Heart of the Forest

by Krickis

Chapters

1 – Sour Apples
2 – Setting Out
3 – Resourceful and Foolish
4 – An Unstoppable Team
5 – Forgotten
6 – Two Hearts
7 – Honesty
Epilogue

1 – Sour Apples

Heart of the Forest

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~ by Krickis ~

for Pasu-Chan, in thanks for all your support

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Chapter One
Sour Apples
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There was something unsettling about the edge of the forest. Everything was different. There were still birds singing, but few other animals could be seen or heard. Even the trees seemed wrong; they were all spaced too far apart. What kind of forest had all of its trees so far apart?

Sure, there were patches of deeper forest that were also sparse, but out here? Out here, everything looked barren. It was no wonder Granny Smith always warned Applejack to never go out so far when she was a fawn; if she were attacked out here, she’d have nowhere to hide.

But Applejack wasn’t a fawn anymore, she was a full-grown doe. If she were attacked – not that anything was likely to attack her, especially in present company – she’d be able to handle herself well enough. It didn’t make her feel any better about things, though.

Applejack was a deer; she was large as far as deer went, which wasn’t very far, and she had an orange coat. She had white fur on her underside, and white spots along her back. She had a yellow streak of hair going from the top of her head down the back of her neck.

Applejack was a deer, like so many others, and the deer belonged in Everfree. It was her home, it was where she had been born, and in 457 years, she had never once considered leaving it. She knew the forest as well as anyone ever could, and not just by sight. She knew its sounds, she knew its smells, she knew how it felt.

And this? This did not feel like Everfree. They were still within the forest, but everything felt wrong.

Not that she could show any sign of that, not to Fluttershy. Although the deer had made their home in the forest, Fluttershy was a part of Everfree. As the forest had grown, so too did its magic. And when the magic had grown strong enough, Fluttershy was born from it. She was the forest’s chosen protector, and she felt a much stronger connection to it than even Applejack ever could.

And unlike Applejack, that connection extended to all of Everfree, not just the deeper parts. Telling Fluttershy that part of the forest felt unnatural would be like Applejack telling her that she was unnatural.

And while Applejack would never want to make anyone feel that way, she was especially wary of saying something that made Fluttershy uncomfortable. As the guardian of Everfree, Fluttershy was well respected by all of its inhabitants. But as a draconequus, living in her own skin had not always been easy for her.

It was true that she was a sight to behold. Her head resembled a pony’s, with yellow fur and a pink mane. But unlike a pony, she also had two antlers, similar to a buck’s but not as large. Partway down her long neck, the yellow fur turned to brown for the rest of her elongated torso. Her front legs were a darker shade of brown, and had soft paws on the end, while her back legs were striped white and grey with hooves. She had a pair of blue wings, and a smooth fish-like white and black tail.

And, of course, she was the most beautiful creature that Applejack had ever laid eyes on. Applejack made sure to remind her of this fact often, and it had been a long time since Fluttershy made mention of feeling like she didn’t belong. But even so, the fact remained that they had never met another draconequus. And while Fluttershy loved Applejack and her family, she also knew that she was no deer.

No, she belonged with the forest, just as the forest belonged with her. Although she was not bound to it, they were connected to one another, and it was not possible to speak ill of one without insulting the other.

And if that somehow wasn’t enough reason for Applejack to keep her mouth shut, Fluttershy was far too excited for Applejack to say anything that could spoil her good mood. Fluttershy was all smiles as they walked, talking happily about the two griffons they were on their way to meet. “They’ve been all over Equestria. Rainbow Dash told me they were in Baltimare before coming here.”

“Baltimare? Where’s that again?” Applejack asked. Life outside of the forest wasn’t something she usually concerned herself with.

“Uhm, I’m not exactly sure either,” Fluttershy admitted sheepishly. “But Pinkie Pie said that they’ve been everywhere between Griffonstone and Everfree.”

Applejack didn’t know where Griffonstone was either, but she figured there wasn’t really a point in asking. “Well, that certainly does sound impressive.”

“And kind of exciting. I never realized things were so different outside of the forest.”

“I guess it really is a whole other world out there.” Applejack adjusted the bag on her shoulder as she walked. She was carrying a peck of apples that had been grown in her family’s orchard. It wasn’t heavy, but shifting the weight around was comforting – the apples were part of her Everfree, the world she knew and understood. Even these outlying parts of the forest felt foreign to her. She didn’t even want to try to imagine the world outside of it.

It seemed that Fluttershy did, however. “I never even knew there was a whole city of griffons until I met Rainbow Dash. I thought all the cities outside of Everfree were full of ponies.”

Although Applejack didn’t often think of these things, that was the impression she’d had as well. “It must be pretty far if Granny hasn’t ever seen it.”

Fluttershy nodded. There weren’t many creatures in the forest that could count themselves among Fluttershy’s elders, and so she did tend to take Granny Smith’s words to heart. “And judging from what Pinkie and Rainbow told me, I’d say a lot has changed since Granny and the others moved here.”

There was likely to be some truth to that, but even so, Applejack shook her head and frowned slightly. “Some things never change, Shy. I’m sure your new friends are nice and all, but you know how most creatures outside the forest are. None of them even want to give us the time of day when we try to visit their town.”

“Oh?” Fluttershy nuzzled Applejack playfully. “You never told me you’ve tried going to Ponyville.”

Applejack huffed. “I don’t have to go there to know what’s going on. I hear plenty from Zecora.”

Fluttershy flashed a sly grin. “Zecora also says ponies are more afraid of you than you are of them.”

“I’m not afraid of them!” Applejack insisted. “I just can’t respect anyone who treats us forest dwellers like we’re monsters without even attempting to get to know us. Worse yet, they pretend like we’re too stupid to even know that they’re just hiding away in their houses.”

“I know, deer,” Fluttershy said in a soothing tone. “But Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie aren’t ponies, and they do want to meet you.”

Applejack felt some of the tension leave her muscles. She was being childish, this meeting was a good thing. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She fixed a smile on her face and shrugged off her worries. “I guess they can’t all be bad, right?”

“That’s right,” Fluttershy said, clearly pleased that Applejack was done being grumpy. “I’m sure you’re going to love them. You and Rainbow Dash both love doing athletic stuff, and Pinkie Pie is always full of –”

“Surprise!”

Applejack jumped back and positioned herself in a defensive stance as a pink bird swooped down in front of them. Fluttershy, who was usually the more easily flustered of the two, only jumped a little before quickly composing herself. She cleared her throat and turned towards her lover. “Applejack, this is Pinkie Pie. And Pinkie, this is Applejack.”

Upon closer look, Applejack’s initial assessment had only been half right. The front half of Pinkie did indeed look like a bird, albeit quite a bit fluffier than a full-grown bird ought to be. Most of her body was a light pink, with darker pink around her eyes and beak, as well as some darker stripes across her wings. But halfway down her torso, the feathers turned into fur, leaving her back half more resembling a manticore than any kind of bird. She lacked the manticore’s scorpion tail, however, and in its place had a much thinner tail with a tuft of dark pink hair on the end.

“Nice to meet you, Applejack! Although Fluttershy’s already told us so much about you, so it already feels like we’re best friends. But now that we’ve met, we really will be best fr–”

“What’s the big idea, jumping out at us like that?” Applejack demanded. Fluttershy shot her a warning look to keep her cool, which Applejack ignored. “You darn near gave me a heart attack!”

At least Pinkie had the decency to look taken aback. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought it would be nice to meet you two partway.” Pinkie smiled, and her tone grew more excited. “Then I saw Fluttershy walking with the cutest little deer I’ve ever seen, and I just got so excited to meet you!”

“Little?” Applejack objected.

“Oh, I didn’t know you met other deer before,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, no, I haven’t actually met any other deer yet.” Pinkie shrugged as if that was hardly an issue worth considering. “But you two are just so adorable together that I can already tell that no other deer could ever be prettier!”

Applejack wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about someone she just met calling her ‘cute’ and ‘pretty’, but Fluttershy quickly put the concern out of her mind. “I couldn’t agree more,” she said, before kissing Applejack’s cheek.

That forced the doe to take stock of the situation. What was she thinking? Sure, they had gotten off to an… interesting start, but Pinkie was a friend of Fluttershy’s. It was as simple as that, there was no way Applejack was going to be rude to Fluttershy’s friend. “Suppose there was no harm done. And anyway, I’m pleased to meet you.” Applejack smiled, determined to turn the conversation around. “Fluttershy told me a lot about you, too. She said that you and Rainbow Dash have been all over Equestria.”

Pinkie grinned and shrugged. “Well, we’ve been here and there, but we’re still working on everywhere.”

Fluttershy looked around. “Speaking of Rainbow Dash, where is she?”

“Oh, Dashie’s just taking a little nap,” Pinkie said. “But she said to wake her up whenever you two get here.”

Taking a nap in the middle of the day was one thing, but when they were expecting company? That didn’t make any sense, but Applejack held her tongue.

Pinkie motioned for them to follow her, so they did. The griffon seemed to be trying to keep herself grounded, but she also seemed to struggle with it. She would occasionally hop into the air and land a short distance away; sometimes just to the other side of the couple, sometimes somewhere nearby to look at something interesting. Applejack wasn’t sure how they were supposed to follow her anywhere when she kept hopping around like that, but Fluttershy seemed to find it amusing.

The sense of unease Applejack felt about the shallow parts of the forest only grew as they stepped into a clearing. Applejack had never seen so much open space. It felt wrong to look at, and a little intimidating to walk into. But Fluttershy was beside her, and the last thing she wanted was to look scared in front of her.

“Wait here, I’ll go get Dashie!” Pinkie said, before taking off into the air.

Not particularly keen on walking further into the clearing, Applejack was more than happy to oblige. She looked around slowly, wondering if it was a natural glade or if ponies had cleared it for some purpose.

“Nervous?” Fluttershy asked, causing Applejack’s head to snap back towards her.

Applejack pushed the feeling from her mind and adopted a smile in its place. “What, about making some new friends? Nonsense. I’m not the shy one between the two of us, you know.”

Fluttershy didn’t look convinced. “Hmm, if you say so. But you know you can tell me if something’s bothering you, right?”

“I know that, strawberry. And there’s no need to worry about me, I’m just as excited as you are.” Applejack grinned and walked further into the clearing, keeping her head high so Fluttershy wouldn’t have any reason to worry.

Telling herself that she should try to live up to her words, Applejack set down the bag she had been carrying. She opened it up and pulled one of the many apples that were inside. She smiled and held it out for her lover. “Apple while we wait?”

Before Fluttershy could answer, a blur shot out from the bushes, snatching the apple from the unsuspecting doe. Applejack jumped back towards Fluttershy. Pinkie’s surprise from before already had her on high alert, and she wasn’t going to be caught off guard again so easily.

“Well, I’m not usually one for fruit, but I’ll give it a shot,” a blue griffon said. She could only have been Rainbow Dash. Although she was clearly a griffon, she looked very different than Pinkie Pie did. Her bird half completely lacked any of Pinkie’s fluff, instead featuring much sleeker blue feathers. They were dark blue along the top of her body and lighter underneath. Where her feathers turned to fur, her body became more solidly light blue, with only spots of the dark blue color, and her back half was much leaner than Pinkie’s manticore side. Her tail was a bit thicker and lacked the tuft on the end, replacing it with rainbow stripes. The top of her head also had a crest of rainbow-colored feathers.

Rainbow Dash took a bite of the apple, which she clearly regretted as she swallowed. “I, uh, I don’t think your apples are ripe yet.”

“Rainbow Dash, I presume?” Applejack asked flatly.

Completely missing her unhappy tone, Rainbow grinned and threw the apple over her shoulder. “In the flesh!”

Applejack’s ear twitched as she looked at the apple lying on the ground. Before she could reply, Fluttershy was already placing a paw on her shoulder as she made introductions. “Rainbow, this is Applejack. And I just know you two are going to get along great, you have so much in common!”

Even though Rainbow seemed oblivious to Applejack’s annoyance, Fluttershy had certainly picked it up. Her comment wasn’t as incidental as she made it sound – she knew Applejack and Rainbow Dash were going to get along, if for no other reason that it was important to her that they do.

Deciding to not let a bad first impression ruin her opinion, Applejack put on a friendly smile. “Pleased to meet you.”

“So Fluttershy says you’re pretty athletic,” Rainbow said as Pinkie flew over and took a seat beside her.

There, that was a much better start. “Yup. I start just about every morning with a run through the woods.”

“Really?” Pinkie looked around them. “It must be hard to see where you’re going with how many trees there are.”

Applejack had to wonder if they had been deeper in the forest before, or if they just thought this was a lot of trees. “Well, a little I guess. But I know the way pretty well, and there’s usually too much going on later in the day.”

“I hear you,” Rainbow said with a grimace. “It’s gotta be rough getting up that early every day, but if that’s the only time you have for a workout…” She shifted back to a cocky grin. “I bet it all pays off, though.”

Applejack nodded, pleased to have some common ground. “Sure does. Staying in shape is important when there’s always so much work to be done around my family’s orchard.”

Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “You go through all that just to do more work?”

Well, so much for common ground. Applejack found herself back at her first impression: Rainbow Dash clearly didn’t understand the value of hard work, and was inconsiderate as well. How she ever became friends with Fluttershy was beyond Applejack’s understanding.

But regardless of why they were friends, they still were friends, so Applejack forced herself to shrug it off. “Sure do. We need to care for the trees and make sure no pests get to the apples, then collecting the fruit is a heck of a chore by itself, and then there’s bringing them into town to trade. It’s hard work, but it’s all worth it in the end.”

“Even though Applejack and her family don’t live in the city, they’re very well respected members of the community,” Fluttershy said proudly.

“Ooh, spiffy.” Pinkie walked closer to Applejack. “Are these the apples from your family’s orchard?”

“Sure are.” Applejack pulled out an apple and gave it to her. “Figured everyone might want a snack while we talked.”

“But they’re not ripe,” Rainbow interjected. “They taste all sour.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t bring bad apples. They’re supposed to taste that way, they’re crabapples.”

“They’re supposed to be sour?” Rainbow scrunched up her face, and Applejack was beginning to question just how much one of Fluttershy’s friends could get away with. Rainbow seemed oblivious to the tension she was causing. “Why would you want to grow sour apples?”

“Why not?” Pinkie asked through a mouthful of fruit. “These are good! You sell them in Ponyville?”

“Uhm, no,” Fluttershy answered. It was a good thing that she did, since Applejack was too busy growing increasingly frustrated at Rainbow’s dismissal of her family’s livelihood. “We don’t go into Ponyville. They trade them in Thicket, the deer city, which is deep in the heart of the forest.”

“Even deeper than this?” Pinkie asked, confirming Applejack’s suspicions that these two didn’t know the first thing about Everfree.

Fluttershy chuckled. “Much deeper than this. We’re really not that far into the forest right now.”

“Bet there’s lots of cool stuff in the forest,” Rainbow said with a grin. “Carnivorous plants that can devour you whole, old ruins haunted by the spirits that can’t rest, monsters just waiting to snatch you up when you’re not looking.”

“That doesn’t sound very ‘cool’ at all…” Fluttershy murmured.

“Aww, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” Pinkie said as she finished the apple. She placed the core on the ground and batted it between her talons. “You just have to learn how to laugh at them! Hey, that reminds me of a song my granny taught me! When I was just a fledgeling and the sun –”

“Pinkie?” Rainbow interrupted before she could get too far into her song. “I don’t think now’s a great time for a musical interlude.”

“Aww…” Pinkie frowned at the apple core.

“Anyway,” Rainbow continued, ignoring her friend’s demeanor, “the cool part isn’t all the dangerous stuff – okay, that stuff is actually pretty cool – but it’s what you get at the end! All that stuff is just there to guard the long-forgotten treasure, which probably has all kinds of crazy cool magical powers and stuff.”

“Like the Idol of Boreas?” Pinkie asked.

“Exactly.”

Fluttershy smiled a little. “Well, I guess that would be kind of cool. But uhm, that’s not really the kind of forest Everfree is.”

Applejack wasn’t sure why they’d want something like that, but she wanted to put herself back into the conversation – if only to help steer it. “Yeah, if you’re looking for somewhere like that then you want White Tail Woods.”

That seemed to get Rainbow’s interest going. “Oh yeah? What’s in White Tail Woods?”

Well, the audience wasn’t what she’d choose, but it would be fun telling someone who didn’t know the story. Applejack just hoped she could tell the tale half as well as Granny Smith. “A long time ago, us deer used to live in White Tail Woods…

“We had a great city, called Sungrove, which could put even Thicket to shame. Sungrove and all the deer that lived there were watched over by Queen Hawthorn, who was wise and fair, not to mention the most beautiful doe that ever lived. She was even loved by other races! See, back in those days, we used to live alongside ponies. They were free to come and go to Sungrove as they pleased, and we would go to Ponyville to trade and visit with friends. The ponies respected our land and our ways, and it was a golden time of peace.”

Applejack smiled for a moment as if it was a memory she had, even though that had been before she was born. It was a cherished memory, even if it wasn’t her own.

But then her tone darkened as she continued. “Then the calamity happened. No one’s sure why, but the world itself seemed to grow darker. Ponies stopped visiting Sungrove. Slowly at first, then all at once. Deer have always been self-sufficient, so we got by alright, but it was a worrisome sign. And over the next few centuries, Queen Hawthorn grew more reserved. Once the joyous light of the deer, now she barely left her manor. She became obsessed with the idea that something was coming, something bad. And she was right.

“In most stories, the great evil always comes in the night. But this one came in the middle of the day, when the sun was highest in the sky. We call it the Shadow, because that’s all anyone ever saw of it. It came suddenly, and it came from above, casting its enormous shadow over everything below it. It ripped apart buildings whole, and most of the deer never made it out alive.”

Applejack looked between all everyone in the audience. As she expected, only Fluttershy truly understood the weight of her words. Pinkie hung on Applejack’s words, the apple core forgotten in one talon. Rainbow was harder to read, but she also seemed to enjoy the story.

Applejack closed her eyes and moved to the heart of the story. “Queen Hawthorn only had two concerns. First, she entrusted her son, Prince Aspen, to one of her closest advisors. ‘Get him out of the woods,’ was all she said. The other thing she did was to get the Emblem of Anqa, an ancient relic passed down through the deer royal family, said to be older than Equestria itself.”

Opening her eyes, Applejack saw that everyone was giving her their full attention. “With the Emblem of Anqa, Queen Hawthorn went to face the Shadow alone, refusing anyone who would stand beside her. Although no one knows what happened to her, the Shadow, or the Emblem, we do know that her efforts stopped the beast’s pursuit. Because of her sacrifice, the deer made it safely out of the woods, and we eventually settled in Everfree.”

There was only half a beat of silence as the story settled in, which seemed to be all the time that Rainbow Dash needed to take in the greatest tragedy that her ever befallen Applejack’s tribe.

A huge grin broke on her face, and she exclaimed, “That sounds awesome!” She earned herself a glare from Pinkie, and even Fluttershy frowned at her tone. “Uh, except the thing about the deer getting run out of their homes and all that. But going up against the Shadow by herself! What a hero!”

That actually got a smile out of Applejack. It was not really a story of brave heroism, but she was pleased that Rainbow appreciated Queen Hawthorn’s sacrifice. “She really was.”

“And I bet it’s awesome there now!” Rainbow said. “Do you think the amulet thing is still around?”

Applejack grinned. “Now don’t go getting any ideas. This all happened right around eight hundred years ago. If the Emblem of Anqa is still there, there’s no way you two are going to find it.”

Rainbow pointed a talon at Applejack. “You have to admit, it would be pretty cool, though.”

“It’d take a fool to be brave enough to make the attempt and someone very resourceful to not die.”

“Hey!” Pinkie turned to Rainbow and grinned. “I’m a fool and you’re resourceful! This sounds perfect for us!”

Fluttershy laughed. “Pinkie, you’re not a fool. And please, both of you, don’t go putting yourselves in any danger. It would mean a lot to the deer if someone ever found the Emblem, but it’s not worth risking your lives.”

“Eh, it sounds like too much of a long shot anyway.” Rainbow stretched out her limbs, only to then find a more comfortable way to lie down. “Maybe if we had something else to go on it could be a cool adventure, but I am not scouring the entire woods for something that we don’t even know is still there.”

“I guess you have a good point there,” Pinkie said as she scratched her head with a hindpaw. “It would’ve been fun to go on an adventure with all four of us, though.”

“Count me out on that one,” Applejack said. “I’m happy right here in Everfree.”

“Aw, come on.” Rainbow stood up and joined Pinkie beside Applejack. She nudged the deer playfully. “So maybe White Tail Woods is a bust, but we should all totally go somewhere else. There’s a cool race going on in San Palomino that me and Pinkie were going to see. You two should come along!”

“San Palomino? Is that a big city?” Fluttershy asked.

“It sure is!” Pinkie answered excitedly. “I haven’t been there yet, but Rainbow has. She’s been everywhere!”

Rainbow grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, it’s a real crazy place. Course, I haven’t been there in years, but I know it like the back of my talon.”

“Thank you for the offer, but the two of us are more than happy here,” Applejack said. Even if somehow they were interested in leaving Everfree, a city that was both ‘crazy’ and ‘big’ was definitely out of the question. “But I hope you two enjoy yourselves, all the same.”

“Uhm, well…” All eyes turned to Fluttershy, who looked embarrassed. “I think… well, it might be fun to see what else is out there.”

“Really?” Applejack and Pinkie asked at the same time, albeit with completely different tones. Pinkie seemed like she could hardly be more excited to have another travelling companion. Applejack was in shock that Fluttershy would actually want to leave the forest in the first place.

Fluttershy smiled. “You know what? I will go. I would love to see more of Equestria than just the forest. And who knows? Maybe I’ll really like the big city.”

“At least someone knows how to have a good time.” Rainbow turned to Applejack and grinned. “Sure you don’t want to tag along?”

Rather than answer her, Applejack addressed Fluttershy. “You sure about this, strawberry? You know that city ponies aren’t exactly friendly towards us forest dwellers.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Fluttershy smiled and nodded toward the griffons. “Pinkie and Rainbow will be there, and they’ve met plenty of ponies before.”

It was easy to see that Fluttershy really wanted this, even if Applejack didn’t understand why. But what really surprised the deer was how little she was surprised. Somehow, even though Fluttershy had never made any indication that she might want to leave Everfree before, Applejack just felt like she somehow should have seen this coming.

She looked down at the ground as she spoke. “Well, alright then. Just be careful out there.”

Fluttershy giggled and nudged her lover. “I’m pretty sure the big bad ponies won’t get me, deer.”

The others continued talking, but Applejack found herself having difficulty keeping up with their conversation. Fluttershy had met Rainbow Dash six years ago, when the injured griffon had wandered into Everfree. The two of them were fast friends, and Fluttershy took care of her until she could make it back to her home. And then in return, she had told Fluttershy about Griffonstone and all the other places she had been. In the years that followed, Fluttershy never quite got those stories out of her mind.

For six years, that was all it was though. Stories about a world outside the forest that sometimes Fluttershy would talk about. But then one day, just a week prior, Rainbow Dash returned with Pinkie Pie. The pair of griffons regaled Fluttershy with even more tales, rekindling her interest.

After that, conversations all seemed to turn back to the rest of Equestria. When asked about it, Fluttershy had said that it was just because it was new and exciting. How often did exciting things happen in the forest, after all?

Not very often. Every day in the forest brought more of the same. They didn’t have grand adventures. They didn’t have events that would attract crowds from miles around. They didn’t have endless possibilities of new experiences worth exploring. And, it seemed, they may no longer have whatever it was that Fluttershy wanted.

The Everfree Forest was part of Fluttershy, as she was part of it. That would always be true. But even so, she was not bound to it, and she could leave it if she pleased.

But Applejack? Applejack was a deer, like so many others. She was just a deer, nothing exceptional or exciting. She lived in an orchard with her family, where she helped grow sour apples. She was a deer, and the deer belonged in Everfree.

Author's Note

For the record, those are deer tracks in the header of the chapter. Yes, they do look like bunnies.

Character descriptions presented through Applejack vision rather than more accurate descriptions of the animals they're made up of. A picture of the mane six as they appear in thus AU can be found here (artwork by Pasu-Chan, naturally).

And if you missed it in the description, here's a link to the Noodle AU that inspired this story :raritywink:

2 – Setting Out

Chapter Two
Setting Out
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It was only for two more days. Applejack tried her best to keep that in mind as she walked alongside one of the forest’s rivers. Fluttershy’s trip wasn’t even going to last a week. It was just four days away from the forest, and it was already half over. In just two days she would be returning home to Applejack. Fluttershy would be home, and she would see that nothing could beat Everfree.

But what if she didn’t feel that way? What if Fluttershy realized that she was happier outside of the forest? She’d come back, for sure. Everfree would always be important to her, and it wasn’t like she was just going to forget about the centuries she and Applejack had spent together after only a few days apart. But what if this was just the start of something bigger?

Applejack sighed and lay down next to the river. She stared at her reflection in the water and contemplated what would happen next. She didn’t care for any of the answers she thought of.

But after just a few moments, it became clear that Applejack wouldn’t even be allowed to mope about in peace – her reflection was being broken up by bubbles rising to the surface, which shot a surge of panic through Applejack. At least she had the good sense to back away from the water in time.

A colossal sea serpent breached the water’s surface, drenching the riverfront as her lithe white form rose higher, towering above even the trees. The sunlight refracted off the water on her scales, causing them to shimmer as if covered in a million small diamonds. She jerked her head towards one side as she reached the peak of her ascent, causing her long purple mane to cascade along one side of her face.

“Don’t you think you’re being just a bit dramatic?” Applejack asked.

Rarity held her place for a moment while glancing down at Applejack, before frowning and coiling most of her body back into the river. She propped herself up on the river’s edge and gave Applejack an irritated look. “Well, pardon me if I had hoped to enjoy the sun along with some pleasant company.”

“Oh, there’s no problem there.” Applejack looked down at her hooves, which were drenched, even with the distance she had put between herself and the river. “But just once, I’d like to try and stay dry while talking to you.”

“But staying dry is so overrated. It’s a lovely day, why not relax in the water with me?”

It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. A relaxing swim would help take her mind off her problems, and she’d probably be a lot calmer afterwards. But even though she knew it would be for the best, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Sorry, Rarity, but I’m just not feeling up to it today.”

“Oh, deer…” Rarity said, earning herself a glare for the pun. Rarity ignored it and pulled herself partly out of the water. “I hope there’s nothing serious going on?”

Applejack sighed. “No, it’s nothing. Just got some things on my mind is all.”

“Well then, I’d say the best thing to do would be getting them off your mind.” Rarity leaned forward, lying her head on her claws just in front of Applejack. “I’m all ears.”

There was some merit to the suggestion, sure. But the idea of telling Rarity about her problems with Fluttershy wasn’t exactly appealing. The three of them were as close as anyone in the forest was, and she would have a unique understanding of the situation. But all the same, talking about it with anyone didn’t sound like anything Applejack would want to do.

Deciding to just shrug it off, Applejack showed a smile. “Thank you, but it’s really not a big deal.”

Rarity frowned at that. “Applejack, please. You are one of my oldest friends, and I do wish you would at least realize that I can read you like a book.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Read a lot of books underwater, huh?”

“Never mind that now.” Without ever moving the front half of her body, Rarity used her tail to sweep Applejack up from behind. She hadn’t even realized Rarity was moving her tail end; the sea serpent was simply too long to keep track of.

Nevertheless, she did catch Applejack on her tail and drew her closer while also providing her a place to sit. Aside from the wetness, Rarity did make for a comfortable place to rest. With the matter of Applejack’s comfort taken care of, Rarity continued. “The point is that I can tell something is troubling you, and I would like to help.”

The worst part was that whether Applejack liked it or not, Rarity did have a point; there was just no way Applejack could pretend like nothing was wrong. That didn’t mean she had to completely come clean, however. “Alright, fine. Like I said, I’ve got some things on my mind, but also like I said, it’s nothing to worry about. I do appreciate the offer, but I’d rather just not make a big deal out of it.”

Rarity sighed and shifted her head so it was resting on grass. “I suppose that’s reasonable. But I do hope that you’ve at least told Fluttershy that this is bothering you.”

Applejack frowned. “Hold on, how’d you know it had something to do with Fluttershy?”

Rarity’s head shot right back up. “I only meant that it’s important to tell your lover when you’re upset. Tell me there isn’t really a problem between you and Fluttershy?”

Applejack winced. One of these days, she promised herself, she would finally learn to keep her big mouth shut.

Right when she was about to reply, Rarity cut her off. “No, there’s no need to say another word. Oh, I can see that there is, plain as day. I do hope it’s nothing serious, at least?”

If part of it was in the open, Applejack figured she might as well put the rest out as well. “Well, the thing is –”

“Oh, but of course it couldn’t be too serious. I mean, you and Fluttershy have been together for… well, I don’t really know, but certainly for a long time.”

“Yeah, but it’s just that –”

“In any event, I’m positive that you two will work through any problems you are having. I’m sure you don’t need me to remind you, but clearly communicating with yo–”

“Rarity?”

Rarity blinked. “Yes?”

“Do you want to know what happened or not?”

Rarity gave a sheepish grin. “Oh, er, excuse me. Yes, do tell.”

Applejack sighed and closed her eyes. “Well, I think… I think Fluttershy might want to leave the forest.”

After a moment of silence, Rarity laughed. She once again ignored Applejack’s glare. “Come on now, that’s just silly. Fluttershy leave the forest? You might as well say she plans on taking all the trees with her!”

“I’m serious, Rare. She’s out in some pony town right now.”

All at once, Rarity stopped laughing. She pulled herself further onto dry land, so that she was face to face with Applejack. “Right now? You mean to tell me that she’s already left Everfree?”

“Well… yeah.” Applejack’s ears drooped and she wouldn’t meet Rarity’s eyes. “She, uh, she’s coming back, though. In two days.”

“Was there some sort of emergency that she needed to attend to? I could hardly imagine what could be urgent enough that she would decide to leave the forest.”

Applejack’s head just sunk lower. “No, she’s… she went to watch a race over in some San Pala-something. One of those pony towns. A couple of griffons she knows talked her into it.”

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. “Ah, I see. Our dear Fluttershy is too kind for her own good, I’m afraid. She really does need to learn how to tell her friends ‘no’.”

Applejack shook her head and finally looked into Rarity’s eyes. “She really wanted to go, Rare. She’s been talking about the outside world for a while now, and she’s been really excited about this trip.”

The muscles in Rarity’s face tightened as she gently shook her head. “But I don’t understand, why would she want to leave?”

“I… I don’t know.” No, that wasn’t right. Applejack had a pretty good idea of why, and she might as well come clean about it. “I think she’s just getting… bored.”

Rarity scrunched her eyes together. “Getting bored? But… but she’s Fluttershy! She is the heart and soul of Everfree!”

“But she’s not Everfree,” Applejack reminded her. “Her job is to guard Everfree, but in the past four hundred years, when has Everfree actually needed any guarding? In fact, when does anything much at all happen here?”

“I… I suppose that is true, but…”

When Rarity didn’t continue, Applejack did. “And, you know, that’s exactly what we all love so much about this place. It’s nice and quiet and we don’t have to worry about anything. But Fluttershy is… well, she’s extraordinary is what she is. And maybe she just wants a more extraordinary life.”

Rarity looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn’t. She collapsed on the ground, resting her head next to Applejack. “You don’t really think she’s just going to leave, do you? I mean, even aside from Everfree, she would certainly never leave you, of course.”

Although she was trying to sound sure of her statement, Rarity couldn’t shake the concern from her tone. And although she wanted to be reassuring, Applejack couldn’t find enough certainty even to fake it. “I… don’t know. I, well, I guess I just hope not.”

Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After just one more moment of melancholy, she rose triumphantly into the air. “Well then,” she said with a confident grin, “if it’s excitement she wants, then we’ll just have to show her that there’s plenty of that to be found here!”

“Excitement? In Everfree? Where in the world are we gonna find that?”

“Well… I don’t know yet. But you said she is returning in two days, so that means we have two days to find some!”

Applejack scratched at her neck. “Excitement isn’t just hiding under a rock somewhere, you know.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes. Realizing what was coming, Applejack tried to remove herself from the serpent’s coils, but she was too late. All at once, Rarity’s muscular tail wrapped around the small deer, and she was lifted into the air.

“Applejack,” Rarity said in a harsh tone. “I am certain that I misunderstood you. You did not just imply that we are going to sit idly by and allow Fluttershy to leave us without so much as an attempt to change her mind.”

It was not a question, and there was only one acceptable answer. “No, of course I didn’t mean that. I just think that –”

“Because if you did say such a thing, it could only mean that you do not care if Fluttershy leaves the forest.”

“Now that’s just foolishness!” Applejack snapped. “No one in all of Everfree wants her to stay more than I do!”

“Are you sure of that?” Rarity arched an eyebrow. “Because that just may require you actually do something to prove it.”

“Of course I am! I’d do anything for her, you know that!”

“Anything?”

“Yes!”

“Good!” Rarity set Applejack down and once again assumed a positive expression. “Now then, let’s put our heads together and see what we come up with!”

What they came up with amounted to a lot of nothing. The two of them spent hours trying to find some way to reignite Fluttershy’s love of Everfree. But for hours, every idea they came up with was impractical, or would endanger other inhabitants of the forest, or would just be too obvious that they had set it up.

And truthfully, the idea of winning over Fluttershy by trickery wasn’t really something Applejack wanted to do. She did want to show Fluttershy that life in Everfree could be just as exciting as the outside world. She wanted to show her that she could be just as exciting as any griffon, or pony, or whatever else was out there. But she wanted it to be because there actually was something worth sticking around for, not because she made Fluttershy think there was.

In the end, they decided to split up for the day. They had time, after all, and perhaps Applejack would think of something as she went further into the forest’s greenery, or Rarity would as she swam along the riverbed. They made plans to meet in the morning, then they said their goodbyes.

But as she walked through the forest, all Applejack saw were trees. There was nothing in all of Everfree that could be new to Fluttershy, no way that Applejack could still impress her. When was the last time that anything exciting happened in their forest? Things like that only happened elsewhere. In places like Griffonstone, or Ponyville, or White Tail Woods.

Applejack stopped in place, almost afraid of the thought that had crossed her mind. White Tail Woods. There was nowhere in all of Equestria more terrifying, and nowhere more impressive, than White Tail Woods.

The ancestral home of the deer had a thousand stories about it, if not more, and Fluttershy had always been captivated by them. That was something no pony town could ever compare with. And as a deer, the woods were part of Applejack’s history. No griffon could hope to find their way through White Tail Woods, but Applejack could. It was like Granny Smith said; she’d just need to let her heart guide her.

And of all the stories surrounding White Tail Woods, Applejack knew exactly which one would guide her. She was going to find the Emblem of Anqa.

With a newfound determination, Applejack changed direction and continued at a run. Even though she did trust her heart to guide her, she figured it wouldn’t mind if she also got something to point her in the right direction. Fortunately, she knew just where to go.

The Apple family orchard was close to Thicket, but it wasn’t part of the city. Although most deer lived in Thicket, it would be impractical to house a whole orchard within its walls. This had its ups and downs, but proved fortunate for Applejack’s current situation. As she entered the orchard, there wasn’t another deer in sight, which meant Applejack wouldn’t have to explain her plans to anyone.

She made her way to what was roughly the center of the orchard, where the largest of the apple trees stood. It paled in comparison to the trees of Thicket, but it was taller, broader, and older than any wild apple tree would have been. It was Granny Smith who initially tended to the tree, when the Apple family first moved into the orchard, using her talent with magic to carefully grow the tree into something that could support a house for her family.

Applejack’s parents had built a home in its branches, and the Apple family had lived there ever since. Applejack herself also shared a house with Fluttershy in a weeping willow located outside of the orchard, but that didn’t make her fawnhood home any less her home. Although some of the forest’s inhabitants believed that they could only ever have one true home, the deer held a more organic outlook. Her home was wherever her heart lay, and her heart was not bound by walls. Her family lived in an apple tree, so that was her home. Her lover lived in a willow, so that too was her home.

And because the apple tree was her home, she didn’t have to worry about showing up at the house unannounced. She walked up the familiar ramp, which went around the tree in a spiral, and entered the house at the top. At least no one seemed to be home.

It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out stop, but there were centuries of memorabilia stowed away within the house. Time passed Applejack by as she searched, but there was nothing for it but to keep looking. Well, that and wish that Granny kept things a bit more organized.

“Hi, Applejack!” an excited voice said from behind her, causing the doe to wince.

Well, so much for being able to get out unnoticed. Applejack fixed her mouth into the best I’m-not-doing-anything-suspicious smile she could muster, then she turned around to greet her sister. “Hey there, Apple Bloom. You the only one around today?”

Apple Bloom looked quite a lot like Applejack did when she was a fawn, although her coat was more yellow than orange. She wore a red bow around her neck, which accentuated the reddish hue of the fur on her underside and atop her head.

“Yeah, Granny and Big Mac went into town. I had to stay and look after the trees.” Apple Bloom frowned at the tiny barrel that hung around her neck, as if she needed to remind Applejack of her thoughts on that particular chore. The barrel held elixir, a luminous blue liquid that allowed deer to interact with plant life around them. The Apple family had maintained their orchard for centuries, using elixir to manage it efficiently.

These days, that task fell to Applebloom, much to her dismay. Applejack tried to soften her mood with a smile and a nudge from her nose. “Aww, come on now, strawberry. Taking care of the trees is important work, and they’ve never been in better hooves.”

Apple Bloom waved a hoof dismissively. “You’re just saying that so I feel better about it.”

“Nope! You’re much better than I ever was.” It was true, really. Apple Bloom was easily the most magically gifted member of the Apple family since Granny Smith. Possibly more so, considering her knack for both deer elixir and zebra potions.

Apple Bloom showed her young age with a roll of her eyes. To be fair, Applejack had also hated the chore when she was younger, so it was hard to fault her little sister.

Apparently deciding to find a more palatable topic, Apple Bloom walked past Applejack to look in the cabinet that she’d been rummaging through. “So what are you looking for?”

Applejack turned back to the mountain of stuff and thought quick. She didn’t want to outright lie, but she couldn’t explain the whole story. She decided to hope that part of the truth would be sufficient. “That old map Granny Smith has of the areas outside of Everfree.”

Applejack turned away and just hoped Apple Bloom wouldn’t ask –

“What do want that for?”

Well, it had been a long shot. “I, uh…” Applejack glanced around nervously. “Well, Fluttershy has these new friends that don’t live in Everfree, so…”

“Oh, you want to ask them where they’re from?” Without needing an answer, Apple Bloom turned away and motioned for Applejack to follow her. “I think I saw it in the attic.”

Although Applejack was thankful that she didn’t need to directly lie to Apple Bloom, she couldn’t shake the guilt that came from deceiving her. But even if a lie by omission wasn’t any better, she couldn’t very well tell the truth. She’d never make it to White Tail Woods and back before Fluttershy returned if she had to convince her family to let her go.

So doing her best to ignore the guilty feeling weighing her down, Applejack followed Apple Bloom up to the attic. If the rest of the house was cluttered, the attic was nothing short of a complete catastrophe. “How’d you even find it in here in the first place?”

Apple Bloom dove headfirst into a box as she answered. “I just saw it one day when I was looking for something to do with Sweetie Belle.” She rummaged around for a bit before pulling herself out and looking into another box.

Applejack started aimlessly going through other boxes. Many of the things she uncovered were interesting in their own right, but nothing useful.

“You know, I bet Granny would know exactly where it is,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“I’m sure you’re right about that, strawberry, but I’m kinda in a bit of a hurry.” Applejack found a spare barrel and fixed it to her neck. She wasn’t as skilled with elixir as Apple Bloom was, but it could still find a use.

At least and hour passed with no progress. With over half the day gone, Applejack began preparing herself for the inevitable conversation with Granny. One the bright side, she really would know exactly where the map was. Of course, that came at a cost since it’d be almost impossible to convince her without lying.

But just when Applejack was ready to give up, Apple Bloom announced, “Found it!”

Applejack turned to see her running over with the map. “Perfect! Thanks a ton, AB.”

“No problem, AJ.” Apple Bloom noticed the barrel as Applejack took the map. “Putting on a show for your new friends?”

At least Apple Bloom was saving her from thinking of the excuses herself. “I, uh, I doubt they’ve ever seen anything quite like deer magic.”

Apple Bloom looked at her quizzically. “You never show off like that, though.”

“I’m not showing off,” Applejack said automatically.

Apple Bloom just laughed. “Yeah, you are. I guess it’s just Fluttershy rubbing off on you.”

Applejack was tempted to argue, but she knew better. “Fluttershy doesn’t show off, she’s just playful.” Well, she would limit her arguing, at least.

“Yeah, with her amazing magic that only she can do,” Apple Bloom said.

Applejack just huffed in reply. Once they were out of the attic, she set about finalizing her preparations. She got a bag and tucked the map into it, filled her barrel with elixir, and gathered some food. She wondered if there was anything else she might need, but she had no way of knowing what would be useful. Besides, there was only so much that she could gather without looking suspicious.

“I think that’ll do it,” Applejack said as she pulled the bag shut.

“Say hi to Fluttershy for me!” Apple Bloom said.

Applejack nodded then approached the door, but she stopped before going through it. “Did you finish all your chores today?”

There was a noticeable silence.

Applejack sighed. “Go on. There’s still daylight left.”

Apple Bloom groaned but did as she was told. Applejack set off in the opposite direction, deciding to put some distance between herself and the Apple family orchard before consulting the map. It wouldn’t do her any good to get it if she was just stopped by Granny Smith and Big Mac on the way out.

After walking for twenty minutes, she decided it was safe. With one more look around to make sure the coast was clear, Applejack carefully unrolled the aging map. Her eyes flicked around it as she studied it closer than she ever had before.

She had suspected that she would need to pass through Ponyville but was relieved to find that wasn’t the case. All she had to do was follow one of the forest’s numerous rivers westward. The journey between the two forests was all flat grassy land, meaning she would have nothing to worry about until she actually reached White Tail Woods.

Considering the time, she almost decided to just head to the willow tree and make a fresh start in the morning. She might have done so if she had started a day earlier, but she was cutting it close enough already, so there was no way she could waste time.

She decided she would at least get to the edge of Everfree before calling it a day. Anywhere in the forest provided a certain amount of security, and she had slept under its canopy plenty of times before.

At least she was able to make good time while in Everfree. She found the river and stuck close to it, moving west while keeping it on her right side. She was tempted to go looking for Rarity, who would be able to get her anywhere the river went with no problems, but she had been in a completely different part of the forest. All the rivers connected, but Applejack had no idea where she was or how long it would take her to navigate from one river to the other. It was just as well; it would be better if Applejack handled this on her own.

Unfortunately, she would have to forge the river. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem; it was gentle enough, and she was certainly not averse to swimming. But between the map and the food, swimming was well out of the question. Applejack knew the river continued unbroken throughout the entirety of Everfree, and the map showed that it would continue much further. Even though the land had might have changed since the map was drawn, it wasn’t a chance she could take. And besides, there was at least an option for crossing so long as she was in the forest.

She had hoped she wouldn’t need to touch her supply of elixir until she was in White Tail Woods, but it was unavoidable. She opened the tiny barrel and poured a small amount of the shimmering liquid onto the ground, then closed her eyes in concentration.

Applejack really didn’t have her little sister’s talent with magic, but it was something all deer possessed. She could practically feel the elixir seeping into the ground, leaving a patch of greenery wherever the fluid had touched.

Plants only ever grew in the most direct path to suit their needs. Unless, of course, one knew how to ask politely. Applejack concentrated on the newly-formed plant life, guiding it outward. It was slow at first, but the vines built speed once they were fully formed. She led them to the river, then across to the other side. Strands of vine intertwined to form a bridge, digging into the ground on the other side for security.

Applejack opened her eyes and smiled at her work. It was small as far as bridges went, but it was big enough to support a single deer without a problem. Without a doubt that it would also be sturdy enough, Applejack crossed safely above the water.

Once she was on the other side, Applejack poured a little more elixir onto the vines. The bridge no longer had a purpose, and the deer did all they could to live in harmony with the forest. It was unthinkable to permanently alter it every time a single deer needed to cross a river. So closing her eyes to concentrate once more, Applejack guided the vines to unwind. They returned back the way they came, retracting back into the ground. All that was left was a small patch of particularly lush growth in the places the elixir had touched.

With the river forded, there was nothing left to do but follow it. She now kept it on her left side as she continued to move west. She had to ignore the uneasy feeling that came from being on the edge of the forest.

She couldn’t ignore all of it, however. It was disconcerting how the day grew lighter as she went on. It would be getting dark again soon enough and she knew she should be thankful for the extra light, but that light came at the cost of fewer trees. A glance upwards revealed how much thinner the canopy was already, and it would only be getting worse.

Applejack stopped and looked around. “What am I doing?” she asked herself aloud. She was getting involved with something she knew she shouldn’t be. Although finding the Emblem of Anqa would be an amazing accomplishment, dying in the attempt certainly wouldn’t be.

With a sigh, Applejack sat to take a small break and contemplate whether or not she should even bother continuing. She pulled an apple out of her bag to eat while she waited. “Hmph, sour apples,” she grumbled as she ate. Remembering Rainbow Dash’s comments caused her to scowl, even days later.

‘Why would Fluttershy want to be friends with someone like her?’ Applejack asked herself.

‘Because she’s actually interesting,’ she answered back. Rainbow Dash may be rude, but she was also exciting. She was a gateway to a life more interesting than the forest could ever be.

Applejack finished the apple and threw the core away. She stood up and continued walking, following the river westward. She didn’t stop to question if she was doing the right thing again.

Author's Note

Eagle-eyed viewers may have picked up that none of the artwork in this story really seems to be related to the story itself. All of the pictures predate this story, and I've just been picking them out of the Noodle AU tag on Pasu's Tumblr to give some visual representation to the characters. Some good stuff there, is what I'm saying :raritywink:

Speaking of her art, here's a sketch she drew with Thicket in it (and here's how it appears in the official MLP comics) for an idea on deer architecture.

3 – Resourceful and Foolish

Chapter Three
Resourceful and Foolish
⠀

⠀

It was a huge relief when White Tail Woods came into view. Applejack had never felt so unnerved in her life, and she had questioned her ability to keep going several times. It just wasn’t natural. Any way she turned, she could see land stretching out to the horizon. She had thought it was bad enough at the edges of Everfree, where the trees grew sparse. She could never have imagined what it would feel like to see nothing but hill after hill of grassy plain.

The landscape made her feel unsafe, but that was almost preferable to the sky. When she had reached the end of the forest, there was still some fading daylight. Fearing that time was running too short, she decided to press on. The moon and the stars gave her enough light to see, after all. But along with underestimating how daunting the openness around her would be, Applejack also hadn’t considered what it would be like to sleep under the clear night sky with no overhanging tree branches to filter it out.

It was huge. Of course, she had seen the sky before, and she was aware of its vastness. But actually lying down, looking up, and seeing nothing but the dark sky dotted with thousands of distant stars made her feel smaller than she would have ever thought possible.

Somehow, she still managed to sleep through the night. And at least when the first rays of the sun woke her, everything felt a little bit better. The sky was still vast and there was still no cover to be found, but at least the illuminated world was easier to face.

At least until the sun continued to rise. That became miserable for entirely different reasons. Everything was so bright, and there was precious little shade to rest under. At least she had the river, which was cold and refreshing. Still, she longed to be surrounded by trees again, and the woods finally entering her sight was enough to lift her spirits back up.

Before she could make a beeline to the forest, she made one last stop by the river. So long as there was water in White Tail Woods, she knew she’d be able to find it. Even if it wasn’t Everfree, Applejack was a deer, and deer held an innate connection with nature. But she didn’t know if there was a convenient source of water in the woods, or how far away that might be. So she stopped to rest her legs for a few minutes and take one more long drink from the river. Once she was satisfied, she topped off her canteen and turned back to the woods.

Unfortunately, being able to see the woods and being nearby were two different things. But Applejack spent nearly every morning running through the forest, and she wasn’t going to let a little distance stop her. After double checking that the buckle holding her bag shut was secure, she broke into a run.

If there was one good thing to be said about the endless fields of grass, it was the feeling of running across them. There were no branches to dodge, no roots to jump over, nothing but the world racing past her and the wind in her face. Applejack was sure she had never run so fast in her life.

It was almost disappointing when she reached the woods in only a matter of minutes. She resolved to spend more time running on the return trip. Being able to go full speed ahead without concern was exhilarating. So much so that once she was in the shade, she took a moment to rear up on her hindlegs and let out a celebratory “Whoo!”

“I must say, I’m quite impressed,” a sly male voice said from nearby.

Applejack spun around to find a pony walking up to her. At the speed she had been running, his grey coat hadn’t shown up among the shadows in the woods. Applejack poised herself to run if needed, but waited to see what he would do before reacting.

“Now now, there’s no need for anything like that.” He stepped closer, allowing the sunlight to better reveal his features. Applejack had never seen a pony before, and was surprised to find that he was smaller than her. He had a horn on his head, which she was pretty sure meant he was a unicorn. Although most of his coat was fairly light, his legs and mane were much darker grey. He had thick eyebrows and a goatee, both of which were white with age, and a long tail, which had a single tuft of dark hair at the end. He wore what he probably thought to be a friendly expression, but looked almost predatory. “My name is Discord, and I’m a professor at Canterlot’s Academy of Magic.”

Applejack eyed him suspiciously. “I’m Applejack,” she said cautiously.

“Charmed.” He stepped forward again, so Applejack took a step back. “A whitetail deer in White Tail Woods. I honestly never thought I’d see the day. Do you actually live here?”

“No, I…” Applejack shook her head. She would be better off leaving ponies alone. “I think I should be going now.”

“Now hold on, I just want to…”

Applejack ignored him and walked into the forest. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but she didn’t want to get involved with whatever it was.

Since she didn’t trust him, Applejack kept one ear pointed in his direction. It only took a moment for her to hear sounds of his approach, so she started running ahead.

“Wait!” he called, to no avail.

Applejack grinned as she put him behind her, confident that there was no way a pony was going to keep up with a deer in a forest. But he proved her wrong when he appeared before her in a flash of light. “Now, as I was say–”

Applejack reared back and attempted to bring her hooves down on him, but his horn glowed and a barrier appeared between them.

“Come on now! This is just unreasonable!”

“What do you want!?” Applejack demanded since it seemed she wasn’t getting rid of him easily.

Discord sighed and lowered the barrier. “Perhaps it would be best to begin with a real conversation?”

“I don’t have time for this!” Applejack shook her head. She wasn’t getting anywhere this way, so she took a deep breath and attempted to address him more calmly. “Look, I’m kind of in a hurry here. I need to get somewhere in these woods, and I’ve got less than a day to do it if I’m going to get back on time. So I’m sorry, but I really can’t help you with whatever it is you’re doing.”

Discord smiled. “See now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? And it just so happens that you can help me. See, I was sent here to study the woods, which is something I could do any old time. But learning about deer from a real live deer, now that’s something that’s actually worth my time.”

Applejack glanced away from him, wondering how much longer she had to waste her time with this. “Right. But like I said, I’m in a hurry.”

“Which is why I’ll just accompany you while you do whatever it is you’re doing. There’s a lot to be said for firsthoof experience, you know.”

“All the same, I’d really rather go alone.” Applejack decided to resume walking into the woods, even if it would have been better to run.

It came as no surprise that Discord followed. “For example, I’ve already learned that at least one particular deer seems too shortsighted to know what’s good for her.” He once again appeared in front of her.

Applejack clenched her teeth. “How are you doing that!?”

Discord just laughed. “Teleportation is one of the many things unicorns can do with magic, and is exactly what I’m talking about. In return for allowing me to accompany you and perhaps answering just a few questions, I’ll gladly lend you my assistance wherever possible. And I assure you, my assistance is no small thing.”

Applejack wasn’t sure how him teleporting around would help her any, but if he had other skills…

“And if that’s not enough, just think about all the time you’ll save by not sitting here and arguing with me.”

“Fine.” As much as she hated it, he had her with that one. “But don’t even think of slowing me down.”

Discord smiled that same wicked grin again. “I wouldn’t dream of it, my deer.”

Applejack scowled and started walking. It was going to be a long day.

“I take it you’re from Thicket?”

“Ponies know about Thicket?”

Discord chuckled. “Well, most don’t. Nopony besides Princess Celestia has ever seen Thicket, after all. But I know about a great many things, including your little village hidden away in the Everfree Forest.”

Applejack had to wonder how much he knew if he described Thicket as a ‘little village’, but she held her tongue since she didn’t know how big pony towns were. All the same, she didn’t appreciate his tone. “I live near the city.”

“Interesting. I had always assumed all the deer lived in Thicket. The Everfree Forest is such a dreadfully dangerous place, after all.”

“Dangerous?” Applejack turned to show Discord a puzzled look. “What’s so dangerous about Everfree?”

Judging from his reaction, Discord was just as puzzled as Applejack. “I presume you mean aside from the numerous monsters that inhabit it? There’s timberwolves, manticores, sea serpents, cockatrices, and likely a few things I don’t even know about living in there.”

Oh, right. Like all ponies, Discord just assumed anything he didn’t understand was dangerous. “Those aren’t monsters. The only thing you mentioned that are even a little bit dangerous are timberwolves, and they’re more a nuisance than anything. It’d take an idiot or a fawn to actually get caught by one of them. And one of my best friends happens to be a sea serpent.”

Discord stopped walking for a second. “Fascinating.” Since Applejack didn’t stop to wait for him, he had to run ahead to catch up with her again. “I’m beginning to wonder if I’m studying the wrong forest. Perhaps an expedition to the Everfree Forest is in order.”

Applejack’s ear twitched. “Just ‘cause it’s safe for a deer like me doesn’t mean it would be for a pony like you.” The last thing any of the forest dwellers needed was a bunch of ponies mucking about Everfree. She smirked as she added. “Like I said, even a timberwolf could catch an idiot.”

Although she didn’t bother to look at Discord’s expression, Applejack could hear the irritation in his voice. “I assure you, I am no idiot.”

“So says the pony who’s considering a trip into the deep dark forest just because one deer he barely knows said it was safe.”

For a few moments Discord didn’t say anything. When he did, he seemed even more aggravated than when Applejack had called him an idiot. “I suppose that a guide may be in order.”

Applejack had to laugh at that one. “Well, good luck finding someone willing to do that for you. I sure hope you didn’t have me in mind.”

“Oh, come now, Applesnap. We’re off to such a good start!”

“It’s Applejack.”

“Right, that’s what I said. You must not have been listening carefully, but don’t worry; I’m willing to forgive your rudeness.”

“You’re willing to…” Applejack stopped walking to facehoof. She turned to fix a glare on him. He only smiled at her. “Remember what I said about slowing me down? You’re doing it right now.”

“What? Nonsense.” As if to prove a point, Discord walked in front of her. “Honestly now, if you didn’t insist on stopping like this we’d make much better time getting to… where are we going, exactly?”

While she would never admit it, he did have a point; Applejack had no idea where she was going. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating on the woods all around her.

“And you say I’m the one slow –”

“Be quiet for a moment,” she snapped. Surprisingly, Discord obliged.

Regaining her focus, Applejack reached out to the woods. Although a deer may take a new home, that didn’t mean they lost their old one; Everfree had become the new home of the deer, but that didn’t mean they weren’t still connected with White Tail Woods.

It was slow. These woods didn’t know Applejack, as she had been born in Everfree. But her parents had been born here, as had their parents before them, and theirs before them. Without a word, Applejack told the woods their names, and the woods remembered. Without a word, it answered her back. Welcome back, child. Welcome home.

Applejack turned her head and opened her eyes. “We’re going this way.”

At first, Discord just watched her as she began walking again. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She ignored him as he caught up with her. “You have no idea where we’re going, do you?”

Applejack didn’t answer right away. Between the woods and Discord, the woods made for much better company. But he still seemed insistent on following her, and she suspected that his magic might actually be as useful as he claimed it would be.

After a few moments of silence, Applejack finally gave him his answer. “All deer know the way home.”

Discord smiled. Then his smile turned to a grin, and then a laugh.

Applejack huffed. “You don’t have to come.”

Discord’s head snapped towards her. “You’re going to Sungrove.”

Although she wasn’t sure she wanted someone like Discord following her all the way to her ancestral home, Applejack nodded. If she wasn’t going to commit to her travelling companion, she ought to have gotten rid of him already. “Yeah, that’s the plan.”

The answer left Discord positively giddy with excitement. “My word, today truly is my lucky day. Lead the way, my deer.”

Things didn’t improve as the day went on. If anything, Discord’s excitement for seeing Sungrove only caused Applejack to worry more. When she asked why he was so interested, he said that it was purely academic interest. And to be fair, that certainly seemed to be what he was after, given all the questions he insisted on asking.

But while Discord wouldn’t hesitate to answer any of her questions, Applejack got the impression that there was more to him than he ever let on. It left her feeling like he held a distinct advantage over her; she was like an open book, constantly providing him with an honest answer to anything he wanted to know.

“So how far is Sungrove, anyway?” Discord asked after they had spent most of the day walking. They were quickly losing daylight, and even the inquisitive unicorn was losing his interest in talking.

“I don’t know, but I’ll be sure to tell you when we get there.”

“You don’t know?” Discord sighed. “Can’t you ask a tree or something?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t exactly work that way. But we’ll get there, make no mistake about that.”

“Maybe it slipped past you, but I haven’t exactly packed for more than a day trip.” It was true. Discord had nothing on him aside from a green amulet around his neck and a canteen strapped to his side.

“You know, you did invite yourself along,” Applejack pointed out.

“Be that as it may, we should stop for the night. Maybe we’ll have enough time to find a suitable meal before night falls.”

Discord stopped walking, but Applejack didn’t. “I told you, I’m in a hurry,” she reminded him.

“You’re joking.”

“Nope.”

“Then you’re a fool.”

Applejack snickered. “Well, I’d rather be a fool than follow one.”

“At least we agree on that one,” Discord grumbled.

Applejack stopped to look at him properly. “Look, it’s not my fault you came along, and you don’t have to follow me. If you want to rest here for the night, then that’s fine by me, but I’m gonna make it to Sungrove.”

“No, you’re going to walk straight into a pony-eating plant.”

“Ha! Then it’s a good thing I’m not a pony! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to ge–” Applejack was suddenly unable to move her body as a red aura surrounded her. “Hey! What the heck are you doing!?”

“Those,” Discord said, pointing at a mass of vines on the ground, “are tendrils from a carnivorous plant. And believe me, they won’t actually care whether you’re a pony or not.”

“Now you’re just making things up.” Once Discord let her go, Applejack examined the area around them. The only plants around were trees and bushes. “You just don’t want to lose your guide, but you’re too tired to keep walking.”

“Hmph, fine.” Discord turned away and began looking around. “As much as I’d like to see the ruins of Sungrove, I’m not going to die in the process. If you change your mind, I’ll be here looking for food.”

Applejack grinned. Getting rid of Discord was hardly a problem to her. “Good luck finding your way out of the forest on your own.”

“I won’t need luck. Unlike someone I know.”

Well, that was enough of that. Without another word, Applejack started walking again, all too happy to finally put some distance between herself and the unpleasant unicorn. It wasn’t even like it was all that dark yet. Even once it was, the trees weren’t so thick that they’d block out moonlight.

It was true that there was some reason to be wary. There were things that lived among the trees which ponies didn’t understand, and as Discord had pointed out, those could prove dangerous if handled incorrectly. But Applejack was a creature of the forest, and she did understand its ways. Sure, Everfree wasn’t White Tail Woods, but she had every confidence in herself.

And when it came down to it, White Tail Woods just didn’t seem to be nearly as bad as Granny Smith had always made it sound. Maybe it had been back when the deer lived in Sungrove, but the years seemed to have changed the place. There were no timberwolves howling in the distance, no cockatrices waiting to catch travellers unaware, no manticores, or chimeras, or even steep terrain to be wary of. During their entire trip, the most menacing thing she’d seen had been a squirrel who had watched the two intruders suspiciously as they walked past.

‘Maybe I could get the others to come back sometime. It’d be nice to show Apple Bloom such an important piece of her heritage.’ It’d be hard to convince everyone that it was safe, and she’d surely have to come clean about where she’d really gone. That was fine, though; Applejack hated lying to her family, and had planned on telling the truth when all was said and done. And once everyone heard her story, they might feel more confident in paying a visit themselves, especially if Fluttershy joined them next time.

Applejack stopped and sighed. Fluttershy. She was really what this was all about, but was this journey even good enough anymore? Applejack wanted to impress her with a tale of excitement, not one about an obnoxious old unicorn.

Lost in her thoughts, Applejack almost didn’t react in time. It was more of a general feeling than anything she noticed, but something made her stop and swivel her ears back. The gentle sound of rustling leaves in the otherwise still forest caused Applejack to spin around.

Four beady black eyes stared back at her. A long brown body reared back – four legs raised in the air, towering over Applejack, while four legs remained on the ground. Two long red fangs extended as the spider poised itself to strike.

Applejack jumped back, narrowly avoiding being bitten as it struck. She reared up and brought her hoof down in an attempt to crush its head, but instead landed on a leg as it moved back. She felt a crunch, and the spider pulled away.

Her options flashed through her head, and none of them were good. Its body was as big as hers, and its legs made it far larger. Its reactions were lightning quick. It probably had a better sense of where she was at any moment than she could hope to have of it. Her magic was never the best, and even if she were able to think of a plan to use it, she’d still need time to concentrate.

There was no fighting, and that left only one option.

It reared up onto its back legs again, and Applejack made use of the moment. Making sure to give it a wide berth, she ran. She didn’t know where she was going, or if the spider would pursue her, or how fast it was, or what else she might find. It didn’t matter. Applejack ran.

She barely felt her hooves connect to the ground as they pushed off it. She barely felt anything. She barely thought about anything. Just the woods in front of her, and certainly not anything behind her.

For a moment, she thought she was safe. She had been running for long enough that she had to have put some distance between them. The feeling was short-lived, however.

As Applejack jumped over a fallen log, she found something in her path. Eight long legs supporting a long, brown body. Unable to stop or change direction in time, Applejack threw all her weight into her front hooves as they connected with the spider.

“Aaah!” Applejack felt the same crunching sensation as she crushed its exoskeleton. She didn’t stop. Again, she brought her forelegs up, and again, she brought them back down. Long after there was nothing recognizable of the creature’s face, Applejack continued.

Only once she was sure it was completely dead, Applejack backed up panting.

“Are you quite finished, or would y– Oh, now that’s quite attractive.”

Applejack barely heard Discord over the sound of her own vomiting. She tried to avoid looking at her hooves, now covered in a clear liquid.

“Well, I suppose I can’t say I blame you,” Discord said once she finished. “You did quite a number on her.”

“It’s a her?” Applejack asked, her voice raspy from the running and vomiting.

“Hmm? Oh, yes. Even among the giant woodland spider, males are never this big.”

“Lucky me.” Applejack finally brought herself to look at the dead spider. Even with its legs splayed out at weird angles and the now-sunken-in face, Applejack couldn’t help but get the feeling like it might get back up at any moment. She had to focus on something else, so she turned to face Discord. “So what’re you doing here, anyway?”

Discord chuckled. “Well, I was just minding my own business when I heard you screaming. Being the considerate soul that I am, I came to see what was the matter. I certainly didn’t suspect to find you pummeling this poor creature into the ground.”

Applejack huffed. “Yeah, well this ‘poor creature’ almost made dinner out of me.”

“Oh, that’s just absurd. Despite their monstrous size, the giant woodland is a fairly docile breed. You may act like a foal, but you’re certainly larger than one, so I doubt you’d have anything to worry about.”

“That thing chased me across the forest!” Applejack scowled. The dead spider made for better company than Discord, and yet here she was dealing with both of them. “Even after I took out one of its legs.”

“Utter nonsense. I’ve seen you run, and there’s no way this spider outran you.” Discord lazily looked at the body again, seemingly unfazed by the gruesome sight. “Besides, she’s still got all her legs.”

“Well, I didn’t mean I tore the thing off compl–” Applejack stopped as she too took a closer look. All eight legs looked to be perfectly unharmed. “Discord. Do woodland spiders live in packs?”

“No, they’re completely solitary,” Discord said, much to Applejack’s relief. “But the giant woodland spider on the other hoof – completely unrelated, despite the name – well, they’re social spiders, but only when breeding. Then the females cluster together to better protect their young. It’s really remarkable, normally spiders aren’t –”

“Is, uh, there any chance you can make some light with that magic of yours?”

Discord looked taken aback by the interruption but just sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine, but you needn’t be so rude about it.”

A ball of light appeared on the tip of his horn, then lifted into the air. It grew in size, illuminating the trees around them.

For once, Discord was speechless.

They were everywhere. Some were on the ground already, hidden in shadows until Discord’s magic illuminated them. Some were clinging to trees, or else they were jumping off of them. Most were in the canopy, which seemed more spider web than treetop.

“Run!” Applejack shouted, before following her own command.

The trees around them were suddenly alive. Everywhere she looked, Applejack saw more vague shadows moving about. There were enough behind them that Applejack could hear them coming. Dozens, hundreds of legs following her. Applejack ran.

She only noticed Discord wasn’t beside her when a flash of light appeared ahead, bringing the unicorn with it. He immediately started running as well.

“Got any ideas!?” Applejack yelled.

“I can’t say… I prepared… for this!” Discord said through staggered breaths.

Maybe he had been right. Maybe the spiders really wouldn’t be able to catch her. But Discord was older than her, smaller than her, and not as used to forest terrain as she was. And, most importantly, he was slower than her.

He started lagging immediately. Chancing a look over her shoulder revealed two things: that the horde of spiders was closer than she wanted to believe, and that they were faster than Discord.

Just as one lunged to grab him, his horn alighted and he disappeared again. Applejack turned to face forward and saw him slightly ahead of her.

Although he had put some distance between himself and the majority of them, he hadn’t been able to pay attention to his destination. One of the creatures was already there waiting for him, giving him no time to regain his bearings to run some more.

“Look out!” Applejack shouted, but she knew it was too late. The spider reared onto its back legs, and Applejack shifted course. Without thinking it through, she lunged into the air, aiming herself directly at it.

They collided, and she knocked it onto the ground. But before she could so much as get off it, its legs were already wrapping around her. She struggled to get away, but it held her fast. She couldn’t even pull her legs back far enough to do any damage. Two red fangs uncurled from its face, and Applejack was powerless to do anything.

A bright light flared as a beam shot past, and all of the creature’s legs on one side flew into the air. With half its limbs severed, it began flailing around, and Applejack seized her chance. As soon as she was free, another light enveloped her, and the world around her disappeared.

A moment later, everything rematerialized. But it was different than before, and at first, Applejack just blinked in confusion.

Then Discord ran past her, and she realized what had happened. “Keep running!” he called.

It was an easy command to obey. Applejack didn’t dare look behind her. She didn’t want to know what was there. “Can you lead us back to where we separated!?”

“What!? Why!?”

“Trust me!”

Applejack doubted that the unicorn had much trust in her, but he changed direction all the same. There was no time to wonder if this was the best or worst idea she’d ever had. “When I give the word, I’m gonna need you to magic us away again!”

Discord was panting, and Applejack could tell he was too exhausted to argue. “Okay.”

It was hard to resist the urge to run ahead, but she remained at Discord’s side. They could get caught at any moment, and she would just have to trust Discord could save them if it came to that.

How long did they run? There was no telling. Perhaps it was less than a minute, perhaps they ran for an hour. Time wasn’t important, only distance. Just hooves on the ground, the plan endlessly repeated in Applejack’s mind, and a thousand legs that followed after.

Whether it was in a minute or an hour, they found their way back. Applejack was afraid she wouldn’t recognize it, and she barely did. But the ground beneath them eventually turned from packed dirt, fallen leaves, and tree roots to long tendrils of vines.

“Now!”

One more flash of light, and the world momentarily vanished. Once it reappeared, Applejack spun around until she saw the place they had just been.

“No time to rest!” Discord barked.

“Look.”

Were there fewer spiders than she had thought because they lost many of them, or just because the distance made her calmer? Either way, there were about half a dozen still pursuing them. Unable to teleport, they had to cross over the vines.

Once again, the woods came alive. This time, however, it was exactly what Applejack had hoped for. The vines tangled themselves around the spiders’ legs and pulled them towards the numerous bushes that dotted the area. As a spider reached a bush, the whole thing would unfurl in a mass of branches and vines. With hardly a sound, the vines would draw the spider in and the bush would enclose around it, leaving behind no trace of the horror that had just transpired.

“Did… did you know… that would work?” Discord asked as he tried to catch his breath. He practically fell into a sitting position.

Applejack bowed her head. “To be perfectly honest, I still wasn’t sure if you were even telling the truth about the whole ‘carnivorous plant’ thing.”

Discord turned to her slowly. She wasn’t sure what she expected from him, but it wasn’t what she got. He laughed. A single laugh at first, but more followed.

“You… you completely gambled with our lives!” Discord said through his laughter.

“Well, I didn’t hear you coming up with any ideas!” Applejack said defensively. “And besides, I –”

“Thank you.” Discord’s reply was short and sudden, and it brought about the end of his laughter. Applejack sat down as well, and the two of the were silent for a while.

Applejack scanned around them for any sign of a threat, but found nothing. Even the bushes returned to normal, leaving no sign that anything had happened at all. She turned to Discord. “So, uh… what do you say we stop for the night?”

Discord flashed the same grin he had been using all day, but Applejack couldn’t help thinking it looked much less sinister now. “My deer, I think that is a wonderful plan.”

Although all seemed calm enough where they were, they put some extra distance between themselves and the location, just to be safe. They travelled slowly and deliberately, however, and stopped before too long. Discord again illuminated the area, and they were both delighted to find it was only occupied by one owl, who quickly flew away at the light.

“I regret to inform you that I didn’t bring a tent,” Discord said.

“Aw, come on. Sleeping under the stars isn’t so bad. Are all ponies as soft as you?”

Discord was quiet for a few moments, and when he answered, it was barely a mutter. “Hinny.”

“Come again?”

“If you must know, I’m a hinny, not a pony.” Either because he could tell she was confused, or because he just expected her to be unknowledgeable, Discord elaborated further. “It means my mother was a donkey.”

“Huh.” Applejack didn’t really see what the big deal was. “Well then, are all hinnies as soft as you are?”

“I don’t have much experience with other hinnies, so I wouldn’t really know.” Discord lay on the ground, resting his head on his forelegs. “These days a pegasus and an earth pony can fall in love and most ponies don’t mind a bit. Of course, the idiots probably don’t realize exactly how similar they all are. Only a few alleles different, really. But even in this day and age, interspecies romance is largely frowned upon, even if it’s only in hushed tones and behind closed doors.”

Ah. So that was the big deal. “So, uh… I’m guessing all that means someone like you probably never had an easy time with others.”

“That’s enough about me.” Discord began smiling again. A wicked smile – something he could always hide behind. “You never did tell me why you’re trying to find Sungrove.”

Applejack smiled as well. She probably wouldn’t have answered him before, but it seemed like an innocent enough question after their ordeal. “It’s, well… Fluttershy, my girlfriend, she’s been getting… a little tired of forest life. She’s always loved Everfree, more than anything, but now she seems more interested in seeing what else is out there. She’s off visiting a pony city right now. I’m trying to get to Sungrove to retrieve a lost artifact, and then get back before she does. I want to show her that there’s plenty of adventure to be found without dealing with ponies.”

Discord arched an eyebrow. “That’s positively idiotic.”

“Excuse me?” Applejack frowned. Whatever his reasons for being the way he was, it didn’t change the fact that he was insufferable.

“Well, is Fluttershy here?”

“Of course not, I already said that she’s in some pony town.”

“Then what, exactly, are you proving to her? Do you expect her to live her life vicariously through your adventure? If you really wanted to impress her with a grand forest expedition, you would have needed to bring her along with you.”

Applejack wanted to explain exactly why he was wrong. She wanted to, but she couldn’t. “I just… I thought that if I…” What did she think? Was this all pointless?

“No, you didn’t. You got yourself a head full of ideas, panicked, and ran out without knowing what it is you’re really hoping to get out of this.”

Applejack hung her head. He was right. She could see that now. This was all pointless, and in the end, it wouldn’t make any difference to Fluttershy. Maybe the best thing to do would be to just go back home.

Discord sighed. “You should get to sleep. The ground isn’t getting any softer, you know.”

Well, at least that was one thing she could prove him wrong on. She opened the barrel around her neck and poured some elixir onto the ground. Closing her eyes in concentration, Applejack reached out to the woods.

Soft grass sprouted around her hooves. She focused on it as it spread around them, leaving lush patches big enough to lie in.

When she opened her eyes, Discord was staring in disbelief. After a moment, he stood up and walked over to one of the patches, no doubt finding it much more comfortable. “You continue to surprise me. You’re just as resourceful as you are foolish, aren’t you?”

Applejack chuckled as she found a spot for herself. “Yeah, I’d say that’s fair. And, well, maybe you aren’t so bad yourself.”

“Really? I’m flattered.” Although he said it sarcastically, Applejack distinctly got the impression that he was telling the truth, at least partially.

Lying on her side, Applejack looked up at the stars. She wondered what Fluttershy was doing now, and what she herself would do in the morning. With a sigh, she put those thoughts away for later. There would be time for that, but first, it was time to sleep. After one more glance at the figure of the mare in the moon, Applejack rested her head and allowed dreams to take her.

4 – An Unstoppable Team

Chapter Four
An Unstoppable Team
⠀

⠀

All in all, Fluttershy’s feelings were largely mixed. She, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were approaching the Everfree Forest, their trip to San Palomino recently behind them. The race itself had been enjoyable enough, even if Fluttershy wasn’t personally interested in that sort of thing. But of course, this whole trip had been all about the experience for her, not the race itself.

That experience had been a bit much to take in, and Fluttershy wasn’t yet sure what would come in the future. Everything that ponies did, from their music to their food, was so different from anything in Everfree. Some of it had been good, some of it bad, but that was definitely something she could enjoy experiencing more of.

But then there had been the ponies themselves. They were certainly not as bad as Applejack and other deer always made them sound, but Fluttershy hadn’t felt so out of place for centuries. She had expected some level of surprise, of course – just as she had never seen a pony, she knew they had never seen a draconequus – but ponies were outright afraid of her. And not just her, but Pinkie and Rainbow as well, despite the fact that ponies were aware of griffons.

That fear manifested in different ways. The skepticism and concerned looks were upsetting, but that had become the least of her concerns. Ponies would outright avoid them, businesses refused to serve them, and insults had been tossed around, both in hushed tones and spoken directly. Fluttershy wasn’t sure what a ‘taxidermy mishap’ was, but even Pinkie had lost her cheer when that one was used.

It wasn’t as if every pony had been awful. Surprised reactions were par for the course, but there were ponies who accepted them once the surprise wore off. Still, it was something of a relief when the events came to a close, even if the return trip was a slow one. Since Pinkie and Rainbow’s funds were limited, and Fluttershy didn’t have any pony money at all, taking a train from the nearby pony city of Las Pegasus was out of the question. It wasn’t so bad; flying at a comfortable speed may delay the trip home, but they’d avoid ponies that way.

In fact, the only thing that would’ve made it better was if Rainbow would finally move on to another topic.

“I still can’t believe ponies think that’s fast! If I was out on that field, none of them would even be able to keep track of me!”

“Maybe they’re not as fast as you, Dashie,” Pinkie said, “but some of those ponies were really good!”

Rainbow shrugged. “I guess they were alright for ponies.” She shifted from casual indifference to a smug grin. “But I could fly circles around them!”

To accentuate her point, Rainbow zipped around Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. She did two laps around them before coming to a halt. Pinkie seemed enthused by the display, but Fluttershy just smiled and rolled her eyes. “Yes, you’re very fast, Rainbow.”

“The fastest!” Rainbow beamed with pride as she resumed the lazy pace Fluttershy and Pinkie forced her to keep.

Fluttershy grinned. “Well, you do have a point there. But you could still work on your geography a bit.”

Rainbow scowled. “Hey, I know for a fact that San Palomino used to be a city.”

As it turned out, what Rainbow had described as a ‘big city’ before their trip was actually nothing but a desert. That was the reason they had set up the race there, after all; San Palomino provided an open environment large enough for them to set up the race and other events while still being accessible to those who couldn’t fly.

“Of course, Rainbow,” Fluttershy conceded, although she had her doubts. She was beginning to suspect that maybe Rainbow hadn’t been to quite as many places as she said she had.

So it was something of a learning experience in more ways than one; Fluttershy had learned that even if some of the concerns were justified, the outside world wasn’t quite as horrible as many of the deer made it sound, and she learned not to let herself get awestruck by stories of grandeur.

They approached Everfree from the southwest. They had followed a deep canyon for most of the trip, which ran the majority of the way from San Palomino to Everfree. That took them as far as the bog that bordered the forest, which Fluttershy was marginally familiar with. While she preferred not to venture anywhere that ponies lived, Froggy Bottom Bog only had the occasional visitor.

There was no one there as they passed over it today, which Fluttershy was thankful for. As they followed the river system in deeper, things began to look increasingly familiar. The ground became more solid and small bushy plants eventually gave way to real trees, which then grew taller and closer together. The sights, the sounds, the smells, everything around her felt like home.

Well, mostly. Fluttershy had missed the forest immensely, but there was one part of it that she missed more than anything else. One doe who had scarcely left her thoughts, and to whom Fluttershy longed to return as swiftly as possible. But as tempting as it was to expedite the rest of the journey, she doubted that her companions would appreciate it.

So they stuck to flying. She led them deeper into the forest via the river so that they wouldn’t have to worry about flying through trees. The plan was to get somewhere they could rest, then Fluttershy would get Applejack and they could tell her about their trip while Pinkie and Rainbow figured out their next move.

Fluttershy smiled as just such a place presented itself. She’d had a forest clearing in mind, but a riverbank would serve them just as well. And when she noticed a shadow under the water she realized it would be even better.

Pinkie and Rainbow followed Fluttershy’s cue as she descended, landing on the ground and taking the chance to stretch their legs. Fluttershy had another idea in mind, however.

“Wait here, I’ll just be a moment,” she told the griffons. Rainbow cocked her head in puzzlement, but Pinkie seemed too preoccupied with trying to scratch her ear with a hindpaw to even notice.

Fluttershy dove into the water, swimming straight for the dark shadow. Most of the forest’s inhabitants wouldn’t have been able to swim down far enough. The river was deceptively deep, so even strong swimmers usually stayed on its surface. But Fluttershy could thrive in any of the forest’s environments, and the river was no exception. She kept her limbs tucked in and swam by twisting her body and using her finned tail.

Although the light grew low as she descended, she could still clearly see her mark. It was easy enough as two eyes glowed even in the relative darkness. Additionally, Fluttershy noticed what those eyes were staring at – two fish swam leisurely, completely unaware of the danger that lurked in the depths below them.

Fluttershy stopped swimming, letting her limbs fall loosely as she rearranged herself to tread water and stay in place. She hoped she wouldn’t be waiting long; she may have the means to swim underwater, but her lungs would only hold out for so long.

It seemed she needn’t have worried, however. There was a sudden flash of movement, and the figure below her rapidly closed the distance. Too rapidly, in fact; she sped past the fish and made her way directly toward Fluttershy.

A split second was all that Fluttershy had to react with. She moved her tail as rapidly as she could to put as much distance as possible between herself and the much faster sea serpent, while holding out her paws in the ‘stop’ motion.

It was futile. Fluttershy hardly had time to process what was going on before it was too late. She was caught with enough force that the air was pushed out of her lungs, and then was pulled rapidly upwards.

Even as they breached the water’s surface, Rarity kept her grip on Fluttershy firm. She laughed loudly as Fluttershy caught her breath, and then let herself fall backward. Fluttershy barely had time to quickly inhale and hold her breath again before they hit the water. The splash was accentuated by a squawking sound, but that too was cut off as they sank beneath the surface.

At least it was short-lived. Rarity remained on her back as she floated to the surface, then finally let go of Fluttershy once they were above the water.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Fluttershy said with a grin. Although she was free, she remained where she was, lying on the sea serpent as they floated gently.

“Fluttershy, darling, you have no idea how happy I am to see you again.” While part of Rarity remained parallel with the water for Fluttershy to lie on, she’d lifted her head fully out of the river and used her long neck to allow them to talk face to face.

Over on the riverbank, Rainbow and Pinkie were soaking wet and clinging to each other as they stared in awe at the massive sea serpent. Fluttershy did her best to keep from laughing, but she couldn’t help but let a small giggle escape. “Rainbow, Pinkie, this is my friend Rarity. Rarity, this is Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Rarity said as she used her tail to turn them towards the griffons.

Rainbow still seemed unsure, but Pinkie was clearly ready to make a new friend. Noticing Rainbow was still apprehensive, Pinkie grabbed her by the talon and coaxed her into the air.

“Hiya!” Pinkie said once they flew closer. “Is everyone in this forest a noodle?”

“A noodle?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy grinned, sure that she knew what Pinkie meant.

“Yeah! You’re both long and thin like noodles.” Pinkie tapped her beak in thought. “But I guess Applejack isn’t very noodly…”

Rainbow pulled her talon away from Pinkie’s and used it to push her playfully. “You’re noodly.”

Rarity chuckled. “You certainly have made some interesting friends, Fluttershy dear.”

Fluttershy just nodded and smiled as Pinkie rambled on. It was nice to be back in familiarity, but she was definitely still enjoying spending time with her new friends. But as Pinkie was making the distinction that Fluttershy was a forest noodle and Rarity was a water noodle, Fluttershy came to realize that Rarity kept glancing over at her.

“Uhm, is everything okay?” Fluttershy asked her after a while.

Rarity immediately broke into a grin. “But of course!”

Fluttershy sighed. The overly large smile confirmed what Fluttershy had feared. She turned to Pinkie and Rainbow. “Uhm, I’m sorry, but could you excuse us for a moment?”

Rainbow cast a brief look to Pinkie before jerking her head towards the riverbank. Pinkie looked like she was going to say something, but in the end, she followed Rainbow without protest.

Once they were alone, Fluttershy turned back to Rarity. “Now now, there’s no need to lie to me. What’s bothering you?”

“Really now, darling, everything is ju–”

“I’m sorry I called you noodles!” Pinkie called from the shore, cutting Rarity off. Fluttershy looked over to see Rainbow had her face in her talon. “I didn’t mean to offend you!”

Fluttershy laughed while Rarity answered for them. “There is no need to apologize, we were not offended in the slightest!” Rarity smiled as she answered, but it faded as she turned back to Fluttershy. “You really are quite taken with them, aren’t you?”

Fluttershy frowned. There was no way that could be what this was about. “Rarity, you’re not… jealous I have new friends, are you?”

“No, of course not! I couldn’t be happier for you, and they do seem quite nice. But I suppose…” Rarity sighed and spoke quickly as she continued. “I might be the teeniest bit concerned about you leaving Everfree.”

“What?” Fluttershy was sure she must have misunderstood. “But I’m already back. And there wasn’t ever anything to be afraid of. I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself, Rarity.”

“Oh, I have no doubts there.” Rarity smiled for a moment, but then immediately fell back to a concerned expression. “I doubt there’s anything out there that could get the best of you. It’s what you’re planning on doing now that worries me. To tell the truth, it’s been on my mind for days.”

If anything, that made even less sense. “What I’m doing next? I only just got back home, all I plan on doing is relaxing with Applejack and…” Fluttershy sighed and let her head fall into her paw. She hadn’t told Rarity she was going, so if she’d been worried for days, there was only one possibility. “What did Applejack tell you?”

Rarity tapped her claws together nervously. “Well, I did happen to speak to Applejack… And, er, she might have mentioned your trip.”

Although she knew she was putting Rarity in an awkward position by involving her in her friends’ love life, Fluttershy just folded her arms and waited for more.

“And well… we may have discussed that a bit.” Rarity shot a hopeful glance towards the griffons, but they were both too preoccupied to take note of anything; Pinkie was nuzzling her head against Rainbow, who in turn was trying to look disinterested without actually doing anything to stop the affection.

“Alright, fine.” Rarity gave up trying to get out of it and turned back to Fluttershy with an indignant expression. “Applejack informed me about your friends and your trip, and we talked about why you’d ever want to leave Everfree. She said that you’ve been very interested in the outside world lately, and that she’s afraid you might decide you prefer it out there.” Rarity spoke with a determined resolve, but her voice and features softened as she added, “We’ve both been worried sick about losing you…”

“Oh, Rarity…” Although Fluttershy was touched that Rarity cared so much, she was also tempted to tell her off for ever believing something so ridiculous. She held her tongue, however. “I would never. It’s fun to see what else is out there, but the forest is my home. I could never leave it for long.”

Rarity shifted her claws nervously. “You really mean that?”

“Of course I do.”

Switching her tone instantly, Rarity grabbed Fluttershy in another hug. “Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that, darling!”

There was no point in trying to get away, so Fluttershy just returned the hug. “I… think I might have some idea. Uhm, would you mind maybe hugging a little less tightly?”

“Oh!” Rarity let go of Fluttershy and wore a sheepish expression. “Sorry…”

Fluttershy just laughed it off. “No need to apologize.” Eager to get out of reach for any more surprise hugs, Fluttershy flew into the air, hovering near enough to Rarity’s head that they could still talk with ease. “I’m sorry Applejack put an idea like that into your head. I think I better go find her…”

“I’m holding you up, aren’t I? Terribly sorry…”

“Don’t be. It was nice seeing you.”

Rarity nodded, but her tone turned irritated. “When you see Applejack, do give her a piece of my mind for me. We were supposed to meet up yesterday to discuss how we might, er, get you to stay in the forest with us. Silly as it seems in hindsight, we got ourselves so worked up that we thought we were going to have to do something drastic and exciting to keep you around. But then, after she got me all worried over nothing, she had the nerve to stand me up!”

Fluttershy hesitated. “Really? But that doesn’t sound like her at all.”

“I know, she’s normally so dependable!” Rarity gasped. “You don’t suppose something happened to her, do you?”

Fluttershy crossed her arms and frowned. “Now Rarity, haven’t you learned better than to assume the worst?”

Rarity chuckled nervously. “I… suppose you may have a point there. But do come find me after you two have had some time to speak. It would be delightful to catch up, and I would love to hear about your trip.”

Fluttershy gave her promise that she would do just that, then said her goodbyes before flying off as quickly as she could without causing Rarity to worry more. Immediately, Rainbow and Pinkie followed after her.

“Whoa, wait a second,” Rainbow said once she caught up. “What’s the hurry?”

Fluttershy took a moment to answer, debating what to say. By the time she responded, Pinkie had caught up as well. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but something Rarity said has me worried, and… well, I’d just like to see Applejack as soon as possible.”

While it was true that there was nothing to worry about, it didn’t change the fact that Fluttershy was worried. While not every creature in Everfree was friendly with the deer, none of them would ever harm Applejack. If her kind-hearted nature didn’t win over some of the more hostile inhabitants, the fact that she was Fluttershy’s lover guaranteed that the worst she could expect from anyone would be indifference.

Still, it wasn’t like her to not show up for a prior arrangement, especially if she had been as worried as Rarity said she was. Fluttershy just hoped she hadn’t gone and done anything stupid.

Although Pinkie tried to cheer her up, Fluttershy didn’t speak again as they flew. She could tell she was causing her friends to worry, but she had only one thought in mind: getting to Applejack.

They landed in front of a willow, the home she shared with Applejack. Fluttershy wasted no time in entering. “Applejack?” she called, but no one answered.

“Woah, even your houses are in trees!” Pinkie said from beside her.

Fluttershy sighed and turned back to the door. “Applejack isn’t here.” Her concern only growing, she didn’t wait for the others before taking off again.

They flew low this time, under the tree canopy. Pinkie and Rainbow seemed to have trouble keeping up, but they were never too far behind. They flew through the apple orchard nearby and stopped at the largest tree. If Applejack wasn’t at the home that she and Fluttershy shared, then she must be at the home that she shared with her family.

Except she wasn’t. That was apparent from the moment Fluttershy landed, as a small fawn ran up to her. “Fluttershy!” Apple Bloom called, but she lacked the excitement she usually had whenever she saw her adopted sister. Without needing to hear another word, Fluttershy already knew that Applejack had, indeed, gone and done something stupid.

“What is it, Apple Bloom?”

“Have you seen Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked. She paused as she noticed the two griffons who were finally catching up, but seemed to take Fluttershy’s lack of concern as enough reason to not worry herself. “She left a couple of days ago, and none of us have seen her since.”

“She left? Where did she go?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “We don’t know. She came over here a couple days ago to grab that old map of Granny’s, then she left to go meet with you. Granny sent me over to the willow to tell her to invite your new friends over for dinner, but she wasn’t there. Big Mac went over to check a few hours later, but she must’ve been out all night.”

Fluttershy frowned. “Two days ago? But I was already gone by then. Applejack knew that, so I don’t know why she would’ve said she was going to meet up with me. Did she follow us to San Palomino after all?”

“San Palomino?” Apple Bloom asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’ll tell you about that later. Did Applejack say anything else that might give us a clue where she went?”

Apple Bloom stopped and thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think so… She just mentioned that you had some friends who weren’t from Everfree, and she took the map, some food, and a barrel of elixir.”

“Elixir?” That didn’t make sense, Applejack thought that San Palomino was a big city. “But elixir only works in the forest… I don’t understand.”

“What’s elixir?” Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy glanced back for a moment. “It’s for deer magic.”

Rainbow flew over to Fluttershy and hovered in the air. “Well, she didn’t take something like that to San Palomino, so she must still be in the forest! Pinkie and I will scour the area with a bird’s eye view and find her in no time!”

“You wouldn’t be able to see through the trees,” Fluttershy pointed out. “Besides, I don’t think she’s in the forest. Rarity said they were supposed to meet yesterday, but Applejack never showed up…”

“But if she’s not in the forest, and she didn’t follow us, then where could she be?”

“In another forest, silly.” Everyone turned to look at Pinkie Pie, who shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “If we know she’s in a forest, and it’s not this one, then she must be in a different one.”

It did kind of make sense, but… “The only other forest around here is White Tail Woods,” Fluttershy said.

“Then that must be where she is!” Rainbow said.

“She probably decided to go since we were all talking about it the other day,” Pinkie added.

Fluttershy brought a paw to her mouth contemplatively. Why would Applejack want to go to White Tail Woods? The deer left their home there centuries ago, and everyone knew that White Tail Woods was a very dangerous place.

Fluttershy’s paw fell away as she remembered what Rarity had told her. White Tail Woods was dangerous. The perfect place to do something drastic and exciting.

“Apple Bloom, where’s Big Mac?” Fluttershy asked.

“He went to Thicket to see if anyone there’s seen Applejack.”

That meant everyone she needed to talk to was in one place. “Perfect.” Fluttershy lifted her paw and snapped

“Great, so how do we –”

Fluttershy didn’t hear the rest of Rainbow’s question. She didn’t hear anything else from her, Pinkie, or Apple Bloom. With a snap, the world around her vanished. It was replaced with towering trees full of elaborate and interconnected houses, with deer passing to and fro. A few of them jumped at the draconequus’s sudden appearance, but she had no time for that.

Since there was no way to know where Big Mac might be, Fluttershy chose to instead make for the other deer that might be able to help her. She flew into the air and made for one tree in particular. There was a spiral ramp leading up the length of the massive tree, which she ignored completely. Instead, she opted to fly straight up and enter the building through one of its many balconies.

There were not many in Everfree who could travel by air, so her unexpected appearance again proved startling to everyone inside. If she were anyone else, the sudden intrusion would not have been tolerated. Even among the deer, who preferred to keep their buildings open for visitors whenever possible, there were certain places where order was to be expected.

But being who she was, Fluttershy’s abrupt appearance was only met with puzzlement. “Miss Fluttershy? What can we –”

“Fluttershy!” a fawn ran up to her, cutting off the deer who had been speaking. He was tan with a white underside, and his horns were just starting to grow. “Are we going to be able to play today?”

“I’m sorry, Bramble, but not today,” Fluttershy said. The young prince looked crestfallen, so Fluttershy added, “Another day soon, I promise. But right now I need to speak with your father. Can you take me to him?”

Quickly getting over his disappointment, Bramble proudly led the way. Although he was still young – only slightly older than Apple Bloom – the prince prided himself on being helpful. He had moments of childish arrogance, but he had a good heart, and was always ready to do his part to help both the deer and the other denizens of the forest.

“Big Mac hasn’t been to the palace, has he?” Fluttershy asked as they walked.

“Yes, he’s speaking with Blackthorne about something.” Bramble seemed to be piecing things together at the realization that both Fluttershy and Big Mac had shown up independently. “Is everything alright, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy did her best to put on a comforting smile, in spite of how scared she was becoming. “I… I don’t know, Bramble. But I do know that things will be alright. I’ll make sure of it, and I think your father can help me.”

Bramble nodded. “I’m sure Papa will do anything he can to help you.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” At least, Fluttershy hoped he was. She knew she had come to ask a high price of him, and she was unsure how he would take her request. “Can you find Big Mac and send him to us as well? He should be there for what we have to discuss.”

“Of course,” Bramble said with a smile. Although he didn’t know what was going on, it didn’t matter. He was still young enough to believe that if someone trustworthy told him they would make things work out, then things were going to work out. It was as simple as that.

Although the palace had a throne room for their king to hold official meetings, Bramble led Fluttershy to a large balcony that overlooked Thicket. Several deer were sitting around a table enjoying the view and friendly conversation.

Without his full royal regalia, there was little to set King Aspen apart from the two other deer he was speaking with. His horns did have a permanent gold adornment around the base, but he stood out more for his coat than anything. While most deer were shades of brown and tan, Aspen was a brilliant white, with beige along his back and the bottoms of his eyes and black on the tips of his tail and ears.

“Papa, Fluttershy is here to see you,” Bramble announced as they approached.

Aspen smiled. “Thank you, Bramble.” Bramble smiled at the praise and left to find Big Mac. Aspen turned to Fluttershy. “Greetings, Fluttershy. It has been a while. Is this a social visit?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Fluttershy answered.

Aspen nodded. “I feared as much. Nevertheless, come, sit with us. You should at least be comfortable while we talk.”

All the deer except for Aspen shifted to make room for Fluttershy to sit beside the king. Among the deer, there were very few matters so private that one would send away their friends, but Fluttershy knew the others would not interrupt their discussion unless their opinions were asked.

“It’s about Applejack,” Fluttershy said as she took a seat. “She’s missing.”

“Missing?” Aspen sat up straighter and his tone grew more direct. “For how long?”

“Two days. She hasn’t been back to our home or her family’s.”

“I see.” Aspen stared out over his city. “Two days is not a terribly long time.”

“I know. But this isn’t like her. She was supposed to meet with a friend yesterday, but she never showed up. The last deer to see her was Apple Bloom, when Applejack stopped by her family home for some supplies. I think that she’s doing something reckless and could be in danger now.”

Aspen turned from the view to look at Fluttershy. “You’re certain that she is not with a friend somewhere safe?”

Fluttershy hesitated a moment. She knew she would feel ridiculous if Applejack just showed up all of a sudden, unaware of the trouble she had caused. But she also knew her doe, and she knew that she would never disappear like this. “I am. And if there’s any chance I’m wrong, we’ll know soon. Big Macintosh has been going around Thicket looking for her, and Bramble’s gone to get him now.”

“Very well then. Do not fret, Fluttershy, we will find her. You have my word on that. If her brother does not bring good news, then I will have a search party organized. We’ll be searching for her before the day is out, and if she is anywhere in this forest, we shall find her.”

“But that’s just it,” Fluttershy said. If there was anything that was going to sour their meeting, it was this. “I don’t think Applejack’s in Everfree.”

“Excuse me?” Aspen’s eyes narrowed.

Before Fluttershy could elaborate, the sound of hooves alerted them that more deer were approaching. Fluttershy turned to see there were two, but her eyes were drawn only to the larger of them. He was exceptionally large for a deer, a reddish brown stag with slightly lighter fur on his underside.

Big Mac’s face was full of grim resignation as he looked at Fluttershy. “So she isn’t with you, then.”

It was hard to see that Big Mac hadn’t found her, and hard to tell him that she had no better news. “I’m sorry, Mac, but I don’t know where she is either.”

“Macintosh was just catching me up on the situation,” the deer beside him said. Blackthorne was a dark brown and white stag, as well as the king’s closest friend and confidante. His official position was Chief Royal Advisor, but he filled too many roles to be labeled so easily. “Do you have any leads, Fluttershy?”

“I do.” Fluttershy took a moment to steel herself, then turned to Aspen directly. He was the one she would need to convince, and he would also be the biggest challenge. “I believe Applejack went to White Tail Woods.”

Soft gasps gave way to stunned silence as everyone waited for someone else to speak. It was Blackthorne that eventually did. “Why do you think this, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy had been hoping for Aspen’s response, but she wasn’t surprised Blackthorne beat him to it. He was always the more collected of the two, and he’d often assist his king in handling troublesome situations.

“I believe that she left the forest because none of her family or friends have seen her, and she has nowhere else that she would have gone here. She took supplies for a trip, including elixir, so we know she still has to be in a forest. And recently… we were talking about White Tail Woods, and about exploring more of the world outside. I think… no, I’m sure that’s where she’s gone.”

Aspen rose from his seat and walked over to the edge of the balcony. Fluttershy couldn’t see his expression, but his voice was hard. “Your evidence is shaky at best.”

So quick he was to shy from his promise to help. “I know her, Aspen. I know my Applejack, and I have no doubts that’s what happened.”

“So I am to order my deer to go return to White Tail Woods on your hunch, then?”

Fluttershy frowned at both his words and his tone, but she was cut off from responding by Blackthorne. “I believe she is right, my king.”

Aspen turned to Blackthorne with a look of betrayal. Bramble’s arrogance could be explained from his age; the same trait was much more unbecoming when his father showed it. “What do you mean?”

Blackthorne showed no signs of acknowledging the hostility. “I’ve been told by the birds that Applejack was seen on the outskirts of the forest two days ago. I did not realize the significance of this until I met with Macintosh, and he informed me that no one in his family has seen her since. I’m told that it was late in the day that she was spotted, which would put the timing after she was last seen by her sister. That she left the forest thereafter seems most likely.”

“And what would you have me do then!?” Aspen demanded. “We cannot return to the woods!”

“The decision is yours, my king,” Blackthorne replied. “I’m simply telling you what I know.”

“There shouldn’t need to be a decision,” Fluttershy said angrily. “You are the king of the deer, and one of your subjects is in danger. We have to go find her.”

“You are too close to see clearly,” Aspen said. He clearly was trying to keep his tone down out of respect for Fluttershy, but he was doing a poor job at it. “How many of my subjects would you have me risk for one? If Applejack left the forest, then she has forsworn my protection in doing so.”

“Your protection is for the deer, not just the ones in your walls,” Fluttershy reminded him.

“Do not tell me what my job is, guardian,” Aspen said. “I am protecting my deer by not forcing them to risk their lives.”

“Now hold on a minute,” Big Mac said. “Fluttershy didn’t say anything about forcing anyone to risk anything. We can ask for volunteers.”

“I would volunteer to lead such a mission, my king,” Blackthorne added.

Aspen looked between the three of them. “Then I am to allow my subjects to voluntarily take on a suicide mission? I will not.”

Big Mac’s face hardened, while Blackthorne remained impassive. Fluttershy glanced around and realized that without her noticing, the other deer had all left the room. “I know White Tail Woods is scary, but there is safety in numbers. If we stay in organized groups, we can cover ground without risking anyone. Besides, the deer haven’t been there in eight hundred years. No one really knows if there is even anything dangerous still there.”

It seemed that had been the wrong thing to say. Aspen gave up all pretense of keeping his cool. “I don’t need a history lesson, guardian, I was there! I was there on the day we left those woods, and you were not! Do not presume to tell me of the dangers.”

“You’re right, I wasn’t there!” Fluttershy shot back. “But today, I will be. I am capable of protecting the deer from whatever might be in there, I just need help searching.”

“The deer help each other,” Big Mac pointed out. His voice was stern, but without anger. “That’s our way. We don’t leave anyone behind, not even one deer. I trust Fluttershy to see us through okay, and I know I’m not the only one.”

“Do not lecture me!” Aspen barked. “I know of our ways, but I also know there must be exceptions. Do you know what happened that day that we left the woods? One single deer stayed behind. And no one went after her. That night we all felt like cowards, but we knew we did what we had to for the good of all of us. We left her to die because there was no other choice afforded to us. She was a queen, and if we would not take a risk for her, then I’ll be damned if we will for an apple farmer!”

Fluttershy’s mouth fell open. Aspen had crossed a line that he should never have dared approach. She rose to her full height, then continued rising into the air. She didn’t use her wings to fly, instead holding herself up with her magic. Aspen took a step back as he stared at the draconequus. He was so used to thinking of her as nothing but a gentle soul. It was time he was reminded of what else she could be.

“You’re right about one thing. I am the guardian of this forest, and you seem to forget what that means, little king. Do you think that you have the right to decide what life is worth more or less than another? Do you think that a title makes you better than your subjects? That it gives you some sort of protection?”

Aspen took another step back, so Fluttershy charged him. She moved faster than he could even react, and was behind him before he knew what was going on. Using her serpentine body, she curled her body around his and was still able to keep her face in front of his. “I’m what protects you, and everyone else in this forest. And I don’t care about the difference between a king, or any apple farmer, or anyone else. But I am the guardian of this forest and those who live in it, while you are the guardian of your deer. And if you’re going to forget your job, then you just might find that I’m willing to do the same.”

Fluttershy uncurled herself from around him and again floated into the air. “You do not want me to be your enemy, little king.”

Aspen sat in place unable to form an answer, and not even Blackthorne would come to aid. It may have been the first time in his life that anyone had ever made an outright threat against him, and he had no power to do anything about it.

A distant voice caught everyone’s attention. Everfree did not have many inhabitants that could fly, and yet the voice came from above them. “I found her! Over here!”

Fluttershy turned towards the sky, and found there was already no time to react. A slightly bird-shaped mass of pink collided into her, knocking her out of the air and straight to the ground.

“Wow, we looked for you everywhere, Fluttershy!” Pinkie said from atop Fluttershy. All Fluttershy could see was Pinkie’s face staring into hers, and the griffon didn’t seem interested in moving from her perch. “This is a really big –”

“Remove yourself from the guardian, bird!” Blackthorne commanded.

Fluttershy still couldn’t see anything, but she heard multiple sets of hoofsteps approaching. Then something else dropped onto the balcony, and there was the sound of something crashing and hoofsteps reeling backwards.

“Hey, back off!” Rainbow shouted. “No one touches a feather on Pinkie!”

“What’s the meaning of this!?” Aspen demanded. “This is an outrage!”

“Everyone calm down!” Rainbow said, in what had to be the least calm tone she could muster.

“I’m super calm!” Pinkie said cheerfully, as if nothing was amiss.

“Uh, Fluttershy?” Big Mac asked tentatively. “Are these friends of yours?”

Fluttershy sighed. “Pinkie, could I get up please?”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie finally yielded, allowing Fluttershy to stand up and survey the situation. The table had been turned over, Aspen was furious, Blackthorne and Rainbow stood in defensive stances with their eyes locked on one another, Pinkie was smiling as she looked around at everyone, and Big Mac just seemed confused.

“Yes, these are friends of mine,” Fluttershy answered.

Aspen looked between Fluttershy and the griffons. “Well, I’ve had enough of this. I’ve given my answer and it’s not changing, no matter how many birds you bring in to destroy my home.”

No one moved as he walked away. He stopped at the door and spoke, but he didn’t look back. “I do hope you both know that I am not without my sympathies. Applejack is an upstanding doe, and I’ll be hoping for her safe return.”

Fluttershy likewise didn’t turn towards him as she answered. “I don’t need your sympathies.”

Without anything further, Aspen walked into the palace, closing the door behind him.

Pinkie cupped her talons around her beak and called after him, “We’re griffons!”

Although she probably would have laughed normally, Fluttershy couldn’t find it in her. She sighed and sat back down.

“We’ll get Applejack back, with or without his help,” Big Mac said, taking a seat beside her.

“Yeah!” Rainbow added. “So when do we leave for White Tail Woods?”

Fluttershy looked at her. “What? But you’re not –”

“Oh, we definitely are,” Rainbow said with a cocky grin. “How could we not come with you? This sounds totally awesome!”

“Uh huh!” Pinkie sat on Fluttershy’s other side and patted her on the back. “Besides, Rainbow doesn’t want to admit it, but we’re both really worried about Applejack too.”

“Pinkie! You said you wouldn’t tell her that…”

Fluttershy smiled. “Thank you. Both of you.”

“Between the four of us, we’ll have AJ back in no time,” Big Mac said.

Fluttershy turned to see him wearing a confident grin, but she found that her own smile fell away. “I’m sorry, Big Mac, but I need to ask you to stay here.”

“What? But you came here looking for help. There’s no way I’m not gonna help you find my sister!”

“I know you want to come, but…” Fluttershy patted him on the back with one of her wings. “You can’t fly. Even if I get you to White Tail Woods, it would slow us down.”

“But I –”

“She’s right, Macintosh,” Blackthorne added. Fluttershy had expected him to leave with Aspen, but he had remained in place. He was eyeing Pinkie and Rainbow suspiciously, but he no longer looked ready to fight. “If it can’t be done with a full search party, then it would be better left to the three of them. A small group of flyers will be much faster if left to themselves.”

Big Mac scowled. “So I just sit here and do nothing while my sister’s off in White Tail Woods with who knows what else out there?”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said. “I know you want to help, but…”

“And you will help,” Blackthorne added. “You and I are going to find volunteers to search Everfree in case we’re wrong about where Applejack is. And if Fluttershy realizes that she needs someone else for something, then she’ll know exactly who to come back and get.”

Big Mac sighed. “It doesn’t feel like enough.”

“It’s not,” Blackthorne agreed. “But it is what we are able to do.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said to Blackthorne. Turning to Big Mac, she added, “And I’ll be sure to find you if I need anything at all. I’ll bring Applejack back.”

“We’ll bring her back!” Rainbow corrected. “Just you wait, the three of us are gonna be an unstoppable team.” Pinkie nodded her agreement.

Fluttershy smiled at her friends. She barely knew Pinkie and Rainbow, and here they were, already willing to risk everything for her sake. She got the feeling that Rainbow was right about them being a great team.

“Fluttershy, one more thing,” Blackthorne said as she stood up. “The three of you could never find a single deer in all of White Tail Woods, but you won’t have to. If you’re right and Applejack went there, she went there for one reason only: Sungrove. All deer know the way home. Find Sungrove, and you’ll find Applejack.”

Fluttershy nodded. She walked over to the edge of the balcony and looked out at Thicket one last time.

Pinkie placed her talons on the balcony on Fluttershy’s right, while Rainbow jumped onto it completely on her left. “Right, so which direction is White Tail Woods?”

Fluttershy smirked and raised her paw. “Oh, we’re not flying there.”

With a snap, everything disappeared.

5 – Forgotten

Chapter Five
Forgotten
⠀

⠀

At least nothing ate them while they were asleep. That had been half of what kept Applejack tossing and turning through the night, despite how pleasantly soft the bedding she had made for them was.

But if that had been half of the reason, the other half was simply the many things she had on her mind. If she wasn’t debating if she was doing the right thing by being in White Tail Woods, she was wondering what Fluttershy was up to. None of the answers she came up with gave her any comfort.

The morning light came as a relief. Although she was often up before the sun, she had decided to wait until it was fairly light out before getting up. The last thing she wanted to do was risk getting caught by something in the dark when sunrise was around the corner anyway. But morning came with nothing more fierce than Discord’s constant snoring, so she set to looking around for breakfast.

It wasn’t long before she had found something sufficient. The woods were plentiful with plants, berries, and nuts that she recognized as edible. It was nice to know that if she could avoid becoming food, she could find some food of her own easily enough.

Rather than eating anything as she found it, she tucked everything away in her pack and brought it back to where they had made their impromptu camp. Discord was still snoring, so she nudged him. “Rise and shine, you old coot.”

He awoke with a start, looking around wildly. His eyes eventually settled on Applejack, and he fixed her with a silent glare.

It seemed that he actually liked mornings less than he liked everything else. “Good morning to you, too.”

Discord’s answer was a grunt, which he followed up by rolling over and resting his head again.

“Nope! We’ve got a busy day ahead of us, and I’m not spending it sitting around here. So let’s get up and get some food in us, then we can go find Sungrove.”

Discord just grunted again.

Applejack sighed. She had tried to be nice about it, but if he wasn’t going to cooperate, then she had no other choice. She tapped the barrel on her neck and poured some elixir on the ground. Closing her eyes, she willed the grass around her hooves to return to the way it had been before she had caused its sudden growth. A gentle rustling sensation around her hooves told her that it had obliged.

At first, she thought Discord had slept through the whole thing. When she opened her eyes, he was lying on the hard ground in the same position. She was about to take more drastic measures when he finally sighed. “That was uncalled for.”

Applejack smirked. “Well, you could’ve gotten up when I first tried waking you.”

With yet another sigh, Discord finally rose to a sitting position. He didn’t bother to move much aside from that, however.

After the night before, Applejack was no longer willing to leave her companion if he slowed her down. He had saved her life, and not just from the spiders. Although she hadn’t recognized the danger at the time, she had nearly walked into a plant that could eat her alive. Even if most of the woods were relatively safe, Discord could identify the things that weren’t, and he was resourceful if they got into another tight spot.

But even with that in mind, she wasn’t keen on waiting for him. While Discord stared off into space, Applejack began eating. A real home-made meal sounded amazing, but she didn’t have the time or resources to make anything like that, so she just stuck to eating the foods she found raw.

Once Discord noticed she was eating, she slid the bag over to him. Without a word, he rifled through it to find something for himself. Applejack had no idea what kind of foods ponies ate, but she was sure she could find something else if nothing she had was suitable.

It seemed something was, at least. But rather than pulling out any of the foods she’d collected that morning, he chose one of the apples she had brought from her family’s orchard.

“Uh, fair warning, those are a little sour.”

“Of course they are.” Discord took a bite then continued to talk as he chewed. “They’re crabapples.”

Applejack smiled, and they finished eating in silence. She doubted either of them were completely satisfied with the meal, but it would be sufficient to give them the energy to start their day.

“I don’t suppose you had some sort of magic-induced dream telling you where Sungrove is?” Discord asked while they finished eating.

“No, but we gotta be getting close by now,” Applejack said, more to try and appease her own worries than because she believed it.

Discord stroked his beard as he thought for a moment. When he spoke, he also seemed to be doing it for his own benefit. “Although a small handful of ponies claim to have been to the ruins of Sungrove, nopony seems to know its exact location, so it must be deep in the woods. White Tail Woods isn’t quite so large as the Everfree Forest, so I’d speculate somewhere near the center; surely, the outer regions are too well explored for anything to be hidden away there. At a normal walking speed, and factoring in time for breaks, I would assume it would take… six days to walk through the woods.”

“Six days!?” Applejack grimaced. That was far more time than she had been prepared to dedicate to this trip.

“Yes, but if it’s near the center, then we could reasonably expect to cut the time in half – provided you’re taking us there in a direct path, of course.”

“That’s still three days.” Applejack shook her head. “And then there’s the return trip to think about… Maybe we should just turn back.”

Discord gave her a horrified expression. “You’re… you’re joking, right?” He didn’t wait for an answer before continuing to lambast her. “We could have died, in case you didn’t notice! And now you just want to turn around!? I’m not prepared to have risked my life for a day stroll through the woods!”

“Yeah, but…” Applejack turned to look back, away from the direction the woods were trying to guide her towards. “Fluttershy’s coming back to Everfree today… If we don’t find it soon, then there’s no point. I… I don’t even know if I can make the return trip in time as is.”

“We’re more than half a day into the wood already, so –”

“I know that!” Applejack’s abrupt outburst caused a bird above them to fly away. “I know that this whole thing was a bad idea! I didn’t think it through, and it probably won’t do any good anyways! I just…” The weight of everything slouched her shoulders and pulled her head down. “I’m just a stupid deer who got an idea bigger than herself and ran off without thinking…”

Discord was silent. Applejack suspected her outburst was too emotional for him. She sighed and turned towards him. “Look, I’m real sorry I got you caught up in this. I never meant –”

“If we’re going to have any shot at getting there today, we’d better get a move on.”

Although Discord stood up, Applejack remained where she was. “You said that it was impossible.”

“I said no such thing.” Discord frowned at her, as if he was offended that she would interpret his words that way. “I gave a speculation. And while it is a good speculation, it was by no means anything definitive. And…” Discord looked away from her. “I, er, may not have had all the knowledge I’d need to really give a good answer. My skills with magic are second to none, and my knowledge of biology and botany place me near the top of those fields. But I find certain facts to be less useful than others and… I may have just been guessing at the size of White Tail Woods. Who knows? It may be much smaller than I thought.”

Applejack got up as well, albeit a bit reluctantly. “So we could actually get there today?”

“Anything’s possible.” Discord’s ear twitched and he frowned. “And even if I guessed the size right, I’m not exactly as good at on-the-fly calculations as a certain colleague of mine…”

It was clear that admitting he could be wrong about something did not come easily to Discord, but it really did a lot to lift Applejack’s spirits. Her plan may still be pointless and poorly thought out, but it seemed she might at least be able to see it through for whatever it was worth.

“Come on,” she said, picking up the bag and leading the way. “It’s this direction.”

Discord followed along beside her. “Don’t suppose you could ask the woods if it knows a shortcut?”

The walk was at least more pleasant than it had been the day before. Applejack was unsure whether that was more so because of Discord or herself. Sure, Discord was still an irritable grouch, but Applejack just didn’t seem to mind anymore. It was hard to say if that was because he had improved in some small way, or if Applejack was just more willing to accept him for what he was.

Even their conversation shifted. Previously, he had been the one to ask most of the questions, while Applejack had mostly tried to keep things as minimal as possible. But now, she was asking about his life just as much as he was about hers, and she was finding it much more interesting than she thought.

He lived in Canterlot, which was the pony capital city. He had already told her that he was a professor at a school for magic, but she learned it was the school for magic. Ponies travelled from all over Equestria to study there, and its resources were top of the line.

In addition to teaching, Discord worked alongside Princess Celestia as a royal researcher. That’s what brought him to White Tail Woods; he had been planning on conducting some sort of study before a much more interesting opportunity quite literally came bounding toward him.

And despite her initial hesitation, Applejack was glad she did. It wasn’t just that he had proved himself useful, although he certainly had. She genuinely began to enjoy his company. It wasn’t long before she started reconsidering her stance on showing him around Everfree.

And, of course, it was nice to not be left alone with her thoughts. Whenever they would hit a lull in the conversation, she wound up back to the same thoughts. Thoughts of Fluttershy, and if she was finding the outside world as exciting as she had hoped. Thoughts of her family, and the hope that they hadn’t noticed her absence. Thoughts of herself, and that she still didn’t know what she was doing.

But there was something else as well. Not so much a thought as a feeling. It started as a small thing, but then it grew. It was difficult to place, and Applejack knew she wouldn’t be able to describe it. It didn’t matter; it felt like something she dare not put into words.

She did her best to not think about it. She’d turn the conversation elsewhere, never letting it die for long. She even took to telling Discord about her family without his asking, just to have something to talk about.

Still, as they walked, the feeling ate at her. It grew to the point where conversation stopped drowning it out, and she began to realize something that scared her. The feeling wasn’t bad, exactly. No, it wasn’t just that it wasn’t bad, it was a good feeling. Not a pleasant one, not by any means. But it was right, and it was just. And yet, it hurt. And the more they walked, the more it hurt. It was a good feeling magnified until it was terrible.

Applejack was so caught up with it that she hadn’t noticed the conversation stopped until Discord finally spoke. Once he did, she knew that they hadn’t said a word in a long time. “We’re close, aren’t we?” There were none of his usual mannerisms in his tone. None of his playfulness, none of his irritation, scarcely any emotion at all. His voice was solemn, and it was hesitant.

And when Applejack answered, she found her voice sounded the same. “Yeah. Yeah, we are. You can feel it too?”

Discord hesitated a moment, then answered slowly. “Magic is often misunderstood. Or to be more apt, it is often not understood at all. Indeed, we have never been able to figure out where it comes from, or why it concentrates. We sometimes label it good or bad, light or dark, but this is not exactly accurate. Magic is neither good nor bad, magic simply is.” Although he spoke like it was neutral, he narrowed his eyes and his tone grew darker as he finished. “And here, we’re being overwhelmed by it.”

More silence, and Applejack realized it was not just the two of them. The whole woods were silent here. There were no animals in the treetops or on the ground. There were no birds flying above them or calling in the distance. The wind itself seemed to know better than to intrude in this place.

“Applejack,” Discord said quietly. “Why did the deer leave White Tail Woods?”

That was a question Applejack wished he wouldn’t have asked. “Something terrible happened. I wasn’t born yet, but my parents were there. They told me that something we call the Shadow came from the sky. It was terrible and it was big enough that it could block out the sun. It came, and it killed, and it destroyed everything in its path.”

“And what happened to it? Was it stopped? Did anyone ever witness it leave the woods?”

Applejack shook her head. “I… No one really knows. Our queen stood against it and stopped it from pursuing us, but she was never seen again.”

Discord closed his eyes for a moment. “So then the last place it was seen was…”

Applejack stopped in her tracks as she realized what was before them. “Sungrove.”

There was no mistaking it. Applejack had never seen Sungrove, but even in its current state, she would never have thought she was looking at anything else. The forest still had not completely reclaimed the land, with trees remaining in the same places that she was sure they must have been for eight hundred years.

There were still houses supported by massive tree trunks, although most of them were falling apart. Bridges between houses had partially collapsed, leaving them hanging to the ground. Lights lay scattered about, with no deer magic to power them any longer. What must have once been a well-worn path through the city was barely recognizable with the underbrush. The city had changed, and yet it remained, frozen in place by something greater than itself.

And all at once, Applejack knew that her feeling was not the same as Discord’s. It was nothing as simple as an overabundance of magic, although she didn’t doubt that was true as well. It was something he could never feel, and it did not come from inside Applejack.

It came from around her. It came from the trees, and it came from the grass. It came from Sungrove, and it came from the woods. It was all of the longing and all of the joy from this place.

It had been so lonely, but now she had returned.

It was welcoming her back to her home.

And it did not want her to leave.

They stood in silence for a while, taking in the ruins of the once-great city. It was Discord who eventually made the first move. “Well, nothing’s going to happen if we just stand around here.”

He resumed walking, making his way into the city, but Applejack hesitated. The feeling coming from Sungrove was overwhelming, and it terrified her. There was no telling what they could expect, and she was prepared to leave without finding out.

But then she thought of Fluttershy. Honestly? She knew that this expedition probably wouldn’t change anything between them. But if Applejack stopped here, if she wouldn’t even make the attempt to do anything she could to hold onto her, then she didn’t deserve to have someone so wonderful in the first place.

Slowly, she let her hooves follow after Discord, into the ruins of Sungrove. They remained on the ground; none of the buildings they passed looked like they would support their weight. Everything was either destroyed by the Shadow or by the passage of time. They walked aimlessly, each of them keeping their thoughts to themselves.

It was hard to see Sungrove in the state it was in. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see it as it once was. A noble city, equal to Thicket in every way, with hundreds of deer making their lives within it. Over here, a farmer was talking with a customer. Over there, a family was teaching their youngest fawn not to stray too far from the city.

But when she opened her eyes, it was all gone. And while most of the deer survived and made a new home for themselves, the woods had been left abandoned. There was just Applejack. Only one deer in eight hundred years.

“Did you have a goal in mind upon reaching the city?” Discord asked, shaking Applejack from her thoughts.

Applejack took a deep breath. While Sungrove was part of her history, it was not the reason she was here. “When Queen Hawthorn stood against the Shadow, she did it with a relic called the Emblem of Anqa. That’s what I’m looking for.”

“And since the queen was alone when she died, there’s no way to tell where it could be.”

Applejack nodded. “She never left Sungrove, as far as anyone knows. But I don’t know where in the city she could have been.”

Discord looked around them, taking in the scope of the city. They couldn’t see its entirety. “This could take a while. I suppose the best we can hope for is to find the remnants of some grand battle. Although considering the state of everything, I’m not convinced we’d recognize it.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of too…”

But without any other lead to go on, they searched. It wasn’t long until they could only see Sungrove in all directions, with no sign of the rest of the woods outside. Still, they searched. Sometimes it felt like they were back at places they had already been, but then they’d always find something they hadn’t seen before, and the search would continue.

As they searched, Applejack explained what the different buildings would have been used for. From the houses to the workshops to the store rooms, the style of the city was remarkably similar to Thicket. It was clear the deer resisted change, even after so many years.

Among all of the other buildings, one stood out. It stood taller than any other, and even damaged as it was, it was clearly the most elaborate.

“Let me guess,” Discord said as they saw it in the distance. “That’s where the queen would have lived?”

“Yeah, that’ll be the royal palace.” Perhaps as a testament to its expert design, it was only half ruined. From the ground, it seemed that time had barely touched it, as the half that was missing had clearly been torn off.

“I see.” Discord considered the building carefully. “And more useful for us, it’s easily the highest point in the area. From up there, we’d be able to see all of Sungrove.”

That made sense, but Applejack wasn’t sure that would be a good thing. “I’m not sure we can get all the way up there. Not to mention we don’t know how sturdy it is.”

For perhaps the first time since they had arrived, Discord showed a sly grin. “Why, Applejack my deer, it’s as if you’ve forgotten whom you’re travelling with. I’m certain I’ll be able to get us out of any trouble we find ourselves in.”

Even though Applejack had seen his magic firsthoof, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to so willingly trust it with her life. But she also knew searching on the ground wasn’t getting them anywhere. “I suppose we would get a bird’s eye view up there. If there are any signs of that battle, we’d see them for sure.”

“Too right you are.”

With a destination in mind, they kept a steady pace as they approached the palace. Discord eyed the spiral ramp that led up the massive tree with skepticism, but Applejack simply started walking up it. At least it felt solid while they were still near the ground.

“Would it be too much to ask for side rails?” Discord asked as he eyed the open side nervously.

“It’s wide enough,” Applejack answered. “Just stick close to the tree if you’re nervous, and don’t do anything stupid near the edge.”

“My deer, if you thought I’d do anything else, then you’re more foolish than I had thought.”

Applejack looked back and laughed. Discord had his body pressed firmly against the tree as he walked, even though the platform was wide enough to fit three deer side by side. “I take it you don’t care for heights?”

“I just don’t see the utility of living in the trees,” Discord said, ignoring the question completely. “You make it so easy to access your homes, so it’s hardly protecting you from anything.”

“It’s not about protection, although it would be a challenge for a full-grown timberwolf or something to get up one of these ramps.” Applejack frowned, unsure of how to explain. “I guess the main thing is that the trees were already here. You’d have a tough time finding a clearing large enough for a whole city this deep in the woods.”

“Then you could make one. I think the woods would do just fine with a few less trees.”

Applejack knew he wasn’t going to understand. “That’s not our way. Deer aren’t above the forest, we’re part of it. We take care of it, and in turn, it provides for us. It’s about living in harmony.”

“Harmony…” For some reason, Discord seemed amused by the word. “To each their own I suppose.”

At least the ramp was mostly complete. Discord resolved the issue of the few gaps in it by teleporting them across with his magic. Applejack hated the sensation, but unless they suddenly found themselves able to fly, there wasn’t anything that could be done about it.

It took them to the top well enough, and they cautiously walked into the entry hall. Nothing they had seen outside had prepared Applejack for what they found.

“My word,” Discord said as he walked in. “This is nothing short of remarkable.”

While the entire city seemed to have been affected less by eight hundred years than one would have expected, the inside of the palace seemed to have been abandoned only recently. If it were not for the heavy layer of leaves, dirt, and other debris that had blown in from the tree, Applejack would have sworn that someone had to be maintaining it. Where it was not broken, the wood was still sturdy and retained its coloration, as if the elements had not touched it at all. There were tapestries hanging that were only slightly dirty, and not at all faded. Although the opening caused by the damage should have allowed rain in, providing the perfect environment for mold and mushrooms to grow, there was nothing of the sort.

Discord tentatively knocked on the floor, before outright stomping on it. “This is as sturdy as the day it was built. I’m officially impressed now. You deer must know something we ponies don’t when it comes to building things to last.”

Applejack walked to the center of the room. “This shouldn’t be possible. Everything here is older than I am, and none of it was cared for.”

“How long do deer live for?” Discord asked.

Applejack immediately knew why he was curious. It was the same thought that was on her own mind. “It’s not common, but we can live to nearly two thousand years. You don’t think…?”

Discord looked around, then spoke loudly. “Er, would there happen to be anyone home, by chance?”

It was possible, if very unlikely. No one knew what had happened to Queen Hawthorn after everyone else left, as her orders had been very specific. Everyone was to get to safety and assume the worst for her. But what if she had survived the fight? What if she had survived, but then had never left Sungrove?

“Queen Hawthorn?” Applejack called nervously. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what could have become of someone left alone for so long.

There was no answer. They stood quietly in the entry room, and Applejack knew they were both afraid to explore further. But for all the time they waited, there was still no answer.

“Hmph.” Discord eventually grew tired of waiting and approached a door. He did not immediately go through it, however. “Even if she could have survived the years, I would be correct to assume she’d require food and water, like anyone else, yes?”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Applejack approached the door beside him. “And we had to teleport across gaps on the way up here, so we know that a deer couldn’t get up or down on their own.”

“Exactly, so unless she had someone bringing her supplies, there’s no way some half-crazed deer is lurking in one of these rooms.”

“Definitely not. And since the deer stopped associating with other species around two hundred years before we left Sungrove, I don’t think she had any pegasus or griffon friends that could’ve done something like that for her.”

“And even if she did, they’d be long dead since they don’t live as long. Plus she would’ve sent them for help, of course. So we have nothing to worry about.”

“Yup,” Applejack said. “Nothing at all.”

They still stood staring at the door, neither one wanting to be the first to open it.

“Well, we came up here to get a better view, and we got that on the ramp up,” Discord said.

“Yeah, you’re right! And I didn’t see anything, so we might as well just go back down now.”

“Indeed.” Still, neither of them moved. “Back to wandering the city aimlessly, even though it will be dark soon…”

“Yeah…”

Discord looked back to the door. “Oh, we’re being ridiculous! There is nothing here!” His horn lit up and the door in front of them swung open, revealing nothing at all. “We’re here now. It wouldn’t hurt to have a look around, and, let’s be honest, we’re staying in Sungrove tonight.”

Applejack couldn’t dispute that. Light faded early among the woods, and the houses of Sungrove would give them shelter. As much as she had wanted to be back in Everfree by nightfall, there was no hope for that. “You’ve got a point.”

“Since nothing could possibly climb up here with the broken ramp, and given that this place is in immaculate condition, this is clearly the best place for us to stay.”

Again, he had a point. Applejack sighed. “Well then, I guess we should explore the place if we’re gonna be sleeping here…”

Just as it had looked from the outside, the first room they came to was empty of everything except decoration. The same was true for every room. Although everything that wasn’t lost in the attack seemed to be in almost perfect shape, there was also no sign that any of it was still in use. In fact, the thick layer of dust covering everything suggested that their fears had been just as groundless as they rationalized them to be.

“No staircase,” Applejack observed once they had explored everywhere they could reach. “Must have been in one of the rooms that didn’t make it.”

“I suppose we could just call it a day,” Discord said, although he didn’t seem too pleased with that idea.

“Think you could teleport us to the next floor?” By this point, Applejack’s fears had subsided, but she still wanted everything checked over.

“Without knowing what’s at our destination? That’d be a fine way to teleport directly into a bookshelf. Having your insides rematerialize around a solid object is a very messy way to go.”

“Point taken.” Applejack had a better idea. She looked around for a moment, then gestured to a hole in the ceiling. “You can levitate stuff, right? Think you could get me through that hole?”

Discord examined it for a moment. “Should be easy enough. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

A red aura surrounded her, and she floated into the air. Applejack hated flying, even with Fluttershy, but it was only a short distance. And for his part, Discord was gentle enough. He carried her at a comfortable speed, slowing down slightly when he reached the hole to better maneuver her through it.

Although she knew he could get her through just fine, as soon as her forelegs were through the hole, Applejack set her front hooves down and pulled herself up the rest of the way. She took a moment to calm her nerves from the flight, then took a look around the room and screamed.

“Applejack!? What’s wrong!?”

Applejack found herself staring at another deer, who was lying motionless on a bed. She was a doe, whose fur was white and cream-colored. Although Applejack had never seen her before, there was no doubt who it was. Her son had inherited her looks, after all.

“Applejack? Dammit, I’m coming up there!”

After a few more moments of ragged breathing, Applejack calmed her nerves enough to try speaking. “Queen Hawthorn?”

The other doe remained still, and Applejack knew she wasn’t sleeping. Like everything else, she looked as if the passing years hadn’t been so much as a day, but there was no doubt that she had long since passed away.

Applejack almost didn’t notice the sounds of Discord below her as he fumbled with something. It became much harder to ignore once he himself was climbing through the hole, however. His horn was lit as he climbed through, but it went out once he was firmly on the second story. Something fell to the floor below, but he ignored the crash.

“What is it? Are you okay? Is there – oh.” Discord noticed the doe on the bed. Neither Applejack nor Discord spoke for a moment as he took in the sight.

Without a word, he walked over to her. “What are you doing?” Applejack asked.

Rather than answer, Discord placed a hoof against her neck. “There’s no pulse.” He removed his hoof. “Granted, that was pretty obvious considering all the noise we’ve made.”

Applejack took a step closer, then another. “She looks like she was alive only yesterday.”

Discord gently moved one of her forelegs and shook his head. “That is not entirely accurate, I’m afraid. There is no rigor mortis, nor any signs of bloating. She looks like she was alive earlier today.”

Applejack’s mouth fell open. “There’s no way… You’re telling me that she was up here alive the whole time we were coming here?”

“Doubtful, but to be sure…” Discord placed his foreleg along her torso for a moment, then removed it. “She’s cold. Her blood has not been flowing in some time. After death, the body stiffens during rigor mortis. This starts before the body goes cold, but it’s only a temporary state. However, by the time that passes, the bloating should have started, with even less pleasant stages of decomposition after that. I can only speculate, but I do believe she’s been dead a long time, with whatever is preserving this place keeping her from decomposing.”

Although she found it a little unsettling how casually Discord could talk about that given the circumstances, his scientific view helped ground Applejack into reality. If nothing else, it helped ease the feeling that Queen Hawthorn was going to rise at any moment.

“This has something to do with that magic you were talking about when we got here, doesn’t it?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, of that I have no doubt. Although I won’t claim to have any idea as to the exact nature of what we’re seeing. Insofar as I’m aware, no one has ever seen anything quite like this.”

Applejack couldn’t keep staring at her, so she turned her attention elsewhere. She found her interest in exploring the rest of the palace had left her completely, so she almost just jumped back down to the floor below, but something caught her eye.

A golden necklace sat on a bedside table. Applejack wasn’t quite sure, but she thought it seemed to glow slightly. It was subtle, though; perhaps it was just the way the setting sun was reflecting off it. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the light coming in through the windows had nothing to do with the way the necklace shined. As if that wasn’t enough, it also seemed to have a subtle tug on Applejack, compelling her to take a closer look.

Approaching it to get a better look, Applejack saw that it was a short length, with a wind-like design engraved onto the band. In the center, there was a pendant in the shape of a bird, with each of its wings connecting to the band. She had never seen the necklace, but she recognized the pendant.

“Hey, Discord?” Applejack turned to find him still studying the queen. “Is there any chance this is where all that magic is coming from?”

Discord crossed the room to take a look at the necklace. He examined it by sight, then held his horn against it. The necklace and his horn both glowed for a moment, then he stepped away. “No, this seems to be an ordinary necklace. Why do you ask?”

Applejack looked at it again, and couldn’t help but think he was wrong. There was more to it, she could feel it. “This is what I came for. It’s the Emblem of Anqa.”

“Really? You’re certain?” Discord looked it over once more, but seemed to find nothing new of note about it.

Applejack pointed to the bird. “I didn’t even know it was a necklace, but that symbol there. That’s the emblem.”

Discord stroked his beard. “So I see. But could it be possible that there’s something else with the same emblem?”

Applejack reached out and touched the necklace. It sent shivers through her body. “I’m positive. This is it.”

Discord considered it for a moment more, then smiled. “Well in that case, why not try it on?”

“What?” Applejack’s head wheeled around to face him. “I’m not just gonna wear it!”

“Why not?” Discord jerked his head toward Queen Hawthorn. “She won’t mind, I assure you.”

Applejack frowned. She had come to find the emblem, but not to take it for herself. “I’m getting out of here. Staying up here’s giving me the creeps.” She picked up the necklace with her mouth as carefully as she could and tucked it away in her pack. Once she was satisfied with its safety, she walked across the room and jumped back down the hole.

There was a chair lying sideways on the ground, and after just a moment, a red aura surrounded it. It floated to the ceiling, where Discord climbed onto it, then it floated him back down. He grinned as he dismounted. “I must say, I do prefer livelier company.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and walked over to a window. The sun was already setting, which meant that it would certainly be dark once they were below the trees. “So what are we gonna do for the night?”

“I’m not going down that ramp in the dark,” Discord said, causing Applejack to smirk. “While we still have a little light, we should find a room with no holes that we might roll into in our sleep, and then make ourselves as comfortable as we can.”

“Suppose that’s a fair plan. I think I remember a good one over here.”

“Don’t suppose your plant trick will work again tonight?”

Applejack laughed. “Afraid not.”

Deep, labored breaths fill my lungs. It pulls me out of the slow, steady breathing of a deep sleep. It is not often I am called to rise.

When was the last time? I can not recall. Time muddles together, lost in the haze of semi-consciousness. It is not often I am called to rise, and so, I rise slowly.

How many are there? Four. There are four of them. Too often it is forgotten that these are my woods. It does not matter. I will remind them, and they will never forget.

Three are foreign. They knew not what they do. But it does not matter, for I will find them, and they will learn these are my woods.

The last of the four is familiar. But at the same time, she is different. She is not from these woods, but at the same time, she is. Ah. Another of them. Are you lost, little doe?

It is too often your kind forgets. I have reminded them before.

Oh? I was mistaken. There is a fifth. Why had I not noticed you sooner, little one? I see, that is why. You are another Heart. Very peculiar. But you have strayed from your lands. These are mine, and even you will be made to remember that.

It is not often I am called to rise, and so, I rise slowly.

But still, I rise.

6 – Two Hearts

Chapter Six
Two Hearts
⠀

⠀

“Applejack,” Discord said in a harsh whisper.

Applejack didn’t want to rise. It is not often that… something. She couldn’t remember what her dream had been now, but there was something about rising in it.

“Get up, dammit.” Discord was nudging her, however, and she awoke with a start.

It felt like there was something in her head that snapped when she woke up, and it left her dazed. But it was short-lived, as Discord was shaking her to get her attention.

“What is it?” she asked. The urgent tone of his voice suddenly dawned on her, and she became acutely aware of her surroundings. She dropped her tone to match Discord’s whisper. “Is something wrong?”

“There’s something here, in the other room.”

Images of Queen Hawthorn danced through her mind, and how she had looked like she could wake up at any moment. “Something like what?”

“I don’t know, but I heard something creeping around.” Discord’s ear twitched. “Listen.”

Applejack did listen, and, to her horror, she heard it as well. It sounded like something was moving around just on the other side of the door, and it was moving closer. There was some brief relief at the realization that it was not the sound of hooves on wood, but that still left her bewildered at what it could be.

“Get your bag,” Discord instructed. “There’s no telling what might happen, and we may be making a quick escape.”

As quietly as she could, Applejack collected her bag. She peeked inside quickly to confirm she still had the Emblem of Anqa safely tucked away, then slid the strap around her shoulder.

It sounded like whatever was in the other room was right at the door. Discord’s horn lit up. Applejack adopted a defensive stance. The doorknob turned, then the door opened.

It was too dark to see what they were looking at, but it saw them. It saw them, and it pounced. Discord reacted first, firing off a shot of magic that knocked it to the ground.

Applejack took her turn to spring while it was down. She leaped forward and reared back. But before she could bring her hooves down, a second form came bolting through the doorway and landed on top of her, pinning her against the ground.

“Dashie, wait!”

‘Dashie?’

Applejack saw Discord’s horn light up again and her eyes went wide. “Discord, stop!”

“Applejack?” the figure on top of her said, voice full of confusion.

The light left Discord’s horn and floated into the air. It grew in intensity until it lit the room. Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had to shield their eyes from the unexpected light.

“Does someone want to tell me what’s going on here?” Discord asked.

Before answering, Rainbow got off of Applejack and helped her up. “We came looking for Applejack.”

“Yeah, you have Fluttershy worried sick,” Pinkie added.

Applejack winced. “Is she here too?”

“She’s in Sungrove,” Rainbow answered, “but she said something about needing to check something, then she disappeared on us!”

“She sounded really worried about whatever it was,” Pinkie said.

“Oh geez, I really did it now…” Applejack hadn’t expected Fluttershy to come looking for her. She had been so preoccupied with finding the emblem and getting back by the time Fluttershy returned that she hadn’t even considered leaving an alibi of any sort.

“So we have our daring rescue mission,” Discord said with a grin. “Which, I might add, we were quite alright without. I took very good care of your little deer friend.”

“So who are you?” Rainbow asked.

“The name’s Discord.”

“I met him on the way into the woods, and we’ve been travelling together,” Applejack explained, if only to stop him from rambling on about himself. “Turned out to be a pretty good idea. Not sure I would’ve made it here alone.”

Discord lapped up the praise like it was life-sustaining. “Yes, well… That is true.”

“So how’d you find us anyway?” Applejack asked.

“Fluttershy teleported us most of the way,” Pinkie explained. “But she didn’t know exactly where Sungrove is, so we had to look around for a while.”

“I found it,” Rainbow said proudly. “It was easy for someone like me. I zoomed over the trees and noticed some that looked a lot like the ones in the other deer city.”

Pinkie lit up at Rainbow, which only seemed to encourage her more. “Dashie’s so cool! Everything was just a blur at that speed, but she was still able to see it no problem!”

Discord seemed to only care about a different detail, however. “You teleported from where, exactly?”

“The other deer city,” Rainbow said, clearly irritated at not being the center of attention. “Thimble.”

“Thicket,” Applejack corrected.

“Yeah, that.” Rainbow resumed her cocky pose. “So like I was saying, I –”

“Yes yes, you’re part perigee falcon,” Discord said dismissively. “But you’re saying that without even knowing where she was bringing you exactly, she was able to teleport all three of you all the way from the Everfree Forest to White Tail Woods?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow said with a shrug.

“You’re lying,” Discord said flatly. “I’d doubt that even Princess Celestia herself would be able to do something like that.”

“But Fluttershy can do all kinds of things,” Pinkie said.

“Yeah, I don’t think you’ve seen anything quite like her,” Applejack added.

Discord looked between the two of them, and seemed to still be skeptical. “I’d like very much to meet this Fluttershy.”

“I can arrange that!” Rainbow walked over to a window and flung it open. “I’ll find her real quick then be back before you know it!”

Rainbow leaped out of the window and flew into the night air. Applejack remembered how she had wanted to come on this exact journey, and she thought about how much easier it could’ve been. But even so, Applejack had done it without them. She had set out to find the Emblem of Anqa, and she had succeeded.

“So then, was it the same idea as us that brought you to this building?” Discord asked. “Get to the highest place for a lookout?”

“Yupperoni,” Pinkie said. “Fluttershy said we should pick someplace we could regroup easily, then Dashie saw this big treehouse. Then we were checking the place out when we ran into you!”

“Wonder what could’ve gotten her so worked up…” Applejack said, more to herself than the others.

All the same, Pinkie answered. “She said that she felt like there was something big here, and that she was afraid of what it could be. But I think she’s just worried about you, and I’m sure she’ll be just fine once she knows you’re safe!”

A gust of wind blew in from the window Rainbow had left open. Applejack and Discord looked at each other, and they clearly had the same thought. Something felt wrong.

Both of them sprung up and ran to the window. It was too dark outside to see much of anything, but the wind had picked up to an incredible speed.

“What are you looking at?” Pinkie asked innocently. “Do you see them?”

“You don’t feel that?” Applejack asked.

“No, she wouldn’t,” Discord answered for her. “I can because of my training, and you can because it’s coming from the woods, or from something connected to it.”

“But you don’t know what it is?” Applejack asked.

Discord shook his head. “No. But I’m afraid that we’re going to know very soon.”

There was another gust of wind, this time strong enough to blow open all the windows that were not locked shut. Even Pinkie was starting to worry. “Uh, maybe I should check on Rainbow…”

“Now hold on –”

Before Applejack could finish, a third gust of wind broke whatever windows weren’t open. Pinkie ran to one of the open windows.

“Wait!” Discord stopped her with his magic before she could leave. “Getting any more separated is the last thing we want.”

“I can’t just leave her out there!”

Discord took another look outside. “Okay, we need a plan, but we’ll need more information to make one. Go out there, but be careful. Your curled feathers aren’t suited for these harsh winds, and we can’t risk losing you. Once you see what’s going on, come back here and tell us. We’ll figure it out from there. Don’t do something stupid, no matter what you see.”

Pinkie jerked her head around in panicky movements, but she quickly nodded. “Okay. I can do it.”

“Good.” Discord let go of her. “And remember –”

“I’m coming, Rainbow!” Pinkie leaped out of the window before anyone could do anything.

Applejack could only watch as the wind whipped Pinkie back, but she soon righted herself. She had to fly with all her might to oppose the harsh wind, but she slowly made her way back.

“Dammit… Why do I have to do everything…” Discord lit up his horn again, and a translucent red wall appeared in front of Pinkie. Without the wind resistance, she suddenly shot forward, barely coming to a stop before she hit it. She pointed to her left, and Discord moved it accordingly.

Pinkie’s beak fell open and she stopped moving forward. As she hovered in place, Rainbow flew behind the barrier as well, and Discord began to move it back towards the palace.

It felt like it took ages for them to get back, with Applejack feeling useless the whole time. And where was Fluttershy? Had Rainbow not found her, or…

The barrier broke, and Discord collapsed in exhaustion. Outside, both Pinkie and Rainbow were blown back. Rainbow recovered quickly and dove after Pinkie. She caught her and pulled up, bringing them higher and out of Applejack’s view.

She turned to Discord. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine…” He got up with a grunt and looked out the window. “Damn, I should’ve known better… Even my magic can’t hold out against this wind for long.”

There was a thud, and Applejack stuck her neck out of the window as far as she could. She could barely see them, but Rainbow had brought them to the building. She had one talon around Pinkie and the other digging into the wall, and she had stopped trying to use her wings. She guided Pinkie to grab hold of the wall as well before letting go of her.

Since it was all she could do, Applejack called out to them. “Over here!”

They moved slowly against the wind, but little by little they were able to claw their way over. Pinkie, the larger and stronger of the two, took the lead, allowing her to take the brunt of the wind.

Once she pulled herself through the window, Pinkie turned back to hold out a talon for Rainbow. Applejack wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie’s torso and helped pull her and Rainbow inside for good.

Both griffons collapsed on the floor once they were safely inside. They struggled to catch their breaths, but Applejack was too nervous to wait for them.

“Did you see Fluttershy?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow managed. She pushed herself into a sitting position. “She said to take you home.”

“What? Why?” Applejack knew better, but she still stubbornly clung to optimism. “Nothing but a little storm. We’ll be alright.”

“It was ginormous,” Pinkie said. “It was… I don’t know what it was…”

“I saw it up closer, and I don’t even know,” Rainbow said. “It was this… this thing! This huge thing, bigger than a house!”

“What kind of thing?” Discord asked. “Can you describe it at all?”

Rainbow shook her head. “All I saw was the outline of it. Just a gigantic shadow.”

If she was being honest with herself, Applejack wasn’t surprised. She had known all along. Perhaps she had even known from the moment she first saw Sungrove. “And Fluttershy’s out there with the Shadow?”

“Yeah.” Rainbow took a deep breath. “She said… she said she could hold it back, but we needed to get you out of there. She said to get you back to Thicket, and not to dare come back for her.”

Fluttershy was impressive. She was the most impressive thing that Applejack, no, that anyone had ever seen. If there was anyone who could hope to stop the Shadow, it was Fluttershy.

But that just wasn’t enough reassurance.

“No. We’re not doing that,” Applejack said defiantly, as if daring anyone to tell her otherwise.

“What do you think you’re going to do?” Rainbow asked. “You have no chance against something like that.”

What did she think she was going to? She didn’t know, but she did know that it didn’t matter. “I’m going to do whatever I can. Think you can get me down to the ground?”

As Applejack pulled out her elixir barrel and fastened it around her neck, the usual Rainbow Dash finally returned. She stood up and gave a cocky grin. “Are you kidding? Of course I can! Climb on, we’re gonna go save Fluttershy!”

“Perhaps we ought to think of a plan first?” Discord said.

Applejack was already climbing onto Rainbow’s back. “You said it yourself – We don’t know enough to make a plan right now. So we’ll just have to wing it!”

“Count me in!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “Now we can add Applejack to the unstoppable team!”

“You’re all idiots.” Discord glared at everyone, then walked over to Pinkie. “But you’ll all die without me, so I guess I better at least try and save some of you.”

Pinkie helped him onto her back, and both griffons walked over to the separate windows. “It’s gonna get pretty crazy out there,” Rainbow said. “So you two better be able to hold on tight!”

Applejack hated flying at the best of times. These, as it happened, were about as far from the ‘best of times’ as was possible. From the moment Rainbow leaped out of the window, it felt like the whole world was trying to tear her away. She clung to Rainbow with all her might, and she could still feel her body sliding off. The only saving grace was that Rainbow didn’t need her talons to fly, allowing her to take hold of Applejack’s forelegs. At times, that was the only connection she had to Rainbow’s body.

She couldn’t imagine how Rainbow was managing to control herself at all. They seemed to be gliding into the wind, with the result that they were actually moving backwards. It didn’t matter; they were moving steadily towards the ground, and they could work on progressing toward the Shadow once they weren’t at the mercy of the wind.

Once they were below the tree line, things got much better. It was still rough, but Applejack’s body was no longer lifting off of Rainbow’s. She was pretty sure that Rainbow had even managed to regain some of their lost ground as they finished their descent.

They touched ground in a different place than Pinkie, so the first thing they did once Applejack dismounted was regroup. It was going to be an ordeal to walk against the wind, but they would manage.

“Can you make another one of those barriers!?” Applejack asked Discord once they were together again, yelling to be heard over the wind.

“Yes, but I can’t maintain it indefinitely!”

“Alright, do it! Any extra ground will help!”

As soon as the barrier went up, things were much quieter. The roar of the wind was still strong on their sides, but it was no longer directly in their ears.

Discord pushed the barrier forward at a brisk walking pace. “This is as fast as we can go?” Applejack asked.

“With any level of sustainability, yes,” Discord answered through gritted teeth.

Applejack nodded her understanding. It was clearly a struggle for him to do as much as he was doing, and it was faster than they would be walking otherwise. “Pinkie, you’re the strongest one of us. If something happens, we’ll need you to help keep us grounded in one place.”

“You can count on me!” Pinkie said. “Also, did you know you’re glowing?”

“I’m what now?” Applejack looked herself over and saw that there was a glow coming from her bag. She opened it and saw it was coming from the necklace. “The Emblem of Anqa…”

“Wasn’t that the thing from your story?” Rainbow asked. “Wait, is this that Shadow!?”

“I think so,” Applejack answered as she pulled out the necklace.

“But you’ve got the emblem! Way to go, Applejack!” Rainbow clapped her on the back, almost causing her to drop it. “Do you know what you’re supposed to do with it?”

Applejack frowned. “I haven’t got a clue…”

But she did have it. It was the only thing she knew of that had been able to subdue the Shadow in the past, and she had found it. And it wasn’t going to do any good in her bag.

She had been hoping for some kind of revelation. Some new power that would allow her to stop the Shadow. She would have settled for it to keep glowing, as that was at least a sign of something magical. But instead, once she had put it around her neck and shimmied it under the elixir barrel, it returned to being just a necklace.

“We can appreciate Applejack’s new jewelry later,” Discord barked, causing them to remember to keep walking.

When Discord could hold the barrier, it wasn’t that bad; Applejack couldn’t be happy with the pace they were making, but they moved well enough. But when he couldn’t, walking seemed to take an eternity. They resorted to walking towards trees so that they could break some of the wind for them, which saw them sometimes moving in a zigzag pattern, further slowing them down.

Since Discord was elderly and not as strong as the others, Pinkie took to carrying him on her back. It allowed him to focus solely on his magic, but even still, each time the barrier came back up it would go back down sooner and sooner.

And all the way, Applejack couldn’t stop the barrage of horrible thoughts. Every second she wasn’t there was another second that Fluttershy was alone with the Shadow. Applejack didn’t know if she could do anything, but she certainly wasn’t doing anything with so much distance between them.

And then the lightning struck. Off in the distance, in the direction the wind blew from. For one brief moment, the wind stopped completely. When it started again, Applejack could swear it was twice as angry.

“Applejack, wait!” Rainbow called after her, but it was too late. Applejack was a deer, and these woods were hers. The others could make do, but they could never hope to move through the trees faster than she could. Not with wings, not with magic.

She ran. The wind tried to push her back, but it could not. Applejack ran in leaps and bounds, her hooves connecting to the ground only moments before they pushed off. She knew if she looked back, she would no longer be able to see the others. They could catch up, but Applejack wasn’t waiting. She was a deer, and they would only slow her down.

Again, the lightning struck, and again, the wind stopped. It was only a moment, but this time Applejack seized it, pushing herself forward with everything she had. She noted how much closer the lightning had been this time. She resolved to make it closer still.

Trees sped past her, nothing but a blur in the darkness. Her heart guided her way as much as her eyes did. The lightning struck a third time, and this time it was just ahead of her, illuminating the world in one moment of perfect clarity.

With the shadow cast aside by the lightning, Applejack saw that it was a massive bird. It was bigger than she had thought anything could be. Its head alone was as large as Fluttershy, and with the rest of its body, it was taller than most trees. It did not even spread its wings fully and they were already encompassing Applejack’s field of vision. And when it flapped its wings, the wind began again.

Rather than allow herself to be intimidated, Applejack pushed herself harder. Fluttershy was there, and all that mattered was getting to her. The rest could wait until that was done.

Applejack almost didn’t realize when she was finally there. Not because it was night; she was well accustomed to moonlight. But the Shadow lived up to its name, and she suspected even in the daytime it would be dark. It was only when the wind reached a point where even she could no longer run against it that she realized she was staring at pure blackness against the usual darkness of the night.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack called, but to no avail. She looked around wildly, but saw nothing. She wished she had Discord’s magic to illuminate the area, or Rainbow’s eyesight to pick Fluttershy out of the darkness. The feeling of hopelessness crept back in. Even though she had found her way, what could one deer do?

Another flash of lightning made her realize exactly how close she was. She finally saw Fluttershy. She had collided with the Shadow at the exact point of the lightning, then she was gone with it. Against the darkness, Applejack saw the silhouette of wings once again, and the wind began.

Applejack looked around, as if hoping to see something through the darkness that might help. There was no sign of her friends, and she had no idea when they would come. She tapped her hoof against the necklace, hoping it would do something. It did not. Without her friends or magical artifacts, what was she?

Since she couldn’t see, Applejack closed her eyes. The city revealed itself to her more clearly, not as it was now, but as it once was. And then she knew. She was a deer, and at least here, there were things that only she could do.

She opened her eyes and saw only the darkness. It was time to change that. She tapped on the barrel around her neck and poured some elixir on the ground. She knew the lights of the city were long since broken, and she knew that her own magic was not powerful enough to do much with them anyway, but still, she reached out to the woods.

And the woods answered her. The world around her lit up, as any light that was in some way touching the woods lit up. At most Applejack had expected two or three, but there were dozens, and it was still spreading. It was as if the city was coming alive once more.

In the continuous light, Applejack could see the Shadow clearly for the first time. Seeing its size from a distance was nothing compared to seeing it close up. She had to crane her neck back to see to the top of it, and its body was even longer than it was tall. Dirt and plants covered its body, and the ground below was freshly disturbed, leading her to guess that it had been lying there so long that it had become a hill in the clearing. Its feathers were dark; they seemed to be brown, but that could have been from the dirt.

But the light had another effect – it could see Applejack as well. It leaned its head down, coming close to Applejack, and stared directly at her. It lifted its wing, and the wind stopped, and all was quiet while it took inventory of her.

Then, it pulled back and let out a deafening caw before the wind started again. The wind came from the Shadow itself, not just from its wings. Faster than Applejack would have thought a creature its size could move, it lunged towards her.

It never connected, however. A bolt of lightning struck it, causing it to reel back. Fluttershy floated in the air in between Applejack and the Shadow, and Applejack realized she was not appearing where the lightning had struck – Fluttershy was the lightning.

“Applejack, run!” Fluttershy ordered. Unlike before, Fluttershy didn’t disappear. She remained hovering in the air, arms outstretched in a protective stance.

“No! I’m not leaving you!” Applejack looked around for some idea of what they could do to stop such a fearsome creature, but she found nothing.

Fluttershy raised her paw, and Applejack knew what was coming. “No, wait! Shy!”

“I’m sorry.”

But before she could snap and teleport Applejack away, a blue blur came from beside her and knocked her out of the air.

“About time we get some light!” Rainbow said as she got off of Fluttershy. “Nice going, AJ!”

Applejack ran over to the other two. “Fluttershy, don’t you think about sending me away!”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, we – look out!”

The Shadow cawed again, signalling the start of more wind. It lifted its wings and flapped, and the force doubled. Rainbow dug her talons into the ground and Fluttershy seemed to be able to withstand it, but Applejack could feel her hooves slipping. As she began moving backwards, she made a last ditch effort to grab hold of Fluttershy’s tail.

She missed, and lost the last of the traction she had. She lost control of her body as the wind whipped it back. She tried to call out for help, but the wind carried her words away as well. Something smacked into her shoulder, but it didn’t stop her. She could only watch as Fluttershy and Rainbow grew further away.

At first she thought she hit a wall, considering the amount of force she felt. Then she realized that the ‘wall’ was actually soft, and the force had just been an indication of how fast she was going.

“Gotcha!” Pinkie said, barely audible over the wind.

A red barrier appeared before them, although it was already flickering.

“Can you keep this up long enough to get me to the others?” Applejack asked. “This will be the final push.”

Discord didn’t say anything, but he pushed the barrier forward. Pinkie didn’t let go of Applejack, keeping a tight hold on her just in case the barrier didn’t last. Rather than just walking behind it, Pinkie rammed her shoulder against it, and helped push them forward.

Although the Shadow made wind without the use of its wings, it seemed to require them for forces this strong, which kept it preoccupied as they approached slowly and steadily. Fluttershy had disappeared again. Applejack knew she was planning another attack, but she wasn’t sure Rainbow would hold out long enough.

“Pinkie, you need to hold on tight, just like Rainbow,” Applejack said once they were finally side by side with her. “Discord, you can drop the barrier now.”

The barrier vanished and the wind struck again. Pinkie held onto the ground with both talons, letting the force of the wind keep Applejack pressed against her.

Applejack once again opened the elixir and poured it out onto the ground. She closed her eyes and concentrated, imagining trees growing in front of them to give them shelter. The woods provided something better.

Thick roots sprouted in front of them, but rather than grow straight up, they curled over the group. There were just enough gaps that they could see through, and exits on both sides just big enough for one of them to leave at a time. They were enveloped in their own protective dome.

Upon realizing that its wind was useless, the Shadow stopped flapping its wings. It instead struck against the top of the dome with its beak, but it was unable to break through.

It was only then, once they were in some degree of safety, that Applejack realized how badly her shoulder hurt. She fell to the ground, unable to put weight on it. She didn’t know what she had hit when she was being pushed through the air, but she had hit it hard.

Discord also fell to the ground, rolling off of Pinkie rather than even trying to dismount gracefully. Although he hadn’t exerted himself physically, Applejack knew he had pushed the limits of his magical capabilities, and that he had still kept going once those limits were reached.

“So now what?” Rainbow asked. She seemed the least beat down of the four of them.

“I… I don’t know,” Applejack admitted.

Discord pulled himself up. “Now… we think of… a plan,” he said through obvious effort. He pulled himself over to the gaps to get a better view of the Shadow. “Oh. No, we’re all going to die.”

All eyes turned to Discord, but Rainbow was the first to speak. “No way, we can take it!”

“That is a roc,” Discord said, as if that was enough proof.

“Uh, I know a thing or two about rocks.” Pinkie gestured through the gap. “And that is not a rock.”

“A roc is a bird of incredible size. They inhabit the mountains to the north of the Frozen North. They live in lands where ponies, griffons, deer, and any other sapient beings have never been. Would you like to guess why we’ve never even explored these lands?”

Applejack and Rainbow frowned, and even Pinkie was hesitant as she spoke. “Uh, is it… because it’s really really cold up there?”

“Not quite,” Discord said with a smile that somehow only made everything worse. His tone shifted to anger as he finished. “It’s because rocs live there!”

“We can still do this,” Applejack said, pushing herself up on only three legs. “What do you know about rocs? There’s gotta be some weakness we can exploit.”

“Rocs are able to produce winds through some sort of internalized magic,” Discord answered.

“Uh, yeah, I think we gathered that much,” Applejack said.

Discord nodded. “Yes, but you see, it just so happens that I learned this at the same time as the rest of you, because there is no information on rocs, because nearly everypony who sees them dies!”

Applejack nodded, ignoring his pessimism. “So you don’t know anything the rest of us don’t. Got it.”

“It doesn’t move very much,” Rainbow observed. “Must be all the dirt and plants on it.”

Applejack turned to face the griffon. That sounded like a good observation. “Yeah, it’s only been flapping since I saw it. No flying or anything.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, it’d be like flying drunk. And in the woods here, it’d crash into all these trees for sure. Especially since those plants look like they’re intertwined with all its feathers. It probably couldn’t even get off the ground with all that.”

“So it’s a bird that can’t fly.” Applejack turned to Discord and smirked. “See? We have something on our side too.”

“And we’ve got Fluttershy!” Pinkie said.

Discord looked around. “So where is this alicorn-level wizard of yours, hmm?”

“She was with me when the wind picked up,” Rainbow said. “But then she disappeared again.”

“She knows what she’s doing,” Applejack insisted.

“Well, I do hope she shows up soon,” Discord said with a grin. “I’m just dying to meet her.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, but was saved from having to acknowledge his pun by another flash of lighting. The roc reeled back and cawed angrily. It struck its beak where Fluttershy had been, but she was gone in an instant.

Discord stared awestruck. “What in Celestia’s name was that!?”

Applejack beamed with pride. “That was Fluttershy.”

“More importantly,” Fluttershy said from behind them, causing everyone to turn to her in surprise, “what are you doing here? Rainbow, you told me you were going to take Applejack home.”

Rainbow looked at the ground “Yeah, I know but…”

“But I already am home,” Applejack said. “Sungrove is my home just as much as Everfree is.”

“I know that, but you know what I –”

“And you’re my home more than anything.” The pain left her limping, but Applejack made the few steps over to Fluttershy. “So don’t tell me to leave your side, because I’d hate to have to tell you no. I love you, and I’ll either leave here with you, or I won’t leave here at all.”

“Oh, Applejack…” Fluttershy lifted Applejack off the ground, cradling the doe in her forelegs.

“Ow!” Applejack reached for her shoulder.

Fluttershy gasped. “You’re hurt…”

“A little.” Applejack shrugged with her good shoulder. “I’ll be alright, though.”

A sound from above caught everyone’s attention. It was hard to identify, but then they saw the talon through the gaps in the roots. The roc knew all of its prey were in one place, and it was trying to dismantle their protection.

“I think somebirdy’s getting restless,” Pinkie said.

“Will this thing hold?” Rainbow asked, and all eyes turned to Applejack.

Unfortunately, she had no idea. But as she was trying to figure out an answer, a large chunk of the top was pulled off, leaving a hole large enough for the roc to look through.

“I’m gonna take that as a no.” Rainbow stretched out her muscles. “Well, I’ve sat around long enough anyway. I’ll keep that thing away long enough that the rest of you can figure out a plan.”

Fluttershy held out a paw. “Wait, it’s too dangerous!”

Rainbow scoffed. “Please, Shy. You think an overgrown bird that can’t even fly is gonna catch me? Give me some credit at least.”

Before anyone else could try and stop her, Rainbow was already outside of the hole. “Hey, birdbrain!” She flew directly at it and plucked a feather from its neck. The roc turned away from the others to lunge at Rainbow, who was already on the other side of it. She held out the stolen feather. “Looking for something?”

“So, any ideas, Shy?” Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy frowned as she watched Rainbow zip around outside. True, she was doing well for now, but one wrong move… “No, I don’t know what to do… Nothing I try has any real effect on it.”

“Can’t you teleport it to the mountains?” Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t think I could get anything that far, and even if I can, I can’t teleport the roc. Its magic is… incredible.”

Applejack laughed. “Yeah, but yours is the best.”

A comment like that normally would see Fluttershy either playfully agreeing or humbly disagreeing, but she offered no reply.

“Fluttershy?”

“I’m not stronger than it. I… I think its magic might be stronger than mine.”

When the magic of Everfree concentrated, Fluttershy was born to be its protector. She was a being of pure magic, so to hear that something might be more magical than her was not a good sign.

“Applejack,” Discord said. It was the first time he had said anything since Fluttershy had shown up, and he seemed to be studying the situation a lot more seriously. “This barricade you’ve created, can you undo it?”

“Well, yeah. But why would I want to?”

“Because I’ve got a plan. When I give the word, I need you to lower the barricade. If I was at full power, I might be able to kill it, or at least stun it long enough for us to escape. But I can’t now. What I might be able to do now is give Fluttershy that power.”

“What can I do?” Pinkie asked.

Discord smirked. “Pinkie, was it? Well, Pinkie, I’ll need you to make sure that our little bird friend comes straight for me.”

“What!? Discord, what do you think you’re gonna do?” Applejack asked as Fluttershy set her down.

But Discord didn’t answer. His horn started glowing, but it wasn’t its usual red aura, it was a deep purple, which seemed to bubble out of his horn. His eyes glowed green with smoke in the same deep purple color coming from the edges. As he channeled his magic, the glow on both his eyes and horn intensified.

“Now!” he commanded.

Applejack didn’t like the sound of this plan, but she obeyed all the same. She barely had any elixir left, and once she was done, there was none. She asked the woods to lower the barricade, and she could feel the reluctance. But still she asked, and the woods heeded her request.

“Hey, you oversized chicken dinner, over here!” Pinkie yelled.

The Shadow wheeled around but didn’t react. Rainbow Dash seemed to realize something was going on though, and she darted over, raking a talon against the distracted roc’s neck.

That was enough to get its attention. The roc charged directly towards Rainbow, which led it straight to Discord. Both griffons flew over him, and he finally let loose the beam he had been charging.

It was unlike any of the magic Applejack had seen him use before. When it connected with the Shadow, it locked the roc in place. For a second, Applejack thought it was like the spell he’d used to move her earlier, only used to stop the roc from moving.

A moment later, however, she realized it was twitching. It wasn’t being held in place – it was being kept in immense pain.

Just when she was wondering if immobilizing it had been the plan all along, a second, smaller beam extended from Discord’s horn to Fluttershy. She shuddered when it first touched her. Her eyes rolled back and she started taking sharp, erratic breaths. Applejack was torn between wanting to trust Discord and wanting to stop anything that could make Fluttershy react like that.

But before she could do anything, Fluttershy started floating into the air. Her whole body was limp at first, but then her head rolled forward and she seemed to regain control of herself. She extended her forelegs in front of her and channeled a beam from her paws. It wasn’t dark, like both of the ones coming from Discord’s horn; this was Fluttershy’s usual magic, but it was intensified far beyond her usual ability.

And as it continued, it only seemed to hurt the roc more. Applejack had to look between the three of them a few times before it clicked in place what she was seeing: Discord was ripping the magic from the roc and giving it to Fluttershy.

Meanwhile, the beam from Fluttershy grew brighter and larger the more she channeled it. It tore the ground up, forming a crater that the roc was pushed into. There was no telling what was happening there, if it was alive or dead. Applejack couldn’t even tell if it was all in one piece.

By the time the attack stopped, the crater was left smoking. What Applejack could see of the roc was charred black. There was no movement.

Everyone looked around at one another. Fluttershy was still floating, although her beam had stopped, and Discord collapsed. Pinkie and Rainbow were watching in awe of what they had seen.

All of this was easily visible because at some point during everything, the sun had come out. Had they not noticed because the Shadow obscured it, or had they just been too preoccupied? It was hard to say, but the sun bathed the world in light, and it was glorious to behold.

Fluttershy slowly floated to the ground, where she curled into a ball. Applejack limped over to her and collapsed next to her. Fluttershy shifted so that she was curled around her doe, and she started whimpering softly.

“Hey, you got it,” Applejack said gently. “You did great, Shy. Everything’s gonna be okay now.”

“That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow flew in a circle over them. “I thought we were done for there, but you two, with that beam thing… Best adventure ever!”

“I, uh, I think our friends may need a little time to relax, Dashie,” Pinkie said as she looked over the others.

“Aww, we’ll be just fine, strawberry.” Applejack nuzzled Fluttershy, who gave a small smile. “Let her have her fun. She’s earned it.”

“We actually pulled that off,” Discord said with wry amusement as he pushed himself back to standing. “Let’s see that overgrown lizard top this one!”

“Hey, Discord.” Applejack could hardly believe that just a couple days ago, she had been trying so hard to get rid of him. “You should come around Everfree sometime. I, uh, I might know someone who can give you that tour after all.”

Discord grinned. “Oh, my deer, you’re simply too kind.”

Applejack frowned at the pun. “On second thought, maybe not…”

Fluttershy giggled. “Aww, be nice. Even if you are adoeable when you pout.”

Applejack sighed. She knew she would be dealing with this for a long time. Then again, when she thought about how close they had come to losing one another, she knew that there were worse things. “Aww, why not. Sure, I would be deerlighted to show you around!”

Rainbow groaned, but at least Fluttershy and Pinkie laughed. Discord seemed to have something else in mind, however. He approached Fluttershy quizically. “And just what are you exactly?”

Rather than answer, Fluttershy let out a small ‘eep’. Although Applejack knew Discord didn’t mean any malice with the question, she also understood Fluttershy’s reluctance. Before everyone in Everfree had come to respect her, Fluttershy had often been made to feel like she couldn’t belong.

“Oh, come on,” Discord said, mistaking her hesitation for a greater fear, “you’re almost thrice my size!”

“Well, I’m a –”

“She’s the first friend I ever made!” Rainbow said, swooping down from above to join Applejack and Fluttershy. “And she’s awesome!’

“That’s not what I –”

“She’s a forest noodle!” Pinkie said, jumping in the pile. “And she’s the luckiest noodle in the world. Just look how cute they are together!”

“A noodle?”

“Aww shucks,” Applejack said, turning to look into Fluttershy’s eyes. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen a beautiful lady before.”

Fluttershy was blushing, but she smiled and held her friends closer. Discord sighed and seemed to give up on his question. “As long as you don’t expect me to hug you.”

It should have been the perfect end to a horrible ordeal. But as everyone was relaxing and enjoying being alive, the crater where the roc lay burst into flames without warning. It was all anyone could do to stare.

The flames died down quickly, leaving only a few smoldering embers as the roc rose. It rose slowly, glaring at the five of them all the while. Once it was fully standing, it spread its wings, revealing them to be almost gold after having been bathed in flame.

It cawed loudly, then flapped its wings. But this time, the wind it created was nothing more than the air it displaced as it took flight. It soared into the sky, flying higher and higher. Once it was satisfied, it shifted course and flew in front of the sun. All they could see as it descended was its shadow.

“Run!” Applejack yelled, and everyone scattered. She didn’t see where the others went, but Fluttershy carried her.

They had barely scraped by when they were in good shape and the Shadow couldn’t fly. Now not only had it regained that ability, but Applejack was injured and out of elixir, Fluttershy and Discord had pushed themselves well past the point of their usual magical limits, and Pinkie and Rainbow were both physically exhausted.

It was hopeless.

“I’m sorry,” Applejack said. “This is all my fault.”

“Shush!” Fluttershy checked behind her, and Applejack didn’t like the look on her her face. “We’re going to get through this. We’ll get back home, then you can tell me everything. But right now, we just need to focus on – aaahh!!”

The Shadow caught Fluttershy in one of its talons, and she dropped Applejack to the ground. “Fluttershy!”

Applejack tried to stand too fast, and the pain caused her to fall back down. She looked up and saw it drop Fluttershy. She couldn’t tell why, but it didn’t seem happy. It dived for her again, but missed and returned to gliding height.

It picked another target and went straight for Applejack. With her shoulder not bearing weight, she knew it was pointless to run, but she tried anyway. Within moments, it had a talon around her.

She was pulled rapidly into the air. The woods below her sped by at a dizzying speed, and she wondered what it was going to do. Would it drop her and let her fall to her death? Did it have a nest it would bring her to before eating her?

“Release her, you brute!”

Something came rushing towards Applejack and the roc, but she couldn’t tell what it was. The next thing she was aware of was falling, but she couldn’t even make out the ground below her. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact.

It hurt, but not as much as it should have. In fact, everything about the situation was wrong. She was still falling, but slowly, and she was cold. Opening her eyes showed blurry light above her, and Applejack realized she was under water.

Something else hit the water, and it approached her at a rapid speed. Once again, Applejack found herself being dragged along by something colossal, but this one was familiar.

She breached the surface of the water coughing and gasping for air. She was brought to a riverbank, which she held onto tightly as she tried to get oxygen back into her lungs.

“Oh thank goodness you’re alive!” Rarity bent her head down next to Applejack’s, but she had the good sense to not overwhelm the much smaller doe with her affection. “When I saw you being carried by that… that… thing! Why, I… I feared… Well, that doesn’t matter now because you’re safe.”

“Rarity…?” Applejack’s voice came out thin and raspy. “Are we in Everfree?”

“No, we’re in White Tail Woods. I brought a search party to come and find you. Er, speaking of which… I may be needed elsewhere. But you sit tight and work on feeling better!”

Applejack tried to piece together what she was talking about, but she couldn’t manage. Weren’t Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Pinkie her search party? They said Fluttershy had teleported them, so why was Rarity here? She couldn’t ask, as Rarity was already swimming away.

She traced the river with her eyes in the direction that Rarity had left and found her answer. There were dozens of deer, all running around while the roc tried to choose targets among them. She recognized Big Macintosh and Blackthorne among countless others that she knew.

Whenever the Shadow got too close to one of them, Pinkie would swoop in and pull them away. Rainbow was flying around the roc itself, making sure it was always too distracted to execute a successful kill. Discord was hobbling around, giving signals for some plan he seemed to have. Blackthorne issued a command and a wall of trees sprouted, with no less than ten deer responsible for it. It corralled the Shadow towards the water, where Rarity popped up and made a lunge for it, but only caught a few tail feathers.

And Fluttershy was there. She was amazing to witness, and difficult to keep track of. If Applejack didn’t know she wasn’t able to teleport around the Shadow, she would have assumed that’s what Fluttershy was doing. But the draconequus simply moved faster than Applejack’s eyes could track as she darted about, doing anything and everything that she could.

Everyone was there. Everyone was still going. Everyone except for Applejack.

She dragged herself up. Every part of her body hurt and she didn’t dare do anything with her wounded shoulder, but she limped forward, one step at a time.

Vines shot from the ground and grabbed hold of the roc, tethering it down. More and more deer used their elixir to add their magic to the binding.

Applejack walked forward.

Big Mac jumped onto the Shadow’s back. She didn’t find out what he planned to do, because the roc broke free from the bindings before he could do it.

Applejack’s body begged her to stop. She did not.

The roc flew straight up into the sky, but so did Rainbow Dash. She caught up with it, and grabbed hold of Big Mac. With his weight, she could barely fly.

But still, she didn’t stop. So neither would Applejack.

When the Shadow spun around to take advantage of Rainbow’s situation, she dropped Big Mac and turned at a right angle. Pinkie Pie was already in place, catching the falling stag and continuing in the opposite direction.

Applejack could only move forward. And so she did, until she no longer could.

She fell on the ground, every bit of her energy spent. She looked up at the battle and could no longer tell who was doing what. She closed her eyes.

Fluttershy must have noticed, because the next thing that Applejack knew, Fluttershy was holding her. “Applejack! Applejack, stay with me!”

“Fl-Fluttershy?”

“Applejack, please hold on!” Fluttershy was crying. Applejack hated to see her cry.

“Hey, no need for that.” Applejack smiled. She just wanted to see Fluttershy smiling too. “Heh, guess I really screwed up this time…”

“No, no you’re going to be okay.” Fluttershy reached a paw to Applejack’s face, but stopped when she realized it was covered in blood. It took a moment for Applejack to realize the blood was coming from herself, although she wasn’t sure where she was bleeding from.

“Yeah, of course I am. What, you think I’m gonna let some dumb old bird get me? Who’d harvest the apples? No way I’m leaving Big Mac in charge.”

Fluttershy’s sobs grew harder, and Applejack knew that she had just told a lie. She hated lying, but she knew she didn’t always tell the truth when she should.

“I’m real sorry, Shy…”

“Don’t. Don’t apologize. You’re going to be okay, I need you to be okay!”

Applejack wanted so badly to wipe away Fluttershy’s tears, but she couldn’t seem to move her forelegs. “You’ll be alright when I’m gone. To… well, to tell the truth, I never really understood why you ever wanted to be with me anyway.”

“What? Applejack, how could you say that? I love you, I’ll always love you.”

Applejack smiled. She always smiled when Fluttershy said she loved her. “I know. I know you do. And you know I love you too. But, well, you’re…” Applejack shook her head and her smile fell away. “You’re extraordinary. And I’m… I’m just a deer.”

“No! You’re my deer, and… and…”

She was Fluttershy’s deer. Applejack loved being Fluttershy’s deer. But sometimes… “You know, that’s kind of what this was all about.”

Fluttershy tried to smile. She didn’t do a great job. “You’ll always be my deer.”

“I thought… I thought I had to prove something to you. To show you that I was worth sticking around for.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “You never have to prove anything to me, I always want to be around you.”

“Yeah, I know. I mean, I kind of always knew that. Because that wasn’t the real reason I wanted to come all the way out here.”

“Applejack, I don’t…”

“I know now that I didn’t have to prove anything to you, and deep down, I knew that all along. But I was lying to myself. Because really, the honest truth is that I needed to prove it to me. I needed to know that I could be someone worthy of being your deer.”

Fluttershy bowed her head over Applejack. It was kind of a shame. Applejack could’ve looked into her face until the end.

“You know,” Applejack said, “things would’ve been much better off if I had just been honest from the start. Guess I learned that lesson a little late, huh?”

There was a strange sensation in Applejack’s body. A tingling sensation in limbs she hadn’t even noticed had lost feeling. She wondered if it was what death felt like until things started coming back into focus. She was becoming more aware of her surroundings, including the fact that she seemed to be glowing.

Fluttershy noticed it too. “Applejack? What in the world…?”

There was a warm sensation right on her neck. She lifted a foreleg up to it, realizing in the process that she could move again. Her hoof brushed up against the necklace that she had completely forgotten she had been wearing.

All pain had left her body, and the world around her had become clearer than it had ever been. The light had started in the necklace, and then spread throughout her whole body, and she felt herself being lifted into the air. It was different from other times, though. She wasn’t surrendering control of herself to anyone else. She had never been more in control her whole life.

Everything was still going on. The roc was still being held at bay, but they weren’t doing any real damage to it. And they never would; Applejack could see that now. She didn’t know how, but she knew it was the truth. They were doing their best, and they were doing better than anyone could have expected, but they didn’t have the right tool.

But Applejack did.

The roc noticed her as well. Perfect. She wanted to be a beacon for it, to pull it away from the others. It charged her with a focus that it hadn’t shown before. Nothing else mattered to it, just that it get to Applejack.

Applejack let it come most of the way before she did anything.

“Stop.”

Still, it charged her. Applejack raised her voice.

“I said stop!”

And it listened. The roc landed just in front of her, almost directly on top of her. But Applejack didn’t move. Not when it landed, and not when it drew its head close to her, mouth creeping open.

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Applejack asked.

The roc closed its mouth and shifted its head.

“I know,” Applejack told it. She didn’t know how she understood, but she understood.

It drew its head closer to hers. She placed a hoof on its beak and looked directly into its eyes. “You’ve been here a long time, haven’t you? And you’ve always done your best to protect these woods.” Applejack shook her head. “But you don’t need to anymore. And you know that, don’t you? If you’d just let yourself be honest with yourself, you’d see it too. Just like your time came and went long ago, so too has these woods’. The magic is gone, you’re all that’s left. And now, you’re hurting folks that mean no harm. And I know you’re hurting too. So… it’s time.”

The roc looked into Applejack’s eyes as well. It nodded, then took a step back. It kept its eyes fixed on Applejack for a moment, then it launched into the sky.

It didn’t resume its attack, didn’t seem to care about the others anymore. It simply flew up, higher and higher. For one moment more, the Shadow lived up to its name, casting darkness over the land below.

Then it stopped. It fully spread its wings one last time, and the world was bathed in light once more. Not from the sun, however. The light came from the Shadow, the guardian of these woods, as it set itself aflame.

All eyes were fixed to it, and it burned so hot and so fast that there was nothing left but ash. And then, there was not even that, as a steady breeze blew in from the south, carrying the ashes ever northward.

Applejack smiled, although it made her sad too. Some part of her felt like she was saying goodbye to an old friend. Her hoof rose to touch her necklace, and she couldn’t help but think that somehow, that feeling belonged to someone else.

The glow faded and Applejack descended back to the ground. She let out a small sigh of contentment before turning back to face Fluttershy.

“A-Applejack?” Fluttershy stared in bewilderment.

“I think…” The worst of Applejack’s injuries seemed to have healed themselves, but what remained and the weight of everything that had happened still proved too much. “I think I could use a nap.”

Applejack fell forward, but Fluttershy caught her. She heard Fluttershy’s scream and knew she’d worried her, but Applejack just smiled. “Don’t worry, Shy,” she barely managed to get out. “Everything really is going to be okay this time. Honest.”

Fluttershy cradled Applejack, who finally let herself give in to sleep.

7 – Honesty

Chapter Seven
Honesty
⠀

⠀

There was no mistaking it. Although Applejack had never seen the city the way she was seeing it now, there was no doubt about where she was.

Sungrove stood not as Applejack had found it, but in its full glory. The woods had tried to show her glimpses of the city whenever she closed her eyes within its walls, but that could not compare to seeing it with her eyes open. It was a glorious sight to behold, and Applejack knew she was blessed with the chance to walk through it.

She just didn’t know why. The last thing she remembered was stopping the Shadow before collapsing into Fluttershy’s forelegs. By extension, she knew that this was most likely a dream. But everything just felt too real; the grass under her hooves was soft and crunched slightly as she walked, a gentle breeze ruffled her fur and was refreshingly cool, and she could even smell the lilies and goldenrod that grew along the path.

And yet, there was something about it that didn’t feel quite right either. A sort of otherness permeated the city, and Applejack couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more complicated than simply being asleep or awake. Along with her senses, she still retained full clarity of mind, allowing her to consider her situation far more carefully than she could have in a normal dream.

So as she walked, she took note of her surroundings. There was birdsong in the air, but no animals in the trees. The houses stood in immaculate condition, but there was no activity inside them. Everywhere she looked, the world around her sent one very clear message. Sungrove stood all around her exactly as it had been, but with one exception. There was no life aside from the forest itself. No deer, no animals. A wondrous city stretched out as far as her eyes could see, and she was the sole inhabitant.

Only one explanation came to mind, and it was not one she was prepared for.

Applejack could not recall when she had first started walking through the city. She had full memory of arriving with Discord at the city’s ruins, but when had she found herself in the city’s memory? One moment she was falling asleep as Fluttershy held her, and the next moment, as near as she could tell, she had already been walking the path along the city’s floor for some time.

She hadn’t changed course since she became aware of her situation. Although she didn’t recognize any city landmarks, she had an idea of where she would be headed. And sure enough, it wasn’t long before she could see the palace in the distance. From there, it was just a matter of putting one hoof in front of another to get her closer to it.

It wasn’t that she was drawn to it, or that the rest of the city was in any way closed off to her. Applejack knew she could go anywhere at all that she wanted to. But there was just nowhere else she could think to go. Sure, she could try to find where they had fought the roc, which was the last place she could remember being. But she had no idea where that was, just that it was somewhere in the woods near a river.

If nothing else, the palace would serve as a good place to start looking for somewhere else to go. The high vantage point might allow her to see something she’d otherwise miss, and she could figure out what to do from there.

All along the way, one thought kept playing through her mind. The city felt so lonely. It felt lonely as she walked beneath its houses, and it felt lonely as she walked up the ramp to the palace. There was a certain serenity that came from the stillness of everything, and it kept her calm even in the face of the unknown, but that did nothing to appease the loneliness that she felt.

Once she reached the top, she took a good look at the city from above. There was no sign of their battle, or of anything else. But she was at least able to enjoy the view. It didn’t seem so bad from above; she could almost imagine that there were deer down below, just in houses and obscured by trees.

Like the rest of the city, the palace had hardly changed. Of course, the parts that hadn’t been damaged looked identical, as the whole place seemed to have been untouched by time. But the missing half of the building was now in place, and there were none of the holes that had been scattered about the walls and floor.

Unsure of what else to do, Applejack remained in the entry hall. She didn’t expect to find anything in the palace, so exploring it wouldn’t be necessary. Besides, if she was right about what was going on, she knew she’d be able to take her time.

And so, instead of exploring, she took in her surroundings more fully. The building was much like the palace in Thicket, but one thing in particular caught her eye – a large painting on the wall opposite the door. She wasn’t sure if she simply hadn’t noticed it before, or if it had been lost when the building was damaged.

The painting was of three deer, two of whom she had seen before, although never quite like this. The one she hadn’t seen was a stag, but she knew who he must have been. He may not have been a king himself, but he looked every bit as regal as one. Even in the painting, Applejack could tell his age; he had been far older than the queen when they had found love in one another, and he had passed many years before the deer had left Sungrove.

Standing beside him was a doe whose light coat stood in contrast to her partner’s dark one. Applejack had never seen her in life, and even if she looked exactly as she had when Applejack found her the day before, the difference was vast. From her smile to the friendly look in her eyes, Queen Hawthorn radiated warmth.

And finally, between them was a fawn that had now grown into a stag. Prince Aspen, as he would have been in this picture, was unmistakable for his white coat and the distinctive markings under his eyes, but he looked so unlike the king that Applejack knew. It wasn’t as if he was never happy these days – King Aspen loved the deer and cherished his son, and he did not hesitate to show his joy in either – but the young prince in the portrait still had an innocence that Applejack had never seen in her king.

“Oh.”

Applejack hadn’t noticed anything until she heard the voice, which abruptly took her out of her thoughts. She turned to find another doe staring at her with just as much confusion as Applejack felt. The fear that Applejack had felt of the body rising in the night came back to her.

But then Queen Hawthorn smiled, and Applejack could no longer feel afraid. When the older deer spoke of their queen from ages past, they made her sound like the most beautiful doe to have ever lived. Applejack now saw that their memories were exaggerating the truth, or else they were embellishing things as some sort of sign of respect for the dead.

It seemed that they did her a disservice now. She was pretty, but it was a normal sort of attractiveness, and Applejack had known many deer who were easily more beautiful. But in the place of the gorgeous doe that anyone would want for a lover, Applejack saw something she thought to be much more becoming of a queen.

When Queen Hawthorn smiled, she looked pure and honest, and it reminded Applejack of her own mother. What was a queen but the mother to hundreds of deer?

She approached Applejack slowly, although her expression seemed eager. “Hello there. I’m sorry for not greeting you sooner, but I’m afraid that I’m a bit out of practice at welcoming guests.”

Applejack had been so caught up in what was happening that she had forgotten herself. Remembering suddenly, she dropped into a bow. “Queen Hawthorn. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Queen Hawthorn said as she held back a laugh. “Please, rise. Might I ask your name?”

“Applejack.” As she rose from the bow, the queen continued to step closer. She was at a loss for what else to say, but thankfully Queen Hawthorn wasn’t.

“Hello, Applejack.” She stood right in front of Applejack. “I’m so happy you’ve finally arrived, although I am a bit surprised. I hate to say it, but I don’t recognize you at all. Is my memory failing me, or has it really been so long? In any event, I’m glad to see it’s another deer this time.”

Applejack had no idea what she was talking about, and she almost seemed to be talking to herself more than anything. “Er… come again?”

“Sorry. Again.” Queen Hawthorn turned away for the first time since she had first seen Applejack. “As I said, I am not very good with guests anymore.”

“Er, Queen Hawthorn?”

She turned back to Applejack and smiled again. “You really don’t need to worry about titles, I haven’t been a queen for some time now.”

It was Applejack’s turn to look away, embarrassed by the directness of the question she needed to ask. “I beg your pardon if this question is rude, but… you are dead, right? I know you’re right in front of me, but I also know what I saw…”

“I can understand your confusion. The answer is perhaps a bit complicated, but it would be best to say that yes, I am dead.”

Applejack nodded. As much as she wanted to ask about those complications, there was another question that would weigh her down until she had it answered. “So then… is that what happened? I died and came here too?”

“Ah, I should have known. Of course you’d think that, but do not fret, young one. You’re still very much alive in every sense of the word.”

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow she knew she could trust Queen Hawthorn to give her an honest answer no matter the question. “So then, how are we talking?”

“And so we come to the complicated part.” Rather than answer, Queen Hawthorn turned towards the door she had come in from. “We’ll be talking for a long time, I should think. Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”

Although Applejack was too awestruck to care where they were, she followed the queen all the same. She led them to a room in the half of the palace that had been lost when the Shadow first attacked Sungrove. It was a private library, with an uncountable number of books on its high shelves.

“I spend most of my time here these days,” Queen Hawthorn said as she took a seat. She sat on the side of a large cushion, leaving enough room for Applejack to sit beside her.

Despite the obvious invitation, Applejack hesitated. Even if Queen Hawthorn made her feel much more comfortable than she could have imagined herself being in these circumstances, she was still a queen. True, Applejack was acquainted with King Aspen, as were all the deer to some extent, but any familiarity they had was mostly due to Fluttershy. Apple farmers did not normally sit beside queens.

Applejack bowed her head. “Beg your pardon, my queen, but I’m okay standing. I, uh, I think I’m a little too anxious to sit down right now.”

Queen Hawthorn’s smile fell, and Applejack worried that she had offended the queen by denying her hospitality. “I can understand, but… I wonder if I might ask a favor before we discuss anything further.”

Applejack nodded, happy for a chance to make up for her rudeness. “Of course.”

“There are actually two things. First, I wonder if you could tell me how long it’s been since I died?”

Right, she’d want to know about the world as it was now, and about what her sacrifice had bought for her deer. Applejack gave her the simple answer. “Eight hundred years.”

Queen Hawthorn closed her eyes. “Eight hundred years… I would not have thought it. But then, the date does fit… And I don’t believe time works the same for me as it does for you.” She opened her eyes again and looked back to Applejack. “I am thankful to say that I have not been left alone here for nearly so long as eight hundred years by my perception of time. But still, I have been alone here for a long time. Would you like to know something that might surprise you?”

Applejack nervously shifted her weight as she tried to figure out how to safely answer that question. “What, uh, what might that be, your majesty?”

“I have not missed being queen. Not one single day.” She smiled at the surprised look on Applejack’s face. “Don’t get me wrong. I miss my deer more than I could ever express. I miss being out in the city, seeing their faces and hearing their stories. But it’s them I miss, not my role as their queen.”

Applejack nodded, realizing what point Queen Hawthorne was making. She wanted to know more about her deer, but she didn’t want to ask directly. “And they miss you. The elder deer tell stories about your bravery and compassion.”

That gave Queen Hawthorn her biggest smile yet, which made Applejack smile as well. “I am happy to hear that. It is good to know my friends have not forgotten me, even after so long. But, well, it has been an awful long time since I’ve had a friend around to talk to, and that’s what I truly miss. I knew you would be coming, and I had hoped, well… I would prefer if you would think of me not as the Queen of Sungrove, but instead as someone you might call a friend.”

“Oh…” Applejack thought about the walk over to the palace and how lonely everything had felt. She couldn’t imagine what living like that for so long must have been like. Although she felt a little embarrassed, Applejack ignored it as she took a seat beside the other doe. “So… just Hawthorn then?”

Hawthorn beamed at the simple name. “I would like that very much. Thank you, Applejack.”

Once she put the concerns about Hawthorn being a queen behind her, Applejack found she was filled with so many questions that it was hard to pick which one to ask. “So then, Hawthorn, what were you saying about us being able to meet like this? And how did you know I was coming?”

Hawthorn didn’t seem to mind. “Where to begin… Well, the reason we’re meeting is because you’ve awakened. You see, Applejack, you and I are more alike than you realize.”

“What do you mean?” Even if they were friends, Applejack could hardly see how they could be more different.

In answer, Hawthorn lightly tapped a hoof against Applejack’s neck. There was a glow where her hoof had touched which spread around in a circle. It lasted for a second, and once it stopped, the Emblem of Anqa rested on Applejack’s neck. “When I died, a part of me lived on in this. It was called the Emblem of Anqa while I was alive, but I feel that name will no longer be very fitting.”

Applejack chuckled. “Actually, it’s still called that. The Emblem of Anqa is part of the whole legend surrounding everything that happened in Sungrove.”

Hawthorn examined it closely, and Applejack got the impression she was looking at something that Applejack couldn’t see. “You’ll see what I mean soon enough. But more importantly, this is more than a simple necklace or royal heirloom. It’s an invaluable magical artifact, part of a set of six. I was its bearer for a time, and when I died, I was preserved to pass along the information that you’ll need as its next bearer.”

Applejack placed her hoof on the necklace. “What? But… why me? I’m not a queen or anything impressive like that, I’m just…”

Hawthorn placed her hoof on Applejack’s and gently pulled it away from the necklace. “The elements don’t pick their bearers based on how they are viewed by their peers. You were chosen because you’re what was needed. The fact that you’re here talking to me now proves to me that you’re perfect for this.”

It was hard to feel confident about that. For all her life, Applejack had just worked in her family’s apple orchard. Even aside from titles, she had done nothing to make herself stand out from the other deer.

“I know it’s not easy.” Hawthorn frowned slightly and looked off to the side. “I wasn’t prepared for this any more than you are. But it’ll be okay, Applejack. You wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t handle this.”

Slowly, Hawthorn eased Applejack’s concerns, but it wasn’t because of her reassurances. As they talked and Applejack got over Hawthorn being a queen, her initial thought seemed to be proven right. Hawthorn undoubtedly had many admirable traits, but she was very different than Applejack had always imagined from the legends of the martyr queen. The real Hawthorn was a deer, like so many others. Just like Applejack.

“So, uh…” Applejack tried her best not to look nervous, but she suspected that she wasn’t quite managing to pull it off. “I guess that’s why I was able to do all that stuff. The element or whatever was helping me out earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

Right, of course. Applejack had been thinking Hawthorn had been with her in the necklace, but that didn’t mean she actually saw everything that happened. “Well, after I found the necklace, my friends and I had to fight this thing. We call it the Shadow, but uh…”

Hawthorn closed her eyes and frowned. “You mean the roc.”

Applejack nodded and resolved to try and avoid that topic as much as possible. “Yeah. The thing is, I’ve never been great with magic and stuff. But during the fight, I was able to do so much more. I know that at the end I felt something from the element, but it was going on even before that.”

Hawthorn smiled and shook her head. “I’m sorry to say that I don’t have an answer for you. It could have been the element, but I’m not sure. Truth be told, I wasn’t the best with magic with or without the element.” She let out a small laugh. “Well, I was always pretty good with flowers.”

Several ideas of what had happened had occurred to Applejack already. At the time, it had felt like the forest was protecting itself. Then there was the possibility that the danger had heightened her senses and her abilities with them. And, of course, the Emblem of Anqa was a powerful magical artifact.

There was no way to be sure, and Applejack could accept that. With everything that was happening, she was happy to get any answers at all. Although that did bring to mind a similar question she had. “Suppose you don’t know why most of Sungrove is still standing, then. I thought it might be the element, since the palace was preserved better than anywhere else. And even…”

It felt too awkward to bring up Hawthorn’s body, but she seemed to understand well enough. “That would be the element. They’re selfish little things, always doing anything they can to preserve themselves.”

“Heh, I knew it.” Applejack smirked, remembering how Discord had been unable to detect the magic from the necklace. But it seemed that it was just like he said – even he couldn’t always understand things when magic was involved.

“Applejack…” Hawthorn’s tone caught Applejack off guard; she seemed to be concerned about something. “You haven’t asked me what you’re supposed to do as an Element Bearer.”

Applejack looked at the ground and her ears folded down. She had almost been hoping they could avoid that topic, too.

“It’s okay.” Hawthorn placed a hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “It’s okay to be scared. I was. But you won’t be alone. Like I said, the Emblem of Anqa is one of six, and the other bearers will be with you through any challenges you face.”

Realizing there was no avoiding it and she wasn’t doing herself any favors by trying, Applejack took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right, Hawthorn. So, uh… what challenges am I going to face?”

Hawthorn smiled, although it wasn’t exactly a happy smile. “It’s a long story, but allow me to tell you what an Element Bearer is first. You see, there were once two sisters that watched over all of all of Equestria.”

“You mean Celestia and Luna?”

That brought a much more genuine smile to Hawthorn’s face. “Oh no, although it is interesting that you should bring them up, for they’re part of this story as well. No, the sisters I’m referring to lived long before their time, before ponies had even settled in these lands. We don’t know much about them, even what species they were when they were alive, but we know they were called Harmony and Nightmare.”

Applejack couldn’t help but smirk. “With a name like that…”

Hawthorn found it amusing as well. “I don’t think Nightmare was her true name. Perhaps Harmony went by another name while she was alive as well. But these are the names they came to be known as, whether by their design or others’.

“At some point, they disagreed on how best to rule the land. A war broke out, and in the end, Nightmare was slain. But her story did not end with her death. The land was peaceful for a time, but Nightmare’s influence lingered. Everyone felt it, but few suspected the truth. It was only when an attempt was made on Harmony’s life that she made the horrible realization. You see, the would-be-assassin had been someone very close to Harmony, but who had been possessed by Nightmare’s spirit.

“Nightmare seemed to be unstoppable. She would spread terror and corruption whenever she took a new host, and there was nothing to be done but to kill the host’s body. Then the spirit would move on and find someone else, while the families were left with nothing but grief.

“Harmony found herself with few options. Unwilling to allow her subjects to suffer, she took inspiration from her sister and gave up her physical body. But rather than become another spirit, she imbued herself into six different elements. One of which is now yours.”

Applejack brought her hoof back up to the element. Was it heavier now, or was she just imagining that? “And was Nightmare stopped?”

Hawthorn sighed, and Applejack knew the answer already. “Nightmare was… removed, for a time. Six of Harmony’s closest friends became the first Element Bearers, and they were able to banish Nightmare from the land. She returned again in time, but she was stopped when six new bearers were chosen. The cycle is never ending.”

“So she’s coming back again? And I’m supposed to help stop her?”

“Yes. The last time Nightmare came, it fell to me and my friends to stop her, and now, it must fall to you and yours.”

Applejack took a deep breath. The thought of fighting off some ancient evil that couldn’t be killed terrified her, but there was some comfort in knowing that it had been done time and again already.

“I… fear there is something else.” Hawthorn’s tone was not comforting. “When we faced off against Nightmare, we stumbled in our mission. She had taken Luna as her host, which was not easy on us. Luna was one of my closest friends before everything happened, and I was not the only one in our group to have difficulties. I wanted so desperately to save her, but we could not. She got the better of us, and one of our number was killed. Without the full power of the Elements of Harmony, we were only able to banish Nightmare by banishing Luna alongside her.”

Applejack shook her head. “So… what’s going to happen?”

Hawthorn looked at Applejack apologetically. “I’m afraid I don’t know. But she’s had nearly a thousand years to bond with her host body in a way that she never has before. I believe the risk is now higher than it has ever been.”

That was precisely what Applejack didn’t want to know. But at the same time, she realized that it was important she was well aware of what she was getting into before it happened. “Thank you for being honest with me, Hawthorn.”

“I owe you that much, at least.”

She seemed so disheartened by her own story that Applejack couldn’t help but to try and cheer her up. She forced a grin that she had trouble feeling and adopted a cocky tone. “Don’t you worry about a thing. I don’t know who the rest of these Element Bearers will be, but I’m sure the six of us can handle things.”

Hawthorn smiled optimistically. “I have no doubts. And you’ve already done well facing her influence.”

Applejack blinked in confusion. “I have?”

“The Shadow, as you call it.” While Applejack tensed up out of concern for the awkward subject, Hawthorn didn’t seem to mind. “It’s okay. I have had a lot of time to come to terms with the fact that I’ve died. It has been… harder to come to terms with the circumstances around it.”

Even with her assurance that it was okay, Applejack still shifted uncomfortably. Talking with someone about their own death was certainly well outside the range of things she was used to. “I was with my friends and I still thought we were all done for. I can’t imagine facing that thing by yourself.”

Hawthorn shook her head. “That was scary, but the fear didn’t stick with me after death. No, what’s stayed on my mind was the suffering Anqa must have endured, and the injustice that he was forced to become something so cruel.”

Applejack furrowed her brow. “Anqa?”

“I must say, it troubles me to hear he has become nothing but a monster in my story. The Shadow, as you know him, was an old friend of mine.”

“You mean that was Anqa? As in, the bird from the emblem was the roc we had to fight?”

Hawthorne smiled a little at Applejack’s realization. “That’s right. Of course, he wasn’t always as he was when you saw him. He used to be so peaceful. But when we failed in our mission to hold back Nightmare, it affected much of the lands and its inhabitants. Ponies stopped visiting Sungrove, and, foolishly, I allowed us to further along our own isolation. Meanwhile, Anqa changed. He grew more reserved and, eventually, wicked. He claimed the woods as his own, and threatened any who would not leave. I did not heed his warning, so sure I was that my friend would never harm us.”

Applejack frowned. It was just like in the story – Nightmare had first taken possession of someone close to Harmony. “But he didn’t, did he? That was really Nightmare’s doing.”

“You’re right. It was not Anqa that I faced, not really. I suppose your name is the most fitting after all, for he was nothing but a shadow.”

It was clear that even if Hawthorn knew that was true, it was hard for her to accept. Applejack decided to take a risk with her next question. “What was he like? Before all the bad stuff, I mean.”

It seemed that it had been the right thing to ask, as Hawthorn’s expression softened. “He was truly magnificent, although I did not always think that. I never knew why he came to our woods, as rocs do not live so far south. But he was old and dying when he first arrived. We were frightened of him at first, but then my mother braved the beast and cared for him as best she could. I was a young fawn at the time, so I did not understand when she told me it was simply the right thing to do. So terrified I was of something unknown to me. And yet, he never harmed her, nor anyone else. Soon I accompanied her, and Anqa and I came to trust one another.”

“I think a lot of full grown deer are plenty afraid of what they don’t know,” Applejack said, embarrassed by how much that applied to herself as well. “So your mom nursed him back to health?”

“No. He died.” Hawthorn saw Applejack’s expression and laughed. “And yes, I’m completely serious. But then something curious happened, something I didn’t understand for a long time. After he died, his body burst into flame, and he was reborn.”

It was strange to think of how different their reactions must have been to the same sight. That had been the most soul crushing sight Applejack had ever seen, but for Hawthorn, it would have been another chance to be with a friend. “Yeah, I saw that as well. Darn near gave me a heart attack.”

“I can understand why. But Anqa is a roc, not a phoenix. When rocs die, they don’t come back. And yet, he did.”

“So… what’d you come to find out about it?”

Hawthorn took a moment to answer, seemingly collecting her thoughts before speaking. “Magic is strange. Sometimes it collects in one place, and once there’s enough of it, that place gains a sort of will of its own. I do not know if Anqa was chosen or if he was the one who chose to fill this role, but he became the Heart of the Woods.”

“The Heart of the Woods?”

Hawthorn looked puzzled. “Tell me, where are the deer now? Everfree, I suspect?”

Applejack nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“And yet there is no Heart of the Forest?”

In truth, there was a Heart of the Forest, and Applejack had been wondering how to bring him up during their entire conversation. “Uh, I think that might mean something different now. The Heart of the Forest is, well, that’s one of King Aspen’s titles.”

“Oh.” Hawthorn turned her head away and seemed to be staring at nothing in particular. “Oh my poor child… He has not taken this well, then…”

Unsure what was going on, Applejack made best efforts to quell Hawthorn’s concerns. “Er, he’s actually doing a great job!”

Hawthorn took a deep breath. “A Heart is the guardian of a place with deep magic. They have a strong connection to the place they watch over, being born from the magic gathered. When Anqa died, he was brought back by White Tail Woods itself and became its Heart. Aspen taking the title himself shows that not only did he not understand the importance of that connection, he believes himself to be the one who will watch over your forest.”

That sounded exactly like the Aspen that Applejack knew, although she had always thought it was because of his role as king. “And you think that has something to do with what happened here?”

“Yes. Aspen was too young to do anything, yet old enough to blame himself for it. And I fear that’s exactly what happened.”

Applejack frowned at Hawthorn’s sad expression, wondering why she had to go and say something that upset her new friend. “I’m sorry, I –”

“Could you…” Hawthorn shook her head. “This is selfish of me. I’m supposed to be the one explaining things to you, but… I’m afraid I can’t help but make another request of you. Could you tell me more about the stag he’s grown into?”

Applejack realized how silly she was being. Hawthorn was Aspen’s mother; she deserved nothing less than the truth about her son. “I’m afraid I don’t know him too well, but he’s a good king. He can be stubborn and maybe a bit too serious, but everyone knows he’s only got our best interests at heart. He’s fair when he needs to rule on something and has been friendly on the occasions that we’ve met.”

Even though she was smiling, Hawthorn seemed to be on the verge of tears. “My little boy grew up, and I wasn’t there to see any of it.”

“There’s, uh, there’s something else you should know.” Applejack knew that if Hawthorn was already feeling like she had missed out on Aspen’s life, this wasn’t going to make that any better. But there was no way Hawthorn wouldn’t want to know this. “He has a son.”

Hawthorn’s eyes went wide as she sat straight up. “He… he does?”

“Yup. Congratulations, you’re a grandmother!”

At that, Hawthorn did start crying. “I can’t believe it! Please, what’s my grandson’s name?”

“Prince Bramble.”

“Bramble!” Hawthorn wiped her eyes, but it seemed that she might start crying again at any moment.

“Everyone who knew King Aspen when he was younger says the young prince is a lot like he was as a fawn. He’s got the light royal coat, but it seems to take after yours more than his dad’s. He also likes working with flowers like you, and he’s got a gentle soul. I think… I think you’d really like him.”

Hawthorn laughed and a few more tears came out. “Oh, Applejack… I already do.”

After so many years alone, Applejack was grateful that she was able to deliver news of Bramble to his grandmother. “Is there anything you want me to tell them?”

Hawthorn inhaled a breath, then she sat oddly still. It took a moment before she answered, and when she did, it was with clear hesitation. “I… I would like that very much. But… I wouldn’t know what to say.”

Applejack thought for a moment. She couldn’t possibly know what it was like to be in Hawthorn’s position, so there was no way she could guess what Hawthorn might want to say.

She could, however, imagine being on the other side. “Well, why not start with reminding them that you love them?”

Hawthorn nodded. “Yes, of course. Tell Bramble that even if we’ve never met, I’ll always be watching over him. Tell him to behave, and that I’m looking forward to seeing who he grows up to be. Tell him… tell him about Sungrove, as you’ve seen it here.”

Applejack nodded. “I will. And Aspen?”

“Tell Aspen that… that I’m sorry I had to leave him, but that it was my choice and that he shouldn’t blame himself for something that happened when he was practically a fawn.” Hawthorn broke into something that was half laugh and half cry. “Tell him to lighten up and enjoy life for what it is. That there’s no need to be the king all the time. More than anything, I want him to know that I’m so proud of him, and that I love him… and… and…”

Hawthorn could no longer continue through her tears, but that was okay. Applejack knew there could never be enough words to fill the years spent apart, and that anything at all would mean the world to someone in Aspen’s position.

“I think that’s perfect,” Applejack said. “I think it’s just what he wants to hear.”

As Hawthorn dried her eyes, she seemed to notice something in Applejack’s expression. “Applejack, your parents… Are they…?”

Applejack’s head drooped and she scratched at the back of her neck. “Yeah, they are.”

Although it had been a long time since Applejack had grieved her loss, when Hawthorn pulled her into a hug, she nevertheless found herself blinking back tears of her own.

“I’m so sorry. I… I should have thought…”

Applejack shook her head and dried her eyes. “No, it’s okay. I’m glad I can pass along your message for you.”

Hawthorn pulled away from the hug but kept a foreleg on Applejack’s shoulder. “Well, I think it’s only fair that I return the favor. Once we leave here, I’ll be sure to tell them all about the wonderful doe their daughter has grown into.”

Applejack could not find any words that could say what she wanted, nor did she really trust herself to speak. Instead, she simply nodded her thanks as she tried not to cry.

“I… I think our time is coming to an end,” Hawthorn said after a moment. “I’ve become so accustomed to this place, it’s strange to think I’ll be leaving it.”

“You’ll be with your friends again,” Applejack reminded her.

Hawthorn smiled. “Thank you, Applejack. I’m glad we were able to meet one another.”

Applejack nodded. “Me too. I just wish I could do something more for you.”

Hawthorn laughed then held out her foreleg for another hug, which Applejack accepted. “Nonsense. You’ve done more than you could possibly imagine. Trust me, this is much easier with a friend here to see me off this time.”

There were hundreds of things that they might’ve said but didn’t. She could feel everything fading, as if she was falling asleep, and she knew Hawthorn would not be there when she woke up. But she wasn’t worried. In only a short time, they had formed a friendship that would stay with Applejack for all of her days. The rest would just have to be filled in the next time they met.

Nothing that Applejack immediately became aware of was good. She had a dull ache throughout her body, while her head was throbbing. Her left foreleg was extremely uncomfortable, but she couldn’t move it and attempting to do so intensified her pain. Her mouth and throat felt dry and the light was blinding when she tried to open her eyes.

By all accounts, waking up seemed to bring her into a significantly more miserable existence. But, she realized, at least that meant she was truly back in the world she knew this time.

Slowly, good things faded into her perception. She was lying on a soft bed, with plenty of pillows around for her comfort. Although her left foreleg seemed to be bound up to her shoulder, everything else was movable. The blinding light turned out to be much dimmer when her eyes finally adjusted, as it was only sunlight creeping in through closed curtains that were not heavy enough to keep it out completely.

And, above all else, there was Fluttershy. She was sitting in a nearby chair, but her head lay on the bed. She was sleeping, and Applejack wondered if she had fallen asleep without meaning to. Being spread out from chair to bed couldn’t be very comfortable.

Applejack used her good foreleg to gently stroke Fluttershy’s mane. The sleeping draconequus slowly opened her eyes and then shot straight up. “Applejack!”

“Morning, beautiful.”

Fluttershy looked excited, but resigned herself to carefully stroking Applejack’s cheek. “Oh, Applejack! No one knew what was wrong with you, I was so worried, I thought…”

“Hey now.” Applejack’s voice came out raspy and it irritated her throat to talk, but she smiled anyway. “I’m okay. Everything’s okay.”

Too overwhelmed with emotion to talk, Fluttershy just nodded. Applejack tried to shift position and grunted from the effort. Fluttershy gently pushed her back onto the bed. “You need to rest, you’ve been through so much…”

Rest sounded like the last thing Applejack needed, but she didn’t want to see Fluttershy worry. “Water?”

“Oh! Of course, wait right there!”

Applejack probably would’ve pointed out that she didn’t have much choice, but she wanted to minimize her talking until she got something to drink. Fluttershy disappeared from Applejack’s field of vision for just a moment, then she returned with a canteen.

Without the use of both of her hooves, Fluttershy had to help her, but the water eased the irritation in her throat and relieved the dryness in her mouth. She emptied the full canteen easily.

“That,” she said after a sigh of relief, “feels much better.”

Fluttershy smiled, although she still looked like she was afraid she might damage Applejack if she touched her. “Do you hurt?”

Applejack smiled and shifted her position. Her muscles were stiff, but she ignored the ache. “A little, but not so much that you shouldn’t join me in bed.”

Although she looked apprehensive, Fluttershy couldn’t hold out for long. She moved very cautiously as she climbed into the bed, barely putting any pressure at all on Applejack while lying next to her.

“So then, strawberry,” Applejack said as she savored the chance to finally relax with her lover, “mind filling me in on what happened?”

“I was kind of hoping you could tell me. You just started glowing, and then you floated into the air. Then you stopped the roc just by talking to it!”

“That was…” Applejack reached a hoof up to her neck only to find it was bare. “What happened to the necklace I was wearing?”

“I still have it. Do you want me to get it?”

Applejack thought for a moment but decided against it. This moment was too good to cut short. “Maybe in a bit, but it’s fine as long as it’s safe. That’s what let me do all that stuff, but it’s a long story. Would it be alright if that waited until my head stopped hurting?”

“Of course.” Fluttershy nuzzled a bit closer. “I’m just glad to have you back.”

“And I’m glad to be back, strawberry.” Applejack smiled and looked around the room. “Although I’m not sure where I’m back to, exactly.”

“We’re back in Thicket. After that magic surge, you fell unconscious. Most of your injuries were gone and you were breathing normally, but you just wouldn’t wake up no matter what I did. I brought us to the palace in Thicket, and Aspen had the best doctors come to see you. Discord and even Zecora tried to figure it out too, just in case it was something that the deer weren’t familiar with. But no one was able to figure out what was wrong or when you’d wake up.”

Even now that Applejack was safe, Fluttershy still sounded like she might start crying. “I’m sorry I worried you. How long have I been asleep for?”

“Two days.”

Applejack sighed, suspecting the answer to her next question before she even asked it. “And how much have you slept in those two days?”

Fluttershy blushed and nuzzled her head against Applejack’s neck, where she wouldn’t have to make eye contact. “A bit…”

Applejack frowned. “I’m glad to see you, but you didn’t have to stay here the whole time. You could’ve gone home and had someone else tell you when I woke up.”

Fluttershy pulled away. “Applejack, I didn’t want to leave you! Ever since I found out that you left the forest, I’ve been nothing but terrified! I’ve never been so afraid in my life, and then even when I found you, I was still afraid I’d lose you! So yes, I’ve been sitting here worrying myself sick because I needed to be by your side for my sake just as much as yours. Why would you think that I’d rather be anywhere else if you’re not there?”

“I’m sorry.” Applejack turned away and rested her face against a pillow.

“It’s alright. I’m sorry I snapped at you.” Fluttershy returned to snuggling against Applejack. “But why did you leave? Why couldn’t you just talk to me about what was bothering you?”

That was a good question, and one Applejack had been wondering herself. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t even realize it was bothering me so much until you were already gone. Then I just kept thinking to myself that maybe if I were more interesting you wouldn’t have wanted to leave.”

“Oh, Applejack…” Fluttershy gently caressed her lover’s cheek. “That wasn’t ever true at all. I did want to see things outside the forest, but the whole time I was thinking of you. I wish you had been there to experience everything with me.”

“Heh, I think that might’ve been a better trip after all. I sure made a mess for everyone.”

“It’s okay. Everyone made it back safely, and they’ll all just be glad to know you’re safe.” Fluttershy giggled. “I have such a silly little doe. How can you be so worried that you’re not enough when so many love you?”

Applejack’s instinct was to just agree, but that wouldn’t be fair. Fluttershy had just got done telling her off for not opening up about what was bothering her, so it was only right that she be honest about this as well. “But, well… that’s just because I’m your doe. Yeah, I do have a lot of friends and I’m not saying that they don’t like me or anything. But the biggest reason that everyone respects me or would ever do anything like that for me isn’t for me at all. It’s you. Everyone loves you, Fluttershy. You’re the guardian, and I’m your doe. Of course they came to help. All you had to do was ask.”

Fluttershy stroked the crest of hair along Applejack’s head and gave a small laugh. “Such a silly doe… When I found out you were missing, of course I went to Aspen to have him form a search party. He, uhm… he refused…” Fluttershy still sounded upset, but Applejack could immediately see why. So many deer could have died just for the chance at saving one. It must have been a difficult call for him to make.

“I went to look for you with Pinkie and Rainbow, who both insisted on coming without me needing to ask them because they were worried about you. I thought that was all the help we were going to get, but while we were gone, Big Mac and Blackthorne started rounding up volunteers to look in Everfree in case we were wrong about you going to White Tail Woods.

“But when they heard what happened, none of them wanted to just look in Everfree. Over sixty deer banded together and demanded to speak to Aspen. They appealed his decision and forced him to allow a proper search party. As they were marching out of the forest, Rarity found them. She insisted on coming too, and carried as many deer as she could to the woods. Once she was there, she turned around and swam all the way back to bring more. She made trips back and forth all night long, and she would have kept at it if Rainbow didn’t find their group just when we needed them the most. In the end, she had managed to bring thirty-seven of the deer to help us. And you know what? Every single one of them was there for you.”

Applejack didn’t know what to say. Part of her felt awful; so many of her friends and neighbors had risked their lives just for her! If even one of them had died, Applejack wasn’t sure how she could’ve ever forgiven herself. But another part of her felt overjoyed to know she meant that much to them. Maybe she really had been being a silly doe after all.

In any case, all of her knew that she had spent too long in this bed. “What do you say to helping me get out of this room, strawberry? I think I’ve kept everyone waiting long enough.”

“Oh, are you sure you’re ready for that?” Fluttershy asked, but Applejack was already sitting up.

Applejack’s muscles were stiff from lack of use, but aside from her shoulder, the pain wasn’t too bad. Looking at it properly, she saw that her left foreleg was bound in a sling. “It’s broken?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy answered. “But the doctors are sure you’ll be able to use it again soon.”

Applejack shrugged with her good shoulder. “I don’t think I got off too bad, all things considered. I won’t say no to taking it easy for a while. Can you get that necklace?”

“Oh, sure.” Fluttershy walked across the room while Applejack worked on standing herself up. It was a bit strange to have to balance on three legs, but she felt steady enough.

By the time she managed to get fully upright, Fluttershy was back. She held the necklace in her paws, but Applejack couldn’t get a good look at it. “It, uhm… Well, I don’t know what happened to it. After you fainted, it, well, look.”

Fluttershy held the necklace out for Applejack, who immediately saw what she meant. The Emblem of Anqa was a gold necklace with a wind pattern engraved on the band. That part remained unchanged. But while it had once held a pendant in the shape of a bird, there was now something very different as the centerpiece.

An orange gemstone in the shape of an apple now adorned the necklace, with two small green gems for leaves sticking out of the top. Applejack thought back to what Hawthorn had said and realized she was right.

“I guess it’s not really the Emblem of Anqa anymore,” Applejack said.

“That’s the Emblem of Anqa?” Fluttershy asked. “No wonder it helped you stop the Shadow.”

“Well, it was. But that was when Hawthorn owned it. Now that it’s mine, I guess it’s something else.”

Fluttershy helped Applejack put the necklace on. “Something else?”

Applejack hobbled over to a mirror across the room and examined herself and her element. What would it be, now that it was Applejack’s? She barely had to ask for the answer to come from somewhere deep inside her.

“Honesty.”

“What? You know, you really could explain what’s going on, deer.”

Applejack laughed. “Yeah, I know. But, uh, there’s someone else who really needs to hear everything. Let’s go find Aspen.”

Although she looked confused that seeing the king was their destination, Fluttershy didn’t question it. She walked on Applejack’s weak side, keeping her steady as they left the room.

It wasn’t long at all before they were spotted. A member of the palace staff noticed them and rushed over to check on Applejack and give her best wishes. Soon after, there was another, and then another. Before long, deer were seeking them out after having heard from others that Applejack had woken.

They really did care about her, and not just because of Fluttershy. It was a great feeling, and Applejack couldn’t understand why she had been so blind to it for so long. But as much as she enjoyed greeting everyone, there was one voice in particular that lifted her more than any others.

“Applejack!” Apple Bloom ran over and crashed into her leg at full speed, with Big Mac trailing along behind. Thankfully, with Fluttershy walking on her left side, it was her good leg that became the target of her little sister’s hug.

“Hey there, AB. It’s good to see you, too.”

Unfortunately, Big Mac was a lot larger than Apple Bloom, and his hug reached over to her bad shoulder. “Welcome back, AJ.”

Applejack winced and pulled away, keeping her shoulder out of reach of his hooves. “Careful, Mac, I’m a little banged up already if you hadn’t noticed.”

Big Mac just laughed. “Hey, I thought you were an Apple. You gotta be tougher than that!”

“I know I taught both of you better manners than that!” a creaky voice called after them as an elderly deer hobbled over. But despite her words, Granny Smith was smiling just as wide as any of her grandchildren.

Big Mac and Apple Bloom stepped aside so that Granny Smith could hug Applejack, and for one moment, Applejack relished simply being with her family.

And then in the next moment, Granny pulled away and fixed Applejack with a harsh glare. “Of all the places you could go, you pick White Tail Woods!? No wonder it took fifty deer to bring you back! You’re lucky you even made it back in one piece!”

Even with the lecture, Applejack couldn’t help but smile. She could already imagine that the next time Granny told the story, it would probably become sixty deer. “I know, it was really dumb. And I’m sorry I worried all of you.”

“And another thing!” It seemed Granny Smith wouldn’t be placated so easily. While everyone chipped in to try and get her to calm down, Applejack noticed someone else who was patiently waiting beside the family.

“Hello, Bramble,” Applejack said, happy to seize the opportunity to focus on something other than her foolishness.

“Hello, Applejack,” Bramble said. “It’s good to see you’re okay.”

“Hmph.” Granny Smith frowned. “The young prince here is better behaved than any of my grandchildren. He doesn’t interrupt an old doe when she’s talking.”

Bramble smiled at the praise. “Papa asked me to help your family with anything they need while they’re staying with us.”

Big Mac laughed. “Mostly that’s meant keeping Apple Bloom from being underhoof.”

Apple Bloom shot her brother a dirty look, but Applejack spoke before she had the chance to. “You all were staying in the palace?”

“Of course we were,” Granny Smith said. “We wanted to be nearby whenever you woke up.”

Applejack smiled at her family. But as much as she wanted to catch up with them, she had somewhere else to be. “You all are the best. But right now, I need to find King Aspen.”

“Well, let’s go then,” Big Mac said, and everyone seemed to take it as a given that they’d go together, which turned out to be exactly what Applejack wanted.

They had to keep pace with Granny Smith, but Applejack wasn’t up for walking too fast, anyway. Besides, Big Mac kept them from going too slow by firmly yet good-naturedly telling everyone else that approached that they would be able to talk to Applejack more personally later.

They made their way to the throne room, where Aspen was waiting for them. It seemed someone had already gotten word to him that Applejack was awake and on her way to see him. He sat on his throne in his full regalia – along with the gold that permanently adorned his antlers, he wore golden boots and a gold necklace. The necklace caught Applejack’s eye. She had seen it before, but only now was she realizing the significance of the ruby heart pendant.

“Greetings, everyone,” Aspen said as they approached. Everyone except for Fluttershy, Applejack, and Bramble bowed, although Applejack still inclined her head. “It is good to see you’re up and about, Applejack.”

“Thank you, sir,” Applejack said. She looked around the room and took note of the other deer that were gathered. Blackthorne stood at Aspen’s side, so she addressed him first. “And thank you too, Blackthorne. Without you and Mac getting everyone together, well… I’d rather not think about it.”

Blackthorne inclined his head. “I was happy to be of assistance.”

Applejack took a deep breath. She knew she was about to disappoint a lot of curious ears. “I know everyone here probably wants to hear what happened from me, but right now, it’d be best if Fluttershy and I can have a word with the king in private.”

It was highly unusual among the deer to dismiss company. There were awkward looks and murmurs before anyone moved, and they might have complained if Blackthorne hadn’t acted first.

“As you wish, Applejack.” He rose from his seat next to Aspen and made for the exit, and it was a clear message to everyone else gathered. If even Blackthorne was going to leave them to their privacy, then no one else had any reason to object.

The Apples were the last to leave, but in the end, they left as well. Aspen waited until the room was empty to speak again. “Well then, Applejack? What is it that you’d like to speak to me in confidence about?”

Applejack took a deep breath and walked closer to him. “A lot happened while I was gone. I found this.” Applejack indicated her necklace. “It was the Emblem of Anqa until a few days ago.”

Aspen stood up and walked over to her, then squinted his eyes as he examined the necklace. “That is not the Emblem of Anqa.”

Applejack chuckled. “I know that, but I did say ‘was’. Now it’s the Element of Honesty, and it marks me as an Element Bearer.”

It seemed Hawthorn hadn’t told her son about her time as an Element Bearer, as he showed no reaction to the terms. “And what is that, exactly?”

“It means I have an important job to do. There’s something coming. An ancient spirit called Nightmare, and I’m one of six Element Bearers charged with stopping it.”

Aspen eyed her skeptically. “And the Emblem of Anqa transformed into this Element of Honesty? The Emblem is a relic from Sungrove. What does it have to do with this Nightmare?”

“I know it’s strange, but the Emblem was always an element. And before me, Hawthorn was its Bearer.”

“My mother?” Although he didn’t outright say it, Applejack suspected that he took offense to her failure to use Hawthorn’s title when addressing her.

“Yes. That’s actually why I asked everyone else to leave. I spoke with her.”

Anger flashed on Aspen’s face for a moment, then was replaced by detachment. “Your experiences have left you unwell. My mother died eight hundred years ago, as you well know. You dreamt these things.”

“Applejack knows what she saw,” Fluttershy said.

“She was… not like the older deer describe her.” Applejack had known all along that he’d need to be convinced. She’d just have to make him realize that the Hawthorn she’d met couldn’t have come from her own imagination. “She was shorter than me, which was a little surprising. She looked a lot like Bramble, actually. Said she likes flowers, just like him, but she wasn’t very good with other kinds of magic, so I guess you must take after your dad there. She spoke softly and laughed a lot, with a smile that could make anyone smile back. She wasn’t tall or elegant, fierce or regal. But she was so much more wonderful than all that.”

Aspen stared at her for a few long moments, not saying a word. He seemed to be studying her, looking for any sign that she might be lying. When he spoke, his voice was softer than Applejack had ever heard it. “When I was very young, my mother left Sungrove with five others.”

“Those must have been the other Element Bearers of her time,” Applejack said. “She said there were six of them.”

Aspen frowned a little at his memory. “Never have I seen such an entourage. In those days, the deer would occasionally interact with ponies, but this was unusual even for then. None of the other five were deer. Two ponies, a yak, a griffon, and even a shapeshifter.”

Surprisingly, a small smile worked onto Aspen’s face. “And yet, my mother called them all her friends. I met them only briefly and do not remember their names, but I liked them. The yak, especially, made me laugh. But then she told me she had something important to do, and she left without another word. It was shortly after she returned that the world seemed to grow darker.”

Applejack nodded. “They set out to stop Nightmare, but things didn’t go so well. Now she might be stronger than ever.”

A few more moments of silence hung over them, then Aspen nodded. “If my mother placed her trust in you, then so will I.”

It was good that he believed her, because things were about to get more delicate. “You should know that her body’s still there. It was preserved by the Emblem, but now…”

“Now you have the Emblem,” Aspen said. He was not accusatory as Applejack had feared he’d be; he merely stated it as a simple fact.

“Yes. I don’t pretend to know more than I’m told about all this magic stuff, but it seems to me that if she’s just left there, well…”

Although Applejack trailed off, Aspen clearly understood. “It seems we’ll have to make one more trip to Sungrove after all. She deserves a proper burial in the city she tried to protect.”

Applejack nodded. “You know, it doesn’t have to be one more time, though. The Shadow was Anqa, the roc that watched over the woods. He was corrupted by Nightmare, but I was able to send his spirit on. He’s not a threat anymore, so the woods are safe again.”

Aspen considered it for a moment. “I will decide after I visit the city myself. But… I think that you may be right.”

Applejack chuckled. “She wanted me to tell Bramble about Sungrove, but I think it would be even better to be able to show him someday.”

“I agree.” Aspen regarded Applejack strangely, and she suspected what might be on his mind. “Did she… say anything else to you?”

Exactly as she thought. “Yeah, she said a few things…” Applejack doubted he would appreciate being corrected about his own responsibilities, but it would be better to get that out of the way first.

“Hawthorn told me that you’re not really the Heart of the Forest. Fluttershy is.” Both Fluttershy and Aspen gave her surprised looks, but neither interrupted her. “The Heart of the Forest is the one who’s supposed to watch over it, right? Well, that’s not you. You can’t be responsible for all that, and that’s not bad. She told me to tell you that you need to slow down and forget that you’re a king sometimes.”

She suspected backlash, but it didn’t come. Instead, against all odds, he laughed. “Forget that I’m a king? You really must have been talking with her.”

Applejack grinned. “Well, I think what she meant is that being a king doesn’t mean you have to bear the weight of everything all the time. She said… she said it wasn’t your fault that she died.”

Aspen stopped smiling. He looked torn, and Applejack could understand why. He didn’t want to discuss something so personal with Applejack, but he also wanted to know whatever else his mother might’ve said.

Well, there was no decision for Applejack. She’d made a promise to a friend, and besides, she knew that deep down Aspen would give anything to hear the words Applejack had been given to pass on.

“She told me that you taking the title Heart of the Forest meant you took her death too hard. She says she’s sorry for leaving you alone, but it was the choice she had to make. There wasn’t anything you could do for her. And… well, she didn’t say this, but I will. The best thing you could do for her now is to honor her memory. Not by being the strongest king we’ve ever had like you think she would’ve wanted, but by living the life she’d really want for you if she were still here.”

Aspen slowly walked back towards his throne. “I will think on what you’ve said.”

It was clear that the meeting had come to an end, but there was still one final thing to say. “And Aspen? She wanted you to know more than anything that she loves you, and she’s proud of who you’ve grown into.”

Aspen stopped in his paces for a second, and he did not turn to face them when he replied. “Thank you, Applejack.”

With nothing else, Applejack turned to leave. Fluttershy followed along wordlessly, but was stopped before they could get through the door.

“Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy looked back. “Yes, Aspen?”

“I was wrong when we last spoke. You were right to go after her.”

Fluttershy smiled at Applejack. “She certainly does keep things interesting around here.”

Applejack laughed as they left the throne room and wondered how long it would be before they were swarmed again.

“So where to now?” Fluttershy asked.

Where to? Applejack had to tell Bramble everything that Hawthorn had asked her to tell him, and then she still owed an explanation to her family. Not to mention the dozens of deer she’d have to find and thank.

“How about Ponyville?” Applejack asked with a grin.

Fluttershy laughed. “Ponyville? You’re not really my doe at all, are you?”

“What? Just because I decided that maybe the whole world out there isn’t so bad doesn’t mean that I’ve been replaced.”

Fluttershy pretended to consider Applejack carefully. “Well, alright… But I’ve got my eye on you.”

They both laughed and Applejack tried to nuzzle against Fluttershy. She lost her balance and fell into her instead. Fluttershy just laughed again and maneuvered herself under Applejack, lifting the deer up onto her back to carry her. “Maybe we should make that trip after you’ve got all four hooves back again.”

“Fair enough,” Applejack said. “I do need to talk to Bramble anyway.”

“Okay. Then how about after that we go out for a bit? Not to Ponyville, but somewhere nearby.”

“I suppose my family can wait until dinner, since we saw them for a bit at least. Got something in mind?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Rainbow, Pinkie, and Discord are all still in Thicket. They wanted to stick around until you got better.”

Applejack smiled, then started laughing again. “I bet some of the deer have been pretty panicky.”

Fluttershy giggled. “A little. What do you say we get them and then go find Rarity? She doesn’t know that you’re awake yet either.”

“Sounds good to me, strawberry.” Really, anything sounded fine to Applejack, so long as they were together.

It had been the most exciting few days Applejack had ever had, and from the sound of it, she had more exciting times ahead of her. For a deer like her, that could be a bit overwhelming. But she wasn’t worried anymore. She had come face to face with legends, only to find that they were just like her.

But for now? For now she would take the days as they came. It was a perfect day – a gentle breeze was blowing through the open windows, friendly faces passed them as they walked along, she was with Fluttershy, and, if she listened closely, she could just barely make out someone yelling something about a giant pink bird.

Life in the forest wasn’t all there was, and sure, maybe it would even be fun to see what else there was. But it was where Applejack had been born, where her family lived, and it was where she shared her home with the love of her life. And as long as she could hold onto that no matter where she roamed, then there was nothing she needed to worry about.

Epilogue

The streets of Canterlot were a mixed sight after spending so long in the woods. There was a delectable element of chaos to the way ponies would run to and fro, and Discord savored it. The woods were too peaceful, and the deer far too orderly. In Canterlot, it felt like anything could happen at any time.

Of course, their adventure in White Tail Woods was an exception, but that had been perhaps too much chaos for someone so old. Discord was not blessed with lasting youthfulness like Applejack, after all. It had been astounding to learn someone who seemed so young was well over four hundred years old. Many of the other deer were even as old as Discord himself.

Somepony heard her name being called and turned to look. She tripped and dropped her loaf of bread. It rolled along the ground where a bird started pecking at it. The bread distracted the bird while a cat snuck up from behind.

Everything was connected in the most delightful series of unpredictable events. Anything could happen at any time, and Discord relished in the beauty of it.

But not everything in the city was beautiful. More than a few ponies noticed him as he walked past, and he didn’t care for their looks. His stature, his mane that stood on end, his ears, along with myriad other traits about him all marked him as different from them. It had been unlikely that his noble unicorn father would fall in love with a low-class donkey, then it had been unlikely that his mother would come to reciprocate. Given the social norms of the time, it was unlikely for them to act on these feelings, and given the biological complications, it was unlikely for them to conceive a child.

It had been nothing short of a series of completely unpredictable events. It had been, in a word, chaos.

In any event, at least he knew as he walked through the gates of Canterlot’s Academy of Magic that no one would dare disrespect him here. Not, at least, in his presence, although Discord had no delusions of what they must say behind his back.

“Oh, Professor Discord, you’re back!” one of his brighter students said as she caught up with him in the hallway.

“Yes, Moon Dancer, it would seem that I am.”

“How was the trip?” Moon Dancer asked.

“Exhausting.” In truth, the last week had been nothing of the sort. The deer mistrusted him for being a pony, although that was nothing new to an old hinny like himself, and the deer had otherwise been accommodating to his wishes. He suspected that had mostly been because of Applejack and Fluttershy.

“Well, at least you’re back now. Princess Celestia is here at the Academy if you wanted to see her.”

Discord grinned. “Yes, in fact, I would. Is she in her office?”

“Yeah, she was in a meeting with the dean, but she should be finished now.”

“Delightful.”

He sent Moon Dancer on her way and then made for Celestia’s office. He didn’t have any particularly urgent business with her, but it did save him from having to make a trip to the castle.

Along the way, he was greeted by a few students, but most of them ignored him. He was a familiar sight at the Academy and had been for as long as anyone could remember. There wasn’t much reason for anyone other than his own students to pay him much attention.

He didn’t bother to knock as he entered Celestia’s office; it was more fun to catch her unaware. “Good day, o radiant one! And such a fine day you’ve blessed us with today, I might add.”

Unfortunately, Celestia was far too accustomed to him to pay the intrusion much mind. The other occupant of the room, however, wheeled around in a start at the intrusion.

“Welcome back, Discord,” Celestia said with her trademark slight smile. “Your trip went well?”

The large purple dragon she had been speaking with was less pleased to see him. “Of course. We would hate for it to have been anything short of perfect.”

Twilight Sparkle’s tone suggested that she would not hate that in the slightest, although deep down, he also suspected she would be sorry if he had been harmed. They were far from friends, but years of being colleagues had brought a certain camaraderie about them. Dragons were not more accepted among ponies than hinnies were, after all.

“It was quite the experience,” Discord reported. “In my typical fashion, I stumbled into a wealth of unexpected things, the likes of which we’ll need to discuss in time. But above all, I can say that the woods just have such a wonderful sense of harmony.”

“I do hope you collected samples,” Twilight said, her tone finally lighting. There was no faster way into her good graces than by science, after all.

“My reptilian friend, I do believe you’ll be delighted with my findings.”

“I look forward to hearing the full results of your study,” Celestia said. “It will be a good break from all the paperwork I’ve been doing. This new law reform has been an absolute nightmare.”

“Yes, there’s been a lot of that for a long time now,” Discord said with a nod. “But, it seems to me that is an element of change coming.”

“I hope you’re right. Although I do wonder who would bear such an element.”

“Twilight!” An earth pony colt – purple with a tan muzzle and a green mane and tail – excitedly ran into the room. He approached Twilight, who seemed to be puzzled by his appearance.

“Spike? What are you doing here?”

Spike tilted his head. “You said to come get you before Professor Inkwell’s lecture.”

“Is it three o’clock already?”

Discord chuckled. “Run along then, Twilight. We can catch up later, and I’ll tell you all about the discoveries I’ve made.”

Spike eyed him suspiciously, but Twilight seemed content. “Great! You don’t mind, do you, Princess?”

Celestia smiled. “Of course not. Enjoy the lecture, Twilight. And do try to find something for young Spike to do besides helping you take notes this time.”

Twilight chuckled nervously and didn’t answer as she led them out the door.

Once alone, Discord turned to Celestia. “Bear the element? A little on the nose, isn’t it?”

Celestia dropped the pretense of her eternally calm demeanor, instead allowing herself to look annoyed, as she only would when in Discord’s presence alone. “It was all I could think of. You know I’m not good at that sort of thing.”

Discord smirked. “Well, at least Twilight is as perfectly oblivious as ever. I doubt she’ll question it.”

Celestia bowed her head, and when she looked back up, her expression had completely changed. She now looked concerned, but not without hope. “You really found it, though? Hawthorn’s element?”

“I did.”

“Perfect! Then you have it with you?”

“I don’t.” Discord allowed himself the guilty pleasure of savoring Celestia’s shocked expression before continuing. “It’s with its bearer now. It’s a deer again this time, a doe by the name of Applejack.”

Celestia finally allowed herself to look relieved. “And you think she can be relied upon?”

“Harmony does not choose her bearers poorly.” Discord could tell Celestia was not comforted; it had been nearly a thousand years, and she still did not believe that. “Yes, I would place my trust in her. Did, on a number of occasions.”

That seemed to do the trick much better. Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I suppose I should meet her.”

“I don’t think there’s any need to hurry. It sounds like the deer may open their doors to ponies again, so I think a meeting is a given. Wait until then.”

“But –”

“We only have three Element Bearers so far,” Discord said curtly. “Diplomatic ties with the deer are also important if we’re right about the showdown being in the Everfree Forest. If the other three make themselves known sooner rather than later, then you can arrange a meeting. Otherwise, do not go until you’re welcomed. Do not take Aspen’s help as a given; he is not the welcoming ruler that his mother was.”

Celestia nodded. “Thank you, Discord. I don’t know what I would’ve done all these years without your counsel.”

Discord chuckled. “I scarcely know what you did a week without me.”

Celestia laughed as well. It was good to hear that; she did not laugh nearly enough these days. “We’ll get her back this time.”

Then again, Discord couldn’t remember the last time he had genuinely laughed himself. “Of course we will. We are not going to lose her again.”

Author's Note

For something that was supposed to be a oneshot, this got really long! Thank you all for reading my first foray into adventure stories, the Noodleverse, and AUs in general :scootangel:

A few links, while I have your attention. First off, I made a group for the Noodleverse if you haven’t seen that yet. Additionally, you can find all the sweet Noodle AU artwork over on Pasu’s Tumblr :raritywink:

There's a TVTropes page for this fic. If you've enjoyed it and are into that sort of thing, consider adding to the trope page!

I’ve got a Discord server, if anyone wants to come check that out (please note that it is a 16+ server, if you are not 16 years old or older please do not join!) :scootangel:

And above all, I hope you all have enjoyed this story as much as I’ve enjoyed telling it. Thank you again for reading!