Shattered Memories, Hidden Dreams

As a rooster began its morning song, Applejack awoke from a dreamless sleep. Stretching out on her bed, she glanced at the clock . . . and saw she had slept in. It took a moment, but when it finally hit her, she gasped and jumped out of bed.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no. I ain't never slept in before," she said to herself, looking for her things, "What will the others think, me sleepin' in like some filly. Big Mac's probly out there already, workin' the west orchard. Gosh darn it, WHERE IS MY HAT!?" As she continued on her rant, the others began to wake up. Big Mac simply wandered downstairs, unaware of the time and looking for breakfast. Apple Bloom climbed out of bed and went to Applejack's room, wondering what the commotion was about. As she walked in, Applejack was just rising from under the bed.

"Apple Bloom, have you seen my hat?" she asked frantically. Apple Bloom yawned and shook her head, still barely awake, "Darn, probly left it in the orchard." At that Apple Bloom perked up, memories of last night creeping into her mind.

"Ain't that unicorn out in the barn er somethin'?" she asked. Applejack shot up with such suddenness that Apple Bloom nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Oh Celestia I forgot all about him," she ran out of her room, knocking Apple Bloom over. As she sped out the door, Big Mac watched from the table, idly eating his oatmeal. When Apple Bloom came down, he glanced at the clock. That woke him up pretty quick. He went running after her, certain she was heading for the orchards. When he came bursting out the front door, he saw Applejack heading in the opposite direction with Apple Bloom trying to keep up. He followed after them, slowly speeding up as last night started to come back to him.

*

Moon Runner was idly munching on another apple, staring out a window, when Applejack came bursting through the barn doors. Her first thought when she saw Moon Runner was ‘Good, he didn't leave,' quickly followed by, ‘Where'd he get that apple?' She walked in, still a bit unsure about him and his intentions.

Without turning his head, Moon Runner said, "Good morning, Miss Applejack. Although it's nearly mid-day," he stood and faced Applejack, his face impassive, "If I recall, most farms start early in the morning, correct?"

"I don' usually sleep in, thank ya very much," Applejack huffed, "I'm surprised you're still ‘ere. I was sure you would'a run off."

Moon Runner walked up to her slowly, a look of mild annoyance on his face, "Why do you ponies assume the worst of me? Do I look like a degenerate?"

Applejack slowly started to back away, unsure what he might do, "No, no you don't look like a degenr . . . degener . . ."

"Degenerate," he said flatly. He came toe to toe with her, forcing her to crane her neck to look at him, "It means someone who has fallen below a desirable level of physical and or moral qualities. In other words, untrustworthy, uncivilized, and weak." He stressed this last word, bringing his face level with Applejack's. She tried backing away, but found the barn doors were closed.

"Well, I don' think none a that. You just seem like someone who wants to be away from other ponies, is all," she said meekly, "I didn't mean 'ta offend ya or anythin'."

He stared at her for a moment, then sighed and walked toward his bags at the other end of the barn, "I apologize, Miss Applejack. I'm just tired of others expecting less of me. That and I guess I'm a bit... uneasy." he magically opened his saddle bags and floated out a small, black book.

"What have you got ta be worried about?" Applejack asked, gazing curiously at the book. "Not like I was comin' to kick you out ‘er nothin'."

"True," he said, taking out a small stack of papers, a quill, and a bottle of ink, "But you don't know me, nor was our meeting very friendly." He opened the book, set down the papers, and placed the quill in the bottle of ink, "You don't mind if I work while we talk do you?"

"I suppose not," Applejack said, walking towards her visitor. She sat down in front of him, not close enough to see much, but not far enough to seem scared. "Whatcha do anyway?"

"I make spells," he said, opening the small book to a marked page. He read through it, then lifted a discarded apple core with his magic. "I find it passes the time between towns much better than a book."

"Huh," she said, "Twilight says it's difficult to make spells, and dangerous. Somethin' about energy direction and a bunch a stuff I don't get."

He chuckled. It was a deep sort of chuckle, and it seemed to shake the ground a little. In a serious tone, he said, "Yes, it is a very dangerous activity, if you're making spells that are brand new. I guess saying I make spells was the wrong way to describe it. You see, I take older spells, generally those not used in the modern day, and improve on them to make them more practical. I also document any after effects of using these spells, so as to avoid any dangers if I use them in the future."

Applejack scratched her head in confusion, "That's pretty... useful, I guess." She watched him for a while as he read through the book. Then, he stared intently at the apple core. It turned black, and she suddenly felt weird. She almost felt like crying, but not for any particular reason. Then, the silhouette of the apple core began to fill, beginning to look like a full apple. The feeling passed, and the shadow slowly faded to reveal a ripe apple.

"Wow," Applejack said, amazed, "Now, I know I said this before, but that's some mighty impressive magic y'all got there."

"Thank you," he said. He floated the apple over to Applejack, a hidden smile on his face. "Try it," he said, "If you don't mind, that is."

Applejack shrugged, "Can't see why not." She took the apple, and bit into it. ‘Tastes like a normal apple,' she thought. Moon Runner let his smile widen a bit, and his horn suddenly stopped glowing. The apple turned back into an apple core, and the apple bits in Applejack's mouth disappeared. She jumped, dropping the core on the ground. "What in the . . . what just happened?"

Moon Runner chuckled again, "I apologize, but that was quite entertaining."

Applejack huffed, "Well, I'm glad you're havin' a good time with this." He chuckled again, and Applejack smiled a bit. ‘Nice to see he's got a sense a humor about ‘em,' she thought. After a moment, Applejack said, "So what was that anyway?"

Moon Runner, who was writing something on a piece of paper, said, "An advanced illusionary spell. It's meant to look and feel like the real thing, but it's not," he picked up the apple core and began examining it, "In basic terms, the spell uses the power of both the casters mind and the minds of nearby ponies to create an image. If you try to interact with that image, it will feel as if the image is the real thing. When you bit into the "apple," it tasted like the real thing, correct?"

Applejack nodded, struggling to keep up with the explanation.

"Well, in reality, you just bit into air. Your mind, however, made you believe that you had just bitten into a ripe apple. It's a powerful spell that requires a constant stream of magic. Great for childish pranks and kids parties," he said in a mocking tone, "but not much practical use."

Applejack just sat there, processing everything she just heard into her farm-pony brain. Another silence followed, with Moon Runner continuing to switch between writing and examining the apple core. Suddenly, Moon Runner said, "I have a question for you, Applejack."

She jumped a little, surprised by the sudden noise, "Uh, shoot."

"What's it like, living with your family." It was more of statement then a question, but he refused to meet Applejack's confused look after he said it. When she didn't answer for a while, he said, "Well?"

"I . . . I don't . . ." Applejack stuttered, not sure what the big unicorn was asking, "I don't know what y'all are tryin' to ask."

He huffed, then, a bit bitterly, he said, "I asked what it's like living with a loving family. The kind that cares about you and would do anything for you. I want to know what it's like to live with the Apple family."

Still a bit confused, she asked "Well, why do ya wanna know about that?"

He stood up quickly, causing Applejack to jump up. He kept his face in the opposite direction of Applejack. "Never mind," he said through clenched teeth, "It's unimportant." He walked back to his bags, levitating the paper, quill and ink. Mumbling to himself, he placed his things back in his bag and made for the door. Before he reached it, Applejack ran up to him, "Wait."

He turned, looking down at the farm mare, "Yes?"

"I got question for ya." She said with as much authority and purpose that she could muster.

He thought for a moment, than nodded, "Very well. What would you like to ask?"

After a moment to collect her thoughts, she asked, "Why did you come to Ponyville?"

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised you remembered that little detail." Applejack felt a little proud of herself, thinking she had caught him off guard. "But, the answer will have to wait. You have quite a bit of work to do, as I recall." Her face fell, remembering how late in the day it was. He pushed open the barn door, letting it swing slowly on its hinges. Sitting there was Big Mac and Apple Bloom, looking a bit on edge. "Go and do what you have to do. We'll talk some more when you've finished."

Applejack nodded, and walked up to her siblings. Before she even got close, Apple Bloom started babbling. "Applejack! We're really, really, really late. Big Mac says we won't get as much done as we need ta, and then we'll start gettin' low on apples." She paused to take a breath, then started again. "What were you and Moon Runner talkin' about in there? You look a bit tired and he seems a bit angry. ‘Er not. I can' tell, but did you ask why he visited? Is he leaving? Or is he gonna stick around?"

Applejack sighed, "I'll tell ya later. Big Mac, you head out to the west orchard. We can at least get a start and finish up tomorrow. Then I need ya to take stock of the apples we got left. We'll have to ration it a bit, but we can still make some of the money back we'll lose till the west orchard is finished. Apple Bloom, y'all are gonna have to go with yer friends taday. I need ya ta stay out of trouble until we finish. When we finish with the orchard, I'll go into town with the cart and sell what I can. When I come back, we'll figure the rest out." They all went their separate directions, Apple Bloom heading for town and Applejack and Big Mac heading for the west orchard.

Moon Runner watched them leave, a touch of jealousy flashing across his face before his normal, passive expression reasserted itself. He caught a flash of light in the sky, and looked to see a royal chariot pulled by two of Celestia's Royal Guards heading for town. He mumbled under his breath, and slipped back into the barn and shut the door. On a lone cloud overlooking the farm, an unseen observer took note of the unicorn's odd reaction. She decided to sit and wait a bit longer, just in case he tried something funny.