Hello, it's me again.

I'm back in my library, and I'm happy to report that nothing is broken that wasn't when they chucked a brick through my window. Granny Smith was more than happy to let me stick around a bit longer, but Applejack reminded me that I've got to be the public face of Ponyville, and that the longer I hide away, the more I'll fuel the egos of these mad ponies. Besides; I've got magic. If nothing else, I can use that.

Strangest thing; during the few days I was with the Apples (I admit, I was a tad reluctant to return to the Library after the incident) Big McIntosh was unusually talkitive. That's not to say he was talking up a storm; he was very quiet in fact, but he was talking more than he normally was. Every once in a while, he would seem to go out of his way to ask questions. He seems to have a fascination in stars. I offered to let him borrow my telescope, to which he politely declined.

Speaking of brothers, I got a letter the other day from the Crystal Empire from Shining Armor, and apparently he's having similar problems to our Earthen Alliance friends., though it sounds like it's on a much smaller scale. He says that a group of earth ponies were trying to spread word of their organization, when a fight broke out when one of them wasn't quite so subtle and started spouting tribalist remarks. Shining naturally ordered they apologize or leave; who knew some ponies saw banishment as the lesser of two evils?

The strangest thing is that their activity seems to be declining. They still pop up here and there, but they're not making quite as much noise. Pinkie Pie says she's getting doozies left and right, however, so I'm not fully convinced we're done with them just yet.

I've written a letter to Celestia. I hope to get a response soon.

From the journal of former princess, Twilight Sparkle
Two weeks, six days before the Ponyville Incident

It took everything in me to not scream. To not shout and wail like a banshee as I stared at my own loss from a new perspective. I don't know; it's not like I hadn't known they were gone. I've lived without my wings for a few years now... but... seeing them hanging from the wall, as if they were some kind of trophy? I couldn't move. I couldn't look away. All I could do was stare at my wings, likely pumped with preservative chemicals to make sure they remained pristine.

"Oh sweet heavens they're real..." said Applejack in a hushed, surprised tone.

"Of course they're real! Why would you think otherwise!?" Trixie moved in front of me and blocked my view. "Twilight, darling, snap out of it!"

"I thought they was... I don't know, some kind of replicas or something? Symbolic of the Empire's defeat of the princess?"

Trixie gave a dirty glare off to my side to Applejack; I couldn't look away. Sure, Trixie was blocking my view, but the image was still burned into my eyes. "Oh, it's symbolic alright..." I found my gaze shifting as a hoof was put on my cheek, and I was turned to face Pinkie Pie, who stared into my eyes. "Twilight? Twilight, are you okay!?"

My only response was to whimper and shake my head slowly as my vision blurred with tears.

"Landsakes... all this time... I should have known. I knew about how brutal that night was, I should have known they were real, but I didn't want to think-"

"None of us wants to think it!" shouted Trixie. "We like to think ponies are more sensible than that! But I would say the circumstances of the world today speak for themselves!" Pinkie Pie pulled me in close, wrapping her hooves around me. I buried my face into her chest, crying a little as my own loss had been turned into a statement of mockery. Pinkie rocked me back and fourth, gently cooing kind words to me and trying to tell me it would be alright. How could she know the loss? To see something that was a part of you on display, defiled to fulfill the ego of a pony who likely hasn't seen what they've taken from you in years?

"We've got to do something with them..." Trixie sounded quite resolute on this.

"What!? Look, I'm sympathetic, really I am, but I can't jus' take 'em down and throw 'em out!" I could almost hear Applejack wince when she realized she had implied treating something that was a part of me as garbage, but she continued. "... I'd like to help, but if somethin' happened to 'em, what would ponies think?"

"... I hate to say it but she has a point..." Trixie sighed. I could hear her pacing back and fourth, and slowly, I began to recompose myself from the initial shock; logic and reason returning after crippling emotional damage. I won't pretend I was okay, but at least now my mind wasn't focusing on conjuring up that image and denying other thoughts.

"We should probably get her out of here..." Pinkie said gently. "She doesn't need to see this. Applejack, would you mind if we returned later?"

"I wouldn't, but I think I can do ya one better..." She sighed and looked around. "I'm gonna be here for a while. I got some business to attend to, so I can't exactly up n' leave. Y'all meet me back at my house. Ya know where to find it. Help yerself to the food in the pantry, an' uh..." She circled her hoof around a bit. "... Help her calm down... we've got some words to exchange, an' I want her to be in her right mind." I looked up, and watched as Trixie and Pinkie exchanged glances, then looked to me, then back to Applejack.

"Alright, we'll do it" said Pinkie.

With everything said and done, Pinkie and Trixie helped me to my hooves. With a friendly reminder from Trixie, I focused my magic into conjuring the false image spell to hide my horn; it was difficult, especially with how stressed I was, but I've mastered spell-casting under stress. As we left, my eyes trailed subconsciously to my destroyed wings once more, and I let out a pathetic whimper, unable to look away until the roof of a doorway made them impossible to see.

During the walk, I had enough time to let my mind wander away from the atrocity I was exposed to. I was still shaken, horrified, and depressed, but I was thinking more clearly. Pinkie stayed particularly close to me the whole time, and even Trixie asked if there was anything she could do for me.

There's nothing that could make this right. Even magic has it's limits.

Eventually, we came upon a rather small manor; not as big as Pinkie Pie's, but rather Applejack couldn't afford better or was simply just not as flashy, who could say. Is it wrong that I resented them both? I've spent the past few years in hiding, worrying about what the next day would bring, and they get to live in nice homes?

Maybe. But it's the truth.

We wandered past the gate and up the hill, approaching the doors. Pinkie Pie raised a hoof, ready to knock... and then started to slam her head against the door. And so, we waited a few seconds. Nothing. Pinkie 'knocked' again. "Just a minute!" We sat, waiting... and then, the door opened, greeted by a yellow filly with a red mane, wearing a familiar hat. her eyes widened and a smile hit her face. "Pinkie Pie!"

"Hiya Apple Bloom!"

The two ponies hugged onto each other, and I found myself surprised; Applebloom wasn't a mare yet, but she had grown a little. As the two ponies hugged, I noticed a little color on her flank; she had a cutie mark now? I couldn't make out what it was from this angle though, and I didn't want to look like I was staring at a little filly's behind.

"Heya squirt! How are things?" said Pinkie jovially.

"Oh, you know..." Apple Bloom smirked, shaking her head. "Putting up with Mayor Tightass. You still writing those books?"

"You know it! The next one's almost done, and I think it's gonna knock socks off!" Pinkie paused. "Assuming you wear socks." She stuck out her bottom lip and nodded sagely. "Apple Bloom, wear socks when you read the story. Then tell me how far they go when they are knocked off."

"Can do! So, what're ya doin' here? Just in the neighborehood?"

"Oh, Applejack told us to come by! Mind if we step inside?"

"Not at all!" Applebloom turned about and entered the house. "Just mind yer step! The lil' rascals can be anywhere!"

We shut the door behind us. Pinkie blinked. "Little rascals?"

As if on queue, several puppies rushed into the room, and once they saw us, began barking and yipping playfully and hopping around our hooves. I balked and looked at each of them; they all looked like--"

Pinkie gasped. "Winona had puppies!?"

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom blushed. "Kinda my fault. I left the door open a crack one day an' she managed ta get out." The filly giggled and shook her head. "Applejack was mighty peeved at first, but as soon as them pups was born, she fell head over hooves in love with 'em. I swear, she's less ready to give 'em away than I am." Pinkie, by this point, was predictably on the floor, rolling around playing with the puppies, and likely hadn't heard a word Applebloom had said. Trixie and I exchanged glances, and Apple Bloom seemed to notice us at this moment. "So, who are your friends?"

Pinkie stuck her head out from a pile of pups. "Oh! This is Trixie and Twilight!"

Apple Bloom nodded. "I see..." She eyed us a moment, then pointed towards me. "I'll assume you're the one she's mistaking for Twilight. Is she not takin' her meds again?"

"Why does everypony keep thinking that!?" Pinkie sulked. "I haven't needed the medicine for a year now!"

I had already had a stressful day, so rather than go through an arguous process of trying to convince this filly I was who I was, I dispelled the illusion. At first, her eyes widened, but then she seemed to relax some.

"I see...."

And then she punched me in the face. Why was everypony hitting me? Was it too much to ask that I meet one pony - just one pony who didn't hit me when I met them? She also had a rather nasty hook for a filly, though not strong enough to knock me over like Applejack.

"Bloomy!" Pinkie shouted in surprise.

Applebloom's eyes were filled with rage. "Do y'all know what y'all did!? Do ya even know what happened because of you!?" I was surprised; I did something? Okay, everypony thought I was dead for years, but even then I managed to do something to anger Applebloom. "Do ya know what happened to my brother because of you!?"

Wait, what?

"Your brother? Big McIntosh?" I said dumbly.

Naturally, Apple Bloom gave me a glare. "No! My other brother who I always had and you just never met!" Applejack had another brother? Why didn't she-oh. I see. Good one, Applebloom.

"What happened to Big Mac?" I couldn't help but dread asking. Apple Bloom opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself, a frown built deeply into her face. She turned her back and walked away.

"No, y'all don't get to know. I ain't tellin' ya."

What had happened? Now I was worried. The last thing I remembered was...

Me running away while he fought off a massive group of ponies.

Oh no.

"I-is he okay?"

Apple Bloom turned, glared at me, but I saw... she seemed to falter. She seemed sad. But then the anger came back and she huffed. "Jus' leave me alone. Far as I'm concerned, 'your highness', you can rot." Okay... so, that was not something I was expecting. But now I found myself a bit worried. I'll be honest; the idea had crossed my mind a few times before, but I hadn't thought of it for years. Was he...?

"Please Apple Bloom?" I was a bit anxious now. "I... is he okay?"

"No. He's not." She said coldly without even looking back to me. That didn't make me feel any better... but I guess not everything can, and she probably had no intention to anyway, which itself only fueled my anxiety. I turned to Pinkie and Trixie, who both exchanged glances.

"Do you girls know anything?"

Trixie shook her head. "Trixie's met Big Mac only once or twice. I barely remember him, and I certainly never heard of anything about this..." It was then that I noticed that Pinkie was biting her lip, looking anywhere but at me. I trotted close to her.

"Pinkie?"

"I-I can't tell." She rubbed a hoof over her leg. "I didn't make a promise or anything, but... it's not my place to talk about." Straight forward answers. Is that too much to ask? To want to know something? Why is everything a mystery with these ponies?

Is it too much to want to know so I can at least stop worrying?

It was obvious I wouldn't get any answers yet, but it still burned in my mind. I can't say I knew Big Mac all that well, but the idea that I may have hurt him (even inadvertently) was weighing down on me. It also beckoned the question of who else I might have hurt. Come to think of it... I haven't seen hide or hair of Rarity or Spike... It seems if we're not dead, we're scattered to the four winds of the world.

Trixie, Pinkie and myself made our way to the living room, each of us taking a seat; Pinkie and I sharing a couch, Trixie laying on a single cushion, and I found myself staring out a nearby window, I took a moment to consider things. I had sent Spike with Rarity that night, so chances were, those two were either together or in contact with one another... assuming one, or both, haven't been captured. Pinkie Pie had apparently fled with the Cakes during the massacre... wait... the Cakes...

"Pinkie?"

"Yeah Twilight?" Pinkie turned to me with a smile, but it was reserved.

"... What happened to Cupcake?"

The little bit of smile she had? That faded away. She frowned a little, then her eyes drifted to the side. Please don't tell me somepony else was dead. I didn't need this. I didn't need to know that I had lost so many friends. Just give me this...

"... She... didn't make it to Manehattan when we fled Ponyville."

No. No, not another one.

Pinkie took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and sighed. "... When we fled the massacre, we weren't lucky enough to make it to the train like Rarity and Spike had..." At least that serves the 'Spike and Rarity are probably fine' worries I might have had. "... We ended up having to run through the woods, and found shelter in a cave. We hid there a few days... fortunately, Mister Cake and myself had some camping experience, so we knew how to forage for food... but... Cup Cake got sick. She started throwing up... and getting tired fast... we hurried to Manehattan, and hid with one of her friends for a while, but one day, she went to a doctor, and came back..." She bit her lip and sniffled. "... And said she wouldn't be able to come with us... that the doctor told her she was very ill."

"Pinkie..."

Pinkie gulped. "... She never told us what was wrong... all we knew is that she was tired... and she told us to continue to Fillydelphia. That's where Carrot's family lives, you see..." She looked to her hooves. "He tried to tell her he wouldn't leave her, but she told him he had to, for the kids... and that she was very sorry... and that she wished she could be with him... so... we left... and we never heard of her again."

"But... you don't know she's dead, do you?"

Pinkie shook her head. "For all we know, she's perfectly healthy... but Carrot hasn't been able to reach her. He's even begged Rainbow Dash to help him find her, but she's rated Cupcake a 'low priority' target' - that she'd only help if it became convenient or important." She smiled sadly. "More than once, I've considered withdrawing my support to make her help... but I couldn't do that to so many ponies who want nothing more than to be happy..."

I could really use some good news right about now. Why did the universe seem so intent on making me miserable? Wasn't it bad enough already? It was then that I felt a scratch on my hoof, and looking down, I noticed a sight; one of the little Winona pups trying to get up onto the couch with me, wagging it's little tail. I couldn't help but smile, and I wrapped my magic around the pup and pulled it up with me. It licked my face a few times, and then lay down in my hooves. Pinkie giggled at the sight, a little life coming back to her. "Looks like somepony made a new friend."

I reached a hoof to the pup and stroked it's fur gently, smiling. "... Yeah, guess I did, huh?" Winona then came into the room and made her merry way to us, jumping up between Pinkie and myself and laying down, reaching forward to lick her pup. She didn't look any worse for the wear at least; a little more white on her muzzle, but still youthful. I reached over and pet her as well. It wasn't quite what I would have asked for... but I'll admit, it is comforting, if only a little.

We spent the next hour or so simply sitting there, occasionally striking up conversation. At some point, Pinkie took off to talk to Apple Bloom (the puppy jumping down to follow her, and Winona leaving to her own devices), which left me alone with Trixie, and then we got into a conversation about magic and illusion conjuring. Trixie had explained that I might want to learn to alter pigmentation rather than just form; after all, I still looked like me, just minus the horn and.... yeah. Then, the door opened, and we heard a familiar voice call out.

"I'm home! Who's happy ta see me?" Applejack's voice rang out, and instantly, we heard the sounds of multiple excited little barks and yaps as the pups celebrated the return of their owner; dogs always act like they thought you'd never come back. Rather than run the risk that Applejack was going to hit me again, I sat on the couch and waited for it to come to me; path of least resistance. Soon enough, Pinkie Pie entered the room, followed by Applejack, who proceeded to take her reading glasses off and let her hair down. Apple Bloom came into the room as well, making sure to spare me a dirty look, and Applejack took a seat, a breath, and spoke.

"First off, how are you even alive?"

I would have to retell this story a few times. I knew it. "Well... long story short, they left me for dead in the Everfree Forest, and Zecora saved me." I tried not to look at Applejack. I didn't need to see the betrayal again. "We fled, wandered around a while, things happened, we lost track of each other, and I ended up staying in Van Hoover a few years."

"When they said they'd killed you, I'd have assumed they'da kept the body... the Alliance loved their trophies..." She huffed. "Of course... I guess they got 'em.... I hope you were at least unconscious when they..."

"No." I scowled as I remembered the pain and I felt my back flare up. Pinkie noticed me tense.

"Need my help?"

"N-No... not right now..."

Applejack didn't ask. Thank you for small blessings. "... That must have been a horrible experience..."

"It was at first..." I sighed, wishing I didn't have to think of that again. "It felt like very nerve was screaming at me for the first wing. By the time they got to the second one, I think my brain had accepted death and shut down cause I barely felt a thing... I'd lost a lot of blood even before they got to me..."

Applejack nodded. "I see... so, they really did shoot you didn' they?"

"Yeah..." I looked back at my right hind leg. "Twice. Once in my right wing, once in my right back leg... " I snorted. "Now, the muscles in my back seize up every once in a while and I need a massage to make the pain stop... and sometimes my leg burns, although it's weak and negligible."

Everypony exchanged glances, and even Apple Bloom seemed to wince a bit. That brought me to another point.

"... Is Big Mac okay...?" Applejack seemed surprised by the question. I looked to her, hoping she didn't get angry like Apple Bloom had. "... Last I saw him, he had fought off a bunch of ponies and made me run. I wasn't able to tell..."

Applejack simply sighed and shook her head. "... I'll leave that up to you to decide." She looked towards them, then to Apple Bloom, then to Pinkie. "Pinkie... can y'all take 'er to see Old Ponyville?"

Pinkie gasped. "I totally forgot! Rainbow said to give her the Grand Tour so she knew what she was getting into!" Applejack notably winced and looked to me.

"Y'all really gonna throw your hat in the ring with them? Not a bright move, Twilight..."

"Wait..." I shook my head, looking at my orange friend in confusion. "Aren't you part of the freedom fighters?"

"Nope." Applejack waved her hoof around. "I support them in spirit, but in my position if I did any more, my entire family'd be in danger. Much as I wanna help, I'd rather preserve what I got..." I guess I couldn't fault her on that... but I didn't have to like it. "They come to me once in a while, mostly for information. I can give little heads ups mostly, warnings... that's all I can risk, and I can't guarantee any of my information is 100% accurate. Needless to say, Rainbow sends a courier with unpleasant messages when something doesn't happen the way I say it will."

"I imagine..." I shook my head, thinking of those cold, empty eyes of hers. "She's definitely changed."

"No..." Applejack let out another sigh. "Well... yes an' no. She's still loyal as can be... but her loyalty is to a cause, not any one pony. She's sacrificed and lost a lot to get to where she is now, an' it's weighed down on her."

"She's trying to do what she thinks is best for everypony" piped Pinkie. "But she doesn't think it can end with everypony being happy any more."

"There was a time she tried to do things like you girls used to" spoke Trixie. "Simply tricking ponies, misleading, stealing documents... but we ended up losing lots of ponies for small victories. Rainbow Dash herself is actually the first pony to actively kill anypony when she and Fluttershy were caught in an ambush; she grabbed the general, flew into the sky, and dropped him from what I heard." She smirked. "It shook up everypony that was with him. They had underestimated her and didn't bring any Battle Saddles."

"But, ultimately, I'm not with 'em." Applejack shrugged. "I support them, I really do, but if I actually did anything, I'd put my entire family in danger. Things're bad enough as is... I've no desire to make 'em worse." She stood up and sighed. "If y'all wanna know what Rainbow wants ya to know, go to Old Ponyville. You'll find answers there, an' more. Jus' remember... watch yer bags n' pockets." She turned around and made her way out of the room. "I can't give y'all boardin' here, but I reckon y'all can stay at Pinkie's place in town. Gimme a shout if ya need anythin'!"

Trixie stood, stretched and smirked. "No time like the present then. Shall we?" Pinkie and I both stood to our hooves, I conjured the false image, and soon we had left the house. I turned back as we walked that path to see Apple Bloom staring at us through the window.

What was waiting for me at the end of this one?

And so, we walked through the town, affording me another chance to look around. Not much that I hadn't already been able to take in; some buildings, a factor... it was much more advanced than Old Ponyville had been. In a better time, this would have been beautiful, picture esque even. But the underlying circumstances haunted me. Every once in a while, we'd pass a few guards; I always felt a bit on edge around them, but I would hold it back for now. Last thing I needed was for them to try to kill me here again.

Eventually, we came upon a gate, nestled between two larger buildings, with a bridge. "Twilight?"

"Yeah?"

"Be ready. This isn't going to be pretty."

And so, we passed through the gate and over the bridge into Old Ponyville.

I really wasn't ready.

The very same houses that had been here before; barely touched at all by any of the advances that had blessed 'New Ponyville.' A lot of the houses showed signs of the damage that had been done; some scorched, cracked and torn, some barely standing. Ponies wandered about the streets, but none of them seemed happy. As I looked around, I found a surprising number of the houses were in such a state of disrepair that any sane pony would abandon them to their fate; some looked as if they had been put back together with the debris of other homes. Graffiti covered vairous walls, plants had slowly begun to grow out of control...

"This is Old Ponyville; the throwaway town."

I stared at the whole thing, wide-eyed and in utter disbelief. "What... what happened?"

"Well..." started Pinkie Pie, "By the time the massacre was done, the Earthen Alliance realized they may have gone a bit overboard with their zealousness. Rather than call a loss of a settlement settled by one of the biggest Earth Pony clans in Equestria, they decided to reconstruct." She sighed. "Then, they decided to make it a sign of their advancement and superiority, so after rebuilding maybe a third of Ponyville, they built a wall between that and the rest, then started building 'New Ponyville, and Old Ponyville became a slum."

I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of loss as I looked around. A once bright, happy town... now most of the houses seemed like if they weren't ready to come down, they had become the canvas of hooligans and thugs. But there was one place I really needed to see right now. "Pinkie?"

"Yes?"

"Can we go to my Library?"

It had taken us about fifteen minutes, but we finally reached the massive tree I once called home. I was admittedly shocked; the grass had grown more in this area, and the tree was the only thing that looked as if it were still thriving. Despite the conditions of the natural side of the structure, the windows were broken in, gaining consolation in leaves and vines that had grown over the gaps. We trotted towards the door, and I gently pushed it open, a loud creak announcing our entrance. Bits of paper and old, damaged books littered the floor, and graffiti was sprayed on the wall. I found myself brought to tears again, but at least I was still thinking straight. I wandered around, surveying the damage; the doors to the basement seemed to have been broken in. I looked down stairs to find all my equipment was scattered around and broken; beyond salvaging. I turned and trotted upstairs...

To walk in on two ponies laying on my old bed.

Mid-coitus.

"Who are-OH MY GOODNESS!"

"Wha-WHOA SHIT!"

Immediately, they pulled the tattered, filthy blanket that I used to sleep under over themselves; i didn't even want to think of what my house had seen since I left. "Who the hell are you ponies!?" shouted the stallion.

"Yeah! What's the big idea!? You don't live here!" shouted the mare. Yeah... not anymore.

"S-sorry, I was just... just..."

Pinkie stepped forward without missing a beat. "We're just surveying some places in Old Ponyville, part of a project. Clearly we could have found a better... place to examine."

The two ponies shared a look, then looked back at us. "Yeah, you do that. We don't need you here watching."

The stallion seemed to perk up at that. "Not that we'd mind..." Deservingly, this earned a pointed glare from his marefriend, and he immediatly wilted. "But we totally would mind..." We didn't bother responding, opting to simply take our leave of the library turned sex-spot. As we walked away, I shuddered a bit, wiping tears from my eyes.

"My old home has become a house of ill repute..."

Pinkie patted my shoulder gently and gave me a friendly nuzzle. "Sorry Twilight... I thought you'd need to see it..." I probably did. Still, we continued trotting; I guess I wasn't done seeing the sights. As we moved through Old Ponyville, the houses became more derelict, and plant-life more abundant. Eventually, I could see exactly what Rainbow had said before; Ponyville was actually in the edge of the Everfree Forest. A lot of houses were surrounded by quickly growing vines, trees that seemed to have grown much faster than they should have were taking over the town; naturally, given the Everfree seemed ruled by chaotic magic.

"Fluttershy's house is actually in the Everfree Forest now..." Pinkie shook her head, looking at all the vines. "We've been there. It's basically a hideaway for us sometimes since nopony wants to go that close to the Everfree proper."

"This is what Rainbow is fighting, Twilight." Trixie turned to face me, her expression serious. "Old Ponyville is the kind of world she foresees in the current path Equestria is taking. The ner government is already showing signs of cracking, of falling apart. While you'd think that should be a good thing, they're set to take the rest of us down with them."

"Lots of ponies live like this." Pinkie trotted forward, placing a hoof on an old building. "You had it lucky, finding ponies who cared for you... but there's lots of unicorns and pegasai... even earth ponies... who live in alleys and gutters, hiding in the shadows, sawing off beloved appendages..." She frowned. "I'm almost willing to bet half of Old Ponyville is not Earth Ponies."

We walked around a bit more, taking in the sights as Pinkie tried to show me. We passed many familiar places; the Carousel Boutique, covered in blackness from what seemed to be fire damage. Sugarcube Corner, falling apart and having boards covering holes; likely serving as somepony's home even now. Town Hall was still standing, and was relatively pristine compared to the rest of the town, but even it seemed as though it had seen better days.

And everywhere, I could see ponies sitting in alleys, next to buildings, digging through garbage, and scavenging from the houses that were too damaged to serve as suitable shelter.

"... I had no idea they did this much damage..."

"They tore Ponyville apart." Trixie huffed. "They killed and slaughtered mercilessly. They say they even killed Earth Ponies; this wasn't a genocide, it was them literally attacking anypony who wasn't wearing their banner. Looting, pillaging, raping... every crime that could be committed had been done here."

This was all so much. I knew Ponyville was damaged but... to actually see it up close? To touch it, to feel it... smell it.... it was too much.

"We've got one more thing to show you..." Pinkie grimaced and put her hooves on my shoulders. "This one Dashie wouldn't see as needed... but.... if I heard you right back at Applejack's home... it's something you need to see."

We had walked a familiar path. Even if grass, vines, flowers, and saplings had grown over them, I knew where we were going. I just hoped I was ready for it. Eventually, we happened upon a fence covered in vines, and a sign post that told visitors just where they were.

Sweet Apple Acres.

"Twilight?"

"Yes...?"

"There's somepony that you need to see."

Author's Notes:

I know a lot of this I know seems to be talking and exposure. I want to try to fit more action in here soon enough, though!