Legend of Silva's Gate

"Awh, horse apples!" Applebloom shouted as she noticed that Scootaloo hadn't achieved enough speed, and the two of them, with the addition of Sweetie Bell, were now on a one-way trip into a mud-pit. The trio of fillies had been once again attempting to earn their Cutie Marks, as per the main mission of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and had attempted to be Stunt Fillies. Initially, the three girls had been extra excited to give the new activity a try, particularly after Scootaloo suggested they try jumping through a ring of fire, over a pond filled with piranhas. As downtrodden as they were when Ms. Cheerilie confiscated the oil-coated rings, coupled with their failure of finding a tiny pond deep enough to hold piranhas (or even FIND any piranhas, for that matter), Applebloom couldn't help but feel relieved that she wouldn't be eaten alive, after-all. A quick glance at the faces of her friends before the landing told her they held similar sentiments.

The thick muddy goop at the bottom of the pony-made pit made a sickening 'SPLAT!' once the girls made contact, spraying the mess everywhere around them, while similarly covering the three of them.

"Oh no, Rarity is going to kill me...she just gave me a bath..." Sweetie Bell moaned, attempting to wipe mud from her face, while only mostly succeeding in depositing the mud from her hooves onto it. Scootaloo stood up and shook herself vigorously, spraying more mud around, much to the dismay of Applebloom and Sweetie Bell. Looking up from the pit, Scootaloo glanced from the first ramp, to their oil-free and non-lethal hoop, and then to the other ramp.

"Okay, seriously, what went wrong? We totally had that! I don't understand." Scootaloo asked the other two, as she grabbed her scooter and wagon and pushed them out of the pit. After getting a lot of the mud off herself, Applebloom glanced at the ramp they launched off of. After helping Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo out of the mud pit, she wandered over to their launch point, and took a few moments to attempt to figure some math out. Suspicious, she went over to her sketch book she used for measuring out the pieces of wood, and how high the ramp needed to be, plus the additional physics equations for how far they needed to start, which she got help with from Twilight. A quick glance of the first parts of the math told her the entire story.

"Ah, sorry girls. Ah only got Twilight ta help me figure out where ta start based on just you and yur scooter, Scoots. Ah fergawt ta add tha wagon plus us two." Applebloom explained, sad that she let her friends down.

"Oh, that's it? Don't sweat it Applebloom! We can just start further back this time!" Scootaloo suggested with a smile, to which Applebloom perked up.

"Hey, thas a great idea! Let's go!" Applebloom shouted as she galloped further back down the little trail near their tree fort. Scootaloo shook the mud from her Scooter and wagon, and zipped after Applebloom, leaving Sweetie Bell near the old starting point. With a quick glance back towards the pit, and then to herself, she shrugged.

"I'm filthy already, whats one more go? Not like Rarity could get angrier if I stayed dirty a bit longer." Sweetie Bell said to herself, as she trotted down towards the other two. She later realized she might be able to pull off enraging Rarity more than normal, as after a few more failed attempts, she began to feel small pebbles that were in the mud begin to poke around and chaff her skin deep within her once pure white hair-coat.

"Ah think ah know whats wrong nao..." Applebloom moaned, pulling herself from the mud for a forth time, after they slammed into the far side of the pit's wall due to them clipping the ring. "Ah think mah ramp is too low. We probably need ta make it higher, 'cause we're further away, so we're mostly goin' straight nao." Applebloom explained, as she plopped her fore hooves into the mud sadly as she sat on her rump.

"Ah, well...lets fix it later...I'm really out of energy now...and hungry." Scootaloo replied as she panted, again shoving her scooter and wagon out of the mud. Applebloom glanced towards the sky and noticed it was noon hour. Being the weekend, Applejack normally set aside a few bits on the kitchen table for her to buy pretty much anything she wanted in Ponyville, as it was her allowance.

"Hey, y'all wanna go ta Sugercube corner with me fer lunch? It's on me!" Applebloom suggested, to which Scootaloo clapped her forehooves eagerly. She and Applebloom became dumbfounded, however, when Sweetie Bell turned her down vigorously.

"No no no no! We can't go there, Rarity is there! She said she might be there all day, 'cause some stallion was being a big dummy a slept out in the rain, so she is helping to make him better. If she sees me like this, I'm done for! If you wanna go, you have to help me first!" Sweetie Bell pleaded the two fillies. As Applebloom thought about a few ideas, she remembered that a little stream was nearby.

"Oh, lets go clean up at tha Old Mare stream! It has a nice swimmin' spot that Big Macintosh and Applejack let me go into!" Applebloom directed the girls. Without questions, the three of them trotted over to the stream. As they played in the stream while they washed the mud off themselves, a shadow that went unnoticed by them stood still on it's two legs as it stared at them, almost sad and longingly. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared in a flash, leaving behind a faint red energy in it's wake.

/*----------------------------------------------*//n

She just HAD to find something else about him! She knew that, in the least, he was hiding something huge. The more Rainbow Dash thought about it, the more she became certain that Leo couldn't be a pony. Not naturally, anyways.

'Time to show the Monkey who's boss!' Rainbow Dash thought to herself, as a Blue Jay flew by the front shop window she had tucked herself against in an attempt to keep an eye on her friends. Before she quietly climbed the staircase, she closed a book titled 'Esoteric and Rare Creatures Guidebook' she had snuck from Twilight's library earlier, pretending to be grabbing the latest 'Daring Do' book instead. She honestly couldn't wait to read the Daring Do book, but she did borrow it and put it in front of the guidebook to avoid arousing suspicion. She hated sneaking around Twilight like that, but this was something that she had to get to the bottom of.

'I mean, seriously, monkeys are sneaky little guys. If this book isn't lying, and humans are intelligent descendants of monkeys, then he might be up to no good, too! ...Right?' Rainbow Dash thought to herself, attempting to at least give herself a decent reason for snooping about. In reality, she was just really, really curious about various things about the human she had seen on the beach. Like, how he flew without wings, and how he seemed to land on the beach without too many problems, or even how he was capable of holding something so...so massive! The book made her want to find out even more badly after she read it, particularly since it had stated that humans were extremely fragile, and much more prone to injury and death than ponies were...and yet there the human was, stopping a giant, fire-hot asteroid from slamming into Equestria, with his 'hands' as if it was nothing. That, plus everything else she saw him do, was totally flying in the face of the other points the book mentioned. Rainbow Dash would have to tease Twilight about her book being wrong, once she proved that Leo was, indeed, that Human they saw last week. Suddenly stopping, she had noticed she walked right up to Leo's door in all her thinking. Glancing around nervously as she made a hasty plan, Rainbow Dash carefully opened the door a crack to catch a glimpse of the bed Leo had been snoozing in for the past few hours. Seeing that he was fast asleep, she snickered.

"This is gonna be too easy, heh heh!" Rainbow Dash whispered to herself as she smirked. Just as she laid a hoof onto the floor in Leo's room, she suddenly heard an excited, heart-stopping, and loud voice behind her.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash! Whatcha doing? What's too easy?" Scootaloo asked her with an innocent smile, the surprise of being caught causing the cyan mare to jump with a startled cry, while incidentally slamming the door. Cursing her luck, she turned to the little filly who gave herself the title of '#1 RD fan'.

"Scoots, keep it down! I'm trying to find some information about Leo." Rainbow Dash began to explain, turning back towards the door, praying that Leo was a ridiculously deep sleeper. Before she could continue, however, Scootaloo interrupted her again, albeit in a much quieter voice this time.

"Oh, you mean that Stallion who was trying to fight that huge monster a few days ago? Whats he doing here? I mean, sure, he has guts for going hoof-to-hoof with that thing, but it sent him through a window. Shouldn't he still be in the hospital?" Scootaloo asked, a confused look on her face. Just as Rainbow's face grew an annoyed look as she was about to explain why Scootaloo was wrong, she suddenly realized how RIGHT Scootaloo was. Spitfire was hit by the robot, too, but she was still in the hospital as she still needed time to recover. Leo was hit by that robot BEFORE Spitfire, plus went through a window AND probably hit some chairs or tables, Plus him being hurt badly in the forest before all of that.

'Okay, so, two more interesting things about Leo. First, extremely high endurance to pain and injuries. I admit, that doesn't really say much except that he is simply an extremely manly and tough Stallion. But the second...yeah, he should be in the hospital still, with what happened to him. Nopony should have been able to heal that fast from those kinds of wounds. Iron Stallion or not.' Rainbow Dash thought to herself. As she looked down at the filly, who was still waiting for an explanation, Rainbow Dash decided not to bother the foal with her suspicions. At least, not completely.

"Some Ponies heal faster than others, Scoots. Leo just heals really, REALLY fast." Rainbow Dash gave to the filly as an excuse. Normally, she could lie better, but Rainbow Dash didn't put much effort into it, as foals usually accepted what their elders used as explanations for things. And even if she didn't buy it for that reason, Scootaloo usually treated whatever Rainbow Dash said as gold, so she probably wouldn't question it. Which is exactly what happened.

"Oh, alright. That makes sense, 'cause Ms. Cheerilee taught us that everypony is different. Can't see why that idea won't work with healing!" Scootaloo exclaimed proudly, much to the dismay of Rainbow Dash, as she tried to impress her with what she had been learning in School. Her expression quickly changed to a more determined one, however, and she whispered again. "Hey, let me help you find information on him!"

"No, Scoots, you'll be too loud. Leo is trying to sleep, he has Pony Flu right now. The key is to be quiet." Rainbow Dash told the little orange filly. Scootaloo hadn't given up, however, as she zipped by Rainbow Dash and put herself in front of the door.

"Please? I promise I'll be extra quiet?" Scootaloo asked again, her voice having raised a few octaves. Seeing that Rainbow Dash was still unconvinced, Scootaloo resorted to puppy eyes and pleaded some more in an even higher pitched voice. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease-"

"Alright, alright, cut it out, Scootaloo! Just...stick with me and stay quiet." Rainbow Dash ordered in a defeated sigh. Sure, she found Scootaloo annoying at times, but she usually also found the filly's antics cute and amusing during those times as well. "Could you do me a favor and keep an eye on Leo while I snoop around? I want you to tap the floor if he begins to wake up and gets out of bed." Rainbow Dash asked, as she looked down at Scootaloo. As she waited for a nod of agreement, Scootaloo glanced at something in the room before them, and then back at Rainbow Dash with a look of uncertainty. She quickly began tapping on the floor with her hoof, and then looked back into the room. "Uhm, yeah, but only if he is awake, Scoots. Seriously, what're you looking-" Rainbow Dash had started before she glanced up to see Leo glaring back at her furiously with reddened eyes. "Oh....uhm..."

"Should I even bother asking, or does it have something to do with you acting like I'm a threat to everypony?" Leo asked calmly, his expression mixing with his voice to create a sensation of intimidation that Rainbow Dash had rarely felt. The feeling ticked her off, so she snorted and stomped on the ground in indignation.

"I'm only snooping because you won't tell us everything that's been happening! You know something is up, and I wanna know what it is!" Rainbow Dash shouted at Leo, who's only reaction was to place a foreleg to his head again.

"Because I don't really know what, exactly, IS going on. I only have vague clues, hardly more than what I'm sure you mares have." Leo groaned, not wanting to get into an argument while his head felt like it was filled with cinder blocks.

"Thats a load of junk, you know what that creature was that attacked us! You had some sort of super secret meeting with the Princesses! And I get the feeling that you've been lying about not knowing about what happened to the human in the forest! If you saw one, you've had to have seen the other!" Rainbow Dash shouted at Leo again, poking him in the chest with a hoof. Leo simply sighed and said nothing else, which annoyed Rainbow Dash even further. She quickly realized that she was letting her anger spiral out of proportion, and so decided to finish their conversation quickly.When she eyed Leo again, who was watching with a frown, she jabbed him with her hoof once more."Hay, I'm pretty sure I know what you REALLY are, so watch yourself, bub! I'm gonna keep an eye on you!"

"Um, am I supposed to find that surprising? I mean, that's exactly that the Princesses asked you and the other girls to do, no? And...what do you mean, you're pretty sure you 'know what' I really am?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow. Rainbow Dash simply snorted and then stomped out of the room, leaving a confused Scootaloo behind to stare after her. Scootaloo Looked up at the stranger before her, and smiled nervously. "You should go, little one. I'm rather sick with PonyFlu, and I don't want to spread it around." Leo urged her, as he turned around and headed towards his bed. Just as he was climbing into it, Scootaloo let out a huge gasp, earning her a raised eyebrow from Leo.

"Uhh, I gotta go mister! Sorry for waking you up!" Scootaloo shouted as she ran back out of the room and down the staircase. As Leo walked over to close the bedroom door, he could hear what sounded like the mare Rarity complaining loudly about something to do with beauty, prompting him to sigh and mumble something about shallow people.

/*----------------------------------------------*//n

"Gosh, Scootaloo, yer awfully quiet. Ya haven't even touched yer cupcake." Apple Bloom, who looked at her quiet and fidgeting friend with concern, asked suddenly. Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom wide-eyed for a moment and then whispered something. Apple Bloom put a hoof to her ear and leaned in closer. When she leaned in, she only heard the end of what her friend was saying.

"...blank flank, I don't understand." Scootaloo whispered. Apple Bloom, slightly annoyed, shook Scootaloo's shoulder.

"Come on, snap out of it, Scootaloo! What're ya tryin' ta say?" Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo. Seeming to mostly snap Scootaloo out of her weird trance, Scootaloo shook her head, and then gave her a more sane, albeit still wide eyed stare.

"That Stallion that Sweetie Bell mentioned, he--"

"Hi again girls." Sweetie Bell greeted the others. She had been pulled aside earlier by Rarity as they purchased their cupcakes, as Rarity had been eying her hair-coat from a table. From that distance, Rarity could tell something was off about it. Upon closer inspection, she saw the tiny pebbles that Sweetie Bell had been unable to remove in the river, and went into a fit concerning how much work she had put into making Sweetie Bell 'look beautiful', and that it was now wasted and ruined. As it had been ongoing once Apple Bloom and Scootaloo finished their purchase, they decided to wait outside. As Apple Bloom had enjoyed her cupcake and Scootaloo sat seemingly comatose, the row had ended and silence reigned king again.

"So, are ya grounded Sweetie Bell..?" Apple Bloom asked the white filly, who had just been newly groomed. Sweetie Bell shook her head as she took a bite out of her cupcake.

"Nope. Rarity said she didn't feel it was fair if she did, given that I had tried to clean myself up. Didn't stop her from making a scene, though." Sweetie Bell grumbled. She didn't mind being groomed by her big sister; in fact, she enjoyed it. But only if she wasn't making a huge fuss, which usually occurred when they were in public. "So, what should we do next? I've wanted to try--"

"THE STALLION IS A BLANK FLANK! THE STALLION IS A BLAAANK FLAAAANK!" Scootaloo suddenly shouted at the other two fillies, catching them by surprise and causing them to jump slightly.

"What? That Stallion that Rarity is looking after doesn't have a cutie mark?!" Sweetie Bell asked Scootaloo, who's chest was heaving with every breath. After catching her breath, Scootaloo began to explain herself.

"I noticed Rainbow Dash climbing up the staircase earlier, so I followed her up there and saw her sneaking into the room where the Stallion was sleeping. I think his name was Leo...?" Scootaloo tapped a hoof to her chin, trying to remember. "Anyways, I was too loud and he woke up, and got into an argument with Rainbow Dash. When she stormed off, he said I should leave so he doesn't make me sick. That's when I saw...his empty flank." Scootaloo's volume dropped at the last few words, as if she were saying a taboo. "But...if he doesn't have a cutie mark, does that mean it's possible to never get one?" Scootaloo asked aloud to nopony in particular. The three fillies were quiet for a moment before Apple Bloom pounded a hoof onto the ground.

"Well, ah say we outta help him get his cutie mark! All those up fer ahfficially indoctrine Leo into tha Cutie Mark Crusaders, raise a hoof!" Apple Bloom announced, and the two fillies raised their hooves excitedly.

"Only after he gets better, Apple Bloom. Ah don't want ta hear about how yer sick with PonyFlu." Applejack's voice floated out from behind the fillies. Looking up at the doorway to Sugarcube corner, they noticed Apple Bloom's older sister standing in the doorway. "Why don't y'all head on out and play? Don' worry about Big Mac an' the apples, ah'll talk to him later." Applejack suggested, speaking to Apple Bloom. Giggling, Apple Bloom gave Applejack a quick hug and ran off down the road, with Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo hot on her tail. Applejack stared after the fillies for a moment, before she turned back into Sugarcube corner, only to see Twilight giving her a smirk.

"Sicking the Crusaders on Leo later, are we?" Twilight asked, her smile not unlike a conspirator's. Applejack couldn't help but smile and chuckle lightly.

"Hey, boy has it comin' fer lyin' ta me."

"I thought you accepted his explanation, though?" Twilight asked her, surprise and interest taking over her face in place of the earlier smirk.

"Oh please...Twi', that was nothin' but a half truth. Just enough in it to keep me offa' him. I get tha feelin' he really doesn't want any of us to know what it is thats botherin' him, either." Applejack explained, pausing to take a sip of some Apple juice that Pinkie had poured her earlier. "T'aint gonna be easy ta get whatever it is outta him, either. I reckon that convincing Rainbow Dash that flying and goin' fast is lame would be easier than pulling tha truth from Leo." Applejack stated, hoping that Twilight would understand the near futility it would be to attempt to worm much truth from Leo. Thankfully, she did, as she nodded and, with a frown, dove back into a book she was reading. Applejack stood next to the doorway for a moment, pondering about what Leo could be so adamant about hiding, before she thought of home. "Ah oughta be headin' back to tha farm now, seein' as ah just released Big Mac's little assistant from workin'."

"Yeah, actually, I'm sort of wondering how he was going to react to shouldering both bucking and bringing the apples up." Twilight asked Applejack, only lowering her book enough so that Twilight's eyes could be seen looking at Applejack with curiosity.

"Well, he ain't gonna be none too happy about that, but if ah help him with tha buckin', he shouldn't complain too much. Not to mention, ah'm makin' dinner tonight, so if he wants his food to be, ah, edible, he'll be smart enough to not make it a large issue." Applejack finished with a little joke, to which Twilight giggled, and then went back to her book. With a final farewell, Applejack bid her friends goodbye for the day, and headed out towards her farm at the outskirts of town.

/*----------------------------------------------*//n

Applejack Always found the trip to and from town to be very serene and peaceful, particularly in the Summer. No matter what time of day it was, be it noon, night, or morn', all those times held their own version of beauty. She enjoyed it the most when Celestia's Sun was down, and Luna's Moon held the throne in the sky, as Fireflies would line the path and a slight summer breeze would rustles the leaves in the trees and the grass on the ground. Applejack continued to walk forward at a steady pace with her eyes closed, smiling as she recalled the calming and pleasing effect the scene would always have on her.

In fact, she was so engrossed by the memory, that she didn't pick up on the fact that she had actually walked right past the farm, much the chagrin of her older brother. As she came near the Cutie Mark Crusader's Tree house, the three fillies couldn't help but watch in concern and awe as Apple Bloom's older sister didn't seem to heed their warnings about the mud pit in her path. With a startled yelp, some flailing legs, and a comically loud 'PLOP!', Applejack found her underside and legs covered generously in mud.

"Sorry, sis, we tried ta warn you..." Applejack heard Apple Bloom mumble from the edge of the pit. Once she got back up and made sure her Stetson hat was still perched atop of head, she looked at the guilty faces of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell, and chuckled.

"Think nothin' of it, girls. It's mah fault ah fell in here, had mah head in the clouds n' all." Applejack explained, as she struggled to wipe the mud from herself without much luck. As the three fillies watched the older mare grumble and fight with the mud, a large red Stallion wandered over, Apple buckets filled to the brim attached to a harness hanging over each of his flanks.

"Seems yah made yourself a right mess, Applejack." Big Macintosh observed, with a subtle smirk on his face.

"Eeeyup. Think ah might wander over to Old Mare stream to clean up before ah help you out, Big Mac." Applejack said to her brother, coupling it with a sheepish grin. Big Mac simply snorted with a short stint of laughter, and then shook his head as he turned back towards the farm, wearing the same smirk. As Applejack trotted down the small, slightly overgrown path that led to the stream, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell were hot on her heels.

"So Applejack, what were you focused so much on that your eyes were closed?" Sweetie Bell asked once they arrived as the stream, curious as to what would distract the usually very attentive mare from literal pitfalls.

"Heh, well, ah was just rememberin' why ah love the path into town so much at night. Honestly girls, it has to be tha most beautiful thing ah've ever seen. So far, nothin' can beat it." Applejack explained, as she laid herself down into the lukewarm stream's flowing water, simply letting the current pull the mud off herself.

"Oh yeh, you described it to me once, Applejack. Wish ah could see it mahself..." Apple Bloom trailed off, her mind trying to imagine what it would look like. It was pretty in the daytime, but Applejack made it seem like something from another world when you watched it at night.

"Sounds really pretty...too bad Rarity wouldn't ever let me go. She doesn't like me staying up late, even on weekends. Says it can 'foul a lady's mood needlessly the following day'. Gets really annoying, this 'lady' stuff." Sweetie Bell frowned, also imagining the scene in her head, making her want to see it even more. As the two fillies mind's danced with fanciful images, Applejack looked towards Scootaloo, who suddenly blushed lightly and looked away. As she looked at the girls, she recalled that she was about the same age when her Mother had shown her the amazing sight, right after Apple Bloom was born and shortly before both her folks passed away. An idea came to mind, one which she probably thought she might regret later, but Applejack spoke her mind, as she always did.

"Say, girls, did y'all finish yer homework for Miss Cheerilee?" Applejack asked the three close friends, snapping them out of their trance-like states. When they all nodded, Applejack continued. "Well, seein' as ah was around yer age when Ma showed the path to me at night, did y'all want to have a sleepover an' visit the path?" Applejack asked, bracing herself for the expected explosion of excited glee from the three girls. As she had predicted, the three fillies shouted in joy, and then Apple Bloom pounced on her, joining her in the river. Sweetie Bell fought the urge to jump in the river with her friend in an effort to protect the groom job that Rarity had redone earlier, but she had reared up in excitement all the same. Scootaloo beamed, but still remained quiet.

"Ya mean it, sis? Ya really mean it? We can have a sleepover?" Apple Bloom asked her sister, just to be sure.

"Yes, ah really mean it. You'd know if ah was lyin', Apple Bloom. Now, ah'm more than happy to house you two girls tonight and to bring y'all out to take a peak, but only if y'all promise me two things: That you will behave and go ta sleep when we get back, and ta not even hint to yer folks at tha fact that ah'm going ta bring you girls outside in tha middle of tha night." Applejack gave the girls as an offer in return. Sweetie Bell nodded vigorously, while Scootaloo pawed at the ground shyly, shooting occasional glances up at Applejack. Seeing that she was a little embarrassed to admit it, Applejack nudged the tomcoltish filly slightly with her words. "Scootaloo? Don'tcha want to see the path?" Applejack asked, giving the filly a knowing smile.

"Uhm...I guess...I guess it might...be fun." Scootaloo replied, still only offering occasional glances to her friends older sister. At that, Applejack got up out of the water with Apple Bloom perched on her back, only clear water dripping from her hair coat.

"Alright then, let yer folks know ah'm willin' to feed y'all tonight. Supper'll be around, oh...6 o'clock? Be sure to show up! Ah'm makin' mah specialty tonight: Hay and Lettuce casserole." Applejack instructed the two girls on the bank of the stream. They nodded quickly and took off towards town, hoping that they would be allowed to stay for the night. Applejack wandered out of the river and headed back towards the farm, a giggling Apple Bloom stowing away on her back.

"Hey, sis, isn't it lyin' if ya told them not ta say anythin' about stayin' up late?" Apple Bloom asked suddenly. Applejack simply shook her head.

"Nope. It'll only be lyin' if they asked us if we'd specifically be headin' out to the path tonight. Seein' as the odds of them askin' that particular question are pretty large, all we're doin' is refrainin' from mentioning our exact plans." Applejack explained to her little sister.

"Oh, so we're just being sneaky. But why do we hafta be sneaky, Applejack?" Apple Bloom asked. Applejack chuckled at her little sister's innocence, and proceeded to answer her question.

"You remember what Sweetie Bell said? Rarity would never in a'thousand years let her venture outside at night, let alone so close to tha Everfree Forest, especially since that last little escapade you three had when Fluttershy took you in that one night. That bein' tha case, I'd wager a few bits that Scootaloo's parents would be in tha same boat, and wouldn't let her stay tha night if they heard what we planned on doin'." Applejack finished. When they got to the fence separating the path from town and the Apple orchard, Apple Bloom hopped off her older sister.

"Well, I'm gonna head inta town and pick up tha ingredients for dinner now then, sis." Apple Bloom shouted to her sister with a mock salute, and then ran down the path towards town, giggling.

"Hey, tell Big Mac ah'm just dryin' off, shouldn't be longer than a tree or two!" Applejack shouted to her little sister, hoping she'd heard her. Deciding not to worry too much about it, Applejack headed into the farmhouse, and climbed the staircase before she headed into the bathroom. Grabbing a towel, she began to dry herself off from the stream when she began to hear an odd twinkling sound. Stopping and grabbing the towel in her mouth, she looked around for the source of the sound, even peering around out the bathroom window, but was unable to find one.

'Probably just a little trinket of Apple Bloom's movin' in tha breeze.' Applejack thought to herself. Just as she was about to continue drying herself off, the twinkling noise exploded in volume, and a blinding light shone forth from Applejack's chest, causing her to screw her eyes shut. Unsure of what to make of the light, Applejack remained still and controlled her breathing to remain calm. When the light and sound subsided, and Applejack felt a sudden added weight around her neck, she decided to take a look at what happened. Holding her breath, she looked down at her chest as best she could.

"What tha hay?" Applejack murmured quietly as she stared at the Element of Honesty hanging elegantly from her neck. Turning towards the bathroom mirror, Applejack was able to take a better look at what was around her neck. Indeed, it was 100% genuinely the Element of Honesty making her neck it's home once again. Just as Applejack began to wonder why it had appeared, there was a sudden knocking at the bathroom door.

"Applejack? Is everythin' alright? I heard a mighty loud twinklin' noise comin' from tha house, did you hear it?" Big Mac's voice floated out to her from behind the door.

'Oh no...not Big Mac, please. Princess Celestia made us promise ta not mention a word about it to anypony, ah hafta hide it!' Panicking, Applejack quickly unhooked the Element from around her neck and hid it in her towel, which she then chucked into the dirty towel basket.

"Uh, yeah! Ah'm- ah'm fine! No twinklin' noise to be heard of in here! Nope, nope, definitely not!" Applejack struggled to make excuses. When Big Mac opened the bathroom door and noticed Applejack sitting on her rump with a terrible poker face, he raised an eyebrow. She was screaming at herself in her head for being such a terrible liar, because she knew he wasn't going to let the subject drop.

"Applejack? What're ya hidin' from me in the dirty towel basket?" Big Mac asked calmly, keeping his eyebrow raised.

"Hi-hidin'? What makes you think ah'm hiding anythin'?" Applejack stammered, only to further hurt her chances at making Big Mac leave.

"Well, fer one thing, yer slowly movin' it in behind yerself with yer hoof." Big Mac explained with a sigh. When Applejack looked down at her left hoof, it was indeed attempting to move the basket behind her. Giving up, she let loose a groan and slumped to the floor, and Big Mac ventured forth, grabbing hold of Applejack's used towel. When he picked it up, the Necklace came tumbling out, and began to glow slightly, before it fluttered through the air and reattached itself around Applejack's neck of it's own accord.

"Oh, darn it all! So...you just found out that yer little sister is tha Holder of tha Element of Honesty. What're ya gonna do now?" Applejack grumbled from the floor, as she looked at Big Mac, who was completely speechless, staring at his little sister as the Element of Honesty glistened in the daylight that was spilling in through the window.

"Ah'll...be honest here, Applejack. Ah already knew about it, but...couldn't quite believe it." Big Mac explained slowly. Seeing the confused look on Applejack's face, Big Mac explained his knowledge. "Princess Celestia visited me briefly when yer friends and yerself returned from defeating Nightmare Moon. She explained to me that you'd become the Spirit of Honesty-"

"Holder of the Element of Honesty." Applejack had attempted to correct Big Mac, but frowned when he shook his head.

"Nnnnope. The Princess specifically stated that ya were the 'Spirit of Honesty', Applejack. Maybe ya should ask her about that in one of yer letters. Anyways, ah don' think we should be lettin' Apple Bloom know abou' this. Ah know a place where ya can hide it, and she'd never peek into it." Big Mac suggested, waving a hoof at Applejack for her to follow. Feeling obliged to listen to her brother, Applejack pushed herself up off the floor. She followed Big Mac all the way down the hall and into...their late Parents' bedroom. As she watched from the doorway, Big Mac wandered over and opened up their Mother's favorite jewellery box.

"Ma's jewellery box, Big Mac? You sure Apple Bloom won't look into it?" Applejack asked him, looking concerned. When Big Mac simply nodded and motioned to the box again, Applejack took off the necklace again and placed it inside. "Hey, ah know ah told Apple Bloom tah go and play with her friends, and that ah'd help out instead, but...ah need to talk to Twilight about this-"

"Go on, don' worry. ah've got things handled. Just make sure that ah get a second helpin' tonight." Big Mac said to her with a muted smirk. Smiling, Applejack nodded, and took off down the hallway. Getting Twilight to explain what was going on might take a while, and she'd have to be back before dinner was due.

/*----------------------------------------------*//n

"And it just...appeared? Out of thin air? Are you sure you didn't accidentally invoke some manner of old Magic?" Twilight asked her orange Earth Pony friend from behind a book. Applejack shook her head and replied.

"Twi', if ah did, ah doubt ah'd even know it. Honestly, all I did was wander into mah bathroom, grabbed mah towel, and started dryin' mahself off."

"Oh, but this is so odd...the Elements only ever made an appearance whenever something dire was going to occur in the immediate future. But they all appeared together, never on their own." Twilight spoke her thoughts aloud, as she began to pace around the library, trying to think of possible answers. There were a large number of books now scattered around the library in lopsided piles, some of them towering dangerously high. Most of the piles were actually already there when Applejack had come knocking on the door, but when she told Twilight about the Element of Harmony appearing suddenly, the library seemed to almost become instantly messier.

"Also, Twi', Big Mac already knew about me bein' a Holder." Applejack said to her friend as she paced around her library. This statement snapped Twilight out of her trance and stopped her dead in her tracks.

"What? How? Did you say anything to him?"

"I didn' say a word. Infact, when it appeared and he heard it, ah tried hidin' it in the towel basket but...everypony knows ah'm a terrible liar. It was Princess Celestia that told him, from what he told me. Said that she came to him during the party to Celebrate Nightmare Moon's defeat. She said it weird though, I guess." Applejack explained.

"Weird? Weird how?" Twilight probed with a distracted voice, still partially reeling from the fact that even though Princess Celestia told them all to not speak a word about who they were to anypony, the Princess Herself might have told their families.

"She told him ah was tha...'Spirit of Honesty', ah think?" Applejack replied, tapping a hoof to her chin. Twilight's jaw dropped. She suddenly floated a book out from underneath another pile, and placed it next to a series of books about the Elements.

"Applejack, I don't have an answer yet, but I'll get to work on one, okay? I'll need some time to do some research." Twilight said to Applejack quickly in an excited voice, as she began to pour over the new book.

"Uh...alright, ah guess. Ah'll just see mahself out then. Ah'll swing by tomorrow to see if you found anythin', alright?" Applejack mentioned to her lavender friend, who simply nodded absentmindedly. Applejack sighed, and went for the door, when Spike peeked out from under a pile of books, startling her slightly.

"Don't worry, I'll put it into her schedule for you so she won't forget." Spike offered, to which Applejack thanked him and then continued out of the library. As she wandered down the road from Twilight's library, she saw Apple Bloom exit the town grocery store, quickly followed by Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, and Rarity. Waving towards them, Applejack trotted over as the three fillies struggled to load the heavy paper bags into Scootaloo's wagon.

"Oh, hello Applejack! Sweetie Bell tells me you've volunteered to take them in for the night. I must thank you for the offer, really! I just received a large order from Canterlot, and the request was two days late. If I am to finishing them on time, I'll be working into the early hours of the morning, and I fear it would keep Sweetie Bell awake and unable to sleep. So I must thank you for the sweet offer." Rarity said to Applejack, finishing it off with a large smile.

"Aw, think nothin' of it Rarity. These little rascals have a soft spot on me, so ah don't mind at'all." Applejack replied modestly, chuckling when the three fillies cheered out 'Cutie Mark Crusader Grocery Wagon Loaders!' when they finally got all the groceries into Scootaloo's wagon.

"I'm just a little concerned, though. It took a lot of convincing, but I managed to finally get her to tell me what your plans for the evening were. You'll be wandering near the Everfree late tonight..?" Rarity asked. Applejack offered a sheepish grin and began to scratch her mane with a hoof.

"Well, yeah, I was goin' to bring them to tha path into town from tha farm. But that's it, honestly."

"Sweetie Bell told me the same thing. I've seen the path at night myself, and it truly is majestic, and I think it would be wonderful for her to see it. So, I'm not going to ask you not to bring her there, but please, please, PLEASE keep on eye on her? I don't want her wandering into the Everfree Forest at night. Last time she did, when she came home she suffered from Night Terrors for a week, poor thing." Rarity spoke to Applejack in a whisper, as she looked at her little sister.

"Ah swear to you, Rarity, that I'll keep a close watch on them. If ah was concerned about bein' able ta look after 'em, ah'd have never offered them the chance before. And that's a Pinkie Promise." Applejack finished sternly, and began miming the actions before she was interrupted by Rarity.

"No, no, dear. No need for that, I trust you. Should anything come up, or if Sweetie Bell isn't behaving like a proper lady, I'll be at Sugarcube corner overnight instead of Rainbow Dash. One of her night watch crew members came down with wingpox, so she had to take over his shift. Have fun!" Rarity exclaimed before she trotted off down the road back towards Sugarcube corner.

"Come on, Sis! The sky is already turnin' orange! We don' wanna make Big Mac an' Granny Smith hungry!" Apple Bloom shouted to her. When Applejack turned to her voice, she noticed that the three fillies were straining against the weight of the groceries, the sight bringing her to laughter.

"Say, girls, why don'tcha give me half'a those to carry?"