Fluttershy walked in on Pretzel and Midnight Oil in the hotel bathroom, heads bowed together and speaking with quiet intensity. She did not hear a word, but the look in Midnight Oil’s eyes, his focus, told her immediately that she was not supposed to witness it. She froze for a second, then backed out swiftly, turning back to her parents in their bed, watching TV—color, which was a luxury in those days.

No one paid her any mind as she crawled into bed and covered her head with the sheets. She could not imagine what was going on between them, but she recognized the faces. It was personal, and it was bad. Pretzel’s face had been serious as well, more serious than she had ever seen, and strangely inscrutable. It was this quality that would later make Fluttershy question Pretzel’s integrity. Surely, given what was going on, Pretzel would show at least a little contrition, she would come to think.

She lost track of time under the covers, and started awake at Rainbow running in and pelting her with a pillow. She cried out and whipped the blanket off, looking around wildly. Both sets of parents were out, and she shoved Rainbow’s pillow out of her face.

Not understanding that her friend was not in the mood, Rainbow continued to batter her with pillows, and Fluttershy eventually gave in to a half-hearted fight on the bed, culminating in her own sobs when Rainbow bludgeoned her too hard. It was not uncommon, and Rainbow was quick to fetch a glass of cool water for her. When her nose stopped hurting, Fluttershy threw the rest of the water in Rainbow’s face, and they both laughed—one of the oldest inside jokes they shared.

The following day, their number was reduced to its original six, and, when asked where Pretzel and her husband were, the parents would only say that they were “busy with adult things.” Fluttershy hadn’t yet told Rainbow what she saw.

Applejack woke up on Photo Finish’s living room floor to see many of the others already in the kitchen, making breakfast. Photo was gone, Rainbow said, which was just as well; she would never let them try to work in her kitchen, even supervised.

Whooves had returned at some point in the night, and joined them at the breakfast table as naturally as though he had been among their number for months. Only Rarity and Octavia gave him more than a cursory look as he sat down, chattering and gesticulating about his night on the town.

“Oh! I nearly forgot. How foolish of me, were I to lose such a thing! Our friend, Miss Vinyl Scratch—she said to dispense with the title in her presence, but it just doesn’t feel right to me, no ma’am—wanted me to relay to you a little message.”

“Well, spit it out, then,” Applejack said. “See if you can say the whole thing in under a minute.”

“Ah, it is good to see that the early hour doesn’t seem to affect your wit, Applejack, as it does for some others.”

“Clock’s tickin’, doc.”

“Yes, yes, but of course! She wanted me to let you know that she will be returning here later today, and that she will do so with something very important to discuss. She wants us all together for this little confluence.” He looked at Fluttershy and Rainbow, sitting together. “I hope that won’t create any inconveniences?”

“How much later?” Rainbow asked.

“She didn’t specify. I would guess mid-afternoon, perhaps? Later? I’m not sure.”

“We will not alter our plans for some vague idea of a meeting,” Octavia said. “If she wants to speak to us, she will need to find her own time.”

“Someone spit in your instant coffee, sis?” Pinkie asked.

Octavia put her head down.

“Tossin’ an’ turnin’ all night,” Big Mac said.

“It is the usual for me, and, as always, it will pass,” Octavia said. She thought for a second. “I appreciate the concern.”

“We’ll be out again today,” Rainbow said. “But we should be back by…” She looked at Fluttershy. “Six?”

“We hope,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah.” She frowned. “We do?”

“Big Mac an’ Ah are gonna be headin’ out as well,” Applejack said. “We’ll be back earlier than you two, Ah reckon.”

“Please tell me it’s not for a secret reason,” Rarity said. “I’m not sure how much I can take being in this house while everyone else is doing… things, out there.”

“We’re goin’ to the dam. We’re gonna check it out,” Big Mac said.

“Me an’ my fancy machine magic are gonna try to get to the bottom of things,” Applejack said. “Not that Ah think you two are doin’ a bad job,” she said hastily to Fluttershy. “But some concrete information is gonna be good. Plus, it’ll keep Miss Finish happy.”

“Us snoopin’ ‘round the dam won’t threaten whatever private thing yer keepin’ secret, will it?” Big Mac asked.

“Not that that would necessarily stop us.”

Everyone looked at her.

“Element of Honesty, sorry.”

“You should be fine,” Fluttershy said. “You wouldn’t… yes, you’ll be fine.”

“We’ll be safe, right?” Big Mac asked.

“I believe so.”

“You believe so?” Rarity said. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“It means we’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got,” Rainbow said.

“I do not like that you are keeping so much from us,” Octavia said. “I appreciate your reasons for doing so, but I still do not like it.” She closed her eyes, as if to steady herself, and continued. “Can you promise that you are not keeping anything vital from us? Anything concerning either our safety, or the city’s?”

Neither pegasus spoke, and Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, who tensed her wings to her side.

“That’s a tellin’ silence,” Applejack said.

“It’s not going to be worth it,” Twilight said. “And that I can promise. Whatever you’re hiding, if we can do something about it now, it needs to come out.”

“It’s all just personal stuff, though,” Rainbow said. “You know, personal? Octavia, come on, don’t pretend you don’t totally sympathize with us.”

“Do not tell me whether I sympathize,” Octavia said. “I will tell you.”

“And do you?”

“That’s beside the point!” Twilight said. “I’m not saying you’re up to anything bad; I’m sure you have the best intentions, but you need to figure this out. We’re not going to want to stay here in the dark while you go out and do whatever, nor should we have to.”

“Why can’t you tell us anything?” Whooves asked. “Why can’t you separate what you’re doing from the personal stuff that surrounds it?”

“Unavoidable conclusions, would be my guess,” Rarity said. “Just tell me if I’m on the right track here, please. There’s a line of inquiry that we could make that would threaten these personal things of yours, and making it would be easy, if not necessary, if we knew precisely what you were doing. Is that correct?”

“That’s right,” Rainbow said, and Fluttershy hung her head.

“Okay.”

“What does this mean for the city?” Octavia asked. “Or for the dam? You are obviously doing something with it.”

“At this time, we have everything under control,” Fluttershy said. “We’re going out this afternoon to talk with someone, and then we’ll have more information.”

“Will you be able to share it?” Twilight asked.

“Yes.”

“Can you promise that?” Octavia asked.

Fluttershy breathed slowly, not returning Rainbow’s worried look. “Yes, I can.”

Octavia looked at Applejack and Big Mac. “In the meantime, is there any way I can be of service for you two?”

“Tired of Photo Finish’s house?” Pinkie asked.

Octavia snapped around to fix her sister with an icy stare. “You stay silent through this entire conversation only to contribute an insipid question at the end?”

Pinkie held her gaze for a moment, then looked down. “Sorry, then.”

Big Mac and Applejack, following Rainbow and Fluttershy’s example from the day before, signed up for a full river tour, subtracting one hundred-twenty more bits from the Royal Canterlot Treasury. They, too, rode a paddlewheel boat, a baroque, brick-red steamer with an authentic wooden wheel. Happy Hooves was its name, for its original captain, whose rotund face smiled at them from the fronts of their information brochures.

They took seats close to the back while one of the crew informed the passengers of the safety protocols. Like Rainbow and Fluttershy, they did not want to be seen.

“So how potent is this magic of yers, anyway?” Big Mac asked quietly.

“It’s gettin’ pretty good,” Applejack said. “Ah was learnin’ to fly us by just magic before we popped in on Discord. What d’ya s’pose he’s up to?”

“Couldn’t tell ya. Ah don’t really see any reason to worry about it.”

“How can you not see a reason?” The boat stirred and began the laborious process of backing out of its dock.

“What could we do if we knew? We’re in Applewood, an’ locked down tight. He ain’t.”

“We could write to the princesses. Just last night, Ah saw Twilight workin’ on a letter.”

“My understandin’ is that they usually know more than we do.”

“Well, suppose they didn’t for once.”

“Supposin’ don’t do no good, sis.” He turned his brochure over. “Ah wish they’d give us these at the end of the tour, so we don’t have to hold ‘em the whole time.”

Applejack laughed. “Well, Ah reckon Ah can get somethin’ on him. He don’t know Ah can do what I do, does he?”

“Ah don’t believe so, no.”

Applejack looked at his face, then his brochure. “Just sit on it, big bro. You’ll forget ‘bout it.”

“It’ll wrinkle.”

“So?”

He shrugged and tucked it under his haunch. “Ah dunno.”

“Yer spendin’ too much time with that doctor if yer afraid to wrinkle a little paper.”

He grinned at her. “Those are some strong words fer someone who likes him so much.”

“Ah do not like him!”

He laughed, and said no more.

They stopped for nearly a half hour on one of the makeshift bridges connecting the river segments while the captain talked about their formation. Applewood had been the first city to recover without the Elements’ aid, due entirely to the genius and level-headedness of Pure Waterfall, CEO of the Applewood hydroelectric dam. Where other ponies, even the city mayor, panicked or froze, Pure Waterfall consolidated his resources, gathered a team of specialized unicorn mages, and, putting the city before all other concerns, mended what he could, starting with the river. According to the tour guide, their section of the Whitewater Stampede was the longest flowing body of water in Equestria.

“Note the bridge struts,” the tour guide said cheerfully. “If you’ve been to other cities, you’ve probably noticed small sigils or clouds of magic near them, to discourage insects from breeding in the standing water. Not so in Applewood!”

“Sis, this is killin’ me,” Big Mac said.

“Ah think it’s interestin’. That thing he said ‘bout there bein’ plans already to stop the river before reconnectin’ everythin’, so the currents don’t get messed up—”

“Ah’ve already heard Twilight talkin’ ‘bout it. She said they oughta use a serial spell or somethin’, so the magic can just flow with the groundwater an’ override the existin’ stuff.”

“Yer listenin’ to Twilight’s lectures, an’ you call this borin’?”

Big Mac shrugged. “Fair point.”

“—the first of their kind, totally submerged bridges! They have to be made of a special kind of metal, or else they would oxidize, or rust, before a month had passed,” the guide continued.

“How far can you reach with yer magic?” he asked.

“Ah dunno, Ah never experimented with its range.”

They were quiet until the boat started moving again, and Big Mac sat up to get a better view of the dam.

“Certainly not from here,” Applejack said.

“Hm. Do you know what Fluttershy and Dash are keepin’ secret?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yeah.”

“No, Ah can’t say as Ah do. Well, Ah shouldn’t say that. Ah might know it, but just not know that it’s what’s goin’ on now.” She shook her head. “Rainbow’s told me a lot of things over the years.”

“Ah wouldn’t wanna pry.”

“Ah know, an’ Ah’m not volunteerin’ anythin’.”

“There are more than a hundred separate magical spells that keep the dam, the reservoirs, and the river all working in harmony,” the tour guide said.

The dam, in clear view, reminded Big Mac of a ribcage. It was not smooth, as he had thought it might be, but striped with long concrete struts across its face. It rose up into the space between two large hills, the sides of which teemed with Applewood’s more residential districts. At its base, curving around the water, huge buildings gave shelter to the cranes and trucks, while smaller offices sat in their shadows for the ponies to operate them.

Atop the dam, the skyline was broken with weed-like shafts of machinery, which, he noticed after a minute, was in motion. Yellow and orange cranes flexed and stretched on huge, blocky gantries that appeared attached to the dam’s upper edge. He could see nothing of the other side, and wondered just then how far they were beneath the river’s other half. He looked to his sister, imagining her trying to interface with the machine. He had marveled at the city’s hotels, their lights and splendorous designs, but the dam disarmed him. As he stared at it, all he could think was “yep, there it is.”

Under the dam, so large that he couldn’t see the whole thing in one look, the tour stopped for an hour so ponies could stretch their legs and have a bite at one of the small restaurants that floated permanently beside the piers.

Big Mac and Applejack did not eat. They walked confidently to one of the main buildings at the dam’s base, Applejack at a slower pace than usual. She had her magic in mind, and was trying to access the main machine, or one of them.

“It’s hard,” she said calmly. “Ah hadn’t thought about it, but Ah guess the dam ain’t just one giant thing. It’s a whole lot of pieces, an’ Ah gotta find the right one.”

“What are you lookin’ for?” Big Mac asked.

“Anythin’, right now.” She closed her eyes in concentration. “We need to be closer.”

There were no workers in sight as they approached the concrete shell. They knew there had to be ponies around, but no one stopped them from coming closer, and no one was there to object when Applejack forced a gate to admit them. No cameras studded the dam’s sides, and, besides the single gate, there appeared no other security measures. The water was calm, but flowing swiftly out of spouts and sluice gates under their walkway. They could see turbine housings far under the water, though their distance was unclear.

“Now this is weird,” Applejack said, stopping. “Ah’ve got one of them turbines down there, but it don’t feel like it’s connected to anythin’.”

“What do you mean?”

“On the airship, Ah can grab a propeller, say, an’ follow it to the engine, to the rudder, an’ so forth. It’s all connected, ‘cept the torch. This here turbine is all alone, an’ it ain’t even active.”

“Probably broken.”

“Ah can tell it ain’t. No, this has just been turned off. Let’s keep going.”

They walked along a platform over the water until they were staring at a wide chute, totally dry, but totally clean.

“Okay, now we’re somewhere. Ah’ve got… Ah don’t know. Ah’m guessin’ a gate mechanism or somethin’. Whatever it is, it’s attached.” She sat down, and Big Mac looked around nervously. “Don’t let no one sneak up on us. This might be a while.”

He swiveled his head a second time, still seeing no one. The machines inside their buildings were motionless.

It always unnerved Big Mac when Applejack closed her eyes to “meditate,” as she sometimes called it. He knew her first and foremost as a doer: someone who not only took action, but relished her ability to do so. Seeing her possessed of the quiet confidence he was more accustomed to seeing in Fluttershy or Octavia, he didn’t know what to do. He had no imagination for what she experienced, though she had tried to describe it in the past. To him, she was beyond reach. She simply sat down, closed her eyes, and ceased to be his sister.

He looked back up at the dam, thinking to himself, “she’s up there somewhere. Somewhere in this thing, she’s floating around.” That she had a certain control over the dam’s many mechanisms hardly occurred to him. The simple knowledge that her faculties were lost somewhere in the guts of the largest structure he had ever seen in his life was enough. The thought of what she must know, or be able to know, made his mind reel. And then, the naked evidence of how completely she was elsewhere: her still body, its breathing nearly indiscernible. She might pass for dead, he thought.

When she stirred, he helped her to her hooves, seeing, as he did so, a dark look on her face. She looked over the river, and he watched carefully.

“Ah can hardly move inside it. Not that Ah’ve got much practice at this, but it felt like there was somethin’ resistin’ me. Ah wanted to access the electrical stuff, like the power grid an’ whatnot, but Ah couldn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah found it, but Ah couldn’t possess the dang thing. Every time Ah tried, it felt like it was slippin’ out of my hooves. Unless it’s a product of this thing bein’ so much more complex than the ship, there’s magic goin’ on. Ah think the others are right. Someone’s watchin’ us, an’ usin’ this thing to keep the power off wherever we go. It’s only on now ‘cause we’re so close.”

“It can’t power itself off,” Big Mac said.

“Exactly. But there’s more.”

He looked at her patiently.

“There’s more magic in there than what’s keepin’ me from explorin’ how Ah’d like. Ah can’t identify it—maybe Twilight could—but there’s a lot of it, an’ it all feels like the same kind of thing. Ah think they’re enchantments on machines. Ah went into one. Actually, several.” She looked up the dam’s side. “Big Bro, they were all off. Every one, an’ the things they were connected to too.”

“That’s good, right? It means the magic isn’t doin’ anythin’.”

She shook her head. “But the dam still works perfectly fine. Ah checked fer that, ‘cause yer exactly right, it does sound good, what Ah said. The dam is totally fine.”

He thought. “So all that magic you found is extra.”

“An’ the machines it’s attached to.”

“Which means…”

“Somethin’ hidden inside.”

He sighed.

“Ah don’t feel good ‘bout this, an’ Ah don’t feel safe here no more. Somethin’ like that on the inside, someone’s bound to be watchin’ us. Let’s go eat with the tourists.”

They walked back to the nearest pier and got something at a hayburger joint. Sitting in the back, Applejack took a second to slip into meditation.

“It’s somethin’ special ‘bout the dam, all right.” She lowered her voice, forcing Big Mac to lean over the table. “Ah just tried takin’ somethin’ here, an’ it worked with no problem. It ain’t me, big bro.”

“Let’s bring Twilight up here.”

“Ah don’t think that can work, at least not easily. If Ah understand how magic works correctly, she’d need to head inside, an’ probably run some tests. It’d be too conspicuous.”

“Yer pretty conspicuous yerself, just hangin’ around out there.”

She waved a hoof. “Ah’m sure Ah could find a spot to hide.”

He chewed his food thoughtfully. “Are you suggestin’ stayin’ behind?”

“Ah think Ah oughta.”

He blinked, taken aback at the quickness of her reply.

“If someone doesn’t interfere with whatever is goin’ on, it’ll blindside us. Whatever it is.”

“An’ you’ve got no idea what it might be?”

“No idea. Maybe Ah can get one if Ah spend more time in there.” She thought. “But… sendin’ you back alone to tell the others what Ah’m doin’ ain’t gonna be enough. They’ll have questions you can’t answer, an’ my bein’ here won’t do no good.”

“No immediate good, you mean.”

“Yeah.”

“We should work out a way fer you to communicate.”

Applejack sighed.

“Ah’m comin’ up blank,” Big Mac said. He looked out the window at the dam, looming over them, a concrete curtain keeping the river locked away. He was again hit with the thought of Applejack’s spirit inside the structure.

Both families, Pretzel, and Midnight Oil were out for dinner. The restaurant was lightly themed after the current Element of Kindness, a construction worker in Appleloosa. He would never need to use his Elemental power.

“So, how are things?” Mrs. Dash asked. The question seemed innocent to Fluttershy, who was hardly paying attention.

Pretzel looked to her husband, who took his time in responding. “Good. Great.”

“I have to agree,” Pretzel said, nodding.

Fluttershy looked up to watch them. Something in their voices got her attention in a way she did not like.

No one spoke for a time, and then Mr. Shy proposed a toast. Everyone tapped their glasses with their hooves.

“So how’s work, Midnight?” Mrs. Shy asked.

He grunted, and Pretzel looked at him before turning to Fluttershy’s parents. “I’m sorry, he’s been a little cranky lately.”

Midnight Oil grunted again, as if in affirmation, and Pretzel offered a smile.

“We all have our days,” Mr. Dash said.

“Can you pass the pepper?” Midnight Oil asked.

Pretzel slid the black cylinder over. “Do you want salt as well, honey?”

He didn’t answer, and slid the pepper back to its spot when he was done.

“Too much salt isn’t great for your heart,” Mrs. Shy said. “That’s what I’ve heard.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that too,” Mrs. Dash said.

“What about you, Pretzel?” Mr. Dash asked. “How’s work?”

“Good,” Pretzel said. “Nothing remarkable lately.”

“There’s nothing wrong with an average day here and there,” Mrs. Shy said.

“I think so too, which is nice, ‘cause my days have been purely average for a while now.”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Mr. Dash said, shrugging.

They ate for a while, quietly. Fluttershy wanted to talk and play with Rainbow, but it didn’t feel appropriate, and it appeared to her that Rainbow felt the same way.

“You sure you’re okay, Midnight?” Mr. Shy asked, eliciting a shrug.

“Midnight, you can at least be polite,” Pretzel said. “I’m sorry for this. He’s had a rough couple weeks.”

“I will speak for myself,” Midnight said quietly, then looked up from his plate, as if realizing that he had said it out loud. “Please.” He noticed Rainbow, staring at him nakedly, and he gestured to her food. “Eat. It’ll get cold.”

Fluttershy blushed, thinking he was mad at Rainbow, but Rainbow only took a sullen bite, still looking at him.

“There’s no need to be so short,” Pretzel said, ruffling her wings.

“I’m not being short,” Midnight said. “I’m doing what you said, being polite. This is a nice dinner, and we’re having a nice dinnertime conversation.”

Pretzel nodded, looking away, and sipped a glass of water.

“Would you like a taste of my wine, Pretzel?” Mrs. Shy asked.

“Oh, no thank you. I don’t drink.” Midnight Oil grunted, and she looked at him. “What is it?”

He averted his eyes. “Mm, nothing.”

She tittered. “No one likes a tease, dear.”

“I have nothing to say,” he said slowly. “Is that okay with you?”

“Well, don’t say anything on my account.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Midnight, did you recently get your mane cut?” Mr. Shy asked. “It looks good.”

Midnight blinked slowly, not looking away from his wife. “Thanks.”

Pretzel shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully. “Maybe we should have stayed in the hotel. I didn’t know Mr. Grouch was going to be joining us for dinner.”

“It’s fine,” Mrs. Dash said quickly. “Really, everything is fine.”

“Midnight, if you’re ever in the mood to get it styled, I found a shop a couple blocks from the hotel,” Mrs. Shy said.

“I think I’ll keep it how it is for now,” Midnight said. “Thanks.”

“I so miss your mane when it was shorter,” Pretzel said, raising a hoof to touch his head. He leaned away, and she flinched. “Okay, Mr. Sensitive.”

He sighed, closing his eyes. “I hate that name. I’ve told you that before.”

“We are in a bad mood tonight, aren’t we?”

“There’s no need to linger on these things,” Mrs. Shy said.

“At least once a month, I have to remind her,” Midnight Oil said. “I hate that nickname, and she still uses it.”

“I forget, okay?” Pretzel said. “And you don’t have to bring it up here.”

“Oh no? Where would you like it?”

She scoffed. “Anywhere else,” she said, her voice a near pout.

He nodded slightly, reaching for the pepper again. “You’d know a lot about where that is.”

She looked at him, then the others, nose wrinkled in disgust. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He simply frowned and took a bite.

“I… um, think we might need to do a rain check on that spa visit tonight,” Mr. Shy said.

“We can still do it,” Pretzel said moodily. “Just because my husband is being a sourpuss doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time.”

“I think it should wait,” Mr. Dash said. “I don’t want to get in the middle of anything here.”

Pretzel smiled. “What makes you think there’s even anything to get in the middle of?”

“It’s pretty obvious,” Mrs. Shy whispered.

Pretzel looked at Midnight, who returned her expression with a lifeless stare. “Exceedingly obvious, Pretzel.”

“Can we talk about this later?” Pretzel asked.

“And spoil a nice dinner conversation?” Midnight asked. He looked to the parents. “Come on, everypony, this is interesting. Don’t pretend we’re all content with this small talk. I think my wife has something to say.”

“Midnight.”

He sighed. “I don’t like this, Pretzel.”

“Then don’t do it,” she said.

He shrugged, and accepted a refill of his iced tea. “A shame Pure Waterfall couldn’t make it. I invited him tonight as well.”

“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Dash said. “He’s nice.”

“You did not,” Pretzel said.

“I did, but he was busy.”

She glowered at him, then the candle in the table’s middle, but said nothing.

“How would you know whether I did?”

“Bathroom!” Rainbow cried, jumping up. Everyone pretended not to watch her as she scurried away.

“Pretzel, how would you know whether I invited Pure Waterfall?” Midnight asked.

“Because you wouldn’t,” she said.

“He’s my friend, though. My friend too, I mean.”

“I don’t want to talk about this now.”

“Midnight—” Mrs. Shy started.

“If not now, when?” he asked, his voice an intense whisper. His wings had gradually opened, and he loomed over his side of the table like a malign spirit. “When?” he repeated.

“Just not now,” Pretzel snapped. “We’re at dinner, Midnight. With friends. This is hardly the appropriate place for such talk.”

“Well, forgive me for wanting to speak,” Midnight said, spreading his wings farther. “I’ve been quiet until now,” he added quietly.

“So stay quiet a couple hours longer.” She turned, and, with a strained smile that Fluttershy would not forget, said, “we must do this again, when things are a bit smoother. As you can see, my husband is—”

Midnight stood up, and, for the first time, Fluttershy noticed that other restaurant patrons’ eyes were on them, and him. He took a moment, appearing to steel himself; he looked like he might not speak, and sit back down, defeated. His voice shook. “Pretzel has been sleeping with Pure Waterfall.”

He turned and left the restaurant, his food unfinished, the pepper still beside his plate. He stepped onto the curb and walked out of view.

Pure Waterfall was graying, but his eyes still glinted with a kind of youth. It was not the youth Fluttershy and Rainbow remembered from years ago; it had been tempered and dulled, turned into a more experiential twinkle, no longer the reckless confidence that had bewitched Pretzel. He shook their hooves firmly before they sat down for lunch, not far from where Applejack and Big Mac had discussed their own plans with the dam.

Rainbow, instructed to let Fluttershy do the talking, sat beside her and emanated magical warmth to combat the chill over the river. Fluttershy waited until their food had come before ending the small talk.

“So, sir, I—we—have a problem that you might be able to help us with,” she said. She did not meet his eyes; she had not done so since meeting him. “It has to do with your dam.”

“What’s the problem?” his voice was mellow and clear, not the powerful clap of authority that it had become in Fluttershy’s memory, and for which she had prepared.

“You, um… do you know of our quest? Our, um, assignment? Princess Celestia gave it to us.”

“Yes, of course.” He smiled. “I’d be surprised to meet someone who doesn’t, at least the basics.”

“We’re having some difficulties in Applewood. Um… well, I don’t have a good word for it. It’s not quite a curse, but that’s what we’re all calling it.”

His eyes widened, and she was quick to explain, nearly stumbling over her words as she went over Discord’s spell on the group. She ended on a long pause.

“We… that is, Rainbow Dash here and I, we, um, think that its cause is in the dam. Um, some kind of spell, maybe, affecting the power grid. Or something that controls it maybe, we’re not sure.”

“I see.”

“Um…” It was the part of the conversation she had dreaded most: telling him that she knew of his agreement with Discord. Telling him she had seen the contract, seen the outrageous terms with which he had agreed, and telling him that she had no doubt their curse was a direct result. She looked down and angled her head so a lock of mane would cover her face. “I… um, do you know anything that can help explain?”

Rainbow fidgeted by her side, but said nothing.

Pure Waterfall regarded them both coolly. Fluttershy had seen the look before. He had used it to regard Midnight Oil when confronted for his infidelity, and Pretzel after that—Fluttershy had seen both meetings. It was the look of calm thought, and detachment from his subjects. Like a good businesspony had to sometimes do, Pure Waterfall had removed the equine element from his consideration.

“Do you have time to join me on the river?” he asked. “I’d like to show you my boat. We can talk there.”

Fluttershy sighed. “Sure.”

Pure Waterfall owned a motorboat that could seat ten ponies, grass green with dark yellow trim, called Salamander. It skidded out onto the river and took them nearly to the edge of the dam’s shadow. The tour boats were circling, but none came near, and he stopped close to a bobbing buoy.

“Sweet ride,” Rainbow said without enthusiasm.

“This isn’t easy to say, but I can see that this is my best chance. You have contact with the other Elements of Harmony, I assume?”

“Yes, of course,” Fluttershy said.

“I, uh, I think I’m in over my head with this one.” He killed the motor. “You know Discord, I assume?”

“Yes, we do.”

“I thought so, just making sure. I entered into a contract with him back in April, a week after The Crumbling.” He eased back in his seat, and Fluttershy narrowed her eyes. “I agreed to let him get the dam, and the river behind it, back in shape with his magic, and I granted him some rather unspecific liberties with the dam’s functions in return.”

“Unspecific?”

He smiled guiltily. “‘Only to be used in times of great necessity,’ I believe was the verbiage. I know it wasn’t ideal, but it was that or lose everything. Lose the city, and everything in it. Well, he repaired the dam all right, and the river. I admit I wasn’t thinking much beyond the present situation. I was just happy to have someone capable of saving the city.”

Fluttershy didn’t respond.

“He did a lot of the magic himself, but he left a good deal of other things to his friend, a unicorn named Vanilla Cream. Vanilla… oversees.” He sighed. “I’ve never quite known what she does specifically, but she was there every day for the longest time, directing my workers. Engineers and electricians, mostly.”

“Directing them to what?”

“Well, I don’t know what they’re building,” he said evenly. “That was never explained to me, and I felt it unwise to ask, given my… relationship with Discord, and his reputation.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I already know most of this.” She still didn’t look directly at him. “When we got into town, Discord sent us a letter, with a copy of the contract attached, as a way to gloat.”

“I see.” She caught the worry in his voice, though it was clear he wanted to conceal it.

“So…” She took a deep breath, trying to push her memories away. She needed a clear mind to lead the conversation; otherwise, she would wind up trapping herself in his problems, and never get to theirs. “You seem unhappy to be in this position. Why is that?”

“Do I need to explain?” He chuckled, but she looked at him—past him, just. “Okay. I don’t want him having control over my dam. At first, I didn’t have a choice, but now that the Elements of Harmony are here, I’d like to request some assistance. If he’s using my power to make your time here harder, all the more reason.”

She frowned and tried to fix him with a cold stare. “Why do you need our help to free your own dam? Is there no way to back out of the contract, or make Discord want to nullify it?”

“It was made abundantly clear that I could nullify the contract at any time. He would leave, and take all his magic with him.” He held his hooves apart in an indication of his powerlessness. “I have no unicorns who could replicate what he has done. I believe he knew that.”

“Probably,” Rainbow said. She looked at Fluttershy, who gave him a mild glance. “Sorry.”

Fluttershy clicked her hooves together. “You’re sure you have no idea what’s going on with the magic inside your dam?”

“I’m quite sure, yes.”

“You have safety inspectors, don’t you? Part of their job is to identify potentially dangerous spells or enchantments.”

Pure Waterfall looked away briefly. “With everything else going on, maintaining the business, power flow, and so forth, I haven’t really had the time to do a thorough inspection.”

“Really?” She widened her eyes, then, thinking better of leaving her response at that, continued. “That’s a strange thing to not have time for. Does that mean you haven’t had the time to do any sort of safety inspections? Not even magical ones, but mechanical ones too? Nothing?”

“As I said, I’ve done basic inspections, but nothing as in-depth as enchantments.”

“Is that to mean that, um, you want us to go into your dam and try to undo whatever Discord did, without knowing what’s waiting for us?”

He appeared to consider her question. “I can try to give you some information, but I can’t promise its quality.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to be possible.” She broke into a smile, pleased to use a similarly businesslike phrase. “It’s not safe for us.”

“You must be the most magical ponies in Equestria, except the goddesses.”

“We’re also Discord’s biggest threat, and he knows it. If he has things set up inside your dam, I have to assume he has something in there that will harm or entrap us, if we get too close. None of us will want to risk that.”

He waved a hoof. “I understand. If you can’t do it, then I’m sure I’ll be able to find someone else.”

She paused. “That easily?”

“It won’t be that easy, but—”

“What I mean is—oh, sorry for interrupting. Wait, no.” She closed her eyes for a second. “No I’m not. Listen, you just asked us for help, and when I turned you down, you just accepted it without question. How desperate is your situation, actually?”

“We’re putting power out at, last I checked, approximately—”

“Your Discord situation. How badly do you think you actually need help?” She looked at Rainbow, who clearly wanted to speak, but held her tongue. “You are right that we’re the best ponies to help you, but it’s not safe enough. Are you seriously comfortable leaving it at that?”

“I don’t see that I have any other option.”

“You didn’t look for another option.” She tightened her wings. “You realize that when this meeting is over, you won’t be able to see me again, right?”

“What do you mean?”

She suppressed a groan. “If you’re working with Discord, or Vanilla Cream—we know him, by the way—if you’re with them, you’re being watched. If you try to contact us, one or both of them will know, and you will not like the results. Neither will we, I’ll bet.”

He smiled. “I think you’re jumping to conclusions. Why would Discord ever endanger his partnership with me? If I want to talk with someone, I still can. I’m not his prisoner.” He laughed then, looking pointedly at the river.

“What makes you think this is a partnership?” Fluttershy asked. She looked at Rainbow, who watched intently.

“I need him, and he needs my dam.”

“For what? To fill with his own magic? To change and enchant?”

“I’m sure he has reasons for what he does, and I’m sure they are not things any of us would like to see happen. He has his own goals, separate from mine, and I recognize that, but my dam is still an instrument that he can’t afford to lose.”

“And what makes you so sure the dam will remain yours when he’s done with it?” She thought. “You shouldn’t trust him, and I can guarantee that he doesn’t trust you.”

“The truth is, as long as he’s dependent on me or my dam, I can do whatever I want. He would be a fool to risk losing me.”

“You said he was comfortable walking away and leaving you to try to maintain his magic.”

“Yes, before. Now that he’s an established presence, he can’t let go so easily. He has too much invested in the dam.”

“You shouldn’t just assume that.”

“What alternative is there? Are you suggesting that you think this whole thing is just something he can drop at any time? A hobby?” He jerked his head. “No, no.”

“So you’re comfortable with your present situation?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not comfortable, but I see possibilities.”

She sighed. “Can we go back to shore now?”

“Are you not enjoying our time out here?”

“Not particularly.”

“Very well.” He reached for the switch to bring the motor back to life. “I get the sense that there’s something more bothering you.”

“Hm.”

“The dam will be fine, I can tell.”

“If you say so.”

He laughed good-naturedly. “Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“Can you stop?” Rainbow asked. “Just stop talking and take us back.”

“What did I do?”

“Nothing,” Fluttershy said quickly. “Rainbow is right. Please, let’s just go back. I don’t have anything to say.”

He brought them about, and they started back toward the dam. It was far enough away for them to see its entire scope without moving their heads, but only just.

“How are your parents?” Pure Waterfall asked.

“They’re fine,” Fluttershy said.

He nodded, and they slowed to a more comfortable cruising speed. “That’s good. I haven’t heard from them in a while, so I wasn’t sure. They’re very good ponies.”

Fluttershy looked at his back, her face heavy with the disgust she was not trying hard to hide. Part of her wanted him to turn around, to see the loathing she felt, not just for him, but for what he represented to her.

Then, cresting a ripple from the wake of another boat, he did, and her anger dried up and gave way to surprise.

“What?” he asked. “What’s wrong? Tell me.”

They went over another ripple, and Fluttershy turned her cheek as cold spray peppered her face. She remembered the day before, impulsively leaping off the side of the ship, ignoring her instincts and throwing herself into discomfort. The two ideas, safety and catharsis, wrestled in her head, and she said, not thinking, “you won’t like it.”

“Why not?”

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow said.

“Or maybe you will. A good pony wouldn’t like it,” Fluttershy said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Pure Waterfall asked.

“That you’re a bad pony,” she said simply. She shrugged, part of her trying to figure out the most graceful way to end the conversation she had started, part of her wanting simply to act casual and hide her fears.

“And what makes me bad?”

She adjusted her weight. “Well, um, ruining Pretzel’s marriage, for starters.”

From where she sat, she could see his face in profile against the blue river. He leaned his head back and laughed, giving her a perfect view of his smile, and the confidence in it.

“You knew she was married. She was with her husband the day you met her.” She was keeping her tone as even as she could. “Just a calm conversation, that’s all,” she thought. Over and over.

“I understand where you’re coming from, Fluttershy. Would you like to hear my side?”

“Not really, no.”

“She came to me. She made the first advances. If she wants to have a little fun, who am I to deny that?”

“You’re disgusting!” Rainbow shouted.

“If she had wanted my advice, or contact with a marriage counselor, I would have supplied that just as happily. I didn’t ruin anyone’s marriage, she did that all on her own.”

“You made yourself available for it,” Fluttershy said. She looked at Rainbow, who looked at Pure Waterfall much the same as Fluttershy had minutes ago.

“But it wasn’t my choice to break them apart.” He chuckled. “I suppose, being the Element of Kindness, you’ll tell me I should have offered to help them instead. Get involved in their lives, completely uninvited, without considering what Pretzel wanted. Let me ask you, Fluttershy: would you have done that?”

“I would have made the offer,” Fluttershy said. “And if they didn’t want me, I’d leave. I wouldn’t stick around and sleep with the wife. I wouldn’t enable her to make her own life worse.”

He smirked. “So I’m responsible for her life choices?”

“You know, it takes more effort to keep after her than to just say ‘no’ that one time,” Rainbow said. “You’re making it sound like this was a one-time thing. You slept with her like fifteen times.”

“You could have told her to stop,” Fluttershy said. “It’s not that hard.”

“And what about her husband? What’s his name? Burning Oil? Ah, anyway, what about him?” Pure Waterfall asked. They were approaching the dam, and Fluttershy could see his personal dock on the end of the pier. “Seems to me that he has the biggest part in this. If I remember, it was his neglect and emotional instability that drove her to look for me in the first place.”

“That doesn’t justify your actions.”

“But it does justify hers? It was okay for her to approach me, because her husband was an adult foal? Where’s the logic there?”

“First, I never said that. Second, don’t change the topic.”

“How am I changing the topic?” He laughed again, quieter. “Oh, or is the topic just taking out your frustrations on me? I get it now.”

Fluttershy sighed, and they pulled up to the dock. “Yes, I am taking out my frustrations on you. I’m frustrated because you helped a friend ruin her marriage, and you knew exactly what you were doing, but you can’t accept that you actually had a part in it.”

“I was a third party. It could have been anyone.”

“You are not a victim!” She saw Rainbow moving to exit the boat. “You didn’t sleep with her by accident, okay? You made the conscious choice to—ugh, you’re right, Rainbow, let’s leave.”

“Enjoy your dam, you creep,” Rainbow said.

Fluttershy turned to Pure Waterfall and accidentally met his eyes. She tried to stare him down, but his eyes were still full of unassailable self-assurance. It was then that Fluttershy knew she had not reached him, and she looked away. “If you can’t take responsibility for this, what are you going to do when Discord pulls the rug out from under your hooves?”

Photo Finish got back home before everyone else. Octavia and Twilight sat in the front lawn, looking at what they could of the river and speaking about magic, while Whooves was back in town for what he promised was a short time. Rarity and Pinkie were alone in the house, and Photo was so pleased at how few ponies were there to bother her that she offered to show Rarity some of her newest pictures.

There were a few rooms in the jumbled house that were locked, and it was into one of these that Photo allowed Rarity and Pinkie, saying, as she did so, to keep quiet about it from the others.

The room was little more than a home office, its walls a mess of pinned papers and its sole desk covered in large binders and books, some of which had fallen onto the rolling chair. The carpeted floor was flat and hard, indicating frequent use, and a drawn, sable curtain darkened the one window. Photo flicked her hoof at a switch by the floor, lighting an overhead lamp, and sorted through the stacked books for a minute before finding the one she wanted.

“These have not been approved for publishing yet. Consider this a preview, for your eyes only.” She snapped the last word, but smiled as she did so.

“Is this for the new winter line?” Rarity asked.

“That? Yes, yes it is.”

“What is that?” The glossy square of paper showed a pony wrapped in what appeared to be a raincoat made of tinsel, her dark eyes staring into the distance in what was supposed to be a contemplative pose.

“Is it not hideous? That is a part of ‘Rapture.’ It is one of the foremost fashion lines influenced by The Crumbling.”

“I think it looks like fun!” Pinkie said. “Imagine the noise it makes when you walk!”

“I’m assuming this designer is buying in to the disillusionment and confusion brought about by the—I’m sorry, The Crumbling? I’ve not heard that term before, though I suppose I know what it must mean—by The Crumbling,” Rarity said. “Where do we stand as equines, what good is order and rationality in a time like this, and so forth?”

“More or less,” Photo sighed. “It is perfectly derivative.”

“Tawdry.”

Photo smiled at her and turned the page to a pony in a wide, conservative dress of dark blue, swathes of it glittering like fish scales in the runway lights. “Now this is much more worthy of my work. This is part of an ongoing project by Whitewash. See how the fabric sparkles in different patterns depending on the light.”

“It reminds me of something I once wore to a garden party,” Rarity said. “That must have been, oh, several years ago.”

“It’s not the most original, but it quotes the classics well,” Photo said.

“Is it just fashion stuff you take pictures of?” Pinkie asked.

“Mostly, but not all. I, Photo Finish, am a versatile mare.” She dropped the book and sifted through the pile again, coming up with a thinner tome with ruby red lettering on the spine. “This is a little something I’ve recently picked up.” She opened it on the table, and Rarity and Pinkie both gasped. A pale purple unicorn stood in a courtyard, leaning casually against a sundial, while, atop her head, glittered the Element of Magic.

“Where did you find that?” Rarity asked after a lengthy pause.

“What do you mean?” Photo asked. “I must have twenty of—oh! My apologies. I should have realized. The bauble you see on my model is a fake.”

“Oh,” Rarity breathed. She could feel Pinkie un-tensing beside her. “A fake.”

“There is money in mock Element of Harmony pictures. I’m finding it a very effective way of testing a new model’s capabilities; these pictures are some of the simplest to pose for.”

“Well, yeah, all you need is a pretty setting, a pony who knows how to smile, and a fake Element,” Pinkie said, pointing roughly at the picture. “How hard could it be?”

“Not hard,” Photo said. “However, the pictures can take on rather interesting directions sometimes.” She flipped through a few pages before stopping again. “This, as you will see, is much more provocative.”

They both looked at Rarity as she sat down heavily. Her face was a picture of shock and horror, as if she had just seen a harbinger of her own demise.

In the picture book, a slim, charcoal gray mare with streaks of hot pink in her mane and tail smiled slyly in a gaudy rainbow dress, short enough to allow a partial look of her back end as she rested on a chaise lounge, while the Element of Loyalty lay across her chest. The picture was dated from a week ago.

It was six o’ clock when Big Mac returned, alone, and carrying a small radio. Fluttershy and Rainbow were already back, and they could see Vinyl and Whooves walking in their direction, but still a couple minutes away.

Ignoring Photo’s request for secrecy, Rarity told everyone that she had seen Lacey Kisses in a picture, wearing a fake Element of Harmony, and Big Mac walked in on Photo explaining, with clear irritation in her voice, that Lacey was a project of hers: an exile from the big city, she was considering forfeiting her potential and becoming a waitress or bartender. It was Photo, she said proudly, that had encouraged her to get back on her hooves and return. She was brilliant, Photo said, and simply needed some money to start rebuilding herself. Hence, a simple modeling job.

“Enough about this,” Octavia said. “Not that it is not important, but I feel there are more pressing matters.” She looked at Big Mac.

“Can we be in private fer this?” Big Mac asked.

“You cannot say these things in my presence?” Photo said indignantly. “I, Photo Finish, who give you lodging?”

“Please,” Twilight said. “This is a sensitive topic, and very important.”

Photo huffed, but left them alone.

“This radio is fer communicatin’ with AJ,” Big Mac said. “She said she’d set it up fer me, an’ Ah’d just need to turn it on.” He pressed a button, and static filled the room.

“That’s not good,” Rainbow said as Vinyl and Whooves entered.

“Ah, words I love to hear on my ingress,” Whooves said. “What’s cooking, friends?”

“No, it’s good,” Big Mac said. “She’s back at the dam still. We’re not quite sure what’s goin’ on down there, but it’s pretty bad. She, uh, she went in.”

“She went inside?” Twilight said.

“Like how she goes into the ship to drive it.”

“Ah, inside, you mean. Yes, right.”

“There’s a lot of extra stuff in there, turned off, an’ not connected to anythin’, an’ it’s all wrapped up in magic she can’t identify.”

Fluttershy moaned.

“So, she’s stayin’ behind to explore more, try to figure out what’s goin’ on, maybe even stop it.”

“And she’s going to talk through this,” Rarity said. “That makes sense.”

“How’s she going to get her voice into it, though?” Whooves asked. “She might be able to control a radio system in the dam, but that won’t let her synthesize her own words, will it?”

“She can return to her body whenever she wants,” Twilight said. “She probably has one of her own, that she’ll talk through.”

“Oh.” Whooves laughed, and Vinyl patted his back, looking at them. Her goggles showed no emotion, but her mouth was curled in a small smile.

“So you do not know anything specific as of yet,” Octavia said.

“Nope,” Big Mac said. “She’s workin’ on it.”

“Wonderful. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, what have you discovered?”

“Now hold on,” Twilight said. “Big Mac, you said there’s magic in the dam. Shouldn’t I go down there myself? I could probably recognize it, and help stop… whatever is going on.”

“No,” Fluttershy said. “That’s a bad idea.”

“Oookay. Well, what did you two find today?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath and cleared her throat. “The CEO of the dam signed a contract, a long time ago, with Discord—”

“Aw beans,” Whooves said. “Sorry. Continue.”

“When everything was still messed up. The pony we talked to today showed us a copy of it. Discord approached the CEO early and promised him to get his dam, and the river behind it, up and running, in exchange for certain unspecified liberties with the dam’s internal structure, and its use. The CEO knew it was a bad idea to sign the contract, but did it anyway. He wanted to restore power to the city.”

“He didn’t think that letting the enemy of the entire country have unspecific liberties with the dam was a bad trade-off?” Twilight asked.

“In short, no, he didn’t. Now, months later, the city is prospering, we’ve been cursed, and there’s a huge amount of enchanted machinery lying around inside the dam, just waiting to be turned on.”

“Vanilla Cream oversaw a lot of this,” Rainbow said.

“Ah, yes, Vanilla Cream. He was in charge of setting most of this up, apparently.”

“The, uh, pony kept referring to him as a she, though.” They all looked at Twilight, who shrugged.

“I’m assuming it’s because the CEO—so I’m told—has a particular fondness for attractive mares. Vanilla chose a form that would make it easier for him—or her, I suppose—to manipulate him.”

“Hmm, mare or stallion,” Whooves said. “Now that is a head-scratcher.”

“Stay on topic,” Octavia said. “I thought that Vanilla was supposed to be on our side.”

“He’s helping us discreetly, but I doubt he could just blow off whatever Discord wants him to do with the dam,” Twilight said. “If he has a scheme that centers on the biggest hydroelectric dam in Equestria, you can be sure he wouldn’t let Vanilla do a shoddy job. The conditions in that request must be ironclad.”

“So what do we do?” Whooves asked, and smiled. “Perhaps I should rephrase. What can we do?”

They all thought for a minute before Twilight responded. “We need to keep waiting, and see what Applejack can tell us.”

“You can’t go down there?” Big Mac asked.

“If Vanilla’s there, any one of us going inside and investigating will probably do more harm than good.”

“Applejack is doing it,” Octavia said.

“She’s stayin’ outside,” Big Mac said. “Her body, Ah mean.”

“I am sure Vanilla can detect her spirit.”

“There’s no use worrying about it,” Fluttershy said. “She’s already down there. We’re not going to tell her to come back; that would be foolish. But yes, I agree with Twilight, we need more information.”

“Forgive me if I am misremembering, but was that not the point of today? To get more information?” Octavia asked.

“Well, it’s complicated.”

“There is something inside the dam, something magical, and it comes from Discord. Okay, fine. What else?”

“Where is this going?” Twilight asked.

“We have been stuck here for three days now, waiting for Fluttershy and Rainbow to get more information. Now, and with Applejack staying behind, we have only the vaguest sense of what we are dealing with, and no idea of what to do about it.”

“It’s not like we can go wherever we want,” Rainbow said. “Do you know how long it takes for these river tours to get us up to the dam? We’ve been gone all flipping day.”

Octavia glowered at her.

“We know that Discord and Vanilla are definitely involved,” Twilight said. “We know they’re behind the curse. Once Applejack finds out more, she’ll tell us, and then we can start doing things.”

“What things? What is there that we can do?” Octavia demanded. “You know magic better than any of us. What will Applejack be able to tell you that will make your job easier, Twilight? You know that this will end with you going to the dam. There is no other way out.”

Twilight looked at her for a moment, and sighed. “I know you’re impatient, but waiting is the best move right now. It still is.”

“We should go now. If Vanilla is there, then he will expect us. Better to surprise him by coming early.”

“And then what?” Twilight asked. “Suppose there’s magic to detect us coming upriver. What do we do if we get there and security is ready to remove us at the front door? What if there’s magic that responds when the curse rejoins itself near the dam? If I wanted to set a trap, that’s what I’d do.”

Octavia exhaled loudly.

“What about things like time of day? The mechanics don’t work the same all day long, and if they’re enchanted, then the magic, even inert, will go through cycles as well. We could walk up there and accidentally activate something horrible just by being near it at the wrong time, and Applejack would have been able to clue me in. I don’t have my books, but I still know a lot about magic, and, trust me, I’ll be spending hours on this radio if I can, talking to her.”

“It’s going to be less touch-and-go than I think you think,” Rarity said.

“Fine,” Octavia said. “Wait, speak with Applejack, do whatever it is you feel is necessary.” She stood up, and no one stopped her as she went out to the lawn.

The room was momentarily bathed in an orange glow, and they looked to Vinyl, who smiled. “She’s a piece of work. Where’d you pick her up?”

“Pardon?” Big Mac asked.

She gestured for them to sit closer, and repeated her question.

“We met in Canterlot, not long after the disaster,” Rarity said. “It was actually me who approached her.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you should have,” Rainbow muttered.

“She’s just in a mood,” Big Mac said, looking at Vinyl. “Miss Scratch, doc told us you wanted to tell us somethin’.”

“Just Vinyl, please,” Vinyl said. “Don’t follow the good doctor’s example.”

Whooves laughed, but said nothing more.

“I want to come with you.”

“You too?” Rainbow said.

Vinyl frowned. “Oh. Um, well…”

“You were expecting us to be taken aback, perhaps?” Rarity offered.

“I was.”

“A good try, to be sure, but you’d be number four in our little team,” Whooves said. “Not much room to surprise us anymore, I’m afraid.”

“That’s not to say this isn’t coming out of nowhere,” Twilight said. “You don’t even know us, or we you.”

“Ah wouldn’t say ‘nowhere’,” Big Mac said. “She’s been hangin’ around.”

“You know what I mean.”

“For you, it would be sudden,” Vinyl said, nodding. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to seem entitled. You don’t owe me anything.” She shifted uncomfortably. “Can we dim the lights, please?”

“What fer?” Big Mac asked, nonetheless getting up to turn the lights off.

“The goggles protect my eyes. They’re too sensitive.” In the near darkness, she lifted them up and rested them on her horn. “I want you to see my face naturally anyway.” She looked at them all, and they her, everyone looking too long at her red irises.

“Her eyes and voice are both medical conditions,” Whooves said. “Birth defects, if I recall? A real double-whammy.”

“Thank you, doctor,” she said. “I love it when other ponies announce my flaws.”

“Sorry. My mouth sometimes—”

“We know,” Rarity said, and looked back at Vinyl.

“I’ve been thinking about this moment since the end of April.” Her horn lit up, and a soft, green light filled the room. “I don’t live here, but I was here on tour when the world fell apart. I wound up joining a volunteer rescue team. I’m good with lights, as you might guess.” She licked her lips. “Sorry, I’m not used to talking this much. One moment, please.”

She got up, put her goggles back on, and went out to the kitchen.

“Real quick, while she’s away, what do we think so far?” Rarity asked. “I think it’s a terrible idea.”

“I’m fine with it,” Twilight said. “At least, I don’t see the harm.”

“Sorry,” Vinyl said, returning and lifting her goggles back off. “I’m good with lights, so I helped to illuminate collapsed buildings, or show obstacles in the road. I led ponies to safety a lot of the time.”

“Like hospitals and things?” Rainbow asked.

“Yes, or homes that had not been badly damaged. Many lucky ponies opened their homes to those who had lost theirs.”

“That’s wonderful,” Rarity said.

“It was. At other times, I would bring my DJ setup, and provide music for tired or disheartened workers.”

“Miss Vinyl—oop! Sorry, Vinyl, just regular Vinyl—I had no idea you had a heart of gold,” Whooves said.

“Everyone does in a disaster,” Vinyl said. “I just had more ways to show it.”

“So why join us if you have something going on here?” Twilight asked.

“Because I want to do more. Being able to help ponies is great, and I love it, but…” She frowned and lowered her goggles. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

“Plus, Applewood seems to be doing okay on its own,” Rainbow said.

“You mean The Bright Road is doing okay on its own.” Her horn glowed white. “I want to be a larger instrument of good than what I have been here.”

“That’s noble of you,” Rarity said.

Vinyl’s eyebrow shifted under its goggles. “Is there something wrong?”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned on this adventure, it’s to not trust ponies with pure intentions. No one’s that good.”

“Would it help if I told you I also have an uncomfortable, personal reason for wanting to come along?”

“Would it be true?” Rainbow asked.

“If I told it, yes.” She looked at them all again, went to lift her goggles, thought better of it, and stood instead. “I can give you privacy to talk this over.”

“Please,” Twilight said. “And can you tell Octavia to come back in?”

“Oh, she’s gonna love this,” Rainbow said.

“She’ll flip if she’s not a part of the discussion, though,” Big Mac said. “Go on, Vinyl.”

Vinyl left, and Octavia came in, still bitter. “What do you want?” she asked.

“Hello to you too,” Rarity said. “Vinyl wants to come with us.”

“Fine.”

They paused. “Really?” Pinkie asked. “That was easy.”

Octavia turned to her and took a breath.

“No, let me,” Pinkie said, holding up a hoof. “How dare I make some kind of comment when I haven’t contributed anything meaningful all day? Right?”

Octavia glared at her, then looked at Twilight.

Twilight looked back, but her voice was quieter. “She’s, uh, well, she’s been helping out around town a lot, and she wants—”

“I said ‘fine,’ did I not?” Octavia asked. “Bring her if you want. I do not care, and I have no need to hear her life story. Is there anything else?”

“What is up with you today?” Rainbow asked.

She turned back to the door. “I am going out.”

“What? Seriously? Octavia, c’mon, don’t do that.”

“I am going out.” She threw open the front door.

“Coward,” Big Mac said.

She paused, turned back, and shut the door softly. “Excuse me?”

Big Mac stood and approached her. The lights were still off, and his colossal shadow, tinged with red, appeared demonic beside her cool gray. “Ah called ya a coward, Miss Octavia.”

She looked at them. “I have done nothing but urge us to move forward, yet you remain in this house.”

“It ain’t them that called you it,” Big Mac said, reaching up to gently turn her head back to him. “It was me who did it, right to yer face. Speak to me, not them.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“You should.”

“There is no discussion, and I am no coward.”

“Yer makin’ to run off an’ isolate yerself, when all we wanna do is talk ‘bout Miss Vinyl. Yer not one to make a moral objection to somethin’ as small as talkin’.”

“I simply need to clear my head.”

“What’s got it unclear?”

She shook her head and went back to the door. “This is pointless. I have no reason to speak with you if you are going to buffet me with unanswerable questions.”

“Yer afraid of speakin’ freely, why?”

“Might it be me?” Whooves asked. “I know I’m not—”

“Your presence is so insignificant to me,” Octavia said. “I would rather never speak again than have someone like you constrain me.”

He looked down. “Oh.”

“Did that make you feel better?” Big Mac asked.

“Shut up, and let me out,” Octavia said.

He gestured at the door. “Right there, Miss Octavia.”

She opened it and looked at them again. “I am going to get the ship. Someone here needs to take action, and I see that it will be me. Good night.” She slammed the door, and Big Mac returned to them.

“She’ll be back sooner than that.”

“No, she won’t,” Fluttershy said.

“She will. Ah know she will.”

“What makes you so sure?” Rainbow asked.

“A feelin’. Just a feelin’.”

Twilight turned the lights back on. “Should someone go tell Vinyl she can come with us?”

“I’ll do it,” Rarity said. “We’re sure?”

Twilight sighed. “I guess so.”