She cried for a few minutes, I let her get it out; losing someone is hard, we both found that out the hard way when we lost Pinkie and Dash. I guess some ponies would think you’d get hardened to loss, that you’d eventually be able to deal with it easier than the first time, but you don’t. Every pony is different, every pony means something different, so every loss hurts as much as the last, but in new and different ways.

“A-ah’m alrigh’ now Twilight,” Applejack sniffled as she gathered her courage, she knew what despair could do to a pony better than any of us, that moment in the courtyard of that horribly phantom place taught us all that much.

“Ok, we need to get inside then,” I answered, I knew better than to question her state of mind, I knew she wasn’t ‘alright’ but at the moment I needed her to be able to fake it long enough for us to get somewhere safe. “The mare is still out there, I’ve seen it a few times now, it seems like anytime it sees a pony it goes crazy, usually it looks almost… sad… until it sees somepony move, then it, I don’t know, changes.”

“Doesn’t matter, tha’ thing out thar took one o’ my kin, and it is gonna pay out o’ its hide, y’hear me?” Applejack said in a soft and deadly voice.

“I know ‘Jack, when this is all over we can do that, but right now…” a notion dawned on me, cutting my train of thought like a machete, “Applejack? Where’s Applebloom?”

Applejack’s eyes went wide at her younger sisters name, “Oh, damn it all, no way no how is that thing out thar takin’ mah little sister,” the orange-cream mare erupted off of the dirt floor and galloped to the doors of the barn, “Applebloom was helpin’ the others bring in bushels of apples. She’s still out there Twilight and we are not goin nowhere til she’s safe ya got tha’?”

I nodded, I wasn’t about to leave the little filly to the mercies of the mare.

+=+

The snowstorm had abated somewhat, I took that as a good sign, “C’mon Applejack, its clear enough, but keep your eyes open.”

“Uh, not that ah’m questionin’ yer eyesight but, how in the blazes can you tell it’s clear? Ah can’t see two hooves in front o’ my nose.”
“The snowstorm isn’t as bad as it was, that’s how I can tell she’s not near anymore…” I whispered back as we snuck through the snow. I tried to think of a good way to phrase it; Applejack had a tendency to drift off when I started talking about magic. “I guess it’s like this, that mare, she carries the snowstorm with her, or at least, she makes it a lot worse when she’s around.”

“So, since the snow ain’t so bad anymore… it means that the mare ain’t near?” She asked, that note of incredulity she always had in her voice when I tried to explain metaphenomena.

“Well, yea basically… it’s still strong enough that I figure she probably hasn’t left the grounds of the farm yet but it gives us a window,” I answered. “So where should we look? I mean… this is a big farm…”

Applejack scoffed, “Yea, but it’s Applebloom, she’s got sharp eyes, ah don’ doubt that… so long as she’s still safe that is… that she saw what happened ta Caramel… probably bolted fer the first safe place she could think of.”

“The farmhouse?” I asked hopefully.

“Naw,” Applejack answered and I felt my heart sink, I guessed it wouldn’t be that easy, “The Crusaders Clubhouse.”

+=+

The treehouse wasn’t far exactly, not normally, but these weren’t exactly normal circumstances. I found myself begrudging every single step, sure that the singing would suddenly reach a fever pitch and that psychotic mare would come barreling out of the foliage, pitch dripping from her eyes.

“Applejack, I have to tell you something…” I said softly as we walked cautiously through the orchard.

“Mhm? Wha’s that Twilight?” Applejack answered, her gaze still on the ground, scanning for tracks, I’d told her the mare wasn’t the only dangerous creature here.

“The princess, before she left for Sugarcube Corner, she told me that she’d been searching…” Applejack looked up and met my gaze, “for replacements.” I finished.

“And uh, what exactly is she tryin’ ta replace?” Applejack asked, one eyebrow crooking skyward.

“The Elements ‘Jack, she’s looking for-”

“No”

I winced, I knew Applejack wouldn’t take it well, Rarity was fairly pragmatic, and Fluttershy was understanding, but Applejack was different, she was as loyal to any of us as if she were the Element of Loyalty itself. I knew telling her that the princess was trying to find new ponies to take up the elements would feel like she was trying to replace our friends.

“Applejack, Equestria needs the Elements of Harmony,” I said firmly.

“Listen ta me close-like Twilight: Ah. Don’t. Care.” Her eyes and voice burned with a ferocity I wasn’t accustomed to, I backed away. “Ah don’t care if Equestria needs the Elements, ain’t nopony gonna wear that necklace while ah’m the Element o’ Honesty, y’hear?”

“Applejack that’s not fair, you know we can’t use-”

“AH DON’T CARE!” she roared, it echoed through the branches and cause a few drifts of snow to drop from the trees.

“Applejack…”

“AH AIN’T GONNA LET NOPONY WEAR HER NECKLACE,” she yelled, advancing on me as I backed up.

“Applejack you’re-”

“AIN’T NOPONY GONNA REPLACE HER!” she moved forward until I was backed against a tree.

“-voice is too-”

“DO YA UNDERSTAND THAT?!” she finished, breathing hard and glaring harder.

“Applejack… you’re too loud you might-”

The song grew louder as the pitch rose and the flurries of snow grew stronger.

“Oh… ah… ah’m sorry Twilight… ah fergot that…” she whispered as she backed away from the direction the noise was coming from.

“No time for that now, we need to run!” I exclaimed, getting my hooves under me properly and bolting, Applejack took off next to me.

The song was stronger now, it was definitely coming for us, we had to get the girls out of the forest before it was too late, and I briefly considered trying to draw it off but decided against it. The girl’s clubhouse was too close, if she got a whiff of them there was a chance she might go for the girls instead, even if it was just a small chance I couldn’t risk it. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to those two. We galloped hard, the snow was thick but so long as we kept the mare to our backs we were running away from the harshest of the storm. I saw the clubhouse appear in the distance and a brief flash of a small filly moving inside it, Applejack had been right, they were there.

I ignored the stairs and leapt straight up to the entrance using my magic to give me the height I needed and opened the door a bit too hard, it crashed open. Scootaloo and Applebloom screamed for a second before realizing who was there.

“T-twilight?” Scootaloo was the first to recover, “W-what’s going on? It’s cold and there are things out there in the trees.”

Applejack showed up a moment later, “C’mon girls, no time fer twenty questions, we got something big n’ bad on our tails and it ain’t… lettin’…” she trailed off as she cocked her head to one side, “hey Twilight, do you hear that?”

I looked at her strangely, “Of course I hear that, the song is…” I trailed off too, realizing what she meant, the song was gone. “How can it be gone though? It’s always… Oh no…” I ran to the window and tore the heavy curtains opened, “Oh… Damn.”

The snow had been replaced by ash, the numbing cold by a sort of omnipresent muffling heat; the sky was a scorched wound. It was that world, the dark place, and now it had brought us all here, not just me this time, but Applejack and the girls too.

“Twilight…” Applejack was at my side looking out the window, “W-what… where in Equestria are we?”

“Remember what happened at Sugarcube Corner? We were taken to a dark mirror of the Canterlot Castle right? Well… I guess you could say there’s a whole world, a whole ‘Other Equestria’ that’s like that place.” I explained slowly, trying not to give the two little fillies we were with anything more to be terrified about.

Applejack blanched, “T-that place? A whole… oh well… damn.” She sat down stared at the floor for a minute, Applebloom cantered over and nuzzled against her, comforting her sister, she didn’t need to know why, just that she needed it. Part of me wished I’d had a sister for that reason. I shook my head, as I remembered, I did have sisters, three of them now, and they needed me.

I opened my mouth to speak but as I did a soft knock came at the door to the clubhouse, it was slow and almost… prim.

Tap. Tap tap.

Tap. Tap tap.

We looked at each other before Scootaloo smiled and trotted over, “W-wait,” I hissed softly.

Tap. Tap tap.

“Don’t worry Twilight, I know that knock, I hear it every time I get picked up to come over to Sweetie Bell’s,” she said confidently.

Scootaloo opened the door and I braced myself, moving towards her to pull her away in case it was a crazed monster.

Rarity stood on the other side, bedraggled and worn looking, but alive and well.

“Hey Rarity!” Scootaloo said with that goofy grin she wore so often.

Rarity smiled softly, “Hi Scootaloo,” she looked up at us, “Hi girls… come on, we can only travel through this place for a short time before it becomes too dangerous.”

“W-what?” I said incredulously, not the most intelligent response I grant you but I was very confused.

Rarity shook her head, “I’m sorry Twilight, there’s something coming and we have got to move.” She turned and left the clubhouse, Scootaloo on her heels, the smile she wore was a bit weaker but she went along with Rarity, I had no choice, I followed, with Applejack and Applebloom in tow.

We got out into the field of ash; the trees here were all twisted parodies, diseased or dead with no foliage to speak of.

“Rarity, back at the Library, what was-” I said but Rarity raised a hoof to cut me off.

“I’m sorry about that Twilight; I tried to tell you… I didn’t want…” She shook her head, “Not here, later I’ll explain if we have time darling, but right now we don’t.”

I nodded, then froze as I heard a shuffling behind us, Rarity snapped around, her eyes fearful. I followed her gaze and saw what she was staring at, a massive workhorse, bigger even than Big Macintosh’s huge frame. It looked… dead. Its eyes were lit with a burning effervescence; its coat was a sort of sickly gray blotched with mud as if it had just crawled out of a grave somewhere. Its mane was long, wretched, and completely unkempt and it covered much of its face. Worst of all was its neck; a thick steel collar was fit around it with bolts that were apparently drilled directly into its flesh securing it.

It let out a slow huff, Rarity whispered softly to us we stood staring at it in a stalemate, “Run girls, get to the farmhouse.”

The thing let out a sound like metal screaming against metal and started towards us, picking up momentum fast, Rarity likewise wailed bolted towards it, Rarity ducking beneath the massive creature as they nearly collided during the charge and latched her teeth, her thin and dagger-like teeth, onto a section of exposed neck above the collar. It swung her about but she gripped like an animal, digging her teeth in, it was one of the most savage things I’d ever seen.

“GO GIRLS! GO!” I shouted, as I turned, scooped up Scootaloo, and placed her on my back, Applejack doing the same with Applebloom.

So we ran, the screaming metal roar of the creature and the despairing wail of my friend as they fought ringing violently in my ears.