Chapters Truth Earned from Honesty
"Did you hear about what happened at the excavation site?"
"At the discovered burial ground? Yes, I heard it from the workers. Terrible thing that was."
"Yeah, we should be glad that nopony was hurt."
"They'll have terrible dreams ahead of them though, that's for sure. I know I will. Just the very idea of the dead rising up to attack you gives me the willies."
"And it happened right after we had that big, important meeting with your tribe too. You guys were so worried that us ponies were going to destroy the sanctity of that burial ground."
"Indeed. Not to mention that after the incident some of my tribe's more... emotional elders were enraged and thought that the spirits were angry at you ponies. They wanted you guys off the land. Luckily for all of us, my Chieftain and your Honest Mare were able to quell them with the truth."
"It's still hard to believe. Zombies! Created from old voodoo magic. I didn't even know that that old war had reached these mountains."
"I heard that we have already dispatched a messenger to the Zebrican nation, to ask for reparations and a formal apology."
"What about the burial site? What's going to happen to it?"
"It's sealed off. Until the spell can be broken, the warriors of my tribe are patrolling around it to make sure the zombies don't escape. Luckily for us, voodoo zombies don't move around a lot unless ordered to."
"What if the spell can't be broken?"
"It is a shame, but the bodies would have to be burned, just like what your soldiers were trained to do in that terrible war. It's the best way to stop them from rising again."
Knock-knock!
Jazz Hop lowered her hoof after knocking on the wooden door. After nearly two hours of walking, of following the trail through the mountains, she had finally come upon the farm that River Crosser had mentioned to her. She could see that the farm in question was actually a small orchard, as rows of peaches, cherries, and apple trees stretched on in every direction for half a mile and surrounded a two-story, wooden farmhouse.
Trotting onto the farmhouse's porch, Jazz Hop knocked on the door two times and waited silently for a response. A couple moments later in silent waiting, the top-half of the door swung open and a mare earth pony appeared and set her forehooves to hang over the bottom half of the door. With bright, blue eyes and blonde curls that hanged over her head, the mare looked like the archetypal farmer's daughter that so many country singers sang about. Behind her, in what looked like the farmhouse's living room, stood a large buffalo with a dark brown, wooly coat.
"Well, howdy there!" greeted the mare cheerfully with a bright smile, "I'm Golden, and what brings you to my fine orchard, stranger?"
"Oh! Um..." Jazz Hop rubbed the back of her neck embarrassingly, "This may sound ...well, silly , but I was told that the Mare of Honesty would be here."
All at once, the cheerful mare's cheerfulness instantly disappeared and was replaced with narrowed eyes and a suspicious look, "You're right, that is silly. May I ask who it was that told you such a silly thing?"
Jazz Hop frowned in disappointment, it was now clearly evident that the old unicorn had been off of his rocker and had sent her off on some delusional journey, "It was that old ferrier, he called himself River Crosser."
As easily as a flip of a bit, the blonde curled mare went from cheerfulness to suspicious to back to cheerfulness again, "Oh! Well why didn't you say so?" asked Golden with a happy-go-lucky smile, "Sorry about the mean look I was giving you. I sometimes have to drive off curious ponies from disturbing her too much. She's a very approachable pony, but even she needs her moments of peace and quiet, you know?"
"Wait, you mean she actually is here," accentuated a surprised Jazz Hop with hope in her gold eyes.
"Yesiree," said Golden proudly, her chin held up high, "she's been staying here for the past couple of weeks while she's visiting these mountains. We're quite honored really."
"Indeed," added the buffalo, his voice deep and heavy. Raising an eyebrow, he gave the striped mare an inquisitive stare, his eyes focusing on the stripes that laid against her back, "Pardon me for asking, but you wouldn't happen to know any voodoo spells, would you?"
"Uh, sorry, but no," said Jazz Hop, "I never really got interested in that kind of stuff. I'm just a dancer," she angled her body to show off the mark on her hindquarters: a tribal style outline of a pony in expressed movement with music notes surrounding the figure, "Why do you ask?"
"It's just a little situation that his tribe is dealing with," interjected Golden as she gave the buffalo a dirty look, before giving Jazz Hop a smile, "it's nothing that they can't handle, or something that a young mare like yourself should have to worry about."
"Um, okay," replied a confused Jazz Hop, "So is it okay if I can go and talk to the Mare of Honesty?"
"Oh, why sure thing, honey, you're alright," reassured Golden with a smile, "if River Crosser told you about this place, then it must be very important for you to see her. I don't think he'd send you up here if it wasn't."
"Undoubtedly," agreed the buffalo, "after all, he is one of Honesty's graced disciples. Gifted with a fraction of her insight for his display of honesty so long ago."
Jazz Hop's eyes widened in surprise at that, shocked to learn that the eccentric, old unicorn that she had been talking to not more than a couple of hours ago was so revered.
"But enough of us babbling, you've got a Mare of Honesty to meet," said Golden cheerfully before pointing a hoof over toward a red barn that sat past the orchards of apple trees, "She's just in that barn over there."
Turning around, Jazz Hop gazed at the barn in the distance. It was colored a classic red with white furnishing that made it a perfect example of the archetypical barn that one would see in picture books for foals. Turning back, she gave the mare a quizzical glance, "Why is the Mare of Honesty in a barn?"
"Peace and quiet," answered Golden matter-of-factly, "I mean, she didn't just sit on her rear and attend meetings while she was here, you know? She's also been working hard with the ponies around these parts," she informed the striped mare before raising her hoof to begin listing off such things, "like helping with construction, tilling the land, carrying barrels of stuff, doing repairs, and all sorts of things like that. It's really quite amazing to watch her work with us simple farmers, but work is still tiring, even for her," she leaned forward with a grin, "although you'd never know it just by looking at her, especially considering just how effortless she makes it seem," she pulled back, her face becoming more attentive as she got back on topic, "but anyways, what I'm saying is that she sometimes goes in that there barn every now-and-then to eat a light snack and rest on the hay bales," Golden gave a half-shrug, "You know, time to herself and all that."
Jazz Hop now looked unsure, "Maybe I should just wait for her to come out, instead of just barging in there and disturbing her?"
"Oh, now don't you worry. I don't think she'll mind," Golden assured her sweetly, "like I said, she's a very approachable pony, so go on right ahead."
"Well, if you say so. Thank you for your help," replied Jazz Hop before she turned around and trotted off the porch toward the barn. When she was half-way cutting through the apple orchards, she was stopped by the buffalo's voice.
"Oh! But watch out for her Totem Animal!" shouted the buffalo, almost as an afterthought.
"Her what!? " Jazz Hop yelled back, confused.
Her only response was Golden's laughter, "Don't worry about it, you'll find out soon enough!"
Befuddled at their words, Jazz Hop decided to continue on through the apple orchards nevertheless. As she moved further and further away from the farmhouse, she couldn't help but shiver as a natural silence surrounded her.
Finally, she came into the shadow of the barn, with the sun hiding just behind the tip of the roof. Placing a hoof against the barn door, she took a deep sigh and slowly pushed it forward.
Creak!
The door let out a horrible whine as she opened it, with another just as horrible one screaming out as she closed it behind her. Now fully inside of the barn, she let her eyes scan its interior. Its visibility was dull with thick shadows clinging to the walls, while the only light source came from the sun's rays that only reached through by some of the roof's insulated openings. The little that she could see, before her eyes adjusted to the darkness, were rows of wooden support beams and barrels of fruits that lined against the walls. Hay was also scattered everywhere on the floor with square hay bales piled up in corners.
What stood out the most though, was the music that bounced off of the barn walls. It was soothing, but also upbeat. Jazz Hop recognized it as a country song that would play over the radio all the time back at her home. In fact, as she listened to it closely, she could make out the subtle backdrop noises that a radio would make.
"Grrrrr!"
That wasn't any noise that a radio would make. Swiftly turning her head to the shadows at her left, Jazz Hop was just fast enough to see something big leap at her before it collided and knocked her on her back.
Shaking her head to quickly recover from the collision, Jazz Hope gazed up to what had knocked her down. And what she saw caused her pupils to fearfully shrink to the size of pinpricks.
Pushing her down so that her back pressed against the hay covered floor, Jazz Hop saw that she had been pounced by a great canine. It was big, as big as her in both height and overall size. Completely covered in ragged fur that was divided between brown and white, the beast growled down at her with bared teeth as it held her down by its powerful paws.
But what was most terrifying were the beast's four eyes. Each one glowed white from some kind of magical power that gave the beast a demonic visage. With two on each side of the canine's face, they were slanted at a downward angle and thinly narrowed, creating a threatening sight as it stared down at her.
Jazz Hop was no foal, she had heard the stories, and she knew what this beast was. This was Honesty's familiar; her pet, her companion. The Hel beast that hunted down the liars and cheats, and dragged them off to the pits of Tartarus if they did not confess to their crimes.
And here she was, pinned under the great beast.
Just as she was about to scream out every minor discrepancy that she had ever committed in her life, Jazz Hop was saved from the embarrassing confession by a commanding voice.
"Winona!" yelled out the loud voice before letting off a calling whistle. At the sound, the great canine pinning her down relaxed its threatening stance and adopted a more playful nature. It raised its head, let its ears droop floppily, and had its tongue hang from its jaw. Barking merrily, the large beast leapt off of Jazz Hop and raced off toward the back of the barn.
Frozen on the ground and breathing fast, Jazz Hop took a moment to gather her wits and calm herself as she stared up at the barn's ceiling. After taking a deep breath, she slowly turned over and raised herself back to her full height. Shivering at the barn's warm temperature, Jazz Hop gulped once and slowly trotted after the canine, to where the voice had come from.
When she had reached the back of the barn, she found no trace of the canine, instead she had found a simple, wooden table that was hidden behind some stacked barrels. The table was tall enough that her chin could rest on it easily, and it stood under a beam of light that flowed out from an upper opening. Placed on it was a couple of apples and a large mug of cider that foamed at the top. Sitting on an opposite corner of the table was a small radio that continued to play out the same soothing country music that she had first heard when she walked in.
And past the table, behind the beam of light, clouded in shadow, and resting atop a square hay bale, was a mare. Shrouded as she was, Jazz Hop found it difficult to make her out fully, but from what she could see, the mare in question seemed to be an earth pony with a larger build than what was average for most. She also wore a Stetson hat on her head and had it angled over most of her face, like how it would be worn when a pony was trying to sleep. Finally, she was laid across the hay bale casually, her forehooves hanging off of its edge and her head resting on top of them.
Jazz Hop leaned forward to try and get a better look at the mare, but she quickly snapped her head back, startled when the mare raised her head and tilted it toward Jazz Hop's direction.
"Howdy," greeted the mare normally, giving a slight nod toward Jazz Hop, "sorry 'bout Winona, she can get mighty protective 'round me. I hope she didn't hurt yeh."
"No, I'm-I'm fine," Jazz Hop stuttered out, a little surprised at hearing the twang accent in the greeting. She pawed a hoof against the floor nervously as she stared at the figure, "are... are you the Mare of Honesty?"
The mare was quiet for a small moment of thought before finally replying, "Y'know, it's considered polite to give yer name first before askin' for mine," she answered, slight humor etched in her tone.
"Oh! Sorry," apologized Jazz Hop before putting a hoof to her chest in greeting, "my name is Jazz Hop."
"Good to meet yeh, Jazz Hop," replied the mare, "and yes," she nodded, "folks do tend to call me by that title. But I'd prefer it if y'all jus' called me by my regular name. It's much easier to say anyhow," the now revealed Mare of Honesty tapped her hoof against the table, causing an apple to roll off of it. She caught the apple with her hoof and took a large bite out of it, chewing it appreciatively, before finishing it off with another large bite, "Why do yeh ask? Yeh need my help with somethin'?" she said in between her bites.
"Not me, no," Jazz Hop shook her head in the negative, "but my grandmother does. Her name is Candlelight."
At her words, the Mare of Honesty paused in her chewing, but only for a second, before resuming again to swallow the apple. She kept quiet after that, with only the radio blaring on to fill in the silence. Its country tunes were the only noise to pervade the barn's interior.
A hoof reached out and turned the radio off with a click .
Silence.
Then the Mare of Honesty let loose a few chuckles, "Ain't that right?" she muttered. She then removed herself off of the hay bale and let her hooves land on the barn's wooden floorboards with a loud clomp! Raising a hoof, she pushed the Stetson hat back behind her head until it rested between the backsides of both of her ears.
She then walked into the beam of light and Jazz Hop could not help but stare in awe.
When she was younger, Jazz Hop remembered the stories her grandma would tell her about the Mare of Honesty, and how she would describe her like she was one of the powerful horses of mythical legend. When she got older, Jazz Hop believed her grandma had simply been exaggerating.
She wasn't.
The Mare of Honesty had a body that imbued strength and prowess, and displayed it as clearly as a shining beacon. She stood tall, towering over Jazz Hop exponentially by at least a full head length above the smaller mare's. Equal in height to Princess Luna herself, only Princess Celestia, the goddess of the sun, could claim to be able to stand taller than this Honest Mare. With this empowering stature of hers, she was provided large, powerful muscles that fit perfectly into her frame, while allowing her to retain a feminine physique.
At her quarters, emblazoned against her coat, were three red apples that served as her mark. Her coat was colored a bright, tangerine orange, like the glowing landscape of a desert during the final hours of a waning sun. The hair of both her mane and tail were burned blonde in color and were both tied in the classic ponytail style by a red band. Distinctively, the strands of her mane and tail appeared paradoxically coarse and rough, yet also smooth at the same time. Her hair reminded Jazz Hop of home, and of the endless wheat fields there that stretched on for miles.
But the most enthralling aspect about the Mare of Honesty were her eyes. They were the deepest and most piercing orbs that she had ever seen in her life. Green irises shined brightly like emerald gems and pulled her own eyes deep into the mare's pupils with an unmatched attraction. Every second that Jazz Hop stared into them she felt like they were piercing into her very identity, uncovering every little thing about her that was possible to know. But this was alright. Because those deep windows were so welcoming too, as if she could trust her with all of her secrets. Never before in her short existence had she seen such trustworthy eyes.
Before Jazz Hop, she stood there, the Mare of Honesty; the tutelary patron of integrity and sincerity, and the living embodiment of the Element of Honesty.
And it was only now, after all this time she spent looking for her, as Honesty towered before her like a statuesque idol, that Jazz Hop fully realized just how important and sacred this mare was. As if not of her own will, Jazz Hop's body started to lower before her.
Those trustful, yet so piercing eyes narrowed at this action.
"You start bowin' to me or treatin' me all royally-like, and I'll kick you out of this barn myself," the Mare of Honesty informed her in an authoritative voice, "Yeh hear me?"
Immediately freezing in mid-bow, Jazz Hop sprung herself back to her full height, "Yeh-I mean, yes! I hear you," she replied frantically.
"Good, 'cause I hate it when ponies act that way 'round me," she gave Jazz Hop a serious stare, "and I don' want yeh to call me 'Mare of Honesty' or any other such title while we're travelin'. My name's Applejack, and I expect yeh to call me such, is that understood?"
"Yes, Mare-I mean, yes, Applejack," nodded Jazz Hop, stumbling over her words before she shook her head and stared back, confused, "wait... traveling ?"
The Element of Honesty known as Applejack gave her a pleasant grin, "Your granny's Candlelight, right?"
Jazz Hop nodded once.
"Well then," said Applejack, a knowing smile wrapping around her face as she looked at Jazz Hop with her piercing eyes, "I suppose it's high time that I finally gave her that visit I promised her so long ago, and it'd be rude of me to jus' leave yeh here, so c'mon, I'll give yeh a ride back home." With that, she trotted toward the barn's entrance, her height causing her shadow to encompass the striped mare entirely as she passed her by.
For a moment, Jazz Hop stood there, frozen in shock and unbelieving of what had just happened, before a small smile crossed her features and she did a tiny hop of joy. Turning around, she quickly followed after Applejack with a skip in her step.
Truth Earned from Honesty
"So... you drive a canvas wagon?"
After double-checking the harness that was wrapped around her body with a tight pull, Applejack simply answered, "Eeyup." Looking behind her to see the canvas wagon that she was tied to, she found Jazz Hop leaning out from the front opening with a confused look about her.
"Shouldn't you have a sky chariot or a stagecoach pulled by a hundred muscled stallions," asked Jazz Hop quizzically, "or something much more fitting for the Mare of-er, I mean, for somepony of your standing?"
Applejack snorted and gave an exaggerated roll of her piercing eyes, "I ain't really into such lavish things," she remarked almost distastefully so, before gaining a proud grin, "a simple wagon like this is good enough for me."
To Jazz Hop, the 'simple wagon' in question seemed a bit less than just 'simple,' as it looked rather abused and aged instead, what with how the wood seemed splintered and its exterior was caked with dirt. This created quite the contrasting image when compared to the Honest Mare that pulled it, who's coat and mane seemed to shine as bright as the sun when in the daylight.
Having answered the striped mare, Applejack then twisted her head in the direction of the buffalo and blonde-curled mare that stood watching them from the porch of their farmhouse. Seeing that the Mare of Honesty was giving them attention, Golden trotted off the porch and headed toward the exalted mare that had been living on her property for the past week, with the buffalo following behind her.
When they approached, Applejack gave them a sincere smile, "I wanna thank y'all for lettin' me stay here. It was mighty kind of yeh."
Grinning, Golden waved her off with a hoof, "Please , what were we going to do? Say 'no' to the Mare of Honesty?" she replied, her voiced etched in playful sarcasm, "My parents raised me better than that, you know?"
Applejack chuckled at that, "True, but I still want to thank yeh. Y'all respected my request to keep quiet about my stay here and I'm grateful for that. I've known many ponies that wouldn't want to keep my stayin' here a secret, so I have a gift for y'all."
"A gift?" asked a surprised Golden, "Was all that you did for us and the folks around here not enough for you?"
"Eenope," smiled Applejack cheekily before turning her head back toward the apple orchards and calling out, "Winona!"
Running out from somewhere behind the fields of apple trees was the great, four-eyed canine. As it swiftly headed toward their position, they could see that the large beast had an object within its powerful jaws.
Halting beside its master, the canine placed the item from in its jaws onto the ground before the blonde-curled mare and wagged its tail happily.
Golden raised an eyebrow as she gazed down at her so called 'gift'. It was a glass, cylinder container that held-
"Dirt," stated Golden before she looked back up at Applejack with a deadpan expression, "This is a jar of dirt."
"I prefer to call it soil," replied Applejack with a smile, "magical soil, actually. Me and Twilight mixed a batch of that up when we were tryin' to fix the wasteland a couple centuries back. Didn't so much work on that desolate place, but it works everywhere else. So if y'all ever have a bad harvest, jus' spread that soil over your land and y'all have the trees and bushes practically throwin' their fruit at yeh."
"Thank you, Applejack," said Golden, her eyes wide as she stared at the jar of magical soil, before looking back up at the Mare of Honesty with a sincere expression, "I honestly don't know what to say."
"Ah shucks, sugarcube, ain't nothin' that needs to be said," Applejack waved-off kindly, "Just need yeh to accept the gift is all."
"The tribe will be sad to hear of your leaving," informed the buffalo, stepping forward as he looked up at her, "especially when the situation with the voodoo zombies is still left unresolved."
From inside the canvas wagon, Jazz Hop's nimble tail twitched and her ears propped attentively at the words. Her bright, gold eyes were curious at the conversation and she had this sudden, strange urge to make herself seem smaller.
"Now don't you worry none about them zombies," Applejack assured him, "I'm sure that the zebras will send down an expert soon enough and have those zombies properly laid to rest. If not, then I have faith that yer chieftain will be entirely capable of handlin' a few walkin' corpses."
"Anyways, it's 'bout time I hit the road," continued Applejack without pause, before looking down at her familiar and gesturing toward the wagon with her head, "Winona, hop on in there."
The Hel beast called Winona gave a happy bark before running around the wagon and jumping into its back.
"Eep!" squeaked Jazz Hop in surprise as the large canine sat next to her. Its tongue lolled out dumbly as it panted.
"It were nice meetin' y'all, but, as they say, I gotta get back on the ol' dusty trail," Applejack gave the blonde-curled mare and the large buffalo a genuine smile, "so this is goodbye for now."
The buffalo gave her a brief nod, "Goodbye to you then."
"Come back and visit us some time, okay?" Golden said cheerfully.
"I'll do that! Until then," Applejack then reigned herself up, her forelegs kicking high into the air, "Yeehaw!" she hollered out enthusiastically. When her hooves hit the ground again, she sprung herself forward with a strong gallop, carrying her and the wagon she pulled speedily across the road.
Fields of bronze stretched on for what seemed endlessly as the tall grass of the prairie blew listlessly in the wind. Their sheer massive numbers created a flowing landscape, only disturbed by a random tree here-and-there that jutted out above the field.
Only a short time had gone by since their leaving of the orchard, and the mountain range was already just a small backdrop in the distance. The many miles that were accomplished in such a miniscule period were due to the Mare of Honesty's greater stature that lent her farther strides not available to most ponies. Combined with that, her powerful muscles and amazing endurance allowed her to cross wide distances without interference. Jazz Hop saw her literally kick away boulders the same size as herself like it was nothing, and all just so that she wouldn't have to divert her course or cause damage to the wagon.
That said, they had started late in the day and Celestia had already overturned her rule to her sister of the night, to whom had laid a blanket of stars over their heads. When the moon's glow had cast across them, Applejack had decided to call for a rest even though no strain or exhaustion were evident on her. At the first available opportunity, she stopped the wagon under an overhanging tree and removed the harness from herself, before immediately setting to work on a campfire.
And now there they were, under a lonesome tree in a prairie field of emptiness, with an orange, glowing ball of fire between the two mares, while Luna's artwork dazzled the sky.
Not that Jazz Hop was really taking the time to appreciate Luna's starry sky, as she was quite preoccupied at the moment.
Currently, she was sitting with her rear in the dirt, as the fire glowed orange over her coat. Her body was rigid and still as she nervously looked down at what was at her hooves.
At her hooves was Winona, Honesty's familiar and the terrifying canine that hunted down the wicked for the cells of Tartarus. And here she was, on her back, her paws hanging in the air, a tongue rolled out of her jaw, and rubbing against Jazz Hop's hooves with the back of her head as she looked up at the mare with all four of her eyes while giving off miserable whines.
Jazz Hop was utterly befuddled.
"Are yeh gonna rub her belly or not?"
Springing her head straight up, Jazz Hop looked across the dancing fire with a startled and unbelieving face, "What!?" she cried.
On the other side of the small campfire, Applejack laid over the ground casually and gave her an amused look, "She jus' want's yeh to rub her belly," she said lightheartedly, "and she's been whinin' for nearly ten minutes now, so she ain't gonna stop until yeh do."
Staring back in disbelief for a second, Jazz Hop nervously reached a hoof down and proceeded to give the Hel beast a tummy rub. To which Winona started letting off moans of delight as one of her hind legs started habitually kicking the air.
Seeing the sight, the Mare of Honesty shook her head and let out a few small chuckles, "That dog can sure be spoiled sometimes."
"Yeah..." commented Jazz Hop absentmindedly, preoccupied with giving the large dog an amazing tummy rub. As she did so, her golden eyes soon trailed up to look at Applejack, at the Mare of Honesty. She opened her mouth, but no words came out, "Uh..."
"Go ahead and ask," spoke Applejack suddenly.
"What?"
"I said, go ahead and ask," she repeated nonplussed before sending out a knowing gaze toward the striped mare, "I'm sure that you've got some questions 'bout me; ponies always do. So go ahead and ask 'em," she smiled, "I promise I won't bite yer head off for it."
"Well, I was just wondering..." Jazz Hop's words trailed off as she looked down for a brief glance at Winona before turning back to Applejack, "is it true that your pet hunts down bad ponies and drags them to Tartarus?"
Applejack blinked once, before she reared her head up and let out laughs that echoed across the fields of grass, "Is that what's got yeh so nervous, sugarcube?" she asked between chucks of laughter, "Aw shucks, yeh don't need to worry 'bout Winona. She don't do that. I mean, yeah, she can find anythin' or anypony with that nose of hers, if she's got the scent, but she don't drag anypony to Tartarus. So you can go ahead and stop tremblin' so much around her, she ain't gonna drag yeh down to any fiery pits."
Jazz Hop let out a relieved sigh as she continued to rub Winona's belly, only now much less worrisome-like, "So what's with her eyes? I mean, why does she have four?"
"Oh, that's jus' from her bein' a familiar," Applejack answered nonchalantly, "magical animals always got some extra limbs that they shouldn't be havin'. Honestly, I'm jus' glad she don't have an extra head, especially considerin' jus' how much time she spends with Cerberus."
Jazz Hop paused in her tummy rubbing, letting a silence pervade between the two of them as she looked down at the four-eyed canine warily; quite unsure on how to respond to this new information. A needy whine from Winona prompted her to resume her rubbing of the belly and she quickly decided to not dwell on the relationship of Honesty's familiar with Tartarus's watchdog.
"So," said Applejack casually, not at all perturbed in speech by the previous conversation, "am I correct in assumin' that yer a dancer?"
Jazz Hop nodded once, "You are."
"Good for you," complimented Applejack, "Where do yeh dance?"
"Las Pegasus."
Applejack raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know we were goin' that far?"
"We're not," replied Jazz Hop, "Granny still lives in our farm that's just up north from the city. I only moved to Las Pegasus to advance my dancing career."
"Ah," nodded Applejack, "Dancin' in Las Pegasus..." she mused loudly, before looking at the striped mare with a curious eye, "So, when yeh say that yer a dancer in Las Pegasus..."
"No, I'm not that kind of dancer," answered Jazz Hop in an accentuated tone, "I don't do that anymore."
The raise of an eyebrow, "Anymore?"
"Well... yeah . I mean, nopony becomes successful in a day and I had to make my bits somehow while I was living alone in that big city," Jazz Hop's gold eyes met Honesty's own emeralds in a long stare, "I'm not ashamed of it, you know," she said, her tone serious, "my talent in dancing and my..." her nimble, zebra tail flicked once, "exoticness always brought in large crowds, so I was never short on cash, which meant I could always afford food and a roof over my head, even when I was so far away from home. I was never a burden on anypony and, through perseverance, I've now become a dancer in theater and music performances," proudly, she showed off her pearly whites in a grin, "just like how I've always wanted to be."
"Well, congratulations on achievin' yer career goal," replied Applejack sincerely, "and I weren't judgin' yeh, sugarcube. I've met plenty of mares in my lifetimes who were truthfully happy workin' that type of job, and I never respected them less for it. If anythin', I respect yeh more now for bein' so honest about it."
Jazz Hop grinned proudly at that statement, "Thank you, that really means a lot to me, especially coming from you," she said before she bashfully swiped a lock of her mane away from her face, "in fact, you're actually kind of a role model for me."
"Really? Me ?" teased Applejack with amusement written on her face, before she turned away in mock embarrassment, "Aw shucks, sugarcube. Yer makin' me blush."
Cheeks tinted like roses, Jazz Hop replied, "I know, not exactly the newest concept. But it's still true. You see, every night when I was a filly, while my mom and dad were busy working in the fields, my grandma would always tell me these tall fables about you before bed. I was always enthralled with them as a filly, and I like to think that they taught me how to be honest in my life."
"Is that so?" said Applejack, her head tilted down so that only her tender smile could be seen from under her hat, "Sounds to me like it was Candlelight that really taught yeh what it means to be honest."
"...Yeah," said Jazz Hop, her eyes traveling off into the distance, "she really did."
"Ruff!" barked Winona, startling Jazz Hop out of her meticulous rubbing of the familiar's belly. It seemed that Winona had finally decided that that was enough tummy rubs for the time being. The large canine flipped herself over onto her stomach, before standing up, giving herself a shake, and running off into the field of grass with another bark. As she watched the familiar disappear behind the blades of grass, Jazz Hop raised a curious eyebrow.
"Where is she going?" she asked.
"Hmm? Oh, never mind her, she runs off all the time," replied Applejack casually with a dismissive wave of her hoof, "she always comes back when I call for her, no matter where I am, so I ain't ever worried." Applejack gained a friendly smirk, "Now tell me, what were these tall tales 'bout me that yer granny were tellin'? Are they just as over-exaggerated as I think they are?"
"Well, one story was about how you lived in a fantastical garden palace that you magically grew from just a few plants," answered Jazz Hop before she put a hoof to her chin in thought, "I believe the moral lesson in that story was how honest work, plus time and patience, can give you the most amazing of rewards."
"Good lesson, but that story is definitely an exaggeration," chuckled Applejack, "I think she was talkin' 'bout the Royal Greenhouse of Canterlot, 'cause that's where I spend most of my time when I've gotta be in the capital for a while. It gets me away from the nobility's upper-crust, if yeh hear me?" a small, knowing smile whipped across her face, before Applejack raised her head to ponder in thought, "as for me growin' it, well... I'll admit that that part's kinda true. I most definitely grew a lot of the plants in there and I also helped with the construction when it was jus' gettin' started all them years ago, but I definitely don't live in it. They've got a room set aside for each of us Elements in the Canterlot palace, and I may be a stubborn work-pony, but I'm not dumb enough to turn away a good bed when it's offered. And they've got some mighty fine beds up there."
"Wow, the Canterlot palace," said an amazed Jazz Hop, "it must be wonderful living there."
"Yeah, I guess," Applejack commented dismissively with a simple shrug, "It's a big, royal palace with fancy tapestries and even fancier-talkin' ponies," a frown creased her features, "and I wouldn't exactly say it's where I live, as the place never felt like somethin' I could call a home." With a smile, she put a hoof over her chest, "I'm a farmpony at heart," she said proudly, "and a farmpony's gotta have an open sky over her head and plenty of space 'round her. It's what's right. So I like to travel 'round the countryside a lot and spend time with the good, hard-workin' ponies that live there."
Jazz Hop grinned brightly, "Granny always told me that the reason that cities were always so full of liars and cheats was because Honesty loved the countryside."
"Heh heh," chuckled Applejack with a small smile, "Well, I don't know 'bout that , sugarcube," she admitted, before she stood up to her impressive height and began kicking dirt into the campfire, its flames flickering wildly from the suffocation, "Anyways, let's try and get some sleep now. I'm sure yeh don't want to return home dead tired."
Jazz Hop flinched, before quickly recovering with a nod of her head, "R-Right, good idea," she agreed, a stutter on her lips. She stayed still for a moment in silence as she quietly watched the Mare of Honesty stamp out the last of the fire's embers. As she watched, her legs started slowly curling into herself protectively.
Noticing this, Applejack briefly paused in her stomping, glancing down at Jazz Hop with knowing eyes as the hybrid mare continued to silently stare at the dying embers. She let her attention return to the beating of her hooves against the fireplace to finish the job, "Y'know, it's okay to cry."
Startled out of her reverie, Jazz Hop looked up at Applejack with a confused expression, "What?"
"I said that it's okay to cry," repeated Applejack distractedly as she finished stomping out the glowing, little pinpricks of the campfire's remains with a final slam of her hoof. Raising her head, Applejack looked at Jazz Hop with a serious stare, "Look, sugarcube, I know that yer doin' this 'cause yeh love yer granny," she smiled, "and that's very good of yeh, somethin' to be proud of," her smile disappeared as quickly as it came, replaced by a small, sincere frown, "but ponies don't go lookin' for somepony like me , jus' 'cause a family member asked 'em to," her eyes softened, "and I can see that yer puttin' on a tough face for yourself, but I'm tellin' yeh, sincerely, that it's okay to cry."
Jazz Hop turned her head away, avoiding Applejack's gaze, "Look, thank you. I'll miss her, I really will, but I'm fine, really ," assured the striped mare.
Applejack stood motionless over the remains of the campfire, "Jazz Hop," she uttered, her voice serious, "look at me."
Turning her head back to again reassure Applejack, Jazz Hop was immediately stopped frozen when she looked into her eyes; into those Honest eyes. Captured by those piercing, green irises of hers, Jazz Hop felt completely bare and exposed before those emerald oceans, like they could see every flaw of her character. Entranced as she was, she barely noticed how they seemed to draw closer to her, that is until she found Applejack laying down next to her.
The Mare of Honesty looked down pitifully at the hybrid mare, who had instinctively curled herself into a ball to make herself seem smaller, and she softly whispered, "Stop lyin' to yourself."
And Jazz Hop did just that.
Rivers of tears trailed down Applejack's coat and whimpers were muffled against her fur as Jazz Hop cried into Honesty's embrace. She cried because she knew what was going to happen, because she knew that it was inevitable, and because she knew that there was nothing that she could do to stop it.
"I don't want her to...I-I don't want to say goodbye to her," whimpered out Jazz Hop.
But most of all, she cried because she was being honest with herself, because these things did hurt her, and that it was good for her to finally admit this.
And the Mare of Honesty didn't say anything, she just let the broken-down mare cry into her coat. Let her finally acknowledge the pain.
She always was good at catching the liars.
Truth Earned from Honesty
What is Earned from Honesty
Fields of bronze were traded for fields of gold as huge quantities of yellow wheat stretched on for miles. Just as the prairie, the golden strands blew listlessly in the wind, creating a flowing landscape not unlike a sea made of liquid gold. And just like a sea, an island of green grass was spotted in the middle of this field. This island was composed of a large, wooden, two-story farmhouse in its center, with three tall, metal silos and an uncolored, wooden barn around its perimeter, and a couple of healthy oak trees that were dotted around these structures.
Even after she had moved to Las Pegasus, this old farm still felt like home to Jazz Hop. Even as she stood before the farmhouse's front door, she felt so familiar and at home here. Taking a deep breath, Jazz Hop raised her hoof.
She hesitated, letting her hoof drop as she turned her head back to look at the pony behind her.
"Look," she began quietly, "before we go in there, I just want to say, 'thank you' for what you did back there," she said sincerely, "I feel... better for it," she pawed her hoof against the porch's wooden floorboards awkwardly, "So... thank you."
A tender smile is what she received, "Yer a good and honest mare, Jazz Hop. I jus' helped yeh with one of the few things yeh were havin' trouble bein' honest about. But yer welcome, nonetheless."
Returning with a small smile of her own, Jazz Hop quickly turned back to the door, breathed in deeply one more time, readied herself, and raised her hoof.
Knock-knock!
"Coming!" yelled out a mare's voice, slightly muffled behind the wooden walls of the farmhouse, "Just give me a second!" she shouted again. After a couple of seconds of the sound of hoofs clopping against floorboards, the front door was pulled open to reveal a full-blooded zebra. Covered in white and black stripes, she had a dark mane and blue eyes, and a distended belly that showed clear signs that she was heavily pregnant.
This zebra barely had the chance to say hello before she was suddenly wrapped in a hug by Jazz Hop, "Mom!" she shouted joyously, "I'm back and I've missed you!"
"Jazzy?!" said her mother, startled by the hug, "What are you doing here? I mean, I'm happy to see you, I always am, but you were only here a week ago, visiting. Shouldn't you be back in Las Pegasus?"
"I'm currently using my vacation days," answered Jazz Hop as she let go of her mother, "and last time I was here, grandma asked me to do her a... favor . She wanted me to find somepony for her, somepony important. Speaking of which..." Jazz Hop stepped aside so that her mother could see that somepony.
"Howdy, Ita," casually greeted the towering Mare of Honesty with a tilt of her hat as the sun shined down on her, her emerald eyes shimmering divinely from the light, "I must say that this is a mighty fine farm y'all have here."
Jazz Hop turned toward her mother with a grin, "Mom, this is Applejack. She's the—"
"—Mare of Honesty," her mother interrupted with wide eyes and a dazed voice, "I know who she is," she said before quickly shaking her head to regain her wits. Looking back at the embodiment of honesty, she gave her an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, I'd respectfully bow to you, but I'm afraid that if I do, then I won't be able to get back up," she gently patted her belly for emphasis.
"That's quite alright," assured Applejack, "I much prefer it if yeh didn't anyways."
"Right-right, what am I saying?" she replied, "Mom always said that you hated being bowed to. I'm sorry, would you like to come in? My dear husband and sons are in town right now selling produce and buying groceries, so we're not much on food right now, but I'm sure I can whip something up."
"That's real kind of yeh to offer," said Applejack, "but right now, I think its best that I met with Candlelight first. Do yeh know where I can talk with her?"
"Oh, yes. I last saw mom out back, resting under the oak tree on the hill," she answered before smiling, "I'm sure she'd love the chance to meet you."
Applejack returned the smile, "That I ain't gonna doubt."
"Alright, let's go," said Jazz Hop happily. She started trotting toward the door before she was stopped by an orange hoof calmly pressed against her chest.
"Actually, Jazz Hop, I think it'd be best if yeh stayed here with yer mother," informed Applejack politely, as she looked down at her with such trustworthy eyes, "Me and Candlelight are gonna have a personal chat, jus' between the two of us."
"Oh! Um... okay then," replied a slightly confused Jazz Hop. She then took a couple steps backwards until she was next to her mother again, "I'll just wait here until you two are done."
Applejack nodded once to that, before she turned to Jazz Hop's mother, "It was nice seein' yeh again, Ita," she said with a tilt of her hat and a kind smile, "you've grown into a beautiful mare and a fine mother," she glanced back at Jazz Hop with a toothy grin, her knowing eyes delving into the younger mare's own golden ones, "the fact that yeh raised such an honest daughter proves that." With that, the Mare of Honesty turned around and calmly walked off of the farmhouse's porch, completely missing the confused look Jazz Hop was giving her mother.
"What did she mean by, again ?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know," answered Ita, before turning toward her daughter, "maybe she..." whatever words that she was planning on uttering died on her lips as she suddenly stopped talking in mid-sentence.
She stopped when she noticed just how... bright her daughter's eyes were. They were so much more vibrant than she had ever seen them before, like they had turned into actual gold that shimmered in the light. If eyes were truly windows to the soul, then her daughter must have become incredibly trusting to allow ponies to see her soul so clearly.
Jazz Hop cocked her head as her mother suddenly ceased her line of conversation, "Mom?" she said, worry and curiosity in her tone, "Are you okay?"
Slowly, a small smile formed on Ita's face, "Yes, Jazzy," she replied, her tone barely hiding the pride in her voice, "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" asked Jazz Hop, her shining, golden eyes staring at her mother curiously, "because you look different to me."
"Really?" asked Ita, her smile mirthful and knowing, "How so?"
"I... I don't know?" replied Jazz Hop, confusion evident on her face, "but... when I look at you, you seem..." leaning forward, she scrunched her face in concentration as she looked at her; through her, "prideful, and worrisome, and motherly, and-and a whole lot of things that make you... you !" Jazz Hop reared her head back, her golden, shimmering eyes quivered, "How... how can I see these things?"
"Well," said Ita warmly, as she stepped closer to pull her cherished daughter into a loving hug, "from what my mother always told me, ponies with honest eyes happen to be very good judges of character."
Honest, golden eyes widened in realization.
One day, on a fine and sunny afternoon, in the middle of a sea of gold, the Mare of Honesty walked up a grassy hill. At the top of this grassy hill she found a large oak tree, where an old mare calmly sat under it.
This old mare was a unicorn, as she had a horn atop of her head that jutted out between the graying strands of her mane, which had once been an onyx black in color combined with natural, bright blue highlights. Her coat, once a vibrant red, had darkened into a crimson color over the years, and even her shining purple eyes have dulled due to the passing of time. The only aspect of her that was still as striking as ever was the lantern bursting with flames that decorated her hindquarters.
Behind half-moon glasses, the dulled, purple irises looked up at the Mare of Honesty, who now stood before the aged unicorn like a contempt statue.
"I see that you've helped yourself to our wheat field," the old mare stated in an indifferent tone, her voice not as creaky as the rest of her appearance would suggest.
A strand of wheat between her teeth, Applejack moved the wheat to the other corner of her mouth before answering, "I did," she replied factually. Her piercing emeralds looked down at the old mare's forehooves, "I see that Winona is much more friendly with yeh now."
Looking at her master upside down, Winona cocked her head at Applejack as her tummy was lightly rubbed by the aged mare.
"Looks that way," the old mare answered as she continued lightly tracing circles on the canine's belly, "darn thing almost gave me a heart attack when I first saw her come out of those wheat fields. For a second, I had thought that you sent her after me to drag me down to Tartarus."
"Candlelight," began Applejack as she stared down at the old mare with a slightly annoyed look, "I already told yeh long ago that Winona don't do that. She doesn't send bad ponies down to Tartarus," she leaned her head down to Candlelight's eyelevel and stared at her with deeply, mesmerizing eyes that could make the most remorseless of ponies flinch from guilt, "only us Elements have the power to do that. Winona jus' helps us find 'em."
Purple irises stared back calmly, "Right, well, I must have missed that detail at the time," replied Candlelight casually, as she then raised one of her hooves to carefully feel along her neck, "as I recall, I was more preoccupied with her jaws around my throat."
"Mhmm," murmured Applejack as she raised her head back up, "Winona! Git!" she commanded with a flick of her head.
Always obedient, the large canine calmly turned herself over and pawed off away from the two mares to lie down at the base of the hill. With Winona away, it was now only Applejack and Candlelight atop the hill. They stared at each other silently, bright emeralds meeting dull amethysts, with only the wind in their manes to show that they had not become stilled pictures.
Blinking once, Candlelight's eyes slowly wandered over Honesty's form, examining her, "You look younger than you were the last time I saw you," she spoke, breaking the silence.
Briefly glancing over her youthful body, Applejack returned her ancient eyes back to Candlelight's aged ones, "Well, I was only a couple years away from passin' on the las' time yeh saw me," explained Applejack, her tone of voice even, "me and my friends only live for some sixty years, before comin' back after another ten, and we tend to show a couple of gray hairs in those las' few years."
"Only a couple, huh?" Candlelight snorted abrasively, "And here I am with almost a full head of gray," she stared knowingly at the embodiment of Honesty, "I guess being an Element of Harmony has its benefits."
"Ten years compared to an eternity in Paradise comes to mind," countered the Mare of Honesty calmly before she quietly turned herself to her side to better look out over the golden sea of wheat, "but I reckon yer right," she admitted apathetically, "bein' what I am s'got its wonders."
A gust of wind flew over the wheat field, creating shimmering waves in its wake as it sailed past the two mares, their manes and tails flapping in the air after it.
Applejack breathed in the air as she observed her surroundings, "You've built yourself quite a farm here," she stated simply, her eyes trailing over the land and structures.
The aged, crimson-coated mare joined the Mare of Honesty in gazing at the scenery, "That I did," she replied with just the barest hint of pride in her voice, "it took a while, but luckily for Ita and I, my fire does wonders for the soil around here," as she said this, her horn briefly flared red from a burning glow.
"Good," commented Applejack plainly as she chewed her wheat, "I'm glad yeh found a less destructive use of yer magic."
Amethyst irises flickered toward Honesty's form emotionlessly, except by the slightest sense of strain, before flicking back toward the horizon, "...Me too."
Distantly, the clanging sounds of pots and pans hitting the floor was heard from the farmhouse, soon accompanied by muffled voices of apologies and polite dismissals of said apologies. Grabbing her attention, Applejack diverted her gaze to the farmhouse.
"Do they know?"
Candlelight looked up toward the farmhouse, her eyes focusing on the single lit window, "No," she answered, "I haven't told them." She turned her head, the Mare of Honesty's image reflected on her half-moon glasses, "Do you disapprove?"
"Depends," replied Applejack, not even glancing back at the aged mare, "what did yeh tell 'em when they asked about yer life before this, about who yeh once were?"
Staring at the back of the Honest Mare for a short moment, Candlelight soon turned her gaze back to her home, "When they asked, I only told them that I had once been a soldier. I then made it very clear to them that I didn't ever want to share my experiences during that time, and they've respected my wishes."
"Then no, it ain't a problem," said Applejack, "a pony's past is their own, and at least yeh had the decency to be direct about that to 'em. Yeh didn't try to string up a story and lie to 'em." Glancing at the aged mare from the corner of her eye, Applejack gave her a skeptical look, "But I seriously doubt it were as clear cut as that. Ita must have been curious 'bout where she came from at some point in her life."
"When she asked, I told her the truth," replied Candlelight, her eyes still staring at the farmhouse, "I told her, that during the war, I had found her crying in a burning village and that I had decided to save her and adopt her as my own. She eventually lost interest in her heritage after I explained to her that there was nothing left of that village and that I was never able to find out who her parents were."
Tufts of air escaped Applejack's nostrils as she scoffed contentedly, "I suppose that's technically the truth," she replied in a barbed tone, "the village was burnin', and the peace treaty weren't enacted yet, so the war hadn't officially ended," twisting her neck to face Candlelight fully, Honesty's emerald eyes pierced into the old mare's, "and those burnt corpses shieldin' the cryin' filly were hard to identify."
Candlelight stared back with hollow eyes, "If you're trying to 'twist the knife' so to speak; don't . There's nothing that you can say to me that can compare to that day."
Staring back an instant longer, Applejack turned away, "I suppose yer right. Besides, I already gave yeh a serious enough tongue lashin' when I first found yeh anyways," she said as she looked off into the distance, "I still remember that day too. I was only passin' by that area, on my way to the peace meetin', when Winona started barkin' like crazy and led me to that destroyed military camp of yers, which was where I saw the tower of smoke in the distance."
"Which led you to me," stated Candlelight.
"Which led me to you; a broken down mare, in the middle of a burnin' village, bawlin' her eyes out at the destruction she caused," said Applejack, who then turned back and faced the old mare with a softer look, "but let's not relive that day more than we already have to today, after all, we both know the reason why yeh wanted to see me."
Candlelight nodded once, "There's only one reason."
The Honest Mare creased a frown, "Are yeh absolutely sure? 'Cause y'know I ain't allowed to say anythin' to yeh, unless-"
"I'm aware of how it goes," interrupted Candlelight, as she stared up at Applejack, "I've done my research," she said quietly before she spoke like she was quoting from memory, "the Elements of Harmony may only whisper words of Paradise in the ears of the dying and of the undying, so as to reassure the former and to console the latter," she perilously bored into Honesty's encompassing, emerald oceans, "and I'm sure . There are some medical files I got from my doctor that can prove it to you."
Quietly chewing the strand of wheat for a few seconds, Applejack's eyes never left Candlelight's as she stared down at her. But then she calmly turned her gaze away from the old mare's, instead letting her eyes focus on one of the leaves of the oak tree that was whittling in the wind as it desperately tried to hold onto the branch that it was attached to.
"Yeh wanna know the truth," she stated quietly, "whether they've forgiven yeh or not."
A gust of wind broke the leaf's stem from the branch, letting it fly freely through the air. For a moment, emerald eyes followed the flittering of this leaf, before finally turning back to look at the aged mare.
"Yes," Candlelight nodded, "I know I don't deserve their forgiveness, in fact, I don't expect it, but..." she paused, turning to look off into the distance, her eyes steadying on the point where the gold of the land met the blue of the sky, "but if I've earned the right, then I'd like to know," she looking back up into Honesty's eyes, "before I have to face all of them."
The Mare of Honesty stared down at Candlelight for an intense minute, silent as she pondered the mare's words, before she spoke in a gentle tone, "Yeh weren't who yeh were that day, and yeh realized that too late," turning her head, she spat the stalk of wheat out of her mouth before facing the old mare again, "but, you've done what I asked yeh; what I told yeh to do. Yeh promised me that you'd overcome yer hatred, put yer past behind yeh, and take responsibility for Ita; raisin' her like she were yer own," from under the brim of her hat, Honesty's deep eyes stared through Candlelight's own; seeing who she was, before the corners of her mouth curved upward into a small, tender smile, "and I can clearly see that yeh fulfilled this promise. That, after all these years, you've upheld this integrity; proven yer honesty," she nodded once, "so yeah, I'd say you've earned the truth."
At those words, Candlelight's eyes didn't show any hope or elation, but just the smallest sense of relief. Taking a step forward, Applejack trotted over to the old mare's side. As she stood next to the smaller unicorn, Applejack lowered her neck down so that her mouth was situated next to Candlelight's ear.
Honesty then whispered into the dying mare's ear.
And spoke the truth.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice heavy on the old mare's ear, "but many of 'em, even when they try, can't find it in their hearts to truly forgive the pony that violently ended their lives, and the lives of their friends and family."
Candlelight silently nodded once, her face betraying no emotion. The pain in her heart no more noteworthy than the hundreds of scars that already dotted it.
"But they also don't fully blame yeh," continued Honesty, her tone just the slightest bit more uplifting than it began, "they understand why yeh did it. What led yeh to it. They know that zombies are a terrible enemy to fight, especially when they wear familiar faces... like a loved one's."
A whimper broke through Candlelight's stoicism and she did her best to regain her composure. But that was a fruitless endeavor, as Honesty continued to whisper into her ear.
"They understand that yeh weren't in yer right mind. So close to the end of the war, and jus' before the two of yeh were goin' to start a life together, he was taken from yeh by some voodooists who didn't know or didn't care for the armistice. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, and it drove yeh over the edge. They understand this, and yeh have their sympathies. Not their forgiveness, but yeh have their sympathies."
She nodded once, sniffing back a tear at words more promising than she had ever hoped to hear in her life, or even after.
Out of her peripheral vision, Candlelight didn't see the small smile that formed on Honesty's lips, "He still loves yeh by the way. Even now."
That tear fell, and it was quickly followed by many more. The curved smile that they trailed over and the blissful, elated feeling she felt course through her showed that these were not tears of distraught.
"And finally, I have a message from two very kind-hearted souls," Candlelight's bleary eyes widened at Honesty's words, and at just how sincere they sounded, "they wanted me to tell yeh, that yeh have their thanks for raisin' their little Ita into the beautiful mare that she has become, and for lovin' her like any true parent would. For that, yeh also have their forgiveness."
And Candlelight was content as the tears flowed from her smiling eyes, "Thank you, Applejack," she choked out before turning to Honesty with a look that expressed sincere gratitude, "For everything."
Applejack, the Element of Honesty, smiled an honest smile, "No need to thank me, sugarcube. After all," she looked out over the field of gold, her emerald eyes shimmering from the drifting sun.
"I was only speakin' the truth."
Truth Earned from Honesty
In a thick forested mountain range, where the trees were rooted as high as the peaks, there was a river that crisscrossed through the bottom crevices that lay between each of the mountains. A truly massive river, its width was stretched as wide as a sea serpent was long. It could also be described as beautiful, for lying under the great cyan ocean that was Loyalty's sky, and with no overhanging clouds to object to Celestia's work, the vibrant blue of the river's water shined white from the reflected exuberance of the sun's unimpeded rays.
Yet for the two that crossed it, although they never verbally shared this with each other, they both believed that peaceful was what the river expressed the most in its existence. They both enjoyed its calm attitude and the quiet sounds of the streaming water's light ripples; no thunderous rapids were present to disturb this river's serenity.
Wide and deep as it was to deter the wary from crossing, the river nevertheless had a thick rope hanging over and stretching across its width. Intermingling with this rope was a wooden raft that slowly drifted atop the river's surface like a lazy otter. It was a shabby raft that creaked as it crossed, with the wood holding it together being aged by the mold and cracks that wore it. With nothing but a flat surface, a few brown crates, and a tall lamp post that had a circular hole in it for the rope to travel through, it was as plain as a raft could be.
The two occupants that rode this simple raft were two very different individuals. The first, who was situated with his rear on one of the crates, was an old stallion that only had three hooves. The fourth hoof, along with the rest of the foreleg that it was supposed to be attached to, was just a stitched stump. With a teal coat and a gray mane, the old stallion also wore a raggedy vest over his body and a very worn out straw hat atop his head. Jutting out between the straw folds of this hat was a horn that indicated him as a unicorn. The horn glowed blue with magic, and behind him, where the rope traveled through the hole of the lamp post, a segment of the rope was wrapped in a blue aurora which helped magically pull the raft across the river.
Even hidden behind the folds of straw, the second occupant of the raft could feel the old unicorn's gaze upon her back.
The aged stallion smiled a pleasant smile from under the shadow of his hat, "You've got beautiful stripes," he said so nicely, his voice creaky.
The smile was returned, "Thank you, that's kind of you to say."
"Oh, think nothin' of it, I was only speakin' the truth," the old unicorn replied, his aged accent showing, "so, who was it? The mother or the father?"
"...My mother."
He nodded sagely at that, "A pony father and a zebra mother," he mused loudly, "it's been such a long time since I've seen one such as yourself cross this river," he lifted his head upward, pondering, "so long in fact, that I completely gosh darn forgot what it was that yer folk were called. What was the name again?"
At the sight of the old stallion's quiet pondering, the other raft's occupant closed her eyes and silently prayed that he would not remember the name, and that he would just simply forget the whole thing and move on.
But alas, no such luck was granted.
"Ah, yes. I remember now," said the old unicorn as he lowered his head back to her, "yer a zony."
She couldn't help it. She let out a terribly pained groan that purveyed both her irritation and annoyance for what she perceived as one of the most ridiculous and silliest sounding names that she has ever had the displeasure of being applied to. She honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was Laughter herself that came up with the name.
Her displeasure was noticed by the old unicorn, "Oh, don't be like that," he calmly chastised, "there's nothin' shameful 'bout bein' a zony."
"Except for the stupid name," she quietly muttered under her breath.
"Maybe," the old stallion quipped, "but just 'cause it ain't the most dignified-soundin' name don't mean yeh can't be proud of it."
Swiftly turning her head back to him in surprise, her cheeks were red from embarrassment, "Oh! ...Uh, I..."
The unicorn let out an old croon of a laugh as he saw her expression, "Ha! Now don't you go look'n so surprised. I'm may be half-blind, but I'm not half-deaf, yeh hear me?"
"Er, right. Sorry," she apologized sincerely, before turning away to hide the embarrassment that had yet to disappear from her face, "anyways, if you must know, I'm actually quite proud of being who I am." As she said this, she glanced down at the river's water to find her reflection staring back at her.
The mare that looked back at her was colored with a peach coat, a flowing brunette mane, and a pair of golden eyes. Although she was a hybrid of both pony and zebra, her stature and facial features were much more like that of a pony's. Where her zebra heritage did come in was from the black, thin stripes that arched across her back and circled around her legs. She also had an actual tail like a zebra's, and not just a stub with long strands of hair attached to it like what most ponies have.
She also had a silver scarf wrapped around her neck, which had absolutely nothing to do with her pony/zebra heritage, but she did think that it gave her a fashionable style.
"So, what is it that yer lookin' for?" asked the old unicorn suddenly.
"Excuse me?" she replied, turning back to him and giving him a quizzical eyebrow.
In response, he gave her a toothy grin, "Nopony crosses a river without lookin' for somethin'. It's a fact. Otherwise what'd be the point of crossin' a river? So if you don't mind my askin', what's it that yer lookin' for?"
She gazed back at him steadily, her golden eyes never meeting his own, hidden as they were behind his straw hat. She then turned to look toward the bank of the river that their raft was heading to. At this bank was a dirt road that twisted and turned past some foliage and led deeper into the mountains.
Switching her gaze back to him, she gave her answer, "I'm looking for the Mare of Honesty."
The quiet sounds of the streaming river and the creaking of the raft were the only noises that she heard as she waited for the old unicorn to respond. His frowning silence continued on for half-a-minute as his straw hat stared back at her, until he finally responded with a light chuckle.
"Is that so, huh? And what makes yeh think that she's up there in those mountains, hmm?" asked the old unicorn as the toothy grin returned to his face.
"Because of the buffalo tribe that lives in the mountains," she answered matter-of-factly, "I heard that they called for an important meeting with the local pony community over some kind of dispute or something. If that's true, then she'll be there."
"Oh?" replied the old unicorn, expressing his tone like he was blatantly ignorant of what she was talking about, "and why's that?"
She leaned forward and gave him a serious stare, "Because the buffalo always invite her; they trust her."
The old unicorn must have seen something humorous in her words as he swung his head high and laughed eccentrically, "Bwahaha! Yes, of course they would. Given their history, I imagine that Honesty is who they'd want most at those kinds of meetin's," his eccentric laughing soon dissolved into clucking chuckles as he calmed down, "So that's yer plan, eh? Find the meetin' an' you find her?"
"That's the idea."
"Well, I'm sorry to be the one to sink yer ship before it even set sail, but that meeting came and went nearly a week ago," he said, the laughter nearly gone from his voice as his tone become apologetic.
Her eyes widened, "What!? Are you sure? How do you know?" the striped mare asked with shock written all over face.
"This ol' raft crossin' gets some traffic every now-and-then," the old unicorn answered as he patted the crate below him with his remaining foreleg, "and ponies can't help but speak their mind when crossin' such a quiet river, and so 'bout a week ago a whole bunch of ponies came from that there meetin' and told me about it, includin' how it ended."
"Dang!" she shouted before looking at him desperately, "Was the Mare of Honesty there? Was I at least right about that?"
He nodded, "Oh, she was, that's a most definitely," the old unicorn let loose a knowing chuckle, "why, she's 'bout the only thing those ponies I ferried over ever talked about. You shoulda heard them, the way they spoke of her. Like she was the most important pony there ever was."
THUNK!
That was the raft hitting the river bank. They had finally crossed the river and she could now go about her business searching the mountain range.
She didn't move.
"Aren't yeh gonna cross?" the old unicorn asked.
"What's the point? You said it yourself that I missed her," she replied, almost miserably so, "you might as well just take me back across so I can go back home."
At her words, his muzzle twisted into a scowl, "Now hold on there a minute, I never said any such thing," objected the old unicorn who almost sounded offended by her mistake, "all I said was that you missed that there big meetin' that they had. I know for a fact that she's still up there."
Her head lifted, and her ears propped forward as a small shimmer of hope crossed her curious eyes, "What? How would you know?"
There it was again, that toothy grin, "Why wouldn't I? I live here, I hear things, and I heard she's still here," he leaned forward and gave her an inquisitive stare unseen behind his hat, "what I can't figure out though is why yer goin' about lookin' for her. Most ponies who need her help got this deep feelin' in their gut that pulls 'em to her. I can clearly see that you don't, so what's got yeh searchin' for her?
She looked away, contemplating his question. The reason was a personal matter and was not something she was willing to share so openly, yet the old unicorn might be able to help her, and maybe even inform her on where the Mare of Honesty stayed.
"It's... It's my grandmother," she finally answered, "she wants to see her."
The old unicorn cocked his head to the side at that, "Oh? Is that so? Well then, I think I understand now," he gave a small smile and slowly nodded his head in realization, "Yes ... I think I get what's goin' on now."
She stared at him warily, "What are you talking about?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothin'," he replied quickly in an off-hoofed manner, "at least, nothin' that a young whipper-snapper like yourself needs to worry about," he let out some more chuckles, but they weren't the happy chuckles he let out before, they were more strained than mirthful, "tell yeh what, since your granny is in dire need of Honesty, how 'bout I tell yeh where yeh can find her?"
The hybrid mare jumped to her hooves in excitement and with surprise on her face, "You know where she is!?"
"Sure do," he said cheerfully. With a nudge of his head, he pointed toward the path, "you just need to follow that there road, and if yeh keep to the left, you'll find a quiet farm. She's been stayin' there."
Almost immediately, she leapt off of the raft and onto the dirt road. She turned back to him with an excited grin, "Thank you, just thank you so much for this. I'll repay you for your help, I swear."
The old unicorn laughed uproariously at seeing how uplifted and excited the young mare had so quickly become, "Think nothin' of it," he told her.
"Again, just thank you so much. I..." she hesitated as a thought crossed her, "you know, I don't think I ever got your name. I'm Jazz Hop by the way."
"Nice to meet yeh, Jazz Hop," said the old unicorn kindly enough, "as for my name, well... ponies 'round here just call me River Crosser, on account that that's what I do."
Jazz Hop frowned, she wasn't sure, but something about the way he said it bugged her, "That... That's not your real name, is it?"
The aged stallion wore a somber smile, "Nope, but my real name ain't important no more," he informed her in a soft-spoken tone, "helpin' ponies cross this river is all I do now, it's who I am," with his magic, River Crosser tipped his straw hat up, "It's all that I want to be now."
With his hat tilted upward, Jazz Hop could now better see the rest of his face. Vicious scars and a burnt coat surrounded his left eye, or at least where it was supposed to be. An eye patch covered the open socket and saved Jazz Hop from what would be a gritty sight. In contrast, his one remaining eye was a piercing blue in color and stole Jazz Hop's gaze. She found it difficult to tear away from his stare, but tear away she did, and in doing so, she finally caught notice of the mark that adorned his hindquarters: an emblazed lance.
He gave her another toothy grin, "Now you be careful goin' up there, and don't forget to give Honesty my regards."
