Chapters Applejack bucked her back legs against the tree trunk. She backed up a little, allowing the apples to fall neatly into her saddle baskets. The orange pony trotted away from the tree, heading instead, towards a small cart. She got herself into position, just in front of the cart. She then reared up, so she was now standing on her back legs. The apples fell in an orderly fashion, without any of them going astray. Applejack gave the orchard a quick scan, once the apples were piled into the cart. Upon seeing that there was bit a single apple left, she let out a little 'yeehaw' to show she was done. Her celebratory hollering caught the attention of Big Macintosh. Who had been taking a sly nap in the barn, when he should have been apple bucking like his sister. He rose from his slumber and exited the barn.
Applejack trotted past him, heading towards the Apple family homestead, although she simply couldn't leave without a sly dig at her brother.
Her eyes first settled upon Big Macintosh working on his own. She let out a devious chuckle, and turned her attention skyward. The sun was beginning to set in the sky, casting an orangey hue across the horizon, beams of yellow and red blended together, spreading outwards from the enormous star that was the sun. Applejack always thought the sunsets looked beautiful, but she knew something far more beautiful came next. She counted down the seconds under her breath.
Applejack had never told Rainbow Dash that she loved her. She had always suffered at the merciless hands of nerves when it came to tell Dash of such things. She always seemed to suffer from one of two things, or sometimes both at once. She sometimes seized up, causing her to feel completely unresponsive. Being frozen to the spot wasn't that big of a problem, as she only needed to speak. However even that was a trial in itself. The moment she opened her mouth to say 'I love you', her vocabulary always descended into gibberish. She only managed to speak words like 'wuh' and 'buh' which really aren't even words. Of course as convention dictates, once Rainbow Dash left the scene, Applejack gained full control again. It was quite the predicament to get past, but she was certain that she could sort it. At the present moment, the effects of getting up at the crack of dawn were starting to take their toll. Applejack's eyes felt heavier and her body felt weaker. Now would probably be the best time for some sleep. She made her way to her bed, climbed into it, and laid her head on her pillow. Slowly her drowsiness began to take full effect. She soon drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with wonderful images of Rainbow Dash.
Upon the arrival of the next morning, Applejack was given a rude awakening. This wasn't due to the rooster crowing, but more due to invading sunlight. It streamed through her still open window. Her battle to remain in a state of lazy bliss, by her actually opening her eyes. The sunlight swarmed her vision, increasing her focus on the objects around her. This was the final straw, she had to get up now, and there was no way she could get back to sleep. She sat up and yawned, before crossing to the window and shutting it. She then made her way downstairs for some breakfast. As she made her way to the kitchen she caught a distinct smell of apples. This wasn't anything new; there was always an apple scent. Usually it was from the orchard, or somepony's cooking. She entered the kitchen and found a plate of apple pancakes sat on the table. A quick look around showed that no-one else was present, apart from herself. So she took it upon herself to clear away these pancakes. Clear away being the operant words for eat. Within five minutes, the pancakes had been devoured and not a morsel remained. With her belly full and her appetite satisfied, she headed outside. She decided to head into town, maybe she'd meet some of her friends there, and so off she went at a fair pace.
Upon entering the town she was ambushed by a bouncing, pink pony.
Applejack resorted that she wasn't going to be bitter of upset about the news. Instead she was going to find Dash and congratulate her. So she set of looking for a sky blue pony, with a rainbow mane and tail. However she was sidetracked by a crowd of ponies circled around somepony. She thought that the somepony might possibly be Rainbow Dash, so Applejack joined the crowd. The mass of ponies let out a collective 'awww' as a sign that something sweet had happened. Once the collective happy sigh had died down, voices could be heard from the crowd centre. Applejack identified one of the voices as Rainbow Dash's assertive and tomboyish tone. However the other was a complete mystery to her. She nudged fillies and colts alike aside until she reached the centre. Rainbow Dash was stood with another Pegasus. The Pegasus in question was a beautiful mint green, her mane a silvery version of the same colour. She had one hoof around Dash's neck causing her to blush. Applejack hadn't been listening to what they had been saying; she had been busy getting a better view. So now she just sat up and soaked up the conversation, even though she knew it wasn't going to help her mood.
The green Pegasus was the one talking when Applejack focused in.
"Hi Applejack!"
Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side, her wide smile still plastered on her face.
Back home Big Macintosh had finally finished apple bucking his side half of the orchard. Applejack bid him fleeting congratulations as she disappeared inside. Big Macintosh followed her inside, but got sidetracked in the kitchen. Applejack meanwhile scurried upstairs and into her bedroom. She shut the door and crossed to the window. The sun was still fairly high in the sky so Applejack was going to have to wait a fair few hours. To pass the time she started to daydream. She thought of what life would be like if she had been with Rainbow Dash. She imagined all the fun that they would've had. She sighed again her thoughts momentarily interrupted. Time seemed to creep by slowly, almost teasing Applejack as she waited for her private spectacle. At regular intervals of what she thought were long periods of time, she would leave her room and venture downstairs. This was only to look at the clock, to actually see how much time had passed. Time and time again she was disappointed at how much real-time had actually gone by. She only seemed to be experiencing three or five minute lapses. She wasn't the sort of pony to get impatient easy, but when time wasn't playing fair, anything was possible.
Eventually it grew close to the time she was waiting for. In preparation for the moment, she opened her window and stuck her head out. Sure enough the sunset had begun, and now it was only a few seconds until the show. A few seconds turned into a few minutes. Those minutes soon turned into hours and Applejack grew sadder and sadder. The moment she had been waiting for had not arrived. She just couldn't take it anymore; today had just been one big disappointment after another. She looked out on Ponyville in the distance. All lights had been extinguished, telling Applejack that Pinkie's party had finished. Yet still no rainbow in the sky. Applejack broke down, letting her emotions take full control. Tears welled up in her eyes, and rolled down her cheek. She sniffed, as the tears flowed faster, pooling on the windowsill. She took one last look at the picturesque landscape, before getting ready for bed. She was still crying, and on this night, her dreams weren't going to be as pleasant as previous nights. There would be no dreaming of Rainbow Dash tonight, only dreams of loneliness, and sadness.
The next morning came quickly but neither the rooster, nor the sunlight, could rouse Applejack. She just wanted to be left alone, a trait that was most unlike Applejack. If her brother hadn't been constantly shouting to her from downstairs, she probably would've stayed in bed all day. She hurried downstairs to see Big Macintosh, who was coincidentally waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.
Applejack, Private Investigator
The five ponies sat there in silence, while Big Macintosh headed into the kitchen. Minutes past and Applejack still retained her mouth open stance. Big Macintosh returned with a glass of water clamped tightly in his jaw. The other ponies just sat there, their attention focused on the glass. Each of them took a varying amount of time, but they all realised what was coming next. This new revelation prompted them to take a step backwards, or as best they could do in the cramped hallway. Big Macintosh proceeded to take centre stage and poised himself. In one quick swoop, he swung his head back and forth. He kept the glass steady, allowing the water to complete the energy change from potential energy to kinetic. This new burst of kinetic energy propelled the water forward, setting it on a direct course for Applejack's face. For the orange pony, the water was the least of her worries. Rainbow Dash was gone, all Applejack could think about was what she might be going through. Luckily there was a small amount of water flying towards her that would ease her mind.
The cold tap water made contact with Applejack's face, causing her to gasp in surprise.
Around the time Pinkie Pie's celebratory party had finished, which was approximately 7:30pm. Rainbow Dash and her new girlfriend (who had been named as Volo) had left for Volo's house. Contradictory to her Pegasus roots and nature, Volo had a house on the ground. There was nothing to go against this, as Fluttershy had done the exact same thing. Everypony else went straight home, or at least that's what the witnesses were claiming. Other witness's namely neighbours of Volo claimed that they heard shouting and breaking objects. Naturally they were attributed to an argument, but in a case such as this, they were being treated as suspicious. Twilight told of how several groups of ponies had been dispatched to search the area for Rainbow Dash, as soon as she was found to be missing. Everypony had been told to report suspicious behavior to them, and they would follow it up. By this point Applejack was close to tears again, but was soon comforted by Twilight.
The voice belonged to Rarity, and she didn't sound pleased.
The location that received the most votes was Volo's home. The location that received the least votes was Sugar cube corner. The owner of this idea was Pinkie Pie, who, when quizzed about why she picked it replied with 'I'm hungry' almost as if she was oblivious to anything outside her own thoughts. Now that the band of friends had decided on their location, they were stuck trying to pick what sort of interrogative method to use. They were torn between using the good cop method, the bad cop method, or just simply winging it. They were about to take another vote, when a strange suggestion arose from an unlikely source.
The Friendship Detectives (a name coined by Pinkie) soon arrived at their first destination. They left Pinkie Pie outside to scout around for any suspicious behavior. Although she infused this task with another: making the groups' theme song. The rest of the group went inside the house and were promptly shown around by Volo.
Once the ash was gone, she peered into the fireplace. This was where something caught her eye, this happened to be a partially combusted photograph. Applejack nipped the edges of the photo with her teeth and liberated it from the fireplace. She dropped the photo into her hooves and stared at it. There wasn't a lot to see, but Applejack managed to make out something useful. The photo was of Rainbow Dash, looking absolutely terrified. Applejack shed a single tear at the sight of her, realising just how much she missed her. Regaining her composure, Applejack scoured the tiny fragment for anything else that might be useful. In the background there was another pony peeking in through the window. Their features were a little charred but Applejack managed to make out a few details. He had a brown mane, possibly black, his coat was a sandy coffee colour and he was wearing square framed glasses. Applejack picked up the fragment in her teeth again and rushed off to tell her friends of her discovery. Applejack burst into the kitchen, where her friends where comforting Volo, who appeared to have suffered an emotional breakdown. Everypony turned to face Applejack, who trotted over to them and dropped the photo fragment onto the table. Everypony looked at the scrap and back at Applejack, waiting for her to explain how this was important. Applejack was about to do just that, but Volo intervened.
Applejack hadn't been planning on accusing Volo of anything, but she noticed that the photo did make her look like a suspect. Volo left the group, went upstairs, and then came back with more photos. She flicked them onto the table, sending them in every possible direction. Applejack stared at the photos; she now understood a little bit more about where they had come from. Rainbow Dash and Volo had been hosting some sort of ridiculous photo shoot for themselves. The object of this had clearly been to see who could pull the best faces of a certain category. For example, in the photo that Applejack had found, Rainbow had probably been told to look terrified. Applejack checked over each of the photos in turn, and came to the shocking conclusion that they all had one striking feature, the mysterious background pony.
The ponies circled around Volo and listened to her short story.
He realised that his first priority was to increase the distance between Applejack and himself. He checked both sides, seeing that the fence that ran alongside the path opened up as a gate. He glanced behind him, to see Applejack sneaking up just next to his rump. She didn't seem to have noticed the gate, but the colt was no mind reader, he just had to hope that she wasn't wise to his plan. The colt readying himself, and without warning swung himself to the left, giving Applejack a face full on pony backside, causing her to stagger. The gap between the two ponies widened considerably, bringing the colt closer to escape. Once more the colt took note of his surroundings, and formulated a plan that would secure his escape. In the distance there were two sales ponies dragging along their carts. Just a little past them he could see a gap leading into a side street of Ponyville. If he picked up the pace, he could make it past the ponies, leaving no room for Applejack, which should make her stop in her tracks. He pushed himself to the absolute max, pushing his limbs to their utmost limits. Applejack was more determined than ever, she closed the gap within a matter of seconds, now standing just behind his tail.
The colt looked back, and then forward again. He appeared to have misjudged the initial distance, and now the carts were beginning to pass each other. They came closer exceptionally fast; his mind became all of a flutter. Thinking on his feet, he leapt into the air, hoping for a miracle. Applejack dug her hooves into the ground, causing her to skid to a halt. The colt soared over the sales carts, drawing a gasp of awe from the sales ponies. She was only able to watch as the colt got away, becoming harder and harder to see. She stomped her hoof into the ground as a sign of her frustration. Their biggest lead in the search for Rainbow Dash had gotten away, and it was all her fault. This was not acceptable for someone who had once been called the most dependable of ponies, albeit, she was the one who called her that. She was saddened a little, but unfortunately that was life, you win some, you lose some. Except recently, she felt like she was just losing, more and more. Applejack turned away and continued back to her original destination. It took her longer than normal, mostly in part to her slightly sour mood, but she made it their nonetheless. She entered her home through the kitchen, and was surprised to find Twilight sat at the table.
The purple pony cleared her throat, and Applejack knew she was in for a lecture. So Applejack made herself comfy at the kitchen table and let her begin her speech.
Tomorrow came quickly for Applejack, almost too quickly. She couldn't remember trying to go to sleep, but evidently she had drifted off at some point. She hadn't forgotten about her promise to meet Twilight at the library. She decided to make haste and sped up her routine, allowing her more time to spend at the library. Applejack soon arrived at the library within a suitable time and knocked on the door. The door swung open to reveal a very downtrodden looking Spike.
There was paper strewn everywhere, books lay in ruins on the floor. Black patches covered the walls, obviously evidence of Twilight trying to defend herself. Parchment had been torn and sprinkled across the floor like confetti. Ink wells had been knocked to the floor, causing some of the books to be illegible. This was a scene of complete chaos.
Once he had finished his story he handed Applejack the book and note.
She opened the book and started to flick through the columns and columns of words. She was looking for something in particular, and that something resided in the section marked 'S'. She flipped the pages all the way through to the 'S' chapter, and looked up the word speed. Listed below the word speed were all the old language ways of saying speed. None of them were particularly interesting, and none of them made the clue any easier. Applejack soon got frustrated, tossing the book over her head. The book sailed past her, slamming into her shelf, knocking other books to the floor. Applejack went to pick them all up, but stopped at the first book that entered her gaze. There, printed in one of the books was a photo of a pony, with square framed glasses. Underneath the photo was a caption, which read,
Three months had past since the incident with Volo, and Rainbow Dash had spent each day under medical supervision. After Applejack had collapsed in the Everfree Forest from her fight with Volo, Twilight had carried both ponies to the Ponyville Urgent Response Centre. That had been the last time that Rainbow had seen Applejack, they were split up, and sent to separate wards. Time and time again, Rainbow requested to visit Applejack, but each time she had been given the same response.
"Good morning Miss Rainbow Dash…" The stallion smiled, a way of enforcing his positive bedside manner.
As she entered what seemed to be the umpteenth corridor, she made a discovery. A tall, red stallion with an orange mane, and a small yellow filly, sporting a pink bow, were making their way out of one of the wards. Realising the identities of these ponies led her to believe that she had located Applejack. The two ponies continued making their way down the corridor, before disappearing round a corner. Rainbow Dash wasted little time, and dashed into the ward. The ward itself was as scarce as the one she had stayed in, with the exception of a pony nurse, mulling about in the corner. Rainbow Dash scanned the empty beds, looking for Applejack. At the far end of the room, on the opposite side to the nurse, Rainbow Dash spotted a light brown Stetson hat on the end of the bed. Rainbow Dash made her way towards the bed, not sure what to expect. She inhaled a deep breath, and stood at the foot of the bed. There here gaze rested on the pony that had saved her from a terrible fate. Upon first glance she appeared to be sleeping, she looked so peaceful. Then Rainbow Dash noticed the cuts and bruises, those showed how far this one brave pony had gone to save those she cared about. Rainbow checked the doctor's notes at the foot of Applejack's bed, learning about her current condition.
She skimmed over the notes, only taking in the words that stood out the most.
"That's what you tried to tell me before you ended up like this wasn't it? You were trying to tell me that you loved me…"
Rainbow Dash turned to leave, but a sudden development made her turn back. Applejack's eyelids fluttered, and she muttered a single, broken word.
Applejack rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as she tried to recall the one sided conversation that Rainbow Dash had with her.
Getting To The Heart Of It All
Applejack glanced out of the window and made a shocking discovery. The colt she sought an audience with, was making his way towards her house. She ducked out of sight, her body beginning to tick with adrenaline. It was obvious why he was here; he had worked out what she was up to, and sought to put a stop to it. She resisted the urge to race downstairs and confront him, now wasn't the time. The colt rapped his hoof off the door, the sound of his knocking drifting lazily through the air. She ignored his efforts to draw her out of hiding, by thinking of her object of affection. This was of course, the sky blue Pegasus, Rainbow Dash. Applejack sighed a little, in her mind Rainbow Dash was so close, but in reality, she was so far away. She realised that the colt had stopped knocking, and risked a peek outside. This proved not to be the wisest of choices, as when she looked, the colt was staring right at her. She maintained his gaze, showing that she wasn't intimidated by him. He smirked at her, adjusted his glasses and turned tail to leave. Applejack just watched as he walked away, making no effort at all to get near her. Applejack treated it as suspicious, but continued to watch him. She toyed with the idea of following him, but she couldn't shake the suspicion that this was what he wanted. She understood that she could be walking into a trap, but she had to take a chance now and again. She made her way downstairs and out through the front door.
The colt was nearly a speck on the horizon by this time, but for an athlete like Applejack, it was no problem. She set off at a quick trot, keeping her eyes on the horizon, for any sign that she needed to drop back a bit. Within a matter of seconds she had reached her target, and began to silently tail him through the streets of Ponyville. The townsponies were curious as to why this orange pony was weaving in and out of bushes, and other parts of the scenery. Applejack paid no attention to the stares that she was getting and hoped that the colt didn't notice them either. Finally, the colt arrived at his destination, the house of Rainbow Dash's lover, Volo. Applejack didn't understand why he had come here; he wasn't after Volo, was he? The colt slipped inside, allowing Applejack to slip her hoof in the door, keeping it open, so she could enter as well. She followed him upstairs, but kept her distance as he disappeared into one of the rooms. She listened in to hear the rustling of paper, and the banging of something hard against what could've been a desk. She heard him speak in a soft tone, most likely to himself.
"Who's there!?" exclaimed the colt.
When Applejack came to, she found that she was still in Volo's house, still in the same room to be precise. The loose paper that had littered the floor had been tidied up and taken away. The window had been shut, cutting off the supply of fresh air, causing the room to become stuffy. All that remained before was the desk lamp, and the pictures pinned to the wall. She slowly got to her hooves, testing as much of her body as possible, just to make sure she didn't need medical assistance. Once she was certain she was alright, she began to study the pictures. Each of the pictures contained a shot of one of her friends with the fifth being herself. Rainbow Dash and Twilight's picture's both had an 'X' through them, which signalled either a successful capture or death. Applejack prayed that it wasn't the latter. As she stared at the pictures she caught sight of something scrawled on the wall. Obviously one of the pictures had been put up to hide it. Gently she lifted the picture out of the way and read the scrawl. Two words written in a disgraceful fashion, was all she could make out. The words were 'Everfree' and 'Forest'.
Now Applejack knew the next place to look. Sure it was a big place, too big for one pony to search, but it wasn't going to deter her. She nuzzled up to Rainbow Dash's picture and began to talk to herself.
"And so the third place falls into place…" said a voice behind Applejack.
Applejack felt a pair of hooves close around her as she was dragged back.
Suddenly a thought crossed her mind, something she had only ever dreamt about. She took a deep breath and brushed Rainbow Dash's colourful mane aside. Then she leant in and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. A smile flickered across Rainbow Dash's forehead, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Content in knowing that Rainbow Dash was surviving, Applejack turned her attention back to Volo. Volo was being helped up by the colt. Her body was surrounded by a pulsing, purple energy. Her mane and tail fluttered in some sort of unknown window source. Applejack stared into Volo's eyes; they shone a burning, bright red. Volo spoke to Applejack, her voice twisted and full of malevolence.
Applejack watched on, mouth agape, as Volo towered over her, her head brushing against the leafy canopy. The eerie glow she had, dulled to a black, causing her to blend in with the darkness around them.
Applejack rubbed the blood from her cheek, and looked back to Volo.
Volo kicked Applejack in the jaw, with such power that in sent her spiralling through the air. As soon as the pain, hit Applejack, she made a revelation. Volo couldn't survive in broad daylight! Volo had a perfect opportunity to capture them all, when they had visited her house. However if she had wanted to overpower them all, she would've had to have shifted forms. Something she didn't do, well, couldn't do. Twilight's library had been coated with scars from a battle of magic. The magic hadn't come from the colt, but Volo, in her altered form. Applejack's thoughts were interrupted as she made contact, first with the floor, and then bounced up to hit a tree. She heard something snap, although she wasn't sure if it was something in her body, or the tree. She slumped to the floor, as Volo casually made her way towards her. She struggled to get up, her energy fading fast. She had to find a way to bring sunlight into one of the darkest places in Equestria. She glanced upwards and looked at the leafy canopy, then she realised how easy it was going to be. Well, easy for an apple bucker. She took a stance, priming her back legs, so they could spring into action the moment they were needed. Volo continued towards her, and Applejack wished she would move faster, she was starting to tire. Finally Volo entered into the target area, pushing Applejack to buck her legs against the tree. The forces she exerted upon the woods' surface caused the tree to shake. The branches, being thinner than the trunk, shook harder, sending their leaves towards the floor. Sunlight streamed into the clearing, illuminating Applejack and Volo in glorious sunshine. Volo screeched and reared back, her body hissing as the sunlight burned her. Applejack smiled, this was actually working!
Volo thrashed about, roaring in apparent agony. Applejack felt a tiny bit of remorse for her adversary, but not enough for her to intervene. Volo hunched over, and with one final scream, her body exploded, in blast of white energy, which spread all through the forest. When everything settled, Applejack rubbed at her neck, to find she was still bleeding, quite profusely. She started to feel light headed, and started to swing to and fro, just a little.
