Twilight galloped after Applejack, weaving across the busy town square. When the farm pony turned up Whitetail Lane, Twilight's heart sank into her horseshoes. Sure enough, a crowd was gathered outside Summer Clip's salon. As they slowed and pushed through the crowd of onlookers, some grinning and joking, others merely curious, they could see the word, THIEF, crudely whitewashed across her shop front window.

Applejack walked tentatively up to the little grey mare who was scrubbing jerkily at the offending word with a brush and pail of water. “Are you OK, sugar cube? What happened?” she asked gently.

Summer's head jerked around and she snarled in silent fury at the farm pony for a second, tears leaving dark streaks down her cheeks, before pointedly resuming her work. Applejack fell back, looking a little hurt, and Twilight pulled her away.

“I don't think this is the right time, Applejack. What do we do now?”

Applejack was still looking at Summer's back, sympathy and regret on her face. “I ran into Junebug in the square, asked her to run for Silver. I guess he's the only one she'll want to talk to right now.”

She looked up, resolve hardening on her face. “And as for you lot, what in tarnation do you think you're doing? Ain't you ponies got no shame? Even if ya ain't, how about some common decency? Go on, get!”

Applejack's angry harangue sent some of the crowd, mostly the curious ones, scurrying away looking vaguely guilty, like schoolfoals caught breaking the rules. The more vindictive, however, were much slower to move, and at the sound of galloping hooves approaching, lingered despite Applejack's threats.

Silver slid to a stop in front of the salon, and Twilight watched him pause for a moment to take in the scene, his jaw tightening, before he stepped forward to talk to his best friend.

Twilight was quite surprised to see that he didn't offer a hug or any other sort of comfort, just put his head close to hers, almost nuzzling her as they talked quietly for a moment. She couldn't make out the words, but there was no mistaking the hot, angry tears in Summer's voice, or Silver's last word. “Cowards.”

He reared and whirled on the crowd, an ugly look on his face. “Cowards!” he bellowed furiously, “Who was it, then? Huh? You had to wait until her back was turned? Yellower than a buttercup's backside, the lot of you!” Nostrils flaring, he spat his disgust into the street; an unmistakable challenge but one that went unanswered. The crowd were streaming away now, some muttering anxiously amongst themselves, a few looking strangely satisfied. Twilight tried to make note of the faces; these were the ones that they needed to watch, before somepony did something stupid. Stupider, she corrected herself.

“Easy now, Silver,” said Applejack nervously, taking a step backward in the face of his rage when he whirled on her. He nearly snapped at her, too, but stopped himself, the cords standing out in his neck from the strain. “I understand how ya feel, sugar cube, but there ain't no good starting a ruckus. I'd sure appreciate a chance to talk to y'all about it later, though.”

Silver nodded jerkily, and gave Twilight a searing look of contempt before turning his back on them and gently taking the brush from Summer. Twilight felt a hot flush of shame creep up her neck. They were an unusual pair; in some ways the two ponies were as close as any she'd ever known, and each looked out for the other ahead of all else. If there was one thing that Silver had made clear in recent weeks it was that Summer's safety worried him more than anything. He was right; they'd all seen it coming and she hadn't done enough to prevent it, and now the evidence of her failure was smeared across Summer's window.

“I'm going to see the Mayor,” said Twilight eventually. “It's time to put a stop to all this.”

“It was time a long time ago,” said Applejack quietly, not looking at her. “No offense, sugar cube, but leaving's probably for the best, right now. Go on, now – I'll see if I can talk to them, let you know what I find out.”

Head down, Twilight trotted slowly away. There was no way to put the genie back in the bottle, but at least they could prevent things spinning even further out of control.

Twilight dropped the Princess' scroll off at the Mayor's office and spent an anxious hour pacing in the library, waiting for Applejack. Spike had quickly snapped at her and stomped upstairs in a huff, which she didn't fully understand, but she managed to kill some time explaining the situation to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

It was almost an hour before the farm pony appeared. She looked grim, but brightened up when she saw her friends waiting for her. “Howdy, everypony! Hey, Fluttershy, looking good!”

Fluttershy blushed and gave her a small smile. “Thanks. I feel a lot better, too.”

“That's just dandy, 'Shy, I'm right glad to hear it. I take it everypony's up to speed?” she asked, looking at Twilight.

“Yeah, I explained while we were waiting,” said Twilight.

Applejack shook her head, “Well, it sure don't sound too good, I can tell you. Summer had been there all morning, locked up about half past twelve to get some lunch. When she got back, well, she saw what you saw.”

“That's low, that's real low,” said Rainbow darkly.

“There was a crowd of ponies standing around, and more of 'em turning up every minute, but she couldn't tell if any of 'em had done it or not. I reckon it' must be a better than even bet that some of them knew.”

Twilight shook her head in frustration, “How's Summer holding up?”

Applejack winced. “They're mad – right furious, in fact, and I don't blame them but, uh, Twilight, you might want to keep away from them two for a while. I think they blame you – Silver more than Summer, but still.”

“That's ridiculous!” Rainbow snorted, “As if Twilight would do anything like that.”

“I don't mean she was out there with the paintbrush, but Silver seems to think that Twilight knows what's going on but won't say nothing. That makes her culpable because she could have stopped this happening.” Applejack sighed, “If there's one thing I know about them two, you don't mess with Summer, not 'less you want to deal with him, too. And he's angry, Twi. Boy, is he angry!”

“But I don't know anything!” Twilight protested weakly, “That's the problem! If I did, this would all be over!”

“Yeah, but how does he know that?” Applejack pointed out. “I reckon you've dropped enough hints that he thinks you know the whole thing. And even if you don't, how many times in the last few weeks have you said to us that you know it ain't them?”

“And we've not told anypony else, either,” said Fluttershy quietly, “We've all known that they were being blamed for the thefts, and we've left them to take it.”

“But the Princess-” Twilight began, but Applejack interrupted her.

“The Princess didn't want us to tell anypony about the creature. That don't mean we couldn't have ruled them out, soon as we were sure ourselves.”

She was right. Twilight let out a pained sigh, closing her eyes. “This cannot possibly end soon enough.”

The crowd surged and swirled like a brimming stream, endlessly moving and with a susurrus of conversation which rose and fell but never quite died away. Junebug eased her way between a chunky stallion and his equally strapping Earth pony wife, trying to peer over the sea of backs to see if her friends had joined the throng. Word had spread quickly of the Mayor's summons, and Junebug got the sense that some ponies had been expecting it for days or even longer. The air of expectation hung around them like the ominous pressure before a thunderstorm.

There! It was difficult to miss them now; a tight-packed ring was forming around the two grey ponies. She tried to squeeze through to their side, but the two mares on either side of her leaned in and forced her away. She tried further around and was equally quietly shunted aside. A feeling of dread crept over her as the Mayor stepped out onto the balcony of the town hall, and the square slowly fell silent. To Junebug's surprise, she saw Twilight Sparkle reluctantly take up station beside the Mayor. It was an open secret that the two mares didn't think much of each other; Junebug suspected that the Mayor resented Twilight's special bond with the Princess, while Twilight would never approve of the Mayor's razor-sharp political instincts. As the Mayor's practised, gleaming smile swept the crowd, Junebug couldn't help but side with Twilight. I bet her mane's not the only thing she dyes – those teeth just can't be natural!

“Good evening, everypony! Thank you for assembling here on such short notice. By now I am sure you are all aware of the recent thefts which have regrettably occurred around the town. Investigators from across Equestria have been involved in the hunt for the culprit, and no effort has been spared to bring them to justice and make Ponyville a safe community once more. I feel we are close to making significant progress, but I have here a letter from Princess Celestia which I have been urged to share with you all.

“Citizens of Ponyville,

“For some weeks I have been concerned at the news coming from Ponyville regarding the disappearance of my citizens' personal belongings from their homes and properties. After an intensive investigation, it has become apparent that these crimes are linked, and that the evidence suggests that this is not just a normal case of a pony with sticky hooves. Indeed, we believe that it may not be a pony at all. It seems that the town has become the target of an unknown creature which has been sighted in the Everfree Forest, and we have strong reason to believe that this creature presents a very grave danger to anypony who may disturb it.”

The rumblings of discontent started around the crowd with the first mention of the creature, and Junebug dragged her attention away from the Mayor to see how ponies were reacting. As the Mayor droned on about securing windows and locking doors, she could hear some derisive mumblings from around her, most noticeably the ring of ponies around Summer and Silver.

“A 'creature'? Yeah, right!”

“They seriously expect us to believe this?”

“I can't believe she has the gall to stand there and let the Mayor spout this rubbish!”

“...it is, maybe it isn't. What worries me is that...”

She looked around her and saw the worry stamped on many other faces but none of the concentrated venom of the crowd encircling her friends. By now, Summer and Silver were well aware of the trap drawing around them. They pressed close together, each facing in separate directions, and there was no mistaking the wild-eyed look on Summer's face nor the burning anger kindled in Silver's eyes as they scanned the crowd, looking for whence the first blow would come. She swallowed heavily; if everypony held their temper this may yet pass off peacefully, but Silver's fuse was well and truly lit and she found it hard to blame him. Meanwhile, the Mayor's speech was drawing to a close.

“For the time being, do not venture outside after dark unless absolutely necessary. Where possible, travel in groups when out in public. And finally, be vigilant in the defence of your property, but remember; property can be replaced – ponies can't. Your first priority should always be your own safety and that of your family.

“We remain confident that this creature will be caught and stopped as soon as possible, but in the meantime, any suspicious behaviour should be reported to my office as soon as it is safe to do so.

“Now, if anypony has any questions, Twilight and I will do our best to answer them.”

Twilight's reluctant presence suddenly made sense, although Junebug suspected she was there more as a stalking horse so they Mayor could dodge any awkwardness – and that she knew it. This can't possibly end well. The thought had barely passed through her mind when the first question confirmed her suspicions.

“Yeah, I have a question – do you really expect us to believe this garbage?”

There was a chorus of agreement, loudest from the circle around Summer and Silver, and the Mayor took a step backwards, looking completely wrong-hoofed by the acerbic demand. “What do you mean? The Princess herself has taken a personal interest, which ought to tell you just how seriously she is taking this.”

That was a mistake, Junebug fretted, She's given them an opening, a sense that there's something to be debated instead of turning it down flat. A mistake, or was she just throwing Twilight to the Timberwolves?

“And where is she getting her information? Twilight Sparkle, that's where! And it looks like she'll do anything to protect her coltfriend, even lie to the Princess!” snorted another voice loudly, to cheers from the ring that was starting to draw in on the two ponies, who were circling slowly in the middle and trying to watch all directions at once.

“Protect my what?!” Twilight spluttered from the balcony. "Now listen here," she started angrily, but the dissent continued.

“Be honest, there is no conveniently-mysterious bogeymare in the Everfree Forest, is there? There's just a petty criminal who's turned your head, and now you'll do anything to protect him!” smirked Lemon Hearts in a patronising tone.

Silver, meanwhile, was looking around him with disbelief. “You sound awfully bitter, Lemon Hearts! Seriously, will you idiots listen to yourselves?”

“I'm sorry, but it's high time you two were taken into custody – for your sakes as well as ours,” called a Pegasus stallion from above, with what sounded like genuine regret.

“Custardy? There's nothing wrong with custardy, but creamy's so much better at this time of year!” said a perky voice, breaking the tension, “Especially with strawberries or even peaches, although it's a little early for them just yet!”

Junebug looked up and saw Pinkie Pie drifting along amongst the Pegasi, a band of balloons tied around her middle. Who else could it possibly be, she thought wryly.

“Custody! Custody with an 'O'!” barked an impatient voice, making Pinkie giggle.

“Oh, I like custardy, too!” cheered Pinkie happily, “But you should really check with them first, especially before a food fight; I know they really don't like icing, sometimes,” she added in a more confidential tone.

“Enough! Love may be blind, but there's no fool like one that will not see,” said another pony, this one a Unicorn she didn't recognise. “He's got you wrapped around his hoof, Twilight. What's worse is that it's not just you – it's his fillyfriend, there, and Cloud Kicker, too!”

“Cloudchaser, I heard!” added somepony, amidst a sudden wave of chatter.

“Where the hay was I when all this was going on? Ow!” Junebug reared up slightly to see Silver rubbing his ear and giving Summer a reproachful look, which she was ignoring with a scowl. He planted his hooves and took a deep breath. “Listen to me,” he called in a commanding voice, “Most of you don't know me, and fewer of you seem to like me. That's your prerogative, and no great loss on my part, but stop and think about what you're saying for a moment. Do you really think so little of Cloud Kicker? And Twilight? You all know them; you have done for years. They're not stupid!”

Junebug felt like cheering. In fact, why wasn't she? “Well said!” she shouted, although the last word turned into more of a squeak as she wilted under the combined gaze of what seemed like everypony in Ponyville.

“There's nothing as crazy as a mare with a colt on her mind!” shouted a young, panicky-sounding male voice from the crowd.

Summer snorted derisively. “You wish, because I think you've just earned yourself permanent bachelorhood around Ponyville!”

There was a gust of laughter from the bulk of the crowd. Score one for the good guys, thought Junebug. She noticed that the Mayor had conveniently vanished, leaving Twilight to carry the can, although Rarity was discreetly elbowing and nipping her way onto the balcony to stand at her friend's side, a look of grim determination on her face. She had to do something! Summer needed her!

“Oh yeah, you're quite the comedian. You won't be laughing when we've finished with you!” snarled an angry Earth pony, “You're all alone here-”

Come on, move! Junebug's mind screamed, but her traitorous legs refused to co-operate.

“Wrong!” shouted a familiar voice, and a blur of grey plummeted out of the sky. Cloud Kicker's hooves sent up a spray of earth as she landed just ahead of Silver, her wings spread threateningly and her chest puffed out proudly. “I stand with them! And anypony with an ounce of sense who looks at this with unbiased eyes does the same!”

Junebug saw the tight circle surrounding her friends lurch and buckle on the far side before breaking under the strain of Big Macintosh's implacable advance. “Yup,” the big, muscular red stallion confirmed in his usual laconic manner, although his face was uncharacteristically stern and unyielding as his eyes swept the crowd.

It's easy to see why so many mares have a crush on him, Junebug thought with distant admiration. She knew that she ought to join them, to stand alongside them, but there was just so many ponies there, all looking at them with anger and fear and curiosity and every emotion in between. Pathetic, stupid old nag! she cursed herself. Weak, spineless...

Applejack barged past her, a fierce look on her face as she bulldozed through to her brother's side. “Mac's right – it ain't them. And don't think we didn't look into it, 'cause we had to, and I regret that, but we found nothing to suggest it was them and plenty that said it ain't. Y'all are stirring up trouble for the wrong ponies, and I won't stand for it!”

The muttering around her increased, and Junebug abruptly realised that the crowd was thinning, ponies splitting off into small groups and streaming out of the square, all talking intently amongst themselves. The hard core wavered for a moment, then also reluctantly started to break up. Some of them were casting dark looks at the little group in the centre as they left, but only one had enough bravado to speak.

“You want to look out, because we'll be waiting for you.”

“You even think about it and I'll buck your damn teeth halfway down your throat!” Silver growled, taking a pace forward.

“Silver!” Applejack barked, and the tall pony stopped, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from his opponent. Applejack jerked her head at Cloud Kicker, and when he turned his head Junebug saw him blanch and hurry to her side.

Cloud Kicker's head snapped back and forth as she glared at the groups of departing ponies, her chest heaving and her wings still raised and fully spread, daring them to approach. Even at this distance, Junebug could tell that the threat was hollow, the mare's pupils huge and terrified. Silver stood close by her, whispering gently in her ear, and gradually the wings lowered. After a moment, Cloud Kicker closed her eyes and hugged him tightly, keeping her foreleg around his neck for a long time. Junebug almost smiled as she noticed Summer discreetly slink off to give them a modicum of privacy, but her shame burned harshly as she wove her way towards them through the thinning crowd.

“You OK?” she heard Silver ask quietly, and Cloud Kicker nodded, pulling away at last but staying close to the tall pony. Silver let out a long sigh, and looked around the small group of friends. “Thank you, everypony. That could have really ended badly.”

Applejack shook her head. “Don't thank us, sugar cube, I still can't believe what them ponies were coming out with. If they really believe that, then they need their flanks kicked for sure!”

Junebug felt a gentle bump on her shoulder, and looked around to see Summer smile up at her. She almost looked away, feeling a total fraud.

Meanwhile, Silver let out a vague grunt of agreement. “I just hope those other ponies don't start getting a hard time off these boneheads. Who's Cloudchaser, anyway?”

“A Pegasus pony. That's her over there, with Thunderlane,” said Cloud Kicker softly, pointing across the square to where a charcoal-grey stallion with a short, silver-blue mane stood arguing unhappily with a grey, spiky-maned mare. From her upturned nose and sulky expression, Junebug concluded that the stallion wasn't doing himself any favours.

Silver frowned. “Isn't that... uh... Flutter?”

“You mean Flitter? No, although they do look a bit alike. She's got a tidier mane and a dragonfly cutie mark, although the easiest way to tell is that she usually has a bow in her mane,” said Cloud Kicker with a brief smile. “I hope Thunderlane isn't saying anything he's going to live to regret.”

“What do you know? They do like each other,” Junebug muttered drily to Summer while Cloud Kicker explained.

Silver shrugged. “He's a stallion; we get used to it.”

He turned to Summer, and looked puzzled to see her laughing quietly. “I'd feel a lot better if you stayed with me tonight.”

Summer's laughter died, and she gave him an anxious look. “So would I, I think.”

“You're welcome to stay at mine, if you like,” Junebug offered nervously, “At least that way they won't know where to look for you.”

Silver looked at her intently for a second. “Thanks, Junebug, but if somepony's going to do something that stupid then they'll find us sooner or later, no matter what. I appreciate the offer, but I think we'll be OK just getting a little out of the village.”

“We're going that way, so we'll travel with you a ways,” said Applejack.

“I'll scout ahead,” said Cloud Kicker abruptly, launching herself into the air.

Silver looked a little hurt at her sudden departure, but as they set off Junebug overheard Summer explaining quietly, “It's OK, Sils, I think she's just a bit upset about everything. Give her some time to think about things.”

Summer's voice was soft and deadly serious, and Junebug felt a rush of affection for her friend. Her first instinct would have probably been to tease him – hoof-in-mouth disease was nothing new to her – whereas Summer recognised how important this was to him and tried to reassure him. Good ponies, through and through, she thought to herself.

At the bridge over the stream at the western edge of Ponyville, Applejack and her brother stopped. “If it's all the same, we'll be heading on home, now. I reckon you should be safe enough from here.”

“Thanks, Applejack, we really appreciate it,” said Summer.

“Thanks, Mac,” said Silver, with a respectful bob of the head to Applejack's brother.

“Ain't no thing. Y'all take care, now,” Big Mac rumbled calmly, and the two farm ponies turned south for Sweet Apple Acres.

“I should probably think about heading home myself,” said Junebug. “I'll come and find you tomorrow, if that's all right?”

“That'd be great. 'Bye, June!”

Junebug walked briskly back over the bridge, but as soon as she was out of their sight a peculiar sensation of loneliness and agoraphobia swept over her, the late-afternoon shadows from the houses looming threateningly in the deserted street. Perhaps it was a delayed reaction to the confrontation earlier, but her pace picked up until she was running at a thoroughly undignified canter back to her cottage, desperate for the reassuring sight of her pots and planters in the front yard and Bertie perched patiently on the gate post, awaiting her return like a faithful sentinel.

The next day, Ponyville was more subdued than usual. The streets were practically deserted until well after sun-up, and even then ponies only emerged cautiously, like rabbits scenting the air at the opening of their burrows. It was almost like a cascade effect, thought Junebug. Once somepony saw that another pony had taken the plunge and started about their day unscathed, they, too, would brave their normal routine, and so it went. She wondered if the following day everypony would stay indoors, anxiously waiting for somepony else to be the one to go first.

She locked her front door with care and paused by the gate to quickly spruce up the display next to the honesty box, fussing with the daffodils and irises. She gave the honesty box a quick shake but, judging by the sound, there was only a couple of bits in it. Maybe she would take them with her when she dropped the nasturtiums off at the café later and treat herself to lunch.

She knew her way to the Berry farm, like any pony bred and raised around Ponyville, but she nearly missed the little path that ran down to Silver's workshop. She found Summer prowling around in the junkyard behind the workshop, idly prodding the remains of a seed drill. Her friend's face lit up when she saw her, and she hurried over to meet the older mare.

“Everything's still all right, then?” Junebug asked, after the two had exchanged greetings.

Summer made a face. “Yes, it's all quiet; we haven't seen anypony else since last night.”

“Are you going back to the salon?” Junebug asked tentatively. Her friend looked away.

“I think I'll have a day off and let everything cool down a bit,” Summer said reluctantly, scuffing a hoof absently in the dirt. “I'll probably go back tomorrow, but I don't know how much longer after that. Silver and I had a bit of talking to do last night,” she admitted.

Junebug stilled. She didn't want her friend to move away, but knew that Summer would have little choice if the persecution continued. She wanted to speak, but asking her to stay seemed selfish. Eventually, Summer solved the problem for her.

“I don't know, June; I don't want to move again – not yet, anyway – but this can't go on forever. Either it stops, or I'm gone. Maybe they win, but there's more of them than there is of me. As for Silver, I know he likes it here, current problems excepted, so I'd feel bad about asking him to pack up and go.”

“It's a little different for him; he's out here on his own, whereas you're in the middle of town every day,” Junebug pointed out.

“It's not that, it's...,” Summer trailed off. “Well, I guess we'll just have to see what happens.”

“I hope someday we'll look back on this and laugh.” Perhaps that would do; a pretty unequivocal indication of how she saw things. “Has Cloud Kicker been by?” she asked, tilting her head significantly towards the workshop. She had hoped to make Summer laugh, but instead her friend looked solemn – and worried.

“No. Like I said to Silver last night, I think she needs some time to think about things. Last night was pretty scary for her, and I think she found out that some ponies she thought were friends aren't quite as good as she thought. She'll come around. I hope.”

Yes. Maybe like her, for instance. Junebug took a deep breath.

“Look, Summer, about last night; I really need to apologise.”

Summer looked at her blankly, “What for?”

“I... you two needed me standing beside you last night, and I just couldn't... quite...”

She trailed off, groping for the words.

“You tried. And we knew you were there, which was the important bit.” Summer grinned briefly, “You really need to work on your cheering, though!”

Junebug's surprised bark of laughter died away as suddenly as it came. “Cloud Kicker managed it. So did Applejack and her brother. I let you down, and I wanted to say I'm really sorry.”

Summer placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder, “Hey, it's scary being singled out like that. You don't know what's going to happen, and not everypony finds it easy to stand up in front of a crowd. You did what you could, June, and we really appreciate it. Don't beat yourself up about it, OK?”

“I'm just a silly old nag, sometimes,” said Junebug thickly, her throat tight, “You should be able to rely on me.”

Summer winked, “And we can. Like I said, you just do what you can, and we'll always be grateful for that. Now come on in and we'll see if Silver has any tea in this place.”

They found Silver hunched over one of his benches, tapping gently at a chisel with one hoof and pausing frequently to sweep tiny flakes of wood away from his work. He looked up and gave her a cheery greeting, but while she waited for Summer to brew up, she noticed that he seemed distracted, unable to settle at his work but instead fiddling with a sketch, or a chisel, or a pencil, and occasionally staring into space. Presumably, like her, he could feel the tension coming from Ponyville, and knew that it would soon break – one way or the other.

The familiar belch was accompanied by some muffled cursing, making Twilight look up from her work. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and noticed her mane standing on end, and realised she'd been running her hoof through it while she worked. She let out a sigh and tried to squash it back down, counting off the footsteps coming up the stairs. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, stomp-stomp-stomp-pause-knock-turn.

“Hey, Twilight. Letter for you,” said the little dragon tiredly. Poor Spike; he'd been getting so many letters recently, the resulting heartburn was keeping him up at nights.

“Hey, Spike. Are you OK?”

He grinned weakly. “Yeah, just peachy,” he said, suppressing a smoky hiccough.

Twilight looked carefully at him, noting the lie behind the words. “Well, OK, but I'm glad that Pinkie came past with those limestone tablets she'd baked.”

“Yeah, that was really nice of her. I don't know how or why she made them bubblegum flavour, but whatever. Did you want anything?”

Twilight hesitated, “If I do, I'm sure I can manage it myself. You should take it easy for a while, Spike.”

“Seriously? Well, if I have to, I guess,” he said in mock-regret. “And I was just about to go out drinking with my buddies, whistle at mares, that sort of thing.”

Twilight tried to hide a smile. “Since when have you whistled at mares?”

Spike looked insulted. “Hey, I'm a guy! I can do guy things!”

She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing as her assistant preened, striking muscular poses at nopony in particular. She slit the seal and unrolled the scroll, reading quickly through it.

“Uh, Spike? I think you might want to read this one.”

He took it from her and started to read.

My dear student, Twilight,

I have made a deeply unsettling discovery; certain things which ought to have remained buried forever may no longer be as I left them. Accordingly, I am leaving Canterlot immediately to investigate further. Should I confirm my suspicions I fear that I may have made a very grave error, and I can hardly bear the thought that my little ponies may have suffered and died unnecessarily as a result.

I leave Princess Luna in charge of Canterlot and national affairs. Dusty Tomes remains in charge of coordinating the search in Canterlot, and any enquiries should be directed to her. For now, please continue your work with all your usual diligence.

Yours in haste,
Celestia

Twilight and her assistant looked at each other in silence for a long moment. Finally, Spike summed it up;

“What the hay is that all about?”

Twilight bit her lip and glanced back at her overflowing desk. “I don't know. She mentioned something a few letters ago, something about revisiting old myths, but she didn't go into detail. Whatever it is, she's got a lead of some sort on this, which is more than I've got.”

“So for now, we wait?”

“So for now, I carry on as usual and you go take a nap,” said Twilight, with a sigh.

“Hey, that was 'Whistle at mares', remember?”

“Whatever, Spike!”

The following day, there was still no news from the Princess, and Twilight found herself increasingly worried for her mentor, as she explained to Applejack and Pinkie when they dropped in.

“I mean, I know she's a goddess and everything, but still,” she fretted.

Applejack's eyebrows shot up. “I think you just gave yerself good reason not to worry, Twi! What's she going to run into that could possibly stop her?”

“I know,” she sighed, “But it feels like she's onto the solution, and every extra day is another chance that the creature could strike. She's talking about ancient myths, and some of them were powerful enough to change the face of Equestria.”

“Well, there's nothing you can do about it, so you might as well save yourself the worry. She's a big Princess now, sugar cube, and I reckon she can look after herself!” said Applejack, a smile taking the sting out of her sarcasm.

Twilight laughed. “Yeah, I know, I'm being silly!”

“Don't worry, Twilight, sometimes being silly is fun!” said Pinkie, bouncing gently. “So where's Rainbow and Fluttershy?”

Twilight grinned. “They went to the spa with Rarity.”

Pinkie stilled, not even blinking. “Rainbow Dash went to the spa?” she asked, disbelieving.

“Didn't even say a word, just trotted out after them,” Twilight confirmed.

“Whoa. Whoa! She's not sick or something, is she?”

Applejack burst out laughing at Pinkie's earnest question, and Twilight joined in. “If she is, I dare say she'll recover soon enough!”

It felt good to have a laugh about something so mundane as Rainbow's famous horror of doing 'girly things', but as their giggles subsided, Applejack had a more serious question.

“Is the Princess going to set the Guard to patrolling in Ponyville? The secret's out now, and it'd sure make ponies feel a lot safer.”

“The Mayor asked that, too, but at the moment the answer's no. I don't know why, exactly, but I suspect some of it is not wanting to scare the creature off.”

“I don't think anypony would be too heartbroken to see it go,” said Applejack feelingly.

“I know, but then it's free to start again somewhere else, and maybe our chance of stopping it permanently is gone. It sounds cold, but in some ways Ponyville's the bait.”

“No, I think Ponyville's the trap,” said Pinkie in a sober voice, “We all know what the bait is.”

Twilight paused, thrown off by Pinkie's unexpected – and, she feared, uncomfortably accurate – interjection. “The other thing is, how effective would it be, and what would be the risk to the Guard? A few ponies, walking around after dark? They can't cover all of Ponyville, and even if the creature couldn't simply avoid them, what chance would they stand if it decided to deal with them permanently? Or they ran into it by chance?”

Pinkie swallowed heavily. “So what do we do?”

“We sit and wait, and hope the Princess is back soon,” said Twilight uncomfortably.

“Yeah, come on in,” called Silver at the knock on his door. He heard hoofsteps but, lost in the process of coaxing the oak leaf out of the panel, he didn't look up until he heard the visitor speak.

“Hi, Silver.”

His head shot up at the soft voice and he saw Cloud Kicker in front of him, looking unaccustomedly shy.

“Hey, sunshine. How are you, are you OK?” he asked in a gentle voice. He felt uncertain after her sudden disappearance two days before, and wanted to be as unconfrontational as possible.

“I'm good,” she said. A fleeting smile broke through, a shadow of her normal self, but it was gone again almost as quickly. She seemed every bit as awkward as he did. Somehow their usual easy friendship had gone missing, and neither of them seemed sure of what to say.

“I'm sorry-”

“I wanted to thank-”

They both spoke at once, and smiled awkwardly at each other before Silver took the lead.

“I think I'll go first, because I don't think you need to be doing any apologising,” he said quietly. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did the other night. The way things were going, it was about to get ugly, and I was starting to wonder if we'd get out of it. We needed a friend, and we- no, I got a better one than I deserved – again. I really don't know if I can thank you enough.”

Cloud Kicker took a deep breath, blinking rapidly, and he could almost see the conflicting thoughts flash across her bright pale-violet eyes.

“I was angry,” she said at last, “So angry. At what those ponies were saying, at the way they trapped you in, the way they were threatening you,” she shook her head, “Lots of things. And afterwards, I was angry at myself.”

He drew a breath, and hesitated. Maybe he should let her work this out on her own.

“I was angry they could think that about me. I was angry at how their words stung. Some of them were friends of mine. Not close ones, but, y'know, friends to see around. And now I guess they've shown their true colours, and they're no friends of mine. That hurt. I just... I needed to get away and think, before I said something stupid. And I'm sorry, because you and Summer needed me, and it really wasn't the time for it.”

Her head had dropped, and she looked studiously away from him. “Hey,” he said to get her attention and, after a moment, she dragged her eyes back to his. “A clever pony told me once that everypony needs somepony to talk to, sometimes. But I think that also, sometimes everypony needs time to themselves to think about things. I was just worried about you.”

She swallowed, and gave him a more genuine smile. “Likewise. I'm glad you're OK, Silver.”

There was more to it than that, but Cloud Kicker didn't look like she wanted to talk about it.

“Are you still on evening shifts?” Silver asked, changing the subject.

“Yes, until the end of the month. At least there's no more backing up with the Dawn Patrol, thank Celestia! I never did find out what all that was about, but Rainbow Dash isn't the sort to do that lightly.”

Just one more weird thing around Ponyville in a sea of them, Silver thought.

“Actually, that reminds me,” Cloud Kicker continued, pulling out her purse, “I owe you majorly for going shopping for me.”

Silver essayed a cautious grin. “I would say, 'Anytime', but I hope ponies don't pull that on you too often.”

A tiny smile creased Cloud Kicker's face as she focussed on counting out some bits onto his workbench. Encouraged, he decided to try another tack.

“I'm glad you're here, actually. I've got something for you.”

She looked up cautiously. “Really?”

He gave her a gentle smile, trying to hide his sudden rush of nerves. “Come on.”

He led her over to another bench, where a square shape lay under a napkin. “It's not much, but I thought maybe you might like it.”

She peered curiously at it for a second, then gripped the corner of the napkin in her teeth and pulled. Silver watched with bated breath, and the napkin slipped to the floor as her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Finally, she looked up at him in wonder with rather watery eyes.

“I saw you looking at it last time, and it was just something I was doing to keep myself busy,” he said awkwardly.

“It's beautiful,” she breathed. Each face of the box had been outlined in tiny bands of ebony, with a black fleur-de-lis fanning outwards in each corner. In the centre of the curved top was the sun, made up of tiny interlocking fragments dyed orange and red, peeking out from behind a cloud. Cloud Kicker's cutie mark was repeated in miniature on all four sides, and the whole box glowed with a deep, rich shine.

“Go ahead, open it.”

She reached out a hoof and lifted the little catch on the front, and the lid rose on hidden hinges to reveal an interior of lush, lavender-grey velvet the precise shade of her coat. She stared down, motionless, for a long moment. Very carefully, the mare lowered the lid and then turned and threw her foreleg around his neck, hugging him tightly.

He grinned into her sweet-smelling, blonde-streaked mane. “So, do you like it?”

She laughed brightly, giving him a squeeze. “I love it! It's absolutely gorgeous!”

She pulled back, shaking her head wonderingly, “I almost feel like I shouldn't accept something so beautiful, but who else are you going to give it to? I guess all I can say is, thank you. It's really special.”

Silver swallowed heavily. “You're a very special mare, sunshine,” he heard himself say gruffly.

He heard a sharp intake of breath, and when he found the courage to meet her eyes, he saw an enormous, fragile-looking smile on her face. Finally, she swallowed, and let out a long, shuddering sigh.

“Why don't we go outside? I think we've got things to talk about.”

They sat close together on the bench out in the sun, talking of everything and anything that came to mind. They rambled from her curiosity about how he had created her present, to Summer and Cloud Kicker's shared fear of spiders, to Silver's surprise that she lived on the ground.

“I always felt that way after Mum fell asleep on a cloud in the sun, and it evaporated on her,” she explained.

“They do that?!”

“Well, not if you're paying attention to things,” admitted Cloud Kicker. “She was OK, though, she just broke her front legs.”

Silver winced. “Ouch! It sounds bad, but is that all? I mean, how far did she fall?”

“Oh, she was pretty high,” said Cloud Kicker airily, “She woke up just in time and was able to pull out. Well, she would have done if she hadn't hit that house; that was what did the damage. To make it worse, she had to pay to have the roof fixed, too!”

Silver couldn't help it; he had to laugh, and she joined in wholeheartedly. Whatever awkwardness there had been before was gone, and in its place was their usual close, fun friendship – and maybe something special.

That last guess was confirmed, he thought, when she said her goodbyes and then darted forward to kiss him gently on the cheek before departing in a flurry of beautiful, lavender-grey wings.