness.” Firetip pushed aside a final shrub, revealing a massive encampment beyond. In her earlier flight above the forest, Chrysalis had spotted a clearing in the shape of some tremendous bear’s paw. When she had settled her followers here− all three dozen of them− the giant footprint seemed to swallow up their camp. Now, nearly a hundred tents stretched across the clearing in neat rows. Even in the dead of night, she saw sentries on duty and couriers hurrying to and fro.

“We fare far better than I feared,” said Firetip, “yet worse than I hoped. We have found perhaps a third of your subjects. We’re still running across stragglers, but I’m beginning to think the pony’s spell scattered many of us far away from here.”

“Such a powerful spell. That power should have been mine.” Chrysalis sighed. “Very well, send patrols far and wide and bring every changeling they find back to this forest. We need to replenish our numbers before we can attack Canterlot again.”

Firetip nodded. “And will you be strong enough for your part in the attack, my liege?”

“Certainly,” said Chrysalis. “This humiliation will be worth it soon enough. My feeding goes better than I thought possible. It seems the bonds between pony siblings contain at least as much love as the bonds between mates. Maybe even more.”

Firetip cocked her head. “Love between siblings? Truly?”

“Odd, I know, but remember that ponies have few siblings. The pony I replaced has only the one. It’s nothing like being part of a brood. Perhaps they find it easier to love with merely one or two siblings, rather than hundreds.” Chysalis shrugged. “The important thing is that I have found a source of power. I will drain every shred of love from this relationship, then move on to another, and another, until the entire town is sucked dry.”

“And the other half of the plan?”

“No progress there, unfortunately. I have seen no sign of the Elements of Harmony. Still, I have confirmed that all of the Elements’ bearers are here, so it is only a matter of time before I claim them as my own.”

Firetip stood straigher. “And then we will return to Canterlot!”

“Oh, yes.” Chrysalis’s eyes flared green, illuminating her fanged grin. “With the power of love and the Elements of Harmony on our side, even Princess Cadence and her drone won’t be able to stop me.”

“You’re sure it was a changeling?” Twilight Sparkle glanced nervously around Sugarcube Corner. Fortunately, the six of them were alone for now.

“Pretty sure,” said Fluttershy. “I saw it in the forest on the way back from Mr. Beaver’s house this morning. It didn’t see me, though. At least, I don’t think it did.”

“And what was this creature doing?” asked Rarity.

“I don’t know. I ran away as soon as I saw it.”

“But what would those fellas be doing around here?” said Applejack. “We don’t got no fancy weddings or lovey-dovey types like Canterlot folk.”

“Who cares?” Rainbow Dash darted around the air above her friends. “We just gotta find ‘em and beat ‘em again!”

“Finding the changeling might not be so easy,” said Twilight. “They can look like us, remember?”

“Quite right,” said Rarity. “Even if this changeling is still in the forest, there’s little we can do about it just now.”

“Oh, but what if it comes here?” Fluttershy shuddered. “The changeling could sneak into Ponyville any time, and we wouldn’t even know!”

“Then we’ll just have to be extra-super-duper careful!” said Pinkie Pie. “And spend lots of time with our friends so we’ll know if any of us are acting funny!”

Twilight frowned. “It’s not much, but I can’t think of anything else. Anypony have any clever ideas?”

“We ought to make sure we’re prepared,” said Rarity, “just in case this changeling does show up. Do we have anything that can defeat it?”

Twilight nodded. “Good idea, Rarity. I know just what to do. Everypony keep an eye out for anything odd, alright? If something suspicious happens, let all of us know. In the meantime, I need to write a letter to the princess.”

“What’s going on?” said Apple Bloom. “Are they doing anything yet?”

“Nope,” said Scootaloo. “Still just playing that game.” The two of them were crouched within a prickly shrub. The ponies were further camouflaged by the leaves and ferns stuck haphazardly in their manes and coats.

“Let me see,” said Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo passed over the binoculars she had borrowed from Twilight. (Well, Twilight didn’t know she had taken them, but Scootaloo was going to get around to returning them eventually, so it was basically borrowing.) Apple Bloom took them and peered across the park, where Rarity and Sweetie Belle were stretched out on a blanket with a game board and a pitcher of lemonade. Rarity moved one of the pieces on the board. Sweetie Belle said something, although Apple Bloom couldn’t make out the words. Both unicorns giggled.

“Weird,” said Apple Bloom. “I’ve never seen anyone play Monopony this long.”

“Yeah, and without even arguing! You can’t play Monopony and not argue! That’s the whole point of the game!”

“This is getting us nowhere.”

“Yeah, still no spying cutie marks,” said Scootaloo. “Maybe we need to spy harder.”

“Spy harder?”

“Or at least closer. I can’t hear anything!”

Apple Bloom nodded. The two of them broke out of their hiding place and crept towards the sisters. Fortunately, their targets were engrossed in their game and ignoring the park around them. The fillies dove into a shallow ditch barely ten yards away, close enough to see the sunlight glinting green off Sweetie Belle’s eyes, and peeked over the edge.

“−so good to be out here,” Rarity was saying. “I don’t know why we haven’t done this before.”

“Yeah!” said Sweetie Belle. “Think of all the time we could’ve been doing this instead of making dresses!”

Rarity chuckled softly and sipped her lemonade. “Well, I certainly won’t make that mistake again. From now on, nothing in Equestria will keep me from spending some quality time with my sister. If that means Fancy Pants has to wait for his new vest,” she said with a shrug, “then he can wait as long as he must.”

Sweetie Belle was silent for several seconds before she spoke. “I love you, big sister.”

“You know I love you too.” Rarity moved to gather Sweetie Belle into a hug. As they moved towards each other, Sweetie Belle bumped into the pitcher, knocking it over and dousing Rarity with lemonade.

The sisters froze. Lemonade dripped from Rarity’s mane onto the game board, which was already beginning to swell and warp. The two ponies locked eyes.

Abruptly, Rarity let out a short giggle. Sweetie Belle laughed, which only made Rarity laugh harder. Soon both ponies collapsed in hysterics.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom ducked beneath the lip of their ditch once again. “Are you sure we should be watching this?” whispered Scootaloo. “Seems kinda private.”

“I don’t know,” said Apple Bloom. “Something ain’t right.”

“What do you mean? They’re sisters. They love each other. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”

“Not like that, though,” said Apple Bloom. “Sweetie’s acting all weird. Rarity’s acting weird. They’re both acting way too weird! Besides, Sweetie Belle’s been doing this kinda thing so much, she ain’t had time for us! Go on and tell me that ain’t weird.”

“Look, I like Sweetie too, but if she likes her sister better than she likes us, I’m not gonna get jealous about it.”

“Who’re you calling jealous?”

“I’m serious! You do stuff like this with your sister all the time,” said Scootaloo. “Why shouldn’t Sweetie be able to do it, too? Ask a big pony if you don’t believe me.”

“Maybe I oughta,” said Apple Bloom. “Applejack’ll know what to do about this, for sure.”

“Alright, Applejack, I think it’s about time you told us why you wanted to talk to us,” said Twilight Sparkle. “You said this was important.”

“Hold your horses,” said Applejack. “Let’s wait until everypony’s here. My sister shouldn’t oughta tell this story twice.” A quick glance around the barn confirmed that, aside from her sister and Twilight, only Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had shown up so far. Twilight looked like she was about to say something, but bit back her retort.

The barn door burst open and slammed against the wall. “Alright, I’m here!” said Rainbow Dash as she glided inside. “Let’s get this thing going.”

Applejack nodded as she closed the door behind her friend. “Right. Apple Bloom has a story y’all need to hear.”

“Hold on!” Twilight said. “First you want to wait for all of us, and now you want to start without Rarity?”

Applejack bit her lip. “Rarity ain’t coming just yet. I think us five need to talk first.”

“I don’t know,” said Fluttershy. “I don’t like secrets.”

“I ain’t so fond of them myself. We got no choice this time. You’ll understand soon enough. Apple Bloom, tell everypony what you told me.”

Apple Bloom nodded and began telling the assembled ponies what she had seen. She started slowly and hesitantly, but picked up speed as the story went on, until the words were spilling out of her without pause.

“And then Sweetie Belle spilled lemonade all over Rarity and everything, and Rarity just laughed, like she weren’t even upset! And then Scootaloo said I should tell a grown-up and then I did and then Applejack said to−”

“Thanks, Apple Bloom, that’s plenty,” said Applejack. “So y’all see what I meant?”

Twilight nodded. “This is what I was afraid of.”

“I don’t know,” said Fluttershy. “That doesn’t sound bad.”

“Really?” said Twilight. “You don’t think Rarity’s acting odd?”

“Well, she missed her spa appointment with me and she’s never done that before even when she was really really busy. Apple Bloom’s story sounds like Rarity is just acting really nice, though.”

“No,” said Rainbow Dash, “it sounds like she’s acting like Applejack. Rarity’s not so, so, so…”

“Demonstrative?” suggested Twilight.

“Yeah, that!” said Rainbow Dash. “Something’s up! Why would she just ditch everything she’s worked on? It’s like if I stopped flying. I mean, I love you guys, but not even for you.”

“Exactly,” said Twilight. “This can only mean one thing. Mind control.”

Pinkie Pie cocked her head. “You think a changeling’s doing this?”

“I don’t think, I know,” said Twilight. “It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

“But Rarity’s not getting married!” said Pinkie. “She doesn’t even have a coltfriend! A changeling would have to be pretty silly to try to eat her love.”

Applejack shook her head. “She don’t need a sweetheart. Sweetie’s her kin, and there ain’t no love like love for your kin. That’ll be plenty for any changeling.”

“Excuse me.” Fluttershy raised a hoof. “Are you saying Sweetie Belle is a changeling?”

“Reckon so.”

“Clearly.”

“Darn right!”

Fluttershy swallowed. “So then… what do we do?”

“That’s easy!” said Rainbow Dash. “We get the Elements of Harmony and blast this changeling into next Tuesday!”

“Um, how?” said Fluttershy. “I thought the Elements were still in Canterlot. And we can’t use them unless we have Rarity with us, can we?”

“Actually,” said Twilight, “I wrote to Princess Celestia when Fluttershy first saw that changeling. The Elements are already here. She said it was important that we be able to get to them quickly, after what happened last time. Uh, and the time before that.”

“Oh. Okay,” said Fluttershy. “But what about Rarity? The changeling is still hypnotizing her, right? What do we do about that?”

“Only thing we can do,” said Applejack. “We gotta tell her what’s really goin’ on. Rarity’s a tough pony, in her way. She’ll beat this thing if we help her.”

Part 2: The Confrontation

“Rarity, we need to talk.”

Rarity looked up from her sewing machine as her friends filed into her workshop. A brittle smile was plastered across her face. “Of course, Twilight, but can you make it quick, please? I’m trying to finish this scarf for Sweetie Belle before she returns, and she could get here at any minute.”

“This could take a while,” said Twilight, setting her saddlebags in the corner. “It’s important.”

“Whatever it is, I hardly think it’s more important than my sister,” said Rarity.

Applejack cleared her throat. “Actually, it’s about your sister.”

“I see.” Rarity set down the fabric she was working with. “In that case, do go on.”

“This might sound strange,” said Twilight, “but I don’t think she’s really your sister.”

Rarity let out a mortified gasp. “Twilight Sparkle! Just what are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything! I just think Sweetie Belle is actually−”

“Because if you say one word about her parentage, then so help me I’ll−”

“No, I just mean we noticed that−”

“Think very carefully before you finish−”

“Hey! Focus!” Rainbow Dash darted between the two ponies. “Rarity, Sweetie Belle is a changeling.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Sweetie Belle? Surely you can’t be serious.”

“Actually we’re really really serious,” said Pinkie Pie. “You’ve been spending a lot of time together and usually that would be good. Only she’s ignoring her friends are you’re ignoring your friends and even though you do that sometimes because of your work this is different because you’re also ignoring your work and you never do that. We’re pretty sure Sweetie Belle is a changeling and she’s put a spell on you so now you have to break the spell so we can beat the changeling and get your real sister back.”

Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “How were you going to do that, exactly?”

“With these.” Twilight levitated half a dozen perfect jewels out of her saddlebag. The stones fractured the light and dappled the walls with rainbow spots.

Rarity gasped softly. “The Elements of Harmony.”

“Right,” said Twilight. “We’ll use them to overpower the changeling, and then we can get it to tell us where your real sister is.”

“We need your help for this,” said Applejack. “Please believe us. I know you love your sister, but what’s been happening now ain’t natural. You gotta realize that some of your feelings ain’t really your feelings. It’s just a spell.”

Fluttershy put a hoof around Rarity’s shoulder. “I know you can do this, Rarity. You love your sister so much. That means more than this changeling’s magic.”

“I…” Rarity swallowed. “I don’t know. You’re asking me to betray my own sister!”

“Oh, come on!” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s not even really your sister! You’ve gotta−”

Everypony froze at the distant sound of the front door slamming open. “Rarity!” Sweetie Belle’s voice cut through the sudden silence. “I’m home, Rarity!”

“This is it,” said Twilight. “Can you do this, Rarity? We have to know now.”

Rarity’s eyes flicked to the door to the rest of the house, then to Twilight, then back to the door, then to her friends assembled before her. Slowly, she nodded. “I trust you girls. If you really think Sweetie Belle needs my help, then I’ll do it.”

“Great!” said Twilight. “I really didn’t want to use plan B. I’d never live it down.” She levitated the Elements to their bearers, who plucked the floating jewels out of the air and fastened them on.

Sweetie Belle appeared in the doorway. “Hey Rarity, I−” She cut herself off. “Oh, hi, everypony. Rarity, I thought we were going to the beach today. Can we still go?”

Sweetie Belle started to take a step forward, but stopped after one look at the disgust on her sister’s face. Six ponies watched Sweetie Belle with steady eyes.

“Is… is something wrong?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Rainbow Dash leapt between her friends and Sweetie Belle. “You know exactly what’s wrong! We know what you’ve done! We know everything!”

Sweetie Belle shied away. “But that wasn’t even my fault! Scootaloo took it, not me! She said she was gonna give it back, too!”

“No more lies!” Rainbow Dash crouched low to the ground and spread her wings, ready to take off at a moment’s notice. “We know what you are. Now undo the spell before things get messy.”

Sweetie Belle’s jaw hung open. She shot a desperate look towards her sister. “Rarity, please! W-what’s going on?”

Twilight Sparkle stepped forward and stood alongside Rainbow Dash. “You’re a changeling,” she said. “You’ve taken the shape of Sweetie Belle and ensorcelled her sister in order to feed on her love.”

“I’m sorry!” said Sweetie Belle. “I don’t know what I did! I’m sorry!”

Rarity chuckled. “Oh my, but this is amusing. I hate to stop the show, but this has gone on long enough. It’s past time I ended this.”

“Uh, Rarity?” said Applejack. “You ain’t talking sense.”

“Oh,” said Twilight. “Oh, horsefeathers.”

An emerald nimbus surrounded Rarity’s body. For several seconds, its overpowering brilliance forced the other ponies to look away. When the light mercifully faded, Rarity was gone. In her place stood the tall, chitinous body of the changeling queen.

Sweetie Belle took a quick step back. She shook her head, as though trying to clear it. “Who are you? Where did Rarity go?”

Twilight stood still, gazing up at the towering form of Chrysalis. “I had it backwards. You were the changeling all along. Sweetie Belle was the one being mind controlled.”

“Mind control?” Chrysalis’s laugh was soft and pitiless. “No, I can’t say I ever had to use that. The false shape alone was more than enough to control your little friend.” She stroked the Element of Generosity fastened about her neck. “I really should thank you for entrusting me with the only weapon that might have stopped me. Now, give me the other five, and I’ll be on my way.”

“Hold it!” Rainbow Dash whirled around to face Chrysalis. “You’re not going anywhere until we get the real Rarity back!”

“Oh, no? And who’s going to stop me?” She tapped the violet jewel. “Without all six of these, you’re just a bunch of scared little fillies.”

“Who’re you calling scared?” Rainbow Dash beat her wings and sprang forward in a charge so fast, a breeze ruffled Twilight’s mane as she flashed by.

Chrysalis moved too swiftly for the eye to follow. One moment she was in the path of the charge. An eyeblink later, she was a yard to the right. Rainbow Dash plowed through the empty air where Chryalis had been and slammed into a crowd of mannequins. Sweetie Belle shrieked as heads and legs scattered about the room. Rainbow Dash fell to the ground, stunned.

“Alright, everypony!” Twilight shouted. “Time for plan B!” She half-closed her eyes in concentration, and a purple aura formed around the base of her horn. Twilight focused, gathering power, and the aura grew brighter.

“Right!” said Applejack. “Buy her time!” She galloped at Chrysalis. Pinkie Pie followed, as did Fluttershy after a moment’s hesitation.

“Fools,” said Chrysalis. “I defeated your princess! What chance do you have?” Her twisted horn pulsed with a sickly light. A translucent wall of green force appeared before the charging ponies. Applejack ran into it headfirst and bounced off like a rubber ball. She tumbled away and crashed into a heap of loose fabric. Pinkie Pie skidded to a halt in time to avoid the same fate. She prodded at the wall, which rippled slightly but held firm. Fluttershy unfurled her wings and soared up and over the obstacle.

Chrysalis fixed her glowing eyes on Fluttershy’s. “It’s just you and me, little pony.”

Fluttershy lurched to a halt and hovered in place. “Oh. Um. Never mind, then.”

Chrysalis turned towards Twilight Sparkle, whose horn was now surrounded by a coruscating ball of crackling purple and white energy the size of her head. Beads of sweat stood out on her forehead, and still the ball grew.

“Too late,” sang Chrysalis. Her horn pulsed and launched a beam of energy at Twilight.

With Chrysalis’s attention elsewhere, Fluttershy dove and plowed into Chrysalis’s shoulder. She staggered, and the beam went wide. It struck the floor several feet behind Twilight and exploded in a shower of fat jade sparks. The force of the burst knocked Twilight off her hooves. As she fell, her budding spell flared into a wide pillar of purple light. It shot straight upwards, blasting a hole through the ceiling as though it were empty air. Hoof-sized chunks of plaster fell and struck the ground around Twilight’s prone body.

Chrysalis stood tall as Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Twilight forced themselves back to their hooves. “Even with your friends to hide behind, Twilight Sparkle, your magic is no match for mine. You can’t even finish casting one attack spell. Now, are you done, or shall we continue?”

Twilight glowered. “I’m not about to give up just yet.” She grit her teeth as she summoned her magic once again. A single violet spark sprang from her horn and drifted to the floor.

Chrysalis threw her head back and laughed, long and low. “Oh, dear, it seems that spell of yours took everything you had. I wonder if it would have even hurt me.” She looked over the ponies before her. “Anyone else want to try?”

Rainbow Dash started forward, but Applejack grabbed her tail and held her back. The others stayed in place.

Sweetie Belle emerged from behind a workbench and tugged on Fluttershy’s tail. “What’s going on? What happened to Rarity?”

“I took your sister’s place some time ago,” said Chrysalis. “Your love for her has made me stronger than ever. It was not easy to put up with your insipid mewling, but the history of my reign will show that it was well worth it.”

Fluttershy stepped in front of Sweetie Belle. “You stay away from her.”

“Nothing would please me more,” said Chrysalis. “Now, give me the other Elements of Harmony, and you can all leave here intact.”

“Not gonna happen!” said Rainbow Dash.

“You can’t even use them,” said Twilight. “No changeling will ever activate the Element of Honesty.”

“Perhaps,” said Chrysalis, “but I think I’ll try anyway. We shall learn soon−”

“CHANGELING!” Princess Celestia’s voice, magically amplified to royal proportions, tore through the workshop. “LEAVE MY SUBJECTS ALONE!”

“What?” Chrysalis glared at Twilight. “How can she be here?”

“Plan B,” said Twilight with a grim smile. “That wasn’t an attack spell I cast earlier. It was a signal. Spike sent the letter I gave him as soon as he saw the light. I guess Princess Celestia can teleport pretty far when she needs to.”

Princess Celestia appeared in the doorway with her wings spread to their full length. “Changeling queen,” she said. “I’m surprised to see you in my country after what happened last time.”

Chrysalis smirked. “Your drone isn’t here to save you now. I beat you once, and I can beat you again.”

Princess Celestia quickly scanned the room. “Twilight,” she said, “you and your friends stay back.”

With a cry of rage, Chrysalis unleashed a burst of raw magic at Princess Celestia, who countered with a beam of her own. The onrushing forces slammed into each other. The two royals strained, pouring every ounce of magic they could muster into their blasts. For a moment, they seemed evenly matched, then Chrysalis’s beam began to drive Princess Celestia’s back.

“Hah!” cried Chrysalis. “Nothing can stop−”

Another beam, this one the color of the void between the stars, ripped through the workshop wall and struck Chrysalis squarely in the side. She was hurled against the far wall, which shuddered from the impact. Chrysalis tumbled to the floor and was still.

Princess Luna stepped through the gaping hole her magic had left in the wall. “Is everypony well?”

“Looks like it,” said Twilight as she took a quick inventory of her friends.

Princess Celestia cast an aggravated glance at Luna. “You could’ve done that earlier.”

Princess Luna shrugged. “Thou didst tell us to wait until we were certain the villain was distracted.”

“And I’m sure it had nothing to do with wanting to watch her beat me,” said Celestia.

“The thought never occurred to us,” Luna said with practiced innocence.

“Thank goodness all that’s over,” said Fluttershy.

“Not quite,” said Applejack. “We still gotta find Rarity.”

Twilight nodded. “The changeling is sure to know where she is.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Sweetie Belle rushed towards Chrysalis’s prone body.

“Sweetie, wait!” Fluttershy reached out to stop her, but too slowly. Sweetie Belle slipped past Fluttershy’s outstretched hoof and reached Chrysalis.

Lightning fast, Chrysalis thrust out a foreleg and wrapped it around Sweetie Belle. Chrysalis leapt to her hooves and raised Sweetie Belle like a shield as the princess sisters gathered power to their horns.

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle writhed in her grip, to no avail. “Let me go! Somepony help!”

Luna stomped her hoof. “Release her at once!”

“No,” said Chrysalis. “No, I don’t think I will. You can’t use any magic powerful enough to hurt me without hurting her, and this one isn’t nearly as tough as I am. You can’t do anything to me, now.”

“Fine,” said Celestia. “You get away this time. Let her go, and I’ll let you leave here in peace.”

“I don’t believe you. I have a better idea. I’ll take her with me when I leave. Once I’m safely away, I’ll let her go.”

“Unacceptable,” said Luna. “Leave her, or you will not escape this place.”

Chrysalis leered. “Then stop me.” She backed away from the princesses.

Sweetie Belle thrashed frantically from side to side in a desperate attempt to break free “No! Please!” she cried. “Somepony do something!”

Applejack started forward. “I ain’t about to let you−”

“Hold it.” Chrysalis shifted her grip to Sweetie Belle’s throat. Applejack froze. “That’s what I thought,” said Chrysalis. She reached the pile of rubble where Twilight’s beacon had torn through the roof, then beat her insectoid wings and rose up through the hole.

“This is bad,” said Twilight. “This is really, really bad. She has Sweetie Belle and the Element of Generosity and she’s getting away and what are we going to do?”

“There is but one option,” said Luna. “We shall follow the changeling and recover the child.”

Celestia nodded. “We’ll have to do it carefully, this time. Rainbow Dash, track the changeling, but don’t let her see you. I want to know where she’s headed.” Her face was a calm, hard mask. “The rest of you, get ready for a fight.”

Part 3: The Rescue

“Cushions? You call these cushions? They’re more like rocks, if you ask me,” said Rarity. “No, I demand you bring me some proper cushions befitting my status as a valued hostage.” She stared imperiously at her captor.

“Miss Rarity,” said Firetip, “those cushions should be more than sufficient for−”

“No,” said Rarity. “No, I am quite sure they are not.”

Firetip sighed. “Silkworm, go find something more appropriate for Miss Rarity.” One of the three changeling guards saluted and scurried out of the tent.

The flap of the prison tent was pushed open, and Queen Chrysalis strode through. Her eyes took in the canopied bed, the tray of dried fruits, and the gilt-framed mirror. “Captain Firetip,” she said, “just what is going on?”

Firetip bowed. “The prisoner is secure, my queen.”

“When this is over, we shall talk about how, exactly, we treat prisoners.”

Rarity perked up as she caught sight of the jewel around Chrysalis’s neck. “Hold on,” she said. “That’s the Element of Generosity. How did you get my Element?”

“Through the foolishness of your friends.” Chrysalis looked back over her shoulder. “Bring in the other prisoner.” She gestured, and a changeling dragged Sweetie Belle into the tent. “Captain Firetip, you’re responsible for both these ponies while I prepare to move the hive.” She turned and left.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity leapt off the cushions, the Element of Generosity forgotten. “What are you doing here? Are you hurt?”

Sweetie Belle took a half step backwards. “Hold on. How do I know you’re really Rarity and not another changeling?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sweetie Belle. Of course I’m Rarity. Now do as your big sister says and tell me how you got here.”

Sweetie Belle nodded slowly. “You’re you, alright.” She turned around and sat facing away from her sister, forelegs crossed across her chest. “I’m not talking to you.”

“Whyever not? Surely you realize that whatever horrible things you think I’ve done lately were actually the work of a changeling.”

“I know,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Then why are you angry? What did the changeling do that was so bad?”

“Do you know what you did?” said Sweetie Belle. “You were nice to me. You spent time with me and we played games and went on trips and you let me stay up past my bedtime and brought me presents and, and, and I was so happy! I thought you finally loved me more than you loved your dresses.” She wiped angrily at her eyes. “I was stupid. I should know that won’t happen.”

“Oh, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity reached out to embrace her sister, but Sweetie Belle pulled away. “What you’re talking about isn’t love. That’s just doting. Love is about giving ponies what they need, not necessarily what they want.”

“You don’t know what I need!” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked. “You spend more time with your friends than you spend with me! How would you know what I need?”

“You’re not serious,” said Rarity. “Ever since our, ah, disagreement, I’ve made a point of spending time with you!”

“A stupid changeling cares more than you do!”

The tent flap burst open, and Chrysalis ran inside, breathing hard. “Seize the prisoners!” she shouted.

The changelings leapt into action. Firetip’s horn glowed green as she levitated Sweetie Belle into the air. The other two changeling guards grabbed Rarity from either side.

“What are you doing?” said Rarity. “I demand you release me at once!”

Princess Celestia charged into the tent, followed by Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. “It’s over, changeling,” said Celestia. “You have nowhere left to run. Give back my ponies and the Element of Generosity.”

“Not a step further,” said Chrysalis, “or your unicorn friend will regret it.”

“Surely we can talk this out,” said Rarity. “There’s no need for all this… this savagery. Ponies as wise and refined as you are can surely find a more amicable solution.”

“It has gone too far for that,” said Princess Luna.

“Has it?” said Rarity.

Chrysalis bared her fangs and hissed.

“I’m afraid so,” said Princess Celestia.

“So I see. Pity.” Rarity snapped her head back and to the side, slamming her skull into one guard’s snout. She shoved the reeling changeling, sending her sprawling to the ground.

The other guard scrambled to get a firmer grip on Rarity. The pony threw her full weight against the guard, and the two of them tumbled over. Rarity landed on top and quickly rolled back to her hooves, giving the changeling a swift kick in the process.

The room erupted in chaos. Applejack and Pinkie Pie leapt forward, tackling the changeling guards as they tried to rise. Celestia fired a bolt of magic at Chrysalis, but the changeling dodged aside, and the blast tore a gaping hole in the tent. Chrysalis darted out through the new hole, spread her wings, and took to the sky. The princesses, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy gave chase.

“Let’s go!” said Twilight. “We’ll cover them from the ground. Now that we’re all together, we can use the Elements as soon as we get yours back, Rarity.” She glanced around the tent. “Rarity?” She paused. “Oh, crabapples. Did either of you see where she went?”

“Been kinda busy here,” said Applejack as she dropped the unconscious form of a changeling guard. “How ‘bout you, Pinkie?”

“Nope!” said Pinkie Pie from atop the other guard. “Hey! Where’s Sweetie Belle?”

Twilight clenched her teeth. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Our girl’s gonna be okay,” said Applejack. “Little lady fights mean.”

“Right,” said Twilight. “We’ll find them afterwards. Follow the princess!”

“Rarityyy! Heeelp!”

Sweetie Belle flailed uselessly in Firetip’s magical grip as the changeling galloped between the close-packed tents of the sprawling changeling encampment. Rarity charged after them, a dozen ponylengths behind. Surprised changelings looked up as they passed.

“To the skies!” Firetip shouted as she ran. “Defend your queen! To the skies!”

“Captain Firetip!” Rarity shouted. “Let my sister go, or I shall become creative.”

“Never!” said Firetip.

“Then stop running. Try and catch me! Your queen wanted us both caught.”

“I have failed my queen, but duty demands I not risk failing twice! I find my duty hard to do today, but flee I must.” Firetip returned her attention to the hive around her. “To the skies, my brethren!”

Around them, changelings rose into the air by the dozen. Most obeyed the captain without hesitation, but a few eyed Rarity as she ran past. One changeling, bolder than the others, leapt into her path and bared its fangs. A swift left hook laid the changeling flat and dissuaded the others from interfering.

Firetip ducked inside the closest tent. Rarity followed hard on her heels. Six changelings looked up from a solid wooden table covered in long scrolls, detailed maps, and heavy pewter figurines carved in the shapes of changelings and Equestrian royal guards. Rarity pulled to a halt.

“Defend me!” cried Firetip. “Stop her!”

A wave of green eyes and chitinous limbs surged at Rarity. She spun and bucked the lead changeling squarely in the chest. It went sprawling across the table, upsetting figurines and scattering battle plans.

The other changelings checked their headlong rush and moved forward more cautiously. Rarity saw their hesitation and grinned. “There’s plenty more where that came from,” she said. “You ought to run, if you know what’s good for you.”

The changelings glanced at each other, then spread out and approached Rarity from three sides.

Rarity leapt at the changeling on the far right and tackled it to the ground. The distance the changelings had put between themselves gave her several seconds to pummel the creature about the head and face before the other two plowed into her from behind. A kicking, scratching ball of hooves and horns rolled away, leaving behind the dazed changeling who had borne the brunt of Rarity’s fury.

The melee tumbled its way beneath the heavy table. Rarity jabbed, grappled, and bit for all she was worth, but the simple weight of two changelings against one pony proved too much. Soon enough, Rarity found herself on her back with one changeling pinning her right legs while she desperately fended off the other with her left. A heavy table leg partly blocked the changeling’s path, but it fought its way closer and closer to the prone pony.

Rarity looked towards the tent’s entrance, an expression of relief washing over her face. “Twilight!” she gasped. “Thank the heavens you’re here! Help me!”

The oncoming changeling looked over its shoulder, only to see the tent flap hanging shut. With her left hooves momentarily free, Rarity took the opportunity to deal a savage uppercut to the changeling holding her down. The force of the blow slammed its head against the underside of the table and drove its stubby horn into the thick wood. The unconscious changeling hung suspended in the cramped space.

The remaining changeling turned back to Rarity. It hissed in rage and threw itself bodily at her. Rarity rolled aside and scrambled out into open space, inches ahead of the changeling’s snapping fangs. She put her hooves under her and leapt atop the table. The papers slid under her hooves as she landed. Rarity lost her footing and fell on her side.

The changeling’s snarling muzzle popped above the edge of the table. Rarity grabbed a large map and flung it over the head, blocking its vision. The changeling grabbed the map and ripped it away, only to see a pewter figurine spiraling towards its face. The miniature royal guard smacked it between the eyes with a sound like a brick hitting wood. The changeling stared ahead blankly for several seconds, then toppled over.

Rarity clambered back to her hooves. “Who else wants some?” she screamed from atop the table. “I can do this all day!”

“Yeah, Rarity! You show them!”

Rarity turned towards the sound of her sister’s voice. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

At the far end of the tent stood the agitated form of Sweetie Belle. Next to her stood the agitated form of Sweetie Belle.

“Rarity!” said the leftmost Sweetie Belle. This one was badly scuffed and bruised, as though she had been through a lesser version of the fight Rarity had just won. “Firetip turned into me and now she’s trying to trick you, but I’m the real me!”

“Nuh uh!” said the other Sweetie Belle. “She’s Firetip!” This one showed no signs of wear beyond a mussed mane and tail.

Rarity ran her hoof through the ruin of her mane as she climbed down from the table. “Really, Firetip, do you think I won’t be able to recognize my own sister?” She waved a hoof. “Okay, go ahead, you two. Prove that you’re the genuine article.”

“You know how much I love you, big sis,” said the injured Sweetie Belle. “I love you more than anything.”

“You do not!” said the pristine Sweetie Belle. “You’re just faking!”

“No, you’re the faker!”

“Sweetie Belles, please! Focus!”

The Sweetie Belles looked at their hooves. “Sorry,” they muttered in unison.

The pristine Sweetie Belle recovered first. “Anyway,” she said, “when I grow up, I want to be just like you!”

“I see,” said Rarity, sitting down before the Sweetie Belles. “And you’re not, say, angry at me?”

“Angry?” said the pristine Sweetie Belle. “Of course I’m not angry. I could never stay angry at you.”

“I was angry at you, kinda,” said the injured Sweetie Belle. “I saw what you went through for me, though. After that, I guess I’m not mad anymore.”

“Oh, girls,” said Rarity. She reached out and stroked their manes with trembling hooves. “I wish I could believe both of you. I really do.” She wound her hooves tightly in their manes, gripping them firmly.

“What are you doing?” said the injured Sweetie Belle.

“You’re hurting me,” said the pristine Sweetie Belle.

“I hate to do this,” said Rarity, “but you’re not her. My sister can hold a grudge.”

Rarity brought her hooves together, slamming the two Sweetie Belles’ heads against each other. As they slumped to the ground, Rarity staggered backwards, breathing in short, shallow gasps. The Sweetie Belles’ bodies shifted and warped into those of two unconscious changelings. Neither wore Firetip’s distinctive breastplate and helm.

Rarity swallowed once, then exited the tent, leaving the unconscious changelings behind.

Overhead, flights of changelings buzzed about the skies. From her left, she saw flashes of reflected lavender light and heard the boom of Pinkie Pie’s party cannon. Small groups of changelings galloped this way and that, landing and taking off without any apparent pattern.

“Focus on the princesses!” From straight ahead, Rarity heard Firetip’s distinctive voice. “Ignore the others, just don’t let those two get anywhere near the queen!”

Rarity broke into a gallop and charged towards the voice. She rounded a tent and caught sight of Firetip directing half a dozen changelings into the air. Sweetie Belle floated at her side, held fast in the changeling’s magical grip.

Rarity waited for the soldiers to fly away before she stepped forward. “You!” shouted Firetip. “Don’t you ever stop?”

“Not so long as you have my sister,” said Rarity. “Let her go, and I’ll do the same for you.”

Firetip took to the air. Sweetie Belle yelped as she was hauled up and away.

Rarity gave chase. Firetip skimmed low over the encampment, keeping one eye on the battle above and one eye on the pursuit below. Rarity matched Firetip’s speed, but from below, she could do little more than glare at the soaring changeling.

Rarity came to the next tent and stuck her horn out to the side. Its sharp tip tore easily through the canvas wall, cutting a long gash as Rarity continued her headlong gallop. As she reached the end of the tent and the torn length of canvas came free, Rarity seized the strip in a telekinetic grip and pulled it along with her. She did this again at the next several tents she passed, and soon had four long, wide strips of fabric trailing behind her. Rarity’s horn glowed brighter, and she slowed as she focused on her magic. The strips touched each other end to end and wove themselves seamlessly together, leaving Rarity with a single piece of canvas perhaps thirty yards long and nearly as wide as she was tall.

Firetip cast a bemused glance at the unicorn below. She beat her wings harder and climbed higher, slowing her forward speed. Sweetie Belle let out a short, strangled gasp of fear as the ground dropped away.

Rarity’s horn flared. The fabric coiled like a snake about to strike, then one end shot skyward. The canvas caught Firetip and wrapped several times around her torso.

“Hah! Got you!” Rarity stopped her forward charge and wrapped her forehooves in the end of the makeshift rope. Firetip clenched her jaw and continued flying. Rarity watched the fabric grow taut and planted her back hooves firmly in the ground. “Now you’re− waugh!”

Firetip reached the end of the rope and plowed ahead, jerking Rarity off her hooves and lifting her off the ground. The added weight slowed Firetip’s ascent, but did not stop it. Rarity’s forelegs clutched at the rope while her hind legs flailed uselessly, kicking the top of a tent and sending its frame crashing to the ground.

Firetip glared downwards at the pony trailing far below her. “Impossible!”

Rarity returned the stare and began to climb the rope.

Firetip hissed in frustration. She soared higher, and soon the air around them was filled with swarming changelings and bursts of magic. Above them, Rarity saw half a dozen changelings fly at Princess Celestia in a practiced formation. Celestia summoned a pony-sized ball of radiant energy and launched it at the changelings, scattering them like tenpins.

Rarity tried to put her surroundings out of her mind and focus on climbing. With the wind threatening to tear her off the makeshift rope, she couldn’t afford any distractions. Nevertheless, she had a hard time ignoring the battle. Ahead of them, she saw Rainbow Dash divebomb a changeling formation and deliver a powerful kick to the leader. The changeling dropped from the sky, but the others moved to overwhelm Rainbow Dash− until a storm of lavender bolts struck them from below, stunning them and sending them falling after their leader.

Firetip buzzed onward, making for the edge of the clearing and the beginning of the forest. Rarity was halfway up the rope when she realized what the changeling was doing. Firetip was flying low, barely above the tops of the trees. Rarity, however, was barely below the tops of the trees.

Rarity braced herself as Firetip’s momentum slammed her into the first tree’s canopy. Branches as thick as her horn slapped and scratched against her. Rarity clenched her teeth and hauled herself upwards. She plowed through the foliage of another tree, and another, before she pulled her battered body above the treeline.

To one side, Rarity caught a glimpse of a roiling ball of pitch-black mist sitting in the otherwise clear sky. Changelings buzzed in circles around the house-sized cloud, keeping a cautious distance. A thick tendril the color of the new moon lunged out of the cloud, seized a changeling, and hauled it inside the cloud, all in the space of a breath. One changeling in an officer’s helm rallied a dozen soldiers, then led them plunging into the dark mist. The lot of them vanished without a trace.

Rarity reached the top of the rope and hauled herself onto Firetip’s back. She plucked Sweetie Belle’s half-catatonic body from the green glow of Firetip’s levitation spell and held her close. The filly clung to Rarity so tight it hurt.

“You’ve lost!” Rarity shouted above the roar of the wind. “Take us down!”

“Or what?” said Firetip. “You’ll knock me out? Without me, you’ll fall to your doom!” The changeling laughed. “We’ll stay aloft until I decide otherwise. All you’ve done is deliver yourself into captivity once more!”

“I tried the easy way,” said Rarity. “Remember that.” She adjusted her grip on both Firetip and Sweetie Belle, then summoned her magic, enchanting the trailing rope once more. The end wrapped around Firetip stayed still, but the loose end sprang to life. It reached downwards and grabbed a thick tree branch, wrapping itself several times around the unyielding wood. The branch disappeared behind them, and moments later, the rope snapped taut. Firetip jerked to a halt as if she had slammed into a wall. She let out a hoarse cry as the squeezing rope forced the air from her lungs.

Stunned, the changeling dropped like a stone. Rarity clung to Firetip as she crashed through the treetop, shattering branches and clearing a path for the ponies. They burst into the open space below the canopy, still some hundred feet above the forest floor. For one heart-stopping instant, they plummeted in freefall. Then, for the second time, the rope snapped taut. They swung backwards like a pendulum until they hung directly below the branch Firetip was tied to.

Rarity released her hold on Firetip and dropped the last several yards to the ground. She landed hard, using her body to shield Sweetie Belle from the worst of the fall.

Rarity staggered upright. “Sweetie Belle!” she cried. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” said Sweetie Belle, “I don’t think so. Is it over?”

“Yes. Yes it is.” Rarity’s legs buckled as she finally allowed herself to relax. She half-fell to the forest floor. “Let’s rest a little, then get you back to Ponyville.”

For several minutes, the only sound was the distant clamor of the battle. Sweetie Belle broke the silence. “Rarity?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for coming to rescue me.”

“I’ll always be there when you need me,” said Rarity.

“But you’re not,” said Sweetie Belle. “You’re only there sometimes.”

Rarity sighed. “You mean you want me to build my entire life around you, like the changeling did.”

“Yes! Isn’t that what you do with ponies you love?”

“I’m too tired to fight with you, Sweetie Belle. I do love you. I will never let you down when it’s truly important, like it was today. Love goes two ways, though, and part of that means realizing the ponies you love also have their own lives to live. I’m your sister, and that’s extraordinarily important to me, but that’s not all I am.”

“It’s not fair,” said Sweetie Belle. “I finally got you to myself, and it turns out it was just some stupid trick.”

“Living like that wouldn’t have been good for you. You need to become your own pony, too.”

“But I was so happy!”

“Mmm. I suppose that approach has some merit. What say we set aside tomorrow afternoon for just the two of us?”

Sweetie Belle nodded.

“Wonderful. Now, let’s go home.” Rarity hauled herself to her hooves, favoring her left rear leg. “I’m sure Twilight has sorted out the rest of this mess by now.”

Part 4: The Epilogue

“…was able to round up about five dozen changelings,” Twilight Sparkle was saying. “We put them in the Canterlot dungeons while we were trying to figure out what to do with them. Then Princess Luna convinced them to swear allegiance to her as their new queen. I keep asking how she did it, but she won’t tell me. It’s frustrating and a little bit creepy, but at least that’s the prisoners taken care of.”

“Yah-huh,” said Rarity. “Got any sevens?”

“Go fish,” said Sweetie Belle.

“We’re still trying to find where the changeling queen went with the rest of the hive,” said Twilight. “They were headed south, but we lost them pretty quickly. Once Pinkie’s leg heals, we should set out and track them down. We can’t let her keep the Element of Generosity.”

“Got any nines?” said Sweetie Belle. Rarity nodded and gave her sister the card.

“Are you even listening to me?” said Twilight.

“Of course,” said Rarity. “Prisoners, new queen, missing Element.”

“Oh,” said Twilight. “Well, good.”

“Got any princesses?”

“Go fish.”

“Anyway,” said Twilight, “there’s a meeting in the library so we can plan our expedition.”

“You go ahead,” said Rarity. “I’ll catch up eventually.”

“I’ll have Spike send you the minutes afterwards.” Twilight hurried away.

“This is great,” said Sweetie Belle. “We should do this more often.”

“Perhaps we should,” said Rarity. “How about every other week?”

“What? Why not every week?”

“Oh, very well. Once a week it is. Got any threes?”

Author's Note

This is the furthest I've ever come in a project before abandoning it. I like the general shape of the story, but it's longer than it ought to be and the prose needs to be developed, which would make it even longer. Fixing all this would require rewriting maybe a third of the story completely and editing the rest heavily.

The Elements of Style, Part 2

“You think you can destroy the Elements just like that?” said Highlight. “Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of the Elements are right here!”

The shards of the orbs around the Writemare's hooves began to glow. The monstrosity took a cautious step back. "What?"

Highlight strode forward. “Editjack, who pointed out my mistakes when I was sure my manuscript was flawless, represents the spirit of... proofreading!

“Lettershy, who explained the distinction between 'principle' and 'principal', represents the spirit of... spelling!

“Rainbow Emdash, who taught me how to mark dialogue that spans multiple paragraphs, represents the spirit of... punctuation!

“AP Pie, who backed up her critique with citations, represents the spirit of... usage!

“Brevity, who turned my rambling text into an engaging read, represents the spirit of... prose!

"The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" Highlight finished.

“You still don't have the sixth Element!” cried the Writemare. “The spark didn't work!”

“But it did! A different kind of spark.” Highlight turned to her friends, who were beginning to glow with power. Her voice softened. “I felt it the very moment I realized how much you helped me, guided me, how much I relied on you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my editors!” With that, energy danced across her mane and coat. Her smile was small but firm. “You see, Writemare, when those Elements are ignited by the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the Element of... Composition!”

With a great thunderclap, the magic surged forth from all six of them, twining together as it rose skyward, higher and higher. Then it bent, crashing downwards in a great unstoppable wave, washing over the Writemare. There was a keening scream as the corruption was blasted from her body—and then, finally, silence.

Untitled Discord Fragment

“Oh, come on, Fluttershy,” said Discord. “Let me help. I can take care of everything while you’re gone.”

Fluttershy frowned. It was nice that he was taking an interest, but something about Discord’s offer felt, well, not nice. “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s an awfully big responsibility.”

“But that’s what friends do, isn’t it? Help each other?” Discord paused. “At least, I think so,” he muttered. “I’ll admit I’m still a little new at this ‘friendship’ thing. I may have gotten that one wrong.”

Fluttershy sighed. “No, that’s right.”

“And we are friends, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s settled!” Discord clapped his mismatched hands. “Thank you, Fluttershy, you’re marvelous.”

“Oh. Well.” Fluttershy could tell she wasn’t going to win this one. “Alright.”

“Let me get your bags, and you can be on your way.” He extended a talon, which was now holding the panniers that Fluttershy had left up in her bedroom.

“Thank you.” Fluttershy bit her lip thoughtfully. “But I want you to promise me that you’ll be on your best behavior.”

“Best behavior!” Discord jerked ramrod straight and snapped a salute, dropping the panniers with a dull thud. “Ma’am, yes, ma’am!”

She eyed him warily. “That means you won’t set anything on fire.”

“No fire! Ma’am, yes, ma’am!”

“And no undermining the monarchy.”

Discord faltered. “Not even a little?”

“Discord!”

“Oh, fine. No undermining the monarchy. Ma’am, yes, ma’am.”

“And no ravening hellbeasts.”

“Fluttershy! You wound me!” Discord staggered, clutching his chest, and collapsed across her sofa. “Would I really do such a thing?”

She stayed quiet and fixed him with a level stare.

“Okay, yes, there was the little accident with the Beast of a Hundred Eyes. But surely you don’t think I’d let something like that happen again?”

Again, she stayed quiet. Quieter, even.

“Fluttershy,” said Discord. “Don’t you trust me?”

She spoke slowly, deliberately. “I want you to say the words, ‘Fluttershy, I promise not to summon any horrible demons.’”

“Oh, very well.” He rolled his eyes. “Fluttershy, I promise not to summon any horrible demons. There. Are you happy?”

“Yes,” she said. “Thank you. And thank you for helping.” She hefted her panniers and headed towards the door. “Oh! And tell the girls I’m sorry I couldn’t see them today.”

Author's Note

I don't remember where I was going with this one. It was in a document titled TMYIYAA, and I don't have the slightest recollection what that stands for. Let's just pretend it was meant to be a standalone vignette.