Ponyville was no stranger to catastrophe. For a town with little in the way of emergency procedures, the citizenry had already experienced its fair share of crises – from terrifying incidents such as a rampaging Ursa Minor and a baby dragon hitting puberty to the truly bizarre, like parasprites eating half the standing structures in town.

By now, most ponies knew what to do in such situations; barricade themselves in their homes and wait for the crisis to pass. And for the most part, this official unofficial plan of action had paid off.

But that night was different.

Ponies watching the out-of-control emerald blaze consume the familiar vista of an apple orchard from their living room windows suddenly found their front doors pounded on by strong hooves.

“Royal Guard! Open up!”

All across Ponyville, gold-clad stallions pushed into home after home, searching every building from top to bottom.

When asked for an explanation, all they would say was “Official Guard business”. But as quickly as they would come, the guards would disperse, leaving behind them a state of semi-disarray and very uneasy ponies.

And just moments before they vanished into the night, a question was asked to the inhabitants of every household, a flier proffered in front of their muzzles.

“Have you seen these mares?”

And almost every time, they were met with the same response.

“Isn’t that Applejack?” “Applejack?” “Why’re you looking for Applejack?”

Not very many ponies in town would not know the apple farmers face, and those that somehow didn’t were still plenty aware of the Apple family itself. After all, Sweet Apple Acres was rather hard to miss.

But it was the mare pictured next to her that drew the most confusion. The lime-green mare was completely alien to them, and in a town where everypony knew everypony, that was disconcerting to many.

The answer in both cases was the same.

“No… can’t say I have.” “Is she missing?” “Did she get mixed up in something?”

And invariably, the guards would respond the same way.

“Applejack is wanted for aiding and abetting a known changeling. She is believed to be under this mare’s spell, and not likely to be in her right mind. If you see her, please contact us immediately.”

With that, the guards would move on, leaving behind stunned and worried ponies in their wake city-wide.

Those houses and businesses that didn’t open their doors were forced open, splintering doorframes and shattering locks.

Every room was picked over, every possible hiding place exposed.

From one end of Ponyville they worked, moving like a well-oiled machine, but to no avail.

The ponies in question were nowhere to be found.

~~***~~

Applejack moved quietly behind the cloaked changeling in front of her, her eyes never once leaving its back.

Hyacinth’s horn was alight, casting an eerie green glow on their surroundings as she trotted at an easy pace forward.

The apple farmer still had no idea where she was, and that was starting to make her even more uneasy.

The tunnel she found herself walking down was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. The walls looked to be made from one seamless piece of wood, as if they were walking through a hollowed out tree.

The air was stagnant and dusty, and left the taste of wood pulp on the roof of her mouth.

But most of all, it was the silence that was getting to Applejack. Aside from her and Hyacinth’s hooves tapping on the wooden floor, there was nothing at all to hear. It was as if they were deep underground, and if the slope of the tunnel was anything to go by, they were going still deeper…

“Hyacinth, where’re we goin’?” Applejack asked, glancing around.

“It’s not much further,” she responded without turning around.

AJ frowned at her back. She still wasn’t one hundred percent sure if she should be trusting the changeling in front of her, given the way her night’s been going. There was still that nagging suspicion that she was making a big mistake.

But if she was telling the truth…

Apprehension and curiosity ran rampant through Applejack’s head, warring with her suspicion.

If she was telling the truth, however, that left one question in Applejack’s mind that wouldn’t rest.

“Hyacinth, Ah gotta ask ya somethin’.”

The changeling hesitated mid-stride and cast a searching glance over one shoulder, but said nothing. She merely waited for Applejack to speak.

“Yer the one that knocked out Big Macintosh,” Applejack stated. After all, it wasn’t a question.

Hyacinth’s eye’s grew heavy, her expression becoming almost weary.

“Yes, I am,” she said. “It was the only way he would live. If I hadn’t intervened…,” She trailed off, but the look in her eyes conveyed what she didn’t want to say.

Applejack felt a chill run down her spine. “So… you were savin’ his life?”

Hyacinth nodded. “As soon as he stopped interfering, I knew Vigil would prioritize you over him. The spell I hit him with wasn’t a strong one; he would recover before anyone could come back for him.”

Applejack couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. Even if she wasn’t entirely sure if she should believe Hyacinth just yet, the idea that her brother was alright was very much the kind of reassurance she’d been needing.

She could tell that Hyacinth saw through her, too, because she gave Applejack a small smile.

“Come along, dear. There’s something I want to show you.”

With that, she started moving again, the sounds of her hooves once more clattering off the walls back at Applejack.

So, with few options, AJ fell into step behind her once more.

But in the silence, the only thing for her to do was think, and it was starting to drive her crazy.

After only a few minutes of internal turmoil, she once more opened her mouth to speak.

“What do ya think Vigil is gonna do?”

Hyacinth didn’t hesitate this time, though she glanced sideways at a nearby wall in thought.

“If I had to guess? He will turn Ponyville upside down looking for us. I’ve known him for a few years now, and the one thing I can say for certain about him is that he does not tolerate failure.”

Applejack bit her lip, a dark cloud in the back of her mind. “Does… does that mean he’ll go after my family?”

Hyacinth glanced over her shoulder at Applejack, her eyes unreadable. “I doubt it.”

AJ scrutinized her face, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What makes you so sure of that?”

Once more, Hyacinth smiled that unusual, friendly smile. “Because I doubt he’ll get the chance.”

~~***~~

“Golly, Miss Zecora, thanks fer lettin’ us stay the night.”

The reclusive hermit cast a gentle smile from over her steaming cup of tea at the little bow-wearing filly sitting across the table from her.

“But of course, Apple Bloom dear. Tonight, you’ll be quite safe here.”

Apple Bloom gazed around the zebra’s hut, her eyes filled with wonder at the many strange herbs hanging out to dry and the numerous tribal masks adorning the walls. No matter how much she looked, it was all still so intriguing to her.

Zecora’s cauldron, usually bubbling and frothing with some primal brew, sat cold and empty in the middle of the hollowed out tree she called home.

Vials and jars sat carefully arranged on nearby shelves – conspicuously well out of reach of meddlesome fillies.

But even all the wondrous sights inside Zecora’s hut couldn’t distract Apple Bloom for long.

“Ah sure hope Applejack is alright,” she mumbled, her eyes going down once more.

“There, there, sugarcube,” Granny Smith said, putting a bracing hoof around her little granddaughter. “Ya got nothin’ ta worry about. That sister o’ yers is tougher than a Timber Wolf made o’ ironwood.”

“Your grandmother speaks the truth,” Zecora said after a sip of tea. “That Applejack is quite full of youth. Why, I am certain that she is working hard on the farm to ensure you and your family do not come to harm.”

Apple Bloom glanced between her grandmother and the rhyming zebra, then down to her barely-touched cup of tea.

“Well, if ya say so…”

Unbeknownst to the filly, both adults shared a look for just a moment.

Granny searched the zebra’s eyes for a moment, a slight frown on her wizened face.

Zecora merely returned the look calmly before closing her eyes to take another sip.

“Drink your tea, young one. You should rest before the night is done.”

~~***~~

“Hold on a second, Hyacinth. Are ya telling me that ya sent Zecora to look after them?”

Hyacinth nodded, still walking. “I’ve known Zecora for a few years, too. A perk of keeping my base of operations in the Everfree.”

Applejack hesitated for a moment, pausing in her stride. “Is that where we are? Your base?”

“No,” Hyacinth answered cryptically. “This place is far more important.”

Before Applejack could inquire further, the changeling rounded a sharp corner. When next she spotted Hyacinth, she couldn’t help but freeze in place.

The hallways on either side of her had dropped away entirely. She found herself standing on a simple, flat half-circle platform free of adornment of any kind.

And before her loomed a yawning void of darkness too vast for Hyacinth’s lit horn to reveal.

The closest walls she could see quickly soared away from her, up and to either side, before vanishing beyond Hyacinth’s light.

Applejack could hear her hooves echoing back at her in the immense empty space again and again.

But there were other sounds that she could hear, sounds that just didn’t quite seem right. For one thing, she could easily make out the sounds of creaking and popping wood, like trees swaying in a strong wind, yet she felt no breeze.

“What is this place?” Applejack asked, craning her neck this way and that.

Instead of answering, Hyacinth raised her head towards the ceiling. The hood fell across her shoulders, revealing a scraggly short mane shot through with grey.

A single emerald spark escaped her horn, danced through the air for a moment, before flying up to an odd bulb hanging above their heads, way out of the reach of Hyacinth’s light.

And the moment the spark touched it, the bulb erupted with bright, radiant light.

Vines connected to the bulb sparked with life, a magical jolt racing along them towards more light bulbs hanging from the walls.

Within moments, dozens of light sources burst into being. A moment or two longer, and that number quickly grew into the hundreds.

Lights shining with every color of the rainbow filled the once-dark space like Hearth’s Warming lights. And for the first time, Applejack made out just what laid before her.

And what she saw took her breath away.

Just as she’d suspected, she stood on the edge of a truly immense space, halfway up from the floor.

What she was not expecting, however, were the trees.

Thick trunks – bigger around than the towers of Canterlot itself – twisted and undulated together in a warped framework, creating pathways, bridges, support columns, even what could be interpreted as structures and clearly defined alcoves.

Foliage hung everywhere, wild and unchecked. In some places, it made it all the way to the floor. Withered leaves as big as Applejack herself hung on all sides of her like curtains.

And over it all was a dense dome of branches and tree boughs, creating the biggest canopy Applejack had ever seen. Not a single ray of outside light made it past the vegetation, and only a faint sigh of a breeze was barely even audible.

At the very heart of the place stood what looked like a tree, only one of titanic proportions. But… it didn’t look quite right. Its trunk was too inconsistent and twisted, as if someone had grabbed dozens of trees and entwined them around each other.

Light glowed out through the amalgamated tree, sending multicolored shafts of light throughout the huge space, dancing across immense boughs and serpentine trunks.

After a moment, Applejack remembered to breathe.

“Landsakes…”

Hyacinth watched her with a small smile on her face. “Amazing, isn’t it?” she said.

Applejack returned her eyes back to the changeling, her pulse still uneven.

“That’s puttin’ it lightly,” she breathed. “What in tarnation is this place?”

Hyacinth’s smile grew. “This was once our home.”

AJ’s eyes got somehow wider at that. “As in…?”

Hyacinth nodded. “As in our hive.”

Applejack felt a jolt in her chest, and suddenly she really had to swallow. “W-why did ya bring me here?”

Hyacinth turned around to face her fully, her smile fading. “A number of reasons,” she said. “On the one hoof, Vigil likely won’t know of this place. Not many changelings do anymore. And… that should give us time to talk.”

Hyacinth cast a weary eye over one shoulder, her expression becoming nostalgic.

“It’s kind of surreal, being back here after so many years,” she remarked. “In all honesty, I didn’t think it would look as good as it does. No one’s been tending to this place since only shortly after you were born.”

Applejack watched Hyacinth, her chest tightening.

“Back then, we used to call this place Freedom,” Hyacinth went on. “Your mother thought it funny, so the name stuck.”

“Funny?” Applejack repeated, cocking an eyebrow.

“A kingdom in the middle of the Everfree,” Hyacinth mused, as if talking to no one in particular. “Separate from the other hives. Alone… and yet free.”

A look of nostalgia crossed the changeling’s features, a slight smile echoing fond memories of the place before her.

Silence fell over the two for a time. Applejack watched the changeling as she dwelled on the past, a gentle smile on her face.

Something stirred in Applejack’s head – something that hadn’t stirred in a very long time.

It was a question, one that she’d convinced herself a long time ago didn’t matter. And up until then, it hadn’t. But now… it was niggling at her again, a question she’d never found a good answer for herself.

“Hyacinth…”

The changeling snapped out of her thoughts and turned to give Applejack a searching look, but again she said nothing, choosing instead to wait for her to speak.

Applejack bit her lip, steeled her nerve, and stepped forward a step. “Ah want to know… why did Ah turn up at Sweet Apple Acres?”

Hyacinth’s expression fell. She hid it well, but Applejack could just see a twinge of sadness in the back of her featureless eyes.

“That… cannot be explained simply,” she said heavily. “I could tell you, but… I know you have no reason to believe me, and I don’t blame you,” she added quickly. “After everything you’ve been through at the hooves of our kind, I wouldn’t blame you for distrusting me.”

She took a step closer, her expression almost pleading. “But I promise I will tell you everything I can. But before I do that, I need you to follow me for just a little longer. I want to show you something else.”

Applejack took a second to mull it over, but it wasn’t a long consideration.

“Well, alright. Where’re we goin’ now?”

Hyacinth smiled once more, this time in gratitude. “Thank you, Yo—Applejack.”

She then motioned to one side, indicating one of the many winding natural bridges that crisscrossed the long-abandoned hive.

~~***~~

The two walked along the horizontal, weaving tree trunk in silence for a time.

Applejack continued to look around in amazement, still not quite believing her eyes.

There were things around her that just defied her understanding, such as the hollowed out sections of tree trunk that were obviously created in the shape of doorways, and yet opened up onto nothing but a stomach-wrenching drop to the distant floor below.

There were bizarrely twisted branches that were slouched under the weight of light bulbs, branches that bore dried leaves unlike anything she’d ever seen before.

But the more she looked, the more signs of age she found.

Limbs the size of hydra necks lay strewn across the floor in small deadfalls, leaving craters and fissures through the wood-carved floor.

Untended-to foliage was slowly but surely claiming the hive, too. Branches were starting to grow without rhyme or reason, some even blocking Applejack’s path here and there as they sprouted up through the once-cleanly carved tree trunk beneath her hooves.

Overgrowths covered almost everything. Moss and mushrooms grew clustered here and there, forcing Applejack to sidestep now and again.

More disconcertingly, the forces of the Everfree were also starting to take hold. Applejack saw more than a few flowerbeds of Poison Joke scattered along what might’ve once been lounges and thoroughfares, along with countless other varieties of wilted flowers that she vowed to never go near, just in case.

Really, the hive was unlike anything Applejack had ever seen before. It defied her expectations and any of her explanations. It was like someone had purposefully grown a grove of trees into their shapes, but how such a thing was possible escaped her.

At last, she couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

“This place is incredible,” she said, still taking in the sights.

“Your mother took great pride in it,” Hyacinth said. “Queen Carnation had a knack for agriculture.”

“Ah’ll say,” Applejack replied, craning her neck to stare at another hollowed out limb. “Just how much of this place is there?”

“There are two primary chambers,” Hyacinth explained, “and three districts. The one you see around you was where the drones lived and recuperated.”

Applejack turned back to the older changeling. “Recuperated? From what?”

“Most of the changelings that lived in this hive spent most of their time out and about,” Hyacinth said. “Most integrated with pony civilization, but as I’m sure you know, every now and then they needed a place to unwind.”

Yes, that was something Applejack could see.

“But for the most part, the other drones either spent time with ponies, or remained here. We learned very early on that we needn’t struggle to attain the love we needed to power our magic; the ponies in Ponyville were some of the most loving and indiscriminate ponies we’d ever met.”

Applejack couldn’t help but frown a little. “Yer tellin’ me that changelin’s have been ‘round Equestria fer years?”

Hyacinth nodded. “At least, our hive has. No other queen before Queen Carnation managed to find a safe enough place to start one, and back then, queens didn’t tend to play nice with each other, so they preferred to keep their distance from one another.”

They were drawing close to the central tree by then. It loomed over Applejack, bigger than she’d thought possible.

Ahead of her, there was an opening filled with softly radiating light.

“The second chamber lies beneath this one,” Hyacinth explained. “It’s where the nursery was located.”

Applejack hesitated, her eyes instinctively being drawn down over the edge of the bridge towards the ground far below. She instantly regretted it. After all, they were a lot higher up than she’d anticipated.

“But that’s not where I want to take you,” Hyacinth said, regaining Applejack’s attention.

“And… where are we goin’?” she asked.

“The royal quarters.”

~~***~~

The heart of Freedom was even more spectacular than the surrounding outside area.

The entire central tree was hollowed out – or rather, the trunks of dozens of trees spiraled around each other on their way to the sky, creating a void in between them. Light bulbs of every color adorned the walls, turning the space as bright as day.

And up a winding spiral staircase that started from the wall and spiraled up into the utmost center of the hollowed space, hung a chamber wrapped in what looked like roots and vines.

Those very vines and spindly branches clung firmly to a wedge of granite, suspending it almost twenty feet off the ground. That slab acted as a floor for the chamber itself, while the loose vines made up the walls.

Applejack looked around as she entered the chamber behind Hyacinth, and despite her worst fears, she found that the floor was as solid as if it were attached to the ground.

Light streamed in through the walls, striking a crystal chandelier in the shape of tree roots and casting still more prismatic beams of light into every corner of the room.

And directly beneath that, positioned dead center in the chamber, was a bed.

Hewn from stone, it was hardly more than a large oval embedded into the floor, with four ornately carved columns reaching up towards the natural ceiling.

Each column was wrapped in brown, withered vines that still clung stubbornly to the desiccated bulbs of wilted flowers.

The bed was filled with what Applejack thought might’ve been moss of some kind, but age had not been kind enough to keep the rotted matt identifiable.

It was the only piece of furniture in the entire chamber, and yet it dominated the space, grabbing Applejack’s gaze and refusing to let go.

“Here we are,” Hyacinth stated, looking around as she stepped carefully into the room.

As she stepped forward, she undid the clasp of her cloak and slipped it from her frame.

To Applejack’s surprise, she saw that the changeling before her wasn’t as ordinary as the others before her.

The carapace on her back was dull and faded, as if bleached by the sun. Her wings, too, were opaque and brittle-looking. That, and the gray steaks through her mane made Applejack wonder just how old Hyacinth was.

“And… where is here, exactly,” Applejack asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Hyacinth turned to face her before waving a hoof around the chamber slightly.

“This was your mother’s bedchamber,” she said. “And… this is the place where you were born.”

Applejack’s eyes got wide, her heart missing a beat. “What?”

Hyacinth only smiled, then motioned once more. “Go ahead,” she said.

Applejack found herself moving forward, her legs wandering around the room. Once upon a time, she’d wondered about where she’d been born, and who’d given birth to her. But that’d been a very long time ago, indeed, back before she’d even gotten her cutie mark.

Years had buried that curiosity in her. She’d told herself that it didn’t matter; the Apples were her family, and nothing would change that.

But now here she was; standing in the very room she’d taken her first breath. Now, her curiosity was coming back, like a long buried treasure she’d forgotten she’d even had.

“What was she like,” Applejack asked quietly.

She couldn’t see Hyacinth – she was standing behind her – but Applejack could feel her eyes on her.

“Strong,” Hyacinth said. “A lot stronger than most gave her credit for. And… very stubborn.”

Applejack couldn’t help but grin at that. She put a hoof on the stone frame of the bed, feeling its cold, uneven texture.

But try as she might, she just couldn’t see it. There were no bursts of memory or familiarity. Nothing marked this place as special to her. Absolutely nothing.

But her heart wouldn’t accept that. It finally had a chance at the answers it had so sorely looked for over her lifetime, and even if it was a slim chance, her mind just wouldn’t let go of the possibility.

“Ya know,” she found herself saying, “When Ah was just a little filly, Ah thought Ah was cursed, like some kind of werepony from those folk stories. Ah was scared to death of anypony findin’ out, so Ah hid it as best Ah could.”

She turned her gaze towards Hyacinth, and though she knew it wouldn’t be fair, she found herself frowning an accusation at her. “Why did Ah grow up like this? Why did Ah grow up not even knowin’ what Ah was? Can ya tell me that much?”

Hyacinth looked like she’d aged a couple dozen more years. An ancient sadness filled her eyes, one that tugged at Applejack’s heart.

“Applejack, I…,” she whispered, almost too low for AJ to hear.

But after a moment, she forced her composure back into place. She straightened her back, her eyes gleaming with determination.

“Yes, I can, and I will, dear,” she said firmly. “I owe you at least that much. But, before I do, I need to ask you for one more favor.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “And that is?”

“I need your horn,” Hyacinth said meaningfully.

It took Applejack a second to realize what she was getting at, and instantly she was less-than comfortable with the idea.

“Why do ya want it,” she asked nervously.

Hyacinth gave her an understanding look. “Because I know that a changeling’s word means very little to you right now,” she said. “After Vigil and Queen Chrysalis, you have no reason to believe a word I say, even if I were to tell you nothing but the honest truth. So… I want to show you instead.”

Applejack hesitated even further. “How?”

“A spell,” Hyacinth said. “I will show you my own memories, and if you choose to not believe me afterwards… that’s up to you.”

When she saw Applejack was still giving her a look laden with misgivings, Hyacinth softened her expression and smiled reassuringly.

“All I’m asking, dear, is for just a little faith. If you can manage that for even just a moment, I promise I will answer any question you want.”

She sat down and extended one hoof. “Please, Applejack. Just one moment.”

Applejack looked at her for a moment longer, waffling. Even though she wanted answers, the thought of resorting to changeling magic to get it wasn’t exactly inspiring.

But what had Hyacinth done to earn her mistrust? At what point had she done anything to mislead Applejack?

The look on her face reaffirmed that assertion; her eyes were filled with a genuine desire to help.

So, even with every warning bell imaginable blaring in her head, Applejack took a step forward. “Alright.”

In a flash, an emerald fireball consumed her, disintegrating her much-loved coat and cutie mark, leaving behind only disliked black chitin.

The bandages that wrapped around her frame were instantly reduced to ash, vaporizing before Applejack could remember they were there.

When she opened her eyes again, she could once more see the black tip of her muzzle and the amber fringe over her brow, and already she wanted nothing more than to be rid of it.

Hyacinth just looked at her, a twinge of something crossing her eyes. She started to open her mouth to say something, but caught herself.

“Ya got somethin’ ta say?” Applejack said before she could catch herself, and immediately she regretted it. “Sorry. Ah just…”

“I was going to say you look gorgeous.”

Applejack paused, her eyes returning to Hyacinth to find her smiling warmly. “You’ve grown up so wonderfully.”

Applejack couldn’t help but take a step back. Her? gorgeous? in this form? The very idea didn’t quite click in her mind.

“Uh… thanks, Ah guess.”

Hyacinth’s smile grew wider, then she beckoned the young queen over.

Applejack carefully approached. As bidden, she sat down directly in front of Hyacinth, who was still smiling.

“Thank you, Y—Applejack,” she said sincerely. “Now, lean your horn towards mine. This won’t hurt, but it might be a little… alarming.”

Well, that didn’t boost Applejack’s morale.

But, she did as instructed, awkwardly declining her head a little to point her sharp horn towards the other changeling.

Hyacinth gave her one last reassuring look before leaning in, her horn already starting to crackle.

“Now, close your eyes, dear.”

Applejack did so, her stomach lurching uncomfortably.

All she felt was a pinching sensation at the base of her horn, and everything went out like a light.

~~***~~

Slowly, images started to swim back to Applejack. Shapes took form, running together like running paint going in reverse.

Eventually, the shape of a small chamber solidified in front of her.

Instantly, however, she could tell that she was no longer in Queen Carnation’s bedchamber.

All around her, the walls were roughly hewn from jagged black volcanic rock. The low ceiling seemed to press down on her, and though Applejack was not usually one for claustrophobia, she was already feeling uncomfortable within the dark, confined space.

Rather than having furniture arranged in the room, alcoves had been carved from the rock itself, making room for shelves for all manner of things – from the familiar, like books, to the unsettling, like jars filled with unknown and unspeakable things.

Applejack looked around, keenly aware that she was somewhere she shouldn’t be, and yet… not. Something was off.

For starters, the floor felt wrong. Despite the numerous pits and bubbles in the rocky surface underhoof, she felt nothing but cool, even stone beneath her hooves.

“Wh-what? Where am Ah,” she blurted, standing up.

“Settle down, Applejack.”

Hyacinth’s voice radiated in her ears, and yet seemed to lack any direction whatsoever. It came from everywhere and nowhere.

When Applejack felt something touch her hoof, she yelped. Nothing was around her to touch her, and that was making her even more anxious.

“It’s alright, dear,” Hyacinth’s voice said. “You’re only seeing my memories. You are still very much in front of me. See? I’m touching you.”

Applejack looked down at her hoof, and to her alarm, she found that she couldn’t find it, or any part of her for that matter. Her entire body was missing.

But she could still feel it. When she tried, she felt her hoof wrap around the thing that’d poked her, and sure enough it resembled another hoof. It gave her a reassuring squeeze, in fact.

“Wh-where am Ah, though,” Applejack asked, looking around, her pulse still wild with adrenaline.

“An old hive, far away from here.”

“And… Why am Ah here,” she asked.

“Look forward.”

Applejack did so, and about jumped out of her skin. Too late she realized that she wasn’t as alone as she thought she was.

The chamber had two occupants, in fact. Both were lounging on oddly ornate violet pillows and cushions, clearly talking animatedly.

The first thing Applejack noticed was the twin irises in their eyes, ringing around cat-like pupils.

Just from that, she had a very good inclination as to what they were.

Both changelings couldn’t have been much taller than she was, and yet besides the black chitin they were clad in and their holey limbs and manes, they shared nothing in common.

The first one Applejack’s eyes fell on sat with confident poise, certainty and authority practically radiating from her plum-colored eyes.

Her long violet mane hung like a languid curtain around her shoulders and neck, making her look like she was draped in some kind of goo. Her muzzle was oddly squashed, her fangs hanging down past her chin, making her thin face look like that of a viper.

Sitting across from her, the other changeling listened patiently to her speaking, smiling slightly. Her red mane – though not nearly as long as her companion’s – just barely touched her shoulders at its longest point, but what it lacked in length it made up for in volume. Her mane was bushy and unkempt, like a curtain of crimson hanging moss.

Her pink eyes watched her companion’s every little move, and where the purple-maned queen was confident and self-assured, she sat with a subdued dignity unlike anything Applejack had ever seen before.

“Yes, mother’s been awfully uncooperative,” the purple-maned queen was saying, sounding rather annoyed. “I swear, that old nag is so mired in tradition that she wouldn’t lift a hoof to save her entire hive if it meant going against her ‘code’.”

Her companion chuckled lightly. “Phantasma, you’re just being impatient. Sooner or later, we’ll be out on our own without anyone to hold us down.”

The purple-maned queen, evidently Phantasma, rolled her eyes. “See, that’s why we need to work on your motivation, Carnation.”

Applejack couldn’t help but let out a gasp before instantly clamping her hooves over her mouth. A moment later, she remembered that the queens before her weren’t even real, and replaced her hooves on the ground.

But her eyes were glued on the red-maned changeling. On her mother.

Her mother. Her re—no, not quite her real mother, per se, but the very pony that’d given birth to her.

For the first time, she could actually see her birth mother. For the longest moment, she just sat there, unable to think at all.

It took her a moment, but she managed to remind herself to breathe.

Carnation sat with her back slightly turned to Applejack, but she could still see her face. She looked young – maybe only a little older than she was now, in fact.

While she sat stock still in shock, the scene continued to unfold before her.

Phantasma reached over with one hoof and jabbed Carnation in the chest almost accusingly. Applejack had to fight down the urge to shout at her when she saw that.

“You know that everyone is saying you’re an unmotivated good-for-nothing, don’t you?”

Carnation just laughed lightly. “Do they, now?”

She spoke slowly, taking her time to pronounce each syllable to the utmost degree of perfection. “Well, I can’t say that that’s very kind of them.”

Phantasma rolled her eyes. “Oh come now, cousin. Where’s your killer instinct?”

Once more, she jabbed Carnation in the chest, an action that she’d clearly done more than once, seeing as the red-maned queen hardly even reacted.

“Someday, you and I are going to lead our people to a bright new future. You’ve got the smarts for it – that’s the only reason I keep you around.”

Carnation merely smirked at her cousin, giving her a playful look. “Oh, is that right? Well, perhaps I only keep you around for your brawn.”

Phantasma actually laughed at that. “Ha! If anything, I’m the mastermind of this whole operation. And not a half-bad looking one, either, if I do say so myself.”

She finished by flipping her mane, a smug smile on her lips.

Carnation chuckled lightly, but said nothing to the contrary.

Applejack couldn’t help but snort. “Ah’d give her a six-and-a-half,” she said.

Hyacinth chuckled in her ear.

“Queen Phantasma was your mother’s cousin, but despite that, they were quite close; unusually close for queens. Perhaps it was because they both had a common goal, or perhaps they saw each other as equals – I cannot say for certain. All I know for sure is that your mother and her cousin were two of the most ambitious queens I have ever known.

“They sat in this very room for hours at a time, discussing only one thing; how to bring their people into a bright new age of prosperity. It was their sole driving force; even your mother, who no one believed would amount to anything, spent every waking moment thinking on how to do just that.”

Applejack watched the two queens talking, but soon she started to notice bits and pieces of their conversation just… slipping by, words and entire strings of conversation devolving into unintelligible mumbling.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on?” she asked, confused.

“I’m sorry,” Hyacinth apologized sincerely, “but I rarely paid attention to all of their conversations. I was, after all, quite young back then, so my memories will be… incomplete at times.”

Before Applejack could mention anything, Carnation suddenly turned her head… and looked straight at her.

Applejack froze, her breath catching in her throat as their eyes met. For one wild moment, she would’ve bet bits that the queen could see her.

But a moment later, that was proven false.

“Hyacinth, come here for a moment.”

And to Applejack’s immense surprise, she found a changeling walking out of her. The young Hyacinth was only slightly older than a filly – that much was clear.

She was small, smaller than any changeling Applejack had ever seen before, yet she moved with purpose and determination, her features poised well enough to impress any royal guard out there.

But as she moved, Applejack saw something very strange, indeed. The further away from her the young Hyacinth got, the more muddled her surroundings became. Walls began to vanish entirely, devolving into incomprehensible swirling shadows of nothingness while everything in front of the changeling was still perfectly clear and crisp.

It took Applejack a moment to realize just what was happening. After all, how could Hyacinth be aware of every single bit of her surroundings all the time? She didn’t have eyes in the back of her head. So, like the missing bits of conversation earlier, everything she hadn’t laid her eyes on just… faded away.

As the young Hyacinth stepped forward, Applejack also noticed that she was carrying something in her jaws.

The moment she arrived at the two lounging queens, she dropped that something reverently at Carnation’s hooves and backed away.

It was a large, ragged scroll, one that Carnation took in one hoof after flashing the little changeling a small smile before turning to it.

Phantasma didn’t even react to Hyacinth’s presence that much. For as much as she showed, that scroll might’ve just popped into existence at her cousin’s hooves.

Hyacinth bowed before shrinking back against the far wall, once more moving to stand inside Applejack.

Out of sheer discomfort, AJ shifted out of the way to stand beside the little changeling and cast a critical eye over her.

“Are ya tellin’ me ya worked fer Carnation even as a filly?”

“It was my duty,” Hyacinth said indifferently. “As soon as a youngster is fit to work, they work. That is our way. Now, I got off lucky – I was chosen to be Queen Carnation’s handmaiden at an early age, and she was considerably more forgiving than some of the queens I’ve heard of.”

Applejack frowned at that. “That don’t seem right, makin’ children work.”

Hyacinth didn’t respond.

Instead, Applejack felt another jolt run through her horn, making her wince.

When she opened her eyes next, an entirely different scene lay before her.

Once more she found herself in Carnation’s presence, but this time there was no Phantasma.

Immediately she could tell that some years had passed since the last memory. Carnation stood almost a foot taller from before, causing her to tower over Hyacinth’s perspective. Her red mane had grown out rampantly, causing it to drape down past her chest. Her tail dragged along the floor like a train.

There was a different kind of glint to her eyes now; a hard, reserved edge, unlike the gentle look from before.

Atop her head rested a small, almost comical crown adorned with three ruby facets on the end.

“You do not need to follow me, Lieutenant,” she said, her voice still slow and yet harder, firmer.

“Yes I do.”

It took Applejack a moment to realize that it was the memory of Hyacinth that’d spoken, and her only indication that it wasn’t the real thing was the fact that she could hear the voice coming from where her mouth should be.

Once more, Applejack sidestepped out of the memory of Hyacinth out of discomfort, and what she saw surprised her.

Hyacinth had grown up, too. Now she looked more like the typical changeling drone, but the way she carried herself was what struck Applejack the most. She moved in a graceful lope, her slim figure never stopping even slightly.

She held her head high and proud, and though she did not look at Carnation per se, her attention was firmly on her.

The queen turned an eye towards Hyacinth with a heavy look.

“Hyacinth… if this doesn’t pay off, neither of us will survive to regret it for long.”

Hyacinth finally turned towards her queen, and Applejack could almost feel the fierce devotion radiating from her.

“My Queen, I told you that I would follow you to the end of the world. Now that we are actually going there, I have no intention of going against my word.”

Carnation smiled only a little. However, her eyes were still very sad and heavy.

“Hyacinth…”

But to Applejack's surprise, Hyacinth turned away, a bullheaded expression set on her face as she continued to flank her queen down the cold, dark passageway she was trotting down.

“What’s goin’ on?” Applejack couldn’t help but ask.

This time when she heard Hyacinth’s voice, it radiated from nothingness towards her. “This was the day your mother took the biggest gamble of her life. This is the day she took only a small cadre of drones and made for Equestria.”

Applejack felt her heart thump hard in her chest.

“Before this, no one had ever dared venture that far north. It was unknown territory. Whatever possessed her to take such a risk, I will never know, and I spent more time with her than anyone alive. Perhaps she felt… driven to push herself. Maybe…”

Without warning, the memory wobbled.

The sound of hoof falls grew muffled. The memory of Carnation and Hyacinth started to blur and lose its shape, the tunnel devolving almost entirely to muddled shadows.

“What’s happenin’?”

“I-it’s… it’s alright, dear. Just… give me a second.”

Applejack frowned, concern tugging at her. That was not the voice of someone doing alright. Hyacinth was clearly straining.

But a moment later, the image sharpened again. And just as it did, shadow broke away from the nearby wall – a gangly shadow draped in violet.

“So you’re actually going through with it?”

Queen Carnation ground to a halt, as did Hyacinth, their eyes trained on the newcomer.

Instantly Applejack recognized Phantasma, though she, too, was older. She stood considerably taller, yet her frame seemed somehow thinner from before. A small crown rested upon her head, too; one adorned with deep purple gemstones.

She was gazing solely at Carnation with a frown on her thin face, her unusually big eyes clearly glimmering with displeasure.

But Carnation merely returned the look indifferently.

“Yes, cousin, I am,” she replied.

Phantasma narrowed her eyes at Carnation, a look of disbelief on her face.

“Don’t you get what’s at stake? If you fail…,”

“Then I fail,” Carnation said. “But think of what it would mean if I succeed, what it could mean for our kind if I find the source of love we’ve all be hoping for.”

Phantasma cocked a disbelieving brow at her. “You know what’s to the north, Carnation. There’s nothing but ice and snow. You’re chasing a fool’s dream.”

“Those history books are thousands of years old, Phantasma,” Carnation pointed out. “There is no telling what has changed in that time.”

Phantasma was still unmoved. “Be reasonable, cousin. You will do so much more good here, where you can make a difference.”

But Carnation, too, was unaffected by her words. “I have chosen my path, dear cousin, and like you, I must see it to its conclusion.”

She smiled at Phantasma, who was still frowning at her. “And the next time we meet, I hope to do so as friends once more.”

Phantasma’s frown only deepened. “You’re a fool, Carnation. You’re a bloody fool.”

Carnation’s smile didn’t so much as flinch as she started to trot past her fellow queen. “Aren’t we all?”

And with that, they both went their separate ways.

Applejack only watched the scene unfold for a moment longer – until Queen Phantasma faded into the unintelligible fog of nothingness behind Hyacinth – before she felt another jolt run through her horn, and the images faded out once more.

~~***~~

She was standing at the edge of a spiral bridge – a familiar spiral bridge. Light bulbs of every color hung from the walls all around Applejack, lighting up the hollow at the heart of Freedom with all the colors of the rainbow.

And yet, Applejack could scarcely believe it was the same place. Everything was so meticulously manicured and cared for. Verdant green vines wrapped around the nearby banister of cultivated branches – something Applejack hadn’t noticed before – each vine bearing a different vibrant flower.

The ceiling hung with all manner of plants, all bearing flowers as big as Applejack’s head, or even bigger.

Down below, she could hear activity; hooves clacking against wood, voices talking in subdued whispers to each other. She could just hear the sounds of buzzing wings and unintelligible activity beyond the royal quarters, reaching her ears as a mindless drone like Applejack had heard in every major city she’d visited.

This time, Applejack remembered to automatically sidestep out of Hyacinth’s memory, and right away she was glad she did.

Hyacinth had changed again, if only a little; she was now clad in dark armor. For one heart-stopping moment, she looked almost just like Vigil had, making Applejack’s heart miss a beat.

But she was slightly slimmer, and stood with her limbs slightly closer together than a stallion would. Her poise was immaculate, her expression stoic as she stood at attention at her post, eyes sweeping her surroundings – if the erratic splashes of awareness and unawareness were anything to go by.

She stood alone at her post, and yet didn’t seem bothered by that in the slightest. She just kept her attention forward, her senses piqued and scanning for the slightest abnormality…

And that was when something fell on her back.

To her credit, Hyacinth didn’t cry out in alarm or jump half as much as Applejack would’ve. She did, however, whirl around to glare at her would-be attacker, ready for anything.

Hyacinth was not, however, ready for what she saw.

There, resting upon her armor-covered back, was a little, amber-maned changeling.

Applejack’s breath caught once more, her eyes going almost as wide as the memory-Hyacinth’s did.

The little baby Applejack cooed happily as she flopped around the older changeling’s back, laughing and giggling the whole time.

Hyacinth could only stare at her for a moment, and then her eyes were flashing around her hastily, panic creeping its way into her features.

“Wh-what are you doing here, little one?” she asked nervously as she scanned her surrounding for the one she knew would be coming shortly.

The little changeling baby only giggled, her tiny wings thrumming gleefully.

Hyacinth cast a few more glances this way and that, double-checking her surroundings.

And then, once more, she chanced a glance at the hatchling on her back.

Applejack smiled broadly, flashing a single baby fang. “Uppies!”

Hyacinth only blinked at her, nonplussed. It was clear that she had absolutely no idea what to do. She was starting to panic, her hooves fidgeting

And then, very carefully – like she was expecting an instant reprimand – Hyacinth lit her horn, and very gingerly picked up the baby queen on her back.

The baby Applejack giggled hysterically, waving her hooves excitedly as she floated through the air.

But all too soon, she came to a rest again; at Hyacinth’s hooves.

“Okay, listen very carefully,” she said slowly, leaning her head down to be on level with the baby. “Where is your mother?”

Applejack blinked, completely uncomprehending, still smiling.

Hyacinth groaned, leaning back and sitting down. She put one hoof on her forehead and closed her eyes. “Queen Carnation is going to have a cow…”

And then, in a day that was filled with nothing but unexpected surprises, she received one more.

As she sat there, trying to figure out what to do, she felt something squirm its way beneath her hooves.

Instantly her eyes snapped open in alarm as she glanced down.

And there was Applejack, curled up comfortably between her seated hind legs, eyes closed and snoozing gently.

Hyacinth could only stare in disbelief, her every muscle locked up.

She just stared down at the baby with wide, astonished eyes for nearly a minute straight.

And then, very slowly, very carefully, she lowered her forelegs back to the ground… and gently pulled the toddler closer.

Applejack snuggled in, nearly making Hyacinth jump backwards once more.

But when nothing else happened, Hyacinth continued to watch the sleeping baby queen. She visibly calmed, if only very slowly.

And after a time, she even managed to lift her head and very awkwardly continued her vigil.

For only a few seconds.

“Applejack? Applejack!”

Hyacinth froze, every muscle locking up once again. Before she could react, she was caught.

Queen Carnation appeared seemingly from nowhere, swooping down onto the bridge landing as fast as a plummeting falcon.

And before Hyacinth could move away from the baby queen between her hooves, or even stand for that matter, Queen Carnation’s eyes fell on her.

Both changelings stared at each other – one in clear surprise while the other in sheer, unadulterated terror.

There was an eternal moment of stunned silence between the mother and her bodyguard. It took Carnation taking a step forward to snap Hyacinth out of it, and she came back to reality with her mouth flying.

“My deepest apologies, Your Highness! She just came out of nowhere, and I wanted to come find you, but I didn’t want to leave Princess Applejack alone, and then she fell asleep right here and I didn’t know what to do, and –”

“Hyacinth.”

Only then did she seem to notice that Carnation’s expression had softened, once more returning to its reserved composure. Except this time, she was smiling gently.

“I’m not angry with you,” she said. “It was my own fault for letting Applejack slip away from me. And besides, I could think of no one better to look after her.”

Hyacinth just stared in surprise at Queen Carnation.

The matriarch smiled benignly at the changeling. She stepped forward, instantly making Hyacinth tense up.

But she wasn’t interested in her. Carnation carefully lowered her head towards the sleeping baby queen, instead.

“Applejack,” she cooed quietly.

Something stirred in the back of Applejack’s mind, something reacting to that low, beckoning tone.

It was so indistinct, so very indistinct – less than a shadow of a memory, in fact. It was merely… nostalgic familiarity. It was a familiar sense of safety, one that she hadn’t felt in years, and yet one that felt as familiar as her own skin.

“Applejack, honey. Wake up.”

Applejack felt her heart pounding in her chest, her mind stalling, her eyes wide.

She watched as the mother before her gently reached down and closed her lips on the scruff of the baby changeling’s neck, pulling her up off the floor.

The moment her hooves left the ground, the baby Applejack’s eyes opened blearily, unseeing. And yet, she didn’t panic or start fussing.

“Mama…?”

And in that moment, Applejack wasn’t sure which one of her said it.

She watched as Queen Carnation lowered the baby filly onto her back. She carefully closed her wings, wrapping her foal in a gossamer blanket.

Applejack – the memory of Applejack – snuggled in against her mother, already fast asleep.

Carnation hummed softly, a loving smile on her face as she gently kissed her daughter goodnight before turning back to Hyacinth.

“She must like you,” she stated softly.

Hyacinth just stared, wide-eyed, her composure gone. “Y-yes, Your Highness.”

Carnation stared at her bodyguard for a moment, her expression unreadable, and yet… oddly dissatisfied.

“Hyacinth, I have an order for you,” she said, her tone firm.

Instantly Hyacinth straightened up, snapping back to attention. “My Queen?”

Carnation continued to give her subordinate a business-like stare, her expression unreadable.

“I want you to look after my daughter when I cannot be there for her,” she stated.

Whatever Hyacinth had been expecting, it was not that. Her jaw actually dropped, soliciting a bemused grin from the matriarch.

“What? But Your Highness, do you not have nurses? Caretakers more fit than I?”

Carnation’s smile faltered, a slight frown crossing her expression. “Do not look down on your abilities,” she admonished. “I can think of no one more fit for this role than you. I am certain that Applejack will never come to harm with –”

Once more, the memory quivered, trembling under its own weight. Everything froze; Carnation, her mouth still open to speak, and Hyacinth, still staring in sheer disbelief.

Colors began to run out of everything around Applejack, the memory collapsing all around her.

“Hyacinth?” she asked, nervous.

All she got in reply was a strained grunt.

“Just… just a little… a little longer…”

But the memory continued to unmake itself, breaking apart at the seams.

But just before Applejack could brace for darkness to claim her once more, the scene around her instantly snapped back to focus.

Only… not the same one. Like a snake sloughing its old skin, the new memory emerged from the tattered remains of the old, bursting into being all around Applejack. The memory still flickered and contorted dangerously, as if barely holding itself together, but it was holding.

She was once more standing in her mother’s bedchamber. Only now, the bed was wrapped in a verdant weave of flowering vines covered in pure white bulbs.

The bed was filled with soft, loamy moss as green as any Applejack had ever seen before.

And there, lying upon the bed was Queen Carnation. She was lying curled around a baby Applejack, who snoozed gently against her mother’s belly.

Carnation just watched her daughter with a soft, loving smile, her soft voice humming a low lullaby to the darkened room.

But after a moment, she glanced up, straight towards the real Applejack.

AJ froze instinctively, her mind locking up.

“Hyacinth… can you come here for a second?”

Of course… she couldn’t see Applejack. The realization sent equal parts relief and, curiously, disappointment, racing through her.

But before anything else could happen, the memory once more quivered.

“N-no! Not… not that one…!”

But a moment later, the vision solidified once more.

“No… Applejack, you shouldn’t… Let… let it go…!”

Applejack’s attention stayed on the scene before her.

She watched as Hyacinth stepped forward, slow and uncertain. She followed along behind the captain, pulled seemingly by an irresistible force.

“Please, Applejack… you… you can’t see this! It’s… ugh…”

“Your Highness?”

Applejack watched as the memory of Hyacinth stepped up to the edge of the bed, her eyes searching and nervous.

Carnation smiled up at her, her expression the softest Applejack had ever seen before.

In that moment, she didn’t look like a changeling. The aesthetics were there, yes, but… Applejack just couldn’t see it. This couldn’t be a changeling. It just couldn’t be.

Changelings shouldn’t glow with love and happiness. Changelings shouldn’t look so content and at peace. It wasn’t right, not to Applejack.

So then, what did that make the creature lying before her? Just what was she?

As Applejack stared, her mind in turmoil, Carnation pulled one foreleg from her side and patted the bed next to her.

“Join me for a moment, if you will.”

Hyacinth blinked in shock. “Y-Your Highness?”

Carnation merely smiled up at her. “Please. I must see something for myself.”

Hyacinth stood there for a moment, clearly conflicted. But, after nearly five seconds, her sense of duty evidently won out.

Carefully and with much trepidation, she stepped up onto the bed. She moved slowly, like she might need to turn and run at any possible moment.

But Carnation merely smiled at her, indicating where she wanted Hyacinth to lie down; on the other side from the sleeping baby Applejack.

“If you will,” she said softly.

Hyacinth gulped nervously, then very gingerly lowered herself to the bed.

Carnation gave her a bemused look, then lit her horn.

With a barely contained squeak, the changeling bodyguard was pulled in closer, until they were practically lying side by side.

In that moment, Hyacinth’s belly touched the sleeping filly between them.

And to Hyacinth’s surprise, the baby stirred. To her utter disbelief, the filly snuggled up against her, her little muzzle squirming into place against her thigh.

It was clear by the look on her face that Hyacinth wanted nothing more than to jump up and bolt from the room. A flush of color crossed her cheeks as she visibly tensed up.

Carnation just watched her, a smug smile on her face. “I thought so,” she whispered. “Applejack knows her—”

“No!”

~~***~~

With a painful jolt, Applejack snapped back to reality, a crackle of magic popping in the air between her and Hyacinth.

Hyacinth was collapsed on the ground, breathing in ragged breaths, her horn still sparking with residual magic.

The last scene flashed through Applejack’s mind again as she shook the daze from her head, staggering slightly.

It’d been cut short, but… she’d heard it. It’d been there, a faint whisper transferred like an echo as the spell unmade itself.

And now, all she could do was stare at Hyacinth with wide, stunned eyes.

“Yer… Yer my aunt.”

Hyacinth closed her eyes in defeat, her weakened body slumping totally to the floor.

“No…”

“Yes!” Applejack shouted, jumping to her hooves. Her blood was pumping, her heart throbbing in her chest almost painfully. “Ah heard what Ah heard!”

Hyacinth’s expression contorted, her eyes still scrunched shut. “Applejack…”

“Why didn’t ya tell me in the first place?” she shouted. She was shaking all over, and for reasons she couldn’t quite identify.

Was it anger? Shock? She didn’t know.

“Why didn’t ya tell me we were related?!”

Hyacinth’s eyes opened, but she didn’t turn to look her niece in the eye.

“Because I abandoned you,” she breathed. “I left you here… with ponies… to fend for yourself. I left you behind because… because I can’t be your aunt.”

“Bull!” Applejack shouted, her voice almost breaking. “What was stoppin’ ya?”

Hyacinth didn’t respond for a moment, her eyes scrunching up tighter.

But despite her best efforts, no matter how hard she tried, her tears betrayed her.

“Because I am a drone, dear,” she said in a hollow tone.

She wobbled upright, stumbling over her own hooves in her effort to rise. “In any of the memories I’ve shown you, did your mother ever let on that I was her sister?”

Applejack’s jaw dropped, her emotional turmoil forgotten for a moment.

Hyacinth just stared lifelessly at the ground off to the side. “That’s the kind of place a hive is, dear,” she said quietly. “Half the changelings closest to the queen are her own relatives. Chrysalis herself has over a dozen brothers and sisters, and yet she will never see them as more than her entourage.”

“That’s…,” Applejack breathed, stunned.

Hyacinth nodded. “Not right? No, perhaps not… but to us it is.”

She finally turned a sad eye towards Applejack, looking weary and glum behind imagining. “That last memory… I didn't want you to see it; I knew you'd misunderstand. After all, that was the closest Queen Carnation ever came to treating me like her sister. Letting me lay with you on her bed, letting me look after you when she couldn’t…it made me start wanting things I shouldn't have."

She looked away, looking guilty and miserable, like she was admitting to a terrible, filthy secret. “Whenever I saw the two of you together… I couldn’t help but feel envious. I… I wanted so bad for…”

She trailed off, her expression souring as she closed her eyes once more.

Applejack took a step closer, lowering her head carefully. “Fer what?” she coaxed.

Hyacinth opened her eyes just a crack, and despite their featureless plane, Applejack knew that she was looking straight at her out of the corner of one eye.

“I wanted so bad for you to be mine,” she said in a barely audible whisper.

Applejack stared in disbelief, stunned once again.

Hyacinth closed her eyes once more, looking disgusted with herself.

The two stood in dead silence for nearly two minutes straight, neither knowing what to say, or even if they wanted to speak at all. But in the end, it was Applejack who spoke, but not before heaving a sigh.

“Do ya mean that?”

Hyacinth opened her eyes to look at her, still looking like she was on the verge of collapse.

Applejack was watching her carefully, a tentative hoof raised mid-step. “If yer bein’ sincere with me right now… why did ya leave? What kept ya from stayin’?”

Hyacinth glanced away for a moment, then turned fully towards Applejack.

“Do you want to know?”

Applejack nodded, working at keeping her expression even. “Ah do. There ain't nothin’ Ah want more right now. Ah still got more questions than Ah know what ta do with, and right now Ah can’t even rightly think straight…”

She took another tentative step forward before placing a single hoof on Hyacinth’s shoulder, her expression searching. “But… if we really are related, the least Ah can do is give ya a chance to explain yerself.”

Hyacinth stared at her niece for a moment longer, searching her composed expression.

And then, after a moment, a ghost of a smile appeared on her face.

She’s more like her mother than she’ll ever know…

“Alright, dear,” she said stepping forward once more. “Then lend me your horn for just a bit longer.”

But Applejack hesitated. “Are ya sure?” she asked, concern written on her face. “Ya don’t have ta push yerself to the end of yer rope.”

“Yes I do,” Hyacinth stated with absolute certainty. “Don’t worry about me; I’m a tough old nag. I can take it. And if it will give you the answers you’ve been searching for, its a price I'll willingly pay.”

Applejack bit her lip, but nodded. The way Hyacinth was looking at her, she knew there’d be no reasoning with her. All she could do was lower her head, pointing her horn once more towards Hyacinth.

The old changeling smiled a brittle smile at Applejack. She knew they were a long way away from where they needed to be, but… the spark of hope was a tough thing to put out.

Even if things were not going as planned anymore, she still had a goal in mind, And she was dead set on seeing it through to its conclusion.

And so, Hyacinth leaned in and touched her horn to Applejack’s, and a moment later the young queen was once more flung into darkness.

And into an awaiting nightmare. 

Author's Notes:

Uppies!

I must say, I had fun imagining what Applejack's hive would look like. I was adamant that I didn't want to take the stereotypical hole-in-the-ground anthill approach, but that was about it. So basically, everything about it was made from scratch and a lot of dart-board-style decision making.

And also, man this chapter fought me to the bitter end. I must've gone through like three or four different opening acts, and I'm still not one-hundred-percent sold on the ending - could've been more impactful. Still, there's one more chapter of backstory, so who knows.

All that's left now is the fall.