CHAPTER ELEVEN: SECRETS

October 11

"Can you believe it? Summoned to Canterlot for a court appointment, over something I have no clue about? At a time like this?!" Rainbow Dash brought the brand-new Daring Do book she had been leafing through, Daring Do and the Compass of Destiny, onto the table with a loud thud. Twilight winced.

"I thought you loved going to Canterlot."

"Well yeah, but not when my friend is missing and I'm accused of something I didn't do!"

"It doesn't look like they're accusing you of anything, Rainbow. It's probably just some disagreement between Pegasi and the Princess called in the only Pegasus that truly knows her stuff when it comes to weather." Twilight held out a cup of clover and honey tea, freshly made by Spike, in a transparent effort to calm her friend down. It did no good. She nosed the cup away and stamped her hooves.

"I want to know why we're not out there right now searching the forest for Pinkie. That's what she would want us to do, not waste time in Canterlot."

Rainbow Dash had been at her wit's end when she received the notice, bearing Princess Luna's unmistakable royal seal, and fell into her soft bed of clouds vowing to deal with this setback in the morning. The problem with this line of reasoning was that morning came far too soon for her taste. Way too soon. Also, the shortage of relaxing naps in clouds lately was really getting to her.

And then there were the nightmares, of course. Even her bed of puffy water vapor, which cradled and caressed her every curve as she slept, wasn't enough to guarantee a good night's sleep. One ominous dream melted into another and left her restless. First was a dream of Pinkie being chased through the forest by a pack of timberwolves. The timberwolves had the faces of her friends: Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy. She was only a bystander to the hunt. Then came one in which she and Pinkie were having tea in Twilight's balloon, drinking from cups made of solid chocolate. As the chocolate melted, so did the ropes holding the basket to the trembling gas-filled ball above them, and Pinkie was falling. It turned out that only two ropes had melted and she, Rainbow Dash, clung to the balloon's undercarriage for dear life because her wings were missing. Suddenly black tentacles came out of nowhere and severed the rope. She was nothing more than a flightless earth pony as she fell two thousand feet to her doom.

So Rainbow Dash, sleep-deprived and in too much of a hurry to tease her mane into its usual carefully styled disarray (she would never admit it to Rarity, but her signature look took much more than a morning breeze to achieve) snatched up Luna's summons and went in search of Twilight. Last night's storm had blown over to the south and in the pre-dawn gloom, no evidence remained of its passing except the leaves and branches that had been ripped from the trees and hurled willy-nilly around Ponyville. That, and the hard crust of snow it deposited. No doubt the cleanup crews would be busy today. I'm surprised there's any leaves left after that storm.

Maybe she arrived a bit too early.

"Twilight! Twilight! Open up, I need to talk to you!" she cried, hammering on the library door, and jumped back in alarm when Twilight answered it. Her hair was in tangled disarray and she had wrapped herself in a ratty old bathrobe and slippers. The ponies' breaths came out in icy puffs. "Oh. Um… sorry if I woke you up."

"It's no trouble. Couldn't sleep anyway, so I decided to get a head start on making today's checklist. Spike's making breakfast. What's wrong, Rainbow? Come inside where it's warm."

Twilight's nervous glances to either side when she opened the door didn't escape Rainbow Dash's notice. As she sat down in the library and explained her situation, Spike dropped something heavy in the kitchen and Twilight jumped. The dragon's cries mixed with metallic clanking sounds.

"None of us could have found Pinkie in that storm last night. Actually, after breakfast I was going to get Rarity and Applejack to help, and Bryn could come too if he wanted, and just start at Zecora's and go from there. But now that you have this appointment, maybe I should come with you to Canterlot."

Rainbow frowned. "There's no reason for both of us to go. Fluttershy can help too… just tell Pinkie that I had an urgent appointment, when you find her."

"Just let me come with you, for moral support if nothing else. Who knows, maybe if things go bad at the hearing you might need somepony influential with the Princesses. And after yesterday I'm not sure if Fluttershy wants to do anything at the moment."

Twilight did her best to sound cool and assertive but was afraid the white lie would be apparent in her voice. She wanted to go to Canterlot, and desperately, especially since it had been two full days since her last letter to Princess Celestia had not received a reply. This letter held two pages' worth of her worries about Fluttershy and the general unease of a lavender unicorn who was afraid to venture out at night, as well as a full page of her love.

She hated to think that something might have happened in Canterlot that was serious enough to drive her letter completely out of Celestia's mind. The thought that now made her break out in a spontaneous cold sweat was: what if it's all connected? What if things are bad all over Equestria and the Princesses are busy keeping order and we're never going to get to spend a real night together? What if the storm last night meant bad news for Ponyville and that's why Rainbow Dash is being called away? And how does Bryn fit into all of this? And Pinkie?

None of this crept into her voice, though, and Rainbow Dash was none the wiser. "If you say so, Twilight, but it's only three hours to Canterlot by train so shouldn't there be time for both? Let's go and find our friends and see what they think." She took to the air and was brought up short, again by Twilight's teeth around her tail. "Hey!"

"Um, Rainbow? It's four-thirty in the morning."

"So? Time's still ticking."

In reply, Twilight glared at her in that ridiculous robe and flyaway mane, and the point was soon made. The Pegasus grinned sheepishly. "After breakfast then?"

"Spike will have some muffins ready soon." From the kitchen came more crashes and the distinct sound of a sleepy dragon trying, and failing, to catch falling cooking equipment in his claws. "Hopefully. Why don't you sit down with that new Daring Do book until they're done? You know, the one that you bugged me about for the past two months even though you knew it wasn't going to come out until four days ago, and that I specially ordered from the Canterlot library for you? That one."

Twilight's so grouchy in the morning. It's adorable. "Well, when you put it that way…" Rainbow Dash found a cozy corner and opened Daring Do and the Compass of Destiny with eager hooves.

---

Across town, Bryn was also finding that mornings in Ponyville arrived far too early. It wasn't that his bedroom was a bad place to sleep, or that he normally had trouble sleeping, but that he was naturally a light sleeper. Every tiny noise put him on full alert. The entire night had been filled with noises, from the storm's shrieks to the crunch of a tortured tree as its trunk bent in high wind and snapped into splinters, and he slept fitfully. Confounding it all was the gigantic bed in Rarity's spare room. It was roughly the size of an Earth-standard king and after a lifetime of sleeping in the confines of a bunk bed, enveloped tightly with the comforting closeness of the bunk above him, all the extra space was unnerving.

In the wee hours of the morning he heard a tremulous "Bryn?" and jerked to full alertness in seconds. Sweetie Belle, frightened by the walls' incessant thrumming, had gone in search of somepony to comfort her. Because the guest bedroom was opposite the bathroom and Rarity's room was all the way at the end of the hall where the stairway met the upper floor, the filly came to his room first.

"I'm scared," she said in a voice heavy with sleep. "It sounds like our house is going to blow down and then the storm will kill us. Can I sleep here with you?"

The room was as dark as spilled ink and only Sweetie's silhouette was visible but, even five feet from the bed, he could see her shivering. Must be worse than I thought.
"Sure. There's plenty of room. Hop on up."

"Thanks." Instead of claiming the other side of the bed, she wriggled across to him and curled up in a compact ball against his chest. "You know, you're like the big brother I always hoped for."

Sweetie Belle was facing the wall and couldn't see Bryn's face. If she had looked closely at that moment, she would have seen moisture in his eyes. This is exactly what Serena used to do when our parents were fighting or when those dumb neighbors would throw their wild parties and get in brawls. Whenever something scared her, she'd climb down to my bunk and stay there for the entire night. She did that ever since she was old enough to have her own bed. I'd leave early for school and Serena would be fast asleep in my bed, then my mom got upset and told her to get back in her own bed. She didn't understand… that was the only place she felt safe. I miss her a lot right now.

"Does Rarity not like you going into her room?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice from breaking. He pulled the covers up to her chin.

"She hates it when I disturb her 'beauty rest' but now that you're here, I don't need to bother her." A violent blast of wind struck; Sweetie flinched. "It's going to get in, isn't it? And blow our house all the way to the Badlands."

A newcomer to Equestria he might be, but Bryn was no amateur at calming frightened little sisters, and apparently she had already adopted him. He held her shaking hoof and whispered, "That wind's going around Ponyville and looking for little lost ponies to gobble up. But you know what?" Pause for dramatic effect. Once he had told this exact line to Serena, on a stormy night much like this, and waited until her eyes were widened in horror to deliver the punch line. "That wind's secretly afraid of us because it knows we're stronger. Rarity put protective magic all around the house and even if it managed to show its face inside, both of us would beat it up so badly that it wouldn't come back for years."

"That's silly. Nopony can beat up wind."

"It's true though. Your amazing ninja sister would never let anything hurt you. Don't count me out, either."

Slumber began to wrap its soft limbs around Sweetie Belle and her next sentence was a tired mumble. "Do you like Rarity?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you like her? Like, like like her? I saw the way you were looking at her tonight. And at breakfast when you first met."

At least she can't see me blush. "Now who's being silly?" he answered airily, hoping his voice was not as see-through as it sounded. "If you really want to know, I think your sister is incredible. Don't- tell her I said that."

"You should tell her. I think she feels the same way about you." The filly snuggled in closer to his warmth and was soon too far gone to continue the conversation. He kissed her forehead and laid his own head back on the pillow.

Of course, now that the subject of Rarity was on the table, sleep truly was a lost cause.

So passed a sleepless and disturbed night, and Sweetie Belle was gone when he awoke early the next morning. The magical fire Rarity had conjured in his bedroom had long burned down and in its absence the room was literally an icebox. Shivering, he tugged on his jacket and pants and went downstairs.

He found a tousle-haired and bathrobed unicorn in the kitchen with a mug of hot chocolate between her hooves. In response to his tired morning smile she said, "A lady can't look perfect every second of the day. Besides, I slept awfully."

"Me too." Bryn made a cup for himself and joined her. "Hate to think what would have happened if you hadn't reinforced the tent and lit the fireplaces last night when we got back."

Rarity took a deep but ladylike drink, ensuring that not a drop of chocolate was anywhere near her perfect coat, and sighed heavily. "It's odd," she remarked at length. "Of course, you've only been in Ponyville for two days so you wouldn't know the difference, but the Pegasus ponies usually give us a much longer transition between fall and winter. And this year it's almost as if winter has just- arrived. All of a sudden it's bitter cold outside, like there was summer and suddenly, winter." She shivered despite the roaring fire in the grate.

"Wait… the Pegasus ponies control the weather?"

"Why yes, dear. Rainbow Dash is the weather manager of this town, didn't you know that?" She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Every year, the Pegasi bring the winter weather and then in the spring the earth ponies clean up all the horrid snow and ice so that the lovely spring weather can shine through. It's Ponyville tradition."

"If you say so…" He sipped at the foaming chocolate and stared into the fire. "But what about all the good things about winter? Fireplaces and snowball fights and sledding?"

Bryn was clinging to a very juvenile concept of winter, one that he had fond memories of back on Earth, and he loved it as only one could love it if they never knew the practical troubles it caused such as car trouble, heating bills, or drafty houses; Rarity gave him a knowing smile. "You do realize I live in a two-story tent with thin walls, don't you? Try keeping warm when outside your house is three feet of snow, and you'd better hope that you have enough wood to last until spring. And then if you run out of wood, you have to go cut more. Ugh, all the uncouth manual labor."

"Which is why you have me, right?"

"Speaking of which… while I prepare a few things for breakfast, would you mind tending to this list of chores? Just a few little things and such. Don't worry about the laundry because that's for Sweetie Belle to do." Rarity winked. "Shouldn't take you more than a minute. While you're out, I'll tidy up." She pushed a piece of paper across the table to him.

Clear up yard (branches, twigs)

Fill woodbox

Draw water from well

"The bucket's right there by the door." Five minutes later, with his arms full of snow-covered branches, he was beginning to doubt his future as Equestrian hired labor.

To start with, he wasn't dressed for it. All around Carousel Boutique was a thin, crunchy crust of windblown snow and the debris of last night's storm. Their back porch was no more than two hundred feet distant from the tree line and, as a result, many boughs big and small had been torn loose and hurled high into the air. The sudden thumps he heard in the night must have been caused by the larger ones as they ricocheted off the house's exterior. Thinking like someone who had grown up with woodstoves, he went in methodical circles around the house and gathered up every branch, then stacked them all in a heap by the shed. No sense in wasting good firewood. In a few months it would be perfectly seasoned and ready to burn.

What he hadn't reckoned on was the snow and the temperatures. The clothes Rarity had made for him were performing at top level; whatever miracle threads she weaved into the tight-fitting coat acted as a windbreaker and literally repelled the cold. His shoes, though, were another matter. In a minute the snow had seeped through the thin skateboard shoes and gnawed at his feet.

"Jesus," he said, shivering and flexing his toes to keep them warm.

His unprotected hands soon began to feel it too. The biggest branch lay fifteen feet from the house and was thicker than his thigh, and his fingers were numb after he dragged the heavy thing to the pile. Rarity had a heavy iron rack set up beside the shed that was half-full of neatly chopped logs and after the yard was clean, he carried several loads to the wooden box on the porch. By the time he got around to lifting the heavy iron cover from her backyard well, his hands were ice cubes. Wouldn't it be easier for her to do this? he thought as he hauled the unwieldy bucket up from the depths, just use her unicorn magic and do it ten times quicker than I could?

The chain was old and rusty and unwieldy, but in good condition. It wasn't until he filled the heavy tub with bone-chilling crystal clear water that he realized the irony of it all. Here he was, doing hard work for a pony, when in his world the ponies were the ones doing the hard work for him. It was such a silly reversal that he began to laugh and his snorts rang out in the stillness.

Bryn steadied the bucket and took a deep breath, and for a moment forgot all about the cold. He again was experiencing the sensation that he had upon first waking up in Equestria. It seemed to happen only with a chestful of oxygen and dead silence, although storms produced it in spades as well, and the best word he had to describe it was alive… almost as if the air was imbued with an elusive vigor and breathing it in was like a strong cup of coffee. Someone more adept with language than Bryn might have called it primeval when compared to average Earth air; it felt more youthful and untamed and dangerous. Even though he couldn't describe it that well, he felt it.

"Bryn! Come inside before you catch a cold!" called Rarity. He lugged the sloshing bucket across the yard to the back door and was attacked by the hooves of a worried pony.

"When I said do the chores, I didn't mean stay out until you freeze! Silly!" She took the bucket from him and fussed over his snow-covered and shivering form. "Just look at your poor hands… come sit by the fire."

He wanted to remind her that it was her decision to send him outside, but her ministrations were too adorable to interrupt. She shooed him over to the fire like an overbearing mother and put a knitted blanket around his shoulders. "You'll warm up in no time," Rarity cooed, ruffling his hair.

"I'm fine, Rarity," Bryn insisted. "Trust me, it was just my feet and hands. Everything else stayed warm." He pulled off the sodden shoes so his feet could dry by the fire. "These things weren't really made for snow but they're all I brought with me when I came to Equestria."

"Then I need to make a better pair for you. Perhaps a pair of gloves, too?"

"Says the pony that doesn't wear shoes at all," teased Bryn.

"I'll have you know that a lady always dresses for the occasion. Winter weather is no excuse for being unfashionable." Indeed, she had a whole closet full of boots upstairs, but Bryn couldn't possibly know that. "A day like today definitely calls for some stylish hoofwear."

They sat down to a simple breakfast of porridge, rolls, and fruit. Between the hot chocolate and the fire's glow, they were as warm as if they had been laying under summer sunshine while outside the gray clouds and frigid air swirled around the house, seeking a way inside. While he was out cleaning the yard Rarity had combed out her fluffy violet curls and donned what appeared to be the pony equivalent of a down parka, complete with baby blue high-topped boots and a chunky wool scarf. Supermodel meets Michelin Man was his first thought, although if anypony could pull it off without looking outlandish or chubby, it was Rarity. She would need the extra bulk today.

"We're supposed to meet Applejack in fifteen minutes, so let's not eat too slowly."

"To find Pinkie?"

She nodded, and let a small smile grace her features. "I bet Pinkie is having a nice cup of tea with Zecora right now, while we're all worried about her."

"I'm guessing Zecora is another pony."

"Zecora's a zebra. From southern Hoofrica, and she's a sort of- well, witch doctor. Or herbalist, I suppose. She lives in the middle of the Everfree Forest and keeps to herself, but she's wonderful to Ponyville and to my friends."

Remembering that forest too well, Bryn shivered. "She must be pretty brave to live out there all alone."

"I always thought there was something off about her," said Rarity, "so I borrowed a book from Twilight about zebras. They're like earth ponies but with magical ability nearly equal to a unicorn. I suppose they need it, with the griffon kingdom to the west and dragons not too far to the south. Most zebras are solitary and keep to the open spaces where they can see danger from far away."

"Wait. Dragons?"

"Of course, sweetheart. You didn't think there were just ponies in the world, did you?" She giggled at his open-mouthed stare. "Manticores, and Hydras, and timberwolves too. Horrid things, manticores. Dreadful tempers and even more dreadful breath."

"None of this even exists in my world. Only in stories and legends." He sipped at his cocoa and imagined that somewhere, high in the mountains, a real-life dragon was plotting the destruction of Ponyville.

"Twilight has a baby dragon as her assistant. You'll be the first human to see him."

As Bryn sat awestruck, the front door shook under the force of four tremendous knocks. Rarity sighed. "Only one pony can shake my door like that." She passed through her showroom, looking like a pony walking to the gallows, and on the doorstep was Applejack.

"Rarity." Applejack tipped her trademark Stetson and remembered to wipe her boots before entering. She was swathed in an old farm coat and thick leggings. "Ah see winter is finally here," she said without preamble, "and a nasty one too."

"Yes," said Rarity, without enthusiasm.

The farm pony gave Bryn a curt nod, not acknowledging his name as she had for her friend, and was clearly out of her element in Rarity's spacious showroom surrounded by racks of dresses. Rarity brought a cup of cocoa to her and Applejack accepted it. "Ah checked by Sugarcube Corner this mornin' and still no Pinkie, so Ah think we should get goin' as soon as we can."

She sipped at her mug as if it were the last hot chocolate left in Equestria, obviously in discomfort from so much steaming liquid passing down her throat, but from the way she paced back and forth across the showroom floor, it was the least of her worries. Something more than the whereabouts of Pinkie Pie was eating at the mare. At least Bryn thought so, and he didn't see how Rarity could miss it either. That is, unless said fashionista was preoccupied by re-styling her mane.

"Perhaps sweep these bangs forward today. Needs more lift." One of Rarity's many eccentricities was having a mirror (or two) in every room and the ability to use any reflective surface as a mirror. Not that she needed to check her perfect mane every few minutes but hay, it couldn't hurt. "Flawless," she purred, winking at her reflection.

"Rarity!"

"Oh. Umm…. sorry. Are we ready to go?"

Bryn chuckled and Rarity elbowed him.

---

Zecora's hut was, as Rarity remembered it, thirty minutes' walk from the Ponyville town square. Her forest road was the most trafficked part of the Everfree region. It received heavy use from overland wagons, migrant workers and the occasional cargo shipment; normally ponies used the railroads but in some cases couldn't afford the fare or simply wanted the anonymity of an out-of-the way route, especially if their presence was undesired in the settlements they traveled through. A certain great-and-powerful unicorn came to mind.

The zebra benefited from the traffic passing near her house, specifically the spice and dry goods traders that supplied her with some of her potion ingredients, and in turn provided aid to ponies who suffered hurts on the way. The largest wagon trains chose the Everfree trail because it was far quicker than skirting the forest's southern borders or attempting to navigate the swampy and craggy terrain in between Canterlot Peak and the river. Despite its dangers, one simply had to get past the woodlands to the Dragon Bridge, whose ancient stones provided the only easy way across the river for miles, and beyond the pass was Canterlot and the open plains. Heavily guarded wagon trains hardly worried about attacks, anyway. Many would hire specially trained security forces from Stalliongrad and plow right through any obstacles.

From the looks of things, recent traffic had been sparse.

Nopony had disturbed the trail out of Ponyville since last night's storm and it was a hindrance to the small party. Rather than trudge through the thickening drifts, Rarity bravely marched ahead of the others and used her magic to burn away the snow. She abandoned this strategy in minutes. Not only did the melted snow puddle up and cake her clothing in thick mud, but she lacked Twilight's magical fortitude, and the effort of maintaining the flames quickly exhausted her. Ignoring Applejack's amused snicker, she fell behind Bryn, whose long legs were an advantage.

"Melting snow is harder than sewing," she said defensively. Applejack snorted.

Applejack seemed to have no trouble breaking the trail. She waded forward, sometimes into drifts that reached her chest, and muscled it aside as if she was a ponified snowplow. Bryn took care to trample the snow and make Rarity's path easier, without even noticing he was doing it. Applejack, however, did.

"Coddle her some more, why don't ya?"

"Ummm…"

"If it's too hard ta come and look for our friend, why don't ya stay home, Rarity?" the farm pony growled. She lowered her ears and attacked the snow with unusual venom.

Bryn looked back at Rarity and found only an odd pained look. What the hell is going on between these two?

The snow thinned as soon as they reached the Everfree Forest's borders, although the temperatures worsened. Bryn pulled up his collar and kept his hands deep inside his coat. If I had a million dollars right now, I'd give it all for a pair of wool socks and insulated boots. There hadn't been time for Rarity to address his lack of wintertime footwear and all she could do was cast a water-repelling spell on his skate shoes. The damp chill clamped around his toes like a vise. Soon they would be hopelessly numb.

The ponies' muzzles were crusted with a hard frost. It was easy to 'zone out' as Bryn would put it, the mind-dulling process of one foot in front of the other, with no sounds other than labored breathing. All around him was a soundless snowglobe of winter beauty. It was beautiful, though, in the same way that a katana or a pit viper could be considered 'beautiful'. The trees were razor-sharp talons wrapped in white velvet. The ground beneath him was a bed of nails and snares covered in the finest linens. A single wrong step meant a twisted ankle or worse, and he mistrusted the branches that curved down from above to hang, sometimes only inches, above his head.

His companions kept their heads low, in order to watch the path and their own steps, but Bryn's attention was on his surroundings. With each step an uncertainty grew within him. It was the same feeling of snooping around his mom's bedroom or setting foot in an abandoned building- that he, Bryn Hansen, was unwanted in this forest. The sooner we find Zecora and get home, the better. I don't like this place at all.

Applejack turned back, perhaps to say something, and then everything exploded in a teeth-rattling roar of sound and flying splinters of wood. Rarity's scream came a millisecond too late.

As the mysterious object crushed the ground where Bryn had stood, it kicked up huge plumes of snow that turned the area into a ten-foot snowglobe of destruction. Neither pony noticed the telltale orange flash or the fact that Bryn crouched safely to the side of the path. Not at first, anyway.

"A piano? What the bucking hell?" snarled Applejack.

It was indeed a piano that had fallen from the sky. Rarity screamed and began ripping into the snow with levitation spells, thinking that Bryn lay pulped underneath the wreckage; Applejack looked upward to see a moving carriage, held aloft by four Pegasi, one of which was a familiar scatterbrained grey mare. The mare flew clumsily down to survey the wreckage of the grand piano. "Oh no…" If anything, her mismatched eyes grew more akimbo. "I don't know what went wrong."

Rarity turned on her. "Derpy, what were you thinking? You could have killed-"

"-Bryn?" Then she suddenly noticed his changed position. "How'd you get over there?"

Much like the incident on the playground so many years ago, he realized too late what he had just done.

But hey, I'm still alive. And it felt so much easier that time, easier than blinking or breathing. Just the tiniest hint in my brain and I phased.

Perhaps it was the strange Equestrian air that made his powers feel like a second skin. He hadn't noticed it at first, because of being chased by forest monsters and Rainbow Dash, respectively, but compared to his efforts back on Earth, it was faster and more intuitive by half. Of course, now as well as then, he phased in an emergency when the options were to phase or be crushed by nearly a ton of wood. He liked living.

Rarity looked at him with a combination of doubt and concern. "I thought you were crushed! How could you possibly have moved that fast? Unless you saw it first."

"Good reflexes."

"Maybe Rainbow Dash wasn't exaggerating when she said how fast you were." She moved to him and touched his chest, reassuring herself that he was indeed unhurt, and he briefly squeezed her hoof.

"I'm okay, sweetie."

The moving carriage settled onto the path and the Pegasi tried to salvage what pieces weren't hopelessly mangled. Derpy sat down in the snow and looked confused- admittedly not hard for her to do- but all three ponies had forgotten about Applejack. She looked from the piano to Bryn to Rarity and back, and with each second her eyes narrowed to angry slits.

It had already happened. The caring touches, the easy familiarity, the unspoken glances between them. Rarity had fallen for Bryn. Or Bryn had fallen for Rarity, and whichever it was, it was undeniable. Her friend cared more for a human than she did for her. Worse, a human who was (in her eyes) not who he pretended to be. Applejack's voice was low and deadly as she addressed Bryn.

"Only Rainbow Dash could have dodged that. Or Twilight with her fancy teleportin'. Since when can ya use magic an' teleport, Bryn?" She spat the word 'teleport' like a curse.

Oh fuck…

He took deep breaths and ignored the sudden cold sweat that advanced on him. "I saw the shadow and jumped out of the way. No human can use magic. It doesn't exist in our world."

"Then how come ya covered that much distance? An' that weird light… are ya hidin' somethin'?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Of course, he never was a good liar. Someone who lives their life by telling the truth will be very bad at it, although his lies were about his powers and nothing else. Then again Applejack was the Element of Honesty and could see through just about any liar.

Applejack let out her breath in an angry huff and advanced on Rarity. "For two days… you've been living with a bucking changeling and ya haven't had an inkling of what he really is?"

"I beg your pardon?" gasped the unicorn.

"He just teleported out of the path of that piano! He's got magic and whatever he is, he lied ta us!"

Covered in snow and mud and bits of wood, Rarity only stared. "Did I miss something? That thing almost kills Bryn and you're upset about him having magic? You're out of your saddle. He doesn't have any magic!" She nuzzled at his shoulder.

"Ah don't believe this. Ah just don't motherbucking believe this." She snarled, an animal growl of rage, and pushed against the snowbank. Rarity was quicker, though. A flash of azure magic caught Applejack's braided tail.

"All right. Whatever's making you act like a spoiled foal the past week, we're dealing with this right now. You've been short with everypony lately and downrightawful to Bryn. Is everything all right, Applejack?"

For a moment Bryn thought Applejack would attack Rarity. She marched right up to the unicorn and stared her down, eye to eye, as furious as Rarity had ever seen her. Then she spoke. "Ya truly want ta know if everything's all right? Fine, Ah'll tell ya. Everythin's the exact opposite of all right. Not that ya'd notice, with your new human best friend and your fancy clothes and all, with ya gettin' all prettied up and fawning over him when ya don't even know what he is. If ya cared about your real best friends, ya'd know that Granny Smith is losin' her mind, our apple harvests are ruined and this buckin' storm just got done tearin' apart our barn. Ya'd know that we're all slowly slippin' away from each other." She took a ragged breath. "Fluttershy's a recluse. Twi' hides in her library all day readin' old books and bein' afraid of her own shadow. RD can't even hang out anymore because she's so busy with all o' this bizarre weather. Pinkie's missin'. And you, you- you-"

There, in that silent oppressive clearing, surrounded by blasted tree limbs and snow and darkness, Applejack began to cry.

Rarity slowly placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder but the farm pony beat it away with surprising force. "Ah don't need your sympathy. Ah need ya to buck up and help me find Pinkie so Ah can get home an' take care of my own buckin' problems."

"Applejack, I…"

"SHUT UP!"

"We're friends!" Rarity cried, as the other mare began to walk away. "No matter what, the six of us can get through anything. Even this. We help each other with our problems."

"Until that night, that's what Ah thought too."

She attacked the trail, not bothering to look back to see if they were following. Rarity sniffed once and buried her head in Bryn's chest. "I've let her down. She needed me and I let her down."

"What do we do now?" said Derpy. She kicked at the broken piano strings littering the ground. "I never meant to hurt anypony." The other three Pegasi harnessed to the wagon shook their heads in disappointment.

Somewhere in Equestria, the owner of a very valuable grand piano would soon be having a much worse day than they were.

Bryn watched as Applejack tramped farther and farther away. There's something else going on between these two... it can't be as simple as all that. But he bent down and kissed her forehead, just above her horn, and held her as she continued to sob. "What's really going on between you and Applejack?"

"It's a long story. Maybe we can talk about it later."

"You mean after we freeze to death from standing out here? Deal." They followed in the hoofprints that Applejack had made.

Soon they crested a small ridge and reached the trailhead where the zebra made her home. The sight of Zecora's clearing might have lifted their spirits had they not been cold and angry and depressed. The cottage sat under two inches of glittering snow and looked quite inviting despite all the dangers of the forest surrounding it, and the urgency of locating Pinkie put their past strife temporarily to the side.

"Zecora!" called Applejack. "Are ya home?"

They came up to the front door and Bryn knocked, three times. When no eccentric zebra opened the door and greeted them in rhymes, Applejack nosed the door handle. It was locked.

"Hey Rarity, can you fix this door if Ah kick it down?"

"Well… I suppose so. My repair spells are a tad rusty, but if it is an emergency-"

BANG went Applejack's jackhammer back hooves against the door. She burst inside, ignoring Rarity and the detritus of splintered wood littering the entryway. "Zecora? Pinkie? Is anypony home?"

Rarity was the first to notice the handwritten note pinned to the wall opposite the door. She magicked it over and read aloud.

This forest has become a dangerous tomb,

Full of shadows and creeping gloom.

Zecora has returned to her native land

With warmth and safety in its desert sands.

This dwelling I leave to any passerby

In need of a haven when the moon is high.

But take care, dear traveler, when you are alone

The limbs of the trees have a mind of their own.

"Can she write a more creepy poem?" said Bryn, looking over Rarity's shoulder at the cryptic lines.

Applejack looked at the interior of the house that was, until quite recently, Zecora's. Gone were the masks and woven wall hangings and all the artifacts of her native land, and gone were the racks of exotic herbs and spices. Those herbs- and Zecora's remarkable knowledge- had cured the poison joke and the cutie pox. No doubt she had done similar acts of kindness for countless other ponies. And now there was no trace of her.

The hut was as empty as the snowy clearing in which it stood, save for a broken basket that lay in one corner like a deflated hoofball. Applejack turned to Rarity and fresh tears were flowing down her cheeks. Tears, not of anger, but anguish. "Where's Pinkie?" she choked out. "Where else would she be?"

Since the party of the previous night that went awry, their plan had hinged on finding Pinkie here, waiting out the bad weather. Now they were back to square one. "I don't know," said Rarity.

Falling onto her haunches, Applejack let out a strangled sob. "Why is this happenin'? What are we goin' to do now? Go back to Ponyville and let our friends know that Pinkie's missin' and most likely-" and she cried harder, not being able to verbalize the thought that was on her and Bryn's mind.

Pinkie Pie, lost? Pinkie Pie- dead?

Rarity was silent and Bryn inscrutable. Finally he said, "Back in my world, if someone's missing, you call the police. Is there any kind of sheriff or law in Ponyville?"

"There's the mayor and the town security, but-"

"Then we go back to town and tell them that something bad happened to Pinkie and that everyone- I mean everypony- should keep an eye out for her. We put posters on every street corner."

"How can ya even think that?" growled Applejack, rounding on Bryn. "Actin' like she's gone when we don't know for sure?"

Rarity spoke up, tremulously. "There's nothing else we can do. She's missing and now Zecora is gone. Unless you have a better idea."

The snarl that escaped Applejack's lips was like that of an angry lion. "All o' this started ta happen after that human got here. Did ya do somethin' to Pinkie Pie?"

"Applejack, you can't possibly think-"

"You've driven a wedge between my friends an' in my book, you're a changeling freak who don't belong here. Ah think it's time for ya to leave. Now."

She punctuated each word with a brutal stomp of her hooves. Bryn, having been in many standoffs and standoffs that turned into full-blown fights, felt a tremor of fear as he stared into Applejack's narrowed eyes. It had felt different when he got down and dirty with Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus had only been looking out for her friends, and rightly so. The pony in front of him-

-legitimately hated him. He could see it in those green eyes, narrowed like a cat's, and the ears pinned flat against her head.

"What exactly did I do to make you hate me so much?"

"Get out, right NOW!"

"APPLEJACK!" Rarity thundered, in a voice much too loud and deep for such a delicate pony. Magic was at work here. "Bryn was with me last night when Pinkie disappeared! If you're accusing him, you're accusing me too! You're a better pony than this!"

The farm pony stood her ground, snorting and stamping at the floorboards, caught between Bryn's silence and Rarity's unexpected fury. Then Rarity did something even more unexpected. She let the voice amplification spell fade back into her horn, walked right up to her enraged friend and embraced her. It must have been a shock to Applejack as well, because she didn't push Rarity off. "I know the real reason you're upset and it has nothing to do with Pinkie Pie. Please, Applejack… we need to deal with this, and right now isn't the time. Let's go back to town and let the Mayor know that Pinkie is missing. Hopefully Twilight let the Princess know and she'll bring her royal guard to help."

"An' who gets ta go home ta a wrecked barn an' a scared family an' somehow last through the winter without all the apples that the storm made off with?"

"Then we'll all help you rebuild it. Won't we, Bryn?"

"If you need help, I'll be there."

"See? No matter what happens, we're all still friends and friends help each other."

Bryn unclenched his fists. He hadn't realized he had clenched them to begin with. As they left Zecora's empty hut behind, he wiped beads of sweat from his brow.

Today he had brushed dangerously close to disaster and lived to tell the tale. The moment he had lived the past eight years in fear of had come to pass: somepony witnessed his phase and confronted him about it. It didn't help that the pony was Applejack. Never had he feared for his life as he had in that cabin, confronted by a pony made of pure muscle with an irrational hatred fueling her actions. If Rarity wasn't there…

If Rarity wasn't there, I don't know what would have happened. One of us would be dead because Applejack would never stop until I was as broken as that piano. Is Rarity sticking up for me as a friend or as something more?

She cared for him. That much was obvious.

He was also caught in a weird feud between Applejack and Rarity and, sooner or later, the volcano simmering under the surface would erupt.