Amaryllis was angry. She was furious, confused, and a heap of other conflicted emotions roiling around inside her, leaving her feeling more drained than she should be and feeling like smashing something with her bare hooves. Why had the only creature she had ever trusted outside of the hive gone and sold her down the river? Thiemo was not directly responsible for her current situation, but that was what she felt like. And she didn’t understand it one single bit. One moment she was basking in the comforting warmth of his emotions. In the next, it had all went haywire. It was as though he had forgotten his promise the minute Eris had appeared. But that was exactly what Eris was all about, right?

Her mother had once told her about the draconequus. How she had had the entire country at her feet in the blink of an eye and still managed to throw it all away. Just what motivated the creature’s erratic behaviour? Why did she always insist on playing with everyone’s lives? Was it simply because she was bored, as she had told them? Just like Equestria, Thiemo stood no chance against her and ignored all her attempts to warn him. Presumably, he had been defeated already, surrounded by guards or caught by one of the ponies lurking in this maze.

Eris would never allow them to win. Draconequui were powerful and hated losing above all else. So it had been written in the diaries of her grandmother, Echidna. She had met Eris in the past as well and tried fighting her, only to fail miserably. Wounded, she had had to retreat and only left a warning in her diary, directed to anyone who would ever read it. “Fly you fools, fly and don’t look back. Only your end will await you there.” Silently, she recited the verse in her head.

Of the many things Amaryllis had learned about the world called Albion, she had done so from the diary of her grandmother. She had, especially in her younger years, travelled this world and met many creatures and places. One particular entry that she would always remember (with reddened cheeks, as it were), detailed her life with first companion, a dragon that went by the name Ferradin, with whom she had built her hive. Thinking back, Amaryllis could see how many of his… less savoury draconian traits had been passed on to her mother.

Amaryllis sighed; it was unfair to say that all his influences upon his mother had been bad. Her temperament was a prime example of one that had benefitted them all, and had led to the rules the hive adhered to still to this day. It was also why she was out here now, something she still wasn’t sure if she should be happy about. She loved the hive; it was her family and had been her main focus for so very long. But she also wanted to see the world for so long, meet her father, and see many of the things she had read about.

The Diamond tundra around Talon, the ghostly forests of Tramplevania and the continent in the skies, Vaporia—all were places where Amaryllis’ grandmother had been and where she would like to visit as well. With Thiemo, she had felt secure over the last couple of weeks. She was thinking about asking him if he would allow her to travel further with him, after seeing her father obviously. Now, however, that plan had been clouded over with doubt.

With a sigh, she inspected the maze around her. Would he continue to bring her into such dangers again, regardless of the consequences? Discontented, she moved on. What else could she do? She had to get out of here after all.

“Hi!”

Startled, she spun around, but found only an empty path.

“Over here, silly.”

Again, Amaryllis spun around, but still didn’t see anyone who could have been talking to her. She was just about to write it off as her imagination or the menace of this strange place, only when she bumped into someone.

“Hi!”

With a short, panicked yelp, she jumped back and focused on the creature in front of her. It was a pony—a purely pink, earth pony. A wide grin was on the face of the mare, who had a mane that suggested she had just fallen out of bed. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! You must be new here; I’ve never seen a pony like you before. And since I’ve never seen a pony like you before, you must be new! Oh, this is so exciting! I’m going to throw you a surprise party, or even better, two! One for you being a new pony and another for you being a new kind of pony! Then I’m going to introduce you to all of my friends! But first of all we have to get out of here; a mean human is up to no good! Have you seen him? Just like I’ve seen you? I was over there and thinking happy thoughts when I suddenly saw you. First, I was like, and then…”

Amaryllis could no longer tolerate the verbal assault, dashing off. As she was running, she noticed the voice in the background getting quieter. She rushed around the next corner and threw a look behind her. It didn’t look like the other pony had followed her.

“Hey! That wasn’t nice.”

Confused, she turned around. There stood the same pony again, this time looking slightly less happy. Amaryllis would even venture to say she looked rather hurt. “You didn’t let me finish.”

Amaryllis blinked a few times before realizing that her opponent had no clue that she was the enemy. Not that she planned on changing that anytime soon. “Errr… I’m sorry. You’ve just startled me a bit.”

Instantly, the mood of the mare changed again, this time to something that looked like embarrassment. Irritated that she wasn’t able to interpret the emotions as accurately as possible, Amaryllis tried establishing a connection.

“Oh, excuse me. My friends keep on telling me I shouldn’t startle them but that’s the point of a surprise. I love surprises. Do you like surprises? Surprises are always so surprising, you know? And everypony is always looking forward to getting one.”

Amaryllis only nodded and kept on trying, but everything that she felt could only describe as static.

“That’s a surprise as well. Are you trying to read my emotions? Like a changeling?”

Both stared at each other for a few seconds with a questioning look.

“Hold on! You aren’t a changeling, are you? I don’t like changelings. They ruined a party already.” The pony glared at her murderously as she uttered the last line.

Amaryllis did the only thing she was able to right now, seeing as she was in her true form. “No?” Lying like a trooper, she most definitely did not. Smiling nervously, she waited, hoping the pony would buy it.

“Mmmm.” Pinkie Pie eyed her, curiously inspecting every millimeter of her body, almost as though she was a piece of meat. That thought had her jittering, feeling the intense stare as she was examined. “Crooked horn. Check. Wings like a dragonfly. Double check. But your eyes are the ones of a pony… Ah!” She suddenly screamed and pointed at her. “Are you a flutterpony? I always thought they were much smaller.”

“Sure, a flutterpony.” Whatever they were. She had very little understanding of the nuances of pony folklore.

“Sooooo… am I getting my three wishes, then?”

Amaryllis was sure that Pinkie Pie character had even less understanding than she did.

Angry and a little annoyed, Thiemo turned around again, his teeth grinding audible in the silence. This was the tenth dead end in the last five minutes. “M-maybe we should ask someone f-for directions?” he heard a voice stutter behind him.

Still, he barely paid any attention to the pegasus following him. She had tried talking with him on multiple occasions, but every time he directly looked at her, she would hide behind her long, pink mane and squeak something inaudible.

“And who, if I may ask? We are alone. Forgot that already?”

And there again was the squeaking, followed by silence, the only exception being the soft clopping of her hooves on the ground as she followed him. After all the adrenaline and excitement had vanished, the stark reality of his situation had once again come to haunt Thiemo’s mind.

First and foremost on his mind was the fact that Aura and Amaryllis were alone out there, somewhere. The ponies wouldn’t hurt the filly, so he was more worried about the changeling right now. She had tried to tell him something, something so important that this Eris had seen it fit to silence her. Surely it had something to do with this strange creature itself, or the overall situation they were currently in. It didn’t help worrying about that now either; that wouldn’t help them find anyone right now.

Thiemo took a deep breath and stopped. "We're going to take a rest,” he announced to his reluctant companion, sitting down in the middle of the pathway and crossing his legs in the lotus position.

He hated doing what he was going to do, but it was necessary. Lately, it had been happening more and more frequently. The last time had been as recent as when he was in the changeling hive. It was one of the very first things he had had to do on his path to become a shaman, and he detested the practice.

Back then, he didn’t know what to expect. These days, all he tried to do was avoid attempting it. Shamans were servants of the nature and spirits and should be able harmonize with them, which was exactly what he never did.

That combined with his quick way of charging and using talismans, and the general disrespect against anything spiritual Zarni tried to teach him, meant he had little chance of succeeding along the traditional shamanistic path. He didn’t harmonize with the nature, he forced his will upon her, and nature wasn’t hesitant to strike back. It was most likely the reason why he couldn’t combine elements. Together, they were stronger than his will.

He took a deep breath once more and started to concentrate. He laid his hands in his lap, his thumbs touching each other and forming a circle with both of his hands. With another breath, he started to absorb the energy that surrounded him, something that he was never able to do without pain.

Thiemo forced himself to concentrate, ignoring the burning anguish that threatened to overwhelm him, until finally he had collected enough energy. It wasn’t much—just enough for what he had planned.

A picture of his surroundings formed in his mind, with every creature represented by a different color. Various bugs, gnats and even a few mice were around them, one directly next to what appeared to be the pegasus. At the moment, she was nothing more for him than a yellow patch of energy.

Then he saw the hedge’s aura. The energy was green and dark, a whirling mass of malice and hatred. They were the plants that had received self-awareness. Every fibre of his being was screaming at him to avoid interacting with this loathsome thing.

Swallowing his misgivings, however, that was exactly what he did, as he used the energy stored in his body to build a bridge to the hedge. As soon as his energy touched the plants, images began to seep into his mind, pictures that came from his very surroundings.

Unfortunately, the hedge did not seem to share his interest, lashing out at him with its hatred and disgust. In the next moment, he could feel his physical body being slammed aside by a tendril. His concentration was lost, the bridge disintegrated, and Thiemo opened his eyes groggily, rubbing his head.

Looking up, he saw his delicious-looking follower peering down at him worriedly, the mouse whose signature he had felt earlier sitting on top of her head. “Umm… i-is everything alright? Why did the hedge attack you?” The mouse was squeaking something as well, giving its unwanted opinion in Thiemo’s book.

“Well, apparently it doesn’t like that I tried gaining a layout through it.” At least now he had a slight idea in which direction they should go. “I’m wondering what kind of maniac gave a plant a soul?”

That plants had some sort of awareness was nothing new to him. On the other hand, it needed to have a soul to feel emotions like sadness and anger. His ribs had certainly felt the anger of the hedge.

To be fair, this wasn’t the first time he had encountered such a plant, though that time didn’t go any different. The tree he had trained under with Zarni had kept him from coming too close plenty of times. It was if they all had the same underlying notion that outsiders were not welcome. His assumption was that the plants and other creatures could feel that he, as opposed to them, had no natural magic of his own, as everything else that lived in Albion had at least some form of it in them, whether or not they openly manifested it.

“I don’t know…” Thiemo only sighed at her words. Did he really expect her to have an answer?

“Well, it’s a good thing I know the direction now.” He reached out his hand. “If that’s north, we have to go there.”

But his companion didn’t seem to hear him. Her eyes were focused on the mice on her head, paying close attention to its animated squeaking.

Thiemo blinked as he noticed that the mouse was making signs with its tiny paws, gesticulating this way and that to emphasis its point. “This way? Then to the right and then left again?”

He watched as the pegasus continued holding what appeared to be an actual conversation with the creature. Could she do that? Was it something everypony could do? They were animals, intelligent animals, but still animals. Well, humans were animals too, but that didn’t mean he could understand apes.

“Thanks, Mister Mouse. I think we’ll find the way out of here now.” The mouse saluted and ran across her back and down her tail before disappearing into the hedges. “Mister Mouse said that…”

“I was listening to you.” Thiemo was still a bit doubtful, but the general direction seemed to agree with what he had gained from the hedge, just way more detailed. Maybe he should have let her ask for the way from the beginning.

Applejack watched as Rarity carefully placed the little filly on her back. She had fallen asleep sometime during her embrace, no doubt due to exhaustion; they had chased her down for so long, and no doubt she had been running scared.

Applejack shook her head, trying to dispel the feelings of guilt that had begun to gnaw at her, attempting to at least momentarily focus on the present. She still couldn’t believe that Auralia was here, of all places. For all these years, her family had thought she was lost, and now she just happened to appear right in front of her. And with a human, of all monsters.

“Everything is alright, darling. She’s safe and sound.” AJ nodded to her friend and picked up her loyal Stetson from the ground. She brushed off some dust by tapping it against her chest and placed it back onto its usual place. “Now, I hate to be intrusive, but would you mind telling me just who do we have here? You seem to know her.”

To be honest, she had never seen the filly before, but between her resemblance to certain members of the Apple family and her name, there was little doubt. “Auralia. She is the daughter of ma aunt Peachy Sweet and uncle Green Gem.”

Applejack saw Rarity’s signature questioning look, the one that meant she had no idea who she was talking of, but didn’t ask out of courtesy. “Ya know, the two who always come with that loud airship when they visit and ya keep on complaining they don’t have no style.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I do remember them. They were such a nice couple. It has been a while since I’ve seen them. When was the last time? It must have been ten years? But how did their daughter end up with a human?” Lightly, she bit her lips. It was never easy talking about such things, especially not for Applejack, Apple Bloom, or Macintosh.

“Nopony did, Rare. They disappeared on one of their journeys shortly after telling us about the birth of her daughter. Somewhere in the Bad Wolf Bay. After some years of searching, they were declared dead.”

“Oh my, Applejack.” Immediately, her friend was at her side and pulling her gently into a hug. “Why did you not tell us, darling?”

Because of the same reason she so rarely, if not never, talked with outsiders about her parents. Her friends were something resembling family, but not like the Apple family. And the Apple family cared and looked out for each other in ways nopony else could. It wasn’t like she didn’t have anypony to talk to.

“It’s alright. It’s been a long while, and we all accepted it.” She looked over to her back and smiled. “But I bet everypony will be happy to see her.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, darling.. How do you now that she’s really Auralia? Or… are you simply wishing it is her? The world is big and… not like I wouldn’t hope… it’s just…”

Applejack understood what she was trying to say and smiled. She was so sure, so certain, absolute proof be damned. “At the last family reunion in Ponyville. You know, the one I organized.”

Rarity nodded and smiled.

“Peachy asked me if I had any ideas for a name for the filly. And in that moment, I knew the perfect name. Auralia. It’s a rare and strong kind of apple. Funny thing is, they are known for shining orange and the pulp is considered to be the clearest white you’ve ever seen.”

Both looked at the filly on Applejack’s back.

“A fitting description, but it could all be just mighty big coincidence.”

Applejack didn’t believe in such coincidences. It was destiny, just like the day she had met Twilight. She felt it in her guts. “I’ve never told anypony else the name. It didn’t appear in the newspapers, either. It has to be her; there ain’t no other way.”

A bang interrupted Rarity’s response, followed by a scream.

“You lied to me!”

Another bang followed.

“Was that Pinkie Pie?”

Rarity nodded and both started galloping into the direction of the sound. Straight ahead at first, then right at the next crossroad. A black something whooshed past them and got into cover.

“You don’t lie to your friends!”

Another bang and a cake flew over their heads.

“Pinkie! Watch where you’re aiming that thing!” Rarity shouted. The blasted baked good had come dangerously close to her mane.

“Rarity, Applejack!”

Their friend let go of the cannon, and in the next moment stood in front of them to engulf them both into a hug. “I’m sorry you two, but this changeling lied to me and told me she was a flutterpony.”

Both Rarity and Applejack looked at each other in confusion, then turned to what just had whooshed past them.

“She is crazy! I’ve never said I was a flutterpony! You just drew your own conclusion.” The changeling, who didn’t really look like a changeling to Applejack, cowered on the ground, yet was defiant enough to point an accusing hoof at Pinkie Pie.

“Oh yeah? Letting someone in the wrong believe they are right is equally bad as lying. Right, Applejack?”

Applejack was a bit overwhelmed and had no idea what the two were talking about. “Hang on a minute, sugarcube.” She held Pinkie back and turned towards the guest. “So, are you a flutterpony?”

The black pony shook her head.

“What are you then? You don’t look like a changeling either. But…” Applejack’s gaze wandered over the body of the mare lying on the ground. “With that horn and these wings… But what kind of changeling would forget something like that in their disguise? So, what’s your name?”

The unknown mare tried to avoid their eyes. “Amaryllis.”

“Nice to meet ya Amaryllis. Ah’m Applejack, and this here is Rarity. Ya already know Pinkie Pie.” She wanted to point at her friend, but she had disappeared. “Huh?”

“Don’t listen to her, AJ! Look at her, she’s a changeling!” Pinkie had slipped past them and held Amaryllis’ face between her hooves.

“Now calm down, darling. I’m sure there is an easy explanation for this whole thing. One Amaryllis can surely give us.” All eyes wandered to the mentioned newcomer.

“Well… I’m coming from a costume party?”

Applejack didn’t know if it was the way she said it, her voice all feeble-like and faltering, or because of her Element, but she knew she was being lied to. Again, she carefully eyed Amaryllis. She could see her swallowing.

“There! A real changeling!”

Surprised by the sudden outburst, they spun around, but could only find the empty sky. Before they could turn around again, another loud bang resounded through the area.

Pinkie had fired again, and this time had hit the fleeing Amaryllis on the back of her head. She was lying on the ground now, unconscious.

“I said she was a changeling,” she crowed triumphantly. Rarity only rolled her eyes.

“Very well, Pinkie. But who’s going to carry her now?”

“So, uhh…”

“Fluttershy.”

“So, Fluttershy. Is there any chance you can’t just fly up into the sky and look for a way out?”

Of course they had managed to get lost again. How else could it have gone? There was only so much he could take before his delectable piece of eye candy started to lose her appeal, though it was no fault of her own. To top it all off, they just kept running from one dead end into the next. It was as though the hedges were closing behind them as soon as they stopped looking for a second.

“I-I don’t like flying.” Thiemo was confused, aiming a questioning look at her, but she just withered under it. “I’m afraid of heights.”

He could certainly understand the sentiment, but still…

“You’re a pegasus that is afraid of heights?” She nodded, and he could only bury his head in his hands in frustration. There surely were millions of pegasi out there and he just happened to meet one of the few that were afraid of flying. “And if I promise to catch you?”

“You would do that?”

At least she didn’t seem to be completely against the idea. Unfortunately, he had no idea if he was even capable of doing that. Aura was light, but just a foal as well.

He shrugged. “Sure, you shouldn’t be that heavy.” She cringed as he stepped closer. “I’m just going to try it. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”

She understood what he was saying and nodded. Thiemo stepped closer to her and put his hands around her belly, causing her to squirm instinctively. Carefully, he lifted her a bit. Then he put her above his head in one move. “Hey, you weigh almost nothing,” he said, much to his surprise.

He could even hold her with only one hand. Fluttershy was stuck above his head, wiggling her legs and wings in panic. “Please put me back down. I’m going to fall.”

Her words, however, fell on deaf ears. Thiemo was too busy having fun with her, quickly changing the hand he was holding her with. Meanwhile, he wondered why she was so light. Maybe this was how pegasi magic manifested itself, cancelling some of their weight so they could fly easily. Or maybe they just had hollow bones. It didn’t matter what it was. She probably didn’t weigh more than twenty kilos. It was a weight that wouldn’t even have been a problem for his old, untrained body.

“Please.” She sniffled and Thiemo snapped back to reality, feeling chagrined at having gone too far.

“I’m sorry. Sometime I just can’t help myself if I learn something new. Ready to get caught?” He didn’t wait for a response. “Then go!”

He kneeled down a bit, used the full power of the momentum, and jumped. At the highest point, he threw Fluttershy into the air. By doing this, they were able to get her hooves just above the hedges.

However, Fluttershy, still in panic, didn’t let herself drop down again, but reached for the hedge, and was now hanging a few meters above the ground. Her forelegs were hooked above the plant, while her hindlegs were trying to get some grip on the branches where there was none. “Help!” she screamed, not louder than Thiemo’s normal pitch.

“Just let go! I’ll catch you,” he yelled, but apparently she didn’t hear him. Thiemo took a step closer towards the hedge, but immediately some tendrils shot out of it to keep him away.

With his staff, he responded by smacking them, which only lead to more tendrils coming to their aid. “You can’t be serious.” He started searching the inside of his pocket when noticed Fluttershy had stopped squeaking. His gaze wandered upwards, where he could see her hanging calmly and nodding.

In the next moment, the hedge in front of Thiemo parted. The thick branches in the middle creaked as they bended and formed a passage. As if that wasn’t enough to get him nervous, seeing an otherwise aggressive plant apparently change its mind, there was a pony standing on the other side.

Lavender coat with a dark-purple mane, traversed by a brighter stripe. The mare had both wings and a horn, and a grin on her face that sent a cold shiver down his back.

“Gotcha!”

Author's Notes:

OK, I had to use that picture at the end. I love that smile.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
And also thanks to JBL & Bad_Seed_72 for proofreading, editing, etc.