The afternoon of the annual Spring Planting Festival was graced with perfect weather for Canterlot's celebration of Equestria's hard-working farmponies. Twilight Sparkle had come to Canterlot with her friends for the festivities – save Rarity, who had refused with the greatest reluctance. She had begged off not only due to a mysterious new customer, but also because she had not been invited to an important high-society party, and thus felt snubbed and disinclined to travel.

For the other five, however, it had been an enjoyable affair, with Applejack taking the lead as they wove their way amongst the stalls and attractions. Applejack was a font of knowledge of each family's specialty and contributions to Equestrian society.

Unlike more formal holidays, attire for the Festival was whatever anypony desired, although colors representing the richness of the fields and renewal of the seasons were encouraged. Many farmers simply wore their everyday clothes. Applejack wore denim overalls and flannel shirt with her trademark hat cocked at a jaunty angle. Fluttershy had opted for a light green blouse with white skirt; Rainbow in dark athletic attire, as with winter gone she was putting in overtime practicing, and Twilight was taking a rare day to go informal, the newest Princess in a simple white blouse with purple vest and matching skirt. Pinkie was in a dress that was a whirl of blues and yellows, frilly yet somehow not inhibiting her movement – she skipped along with her trademark high-energy and equally high spirits.

“Mighty glad y'could join us, Twi,” Applejack said to break a brief silence that had settled upon the mares. “I understand you've been quite busy with your new responsibilities, but it's great to see ya none the less.”

“Thank you, Applejack.” Twilight's smile was quite happy as she continued, “And it is wonderful to have a day off. I don't regret a thing, yet all these new responsibilities can be quite stressful. Thankfully, I have Princess Celestia helping me every step of the way – I don't know what I'd do without her!”

“Aw, you'd do fine, Twilight! She wasn't there when we beat Nightmare Moon, was she? Or when I was thinking a cloud was all of Cloudsdale, huh? And let's not forget the we-”

“That's enough there, Rainbow,” Applejack interjected, cutting off the pegasus mid-word. “Princess Celestia does plenty for Equestria, but she can't solve every problem. And she can't use the Elements of Harmony by herself. Ain't nothin' wrong with that.”

“Thanks, Applejack,” Twilight said gratefully. “Rainbow, the Princess does all she can, but if she did do everything, what would be left for us? No, I'm sure I'll get used to the added pressure soon enough – she's always known just how many assignments is one too many.”

Conversation turned to amiable chatting about the goings-on of Ponyville – how the Apple family was preparing to plant a new orchard, Pinkie going on about how Equestrian cooking would be revolutionized once she combined pizza and cake, and Fluttershy getting in a few soft words about the baby animals being born, and how glad she was to be able to help them.

It seemed like it would be the perfect afternoon between friends – marred only by when Pinkie Pie stopped in place. “Knee pinch...ear wiggle...entire body viiiibrrraaaatteeee....” Her teeth chattered at the end of it, and everypony looked at her in alarm.

“Doozy?” Twilight's voice was apprehensive – after the first doozy of the Pinkie sense nearly led to them becoming hydra snacks, she had learned to take Pinkie's strange premonitions quite seriously.

“Doozy,” Pinkie agreed in a moment of seriousness, though her cheerfulness immediately reasserted itself. “I have no idea what it means, so we'll just have to wait and see! But it'll be BIG!”

“We'll be sure to keep a lookout, sugarcube,” Applejack said soothingly. “But yer right, if you don't know what it means, then no point in lookin' for spoiled apples when they aren't even ripe.”

“Why don't we go back to the rendezvous with the Princess?” asked Twilight. “I've had my fill of the sights, and I'm sure she'd be glad to see us.” The others readily agreed, and the group turned and began making their way back through the festival marketplace.

It wasn't a long journey back to the stadium that housed some of the day's more spectacular entertainment. The exotic animals and performance acts benefited from the extra seating that the arena provided, which allowed far more ponies to view the most popular attractions. The friends were chatting when a ripple ran through the crowd, the hubbub dying away to be replaced by an eerie silence.

Twilight didn't understand at first, until she followed the gazes of other ponies. Large figures were stepping out of nearby alleyways, soon beginning to line the main thoroughfare. The push of the crowd made it difficult to get a good look at first. Twilight urged her friends forward, at least until a sudden thought caused her to slap her forehead in exasperation. The new alicorn used her wings to lift herself above the crowd for a better view. The newcomers almost appeared equine, yet there were clear differences; large racks of antlers adorned their heads. They were wearing metal breastplates with an odd three-ringed symbol upon them, while their belts contained a dangling assortment of items – she thought she saw chains amongst them. Some were carrying small rods, and all of them looked stern, purposeful, as more strode out of streets and took their place with their fellows. Twilight felt the surge of teleportation magic before she saw the flash of light heralding the arrival of a royal guard, his hand touching the shoulder of another figure. The unicorn guard teleported away as the newly arrived creature took its place with the others.

Twilight wracked her brain – she thought she'd seen them before, but where? Definitely not zebras, not deer, neither buffalo nor donkeys...it finally came to her as she suddenly recalled a few paragraphs in old books that spoke of a civilization far to the east of...”Caribou...” she whispered, and then her eyes widened in alarm as she dropped out of the air. “Girls! We need to get out of here! Now! Run!”

They'd barely managed to begin pushing their way through the crowd when the first screaming started. One caribou moved at some unseen signal. He stepped forwards and reached for the nearest pony. Twilight watched in stunned shock as a cream colored mare was grabbed by the shoulder, one hand holding her still as the other roughly gripped the gown she wore. The sound of ripping cloth carried across the small plaza the ponies occupied as the garment was torn away. The mare shrieked and reflexively tried to pull away. She grabbed futilely at her attacker's arm, but he barely noticed as the rent gown was tossed aside and he reached up to tear her bra away. Her defense was forgotten as modesty resulted in her trying to cover her suddenly exposed breasts, and the male grinned as he reached down and ripped off her undergarments as well to leave her naked. He took a moment to clearly admire the curves of her body, and then he pulled something off his belt. It was a silvery metal collar, which was then brought up to her neck and wrapped around it, cinched shut by some mechanism Twilight could not see.

He moved with smooth efficiency and hooked a chain through a small silver ring in the collar, and then the mare was jerked backwards. The mare was dragged her towards a wall where Twilight saw another caribou driving a post into the ground.

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then pandemonium broke out within the crowd, and the greater mass of caribou moved as one. The previous scene began to repeat itself all around her as other females found themselves being grabbed, forcibly stripped, and then enclosed in collar and chain to be dragged away. Some attempted to flee, yet almost every exit was blocked by waiting caribou, and most who sought refuge only drove themselves into the invader's waiting hands.

“Twilight...” whispered Pinkie, her eyes wide and horror-struck. “What do we -do-?!”

“I,” Twilight began, but her voice caught in her throat. What was she to do? She barely knew anything about caribou, and even that was outdated information that could not be verified. “We, we...Celestia! We need to find Celestia! Come on! She'll know what to do!”

“Twilight! We need to fight them! Stop this! Buy everypony time! Help the others, look!” yelled Rainbow.

Those stallions and uncollared mares who had not panicked had begun to fight back, the ponies grabbing whatever they could get their hands on. A few were already carrying staves, while others gripped improvised weaponry – one wielded a chair, another had torn a flag off its pole and held the pole at the ready. It was of little use. One stallion struck at a caribou with his staff, yet the caribou almost offhandedly deflected the blow with the baton he carried, disrupting the stallion's balance and leaving him free to be jabbed in the gut with the baton. The stallion convulsed and dropped to the ground as the staff rolled free from suddenly nerveless fingers. Other stallions who chose to fight received similar treatment, yet afterward they and any males who stood apart were left alone.

The mares who fought, however, found themselves being dealt much harsher treatment. What was a simple light jab with the baton on a stallion was a bruising slap on a female, or a harsh thrust that would not only deliver the disabling charge, but knock the wind out of her as well. Those mares found black collars forced around their necks, and after their clothing was ripped away, they were dragged along the ground instead of pulled in a halting walk like the ones without the temerity to fight. One unicorn mare, at least, thought to use magic against her attacker – but whatever spell she'd used splashed onto his armor and dissipated harmlessly. Moments later, her clothing was torn away and a black collar was closed around her neck, and a harsh blow forced her down for easy dragging.

Rainbow had already lifted off the ground, and was about to rush in to save a goldenrod unicorn who'd stumbled and fallen to the ground with an attacker looming over her, but Applejack stopped her with a firm grip on her tail.

“Consarn it, Rainbow, there's too many of them! We'll be overwhelmed! Listen ta Twilight, she knows what she's doing! We have ta find the Princess!”

“But she's a Princess too!” Rainbow replied hotly, “She should be able to do something!”

“I am doing something! I'm getting us to Celestia! Without the elements, what can we do against this many?! Come on! Before they notice us!” Twilight grabbed Fluttershy's wrist and began pulling her forward, and Rainbow reluctantly fell in at Twilight's side. Pinkie, still silent and subdued, was on Twilight's other flank, while Applejack vigilantly guarded the rear as the group charged ahead.

Twilight's gut twisted at seeing so many ponies being captured around her – she ached to help them, but she had greater responsibilities. Get to Celestia, hope she could help. Get to Rarity, get the Elements of Harmony, find some way to use them against the invaders. Leaving her new subjects to their fates was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do – she knew it was the right decision, but it didn't stop her from feeling torn up. It was even worse when she saw pegasi take to the skies, only for most to be brought down by expertly thrown bolas that either entangled wings, or merely threw them off balance enough to bring them back to the ground.

Finally, the group broke free of the melee, suddenly emerging within a pocket absent any caribou or ponies. Twilight could sense a massive amount of power being wielded in the distance, a beacon that screamed the location of Princess Celestia.

“Princess Sparkle! Over here!” The voice rang out, and Twilight followed it to the source, to where a group of male royal guard waited. Twilight was filled with renewed hope that help had arrived, and she yanked Fluttershy along as the group ran towards the stallions.

“Oh, thank goodness you're here! Listen! You need to go back that way! We're being invaded by caribou and I-”

There was a sudden click beside her, and Twilight turned her head. Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at Fluttershy, who now sported a silver collar around her neck, the chain dangling from it being held by one of the very guardsponies they'd just surrounded themselves with. Fluttershy gasped, her hands raised disbelievingly to her throat, even as another guardspony grabbed the front of her blouse and ripped it away from her. Moments later came a second click, and Twilight's head whipped around to stare at Pinkie Pie, who was now bearing a collar held by a smirking stallion.

“Oh,” Pinkie Pie said, and her voice was quiet, weak, yet filled with understanding. “That's the doozy.”

Author's Notes:

And so, after much delay, it begins. For those who follow the tumblr, there's an illustration accompanying the end of chapter one.

For those new to the story : Again, this tale is only going to grow darker from here, you've been warned! Fall is not a good society to be a mare in.