“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”

George Orwell

Applejack and Fluttershy walked to the outskirts of town and followed a familiar dirt road to Ponyville’s expansive rural district. Sweet Apple Acres wasn’t the only farm, but it was certainly the largest and the busiest. Applejack eyed each of the fields as they passed, silently watching the ponies who were tilling the fields and tending the trees.

“Things seem kind of normal,” said Fluttershy. “The ponies here are all grey, but at least the sun is up in the sky again. Maybe things are better here.”

Applejack nodded to the workers tilling the fields. “Those are not members of my family. Sweet Apple Acres has never had to hire extra help at this time of year and we take pride in doing all of our own work. If somepony has hired outside help it can only mean one of two things: either there are not enough family members left to help, or Sweet Apple Acres no longer takes pride in its work.”

“Neither of those sound very good,” Fluttershy said. “Which do you think it is?”

“I am not sure... but these ponies don’t know anything about farming. It is as if they read a book about it but have never actually done it before.” Applejack shook her head. “I do not think my family is in charge any more.”

“We’ll find them. I promise, everything will be set right again.”

“You do not have to tell me that,” Applejack said, frowning. “I intend to see to that particular bit of business myself. I can not wait to get my hooves on the varmints responsible for all this trouble.”

Fluttershy peered at her from behind the curtain of her hair.

“What? What is it?”

“The way you were talking just now,” she said. “It sort of sounded like the old Applejack. Just a little.”

Applejack smirked, but straightened up as a familiar wooden gate came into view.

“All right, that is the east entrance. The fields on this side are all fallow, so it should be nice and quiet on the other side. We can sneak in without any...”

Her voice trailed off as they rounded the corner. Further down the road, behind the wooden gate, were a pair of small, heavily fortified towers that resembled the parapets of a castle. A tall iron blockade closed off the road and a pair of tall chain-link fences stretched to either side and merged with the forest. A dozen muscular stallions were standing watch or patrolling the road. Instead of armor, they wore long trench coats made of rugged tweed. Their steel horseshoes and large, horn-rimmed glasses glinted in the afternoon sun and several of had long, bizzare-looking lances slung against their shoulders: the weapons were all made of polished hardwood, and tipped with shiny metal ornaments shaped like stars.

Fluttershy bit her lip and lowered her head. “Oh dear... can we go around, maybe?”

“I doubt it. If they posted a guard here in the middle of nowhere, they probably have one on every road.”

“What about the fence? I could try and carry you over it. Or I could carry a rope over, and let you climb up on your own.”

Applejack lifted her nose and looked to the sky. “I see more than a few pegasus about... they would catch sight of us in an instant. We will just have to bluff our way through.”

“There must be another way! Can’t we please think of something else? Pretty please?”

“We will be fine, Fluttershy. Just keep calm and let me do all the talking.”

“They’ve got lances! What if they get angry?” Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide and her knees trembled. “What if they use them?”

“Calm down!” Applejack whispered. “If worst comes to worst, you can fly away while I keep them busy. I think I can take three of them at once, and I do not see any unicorns so they will not have any magic on their side.”

“B-b-but I don’t wanna fight! And I don’t want you to fight, either! Somepony could get hurt!”

Applejack shot her one final stern look as they approached the gate. The guards eyed them with suspicion but kept their weapons idle. One of them stepped forward to meet them.

“State your name and business.”

“My name? Well, my name is... Sandy.”

The guard arched an eyebrow. “Just Sandy?”

“Sandy... Bland. That is me: Sandy Bland. Pleased to meet you.”

The guard eyed her for a moment, then turned to Fluttershy. “And your name is?”

“Pos—”

“Sky Skim—”

Applejack and Fluttershy glanced at each other, then snapped back to the guard.

“Her real name is Sky Skimmer,” Applejack said, “but a lot of ponies call her Posey.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Right! It’s sort of a nickname. It stuck.”

“Yeah, a nickname. We just got so used to it and all.”

“It happens all the time. I remember this one time, at a birthday party—”

“Yeah, the party! Somepony thought Posey was her real name, so—”

“—It was on the banner and the cake and everything, and I just didn’t have the heart to say anything.”

“And it just kind of stuck ever since. You know how it is, with nicknames.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “It’s kind of a funny story how I got it, too! You see this one time, at flight camp—”

The guard cleared his throat. “Just state your business.”

“Right. Our business.” Applejack worked her jaw back and forth. “Well... you see... ah...”

“We’re looking for work!” Fluttershy said.

The guard arched an eyebrow. “Work?”

“This is a farm, isn’t it? Well, we need jobs.”

“And you actually came here? Willingly?”

“Work is work, right? Everypony has to eat.”

“Very well. Do you have any previous experience?”

Applejack grinned at him. “Are you kidding? I—”

Fluttershy gave Applejack’s hind leg a quick kick.

“Ah, no, that is. No sir. I have never been anywhere near a farm in my whole entire life.”

The guard eyed her, warily. “This isn’t really a farm, as such.”

Applejack stared at him for a moment, silent.

“It doesn’t matter,” Fluttershy said. “We’re eager to learn and we’ll do anything to help out.”

The guard looked back at one of his compatriots. He responded with a simple shrug.

“Very well. I’m sure we can find something for you to do. I can’t promise the pay will be very good, but you’ll be properly fed and housed for the duration of your stay.” He signaled to the watch tower and the gate swung open with a loud, rusty grind. “You can check in at the gate whenever you want to leave. Be sure to present your names and cutie numbers.”

Fluttershy glanced at the open gate. “That’s it? We can go in now?”

“Getting in is the easy part,” the guard said, blandly.

Applejack and Fluttershy continued on down the dirt road, with thick forest on either side. After several minutes of walking, they came to the heart of Sweet Apple Acres: the barns and farmhouses were all in the same places, but everything in sight had been painted grey, lavender, or other-grey. The roads and lamp-posts were much nicer, and an extensive network of railroads connected every building. There were over a dozen railcarts in motion, all being pulled by ponies: most were flatbeds loaded with crates and barrels but there also a few trolleys full of passengers.

Applejack’s eyes darted about the compound. “Something is not right here.”

Fluttershy looked at the tall metal fences surrounding the entire compound, and the troops of tweed-coated guards patrolling the roads. “Just one thing?”

“No, I mean something else... something that runs deep. We need to check the farmhouse as soon as possible.” Applejack nodded to the largest building that wasn’t a barn. “Once we find my family we can ask them what the hey is going on here. Just remember: we have to keep quiet. No matter what happens, and no matter what we see, we cannot do anything to give ourselves away.”

“I know. I’ll be quiet. I’m good at that.”

“Maybe so, but we do not know how they have been treating the farm animals. If we see any animals being mistreated, I need you to keep calm and quiet. Understand?”

“I... I...” Fluttershy swallowed a lump in her throat. “I promise... to try.”

“Good. I know how much it might hurt, but the last thing we need is for you to—”

Applejack fell quiet as a deep, mechanical rumbling echoed over the clearing. The noise grew louder and a slight rumbling quaked the earth beneath their hooves.

“What in tarnation...?”

The treetops by the edge of the clearing shook as a gigantic mechanical thing emerged from the forest: it was made of gears and metal girders, with six long legs that crashed through the treetops with ease. The mechanical beast lumbered along at a clumsy, swaying gait and a fan of exhaust pipes expelled gouts of sparkly, lavender smog with every step. There were a pair of giant metal scythes on the front of it, like the beak of an ant, currently clamped around three full-grown apple trees that had been torn from the ground through brute force. Leaves and apples shook free with every step and rocks and soil rained down from their roots.

“My trees!”

Fluttershy bit her lip. “Remember, A.J. We have to stay—”

Applejack bolted down the road at a full gallop, snorting in rage. “You blasted tree rustlers will not get away with this if it is the last thing I do! Do you have any idea how long it takes an apple tree to grow that big!?”

The guards along the road looked on in astonishment as Applejack charged towards the colossal machine. She darted underneath it and kicked her hind legs at one of it’s pointy, clawed feet with a resounding clang. The machine tilted to one side slightly and paused to regain its balance. Applejack immediately ran to the other side and kicked at the inside of an opposing leg, and the machine tilted even more wildly off kilter. A pair of long, slender arms reached down and snapped their claws at her, but she jumped and tumbled past them with ease. With a third kick, the machine fell to the ground with enough force to quake the nearby buildings. Applejack leapt onto the machine’s head, cracked open the cockpit with a single kick, and hurled the pilot out and onto the ground.

The pilot twisted around to look at his assailant. “Wh—”

“This is my farm! These are my trees!” She reared up and stamped both front hooves onto the machine: the ‘head’ snapped to one side, and fell to the ground with a squeal of shearing metal. “And my name is Applejack... not Lumber-jack!”

Fluttershy skimmed over the ground and landed beside her, tugging on her leg. “I think, maybe, we should go now.”

“Go?” Applejack snorted at her. “These thugs are ripping my trees out of the ground left and right, and you expect me to just let it go?”

Fluttershy grabbed Applejack’s head and pointed it at the road below. A small army of tweed-clad militia were now gathered around the ruined vehicle, pointing their lances inward.

“Oh... right.” Applejack’s voice rang loud and clear over the crowded clearing. “So, you all are probably... ah... wondering...”

Applejack’s voice trailed off. One of the guards coughed.

“So. Running, now?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Definitely.”

Applejack leaped off of the machine and charged directly through the crowd, knocking stallions aside with every step. Fluttershy flew low over the ground and reached down just in time for Applejack to leap up and hook their legs together. Fluttershy managed to carry her over the rest of the crowd and Applejack took the opportunity to kick her hind legs at the soldiers below. Discarded lances and broken horn-rimmed glasses flew through the air as their owners tumbled to the ground with bruised heads and necks.

Fluttershy’s strength gave out just at the last moment, and Applejack dropped to the dirt road below. She galloped off at full tilt, ducking and weaving past the constant wave of guards that leapt in her path. Fluttershy kept well out of reach, but there were several squadrons of pegasus flying in from the guardposts.

“We cannot hold them off for more than few seconds!” Applejack shouted. “You have to get out of here and warn the others!”

Fluttershy banked to one side as a guard hurled a weighted net at her. “No way! I can’t just leave you here alone!”

“We are not arguing about this! There is no way out of this for me, and it is not your fault!”

Fluttershy glanced about the clearing. “I think... I have a plan! Maybe! Can you get to the farmhouse?”

“How will that help us!? They will just surround the building!”

“Just do it!”

Applejack turned off the road and galloped towards the farmhouse. The guards closed in all around them, preparing to lock down the entire structure. Applejack kicked the two door guards out of the way, and Fluttershy landed beside her.

“This plan of yours had better—”

Fluttershy rushed past her and stood in the doorway. The first floor of the farmhouse was a great big feasting hall, with enough long wooden tables to seat a hundred ponies. It wasn’t often that the apple family needed that much room, but it was perfect for the occasional family reunion or farmer’s festival, and even the occasional wedding. At the moment, the hall was packed to full occupancy: over a hundred dour, grey laborers were sitting down to enjoy their hearty bowls of goopy gruel.

“Fire!” Fluttershy shrieked. “Fire, fire, fire!”

Applejack stared at her in shock. “What are you doing!?”

Fluttershy grabbed a bucket by the door and banged it against the wall. “Earthquake! Volcano! Hurricane! Tidal wave! Avelanche! Locusts! Measles!”

Fluttershy stepped back out of the farmhouse and pulled Applejack out of the doorway just as a stampede of terrified ponies poured out of the door—and all the other doors, and a few of the windows. The guard’s attempts to secure the building ended in utter failure as the sea of nameless, grey ponies swarmed over and around them.

Applejack snapped out of her trance as one of the panicked ponies shoved against her shoulder. She looked about for Fluttershy, but everypony looked the same: the same grey coats, the same three hairstyles... all the same. She gasped as somepony nudged her side.

“Flutter!? Is that you?”

“Hush! Do as I do!”

Fluttershy ran into the thick of the crowd and Applejack followed after her. After a few seconds, she simply slowed her pace and allowed the crowd to surge past and engulf them completely. The atmosphere of terror began to fade, and Fluttershy’s facial expression settled down to match the atmosphere. Applejack’s heart was racing, but she did her best to keep it hidden. It was much easier than she expected... the whole crowd was now milling about in mild alarm. The tweedcoats finally managed to surround the crowd, lances at the ready.

A pair of higher ranking stallions, both earth ponies, stepped forward and eyed the crowd. Applejack’s throat clenched when she saw their scowling faces: Red Delicious and Golden Delicious were barely recognizable under their grey coats and tweed uniforms.

“I know at least two of you were responsible for this mess,” Golden Delicious announced. “It’s only a matter of time until we identify the guilty parties. Turn yourselves in now, and you will be treated with leniency.”

A sea of wide-eyed faces looked back at him, nervous and confused.

“Very well, then. If nopony steps forward we’ll have no choice but to punish the entire crowd.” His voice lowered to a gravelly drawl. “We’re talking fines, people... you will be fined. We may even go so far as to revoke your library cards.”

Red Delicious’ eyes widened at that. He stepped forward and spoke under his breath. “Are you serious? If they don’t have cards, how are they supposed to borrow—”

“They won’t!” he snapped. “Serious charges require serious consequences!”

Red Delicious nodded to the crowd. “Can they still read books while they’re in the library?”

“Yes of course they can,” he whispered. “They just can’t take books out. We’re not monsters.”

“Yes sir. Of course, sir.” Red Delicious stood at attention again, much relieved.

Golden turned to address the crowd. “I know that the vast majority of you had nothing to do with this. If any of you see the guilty parties standing next to you, I’d appreciate it if you pointed them out. Extra pastry rations, shorter work hours, what do you say?”

The crowd of ponies glanced at each other, but kept quiet. They acted like they didn’t have the faintest idea what he was talking about... and, with exactly two exceptions, this was the truth.

The guard marched back and forth, scowling. He reached out and started shoving the ponies seemingly at random.

“Who was it? Answer me! You? Was it you? What about you? You can’t hide forever!” The stallion reached out and yanked Applejack out of the crowd. “You! It was you, wasn’t it? Answer me!!”

Applejack stared up at him, trembling. Please do not recognize me! Oh, please not now!

The guard scowled at her for what seemed like an eternity. He snorted in her face and shoved her back towards the crowd, then stormed back to the guards. “Move everypony to bunkhouse beta and triple the guards. We’ll have to check their cutie numbers one at a time.”

Applejack stared at them as they left. He did not recognize me.

Applejack followed along quietly as the guards herded the crowd into a nearby barn. The interior of the building had been outfitted with several rows of bunk beds four levels high, and there were washrooms and a cafeteria on one end. The place was remarkably clean and the beds were soft and comfortable. The crowd was packed uncomfortably tight, but they weren’t here as long term residents. This was a quarantine.

Applejack wandered through the the crowd, lost and alone, and finally went to the cafeteria counter and scooped out a bowl of food. It wasn’t tasteless mush at all, but good, hearty oatmeal: warm and filling, nutritious and delicious. There was even a jug of brown sugar, free for all. She sat down at one of the long tables and stared into her bowl.

The guards finished moving the crowd and closed the doors behind them. There were sentries outside every door, but there was nobody inside to spy on them. A minute later, a grey, nameless pony sat down beside her with a bowl of her own. For the longest time, neither of them said a word.

“So that was your plan?” Applejack muttered.

“Yeah.”

“It was a pretty good plan, actually.”

“Thank you.”

“Except for the part where we’re stuck in a barn.”

Fluttershy offered the slightest shrug. “One thing at a time.”

Applejack stared at her oatmeal. “That was Red and Golden back there. They were the ones reading us the riot act.”

“Are you sure it was them?”

“I know my family. I thought this place had been taken over by somepony else, but now...” Applejack scrunched her eyes shut, fighting against the sting of tears. “Coming here was a mistake. I just wanted to save them, and it turns out Sweet Apple Acres is rotten to the core.”

“It’s not all rotten,” Fluttershy whispered. “Even if all we have is a tiny little seed, we can still grow a whole new tree.”

Applejack looked away. “Do you realize how corny you sound right now?”

Fluttershy nudged her. “Do you realize how right I am?”

Applejack smiled back at her.

Somepony sat on the bench beside her. “You’re Applejack, aren’t you?”

Applejack’s eyes widened. “How’d—”

The strange mare reached under the table and shoved a parcel into her lap, wrapped with plain brown paper and twine. “Go to the kitchen. Shake this as hard as you can, then put it under the sink by the wall. Pull the string. Then run.”

Applejack glanced at the package.

“Don’t look at it!” the mare hissed. “Just do it.”

“Why? How do we know we can we trust you?”

“You don’t. You can do as I say, or you can sit here until the Apple cartel roots you out as a traitor. It’s your call.” The mare stood up and disappeared into the crowd.

Applejack stared down at the parcel. It was heavy.

Fluttershy leaned over for closer look. “You’re the element of honesty, right? Do you think she was trying to trick us?”

“Something about her seemed... I do not know. Fake. But something tells me she was not trying to trick us.”

“Maybe we’re on the same side, then.”

Applejack shook her head. “We could just wait for Rainbow Dash and the others to rescue us.”

“She might not be able to. And what if the others need us to rescue them?”

Applejack looked at the far end of the barn for a while, lost in thought.

“Go to the back where it is safe. I will meet up with you.”

“We’ll do this together,” Fluttershy said, “and that’s final.”

They stood up and trudged to the kitchen area, emptying their bowls in the trash before carrying them to the sink. Applejack hunkered down and ripped open the paper, revealing a large, plastic bottle filled about two thirds up with pale, golden-green liquid. The wax seal around the bottlecap had a piece of plain string stuck to it.

Whatever this is, I hope it works...

Applejack gave the bottle three vigorous shakes. The liquid immediately fizzled up with tiny bubbles and the surface of the container strained like an overinflated balloon. Applejack tucked the bottle as far under the sink as she could, yanked the string free, and stood up again.

“Let’s go,” Fluttershy said. “Do we know how long we have?”

“No idea,” Applejack said. She stood up and cleared her throat. “Everypony to the back of the barn.”

“What are you doing!?” Fluttershy hissed.

Applejack ignored her. “Now now, ponies, let us get moving. Nice and orderly. No pushing or shoving, please.”

The crowd stared up at her, blankly, but gradually did as they were told.

“There we go. Just keep moving. There we go, nice and easy. All the way back against the wall.”

Something banged against the door. “Hey! What’s going on in there?”

“Just ignore him,” Applejack called out. “Everypony hunker down together.”

The reinforced door opened wide and a troop of guards looked in at the crowd huddled in front of them.

“What’s going on? Whose idea was this?”

The entire crowd of grey ponies all turned to Applejack and Fluttershy, acting out of pure, innocent, social instinct.

“Well this is awkward,” Applejack whispered.

“You two!” The guard said. “You’re the—”

A thundercrack shattered the kitchen area and an explosion of sizzling chemicals sprayed everywhere. Cascades of bright-white foam splashed through the air like paper streamers, and their noses stung with the sweet and sour scent of apple juice. When Applejack glanced up, the whole back wall of the barn had been blasted apart.

“Alarm! Sound the—”

Applejack swung around full circle and kicking the guard square on the jaw, sending him tumbling backwards. “Everypony out!!” She roared.

Fluttershy ducked out of the way as the crowd surged past. “We don’t even know where we’re going!”

“I know exactly where you’re going.”

Applejack turned to the new voice and saw a mare in a crisp secretary’s uniform. She stood fast against the onrush of escaping prisoners.

“Bumpkin, no! Not you too!”

Apple Bumpkin scowled at them. “You have three seconds to turn yourselves in. This doesn’t have to get ugly.”

Applejack braced all four legs and lowered her head. “I’m not fighting you, Bumpkin. I’m not going to surrender... but I’m not going to fight my own flesh and blood.”

Fluttershy stared up at Applejack. She said ‘I’m’! She used a contraction!

Apple Bumpkin scraped her hoof against the ground. “Well then. It’s a good thing that you’re not family anymore!”

The mare charged at them with blinding speed, every muscle churning. Applejack hesitated only a moment, and charged to meet her head on. She slipped to the left at the last moment in an attempt to get past, but Bumpkin slammed into her shoulder and sent her sprawling.

“Don’t do this, Bumpkin! It doesn't have to be this way! I’ll get you help, I promise!”

“I’m not the one who needs it!” She darted close and reared up, kicking her front hooves at her. Applejack ducked away and rolled to the side, just as Bumpkin stamped the ground mere inches from her face. The crowd of panicked prisoners surged around them like a wall.

“Come on ya pansy,” Bumpkin snorted. “What are you waiting for? Fight back!”

“No! I’m not gonna hurt you!”

Bumpkin darted ahead and landed a kick to Applejack’s side. She tumbled back, and Fluttershy rushed to her side. “AJ! Are you alright?”

She looked up, both eyes googly. “Hits like a freight train... ! I do not think I can...”

A sizzling explosion rocked the night air, followed by a second and a third. Fluttershy and Apple Bumpkin both looked up as a series of foamy plumes rose over the rooftops. Three of the giant, six-legged logging machines lay about in pieces, covered with fizzy bubbles.

Bumpkin touched a hoof to her ear. “Central command! Send a squad of enforcers to sweep the area! It’s an all out attack!”

Fluttershy struggled to haul Applejack upright again. “Wake up! We don’t have long!”

Applejack shook her head and shot to her feet.

“You’re not going anywhere!” shouted Bumpkin.

A flash of magical light blinded them all and a heavily dressed unicorn appeared out of nowhere. She was dressed in a trenchcoat with a high collar, topped with a wide-brimmed hat and a neckerchief tied over her mouth and neck. She threw a hoof-full of powder in Bumpkin’s face and sent her into a violent sneezing fit.

“You!” Applejack’s eyes focused for a moment. “You were the one who gave us the bottle!”

She drew close, her goggles glinting. “Follow me to the orchard cabin! Quickly!”

The Unicorn bolted away and Applejack and Fluttershy scrambled to keep up with her. She led them past several patrols, always slipping past them unseen by the skin of her teeth. At every turn, she seemed to know exactly where they’d be.

“What’s going on?” Applejack said. “Who are you?”

“Nevermind that!” The mare spun around and pulled a pair of bottles from under her coat, hurling them over a nearby wall. She ran on, and a barrage of fizzy explosions demolished the building behind them.

“What’s wrong with you!?” Applejack shouted. “This is my farm you’re blowing up! Do you even know what those buildings are for!?”

The stranger grabbed Applejack’s neck and pulled her close. “It’s not a farm anymore! It’s a paper mill!”

“Wha... what!?”

“Your apple-trees are being cut down and ground up into paper! Books, pamphlets, government forms, everything! If we destroy the mills, we can save your trees!”

“Halt! Stop where you are!”

They turned to see Apple Cider and Apple Cobbler chasing after them. The stranger in the trenchcoat lowered her horn at them and gathered a vortex of raw, magical power. Applejack shoved her aside at the last second, spoiling the spell.

“Do not dare hurt my family!”

“Are you crazy? They’ll—”

Applejack shoved her face up against the stranger’s and glared at her gleaming, tinted goggles. “Don’t.”

“Fine,” the stranger said. “We do things your way.”

They ran down the road at a breakneck pace. Applejack kicked at a stack of barrels as she went, sending them rolling back. Their opponents leapt over each of the barrels with ease, but Cider tripped over the last one and went sprawling face first. Cobbler leapt over each of them with grace and precision, and chased after them alone.

“Forgot about last year’s barrel run,” said Applejack. “Cobbler took home first place.”

“I’ll take this one.” The stranger lowered her horn and shot a thin cone of pale-blue light at the road, coating it with a sheer slick of ice. Cider’s eyes widened as she hurtled onto the ice and fell on her side, unable to right herself again.

“I appreciate this,” Applejack said. “I know it’s a big risk, but they are still family. Nothing will change that.”

“No, you don’t know! You don’t understand the risks!” The stranger shoved her shoulder. “If we want to escape this nightmare in one piece, we need to stay totally focused! We need to be sharp and alert at all times, not just for us, but for all our friends and family! Even the slightest distraction could—”

“Hyaaa!” Apple Fritter leapt out of the window of a nearby cabin and tossed a pair of apples in the air ahead of her, performing a flawless mid-air twist that lined them up for a perfect kick. An instant before she could send the deadly fruit hurtling their way, a wooden cart fell on top of her and buried her under a heap of hay. She managed to dig herself halfway out before she collapsed, googly eyed and unconscious.

Fluttershy looked down from the roof of the building. “Sorry!”

Applejack turned to the stranger. “What was that about distractions?” she said, blandly.

“Just get moving already.”

She led them to the side of the building and used a magic spell to open the door wide. They rushed inside, but Applejack skidded to a halt when she saw her surroundings. There were rows of heavy machines along the wall, all linked to a network of ugly metal ducts and conveyer belts. A whole apple tree was resting on it’s side, up on blocks, under a series of giant metal saws hanging from the ceiling from heavy chains.

The robed stranger ran down the building, tossing bottles into each of the machines as she passed. “There’s a cellar door at the end of the hallway! Go through and lock the door behind you! I’ll meet up with later!”

The stranger galloped out of the door. Fluttershy rushed to the door that led further into the factory. “Come on, Applejack! There’s no time to waste!’

She glanced back and realized Applejack wasn’t behind her. She ran back through the factory hall and saw her standing by the half-shaved tree. She was just staring.

“Applejack! Hurry!”

“They take forty years to grow this big,” she said. “I think this tree is older than I am.”

“Applejack, please! That mare put a whole bunch of bottles all over the place! They could blow any second!”

“No, no... this doesn’t make any sense,” Applejack said. “Little trees do just as well for making paper... or they could use linen fibre: it’s stronger, crisper, washes better.”

Something banged against the front door from the outside. Fluttershy could hear steel shod hooves marching about and strict voices shouting commands. Applejack glanced back, and finally snapped from her daze.

“There’s a... celler?”

“This way!” Fluttershy ran back to the hallway at the end of the workshop. They slipped through, and Fluttershy slammed a heavy barred door behind them. “She said there would be a cellar at the end of the hallway!”

“Right!”

They turned and ran down the hallway. Before they’d taken three steps, a stallion stepped out of a side room and stood in their way. He was huge, even for a draft horse: his shoulders barely fit through the hallway and heavy muscles rippled under his black vest. His black sunglasses did nothing to obscure the cold, grim look on his face.

“Big Bro...?” Applejack whimpered.

Time slowed to a crawl as Big Macintosh marched towards them. He swiveled a giant slingshot over his shoulder and brought it to bear without hesitation: it was a huge weapon, made of heavy iron pipes and industrial grade rubber bands. Applejack scrambled backwards, numb with terror. To Fluttershy, her screams sounded dull and muted. She could still hear the troops outside, slamming their battering ram against the outer door. The deafening, rhythmic clash of metal echoed her own pounding heart.

Applejack and Fluttershy backed up against the barred door behind them and fell to the floor, hugging each other tight. Big Mac stopped in front of them and held out a hoof.

“Come with me if y’all want to live.”

Applejack stared up at him. “You... you’re...!?”

“Big sis!” Applebloom darted out from under Big Mac’s legs and ran to Applejack’s side. “It’s okay, he’s with us! He’s here to help!”

Applejack stared up at her big brother, trying to shake off the shock of the last several hours. She only now realized that Big Mac’s coat wasn’t dull and grey: it was the same bright red as ever.

“Big Mac? Applebloom? What’s going on!?”

“We gotta take you somewhere safe! Come on!”

Big Mac backed into a side room to let them pass. Applebloom ran to a cellar door and opened the latch, letting Applejack and Fluttershy go in first. The battering ram crashed through the outer door at last, and guards poured into the main workshop. Big Mac walked backwards through the hallway and pointed his slingshot at the caged door. He pulled the trigger cord with his teeth and the weapon bucked against it’s harness. A bottle-rocket streaked through the air, leaving behind a thin vapor trail and blasting the door off it’s hinges in a shower of bubbles. He reloaded the weapon with a single, mighty heave, and fired a second shot into the middle of the sawmill. The pursuing troops fled in all directions.

Applejack and Fluttershy scrambled down the steep, rickety stairs and down into a raw stone cave. Applebloom held up a little lantern to lead the way, while Big Mac closed the door and followed after them. After several steps, a brief earthquake shuddered the cave walls and trickles of dust and pebbles rained down on them.

They walked to an open cave and Applejack flopped on the floor gasping for breath. “This... has gone on... long enough. I want to know what’s going on, and I don’t want to wait one more second.”

Applebloom brought over a little canteen and tossed it to Applejack. “There was a big huge magical thingy in ponyville, some kind of reality warp or something, and it made everything in Ponyville different. We think it’s somethin’ Twilight Sparkle did, after she turned into a princess.”

“It was worse than that,” Big Mac said, “it was like she changed the way things always were. Talk to anypony in town, and they’ll think everything is just normal.”

“But what about you?” Applejack said. “Why didn’t it change you all around?”

“Me and Mac weren’t in town when it happened. A lot of the family got caught, and now they’re the ones running things. They work for Twilight now and you wouldn’t believe what they’ve done to the place!”

Big Mac shook his head. “We’ve been fightin’ back as hard as we can, but it’s uphill all the way. We can’t hold out much longer.”

“What about the others?” Said Fluttershy. “Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie are all in town, too! Are they okay?”

“I sure hope so,” said Applebloom. “I sneak back into town and spy on folks. I dyed all my hair grey and as long as I act like nothin’s out of place nopony notices me. Dash and Pinkie Pie showed up at the school during recess and tried to rescue us, but... but they...”

Applebloom looked down at her hooves with a sniffle. Fluttershy crouched down beside her and hugged her neck.

“It didn’t work. I tried to shoo them away, but the guards chased after them. I dunno what happened to them.”

“About that.” The unicorn with the heavy trench coat and wide brimmed hat stepped out of the shadows and into the cave. She took off her hat and pulled off her mask and goggles, revealing a dusty lavender coat and violet eyes. Her mane was trimmed flat across the front, with a brilliant rose-red streak.

“Twilight Sparkle!”

Applejack and Fluttershy leapt forward and hugged their rescuer from each side. She stepped back and looked away, awkward and embarrassed.

“I’m so very glad you’re alright! I’ve missed you so!”

“What is wrong, sugarcube? Are you not happy to see us?”

“I... I’m not... your friend.”

Fluttershy stepped close. “Of course you are, Twilight! You’ll always be!”

“Don’t call me that!” She turned and walked away. “The others are safe. I can take you to see them, but the commander will want to speak with you first. Follow me.”

Applejack stared at her has she left the cave. “What the hey is going on here? She is Twilight, is she not?”

Applebloom wobbled her head back and forth. “Yes and no. It’s sorta complicated. You better follow her quick before she gets grumpy. We’ll meet up later once you’ve met the boss.”

Applejack and Fluttershy jogged down the cavern and caught up with their mysterious guide. She walked at a brisk pace and avoided all eye contact.

“So,” Applejack said, “who are you?”

The lavender unicorn continued to walk, utterly silent.

“What do we call you?”

“You won’t.”

She led them to a large cave, lit by the flickering light of countless oil lamps. There were over a dozen tables loaded with farm equipment and machine tools, and brightly colored ponies rushed back and forth with packages and supplies. After the last few hours, the sheer spectrum of color was dazzling. Their guide led them to the very back of the cave, where a huge map of ponyville was laid out on a pair of long tables. It was covered with hundreds of little wooden markers and colored pins, and bespectacled ponies were constantly adding, removing, or adjusting them. A constant buzz of activity hummed in the air.

The lavender unicorn cleared her throat. “Commander.”

All the other ponies paused to look up at the newcomers. A single pony sat at the head of the table, facing away: she wore a heavy armored vest and bulky cargo pants—both camouflaged for grey urban warfare—and there were a pair of bandoliers strung across her back loaded with tiny bottle grenades. The room fell quiet as she turned to face them.

“Bout time you young’uns got here! What took ye so long, anyhow?” Granny Smith pushed her aviator’s goggles up onto her forehead and grinned at them. “Welcome... to th’ resistance!”

Next Chapter: %i%: Knock Knock. Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 31 Minutes