Living in Equestria

Apple Bloom blinked into her surroundings, a moment of panic sending a shiver of fear down her spine. She recognized where she was... kind of.

It was the hill where Ol' Grandad was supposed to be, but the ancient tree wasn't there. The rise was barren save for the tall, wild grass that looked unkempt and out of control. The light overhead coming from the sun was hidden behind a dense carpet of heavy clouds, causing it to be diffuse and yellowed but the thick clouds had done nothing to prevent the still air from becoming impossibly humid. It was like a hearth fire was burning just over her head and somepony had sprayed her with water. The hazy scene was filled with a palatable, silent sense of waiting, like just before a massive thunderstorm.

She was instantly covered in a fine sheen of sweat that made her coat glisten as she turned to take in the rest of the area. Just beyond the bottom of the small rise and surrounding her from every side was a thick wall of intense vegetation. Wide, broad leaves of tall plants she had never seen before almost hurt her eyes with their intense green color. Huge red blossoms of exotic flowers dotted the growth here and there underneath tall trees that were unlike any she'd ever seen. They weren't apple trees, that's for sure. The bark was a rich, golden color and the leaves they grew were massive and shaped like spades, big enough that she probably could wrap one around her if she wanted to.

Apple Bloom heard the sound of hoof falls and panicked, whirling around to the source too late to hide from whoever it was. Three tall ponies, each one slimmer and more fair than Celestia or Luna, stepped from the dense green brush. Their eyes did not acknowledge or register her presence, even though she was clearly in view. They wore heavy cloaks of dark gray that covered their backs and heads, hiding most of their features from her wide, disbelieving eyes. How kin they wear them cloaks in this heat?! she thought.

They moved with a grace and style that felt magical to her, like no pony she'd ever seen before. Apple Bloom back pedaled away from the towering, lithe figures when they got close, stammering out a greeting.

"H- hello..." she said meekly.

Again, they took no notice of her and formed a small circle at the top of the hill. As if on a silent cue, their heads turned up towards the hazy sky and a harmonic chant filled the air. The sound was impossibly full, sounding as if it was coming from the sky itself and vibrating in her chest. It filled Apple Bloom with an overwhelming feeling of power and awe that caused her knees to shake a little.

The three ponies in unison brought a hoof up, touching them together in a trio at the center of the hill right before a sudden thunder crack ripped through the still, humid air. Apple Bloom jumped and then cowered in fear in the wet grass on the slope, unable to take her eyes from the mystical sight before her.

Rain fell hard and fast with the immediacy of somepony turning on a switch. The sound of the large, heavy drops hitting the leaves of the nearby vegetation was chaotic but not enough to drown out the haunting chant that still pounded down from the sky above. Her eyes were shocked into blindness by a stab of lightening that left a blue spear against her vision, it's point touching the spot on the hill immediately below the three hooves of the visitors and again the deafening sound of thunder shook her very soul.

Apple Bloom was dimly aware she was screaming now but she could barely hear it over the roar of thunder, the pounding rain, and the ceaseless chant that rang above it all. The ponies at the top of the hill knelt in unison and touched their trident of hooves to where the lightening had struck the dirt and when their hooves contacted the ground, a beam of golden light shot down from the clouds, striking the hillside with a focused intensity on the spot in the center of the group.

The ground under her body shook with a fierce tremble, the tall trees around the hill swayed and shivered with the disturbance. A sudden blast of strong wind from the center of the hill slid Apple Bloom backwards along the slick grass... and then sucked her forward as it reversed itself, pulling her mane, tail and bow over her body. She quickly whipped the hair from her eyes and watched as the three figures were absorbed by the light, their bodies lengthening grotesquely before thinning out and being sucked upwards.

The light expanded and then flared brighter before retreating upwards into the sky again. First the winds stopped... then the rain... and then silence descended, broken only by the soft sounds of water dripping from the leaves nearby. Apple Bloom was alone on the hill, soaking wet and panting from fear and wonder at what she had just witnessed. Where the three figures had been, was a small green tree that barely looked tall enough to reach her muzzle, growing in the ground at the crest of the hill.

Tentative hoofsteps brought her closer and when she could make out the details of its leaves, she saw that it was a tiny apple tree.

"Ol' Grandad?" she breathed aloud, "Is... is tha you?"

"Yeah!" came a young sounding voice from behind her.

She spun around and there was a young colt, not much older than a foal, with a bright, apple green coat and short, golden mane standing a few paces behind her. His eyes were a piercing red that looked far too intense... far too real.

"Who are you?" Apple Bloom asked, still very unsure about if he was talking to her or not.

"Well... that's kind of a hard question." he said, looking awkward and rubbing a hoof on the back of his neck sheepishly, "I guess you can keep calling me Ol' Grandad if you want, but I don't really have a name." he shrugged.

Apple Bloom stood, staring at the colt. "But... You're..."

"A colt?" he smiled innocently, looking back over his own body, "Yeah, I always wanted to try being one! But this head feels funny... like it's really empty or something."

"W- what's happenin'? Where am I?!" her voice grew stronger now, a desperate need for answers was driving her anxiety.

"I brought you here. I wanted you to see when I was born!" he said happily with a giggle, "Don't be scared... nothing can hurt you here."

"But... but who were those ponies? Why did they look so.. so... wierd?"

"They were the first comers. The ones who made this place for ponies like you. They made me so I could help feed the ones who would come after them." he said, nibbling on his hoof experimentally, "They were before all the unicorns, and pegasi... oh and land ponies too. They put their essence in all the Equ... so we could live forever!"

"How many of ya are there?"

"Mmm.." he looked up at the sky, his head cocking slightly. "Lots!" he said and then looked back at Apple Bloom, stepping near her. "But you're the only one who can hear me now. I've waited for... for like a really long time for another life giver of my kind to come along."

The colt came close and gave a nuzzle to Apple Bloom's neck. He was surprisingly cold, and his fur was stiff and scratchy against her. "You were just in time, too." he said stepping back and smiling up at her.

"Y-ya mean that black stuff that was on you?"

"Yeah... A pony came not to long ago, a flyer with something covering his head. He put that on me..." his little ears drooped, "Nopony's ever wanted to hurt me before."

"Ya mean somepony put that stuff on you!?"

The colt nodded and then his eyes crossed, looking up at the wisps of his golden mane that hung over his eyes and he gave a childish smile, his lips pursed and he blew a puff of air up, causing them to flutter about and his eyes lit up with delight.

"So... so what now?" she asked, feeling suddenly awkward, "What am I supposed ta do now that I'm a life giver?"

He shrugged. "Just help me and my kind grow! Protect us from things that want to hurt us. We can teach you things, ya know..."

"Like how ta make potions?"

"Oh yeah! I guess we already have!" he smiled and then he looked behind her suddenly, his face and ears falling, "Awww..."

Apple Bloom whirled around but saw nothing. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"You should probably go now... the others with you are getting upset."

"Tha others? Ya mean Applejack n them?"

"Can you tell that one something for me?" he said, his body beginning to fade along with the trees and plants around her, "Tell her that Blossom Sprout loves her very much... and we're all sorry about what happened but she's happy."

The colt and the wild vegetation surrounding him faded into a white nothing. Apple Bloom wanted to ask him what that meant but her head suddenly became to heavy to hold up. Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself falling.

___________________________________________

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack cried when her sister fell from the overhead canopy as the last light of the day winked out, plunging us into the dusky gloom underneath the tree.

She'd fallen strangely, not plummeting like a pony should at the mercy of gravity or whatever that force was called in this place. Instead, she slowly drifted down and settled in the short, soft grass as if unseen hands placed her there lovingly.

"Filly! You open your eyes n talk ta me this instant! Ya hear!" Applejack said as she pressed her muzzle against Apple Bloom's mid section. She pulled back with a sudden look of surprise. "S- she's all wet! Look at 'er mane! What happened to her?! Zecora! What happened to her?!"

"Ahm fine, Applejack..." came Apple Bloom's voice. Her eyes had opened and she lay smiling as she rested on her side, her face half buried in the grass.

"Oh my word, you scared the livin' horseapples outta me, girl!" her sister said and collapsed on top of her in a hug. Apple Bloom hugged her back and then explained what happened while she got to her hooves to stand in front of us in the gloom.

"Tha tree showed me how it was born! It was incredible! There were these three really tall ponies and... and they made it storm and rain! And then.. and then there was this big ol beam a light!"

Discord suddenly became very interested, slipping between Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle to bring his face close to hers. "Oh! A quickening!" he gushed, "You saw a real quickening of the ancients! Tell me, what did they look like? Were they as fair as the scrolls say they were?"

"I... I didn't seem 'em real good. But yeah, they were really tall and kinda lanky."

"What I wouldn't give to see that kind of magic at work!" he reared up, swooning with emotion, "Oh! The tingly feeling that kind of power would give me... ooohh!" he shivered from his head to tail.

"Yeah... well..." Apple Bloom gave him a strange look, "He said somepony put that stuff on him ta try n hurt him, Applejack. Who'd wanna hurt Ol' Grandad like that?"

"I.. I don't rightly know, Sugarcube. But... I do know one thing. Mah little sister's an amazing pony." she rubbed a hoof into Apple Bloom's mane affectionately, "I'm sorry I didn't believe ya before... you know how I don't put much in all that mumbo jumbo 'bout trees talkin."

Apple Bloom looked up at her, her face growing sincere. "They kin talk Applejack... an they kin listen too. Ol' Grandad says that Blossom Sprout loves ya but she's happy now... and that all tha apple trees feel sorry for what happened. Who's Blossom Sprout, Applejack? Is that like... one of our old relatives or somethin'?"

Applejack's face widened into stunned recognition at the words her sister said. She blinked and then tried to speak. When no words and only a dry croak came out, she licked her lips and tried again.

"How... How do you know that name, Apple Bloom...." she said breathlessly.

"I just told ya! Ol' Grandad sai-"

"I never told anypony that name..." she continued, cutting her sister off and shaking her head in denial, "An I only said it once in mah entire life..."

Apple Bloom looked at her sister for a moment before a look of sudden understanding shadowed her happy features with sorrow. "That... that was what you was gonna name your foal... huh." she said in a sad voice.

"No, Apple Bloom. That was my foal's name. Only... only I just said her name to this tree..." Applejack's head turned and looked at the massive apple tree that stood watch over our small gathering.

Apple Bloom moved forward and wrapped her hooves around her sister's neck in a tight hug. The two apple sisters embraced for a moment and then Applejack stepped back, rubbing a hoof across her eyes, giving a resigned sigh.

"Whooee, filly, You're covered in crud!" she said, trying to brighten up and began to brush her sister off, knocking twigs and leaves from her wet fur. "Ya got somethin' stuck on yer flank here, Apple Bloom." she said, rubbing vigorously over a patch near her tail.

"Ow! Sis... knock it off!"

"Somepony got a light? It's mighty dark now an I can't see what this is..."

Discord reached up and grabbed a hold of one of this horns. He snapped it off with a quick move of the wrist with no visible signs of discomfort and ran the broken end along the ground like a massive match along a striker pad, bright fire quickly illuminated the space under the tree and pushed back the dark shadows. He brought his burning horn close and we all gave a small gasp.

Apple Bloom's flank was adorned with the cutie mark of an incredibly detailed and beautiful apple tree full of tiny red apples.