Octavia was passed out at the foot of the bed, and Twilight read about dream distillation with Pinkie curled up beside her. She perked her ears at the sound of hooves on the deck, but only got out of bed as it moved down the stairs. When she opened the door, Reverend Green was right there, his horn alight. They both started back.

“What do you want?” she asked. “It’s almost midnight.”

“Rouse the others and come with me. I want you to see Miss Ringlet.”

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment. “Why do we need to do this right now?”

“Just come. I will wait on the deck.”

She waited for him to go before turning back to her room and bumping into Pinkie, right behind. “Oh. You heard.”

“Octy’s sleeping, for once,” Pinkie whispered.

Twilight nodded and gathered the others, and they met Reverend Green by the gangplank. He didn’t say anything, and they walked back down into the town, chilly in the darkness.

Miss Ringlet’s house was not far, and he stopped them before its porch. The upper floor’s windows were lit. “She is being watched by her parents. Enter and ask to see her; they know to expect you.”

“An’ where are you gonna be?” Applejack asked sleepily.

“Behind. Hopefully unseen.”

“Is she gonna attack us?” Rainbow asked.

“I imagine not. That station, she seems to have reserved for me alone.” He climbed the few steps and knocked on the white door, and a concerned-looking earth mare answered. She admitted them without a word.

The house was spacious and still, illuminated by soft candlelight from a small chandelier on the ceiling of the two-story living room. From where they stood in the middle of the narrow room, they could see both floors, as well as the den and anteroom through arches on either side. A covered boudoir piano sat in the corner.

The mare calmly led them through the anteroom and up a tight fold of stairs, into a restrictive corridor. The only light that shone naturally was the meager starlight through curtained windows, and the mare lit a tiny bead of pink light, throwing the entire hall into a ghastly rose relief, like the throat of a massive beast. They had to walk two-by-two, all the way to the end, where a decorated door stood by the only un-curtained window. She knocked twice, and a demure voice bade them enter. She nodded to Twilight and Applejack, at the front, and flattened herself against the wall to let the others pass.

Miss Ringlet sat up in her plush, disturbed bed. She looked younger than Twilight, with smooth, smoky-blue fur and a dull gold mane, with sharp yellow eyes. They crowded in, careful not to come close to her bed. When the six of them had assembled before her, they resembled less a group of visitors and more a procession of interlopers, uncomfortable in the dark room.

“You may come closer,” Miss Ringlet said in a small, willowy voice. “She’s asleep right now.”

“Who is ‘she’?” Rarity asked.

“The other.” She looked down, and they could see the impression of ashamed grief on her face. “That is why you all are here, is it not? To bear witness to my affliction?”

“We were actually hoping to help you,” Twilight said. “We know of a potion that can cure you of… whatever it is that’s wrong.”

Miss Ringlet didn’t respond. She raised her eyes again and connected with Twilight’s, but slowly, her attention slid away. She stared past and through them, lips parted only slightly.

“Are you still with us?” Pinkie asked.

“Yes. Yes, sorry.” She didn’t move. “I’m worried she might wake up. Thinking about her can do that.”

“How did this happen?” Rarity asked.

“I don’t know. I wish I did.” She blinked and looked at them. In the unaccustomed light, given only by a trio of candles behind them, she looked like an inequine shadow, the sheets around her waist like the displaced earth. Her head cocked to one side suddenly, and she let out a tiny gasp.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked sharply.

Miss Ringlet sunk down into her sheets. “She’s up.”

Everyone took a step back, except for Pinkie, who craned her neck to get a better angle on the sinking pony.

“What do we do, Twi? Do we try to get him in here?” Applejack whispered.

“No!” Miss Ringlet cried. “Please, don’t.”

“It might be fer the best.”

“Please.” She slid up over her blanket and crawled down the bed, yellow eyes glinting. They backed up again. “Please don’t bring him in.” Her voice turned to a hoarse whisper as she lay prone, her head rubbing into the sheets. “She doesn’t like him.”

“This is starting to freak me out,” Rainbow whispered, looking significantly at Twilight.

“Can she talk to us?” Pinkie asked.

“Please, can we not?” Rarity mumbled plaintively. She, of all of them, was the farthest back, and trying to hide behind Applejack.

“Let her talk.” Pinkie moved to the bedside and looked Miss Ringlet in the eyes. “Can she do that? Will she try to hurt us if we just want to talk?”

Miss Ringlet stared past Pinkie for a second, deep in thought. “No. N-no, she says she won’t.”

“Then let’s do it.”

“Pinkie, no,” Rarity moaned, but Miss Ringlet was already gone again, her eyes far away, her mouth making silent words. She slowly reclined her head into the mattress until she was almost looking at the headboard, then quickly relaxed, falling into a still form, utterly unchanged from before.

“You okay?” Rainbow asked.

She moved quickly, springing up to look at her questioner. “You have to help me.” Her voice was suddenly hard and serious.

“Wait, yer the demon now?” Applejack asked.

“Demon, ghost, spirit, symptom of insanity, whatever, it doesn’t matter. All that does is that I have to get out.”

“Out of where?” Pinkie asked.

“Out of here. This accursed body, this room. We stay here all day because no one trusts her to go out on her own.”

“How do we get you out?” Twilight asked.

She turned and buried her face in the sheets, producing a long, enraged growl. Hooves shuffled outside, and she raised her head. “I don’t know. Don’t you think I’d get out myself if I knew how?”

Someone knocked on the door, and Miss Ringlet whipped around. It opened, and as soon as the ball of light entered the room, she let out a shriek.

“Out! Leave me alone, damn you!”

“What are you doing here?” Reverend Green shouted, thundering to the bed. His amulet hovered before him, and Miss Ringlet cringed away with a howl. “Let her go, spirit!”

“Green, stop!” Pinkie cried.

“In the name of your goddess and ruler, Luna, begone!”

Miss Ringlet tumbled off the bed and pushed past Pinkie and Rainbow, trying for the back of the room, but recoiled away as Reverend Green thrust his amulet into her face.

“Back, demon! Begone from this mare!” He pressed the small decoration to her skin, and she released a visceral, throaty bellow as she flailed back into the wall, a hoof coming up to try to swipe the object away. Her back hooves struck the paneling with a strong snap, and she jerked her head violently as he pushed the amulet close again.

She spat another inarticulate scream and tried to slide across the wall into the corner, and Green followed her, broadening his stance to keep her trapped.

“Out! Get out of there!”

She thrashed again and let out a long wail, and when he thrust the amulet again, she broke from the wall to dive at him. He backed away, the insignia before him like a shield, and she fell short, straining against her own powerful aversion to his object.

“In the name of the goddess of the night, I compel you, leave us at once!” He came forward once more and pushed the amulet to her forehead, and she screamed again, her eyes closed and her teeth shining. He relented, wrapping a foreleg around her neck to bring them face-to-face. “What are you doing here, demon?”

“Let me go!” she snarled, and he thumped her on the head with his amulet. She rewarded him with a sharp bark of pained anger.

“In Luna’s name, I command you to leave us,” he said. “Leave us, demon. Leave us at once.”

She twisted violently in his grasp, but his foreleg didn’t buckle, and she remained facing him. The smell of sweat tinged the stuffy air.

“Begone!” He pressed the amulet to her head again, but didn’t relent at her scream, holding it in place until her wail became a cry of anguish. She tried to make herself smaller against the wall, but he followed her. Her legs pushed weakly across the floor, and she turned on to her back, gasping and yelping. With a final, frail twist, she collapsed, and was motionless. Reverend Green kept his amulet pressed to her for a minute more, then retracted it, his face sick.

“Did it work?” Rarity asked.

“No,” he said shortly. “This is how it always is. The demon retreats into her body, and I can’t go in after her.” He sighed and put the amulet back around his neck.

“So she’s still possessed?” Twilight asked.

“Yes.” He wrapped her in his magic and lifted her back to the bed, then replaced the sheets over her. He bent down to put an ear to her chest. “She will wake tomorrow with only the faintest memory of this incident. I… have not told her how these are going. I do not want to worry her unnecessarily.”

“Shouldn’t you be bein’ honest with her?” Applejack asked.

“She will not benefit from knowing the details of her torment.” He adjusted her pillow and went into the hall. They could hear him conferring with Miss Ringlet’s parents, and when their hoofsteps faded down the hall, he returned. “Come.”

They followed him outside, and he stopped a distance from the porch. Under the moon, just beginning to wane, his weathered features looked harsh and sharp, as though cut into tired stone.

“Have you researched the dream potion yet?”

“Yes, but we need someone to be our facilitator,” Twilight said.

“I would, but my horn is injured,” Rarity said.

“Say no more, my sisters,” Reverend Green said. “I shall take that job upon myself. It’s the least I can do in return for what I am about to ask.”

“Ah knew it,” Applejack said.

“What do you want us to do now? Catch a criminal? Impersonate someone for an indefinite period of time?” Rainbow asked. “Do you have another incredible magic machine you want to show off?”

“What? No, nothing of the sort,” Reverend Green said, backing up a step. “I only ask that you stay longer.”

“Oh, Octavia’s not gonna like that,” Applejack said.

“The potion requires concentration of scarlet pimpernel, and there was none in Dodge Junction. I special ordered some, but it will be a few days before it arrives.”

“That’s all?” Twilight asked.

“That’s all.”

“That’s not so bad,” Pinkie said, adopting a southern drawl. “It just means we can’t roll on outta here like we wanted to!”

“And I do apologize for what I put upon you all,” he said, bowing his head. “I realize you don’t have to stay here after today.”

“No, it’s fine,” Rarity said. “Helping that poor mare is just as important.” She yawned and put a hoof to the base of her horn. “Oh, dear. Um, I don’t wish to be impertinent, but do you need us here any longer? I’m quite tired.”

“Oh, no, no! My apologies, dear sisters. Please, go to your ship. Twilight, when did you want to go dream diving?”

“I’d like to be ready tomorrow evening, if I can,” Twilight said.

“I’ll be sure to speak to you before that.” He shook her hoof and walked the other way, disappearing into the shadow of a small house.

“Do you think being watched makes me harmless?” Noteworthy had Allie Way cornered in her own living room, his eyes narrow and angry. It was past midnight. “Did you think you would get away with it?”

“I haven’t laid a single hoof on her, you sociopath,” Allie hissed. Her eyes were angrily narrowed to match his, but she slid closer to the bookshelf by her side, putting only an inch more between them. “Don’t even pretend you’re looking out for her.”

“I am!” He shook his head and slammed a hoof to the wall to block her movement away from him. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but it ends here. I’m still the leader of the Ponyville Datura. I have pull in ways you can’t imagine.”

“Are you gonna sic Spike on me?”

“Leave him out of this,” Noteworthy growled.

“Him? Why not me? Why in the name of all that’s holy are you trying to keep up this charade? We both know it’s you!”

He snarled. “You disgust me, Allie Way. Mark my words, the instant, the instant I get proof that you’re behind this, I will personally see you in prison.”

“You don’t scare me.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. “The truth will out, Allie. Until then, watch your back.”

Colgate had watched Spike, without his pegasus friends, go to the Datura field with Zecora the next morning. It was eleven o’ clock, and she was looking over a chart while a patient lay before her, counting down from ten with a mask over her face.

She limped to the other side of the operating table, her back leg sending twitches of pain through her pelvis with each step. It wasn’t serious, but she had it splinted, just in case. The nurse gave her a smile that she falsely returned through her own mask, and she lit her horn to guide a breathing tube down the patient’s throat. When it was secure, she looked at the shaved section of flesh before her. “Scalpel.”

She took the instrument and made a long incision across the pony’s shoulder joint. Floating the blade back and replacing it with a cotton swab, she looked up briefly at the viewing window—one thing she never liked about the Ponyville hospital. She looked back down sharply, shocked; Berry Punch peered in on her, Derpy to her side.

“Everything okay?” the nurse asked.

“Perfect. Self-retaining retractor.” She carefully positioned the tool and slowly, slowly slid it open, exposing the patient’s subcutaneous tissue. She stole another glance at the ponies outside. She knew why they were there, but frowned to herself to think of it. It was not something she had foreseen, though she knew she should have.

“Doctor?”

She glanced at the nurse, realizing then that she had again paused in her procedure. “Sorry. Preoccupied.”

“Is it your leg?”

“Yes.” She let the instrument stay where it was. “Scalpel.”

Three hours later, the patient was asleep in a different room in the hospital, and Colgate was just finishing a meeting with the physical therapist. Ordinarily, her medical assistant handled all the post-surgical talks, but she wanted to prolong talking to Berry and Derpy.

When she returned to her office, they were outside, not speaking. She gave them a smile, and the three of them went inside together.

“Are you okay?” Berry asked.

“It hurts, but I’ll live,” Colgate said, sitting down at her desk. She had a stack of charts to look over, as well as a list of messages she needed to answer, but instead, she looked at the two ponies. She forced a pleasant smile.

“How does this keep happening?”

She slowly lifted a pen off her desk and toyed with it in the air. “I don’t think that what’s really happening here is what you think is happening.”

“Well, Noteworthy’s being watched,” Derpy said. “Did they get the wrong pony?”

“No, they got the right pony,” Berry said. “He’s just sneaky.”

Colgate smiled humorlessly. She wasn’t comfortable with what she knew she had to do. “That’s not it either.”

Berry gasped. “Is Derpy right? Do they have the wrong one?”

Colgate made a show of looking away and breathing deeply. She let her face rest unhappily, and spent several seconds staring at her credentials on the wall. “This has to be a secret between us. I had hoped to keep you out of it, but I guess I can’t hide this on my own after all.”

“Who’s doing this to you?” Derpy asked, both of them coming close to her desk.

She looked between them quickly to make sure the door was shut. “Allie.”

Berry’s eyes sprung open and Derpy’s jaw dropped, and Colgate held back a grin at their reactions. It was a full minute before Berry managed a complete response. “Her?”

Colgate only nodded, eyes to her desk.

“That nag,” Derpy said. “That… that audacious, unbelievable nag!”

“Let’s keep our voices down,” Berry said.

“Sorry.”

“Colgate, Allie’s trying to play us.”

Colgate looked back up at her with an expression of alarm. “What? How? What do you mean?”

“She was fuming to us earlier,” Derpy said. “She said Noteworthy confronted her late last night to try to get her to stop. She said he was trying to distract her or something, so he could get closer to you.”

“And then she’s trying to get us to get mad at him,” Berry said. “That manipulative… ugh, I don’t even know.”

“Wait, how does Noteworthy know?” Colgate asked.

“He must have seen something,” Derpy said.

“Interesting.”

“That’s why she was the first to tell the mayor,” Berry said, eyes wide. “Because she didn’t want anyone to keep wondering about it.”

“Everyone would just assume it was Noteworthy escaping watch,” Colgate finished, nodding. “I have to admit, that’s kind of genius.”

“It’s sociopathic,” Derpy said.

“It almost worked,” Berry said. “We almost believed her.”

“Why didn’t you tell the mayor, though?”

Colgate looked down again. “I’m starting to think I should have. I don’t know, though. You know how everyone assumes Noteworthy can escape the police watch? Allie, I know, actually can.” She lowered her voice. “She told me this.”

“Colgate, no,” Derpy said. “You can’t let her bully you like that.”

“What else can I do? I already helped her frame Noteworthy. If I came forward now, she’d kill me, if I didn’t get arrested.”

“It looks like she’s not far from killing you anyway,” Berry said, indicating her splinted leg.

Colgate sighed. “It’s only when she gets mad,” she mumbled.

“That doesn’t matter!”

“Yeah. If she’s doing this, it doesn’t matter why. It’s not justifiable,” Derpy said.

“What is she even trying to get you to do?” Berry asked.

“I have some information on her that she wants kept quiet,” Colgate said. “I can’t tell you what it is.”

“This has to be some pretty serious information for her to be so abusive towards you,” Derpy said.

“It’s bad. I’m sorry, but I can’t say more.”

“That’s not important anyway,” Berry said. “What is is getting you out of this.”

“No.” She paused, having spoken too quickly. “I mean, I know what you’re thinking. Girls, you can’t interfere. I’m the only one who knows what’s going on; if you suddenly do too… do I have to say it?”

“You can’t keep going like this,” Derpy said.

“Hang on,” Berry said. “Noteworthy knows.”

Colgate looked down at her leg. “She said this was a warning. She doesn’t think I snitched—and I didn’t—but she said it’s better to be safe than sorry. Maybe she wants to try to make the police tighten their watch on Noteworthy, I don’t know.” She put her head on the desk. “That’s what this comes to. Her, Noteworthy, me, and now you two. I just don’t know. I just don’t know what’s going on anymore.” Her voice rose incrementally. “All I know is he does something, and I do something, and something ticks her off, and then I pay for it, and then he pays for it. I just. Don’t. Understand.” She picked up a piece of paper and held it aloft, as if to tear it in a minor demonstration of anger, but instead let it fall. “I graduated from the best med school in Manehattan. I was a resident of four years with one of the best orthopedists this side of the Everfree. I’m smart, and driven, and have the steadiest… freaking horn in Ponyville.” She glanced back at her credentials. “I shouldn’t have gotten myself involved in this. I should have seen the signs earlier, done something about it.”

“No, no, stop right there,” Berry said. “I’ve seen you do this before. We’re not playing ‘how is Colgate to blame?’ again.”

“The simple truth is, sometimes life really sucks,” Derpy said. “I’m not saying you handled it as well as you could have, but she manipulated you, and this whole situation. There’s not a lot you can do against someone that sociopathic.”

“A lot of good that does me now,” Colgate said.

“It’s not gonna get better if you keep defending her,” Berry said.

“I have to.” She put her head on the desk again, tapping her horn harder than she would have liked. A twinge of pain shot through her head and down her spine. “Like I said, if she finds out that you know, my life is in even worse danger.”

“We can’t just sit back and let this happen.”

“You haven’t seen her when she gets mad,” Colgate said. “She’s a different pony. I… I can’t stop her. It’s like she blacks out or something. Just turns into this enraged, shouting monster. It’s difficult to describe.”

“Can I just say, you seem remarkably composed, Colgate,” Derpy said. Berry looked at her briefly.

“‘Seem’ is definitely the operative word. I’m a wreck inside, you know.” She made eye contact with them both. “I haven’t been eating very well, either.”

“Colgate,” Berry said sternly.

“I know. It just seems so pointless, you know?”

“Seriously, something has to happen.”

“I know.”

They were all silent for a time. “Well… if it’ll truly endanger your life, I can’t really do anything,” Derpy said.

“She’s right,” Berry said. “But I’m not giving up. We’ll just have to find an indirect way to help you.”

Colgate shook her head in resigned bafflement. “If you can do it without setting her off on me… but she’s smart, and paranoid. I don’t know how you’d do it.”

“We’ll find a way,” Derpy said. “I promise.”

“She’s not the only smart pony here,” Berry said. “And if Noteworthy figured it out on his own, others can too.”

They exchanged final looks and parting words, and Derpy left. Berry stayed behind. She looked at Colgate, who had gone back to her charts. “Colgate.”

Colgate recognized her tone of voice. She and Berry had been friends since college, after a chance meeting at an extracurricular event. She looked at Berry patiently.

“I’m proud to say that I’ve known you the longest, and I’m one of the only ponies who knows the whole story about you.”

“Mm-hm.”

“I’m sorry if this sounds like an accusation—it’s not. But… does this have anything to do with your condition?”

Colgate shook her head. “Not one iota, Berry. I—”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Berry said, breaking into a weak smile. “You’ve never lied to me, Colgate.”

“Thanks.”

Berry shuffled in place, then went around the desk to hug the blue unicorn. “You’ll be okay, all right?”

“I hope so.” She watched Berry leave with an expression of mild mollification, and when she was alone, turned to her messages. “You’ve never lied to me, Colgate.” It didn’t bother her.

Sunset. Fresh from a session in the field with Zecora, Spike had only a couple minutes to start dinner before Flitter was due to show up. With her and Cloudchaser absent from the Datura, he found himself missing them almost as painfully as he had missed Rarity, in the beginning.

As he entered the library, head pounding from his lessons, he stepped on an envelope, sealed with an unmarked lump of tallow wax. Picking it up, a thought entered his mind, and he looked back to make sure the door was closed. In the kitchen, he used a single claw to open it.

As you know, I am indisposed, but I am still your commander. You will come to my house the day after tomorrow, at one in the morning, for a briefing on your first mission. You will come alone.

Tell no one of this, not even that you will be doing something at that time. Your mission relies on secrecy. To that end, you must do everything in your power to avoid interaction with Minuette Colgate. The dissent that has appeared around her will only harm you, and the mission.

I am aware of how you feel about me. Put these feelings aside for your commitment to the organization, and to Equestria.

You will knock thrice to show that it is you at my door.

N.

As he looked up from the note, a knock on his own door startled him. Leaving the note open on the table, he went to the main room to allow Flitter inside. She greeted him with a long hug and a small kiss on the bridge of his nose, then crouched slightly to allow him to reciprocate.

They went into the kitchen, where Spike started to prepare for dinner.

“Secret mission, huh?” Flitter asked after a moment of silence.

Spike turned around sharply, and she gave him a mischievous smile. He tried to look stern, but the way her face dimpled when she smiled made his own countenance break, and they shared a laugh.

“Sorry. It was right there.”

“I would’ve told you anyway,” he said nonchalantly.

“Did you get this just now?”

“Yeah. Right before you showed up. I’m not actually sure how to react.”

“Well, it is Noteworthy. He’s…”

“Yeah, I know,” he finished. “Did you see her today, by the way?”

“She came in to the spa to say hi before work,” Flitter said. “Her leg looked bad.”

“Hm. Well, I’m glad one of us gets to still talk to her.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. Do you think he’s trying to separate you two?”

“I don’t know what to think. I mean, we haven’t talked in a while now, so I don’t know what he thinks I’m gonna go do.” He sighed and got out a knife to chop his vegetables. “I do miss her, though.”

“She doesn’t honestly seem that torn up about everything that’s been going on,” Flitter said.

“How?”

“I dunno. She seems weirdly calm. But she only stayed and chatted with us for a couple minutes, so…”

“Huh. Yeah, I’d like to catch up with her. Maybe after this secret thing, she can I can hang out again.”

“Let’s hope. You need any help, by the way?”

“Nah, I’m good.” He diced a parsnip and slid it into a large pot with carrots and potatoes.

“So, you’re comfortable with this?”

“What do you mean? You mean this? Talking?”

“Not going out. Me sitting at the table while you do all the work.”

“It’s really not that big a deal,” he said, anticipating her response.

“I think it is, Spike. You shouldn’t have to do all this for me.”

“Flitter, it’s fine. You can’t cook. It’s not a problem, really.”

“If you say so,” she said reluctantly. “You’ll let me know if there’s something I can do to help, won’t you?”

He was quiet a moment. “I promise, as soon as I need someone, I’ll tell you.”

She smiled. “Thanks. Am I being too needy?”

He turned on the stove. “Not at all.” He watched the fire caress the bottom of the pot, filled with water and vegetables. He could feel her behind him, trying to read the back of his skull. He didn’t want to look at her, lest he betray any impatience. “How’s the spa doing?”

“It’s great. Now that Cloud and I don’t have to worry about the Datura messing up our lives, we’re free to pamper ponies again. I couldn’t believe how much they missed us.”

“I bet they were really happy when they found out you were back.”

“Someone even said she liked us better than Aloe and Lotus. In fact, now that I think about it, I think that was Colgate.”

“Oh, like she ever went there before you two showed up,” Spike said with a smile.

“I know, right? No, she said that Lotus and Aloe were always a little invasive, she thought.”

“Psh. I used to go back when Twilight and all them were here. Aloe and Lotus were discreet as anything.” He looked up slightly, out the top of the window. “Lotus really knew how to touch a dragon.”

Flitter laughed. “I remember the first time I had to massage you, Spike. Your body is weird. No offense.”

“None taken. I kind of like being the only dragon in Ponyville.”

“It’s nice to be unique.”

He looked back at her, but she only gave him another smile.

“I’m really curious about this secret mission of yours.”

“I’ll tell you about it after I talk to him.”

That same day, in the afternoon, Twilight was in her room studying dream diving. Rainbow was having an afternoon flight over the frontier town, and everyone else was on the deck. Twilight could hear occasional bursts of jubilation from Pinkie, wound up from eating the entire top tier of her giant cake.

Octavia stood on the deck, watching ponies move and work in town. It was relaxing in a way, seeing others run out their lives without the worries she wore constantly. In the miasma, she spotted a cream-coated stallion heading toward the ship. Braeburn, she recognized, and leaned out slightly to acknowledge that she had seen him.

He stood below her and looked up with a squint and a grin. “Howdy, miss Octavia!”

“Hello,” she said, as pleasantly as she could—it sounded like her usual tone.

“Ya busy?”

She looked at the others. Pinkie and Applejack talked and laughed together, while Rarity and Fluttershy were working with each other’s manes near the torch. “Not at all. What do you want?”

“Ah was wonderin’ if you’d like to have lunch with me.”

“Only me?”

“Yeah, if yer up to it,” he said with a hopeful smile.

She made a show of thinking for a moment, knowing already that she would accept. Life on the deck was only more interesting than the sleepless nights, with everyone else talking more naturally and pleasantly with one another than with her. She nodded and descended the gangplank, giving a casual goodbye to her friends. When she joined Braeburn on the ground, he beamed at her. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked.

“Does it gotta be anythin’? Ah just wanted to see ya. Ah feel like we got to know each other a little bit last night, an’ Ah figured you’d like to finish the job, so to speak.”

“I understand.” She looked at him with her best attempt at a soft expression, and he took off at a robust clip back into the town.

“So what do ya think of life on the frontier?” he asked with a smirk. “Probably a bit different from what yer used to, huh?”

She smiled to herself. “I have ridden the Astra Crow over Trottingham, and you want me to be impressed by dust and apples.” “Yes, it is rather different, I confess.”

He laughed good-naturedly. “It takes some gettin’ used to, that’s fer sure.”

“Where are we going?”

“If it’s all the same to you, Ah was gonna suggest we eat at my place. Ah know my way ‘round a kitchen.”

“As long as I do not have to eat ship rations, I will be happy.”

Braeburn laughed again, and they reached the outskirts of town, near the southern corner of the apple orchard. A little house sat just on the edge, where the trees gave way to the city. “Well, here we are,” he said, opening the creaking door. “Make yerself comfortable. Ah’ll start preparin’ our lunch.”

“Nonsense; it would be presumptuous and selfish of me to let you do this on your own. I will help you,” she said.

“Well, gosh, if you want to. Ah was just gonna whip up some apple cobbler; t’ain’t nothin’ difficult.”

“I insist.”

He smiled wide and clapped her on the back. “You got it! If ya don’t mind my sayin’ so, Miss Octavia, yer nothin’ like the other Canterlot ponies Ah’ve met.”

“Why does everypony assume that I am from Canterlot?”

“Yer not?”

“I am from Hoofington, born and raised.”

“Oh, my apologies. You carry yerself with such dignity, Ah just thought—”

“Do not worry.”

“Right, sorry. Ah’ve got a cousin in Hoofington, Ah think. Red Delicious; ya met him?”

“I have not.”

“Aw, too bad.” He slid a peeler over to her. “Ever used one of these?” She grabbed it with her hoof and began working on an apple, and he chuckled. “Guess so. So, why exactly are ya here? How’d you get to know Applejack an' her friends?”

“It was a chance meeting.”

He looked at her for a minute. “Is that it?”

“It is a long story, one I tire of telling. Besides, it does not matter. I am here now.”

“That y’are.” They peeled in silence for several minutes, during which he kept looking at her. He opened his mouth a few times, but only finally spoke when she had gotten the dough out of his tiny fridge. “Yer a traveler.”

“We all are.”

“Before this, Ah mean. You were a musician of some repute.”

“I was, yes.” She thought. “I suppose I still am.”

“Y’ever been to Snowdrift?”

“The closest I have ever been to Snowdrift was a show I played in one of the factory towns to the south. It is not an experience I would care to repeat.”

“Ah had to go into Snowdrift once.”

“Really?”

“We trade our apples with ‘em. We give ‘em apples an’ apple products, they give us lumber an’ ore. Ah got to go on a train a long time ago, to oversee a shipment. The usual overseer was busy.”

“How is it there?”

“Ah never left the train station, but Ah’ll tell ya one thing, it was darn cold. Didn’t help that Ah went down there in the dead of winter.”

Octavia nodded appreciatively.

“Ah didn’t pack nothin’ warm either. Didn’t occur to me. Ah stood out on the ramp shiverin’ my horseshoes off fer half an hour while two youngin’s took inventory.” He shook his head. “Like you, it’s not an experience Ah’d care to repeat.”

“I imagine we will have to go there sometime,” Octavia said.

“That kooky reverend is from there.”

“You said that, yes.”

“Did Ah tell ya how Ah don’t trust him?”

“Yes.”

“Big Mac said he keeps catchin’ him followin’ him. Givin’ him looks, but shyin’ away when he tries to say hi.”

“Is that right?” She thought for a second. “It is strange that you mention that. Yesterday, when he was visiting us on the ship, he asked about Big Mac. He is your brother?”

“Cousin.”

“Yes. Reverend Green was asking about him. He asked whether we thought he seemed okay.”

“Really? Now that’s interestin’,” Braeburn said. “Ah’m tryin’ to keep an eye on him, but he disappears a lot.” His voice darkened. “He’s very good at that.”

“We are helping him with the possessed pony.”

“Ah, of course.” Braeburn shook his head sadly. “Such a shame.”

“I was not aware that ponies could be possessed by spirits.”

“Yeah, the reverend gave us an impromptu speech the day he saw her the first time, warnin’ us ‘bout the dangers of magic an’ rituals an’ things.” He adopted a mock deep voice. “‘You must be wary of magic you do not understand, for it is ignorance that is the first step down the path of wickedness.’ He’s a hoot. Everypony was eatin’ outta his hooves, too.”

“I do not have much experience with ponies of faith.”

“Ah mean, he’s always nice to me, but Ah don’t trust him, not one bit. How hard was it fer me to talk ‘bout Snowdrift just now? Why can’t he do it?”

“Some ponies are not open about their pasts.”

“Yeah, those that got somethin’ to hide.” He looked at her, and she looked back evenly. For a second, their eyes met, and in his, she saw a hesitant glimmer that she had learned to recognize in others. “So… Ah hope Ah’m not bein’ too forward, Miss Octavia, but Ah sure enjoyed our time together last night.”

“It was nice to get off the ship.”

“Yeah, Ah reckon. Ah reckon too ya can get awful lonely there.”

She thought for a second. “Are you suggesting at something?”

“Well, again, Ah don’t wanna chase y’off or anythin’, but Ah’d be lyin’ if Ah said Ah didn’t think there was maybe a little somethin’ to all this.” He gestured at the two of them. “Ah quite enjoy yer company, even if it is a little quiet.”

“Stop.”

He looked at her with mild hurt.

“Braeburn, I think you are a very nice pony, but I sincerely hope that you are not interested in me as anything more than a friend.”

“What? Uh, I, uh—”

“I am gay. No stallion has a chance with me.”

He blushed and looked at the oven window. “Cobbler’s still got some time to go,” he mumbled.

“I am sorry if I have led you on in any way. It was not my intent.”

“No, Ah understand. Ah shouldn’t have tried so early anyway. We hardly know each other.” He looked at her, and when she didn’t speak, cleared his throat awkwardly. “Uh… Ah mean, maybe Ah did jump the gun a little bit.” He chuckled. “Sometimes it’s hard findin’ a nice mare like yerself here. Everyone’s worried ‘bout farmin’ an’ workin’, it’s like lookin’ at mirror images of myself sometimes.”

“You are not happy here?”

“No, Ah didn’t say that. Ah love it here. This place is perfect. But…” He sighed, but perked up at a second look at the oven. “Cobbler’s ready!” He took it out and put it on a cooling rack, and spat out the oven pad. When it was cool, they sat around his table in the other room.

“Please, continue,” she said. “What is troubling you?”

“Oh, you don’t wanna hear ‘bout my troubles, Miss Octavia.”

“Some ponies like to know that they can help others by listening.”

“Well, since ya put it that way.” He took a bite and spent some time savoring it. “Wow. Ah hope you enjoy this as much as Ah am.” Meeting her uninterested glare, he lowered his voice. “You might have figured this out already, but Ah’m a pretty exuberant pony by nature. But every time Ah think of findin’ a mate, Ah don’t like the options Ah’ve got here. Ah don’t want someone who’s excitable an’ loud like me, or as hard workin’. Ah want a nice, quiet mare, who knows a thing or two ‘bout the world. Ah want someone who can appreciate the finer points in life, an’ who can show ‘em to me. Ah want a mare that can teach me about life outside of an apple orchard.”

“What makes you think that I can do any of those things?”

“Yer quiet, an’ that’s a start.”

Her fork paused in the air as she released a single, unexpected laugh. “Fair enough, I suppose.”

“So how long you gonna be here?”

Her voice darkened, and the momentary jocularity was gone. “We are waiting for an ingredient to be shipped from elsewhere, so at least four more days. Perhaps five.”

“An’ where ya off to after that?”

“I do not know. So far as I am aware, a decision has not been made. However, the only town left in the northern half of Equestria is my hometown, Hoofington.”

“Ah bet it’ll be nice to get back home.”

She stared at her cobbler.

“Octavia? You okay?”

“Yes,” she said quietly. “Yes, it will be nice to return home.” She forced a smile, and it seemed to mollify him.

They finished their meal and cleaned up, and Braeburn walked her back to the ship, giving her a brief hug before returning to his own house. She went to the deck and found that nothing had changed in her absence.

They crowded into the bedroom at ten o’ clock that evening. Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity stood back, while Fluttershy took the bed, Octavia, Twilight, and Reverend Green around her. In Octavia’s absence, the reverend had arrived to discuss the magical logistics of his role with Twilight. He stood close to Fluttershy, looking on her with calm eyes and quietly explaining the process to her.

Twilight’s book was propped on the end table, pulled out to be next to her for quick access—she hoped she wouldn’t need it. With all but a single light out, Fluttershy took a small potion that Twilight had concocted, made to induce nightmares, and tucked the blankets over her hooves and head. They waited in uncomfortable quiet, listening only to her breath, first quick, but slowly lengthening into long, low sighs.

“Okay, Octavia. We need a dream about being physically trapped,” Twilight said. “When you go in, you’ll see the dream as Fluttershy does, but you’ll still be able to speak out here.”

“Like being in a trance,” Reverend Green said.

“How aware will I be of myself outside the dream?” Octavia asked.

“Marginally at best,” Twilight said.

“I’ll do my best to keep a tight leash on you, my sister,” Reverend Green said, his horn pulsing twice, quickly. “But you can’t keep too close to me, else you won’t find anything fruitful in Miss Fluttershy’s head.”

“When you think the dream is okay, just say so, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

“I shall pull you both out, and Twilight shall capture the dream.”

“And you know how to do these things?” Octavia asked hesitantly.

“I’ve been reading about it all day,” Twilight said. “I feel pretty good about it. Plus, I did it once before, years ago. I remember it pretty well—now that I’ve studied up.”

“I have much experience with this variety of magic,” Reverend Green said.

Octavia studied him for a second. “I cannot be hurt in the dream, can I?”

“Not if I cast the spell properly,” Twilight said.

“I understand.”

Twilight gingerly lifted the covers from Fluttershy’s head. Her eyes moved rapidly under her lids, and Twilight looked questioningly at Octavia, who took a deep breath before nodding. Her horn glowed, and Octavia felt her perception dim into nothingness.

When her senses returned, she was flying. Elsewhere, her body stood, and she could feel it distantly, but her conscious mind was with Fluttershy—in Fluttershy. A blur of pink mane wiggled at the top of her eyes, and her back contracted with each wing flap as if the muscles were her own. They were high above an uneven, checkered floor of soft clouds, under the cold, dark blue dome of the endless sky, whipping across the unbroken world.

She was just outside Ponyville, having passed it a couple minutes ago; she knew so empirically. In the same way, she knew that Rainbow Dash was flying ahead of her, but there was no sign of the blue pegasus. Though she knew otherwise, she felt alone in the sky. Alone, and something else that she didn’t immediately recognize. The feeling was abandonment, paralyzing and disorienting, and tinted with anger and worry. Alone in flight, her dream heart pounded madly, the promise of some unspecified consequence floating in her mind and spurring her to fly as fast as she could after the pegasus she knew was faster still. She sped up, and as she did so, Rainbow did the same; a bolt of sadness ran through her mind, more powerful than the standing sorrow she began with, and she felt her waking body jerk involuntarily, not accustomed to the unguarded, intense emotion.

“Octavia? What’s going on?” Twilight asked. It was distant, almost as if Octavia were remembering the question, instead of hearing it in real time.

She thought of her answer, but before she could do anything, her own voice spoke in what felt like the back of her mind. “Nothing damn fly faster, no no no no fly.” She felt her body’s mouth snap close, and distantly wondered what she had just said—the memory was already gone. She felt herself speed up, again with no sign of Rainbow.

“What’s wrong with her?” Rarity asked, just as faintly as Twilight.

Suddenly, and without transition, she was on the ground, and walking calmly to Fluttershy’s house; the sadness was gone, replaced with uneasy tranquility. Her heart still thumped strangely in her chest. She could feel something was wrong inside the dream, but could determine nothing more.

“Twilight, are you sure you cast it right? I don’t think she should be like that,” Rainbow said.

“Just let it happen,” Twilight said.

Octavia entered Fluttershy’s house, but instead of the peaceful cottage space that its exterior suggested, she found herself in a large, open room with thick metal walls, rough with rust and harsh with sickly overhead light. The entire space vibrated and thrummed with an unheard, but felt, sound, like rows of unseen engines. Her legs didn’t move, but she glided out over the floor. Looking down, she was on a small platform, suspended on nothing over an open, funnel floor, at its bottom a pair of large, dark pipes, their empty mouths wide and worn. She floated near the middle of the room, resting above one of the pipes, and her eyes naturally moved to the far entryway. Through a wide, unmarked door, walking with heavy, resounding steps, moved a massive, muscular pegasus, dark brown with a knotted, thick mane. A powerful affection inflated her heart, and despite her peculiar position, she felt safe.

“Twilight, Ah’m startin’ to get worried,” Applejack said.

The stallion stepped to his platform’s edge. He locked eyes with Octavia, who moved to the corner of her own area without thinking. In her head, the affection from before twitched uncertainly. The former sense—that something was wrong in the dream—resurfaced.

She glanced over the edge. The floor sloped dangerously downwards, textured with grime and scratches, and her vision slowly swung out to stare down into the mouth. Hooves firmly planted on the ground, her body wobbled slightly from the dizzy parallax. When her vision returned to normal, the stallion was staring deep into her eyes, aggressive. Withering fear gripped her, but she couldn’t shrink back. She could only stare into his dark, powerful eyes, until just anxiety and desolation remained.

Lost in his eyes and the dim, industrial interior, her thoughts were even more distant. Past the veil of memory, she thought silently. “Does this count? I feel trapped.” Again, a couple words escaped her waking mouth.

“Was that it?” Reverend Green asked.

“Wait,” Twilight said.

She slowly looked away, up the walls and around the room. Everything looked different. The lines and seams in the walls were fuzzier, and the light was thinner.

“Bring her back a little, Reverend.”

She looked back at the tremendous stallion, who hadn’t moved from his spot. Her eyes traced his giant wings, and, for a second, the fear was gone, replaced with soft admiration. He adjusted his weight, and an intense shock of anxiety blasted through her.

“Holy crap! Twilight, look!” Rainbow cried.

With an easy, short motion, he jumped off his platform, and was gone. She had only a second to observe the suddenly empty room, confused, before her own platform disappeared, and she plunged, suddenly headfirst, into the pipe. Fear like she had never known enveloped her as she fell, smoothly for the pipe’s textured interior, into a sickly yellow and orange shadow. She wanted to scream and call out for help, but the sudden, suffocating darkness cut off her ability to think. She slid, straight down at first, but then on a curve as the pipe tightened around her. Her hooves were behind her, and before long, she was pinned inside, caught in the tunnel’s nadir. Her mind seemed to constrict, terrified and confused, and her friends began making a commotion in the quiet part of her mind. She struggled, and for a second, it was real.

“Now! Green, get the dream!” She tried to shout it, but the words came out in a choked-off husk, and the commotion stopped. “Get the dream,” she repeated.

Her world faded slightly, and for an instant—a wonderful, calming instant—she recognized it fully as a mere fantasy. Then, it was gone, and she felt the pipe pitch and turn into further darkness. Someone screamed in the deepest part of her mind, and it was quickly joined by the buzz of panic, faint as her thoughts on a relaxing day. She twisted and turned, and as her orientation dissolved, her physical body seemed to disappear as well. She fell and tumbled, and in her mind, she was crying out. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality, the wooden grain of the floor right in front of her eyes.

“Octavia! Can you hear me? Octavia!” Reverend Green yelled, and Octavia slowly rolled over. “Oh, thank Luna, you’re okay.”

He helped her up, and Octavia looked around. She was sticky with sweat, and her lips felt raw. Before her, her friends were lined up against the back wall, Twilight with a small bottle in her magical grasp and Reverend Green by her side. “Were you successful?”

“I got it,” Twilight said unhappily, holding up the small bottle. A strange, viscous, dark brown fluid churned inside. “Are you okay?”

“I do not know. I feel strange.” She touched a hoof to her face and looked at it: blood. “What happened?”

“I’m not entirely sure. You stood there for a while, and then you said something, then you began crying. Not a lot, but a little, and you started grinding your teeth too. Then, you started biting your lips, hard.”

“I wanted to stop there, but Twilight said to continue,” Rainbow said.

“I remember hearing that,” Octavia said.

“You stayed that way for a while.”

“Then you fell, and began rolling around and flailing your legs, like you were in pain,” Twilight said. “We heard you say to get the dream, and as soon as Reverend Green pulled it out, you began crying again.”

“Much harder,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, you sounded really bad,” Pinkie said. “But then you woke up!”

Octavia looked at Fluttershy, who was awake, and watched with a mildly horrified look. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine, I think. It was just a bad dream.”

“I felt everything go blank, and I lost contact with my body near the end. What happened there?”

“That was me extracting the dream,” Reverend Green said. “Unfortunately, Fluttershy woke up at that same moment, which is why I didn’t pull you out.”

“Her waking up expelled me? I thought that you said that was bad.”

“It is,” Twilight said. “That’s why I’m worried.” She looked at Fluttershy. “I’m… afraid you’ll need to stay in bed right now, Fluttershy. I need to do a couple tests.”

“Tests?” Fluttershy repeated, clutching the sheet to her chest.

“Cognitive tests, to see if Octavia’s exiting of your subconscious hurt you at all.” She looked at the others. “Go ahead and go about your business.” Twilight turned to face Fluttershy and deposited the bottled dream on the end table, picking up the book as she did so. Everyone else emptied out onto the deck.

“Are you sure yer gonna be okay, sugarcube? You look a fright,” Applejack said.

“It was a shock, nothing more,” Octavia said.

“What was the dream about?” Rainbow asked.

“It is not my place to say.”

Rainbow shrugged. “I’ll ask Fluttershy about it. So, now we get to wait, what? Three or four more days?”

“Hopefully only that many, yes,” Reverend Green said.

“So what do we do until then?”

“Are you kiddin’?” Applejack asked, laughing. “There’s a big ol’ apple orchard just next to town, an’ yer askin’ what we can do to keep busy?”

“I don’t want to buck apples all day.”

“Well, looks like yer in the wrong town, partner.”