I was met with deafening, stunned silence. Even the wind and birds outside seemed shocked dumb, leaving the only sound in the tent being my own breathing.

"...How do you know my name?" Gilda's voice was somewhere between a whisper and a hiss, dripping icy venom.

Oh shit, I did NOT mean to say that out loud...

My mind scattered, trying to form a cohesive lie. "I...heard Rainbow Dash talking about you." Gilda went stone-still, her feathers still ruffled to the point of almost sticking straight out. If I wasn't well-aware of how lethal her claws were, I probably would have laughed. As it was... "I can't imagine many griffons visiting a town like that." For many reasons.

"And just what do you mean by that?" I could hear the raised eyebrow in her tone. Part of me was sure she enjoyed making me dance like this. My eyes darkened, and I scowled.

"I mean Ponyville is full of cowardly, xenophobic bigots who wouldn't know 'love and tolerance' if it pushed them off a cliff." My already gravelly voice darkened further, causing me to sound like a growling beast. "They are afraid of the unknown, and panic easily. They have no common sense when in a group. They think they are the pinnacle of civilization, and act like thoughtless, timid animals!" By the end of my tirade, my voice had risen to a shout, and my throat burned from the strain. I panted lightly, air hissing between my clenched, bared teeth. When did it become so easy to get this angry? For a time, the tent was silent.

Then Gilda shifted, I heard talons scraping over wood, and the rope tightened painfully around my arms. "Don't you ever...EVER... talk about Dash like that." She was almost screaming, quivering with rage.

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "And why not? She made her choice." My mind flashed back to an early episode. Watching Gilda get tormented by pranks her best friend had hidden had been painful. "Why do you care? If she really missed you, why didn't she make time for you two to catch up?" I was sure my throat would be sore later, but I couldn't bring myself to care. "She made herself clear: If you didn't fit in with her little group, she didn't want you around."

The griffon sagged lightly against her restraints. "You weren't there...I can't just hate her, she was like my sister. We stuck together for years before she dropped out."

I closed my eyes. "I might as well have been..." I muttered, letting my head hang. I was exhausted, stiff, and unbelievably hungry. I hadn't had anything but bitter herb-paste for nearly two days. Luckily for me, Gilda let the conversation drop, and I drifted off without incident.

-----

Applejack laid in her bed, eyes troubled and unfocused. Her hat lay tossed on the floor, her blonde mane as disheveled and wild as the thoughts racing through her head. Sighing, the orange mare turned to her side. Why would he do this? Ah've tried everythin Ah know ta git through to him, an he still wants ta run off... Applejack closed her eyes. Maybe Ah should jes let im go...Ah've done all Ah can.

Applejack's ears twitched and swiveled when her bedroom door ever so quietly creaked open, careful, light hoofsteps trying to sneak in. "A-Applejack?"

APPLE BLOOM! To. Your. Room. Applejack winced under her blanket as the memory of their last meeting played out in her mind. Slowly sitting up, she turned to look at her little sister. What she saw squeezed her heart with an icy grip.

Fear.

"Is it okay ta come outta mah room now?" The voice was quiet and soft, as if Apple bloom were afraid of setting her sister off. As Applejack moved, the little filly took an unconscious step back and flinched. Applejack's heart sank further.

The orange mare bit her lip, before hanging her head and closing her eyes. Steeling her resolve, she looked her sister in the eyes and pushed the blanket off her bed, patting the spot beside her. Hesitantly, Apple Bloom approached before hopping up. The orange mare put a foreleg around the filly, drawing her into a tight hug. "Apple Bloom, Ah am so sorry bout the way Ah treated you...Ah never shoulda yelled like that. Can ya forgive me?"

For a moment, Apple Bloom returned the embrace. Pulling away, she looked up at her sister, her eyes still glistening. "Why haven't ya been home? Big Mac's had ta take over all th'chores for weeks..." The filly let her head drop, her voice going near-silent. "Don't ya like it here no more?"

Guilt tore at Applejack, by now a far more familiar feeling than she would've liked. Jes how bad HAVE Ah let things get round here? Clearing her throat, Applejack tried to speak. "Ah...Ah hurt a critter real bad, an he was in th'hospital fer a while. Ah had ta stay an make sure he healed up right." Applejack's mouth set in a grim line. "Ah hurt 'im, so it was mah responsibility ta get 'im better."

"But what about us?" Apple Bloom spoke up, her confidence and voice returning. "Ain't we important too? We need ya here!" The little filly was nearing her limit, tiny body trembling and tears beginning to carve wet streaks in her fur. "B-Big Mac can't do it by himself! Granny says if we run any further behind, we could lose th'farm!" Apple Bloom collided with her sister, burying her muzzle in Applejack's coat. "Ah don' wanna go!"

Applejack's throat tightened as she held her sister, keeping her from speaking. Her face pinched with worry, the mare gently ran her hoof over her sister's mane. Ah'm back...ain't nothing bad gonna happen from now on. Ah swear it.

-----

Twilight Sparkle slammed the door to the library behind her, making a bee-line up to her bed. The downtrodden alicorn's head hang low, her eyes cast to the floor and mouth curved into a miserable frown.

How could you have failed so?

Princess Celestia had seemed almost disgusted with her actions. With her. Flopping down onto the bed, Twilight burrowed under the blanket and covered her head with her pillow. Was I really THAT terrible? The concept seemed almost alien to her. Her encounter with the crea—with Jason had been so brief and so long ago, she could hardly remember it. She had only recently retrieved her crown from Sunset Shimmer at the time, and the idea of a human crossing the barrier between the worlds was an unpleasant one, but by no means impossible. So why didn't he just go back?

Twilight's face twisted into a grimace as she thought of her time in the parallel-Equestria. The copies of her friends were accurate enough, but there was still an undercurrent of predatory intelligence she had only seen once. Manticores and timberwolves were animals, creatures of instinct. They hunted for food, not malice.

"This day has been just perfect..."

Those twisted mockeries of ponies, those humans, held a cruelty and darkness that had very nearly destroyed Celestia herself when allowed to run amock.

"The kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small!"

Twilight grit her teeth and furrowed her eyebrows. She knew that even one human in Equestria could be disastrous. Why wouldn't the princess listen to her?

"Every pony I'll soon control, every stallion, mare, and foal..."

And why was Applejack so dead-set on caring for him? Twilight groaned, pulling the pillow down tighter on her head. How long was Jason planning on manipulating her? Where would he go now? What would he do?

"Who says a girl can't really have it all?"

Author's Notes:

I'm not really happy with this chapter, but I'm trying to slow down a bit and let the characters absorb exactly what's happened in the past few chapters. We get to see how Applejack's obsession impacted her family, and take a look at some of the damage done to Twilight long before the story ever began. I'm mostly out of the funk I've been in, so expect longer chapters up here in the next week!