The Sun's Song, Ch. 12

Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Luna, and Pinkie Pie galloped (hopped) through the streets. By this point in the afternoon, word had spread that ponies needed to remain calm, and so they tried to put on a brave face for their dear princess. After all, over a thousand years, though she at times worked in mysterious ways, Celestia had yet to fail them. Surely this time around would be no different?

They have no idea what's happening, and yet they're still going about their days. Maybe it's their trust in Celestia that's made them brave, Luna thought to herself. How many of them blame me, I wonder? How many of them think I've fallen back on… old habits? She glowered, but said nothing, mindful of her swapped identity. It would not do to ruin their quest already. She could not do that if she was to save Equestria from calamity. Celestia's doing her part by opposing the evil spirit, I'm sure. Otherwise the sun would be up by now and everypony would be none the wiser. …Or would it? If a lich can't handle the sun… but she can in Celestia's body, and likely wants to avoid attention. Plus if she can keep me locked away, she has me to blame. But of course, if her soldiers don't find me and the sun remains hidden, maybe… maybe ponies will start to wonder what's going on. Maybe…

"Don't look now, sugarcube, but ye got some admirers," Applejack said to Luna, who galloped to her left. Luna looked ahead of her, and sure enough could see a couple of young stallions staring at her, smiling. One had enough frame of mind to bow his head and say "Madam" as she galloped past. Luna just stared back at first, then realized with a start that she was now playing Rarity! Oh no! What do I say? What do I do? "…Afternoon!" was all she could call out to them.

"Rarity sure knows a lot of stallions around town," Pinkie commented, hopping along like a freakish pony frog.

"Friends o' hers, ah'm sure," Applejack said with a snort. "Got 'em all wrapped around her little hooves, that pony."

Twilight quite innocently asked, "…Friends? Do they have sleepovers together?"

Luna's front hooves whacked together, and the pegacorn stumbled for a moment before regaining her balance. Applejack stared into nothingness, wondering what was wrong with this pony. Pinkie Pie digested Twilight's comment for a few seconds…

"HA!"

…and burst out laughing.

"Hahahahaha! T-Twilight, you… you don't even—Hehahaha! Hehehehe!" Pinkie lost her hoofing, tripped, and flew through the air for a second but against all expectations of reality turned this into a cartwheel and continued on this way. "Hahaha—Twilight!" She snorted in laughter.

"Uhh… sugarcube?" Applejack said quietly. "You're… kinda sheltered, ain't you?"

"…Well…" Twilight could now almost taste the unintentional faux pas. She blushed violently, and turned her head away from the other ponies. "I didn't even know what friendship was…" she mumbled, embarrassed.

"Aw, shucks, Twilight. T'aint nothin' t' be ashamed of. You were prob'ly so busy studyin' magic 'cuz you're so good at it."

"Yeah!" Pinkie chimed in. "Remember how you warded off the Ursa Minor? And you didn't even cast anything harmful at it! In fact, I even wrote a song about it!" Pinkie took a deep breath, and began skipping in tune to her own improvised music.

Dear Brave Pony Twilight,
Rode forth from Canterlot!
She faced the mighty cosmic bear,
Of which there was a lot!

"…Not very good…" Luna commented to herself.

'Never fear, Ponyville,
For I am here to save you!'
And Twilight the unicorn stood tall
Upon the grass and dew.

"ABCB as a rhyming scheme? That's so elementary poetry…" Luna muttered.

Her horn glowed, and sweet reed music
washed over the Minor's ears;
Said meanie Ursa, 'It's the awesomest stuff
I've heard in many years!'

"Is she trying to be epic, or silly?" Luna asked the group at large. It was far too late to stop Pinkie now, however. In fact, it was best to stop Pinkie before she even got started. Now as she sang new lines, it became nearly impossible to tell where she'd appear from next—high upon a tree, or below a rock, or somehow hanging down from nothing with no gravity telling her what to do!

"Pinkie, I think you should stop…" Twilight began, her eyebrows in one long line of disapproval.

Her horn glowed more, and a great milk tower
appeared around the bend;
Baby Ursa drank with great relish,
and went fast asleep again!

"Pinkie!" Twilight called out. "That's enough!"

"And all the poni—huh? Oh, okay!" Pinkie stopped appearing from everywhere imaginable and hopped once more on the right side of the group.

"…But thank you," Twilight added with a grin. "It does sound cool when you put it like that."

"Pinkie, was it?" Luna asked. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Ooh! Can I ask you one, too?" Pinkie answered. "Is it alicorn, or pegacorn?"

"Pegacorn!?" the princess replied. "What nonsense is that? It's alicorn!"

"Oh! Super. Alicorn, got it." Pinkie said happily, changing her bounce into a normal gallop.

"An' where did that come from, Pinkie?" Applejack asked, quirking an eyebrow at the pink earth pony.

"Just wondering," Pinkie answered.

"So… how did you manage to climb trees, hide under rocks, and generally say 'no' to gravity?" asked Luna the alicorn.

"Hmmm… dunno!" Pinkie answered with a shrug, her back hooves somehow moving faster to compensate for the shrugging front ones.

"It's just something we've dealt with," Twilight added. Luna couldn't think of anything to say to that, so she remained silent.

By this time, the four ponies were almost out of Ponyville. Houses were becoming few and far between, giving way to fields full of tall grass. A few farms dotted the landscape; some held only small vegetable gardens, while others had fruit trees or trellises. There was even a large hay plantation, with acres of growing, golden hay jealously guarded by sturdy wooden fence. Applejack looked at the surrounding areas with great interest. Twilight, having only the open road before her, moved off to the left of the group and craned her neck back.

"I think I see some lights way out behind us," she called out.

"D' ye reckon it's some of Celestia's ponies?" Applejack asked.

Pinkie, ever one to scoff at conventional pony movements, about-faced and began galloping backwards, her legs almost a blur. "I see them! There's two groups of five lights. One of 'em's going down—I think they're gonna land in Ponyville!"

"Oooh… I hope the others made it out safely," Twilight said worriedly.

"That reminds me." Luna looked at the saddlebags Rarity had given her. They were a gentle sky blue, the same color as the unicorn's three-diamond cutie mark. Though she couldn't see them too well at the moment, she knew one of them contained something important. "If we find a thicket or a good clump of trees, can we stop there? I've got something that can make our journey back a lot easier in case we need to travel far. Besides…" she yawned. "I haven't slept at all today. I'm… usually up at night." The excitement of the day's events was finally wearing off, and Luna felt lack of sleep weighing upon her now.

"Where?" Applejack asked, eyes scanning the countryside. "T'ain't nothin' here but open fields, and we ain't put enough distance between ourselves an' Ponyville yet."

"But everypony needs to sleep sometime," Pinkie pointed out. "Otherwise, they get cranky and grumpy!"

"Ah think cranky an' grumpy's the least o' our worries," the orange earth pony replied. "Luna, can ye hold up a bit longer?"

"Maybe… oooooaaaaaahhhh…" Luna yawned, shaking her head violently in an effort to stay awake.

"What time is it?" Twilight wondered aloud. "It was close to noon when Rainbow and Fluttershy left for Canterlot, and they were gone for three hours. It took us a little while longer to get ready—it's probably around six now," she finished. "Let me get my map out and see where we are." The unicorn's horn glowed as her right saddlebag opened, the map floating in front of her. It was dark, but she could still see well enough. "We're just south of Ponyville, but there's another town a few miles down the road called Colttown."

"Ah don't think we c'n stop in any towns, Twilight," Applejack reminded her.

"Right, right. But it's more of a mining town—see? There are salt mines near the town," she said, gesturing her horn at a drawing of some hills on the map. "Colttown's been there for some time. There could be an abandoned mine we could hide in for the evening. Luna, do you think you can hold together for a bit longer?"

"I'll—I'll try," she managed, swaying a little as she galloped. She was falling a little behind. Pinkie frowned and pulled back, bringing herself closer to the alicorn's side.

Luna did all she could to stay awake long enough to reach their destination--shaking her head, talking loudly about whatever crossed her mind ("Luna, watermelons aren't crazy, they're just misunderstood," said Pinkie), and occasionally bumping into the pink pony galloping alongside her, the impact jarring her awake.

Pinkie Pie looked to the two ponies in front of her. "Girls, are we there yet?" She asked. "I don't think Luna can go on much longer."

"We'll see the mines just over this hill," Twilight called out. "We're almost there! Just keep awake, Luna!"

"Easy for... you to say!" Luna managed blearily. "How do you ponies keep... running so long?"

"I'm a little tired," Twilight replied, "But we haven't run THAT far. Tomorrow will be when we really get moving--we'll be going all day if we can."

The four ponies crested the hill, and a small collection of lights appeared below them--they had arrived at Colttown, the first few houses waiting towards the bottom. It was a large, gently sloping hill on which they stood, and from there they could see several large, rocky hills off to their right. Some of them appeared to have openings in the rock.

"We made it! The salt mines are dead ahead!" Applejack called out. "Where do we fit, Twilight?"

"Take the nearest one we can get. See if there isn't anything around the base of the hills, or anything that looks like it hasn't been used in some time. These mines are supposed to have been around for a long time. I bet there's a shaft somewhere we can take shelter in. Try the hills closer to town first."

The ponies didn't have to search very long--upon examining the base of the hill closest to town, they found a smooth opening in the rock, leading downwards. Railway tracks exited from the mine, though judging by the vegetation growing over it they hadn't been used in some time.

"Alright girls. Let's not go too far in--stay close to the entrance, but far enough away so we're not spotted." And so the four ponies entered, finding little around except long, dark tunnel and barren rock. Luna, exhausted and out of energy, promptly flopped down on the ground and closed her eyes. She was out almost instantly.

"She's gonna be sore in the mornin', layin' on 'er side like that," Applejack said softly. But she grinned. "Still, glad we made it."

"I don't like this place..." Pinkie said, looking around. "It reminds me too much of that rock farm back home. Quiet, and cheerless. I can't stand either."

"You're gonna have to t'night," Applejack replied.

"Please, Pinkie," Twilight pleaded. "Just this once."

"Oh, I can do it if you girls stay here with me," Pinkie said, staring deeper into the blackness before them. "Even if it's a rock farm, friends are friends. But I mean, it's been years since they used this mine, right? What if there's something in here now that doesn't like ponies?"

Twilight stared where Pinkie stared, and began to realize: How far do those tunnels lead? Could something live back there? "But... there can't be anything here, Pinkie," she said, trying to reassure herself. "How would they live? There's nothing here but rocks and dirt."

"I hope you're right..." Pinkie said, far more quietly than was normal for her.

"Sugarcube, it's just yer imagination," Applejack said impatiently. "Ain't gonna be nothin' here, 'cept maybe bats."

"Bats?" Twilight looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, geez. We're not going to get covered in them, are we?"

Applejack shrugged. "We didn't so far."

But isn't it kinda odd that we didn't meet bats, or even Keese? Pinkie wondered as she turned away from the darkness, sitting down with the others on the ground. Slowly, Twilight fell asleep, leaving Applejack and Pinkie behind.

"Pinkie, you mind takin' the first watch?" the orange cowpony asked. "I'm gettin' some shuteye."

Applejack closed her eyes. Gradually, her breathing slowed.

Pinkie was the last pony standing.

--------

Meanwhile, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Octavia, and Spike were all gathered inside Twilight's library.

"Rainbow," Rarity instructed, "Go outside and look towards Canterlot. Let us know if you see anything."

"I'm on it!" The pegasus replied, and was out the front door in a flash... but she came back not three seconds later. "Uh, actually guys, they're already on their way."

"That was fast," Octavia mused.

"Oh, dear. Now what do we do?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"First of all, Spike." Rarity turned towards the dragon. "You've been really reliable for me, you know that? Could I ask you to stay in town? You might be handy in telling us what's going on in town--we can't come back here once we leave. Plus, I need you to watch Sweetie Belle for me. She's not that young a filly, but she still needs supervising."

"Anything for you," Spike said dreamily. "But how would I get in touch with you? And what do I tell anypony?"

"Tell them..." Rarity paused.

"Those guards'll be here soon," Rainbow reminded her.

"...Tell them that Twilight and her friends were called away on... an errand! Yes, my... aunt Individuality in Manehattan has... a bad case of Magic Flu! And it seemed like as good a time as any to get out there!"

"...Magic Flu?" Spike had a crush on Rarity, and everypony knew it, but even he wasn't this oblivious before the unicorn's charms.

"It's like a regular flu, except the illness goes to your horn," Rarity explained convincingly. "It causes all sorts of crazy magic--turns ponies into sofas, makes it rain over your head, that sort of thing. Got all that?" Spike nodded. "Right. Now then, we need to get out of here. Where's the nearest place we could go?"

"Everfree Forest," Fluttershy answered. "We've been in there enough times to know what we're doing." She gulped. "Even if we don't like it."

"Okay, then let's get going," Rarity replied, noting for a quick second that she appeared to be in command. It felt... strange. Usually, that role was for Twilight, or perhaps Applejack or Rainbow Dash. Yet even Rainbow was deferring to her. She glanced at her flanks--Luna knew the spell for making wings, and had done pretty nicely. She just had to NOT fly in the sun this time... an easy task, considering. "Let's move!"  

The four ponies dashed out of Twilight's library, Rarity in the lead, taking the four ponies straight ahead.

"What are you doing!?" Rainbow called out. "Everfree isn't that way!"

"I know," Rarity said. "But we need to be seen for when the guards arrive!"

"They're almost right above us!" Rainbow said, galloping alongside now. "It does us no good to be seen if THEY see us!"

"Alright then, let's move," Rarity said, and they turned off towards Fluttershy's cottage... but not, Rarity noted with satisfaction, before several ponies looked curiously towards them, saying things like, "Is that Princess Luna?" Rarity grinned--her plan was working.

"Let's stick close to the houses and try not to be seen," Rainbow said to the group, taking the lead now. "The first group is gonna be here at any minute."

"Maybe they'll land in the town square?" Fluttershy asked quietly, barely heard over the sound of their hooves galloping. "If they do that, we could get a head start."

"...No..." Octavia spoke up now, looking off to their right. "They're spreading out."

The first of Celestia's pegasus soldiers arrived, flying low over the outskirts of Ponyville, five torches in a v formation, burning brightly against the darkened sky. As they approached, the torches separated from one another, fanning out over the town.

Rainbow turned to get a look at the torches in between a house and a store selling ice skates and snorkeling gear. "We'll miss three of 'em," she said. "If we hurry, we can get around a fourth... but we might have to face one before we reach the forest!"

Rarity picked up speed, glaring ahead. "If there's only one, we'll be fine. Let's move!"

The four ponies began galloping harder, doing their best to keep to the walls. Houses were fewer now, and they began to approach Fluttershy's cottage, a cozy home for the yellow pegasus and the animals in her care. Rainbow thought to herself: Will we face one, or two? If it's one, and Rarity's as good as she says, we might handle it, but two...

She looked up into the skies, and gulped. Two torches were heading their way. She could see the faces of the guards by the torchlights, and neither pony looked happy to see them. Gold armor began to glow, and two glinting swords were drawn. One pointed a hoof towards the forest, where the other flew ahead of the group to cut them off.

I didn't want to do this so soon... but I don't think we have any other choice. Rarity bit her lip, feeling that what she was about to do was all wrong... but she saw no choice now. Not like this.

Her horn glowed, and an arrow slid out of the quiver.

Most ponies, when practicing archery, used wooden bows to shoot arrows. Rarity was, well, no different. She didn't have one at the moment, but that didn't make the arrows useless.
The arrow floated above her head, glowing in white light. She couldn't do any damage with it... but the guard didn't know that, now, did he? For the ponies were in the dark, and the target was far away.

For his part, the guard in front could see Rarity's horn shimmering, and something white appearing. He faced them head-on, and in the darkness couldn't quite tell what the unicorn was doing. Yet he COULD assume it wasn't good, braced himself, and jumped to his left the second the white thing disappeared. He felt quite silly a second later when the arrow, devoid of bow, landed harmlessly on the ground in front of him.

Unwilling to risk a closer shot he might not evade, the pegasus soldier charged at them, sword outstretched to stab his enemies.

"Now what?" Rainbow asked. "You block his sword, and I hit 'im?"

Rarity's eyes lit up. "Good idea! Get behind me. I'll make it even easier!"

Unlike Twilight, Rarity didn't fancy herself a full-fledged mage. Twilight, for instance, could teleport at will. Teleportation could be incredibly handy in battle--it was the purple unicorn's favorite opening tactic in a fight, especially when she knew she would be badly beaten, crushed, stomped on, and otherwise annihilated in a head-on charge. Rarity had never mastered the art...

...But she DID have considerable mastery of telekinesis.

Being close now to the Everfree Forest, the land around which they galloped was dotted with large trees. Rarity looked at the trees between her and the rapidly approaching guard. Low-hanging branch, low-hanging branch... ah ha! Found you! She narrowed her eyes, pushing herself as hard as she could, sweat running down her forehead, her short sword drawn. Rarity and the guard came closer and closer, now clearly visible to one another, the guard's teeth bared for battle.

They met under a large oak tree... a long, low-hanging branch bent down towards the end, and Rarity leaped upon it. In that instant, she removed her magical force from the branch, and it sprung back upward, launching her over the guard...

The guard had stopped at that moment, suspecting that the unicorn would have tried to whip the branch at him instead of using it as a springboard. Paying more attention to the leaping Rarity, he turned to face her again...

And his flank was slammed into from behind by one heaping helping of Rainbow Dash body slam, sending both ponies tumbling across the ground, the guard's sword flying away, now out of control. Rarity plucked the other sword out of the air, bringing both swords down near the sprawling guard.

"Dammit..." the guard managed, but he didn't move. "Fine. I lost. Do your worst."

"I could really use some help back here!"

Rainbow turned around to look back. By now, the rear guard caught up with Fluttershy and Octavia. Fluttershy cowered away, unable to do much of anything. Octavia used her cello case as a makeshift wooden shield against him, but the guard was slowly hacking away at it. Slices were clearly visible against the wood.

"Stand down and nopony will be harmed!" Rarity called out. The second guard stopped attacking for a second and looked ahead.

"What...? Blast!" The guard's armor stopped glowing, and his sword fell to the ground with a clatter.

Rarity breathed an inward sigh of relief. We... we won! "Here are my terms: leave now and do not follow us," she said. The guards raised eyebrows in surprise, but said nothing. "And wash your helmet hair!" she added. "It must get simply FILTHY, wearing those garish things all day!"

"So, you're... letting us go?" The first guard asked. "Is that right?"

"Why not?" Rainbow Dash replied, glaring at them. "Luna's not here to hurt anypony! Just look at her now--does that look like some... night-raising... monster pony to you?"

Both soldiers looked at what appeared to be a panting Luna. True, she currently wielded two swords, and had willingly evaded the law... but otherwise, she looked harmless. At least, mostly harmless.

"Maybe we should go..." the first guard said. "I suppose I should be thankful." Both guards backed up, and true to their words both turned to leave. "But this isn't over, Princess. The forest cannot hide you forever."

"With all that mud? I don't intend to hide," Rarity replied softly as they flew off.

"WHOO!" Rainbow cheered out. "Rarity, that was AWESOME! Marehoof!" She stuck out her front hoof towards the unicorn, who slowly obliged by smacking the pegasus' hoof with her own, grinning. "We didn't even hurt them!"

"I... oh, my. How did you two stay so calm?" Fluttershy asked, trembling. "I don't think I could be that brave in the face of those ponies..."

Octavia looked sadly at her nearly ruined case. "Wood doesn't work well against swords," she said simply.

"Um... couldn't you have taken your cello out and played something?" Fluttershy asked.

Octavia blinked slowly. "Oh, riiight... I'm... sorry. I got so caught up in the moment, I forgot everything else."

"Augh..." Rainbow slapped a hoof against her forehead. "Seriously? THIS is what we're working with?"

Rarity shrugged. "It WAS a spur of the moment, Rainbow Dash. I was stuck for a while until you suggested that plan of yours. I was so worried about how I was going to block him, and how not to be overwhelmed. You just gave me a starting point, and then I saw the trees and... it just clicked."

"Huh." Rainbow stared at Rarity for a second. "Usually you're always about dresses and fashion and all that stuff. I didn't peg you for, y'know, fighting and strategy."

"Fighting? From where I'm standing, you're the one who did all the fighting." The disguised unicorn turned, and walked towards the overhanging branches of the forest.

"I don't like it in there, but it's the safest place we've got to plan."