WPCWP11

Applejack opened the library door and was about to step out when she heard a scream from inside. She spun around, only to see a familiar black Alicorn looming in a broken window.

"Well, cross my apples... Nightmare Moon!" She breathed, a cold chill running down her spine.

"Hello, ponies. I'm baaack." She sang in a sinister voice. "Back to spread my beautiful night all over Equestria. Then you'll all see how it really should be. The night is a dark and cold place, my friends. You'd best rug up." She cackled.

Twilight ran in front of her, Cadence right beside her. "Luna! What are you doing?!" She yelled.

"Luna? You mean that pitiful Alicorn? Bah, she merely gave me a form to work from. With her own deeds, she unknowingly guaranteed my return by imbuing my helmet with her magic." Nightmare Moon hissed.

The two Princesses took a step back, then looked at each other, eyes wide. Nightmare Moon took the opportunity to lash out with her magic, blowing huge chunks out of the library as ponies cried out in fear. "Never again shall the sun shine on your foolish faces!" She yelled. "And never again will a pony voice objection about Nightmare Moon- for you shall all grovel in the darkness of Oblivion!"

Applejack was knocked flying by the last blast of magic. She landed in the pond. As her head broke the surface with a gasp, she heard a yell nearby.

"Help! Help! I can't swim!" Rainbow Dash screamed, floundering in the water. "Somepony help me!"

She started to swim towards her. "Rainbow! Calm down, I'm coming to get you!" She called out, hoping she'd hear her over the cacophony of sounds around them due to Oblivion's arrival.

As she neared her, her head disappeared under the surface, and she had a brief moment of panic before somepony dived into the water to grab her. She relaxed, then paddled over to the bank and hauled herself out.

She heard Rainbow and her rescuer behind her, and she automatically held out a hoof to help them out of the water. "Who's that?" She asked, squinting through the darkness.

"It's Blueblood. Is that you, Applejack?" He said, shaking water out of his mane.

"Yeah. C'mon, we gotta get outta here. And we need to get Rainbow here warm and dry, too, so she doesn't get sick." She added, gesturing to the unconscious Pegasus.

"What about Apple Bloom, and all the others?" He asked, looking around at the chaos of ponies running around yelling, blasts of magic blowing apart buildings and Oblivion hovering above it all, cackling.

Applejack paused. "We'll find somewhere safe to spend the night, and then we'll find the others. But if something happens to Rainbow, to any of them..." She shook her head. "And for now, she's all we got."

XXX

Blueblood and Applejack made their way to the farm and crept into the barn. Applejack had insisted upon it, just in case somepony unfriendly decided to check out the house at some point while they were asleep.

Blueblood just nodded and carried Rainbow in. He laid her down in a pile of hay, patting her on the head before turning to Applejack. "So, hay bales for us, too?"

"Looks like it." She agreed. "It's no Canterlot royal quarters, but it'll do."

The two of them spent a while creating makeshift beds out of the hay in the barn. Blueblood grabbed a large bucket and dumped some hay into it, pulling a pair of stones out of his saddlebag and striking them together. A small spark lit the hay, and soon they had a decent fire going in the bucket.

In the fresh light, Applejack watched as he put the stones away, and gasped in horror. "BB- your cutie mark!"

His head whipped to look at his rump and he sagged. His cutie mark was just melted and faded and disfigured, almost like...

"It's... paint. You don't have a cutie mark, do ya?" She realised out loud.

He miserably shook his head. "No. I never got mine. As I got older, I just gave up, and I told everyone I got that from helping fight a young dragon. But the truth is, I never even got near the damned thing." He hung his head.

"Aw, BB..." She said sympathetically. "It's ok. I'm sure you'll find it. C'mon, for now, let's just get some shut-eye."

He nodded dumbly, cheeks red as he curled up on his hay-bed. "Yeah. Um... Applejack?"

"Yeah?" She looked at him as she laid down.

"Thanks for not freaking out about it." He said gratefully.

She smiled at him. "It's fine. Goodnight, BB."

"Night, Applejack."