The Journalby TropicalWingsChapters01 : The Wrong Side of the Bed02 : Breaking News03 : Jumping to Conclusions04 : Debates Over Dinner05 : The First Entries06 : The Nightmare07 : Secrets & Commitments08 : The Walk09 : The Iron Spike10 : Apologies and Revelations01 : The Wrong Side of the BedThe Journal by TropicalWings The first thing I felt when I woke up was the pierce, throbbing pain echoing down on my forehead. I have never felt anything like it. The pain was like a war drum beating constantly every few seconds; it was unbearable. I sat up and found myself sitting down on a bed, I touched my aching forehead, and that’s when I realized the whole thing was wrapped in a ton of bandages, save for my precious little horn. I looked around my surroundings and realized that the room I was in wasn’t familiar to me. I couldn’t make any sense of what was going on. Where am I? What’s going on? My mind was instantly filling up with a thousand questions. Does anypony even know I’m here? Why do I have this awful headache? My state of confusion was slowly turning into panic, and my instincts are telling me to run. Run and go back home, or at least go call for help. My mind began to wander; What if there were ponies keeping me here? What if they’re bad ponies keeping me here for their evil plans? But… what if they were good? What if they were taking care of me? That would explain the bandages, but… wouldn’t it be more practical to just bring me to a hospital? The more I think about it, the more I panic. Should I go escape from this place or should I stay here and wait? I then realized: I had no idea as to where I would go, even if I got out of this place. But instead of pondering on this fact, my mind went to work, instantly thinking of a solution to the current problem. I tried using my magic to open the only door in the room. Instead of an open door, I was greeted by a sudden wave of intense pain overwhelming my already aching head. Something is terribly wrong. I tried opening the door again, but more pain rushed to my head. It felt like my head was cracking open rather than the door. ‘One more time.’, I said to myself, and I mustered all my strength to open the door. What did you know, it swung open. The only problem was it wasn’t because of me; it was someone else. Through the door walked in a rather depressed mare. No use running away now. ...Maybe If I hide under my covers she won’t notice? No. Her eyes just caught sight of me and suddenly her jaw dropped with a gasp. Her mood suddenly perked up and she frantically ran out the room, weird. Just as I felt like she wasn’t coming back, she returned, only, she wasn’t alone; five other ponies joined her. Four of them were mares, and the other was a stallion, with sheer happiness evidently strewn on each of their faces. One of them, a pink pony with a rather puffy mane even began jumping up and down in excitement, “SHE’S AWAKE!” she shouted. “SHE’S AWAKE! SHE’S AWAKE! THIS CALLS FOR A ‘SHE’S AWAKE’ PARTY! IT’S A GOOD THING I BROUGHT MY PARTY CANNON WITH ME. THERE WILL BE SINGING, DANCING, CAKE AND EVERYTHING! AND THEN AFTER THAT WE’LL HAVE AN AFTER-PARTY AND THEN AFTER THAT WE’LL HAVE AN AFTER-AFTER-PARTY AND THEN AN AFTER-AFTER-AFTER-PARTY AND THEN AN AFTER-AFTER…” Man, what’s up with this mare? Did she even take a breath of air while saying that ridiculously long rant of hers? “Calm down, partner.” A voice told her. It came from an orange mare with blonde hair. She had three apples on her flank and a cowboy hat on her head. “Give her some space, she just woke up.” she added. Were they just talking about me? I don’t know these ponies, why the heck would they be concerned about me? Well, the pink pony finally managed to pipe down. Good thing, I thought my headache was going to worsen if she had continued rambling like that. The orange pony suddenly spoke up again, “Thank goodness you’re okay, Sugarcube, we’ve been worried sick ever since the accident.” Wait… “She’s awake”? “Worried”? “Accident”? What are these ponies talking about? Wait…How long was I out? ...Why do these ponies care so much about me? “…What’s going on here?” I asked. The smiles on their faces disappeared instantly and were now replaced with looks of sadness and confusion. “W-what?” stammered a yellow Pegasus, the one that had found me lying awake in the room. “Y-you…You don’t remember anything?” I shook my head in response, “No.” “Oh dear.” whispered one of them, a pale white unicorn with a set of purple curly hair. “This isn’t good.” “Darling…” she told me with a look of worry on her face,”…I think you have amnesia.” “What’s am-nee-sha?” asked a rather peculiar looking cyan pegasus with rainbow hair, questioning the word. The alabaster-colored unicorn frowned, “Darling, amnesia is a mental condition, it’s when you lose your memory.” ”Sometimes…” she added, “…sometimes amnesia just makes you forget recent events...Other times, you don’t get lucky, and get your whole memory wiped out, forgetting everything you ever knew…”. “That sounds horrible.” commented the brash pegasus. Sounds horrible? Of COURSE it sounds horrible! Doesn’t that pea-brained pegasus realize how serious this is? “…so, which kind of amnesia did yer friend here get then?” asked the blonde stallion, who had been quiet for most of the conversation. He was wearing a cowboy hat, just like the orange mare’s, and a vest, covering his entire chest. “Well, the best thing we can do to find out is to ask her, right?” Immediately, she trotted over to me, her face a few mere inches from mine. She stared at me, her eyes filled with concern. “Darling.” she said looking at me. “What do you remember?” What do I remember...? “Hmm… Well, I can definitely tell you that I have no idea where exactly I am, and I don’t remember experiencing any ‘accident’ you guys have been talking about, and, uh…” my voice trailed off. “What is it?” “…I don’t know who any of you girls are” Their already worried looks grew worse the minute they heard what I said. One of them, the pink, hyperactive pony, suddenly winced, and her once puffy hair suddenly deflated like a balloon into straight locks drooping down her head. “Y-you don’t know us?” the pink pony asked, her voice devoid of any happiness. “Sadly,... no, not at all...” I replied. I can tell by their reactions that they took my response like a punch in the gut. “Darling, are you sure you don’t remember?” asked the white unicorn, obviously hoping that I was lying and that I still remember them. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. “Positive.” I said. Silence had filled the room right after that, everypony was still trying to digest what I just told them, Everypony was too shocked to say anything. It felt like an eternity before somepony finally spoke up. “...If you don’t remember us... who do you at least remember then?” The question came from the buttercream colored pegasus. “I remember...” I was stuck mid-sentence. I gathered all my willpower to dig into my throbbing head for any clues. To my disappointment, none appeared. “I don’t remember anypony. Nopony at all.” The five of them were staring at me with blank faces. They really took this thing seriously. While thinking of a way to comfort them, I said: “Well, I do remember one thing. My …” Yet again, I was caught mid-sentence. But one thing came into my mind, a question I knew was vital to my very being: Who am I? 02 : Breaking NewsTwilight Sparkle. The name echoed in my head for hours. It was no ordinary name. I owned it; It was my name, my very identity. The six ponies had left my room a few hours ago. I found myself lying down on the wooden bed alone again, left to let my aching mind wander about again on what had happened a few hours ago. The orange cowpony with the apple cutie mark was Applejack. The ivory-colored unicorn was Rarity. The brash rainbow-haired pegasus was Rainbow Dash. The shy timid yellow pegasus was Fluttershy. The hyperactive party-addicted pony was Pinkie Pie. The blonde stallion was Applejack’s cousin, Braeburn. Apparently, I’m also right in his town right now, a quaint little desert pony settlement named Appleloosa. We’ve actually been here multiple times, as per Applejack’s request. They didn’t care to explain why, though. I repeated their names out again quietly, trying to get my mouth to get used to the feel of the words. They were my friends apparently, especially the 5 mares. Yet for some reason, I couldn’t really understand why I couldn’t remember them. They also said that they, no, we were heroes, not just to Appleloosa, but all throughout the land we know as Equestria. We were known as the bearers of something called the Elements of Harmony, a powerful set of supernatural artifacts once held by the rulers of Equestria itself until its powers went to us. Applejack possessed one known as the “Element of Honesty”, Rainbow Dash owned the “Element of Loyalty”, Rarity held the “Element of Generosity”, Fluttershy beared the “Element of Kindness” and Pinkie Pie had the “Element of Laughter”(figures.) For me, on the other hand, I owned “the most elusive element” among the others; the “Element of Magic”. Wow, talk about being cheesy. It was kind of hard for me to digest what they just told me. Lunar mares, chimeras, dragons, Eternal Night, Chaos, it sounded kind of far-fetched if you ask me. I mean, who would believe a story about the princess’s personal student, out in a desert town? What if they’re really just feeding me lies? Or am I just too skeptical? No, something deep inside me is telling me that they’re sincere about what they’re saying. But I still wonder, why keep me here? Why not bring me back to our hometown named Ponyville? Why not treat me in a proper hospital? Why stay here? I really should ask them that later when they come back to visit me, I was told I’m not allowed to go out yet for my own safety. For some reason, I’m getting tired all of a sudden. Well, I am in the process of recovering from that accident by the way, probably just normal. I made a mental note to ask them my questions later. Once that was all done, I closed my eyes and slept. I awoke to the sound of hooves trotting out in the hallway heading to my direction. Still sleepy, I turned my head to the other hide and suddenly my eyes met Pinkie’s face. I was suddenly startled awake, with her laughing on the floor. I found Rarity behind her, giving her an annoyed look. If her looks could kill, Pinkie would have probably been already dead a few hours ago. “Pinkie, do you honestly wanna frighten our badly injured friend here? We’ve talked about this a million times already.” she said, with a serious tone in her voice. “I can’t help it. TWILIGHT’S FINALLY AWAKE!!” she screamed. I don’t understand what goes on inside that pony’s mind. Rarity letted out a sigh and turned her attention towards me. “Please excuse her, Twilight, she’s just kind of over excited that’s all.” she told me, shooing away Pinkie Pie out of the room. “She was pretty quiet during the time you were in that dreadful coma, simply waiting for you to at least move. And when you did, what a fuss she made of it. She really wasn’t acting herself for once, I thought I was looking at some other pony...” Her voice trailed off. “Anyway, how are you feeling?” she asked me, quickly changing the topic. “Well sadly, my headache is still here,” I replied. “the pain lessened though.” I added. A look of relief filled the white unicorn’s face, “That’s a good start.” she said. “At least we know you can get up and trotting in no time.” “Yeah.” said a voice from the door, which turned out to be Applejack’s. “We’re actually pretty amazed yer in this kind of condition right now”. she added, “‘Specially since ya’ looked awfully banged up back there where we found ya.” “Back there”? What could she be talking about? Now that I think about it, they never actually told me yet why I ended up like this “Oh yes,” said Rarity, “you looked most injured. You had so many cuts and bruises when we found you.” “But... what happened?” I asked. “Why was I like that?” Dead silence hung in the room again “Darling, don’t you... right. You don’t.”, said Rarity. “...What?” “We don’t know why, but we found you outside in the middle of the desert.” “And...?” “Well... that’s it, to be honest,” Rarity replied. “...We actually don’t know why you were in the desert in the first place.” “So what you’re saying is...” I asked “...We’ll never find what really happened to me unless I jog my memory back?” “Maybe, just maybe.” said Rarity. “They say some ponies recover their memory from seeing certain important things in their life. In your case, your journal.” My journal? What could she mean? My mind tried to think, but it was distracted by Applejack’s talking. “Whatever it is,” she said, “Twilight might be the only way we can be able to know what exactly happened. Maybe if that ‘sudden memory recovery’ hee-haw of yours is true, we might be able to get the truth.” “Now wait just a minute,” Rarity replied, ”We can’t just get Twilight out of bed, she’s still injured.” “But we need to get her moving soon. So that by the time the train comes tomorrow, we could go back to Ponyville ASAP. We each have our own stuff to do. You’ve got your dresses, I’ve got my apples, Pinkie’s got her cakes and cupcakes and pastries, so I do think we should get her moving if we want to get back to business as usual.” “Good point, she has been in bed for quite awhile now, hasn’t she?” Rarity replied. “Alrighty, then. Twilight, think you can get up?” said Applejack. “I... I think so...” Slowly I moved my legs so that I could sit up on the edge of the bed. My body still felt sore. I realized it was also covered in bandages. Was my accident really this bad? “Excellent!” said Rarity, as I stood up on my four hooves. I was still trembling, but Applejack appeared beside me and said, “Here. I’ll help you.” “Ready to get back to Ponyville, sugarcube?” “Sure, I’m rea-” Before I could finish my answer, something crashed through the window, it was Rainbow Dash. Judging by the sweat trickling down her face, she must’ve been flying around for a while. “...Terrible...news....guys.” she said, trying to catch her breath while speaking. “The train station...” “Yes? Oh, speaking of which, prepare yourself, we’re going home. I’ll just tell Braeburn.” said Rarity. “No use.” interrupted the pegasus. “The train station, it's... it's...” “It has what, darling?” Rarity asked, her smile slowly turning into a frown. “It's been destroyed. We can’t get home, much less communicate with Ponyville. We’re trapped here.” 03 : Jumping to ConclusionsI found myself struggling to catch up with Rarity and Applejack, as we were headed for the train tracks. We were moving at a snail’s pace as Rarity and Applejack letted me place my forelegs on their shoulders while trotting to the train station. Some of the residents of Appleoosa were staring at us, but most of them were also headed in the same direction as we were, so I guess that this was a really, really bad thing. Currently, it was already around 4 in the afternoon, and the sky was slowly turning dark, the sun setting behind us... It’s my first time seeing the outside of Appleloosa. Well, not really, if you count the numerous times I went here before I lost my memory. “I’m really sorry for slowing you guys down.” “It’s all right. It’s for your own good anyway, we might be able to get to where we found you.” said Rarity. “Let’s not prioritize that first, we need to find out what happened at the tracks in the first place. I don’t remember Appleloosa havin’ any enemies, apart from the buffalos, which I thought we had already took care of.” said Applejack. She was referring to the Buffalo settlement neighboring the town. Apparently the two settlements have been in a constant feud and if it wasn’t for us, they would have still been warring with each other. Today, they’ve been co-existing with Appleloosa in peace and no conflicts between the two have ever been reported in ages. “Darling...You’re not saying they’re behind this, are you?” “‘Course not, I’m jus’ sayin’.” Before I could speak up, we finally arrived at the train station, or what was left of it. What I saw barely looked like a building let alone a train station; the roof has caved in the structure. Most of the walls collapsed into rubble like sand, those that didn’t looked like it would at any moment. The tracks that went through the station were now buried underneath all the rubble. Black marks surrounded majority of the station, if it hadn’t been turned into rubble. Many ponies were surrounding the pile of rubble, some of them were busy removing some heavy pieces of rubble to see if the tracks underneath were still in good condition. Sadly, the condition of the tracks were far worse than the station itself; it was a scorched mess of metal twisted and mangled in different directions, some bits of rubble had jarred some pieces of metal away from its place, some metal jutted out like an open bone fracture. The metal already looked really brittle and could collapse if stood on let alone crossed by a thousand pound locomotive. If a train crossed this, Equestria’s most costly disaster would obviously be eminent. We met up with the other 2 mares; Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who I swore was back at the house a few minutes ago. Fluttershy looked surprise when she saw me “Oh dear, girls, what’s she doing out here?” she asked with her soft voice, though it did have a tone of worry in it. “Don’t you know she could have gotten hurt?” she asked frantically. “She might have sprained her ankle! Or maybe gotten sunburn, or worse yet heat stroke, maybe even broken her horn, or lost her eyesight to some cactus, OR EVEN WORSE...” she rambled. “Fluttershy...” Applejack said. “...SHE COULD HAVE DAMAGED HER SPINAL CORD!” “Fluttershy.” I told her, catching her attention. “I’m fine, I’m not made of glass you know.” “Yeah.” Applejack said, agreeing with me. “She’s strong enough to go outside now.” added Rarity. “...Are you sure?” she asked back. “Positive.” “Of course she’s sure! I mean, if she were glass, that means she’d be all broken right now!” Pinkie Pie commented. I could see Fluttershy cringing at the statement. “Hey Girls.” a voice called out. It was Braeburn. “Glad to see you’re all okay, especially you Twi.” “Cousin, what in tarnation happened here?” Applejack asked. “Well, some ponies said they were just minding their own business when suddenly, WHAM! the station collapsed in broad daylight.” “Did anypony get hurt?” I asked. “Thankfully, no.” he replied “Hey, girls...” said Rainbow Dash suddenly. “How are we gonna get home now?” “Sure won’t be easy.” replied Applejack. “...should we go send for help?” asked Rarity. “I’d highly doubt it. That train was our only chance of communication to other areas in Equestria and back here.” “How about flying? ” the rainbow headed mare asked. “I can see some pegasi around here.” she added. “Rainbow...” Rarity said “...there’s a reason why they send mail through train here” “There’s not a cloud in sight; no pony can survive the sweltering heat out here, even a pegasus.” she added. “Oh...” she replied, as her hopes slowly lessened. “How about the buffalos? Maybe they can help?” “It’s not possible.” Braeburn interrupted “The Buffalos, we already tried asking them.” “They won’t help us?” asked Applejack “Apparently, no; we can’t seem to find them anywhere.” he replied “It’s like they’ve just disappeared...” he added. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! They must’ve been abducted by aliens!” Pinkie Pie interrupted, jumping to conclusions. “Stop all the nonsense, Pinkie.” Rarity said, butting in the pink pony’s rant. “Everyone knows aliens don’t exist.” she added “Aaa-HA! We have a skeptic here!” Pinkie Pie said in response. “Wha-? A skeptic?” Rarity said in disbelief, slowly getting annoyed with the hyperactive pony’s antics. “Yeah! A skeptic! You know, a pony that’s not sure if-” “I very well know what a skeptic is, Pinkie-” “Then why’d you ask ,silly filly?” “Could ya two please stop with all this nonsense?” butted in Applejack “There’s obviously a logical explanation here.” I added. “Maybe they migrated?” asked Rainbow Dash asked. “Do buffalos even migrate?” Rarity pointed out. “Not sure, but if they do, they should’ve at least told us.” replied Braeburn “Whatever, my money’s still on the aliens.” Pinkie said, receiving a few grunts of disapproval from a few ponies. “How the heck will we get help then?” asked Rainbow Dash, reverting the topic. “Well, we’ll just have to wait fer’ the train to come, stop them before they reach these darn’ tracks, and tell them to go back and get help.” “...and after all that, around when would we get back home?” “Umm... well, it takes a while for the train to get back to any town and get help... let’s say around one and a half weeks” Dead silence filled the air for a few seconds, until somepony shrieked. “I CAN’T BE STUCK HERE FOR ONE AND A HALF WEEKS!”Rarity shrieked. It was completely unlike her lady-like composure. “I HAVE SO MANY DEADLINES TO CATCH UP TO !” she added, “I HAVE TO FINISH MAKING TEN DRESSES TO SAPPHIRE SHORES” “Again?” Fluttershy asked timidly. “AGAIN!” she shrieked in reply, scaring Fluttershy. “THEN I HAVE TO FINISH UP A WEDDING GOWN BEFORE THE SEASON ENDS, AND THEN I-” “Rarity, hold yer horses.” Applejack said, shaking Rarity to her senses. “Yer’ not the only one here who has errands to catch up with back home, ya know.” “I-I suppose you’re right.” Rarity stuttered in reply. “Well, guess you girls are gonna have an extended stay.” commented Braeburn. “I’d better hurry back to to our house and get supper ready. You should too.” he added, and with that he trotted away from the tracks and back to our cabins. As the six of us watched him walk back, Rarity commented: “Applejack, isn’t it kinda weird that your cousin is taking this thing lightly?” “Braeburn’s an easy going stallion, he ain’t panicking anytime soon. I guess Appleloosa is better off being isolated.” “But how about us? We’ve got stuff to do in Ponyville” I asked. “Shouldn’t Braeburn be worried for us?” “Like ah’ said, he’s an easy going stallion, he ain’t panicking anytime soon.” she said, repeating her earlier statement. “But it is kinda weird now that you mention it, I’ll go talk to him about it later.” she added. The sun was slowly setting, and the temperature started dropping as the last hints of daylight started fading out. The crowd of ponies surrounding the damaged station started dispersing back to their respective houses and all that’s left is us and a few ponies. “Hey, AJ.” Rainbow Dash called out. “Why do you think the station collapsed?” “Ah’ have no clue whatsoever.” she answered back “Maybe it was because of poor construction?” she suggested “Mah cousin did say this town was built very quickly.” she added. “OR MAYBE...” Pinkie suggested. “ IT WAS BECAUSE OF-” “Pinkie. Stop.” Rainbow interrupted, quickly covering the pink pony’s mouth with a hoof. “...aliens!” Pinkie’s muffled shout still audible under her hoof-covered mouth. All of us had nothing else to say and just glared at her. By now, the last rays of sunshine were fading away at the tip of the desert mountains and the town’s lamps were being lit. Before we went back to the cabin, I decided to make a quick circle around the rubble. “C’mon Twi, we have to get back to my cuz’s place, we know we can’t let you stay here alone, especially with your condition.” Applejack stated. I payed her no heed and decided to continue checking. “In a minute, Applejack.” She was right though, I still found myself slightly limping while I trotted and I still had the headaches once in awhile, I can tell I still won’t be able to last walking alone for a long time without any help. Just then, something caught the corner of my eye in the midst of all the rubble Suddenly, I had the urge to try and check out what was there, thinking that inside that rubble there would be a clue to the train track’s destruction. I kept on separating sand and wood, metal and rock, to see if I could possibly find anything. And then, as I was reaching the bottom of the pile, I was shocked to find... nothing. That’s it. Just rubble. Nothing out of the ordinary. After fruitlessly sifting through the surrounding rubble, I went back to my friends, disheartened, and we began heading back to the ranch. Rarity and Applejack let me rest my forelegs on their shoulders again, watching the sun set behind us and shining on the only hope of getting to the world outside Appleloosa. Silence filled the air as we trotted back to the ranch. I thought of the station, how it collapsed, how there was so much rubble, how some the rubble and train tracks were... all scorched up. “Hey girls,” I suddenly said, interrupting the silence. “When was the last time there was a heatwave around here?” “Ah sure don’t remember any. Weather’s been fine all week. why’d ya ask Twi’?” Applejack said. “When was the last time any structural damage in the area was caused by thermal occurrences?” “Wut?” “When was the last time a building burned down or was melted because of, say, a heat wave or something?” “Wait, Twi, what’re you saying?” “Something just doesn’t seem right about those train tracks. I remember them having dull edges, as if it were melted. Also, the areas near the rubble seemed burnt from something... or it was done by somepony.” Rainbow Dash suddenly butted in. “Twilight, you don’t think the railroad was...” “-ATTACKED BY ALIENS?!” Pinkie Pie burst out. We were all staring at her with great disbelief. Rarity would’ve been chasing her off right now if my foreleg wasn’t resting on her. “Twilight, maybe you’ve hit your head to hard.” Rarity said, her voice growing with suspicion. “There could be another explanation” she said. “The train’s really hot underneath you know, maybe the previous train had melted it without the conductor or the driver knowing. “No Rarity, the tracks are made to handle that kind of stuff. Otherwise it would have been burnt by the brakes of the train itself if it were to make a sudden stop.” “Then that might have been the reason. Twilight, I think you’re thinking too skeptically. It would be easier to believe that.” Fluttershy replied. “No. Face it girls, somepony destroyed the tracks on purpose.” “You mean...?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Yes. It’s been sabotaged.” 04 : Debates Over Dinner“So, who do you think did it?” Rarity asked me. We were gathered around the dinner table eating the food Braeburn prepared for supper. We had decided to discuss who might be behind the destruction of the railroad- or at least, they were trying to put up with my allegations on how the tracks were destroyed. “Remember what Braeburn said? The Buffalo Tribe hasn’t been around recently. Maybe they did it?” Applejack suggested while munching down on some hay. “Applejack, the Buffalo Tribe couldn’t have done this. Even with their strength, I highly doubt they’d be able to destroy through thick metal like those.” I rebutted. “Besides, I don’t think buffalos have laser eyes to burn through metal. They were burnt, remember?” Rainbow Dash added. “UNLESS THEY’RE ALIENS!” Pinkie Pie replied. “No, Pinkie, it’s not aliens, and not buffalos either. I’d highly doubt they’d even want to sabotage the tracks. I say we lay off the buffalos; they’re obviously not the culprits, why in Equestria would they even do such a thing? Any other ideas?” “OOH! OOH! I KNOW!” Pinkie suddenly burst out. “If it’s aliens then don’t even bother-” “No, I’m serious this time! I think it’s paraspites!” “As much as I want to say so, Pinkie, parasprites don’t have fire breath. They BITE, not BURN.” I replied. “Why in tarnation would anypony even want to destroy the station anyways?” asked Applejack. “It’s not like they have any motives.” I added. “Parasprites aren’t that smart to do those stuff you know, so parasprites are out too.” Rarity replied while gracefully munching on a daisy salad. “...Fine, aliens did it then.” she replied. “Pinkie, if you say that one more time, ah’mma make sure yer gonna be in worse condition than Twilight after I’m done with ya.” Applejack said, extreme annoyance slightly evident in her voice. “Fine.” She said disappointingly. “The joke’s probably getting old anyway, probably boring the readers out already.” she added “The what?” I asked, completely perplexed “Oh, nothing...” she replied with a smirk as she quickly began munching down on a frosted rainbow cupcake. “Get used to it Twi, she does those weird things most of the time.” Applejack said, slightly relieving my confused mind. “Enough getting off topic. Let’s get back to investigating. I’m getting sleepy.” Rainbow Dash commented, who was playing with the last bits of beans on her plate with her fork. “Right. Who else do you think might have done it?” “Maybe a bunch of thieves did it?” said Pinkie. “Ugh. For the -nth time Pinkie, it’s been BURNT. Not STOLEN, not EATEN, not SHATTERED nor BENT, it’s BURNT.” Rainbow Dash said, before I could answer. “Wait Rainbow, what if Pinkie’s on to something.” I interrupted. “You know, the idea of a bunch of criminals destroying a train station isn’t really far fetched.” “Twilight might be right, it might have been taken.” Fluttershy added. “Hey, Braeburn, you did say the train station was the only connection this town has to the outside right?” I asked. “Sure is.” he answered back “Ok, also, when was the last time the train was here?” “Umm... around a week ago, you girls were riding it” “So it hasn’t been here recently?” “Yup” “Then that means...” I thought out loud. “...It’s very likely that whoever did it is still here!” “What?” Rarity asked “Think about it Rarity, the station’s the only way out of here and the train hasn’t been around for a while. And unless they’re planning to kill themselves out in the desert, it’s most likely that whoever sabotaged the station is probably still stuck here with us in this town!” I exclaimed excitedly, ignoring the slight headache that was slowly re-emerging in my forehead. “Now hold up Twilight. We’re not even sure if this guess ’a yours is even true. We’re basin’ this off what we think, not really if it’s true.” Applejack retorted. “Applejack, it’s worth the try anyway. If we’re wrong, we’re wrong.” Rainbow Dash said in reply. “No, Rainbow, Twilight couldn’t just go trotting around town investigating stuff; she’s already injured, and it’s possible that her condition could get worse.” “Aww, come on, Applejack.” I said “I’m not made of glass remember?” “I also know a lot about investigations and mysteries, you told me that Pinkie and I solved a case about some baking contest remember? Maybe I could-” “No!” Applejack snapped, pounding her hoof on the dinner table, almost spilling our drinks. “Twilight, I know you’re really good with solving stuff, but I don’t want you to get hurt no more, you even said that you can’t even do your fancy magic with those darn injuries of yours. You’re staying here weather you like it or not.” Despite how disappointed I was, she was right. I still can’t perform any magic, if I tried, the familiar headache buzzing in my head would suddenly intensify. “This sucks.” Rainbow said “So we’re just gonna let whoever did this get away?” Rainbow Dash added, her voice having a slight tone of anger in it. “Calm down girls, I’ll make sure Sheriff Silverstar knows about this.” Braeburn interrupted. “We’re not gonna let anypony get away with this.” he reassured. “Not after what they did to my town” “Braeburn’s right.” Applejack said “Just stay here and relax girls, we already had enough mishaps for the week.” “Besides, one of my other cousins is here with us right now, he just came here a few weeks before we got here, he’s kinda new around here, I’m sure you can help him get used to around here.” “Umm... where is he exactly?” Rarity asked “He’s not staying with us, Rarity; he’s staying at the other side of town, you gotta forgive him; he’s kinda shy.” “Shyer than Flutters here?” Rainbow Dash said jokingly “I take offense to that.” Fluttershy said “...Umm, if that’s ok with you that is” Rainbow snickered. I opened the door to my room and walked in, we just finished supper and it’s already dark outside, through my window, I could see that not much ponies were outside. I opened my saddlebag and in it, I found a brown, hardbound book nestled in the middle. It was my journal, the other thing Rarity said that could help jog my blurry memories. It didn’t look like it was the best journal anypony could have, but I guess that I seemed to put effort into working on it. She said, though, that it might not be that much of a help since the journal I have with me is relatively new and there aren’t much entries in them yet... Wait, how did she know that? ... Putting that thought aside, I put away the suitcase and lay down on the bed. I was staring at the book, thinking of what I could find, if I would ever get my memory back. Casting all of those thoughts away, I opened the book with caution. 05 : The First EntriesMerely opening the book gave me chills down my spine. The small, neat, hoof-written words were completely contradicting the book's rather tattered state. Apparently,my friends said the reason why it was in such state was because it was with me out in the desert. After examining the book, I went on to read the first few entries. March 4 2012, Sunday 7:00 PM Leave it to Applejack to convince all of us to accompany her to Appleoosa, again. She claims her cousin Braeburn needs another one of her “precious” apple trees, again. This has been the FIFTH time Applejack had to give him one of her beloved apple trees. And guess what, Braeburn’s reason was that half of his town’s supplies is constantly being ransacked by a bunch of things called “death-eaters”. Seriously, what is up with that colt? Seriously, it took FOREVER for Applejack to convince us to come with her again. I still remember her begging on her knees, trying to convince Rainbow Dash to come with her. That mare and her entire family’s driving everypony here nuts. On the bright side, everyone HAS been kinda stressed out lately, Rarity spent the whole week designing dresses for another random superstar, Pinkie Pie's been foal-sitting the Cakes for the whole week, Applejack's been doing all the Applebucking again because of her brother’s injuries (again), Fluttershy’s been training her animals for some party Mayor Mare asked her to handle. And don't let me get started on what Rainbow Dash has been doing. I figured everyone needed a time off, and what better way than to go to some western pony settlement in the middle of nowhere, right? ...Right. It's a sad thing Spike can't go, Celestia's been sending me too many letters again for some reason & Spike needed to go to the hospital because of all that letter-belching. Anyway, the train departs tomorrow morning, and I gotta get back to packing my luggage, we’re going to stay in Appleloosa for a while so I better pack a lot of things to keep me busy. March 5 2012, Monday, 7:00 AM I just woke up, we’ll be boarding the train in a few hours. I still have time to go check up on Spike at the hospital. 10:00 AM The train just left the station and we're now settling down on our cabins. Did you know we were supposed to leave the station at 9:00? Well, thank Rarity and her enormous amount of luggage for that. I mean, seriously, she brings everything except her kitchen sink, and half of her luggage is purely make-up and clothes, one fourth of which she never actually uses. Something's wrong with that mare. Speaking of which, Applejack just went to the caboose with the tree again. She's probably going to read a story to it again. It was funny the first time she did that, but now, it's just plain creepy. ...Now that I think about it, I'm starting to wonder why I became friends with them in the first place... remind me to ask Princess Celestia about that when we get back. 4:30 PM We just made a stopover at Dodge Junction, that other desert pony settlement Cherry Jubilee’s farm’s located at. Well, it’s a good thing we stopped; I just can’t stand being crammed into a small, moving metal box for more than twelve hours. Especially, with an extremely hyperactive party pony like Pinkie Pie. Just so you know, we stopped by here so the train can restock and refuel. It was just half a day and the train’s sugar supply already ran out. I’m going to have to tell Pinkie to lay off on the sugar, but that’s like telling a big brick wall to do a backflip. Applejack on the other hand, REFUSES to set a single hoof on the town. Obviously she still has bad memories about that rodeo fiasco that happened last year. 7:00 PM Well, we just left Dodge Junction, no more stopovers left. Appleoosa’s still one day away though. I better hope the train crew locked up their stash of sugar this time or else I’m gonna have to deal with Pinkie in a sugar rush for the rest of the trip, and let me just say that’s the worse kind of Pinkie to be stuck with. 9:30 PM It’s already dark and we just had dinner. Most of us are resting in our cabins, but it’s really obvious most of us can barely sleep, mainly because of Pinkie’s really, really, REALLY loud snoring. Currently, judging by the moonlit horizon, our train’s almost done passing through the forest. Some cacti are starting to dot the landscape indicating that we are nearing the desert. I could hear some faint buzzing. I guess those would be the insects of the night, coming out on their nocturnal feeding sessions. The faint howling of the desert coyotes also start to fill the land. Maybe I ought to start getting some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and I swear, I’ll give Applejack a piece of my mind if something screwy goes wrong in Appleoosa like the first time we went there. Wanting to read more, my hoof moved to flip the page, but apparently my eyes refused to and slowly started drooping down. I began to yawn and I had no choice but to just read the rest tomorrow. After placing the book at a nearby table, I slowly closed my eyes and began to fall asleep. ... ... ... ... ... ... I woke up with a jolt after hearing what appears to be a loud clanging noise Looking around the room, I checked my surroundings for any intruders. After finding nothing, I lay my head again on the soft pillow on the bed. ... ... A few minutes passed and apparently, despite my obvious sleep-deprived state, I couldn’t get myself to fall back to sleep. After trying tossing and turning a few times, I settled with sitting by the window staring out at the dark, lonely, moonlit streets of Appleoosa. I scratched my sleepy eyes, fully waking myself up. I took a look out of the window, admiring the tranquility of the scene. I saw nothing outside, not a bird nor a wolf nor anypony. The moon and the stars hover above me, giving some light to the small desert town. On the other side of the window, I could see Braeburn’s apple orchard, apple trees of varying cultivars trailing off as far as the eye can see. Nothing lay within the orchard, and the orchard look peaceful, nothing disturbing the quiet nighttime ambience... or at least, until I caught a glimpse of a four-legged figure dashing in the middle of the trees. I had the urge to go out and chase after it, so I did. I quickly grabbed and lit a lantern sitting on a table and ran out the house’s back door and galloped into the field, as I ran I heard high pitch hissing sounds nearby. Hisses? What kind of four-legged creature makes that kind of noise? I kept on running, constantly coming across the figure fleeing as quickly as I had reached it. All that was in my mind was to find out what that... thing was doing here. Soon after, I exhausted myself. I realized I couldn’t catch the beast. I couldn’t catch up with it, no matter how hard I pushed myself. Immediately, I gave up the chase and decided to just trot back to my cabin. But when I turned back, something bright and shiny that was sparkling under the moonlight caught my eye. I quickly trotted towards it curiously. As I went nearer I realized it was a small key. I picked it up with my hooves and observed it. It was made of steel and it had a complicated looking set of teeth. It looked a bit rusted under the moonlight, although it didn’t look worn out that much. Suddenly, the world around me darkened. Panicking, I turned around, looking for what was causing the sudden darkness. I could hear my heart pounding at a constant beat... or at least, I thought it was my heart beating. My vision started fogging up. My ears were suddenly filled with a shrill buzzing. I kept on turning around, looking for whoever was doing it. Then I saw it. It was the beast. The beast was a tall, slender, shadowy stallion. I looked up to it’s face and all I saw were bright red eyes. Emptiness filled the space where the mouth of a normal pony would be found. The being loomed over me. My vision kept on getting blurrier, the noise in my ears getting louder, my head began to hurt. You are much closer than you seem, my dear pawn, hissed a voice, coming from the tall, faceless figure in front of me. Much closer indeed. It said while it’s blank lower face split in half to reveal an enormous mouth filled with a set of jagged teeth. And with that, I screamed. 06 : The NightmareI quickly broke into a dash back into the safety of the ranch house, trying to evade the slender beast that was chasing me. I began to run faster and faster the nearer I reached the back door. Then, of all the worst times to happen, something caught my hind legs and I tripped. I looked back and found my legs being held by … dark figures. They were dragging me closer and closer to the tall creature. I tried to inch closer to the door using my forelegs but to no avail. Wait a minute, ...why the heck don’t my legs hurt? I was suddenly lifted up and was now dangling in front of the creature face-to-face, it’s enormous mouth grinning revealing the large sharp fangs hidden within. Did you really think...it hissed. ...that you could run away from me? With that, it inched closer to my exposed neck and opened it’s mouth wide before biting down deep into my flesh. I wailed as I felt an acidic fluid being injected in my veins through the sharp jagged fangs. The dark figures quickly let go of their grip on me and I fell back to the ground. I tried to run before things could get more grizzly, but for some reason, I didn't budge. I can’t move my limbs, in fact, I can’t even seem to move my jaw. I was paralyzed. Perfect. It said before opening it’s mouth even wider and lunged towards me, obviously intent on consuming me whole like a snake. As my whole world began to darken, I suddenly started seeing something pink at the corner of my eye and heard a faint voice and the ground began to shake. “T.....t ….ke...” “Twi... wake...” “Twilig... wake... up...!” “TWILIGHT! WAKE UP!” shouted a blurry figure beside me. I was shaken awake by somepony, and I was in too much shock to guess who it was. My eyes quickly flew open and I found myself lying down on a bed. I looked to my left and found myself face-to-face with a pink pony, Pinkie Pie “Pinkie? What the heck are you doing here in my room?” I quickly asked her. “Well...” she replied, her voice having a slight tone of worry in it. “I was walking by the hallway when I heard a commotion in your room, I think I heard you talking or something.” “Your voice sounded so scared like you were running away from something so I decided to go in and check on you.” “I found you squirming in the bed mumbling and you were sweating A LOT.” she added “I tried calling out to you but you didn’t seem to be responding, so I started shaking you and shouting at you to wake up.” “I think you were having a really scary nightmare” she said A nightmare? ... I remember... … Sudden clanging noises filling the night... A commotion in the orchard... A small metal key... A tall slender beast... The sharp teeth... ...That voice… ... It was all just a dream, I wasn’t out in the apple orchard, I was back in my second-floor room in the ranchhouse. But still, the dream felt so real... Don’t be so worry-some Twilight, I thought to myself. After all, It was all just a dream, right? “Anyways, Twilight, you better prepare soon. it’s already sunrise!”she said, derailing my train of thought. And with that, she bounced out the room. With my sleepiness obviously gotten rid off by the pink pony, I casually stood up from the bed and quickly trotted downstairs to the dining room in the bottom floor. “Morning, Twi.’” Applejack said as I sat down a chair. “Morning.” I answered. Applejack was also sitting on a chair. She was being accompanied by Rarity. They were in the middle of eating hay fries for breakfast. Applejack was already done and she was just waiting for the fasionista to finish. “Where’s Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash?” I asked them after noticing the lack of any pegasi in the room. “Oh, they’re out in the town getting us supplies.” Applejack answered to me. “Also, Pinkie and Braeburn’s already out in the outer orchard inspecting some apple trees.” she added. Strange, I could've sworn Pinkie was in my room a few minutes ago. ... Oh well, this is Pinkie we're talking about. “Glad to see you finally awake there darling.” Rarity interrupted. “What took you so long anyway?” she asked me. “Oh, I had a nightmare.” I told them. “Hmm... a nightmare, huh?” asked the white fashionista. “Yup, well, it was more of a night terror.” I told them. “...Anyways,” Applejack said, interrupting and changing the topic. “Today, we’re gonna do some yard work back out.” “We’re gonna go check up on one of the portions of the orchard, Twilight, yer’ gonna have to stay here and watch the house ‘cause of your injuries. Rarity, I need you to stay here and accompany Twilight, ‘case she gets in trouble, just go look for us out in the orchard.” “Fine.” Rarity answered. “I never really liked getting my hooves dirty out in that horrid mud trap anyway.” Applejack shot her a glare for a few seconds before continuing. “Anyways, If you need me, I'll be with Braeburn and Pinkie in the orchard.” And with that, she stepped out the back doorway. “Oh yeah, Rares, tell Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to join me at the orchard when they come back from town” “Oh, why must I do everything here?” she whined back before getting another angry glare from Applejack. “Fine, fine.” she said “...just don’t call me that horrid nickname ‘Rares’ ever again.” she added. “Whatever, Rares.” Applejack retorted before walking out the door leaving me with an irritated Rarity. “W-WHY I NEVER!” Rarity spoke out while I tried to hold down my snickering. “APPLEJACK, YOU ARE NOT GONNA HEAR THE END OF THIS, ONCE I GET MY HOOVES ON YOU, YOU ARE OH-SO GONNA REGRET SAYING THAT.” she shrieked before running out the door to give chase to the apple farmer, leaving me all alone as her constant rambling slowly faded as she went deeper into the orchard. I found myself all alone in the now quiet ranch house. I actually never got to explore the place well so now might be a perfect time for me to go get a good look around the house. As far as I know, the ranch had 4 floors; a ground floor, a second floor, an attic, and a basement. The ground floor, the one I was currently in, had a small kitchen with a backdoor and a den. The staircase leading up to the house stood nearby the den a few meters away from the house’s front door. I took a quick look outside the house and found a small locked door leading to the basement on the floor right beside one of the sides of the house, the familiar smell of apple cider emanating from within. Apparently, Braeburn’s ranch also produces apple cider like Sweet Apple Acres. The second floor was mostly a hallway filled with doorways, this is where my room’s in. The two doors adjacent to my room led to two bedrooms, each with three beds. This must be where my friends are sleeping. I continued walking down the hallway until I reached a dead end. The door nearest to me led to the ranch’s bathroom while the door right across it was locked, but I can tell that it’s probably Braeburn’s room. I casually looked up and found a trapdoor up the ceiling leading up to the ranch’s attic. I pulled on a nearby rope and the trap door flipped down, followed by a long foldable ladder. I climbed up the rungs and took a peek at the attic. The attic was relatively small and had a lower ceiling than most of the ranch. The ceiling also gradually sloped downward, following the slant of the house’s roof. The attic mainly housed an assortment of dusty boxes and chests, a few picture frames also occasionally lined the wall. Besides that, there was nothing else of interest. That is, until a sparkle caught my eye. I walked up to the source of light and found something small, tiny, and metallic.It was the key. The key I saw in my dreams. There was no doubt about it; it was the same size, it was made of steel, and it had the same intricate set of teeth. How I dreamt about it and how it got here is a total mystery to me, but something tells me this isn’t good. The sound of the front door being opened reached my ears and caught my attention; Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash must’ve just came back from town. I quickly grabbed the key and brought it over to my room and kept it inside one of the folds of my journal. After that was done, I quickly made a dash downstairs. I was surprised to find no trace of the two familiar pegasi; instead, there was a young, blonde-colored colt with hair that had the color of green apples. His cutie mark consisted of a very intricate looking red apple and he wore a stetson hat and a bright red bandana. Judging by this, he must probably be Applejack’s cousin, the one who was gonna come here and visit us. “Hey there,” I called out to him as I descended down the wooden staircase. He whirled around and faced me, his eyes widening in surprise the minute he saw me. “Oh, I’m sorry if I frightened you.” I apologized. “You must be Braeburn and Applejack’s cousin, right?” he nodded his head in response. “My name’s Twilight by the way, Twilight Sparkle” I added. “What’s your name?”. I looked back at him and found him staring at my bandaged forelegs. “Oh, if you’re wondering why I’m like this, it’s because I apparently got involved in an accident, I lost my memory and broke some of my limbs as a result” I explained. “So, as I was saying, what’s your name again?” “...Summerfree.” “Come again?” “.......Summerfree...” “...Couldn’t quite catch that.” “..........Summerfree.” “...okay...?” I said unsurely. Man, what’s up with this colt? I swear, when Applejack said that he was “as shy as Fluttershy”, I didn’t really think that she really meant that, what with all her odd metaphors and such. Seriously, ‘More nervous than a worm during Cider Season”, what’s up with that? We both exchanged awkward glances for the next few minutes, silence filling the air. After what seemed like forever, a distant sound finally broke the unnerving silence. As the sound grew louder and louder, I realized it was the sound of two ponies talking. Well, more like arguing. And I think I know just who they are. “AS LONG AS YOU KEEP CALLING ME THAT HORRID NICKNAME, I AM NOT GONNA LEND YOU ANY OF MY MAKE UP!” “Whutever Rares, as if I even care.” “HMMPH! WE’LL SEE WHO’S LAUGHING WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF NEEDING TO CURL YOUR EYELASHES ONLY TO FIND THAT YOU DON’T HAVE AN EYELASH CURLER!” “...like ah’ said, WHATEVER.” Applejack bucked open the ranch’s back door and walked inside, a few moments later, the purple-haired fashionista followed in. “Sorry fer leavin’ yah alone in the house for a while Twi’.” she said with her distinct southern drawl. “It’s just that some ponies take nicknames too seriously” she added while maintaining eye contact with the alabaster unicorn. “Anyways, had Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash come back y-” she stopped mid sentence the minute she saw the colt that was beside me. “Oh! Summerfree! Cuz, it’s good to finally see you here!” Applejack said ecstatically to him. “Ah see you already met my friend Twilight over here.” she remarked while looking at both of us. Summerfree nodded in response. “What’s the matter darling?” Rarity asked him. “Cat got your tongue?” He didn’t respond, instead, he simply lowered his head and pawed the floor with his hoof. “...are you... mute?” she asked unsuringly. He stared back at her in disbelief after hearing that question. “Rares, Summerfree here ain’t too good around other ponies. Best you not pressure him too much.” Applejack said. Facing Summerfree, she told him, “Now, Summerfree, these here mares are mah friends. You can trust ‘em. Go ahead, talk to them.” “Well come on now, don’t be shy.” Rarity responded. He stared back at us intently, and I could see his lips were trying to form words but they failed to leave his mouth. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” Rarity said with a gentle reassuring smile on her face. “My friend Twilight here doesn’t too, ...I’m not sure about your cousin over there though” she added jokingly. Behind her, Applejack was shooting an angry glare at her in response. Summerfree chuckled after seeing his cousin so worked up. “Thats it, come on now.” “...Umm..H-Hi...” he responded, confidence evidently starting to sound in his voice. FINALLY,I THOUGHT HE'D NEVER TALK His voice reminded me of Braeburn, except it had a tone of youth in it “There, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” Rarity asked him. He smiled back. "...N-no." “Alrighty. Now that we’re all acquainted and stuff, I’ll go bring Summerfree out to the orchard and show him the works” Applejack said quickly and sternly, interrupting our little conversation with him. “Applejack, I haven’t even spoken that much to Summerfree. And now you’re leaving with him?” I grunted, trying to show my disappointment “Don’t worry, Twi, you’ll get to catch up with each other later tonight.” she replied while nudging Summerfree out the back door. “Braeburn’s inviting the six of us and Summerfree to dinner out in town.” “Uh...why?” Rarity asked “Uh, Rares, this is Braeburn we’re talking about, one of the most enthusiastic and happy-go-lucky pony in the Apple family, besides Applebloom of course.” Applejack replied to us. “He’s probably doing it as big greeting to Summerfree or somethin’.” A faint voice suddenly echoed out in the field, “Hey, that’s my job!” “...” “...Anyways, while we’re out in the field, you two,” motioning to both me and Rarity, “stay here. Don’t touch anything. And if I see a single thing here has been moved or decorated in a ‘stylish fashion’, somepony’s not gonna hear the end of it from me.” she said sternly, all the while facing Rarity, who was just busy looking at her hooves from side to side. “Hmm... do you think I should go polish my hooves Twi?” Rarity asked me, oblivious to who Applejack was trying to infer. Applejack sighed in frustration. “Just don’t burn the house down, Braeburn’s gonna flip if that happens.” “Yes yes, whatever, Darling” Rarity said sarcastically “Anyways, see ya two later, Ah gotta go back to the orchard with Summers here, Braeburn’s probably wondering why Ah’m not with him right now” and with that, she left with the young colt in tow. I watched the two walk down the trail, and all the while I could see Summerfree’s eyes staring at us with a smile in his face while he blindly listened to Applejack’s rambling. “Well Twilight, that was tiring. I’m gonna go upstairs and give myself a warm, relaxing bubble bath,” Rarity told me. “If you need any help, just go call me.” “Yeah Rarity, sure.” and with that, she trotted up the stairs. Once again, I found myself alone. With nothing else to do for the rest of the afternoon, I decide to go continue my morning upstairs in the attic. As I turned my head around, heading for the staircase, I felt something on my neck, I touched it and felt a lump, as if it was swollen. I quickly limped towards a mirror and stared at my reflection and gasped. On my neck, were two small punctures wounds. A bite mark. 07 : Secrets & CommitmentsMarch 6 2012, Tuesday, 9:00 AM The train has covered a lot of ground during the night. All you can see now outside the window is the vast golden desert dotted with green prickly cacti and a few rock formations here and there; some of them were the same size as one of the train’s cars while others were as large as my library back at home. However, none of the nearby stone monoliths could compete with the ones far back on the horizon. Those were giants. Some of them were tall pillars as large as an adult fire dragon while others were large mesas capable of carrying two Canterlot-sized cities on its top. The largest of them all was Mount Buffalo, named for its massive size and its distinct peak resembling a buffalo’s prized pair of horns. Applejack told me Appleoosa was just at the other side of the mountain, at this rate, it would take only take us around one to two hours till we reach the town. Currently, I’m in the the train’s dining car with the others, Rainbow and Pinkie are busy munching down on breakfast while Rarity and Applejack were engaged on a rather tense conversation about how applebucking is better than dress designing and how dress designing is more superior than applebucking. Our meal for the morning was a simple plate of fried eggs and hay strips. Not really my ideal kind of breakfast. I’m more of a toast and tea pony, just like most Canterlotians. Anyways, I’m gonna go start packing up my things; I don’t wanna go on a rush later when we have to leave the train. 11:30 AM We’ve just arrived at the Appleloosan Train Station right now. The train has just come to a full stop and I could hear the sound of steam hissing out at the front. I’ve already gathered up my things together a few hours ago and all we’re doing now is waiting for Rarity to finish packing up before exiting the train. Sweet Celestia, that mare has no idea what the concept of “packing light” is. This is the second time we’re waiting for her this trip. I’m gonna have to go give her a little talk about that later. 1:00 PM I just settled into my room in Braeburn’s house right now. Well actually, I’m sharing rooms with my friends. It’s surprisingly still pretty spacious despite the six of us being crammed in there. The trip from the station was uneventful. Braeburn, naturally, was waiting for us at the train station platform with his goofy, happy-go-lucky attitude as usual. After all the greetings, we quickly started heading to the ranch. I noticed as we passed by that the town looked a lot larger since the last time we came here, there’s even a small (restaurant/diner[?]) nearby. Braeburn said he has a lot to show us here, “Appleoosa’s becoming quite the sight these days” he said, what with all the new ponies arriving here to get away from the rat race of city life. After we’re done unpacking our things, Braeburn’s gonna go give us a tour around the town as promised. Anyways, it is best to know what’s new around here. Especially since we’re staying here for about... a week. The train doesn’t come here much, okay? It doesn’t mean that since the town’s all prosperous now, the train’s gonna come by more often. It takes days to bring a train out here in the desert you know. I had a lot of questions popping up in my head. I slowly stroked the scarf covering the small lump on my neck, completely oblivious to what was going on around me. “Umm... Twilight...” “...Wh-what?” I asked, regaining my senses. “I was asking you to please pass me the salt shaker over there” “Oh, ah, sorry Rarity, my mind was just wandering off” I said, apologizing to her. It was already dark out and we were at a small restaurant in town thanks to Braeburn. Outside, the normally sweltering heat of the desert has changed dramatically, the temperature has dropped and the environment was now as cold as an icebox. “Are you sure darling? Are you sick?” she asked, eyeing me suspiciously. “U-uh... no” Lies. The bite mark on my neck was irritating me, I could still feel a throbbing sensation on my neck. And no one even knows I have it. Rarity continued staring at me, eyeing me suspiciously. “Twilight, Are you sure? Fluttershy could give you some medicine you know...” “Aww, let her loose Rares” Applejack called out from the far end of the table. From where I am seated, she appears to be chewing on some apple-laden appetizer dish. “Ya’ said it yerself; she ain’t made of glass” I saw Rarity pause and looked at me for a few seconds before averting her gaze. “Fine...” “That’s the spirit Rares!” I could see Rarity still cringing from the ‘horrid’ nickname Applejack’s been calling her since this morning. I heard Summerfree chuckling beside me as Rarity went back to eating the small bowl of salad in front of her with her magic. I, on the other hand, am still trying to get used to eating with my hooves; it’s still kinda hard to eat without help from my magic due to my injuries. Actually, I’m finding it hard to walk on my own again. I even need Rarity and Summerfree to support my forelegs while walking as of now. It’s a good thing that Applejack’s gonna go get me some crutches once we get back to the ranch. Speaking of which, Summerfree’s been talking with me and Rarity lately. I guess he finally managed to get out of his shell. Well, for me and Rarity at least, he’s still anxious around the others, especially Rainbow Dash. Figures, what with that pegasi’s brash attitude. “So... Summerfree...” I asked him, trying to change the topic. “Where’re you from?” I could see Summerfree lightly clearing his throat before speaking up “Well, I was born down in Mustangia but me and my family moved to Trottingham when I was around, I think, six years old. Been living there ever since, well, until now of course” Across the table, I saw Rarity’s pupils shrinking into pinpricks as she tried not to spit out the salad she was eating. “YOU’RE FROM MUSTANGIA AND TROTTINGHAM?!” she screeched back at Summerfree with high amounts of excitement evident in her voice. She was practically leaning on the table already and she was a few inches close to spilling her cup of tea on the table. Her face was a scant few inches from Summerfree’s quivering muzzle. Wow, haven’t seen Rarity this unlady-like since, well, never. I turned my attention back to the startled colt beside me “Uh...yeah?” Rarity squealed in delight upon hearing Summerfree’s faint confirmation. “I ALWAYS DREAMED OF GOING THERE!” “Um... where? Trottingham or Mustangia?”asked Fluttershy with a faint voice. “BOTH!” I watched in amusement as Rarity went back to ranting to the frightened colt beside me. “SO HOW’S TROTTINGHAM LIKE? I HEARD THEIR CUISINE IS SIMPLY DIVINE, IS THAT TRUE? HOW DO THE PONIES THERE LOOK AND ACT?” “Oh uh... well Trottingham, as everyone knows, is pretty big. Their food tastes kinda Bridltish. Most of the ponies there are paints and they have this thick snooty accent far heavier than the ones in Canterlot. Mustangia is kinda-” “WHAT’S THE BEST FOOD YOU’VE EVER TASTED THERE. I HEARD MUSTANGS HAVE THE LONGEST EXPECTED LIFESPANS, IS THAT TRUE? WHY DID YOU MOVE OUT OF THERE? WHAT WAS YOUR JOB BACK IN TROTTINGHAM? DID YOU-” “Uh... Rarity, you should go give Summerfree a chance to respond you know” I interrupted. You’re starting to act like Pinkie Pie. Rarity suddenly realized her unladylike attitude and blushed, A LOT. “Oh! uh, pardon me Summerfree, I wasn’t acting myself back there, I’m sorry.” Summerfree chuckled “It’s okay Rarity” when a big plate of pasta was suddenly placed on the center of the table. “Enough talk y’all,” I heard Braeburn call from the end of the table. “Let’s eat!” Rainbow Dash, who was sitting a few seats from me, sighed in relief. “Great, you know I couldn’t live with eating salads” and with that, she threw the lone leaf of salad on her plate behind her, not realizing that she just threw it on a passing waiter. I walked out the door of the restaurant with Rarity and Summerfree supporting me like a pair of crutches. In front of us was Applejack and Braeburn, while behind us were Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. “Welp, Ah gotta say Brae’, you picked the right place to eat; That was delicious” Applejack spoke up. “I agree, the food was very divine even though they’re not my kind of food. those hay strip salad was DIVINE.” Rarity chimed in. Fluttershy and I nodded in agreement. “Awww’ shucks girls, don’t mention it.” Braeburn replied to us sheepily “I’m just glad there was more than just salads there.” Rainbow Dash interjected behind us, a bit of sarcasm evident in her voice. “What say you Pinkie?” We all turned our gazes to the pink mare behind us, only to find and empty space. A few seconds later, Pinkie dashed out of the restaurant doors with over a dozen bags of food with her. We just stared at her with an unamazed face. She looked around in confusion. “What’cha guys staring at?” After around five to ten minutes of walking, we finally found ourselves back in the den of Braeburn’s ranch house. “...anyways Twi’, Ah’ll go get those crutches you need upstairs” Applejack exclaimed to me as we walked in. “Just stay right here with Summerfree and Rarity, okay?” “Sure, Applejack, it’s not like I could actually go anywhere you know” “Right.”and with that, we watched her trot up the staircase, leaving the rest of us in the den. Braeburn turned his attention to the young colt carrying my right foreleg. “Summers, it’s getting kinda late out, do you wanna just go stay here at the ranch for the night instead of going back to yer house in the other side of town?” Summerfree, who looked pretty exhausted, perked up. “A-are you sure? Umm... I hate to be a bother...” The older stallion laughed. “No worries Summers, you’re my cuz’ anyway. You could sleep in Twi’s room with her, as long as she doesn’t mind of course” Summerfree looked back at me with his expectant apple-green eyes. “Yeah sure, Summerfree, I don’t mind.” Summerfree nuzzled me back before the sound of hooves upstairs grew nearer and nearer until Applejack reappeared at the staircase with a pair of wooden crutches on her front hooves. “Hey y’all, what’d I miss?” “Oh, Summerfree’s staying with us at the ranch fer the night” Braeburn chortled happily. “Oh that’s good, it’s pretty dark out already anyways.” She then turned her attention to me. “Here’s the crutches you needed, Twi’. Hope it’s good enough.” she said before handing me the pair of wooden supports. Rarity and Summerfree helped me transfer to the supports before letting go of me. “So how is it Twi?” she asked me after I settled on the wooden supports. I tried shifting my weight on the crutches. It’s quite sturdy, it barely even bended. “It’s fine Applejack, thanks” I replied Applejack smiled at me before turning back to Summerfree. “C’mon Summerfree, Ah’ll go show you around the house.” Applejack exclaimed to him as they both went upstairs along with the others leaving just me and Rarity alone on the room. “...Does it still hurt Twilight?” Rarity suddenly asked me. My mind suddenly went blank “Uh, excuse me?” “I meant that bite mark on your neck, does it still hurt?” “...U-uh... What bite mark?” I answered nervously, a bead of sweat dripping from my muzzle I saw Rarity’s horn glow before something touched my injured neck and a rush of pain hit me. I winced in surprise. “...Twilight, I know you’re lying.” Rarity exclaimed, her face filled with disappointment. I lowered my head in shame. “Darling, we’re worried for your sake. Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Don’t you trust us?” “R-Rarity, I could explain” “Then explain; I’m all ears.” she asked me with a stern tone in her voice. I closed my eyes and stammered. “I-I don’t want you and the others to worry about me more, so I decided to go get some medicine from the first aid kit upstairs and treat the wound myself and not tell any of you girls.” I pulled down my scarf with a sigh and carefully touched the puncture wound on my neck. “It still hurts. I thought the antiseptics I applied on my neck just needed some time before it takes effect” I muttered. “Twilight you’re not acting like yourself; the Twilight I know doesn’t like to keep secrets from her friends.” Rarity exclaimed “Rarity, please don’t tell the others, I beg of you, they’ll freak out and I wouldn’t hear the end of it.” “Twilight...” Rarity muttered and looked at the stairs, probably deciding if she should go make a dash for it and tell the others or not. “Please Rarity. I-I could fix this...” I begged. Rarity grumbled and walked to me. “Ugh, I can’t believe I’m doing this. Twilight, I’m only giving you two days, if that horrid wound of yours doesn’t heal, I’ll be forced to go tell the others” her voice had a lot of doubt in it. I sighed in relief “Thank you Rarity...” Rarity’s face was still filled with worry “Just remember, I’m only giving you two days” I thanked Rarity out in the hallway for helping me get up the stairs with my crutches before going in my room. “Hey Twilight” a voice spoke when I opened the door. I looked around my room and found Summerfree lying down on a mattress laid out beside my bed reading a book. “Hey Summerfree, I could see you’re back from your tour of the house” “Yup!” he answered to me excitedly. “Cousin Braeburn has a really big house!” he added happily. “He even has a cider cellar! How cool is that?!” he rambled. “Yeah, amazing right?” He nodded before talking again. I went along with the conversation, but my mind was somewhere else. It was late already, the moon was high in the sky, bathing the town in its silver light. And everyone else right now is either deep in sleep or is struggling to do so. I was one of the latter. I was too busy to fall asleep. In my head, I was deep in thought. My mind began to wander. Sabotages, weird dreams, and bite marks of unknown origin... something weird is going on here. And I’m not just gonna stand here and do nothing about it. Forget about what Applejack said, I could take care of myself, and I’m gonna go out and investigate this town from top to bottom for answers. No matter what happens. 08 : The Walk"Hey Applejack, mind if I go to the outer orchards today?” Applejack’s eyes widened and she spat out the cider she was drinking, making a small mist of the stuff appear in front of her face. “This stuff tastes funny.” she muttered, eyeing her mug containing the rest of her drink before setting the mug down on the wooden dining table. “Anyways, are ya serious Twi?” she asked, looking back at me. It was already noon and we were having lunch, everyone else was already finished and had excused themselves from the table, leaving only me and Applejack all alone in the dining area. She pushed away her mug of cider and grabbed a glass of water, taking a sip from it. “Ah know yer’ legs have been feeling better recently, but don’tcha think it’s kinda too early to just go ‘round outside after that ordeal of yers?” “Nah, I’m okay Applejack, trust me.” It’s been two days already since I had that talk with Rarity, and since that night, the mark on my neck's been slowly disappearing. By now, it is barely visible to the naked eye. Perfect, I knew that medication I used would work, now Rarity doesn’t have to tell the others. “Ah’m not so sure Twi’. What if ya go get more of your legs broken or somethin’?” she answered back. “Just stay here in the ranch ‘till we finally get back to Ponyville.” I let out a frustrated whine. “Hey AJ, when did you ever become the worrying type?” I looked back and found Rainbow Dash coming down the stairs with Rarity and Summerfree. "Shut it Dash, just so you know what's going on here, Twi's asking me if she cud' go out to the outer orchard with that injury of hers" Applejack said without looking at the multicolored pegasus. Rainbow Dash took a quick glance at me. "She looks fine enough to me, AJ," she commented, "I think we should let her go." "For once, Rainbow's right, Applejack darling" Rarity exclaimed. "She actually looks quite right," she added as she looked at me from top to bottom. For a brief moment, we made eye contact. She smiled back at me, relief strewn on her face. Applejack shot a glare back at her, “Yer’ not helping Rares,” she retorted and pointed at me. “Look at her, she can’t even use that horn of hers!” pointing at the bandaged spike above my forehead. “Oh stop being worrysome Applejack, you can’t just keep the poor mare locked up here in the ranch forever you know.” Rarity chortled back. “I’m not letting her stay here forever, Rares. Just until help arrives and we cud’ get back to Ponyville. Right now, ah don’t want her to get lost or somethin’, not with that condition of hers.” I saw Rarity roll her eyes. “Applejack, she just wants to go to the outer orchard. She’s technically still here at the ranch you know. There’s no way she could get lost there.” “Yeah,” I heard Rainbow Dash say. “Plus, I could always just fly around and look for her if she ever gets lost. No biggie, you ARE looking at the fastest flyer in Equestria after all” I saw Applejack roll her eyes, letting the cyan pegasus bask in her self praise. Then she looked back at me and bit her lower lip, her mind deep in thought. She looks like she’s going to allow me to go around town. All I need to do is convince her a little more... “I could accompany her if you want...” a voice spoke. We all faced where the voice came from; it was Summerfree. He had the biggest expectant smile plastered on his face. …uhh, for an excuse, this isn’t really what I had in mind. “Oh, that’s a wonderful idea Summerfree!” Rarity chortled “See Applejack? Your cousin can go watch Twilight for you if you want so you don’t have to worry.” Applejack looked back at her cousin, her mind obviously trying to process what she just heard. She stared at his expectant face before taking a quick glance at me, and then to the mug of cider on the table. A few moments later, she sighed in defeat. “...fine, Twi’, you can go... as long as you’re with Summerfree.” she said, putting emphasis on the last part. Summerfree eyes grew wide with the smile on his face and he quickly went to Applejack and gave her a rather strong, friendly hug, almost knocking her over as he did. “Just... make sure ya keep... a good eye on her, Summers.” Applejack grunted while she was being crushed by her cousin’s grip, her face slowly turning purple. “I will Applejack!” he answered as he let go of Applejack. I watched the orange apple farmer gasp for air and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Now can I please get back to my lunch?” she asked exasperated. “You’re so stressed out AJ” Rainbow Dash chortled out, grabbing the mug of cider from the table. “You should be more relaxed like me sometimes you know” she commented before taking a swig from the mug. “Man, this is some good stuff.” It was around one o’clock in the afternoon when Summerfree and I left for the outer orchards. Braeburn said that’s where the more resilient cultivars of apples were grown, and due to their hardy nature, they required less attention than the more sensitive apple trees found in the inner orchards. The orchard was a one kilometer trek away from the ranch and at the rate we’re walking, it would take us around twelve to fifteen minutes to get there. Right now, we were just busy enjoying the scenery while we walked. It’s quite amazing, really. We’re out smack in the middle of the Great Buffalo Desert, one of Equestria’s most remote and barren landscapes, and hostile at that. Yet, these apple trees managed to grow and thrive under the sweltering conditions. Come to think of it, I wonder how I managed to survive, being lost in the middle of nowhere, all unconscious and hurt like that. My train of thought was suddenly broken by the voice of a young colt. “Hey Twilight, wait up!” I heard Summerfree shout. I looked back and found him running to catch up with me. I slowed down to a stop and waited for him to reach me. He panted a few times to catch his breath before he regained his posture. “Sorry Twilight, I got caught up checking the nearby apple trees when I realized that I was lagging behind.” he said sheepishly, he raised up one of his forehooves and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. I smiled back at him. “Nah, It’s okay Summerfree.” I told him before I looked back and began walking again, with Summerfree following close beside me. “So Summerfree,” I said, trying to start a conversation. He raised his head and looked at me. “What brings you to Appleoosa anyway?” “...What do you mean?” he asked me, lowering his head. “Well, you said that you were from Trottingham, why did you suddenly want to go here in Appleoosa of all places?” “...Oh, uh, I wanted a little break from city life, I wanted to go and get away from it all for a while, have some problems back there” he replied back. “...and you chose Appleoosa... why?” He raised his head up. “Heard it was a nice place, far, isolated. And the townfolk are really friendly, great place to get a break from modern life” “Oh, I see. So you’re planning to go back to Trottingham sometime?” I asked him. He nodded. “Maybe, but if I’m doing fine here at Appleoosa, I might stay here.” “Cousin Braeburn said he always did need help here at the orchard” he exclaimed, chuckling a bit. After a few minutes, the ranch house behind us has disappeared from view and all that was ahead of us was a blanket of apple trees. The dirt path we were walking on winded around the apple trees like a snake. It went along the contours of the ground rather than cutting through it. The leaves of nearby apple trees blocked most of the sun’s blinding light but allowed some to pass through in small spaces, creating a wonderful pattern of sunlight dotting the rather dim ground. Occasionally, the dirt path we took would edge a nearby cliffside, revealing an amazing view of the acres of apple trees the ranch maintained. If one would look far in the distance, one could also see the massive Mount Buffalo dotting the landscape along with a few other stone monoliths. Not far off in that direction was also our destination, the outer orchards. “The view here is amazing!” I exclaimed while we were taking a break along the cliffside. He nodded back in agreement. “I still can’t believe Braeburn and the town folk managed to plant all these trees out in the desert.” I exclaimed. “Well, cousin told me that it had something to do with underground water and how the ground underneath us has a lot of those, he said it’s kinda complicated” he exclaimed. “But I guess, it doesn’t matter now right?” he asked me. I looked back at the trees below me. Most of them bearing bright red apples. I smiled. “Yeah, I guess it doesn’t.” It was around ten minutes before two o’clock when Summerfree and I finally reached the entrance of the outer orchard, I guess we kind of spent too much time resting at that cliffside. The outer orchard was pretty big. There were over a hundred apple trees littering the area, most of them were bearing red & yellow apples. A few meters away from us was a small wooden shed, presumably housing equipment Braeburn uses to maintain the trees and its fruit. A small bench with a table was also there, Braeburn must also probably use the small shack as a resting station or something. "Cousin Braeburn and Applejack just took me here yesterday," Summerfree exclaimed as we walked towards the wooden shed. "The apples around here are almost in their prime, they said they'd harvest it by next week." "Are you hungry?" he asked me as we sat down on the bench beside the shed. "Cousin told me we cud' get a few apples to eat" he said, pointing at a nearby apple tree. "No thanks," I replied, raising a hoof. "I'm good". “Well then,” he replied back, standing back up. “Let's go take a walk around the outer orchard, I wanna show you a few things” he smiled, grabbing my hoof and pulling me up from the bench. I offered no resistance and followed his lead. In my head however, I was thinking of other things. There’s a lot of work to be done here. After all, I didn’t come here for no reason. 09 : The Iron SpikeA field full of strong sturdy trees. Bright red apples with yellows splotches hanging below their branches. The vast desert lying a few miles from where I stood A long simple wooden fence dividing the lush trees from the barren desert This was basically what the outer orchard was. This is what I also dreamt of last night. I found myself in the middle of the apple orchards late at night. From where I was standing, one could see the silhouette of the ranch house far off in the distance. As time went on, however, I noticed that my surroundings were slowly changing before my eyes. The trees and their apples were changing into different shapes and the silhouette of the house was slowly getting farther and farther away from me. By the time the silhouette was no longer visible, I would find myself in a patch of trees bordered by the cold desert; the outer orchards. And then the world fades to black and I’d wake up. The weirdest part about the dream was that the details were so vivid and clear, I would remember all that I dreamt of when I woke up. Every single detail. That doesn’t usually happen. The dream was already raising a lot of flags in my head the minute I woke up. I figured that taking a trip to the outer orchards would help make some things clearer for me. Yes, I'm here because I want to go investigate and search the area, not to 'go get some fresh air'. No one knows about my true reasons why I really went here. In fact, nopony actually really knows what’s going on with me for the past few days. For one, no one knows that I’ve been searching the whole house from top to bottom for clues on the station collapse. Unsurprisingly, I’ve yet to find anything significant except for that small metal key I found up the attic a few days ago. I still haven’t found out what it unlocks but something’s telling me that whatever this thing unlocks, it’s important for me to find out. I feel kind of guilty that I’m keeping secrets from the others. Applejack would probably freak out and give me a little talk when she finds out what I’ve been doing. But that means, I won’t be able to find out what the hay is going on around here and help the town and all its innocent townfolk. I looked back at Summerfree who was busy showing me around the outer orchard with a warm smile on his face. The young colt really seemed to enjoy it here, his nervousness seemed to disappear and he seemed more... happier than usual. “...You look happier than usual" I blurted out inadvertently. What the hay? Why did I say that?! That’s was the worst thing to say right now! Stupid brain! Hopefully Summerfree didn’t hear what I just said... “Hmm?” Summerfree’s ears perked up. And his eyes stared back at me. Sweet Celestia, this is gonna be awkward "What did’ya say Twilight?" he asked me, his smile thankfully still there. “Oh... uh” Think Twilight, think! “...You...uh... seemed happier than usual” What the hay. “Oh,” his smile faltered a bit. Great, way to go brain. “Uh, well it’s because it’s more... peaceful here” Peaceful? “Peaceful? How’s the outer orchard more peaceful than the rest of Appleoosa?” I asked Summerfree looked away from me and lowered his head “...I wasn’t talking about Appleoosa, I was talking about back home... in Trottingham” That caught my attention. “Trottingham?” I repeated back. I saw him nod slowly. “......” “Summerfree, what’s going on back at home?” “...Can we talk about something else please?” his voice was slowly losing its confidence again. I slowly put my hoof on his shoulder. “Summerfree... what’s going on?” He didn’t reply back. I was caught by surprise when he suddenly broke off into a dash and ran off, farther into the outer orchard. Great, way to go brain. This is all your fault. I quickly regained my thoughts and ran after him. I lost track of him after a while and I was slowly getting tired. After a bit more of walking. I found myself back in the outer orchard’s entrance, and with my legs all tired, I ultimately decided to go take a rest in the tool shed before continuing my search for the runaway colt. I slowly trotted back to the small shed and sat down on the bench outside and tried to catch my breath. The shed had a small door on one of it’s walls, gaining access to it’s interior. Guess it’s a good time now to go search around the place now that I’m alone. I stood up and walked up to the door and opened it.. Unsurprisingly, the shed housed a wide array of farming tools. Large tools like rakes, plows & shovels stood on the corner slowly gathering dust while smaller tools like trowels, shears & watering cans lay on shelves lining the walls of the small room. Amidst the assortment of items laying on the shelves, something caught my attention. My eyes were directed to a pile of large metal objects laying on the bottom shelf. I grabbed one of them and examined it. It appeared to be a large nail, a very rusty one at that. It looks rather worn out, I wonder what it’s used for? My eyes scanned the entire room again and found nothing seemingly linked to the odd metal nail I was holding. I’m gonna have to go take a better look at this. I quickly tucked the metal object between one of the gauze bandages wrapped on my torso, hiding it from view. Don’t wanna let anyone get suspicious about why I had a large metal nail with me. I knew I should have brought one of my saddlebags with me. After I made sure that the metal wasn’t hindering my walking or making me feel uncomfortable, I took one last look at the shed’s interior before stepping back outside and continuing my search for the runaway colt. I kind of lost track of the time already after walking for what seemed like forever. The ground I was walking on was slowly losing its green the further I walked. The soil was also getting more loose and dry, and the apple trees surrounding me were getting more scarce and far apart from each other. I guess I was already nearing the orchard’s border. Nothing else after that but the barren, unforgiving desert, marked{?} by a long wooden fence that ran around Braeburn’s whole property. My walk was abruptly stopped by said fence. I took a long look at the landscape before me, having to shield my eyes with a hoof from the bright sun above. A wide plane of sand dotted by a few cacti. The massive rock formations also dotted the area. The largest one, Mount Buffallo, was maybe a ten minute walk away from here. Not so far in the distance, my eyes caught the glint of metal snaking across the entire landscape; the train tracks. My eyes followed it and found the familiar silhouette of the town a few miles from where I stood. Other than those, there was nothing else to be found, including Summerfree. Great, where the hay could Summerfree be? Applejack’s gonna get really angry if he winds up lost. I sighed and turned around, heading back to the shed. ...Only to quickly catch a glimpse of a figure a few trees away, looking at me. It was Summerfree. “...Summerfree?” His eyes, which looked like he had been crying recently, widened when he realized that I saw him and he quickly ran off into the orchard. I quickly recollected my thoughts and gave chase. I’ll tell you one thing: Summerfree runs fast. Very fast. I could barely catch up with him, especially with my already weak legs that had just been injured. The only thing that was assuring me that I was on his trail was the sound of his hoofsteps. “Summerfree, wait!” I shouted, in hopes that he would stop. I dashed past the trees as fast I could, some of their leaves falling as I passed by. I began to tire out, I was already having a hard time catching my breath and my legs were screaming at me to slow down. The footsteps were gradually fading away, implying that the distance between me and the young colt were widening. There was no way I could catch up with it. Still, I pressed myself to run faster and at least try. I didn’t have the chance to stop when I saw an apple tree a few meters in front of me. And that’s when I collided and my vision went dark. 10 : Apologies and Revelations... I’m flying. Well, I think I am, judging by the fact that I’m about twenty feet off the ground. I think one of the inner orchards was below my hooves, but it was really hard to see because of the bright sunlight slightly blinding me. I'm really confused right now; this is physically impossible. I'm a unicorn, not a pegasus, HOW the hay am I dangling twenty feet up in the air? WHY the hay am I dangling high twenty feet up in the air? And more importantly, HOW am I gonna get down from- ...wait. ...I think I can make out the figure of a pony down below at the orchard. Thankfully, my eyes managed to adjust a bit to the blinding sunlight. It’s still kind of hard to see, but I think the pony’s a mare, judging by how thin and slender the figure was compared to the physique of an average colt. The fact that the figure also has a long mane seems to prove my point. Suddenly, I found myself going higher up in the air for some reason. I tried to move my legs in protest, only to find no response on either of my legs. Okay, something is really wrong here. I suddenly stopped gaining altitude. I breathed a sigh of relief... Before suddenly dropping down into a dive, heading towards the unknown mare in the orchard. I tried screaming, but I found that like my legs, I also couldn’t seem to move my mouth. My vision was getting blurry the closer I got to the ground, the color purple was also slowly filling my vision for some odd reason. And then, darkness surrounded me and I couldn't see anything. I still felt myself falling though. And while I fell, the darkness around me embraced my body. ... ... ... ... ... ... My head hurts. A LOT. Within a few seconds, my vision slowly returned and I found myself back on the outer orchard. Lying on the tool shed’s bench to be exact. I looked around and saw Summerfree not so far away, apparently unaware that I’m awake. The fact that he was pacing the floor frantically suggested that he was very worried and nervous. “Oh dear, oh dear,” I heard him say. “They’re gonna kill me when they find out what happened, I’m so stupid!” I sat up and rubbed my aching forehead. “Urgh, Summerfree?” I called out to him. He quickly turned and faced me, his face filled with surprise and relief. “Twilight!” he cried out, making a dash towards me and then giving me a rather constricting hug. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry about what happened to you.” he said with a very troubled voice. I wrapped my hoof around him. “...It’s okay Summerfree... it wasn’t your fault.” He buried his face on my shoulder. He looked like he was in the verge of tears. “...No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have ran away, I’m so stupid...” “Summerfree... don’t be so hard on yourself” I consoled him. “I’m alright. You didn’t mean to hurt me anyway. I just ran onto a tree, that’s all. No need to worry” Tears were starting to form in his eyes. “B-but... cousin Applejack will-” “Shhh...” I gently waved a hoof at him. “It’s okay. I’ve got your back, you have got nothing to worry about.” I told him. His grip loosened and he slowly broke the embrace. His mouth slowly formed a small grin. “Thanks... Twilight.” “I believe I owe an explanation.” Summerfree suddenly spoke up. It was around fifteen minutes since I woke up and we were spending the rest of our time strolling around the outer orchard. Summerfree had managed to calm down from his outburst a while ago. I rubbed my gauze-wrapped forehead and looked back at him in confusion. “An explanation to what?” I asked him. “...to what’s been happening back at home.” My mouth faltered to a slight frown. “Uhh... Summerfree, you don’t have to explain, I understand.” I told him. Summerfree shook his head. “No, I need to get this off my chest.” he sighed. "Please don't tell this to anypony else" I looked at him. “Okay...” He smiled back and took a deep breath. “If I remember correctly, I told you girls I was born in Mustangia right?” I nodded, clearly remembering what he said during dinner a few days ago. “Yeah, anyways, when I moved to Trottingham, the folks there didn’t exactly give me the nice treatment.” he said, his voice weakening a bit. My walking began to slow and looked at him. “Summerfree... what do you mean?” Summerfree stayed silent for a second before continuing. “...They said my accent was all stupid and that I didn’t belong there” he said nervously, his mouth quivering. “They’d sometimes gang up on me... and... call me names... and beat me up... and they'd throw rocks at me...” he said while raising a hoof and lifting up a portion of his mane, revealing a rather faint scar on the side of his neck, still partially covered by his rather dusty bandanna. “...I couldn’t really protect myself against them so I was easy picking” he said, lowering back his hoof and letting his hair fall back. “ but then... I met this mare” he continued. “She was way different from me, she was really brave and confident. It was really a mystery why she would hang out with someone like me. She always stood by my side, especially when I was in trouble.” he said smiling a bit before frowning. “But then, one day, she had to leave me. Her family had to move away from the city... and she told me before she left that she'll try to visit me sometimes... So far, I'm still trying to contact her but I haven't heard from her yet.” he lowered his head. “And now that she’s gone, it was obvious that the bullying would come back soon and worse, no one was there to help me.” He raise his head a bit and he tried to averthis gaze from me. "I had to get away from it all, I took the next train headed here in Appleoosa." "And here we are" He sighed and look back down on the ground, finishing his story. My mind was trying to process what Summerfree just said. Did he really suffer that much back at Trottingham? It was then that I realized that I had my mouth hanging open. "I'm such a coward" he mumbled, his eyes still staring down at the ground. "B-but I didn't know what else to do... all I could think of was to run, I’m so stupid..." He was beginning to tear up again. I walked to him and gave him a gentle hug. He's hurting himself. He needs a shoulder to cry on. And I'm gonna be there for him. We were quiet during the trip back to the house. I could feel the metal nail secretly strapped on my sides gently poking me gently but I paid no attention to it, I was still letting the new information Summerfree told me to sink in my head. Summerfree on the other hand, just kept his head down while walking. He probably also has a lot of things going on his head right now. The sun was already beginning to hide in the horizon, the sky was tinted a deep shade of violet and our surroundings were starting to darken due to the lessening sunlight. It was not long before the faint lights of the ranch house began to glimmer between some trees. I saw Applejack standing outside the backdoor, waiting for us when we came. "Glad to see you two come back in time" she said, smiling. "Although you two look rather dirty" she added. "Did'ya go take a run around the orchard or something?" "You could say that" I replied. I saw her slightly raise one of her eyebrows and smirk in response. "Well come on in you two and get washed up" she said before turning her attention to the colt beside me. "Summerfree, Ah take it that yer going back to your place in town tonight?" Summerfree nodded in reply. "Ok, you can go back to town after washing up. Ya better hurry 'cause it's starting to get real dark now" Applejack said, looking at the now indigo colored sky above us before opening the ranch's back door and going inside. Summerfree and I immediately followed her and entered the house. I sat down on my bed, just finished having a relaxing bath. In my hooves lay the odd looking metal spike I found in the outer orchard. Its purpose still remained a mystery to me and I don't think I should ask anyone about this. After all, it will obviously rouse suspicion. "Hey Applejack, I got this metal spike in the tool shed while no one was looking, mind telling me what it is for?" Seriously, who wouldn't find that weird? I examined the object for a few more moments before stashing it in my little suitcase along with the small metal key I found and my journal, which I was still in the midst of reading in an effort to jog my memories. I grabbed a small notedpad from my suitcase and jotted down a few notes to help keep track of my thoughts. 'Found an odd metal spike in the outer orchard, find out what its meant for soon.' I tossed the small notepad back into the suitcase and I snapped it shut and stowed it below my bed before stepping outside to the hallway and headed downstairs. ... I sat outside in the front porch, relaxing and taking in the cool desert air. The gentle breeze blowing between the bandages wrapped around me. The door beside me opened and Summerfree walked out. We stared at each other in a rather awkward silence for a few moments before I spoke up. "So you're going back to your place now?" "...yeah" "..." The awkward silence began to creep back. I was gonna speak up again when Summerfree started talking again. "Twilight, I wanna thank you for everything" he said, looking down at the ground as usual. I brought a hoof up to his chin and tilted his head up. "It's no problem Summerfree" He smiled at me. "Yeah..." I smiled back at him and I looked back to the front of the ranch, my eyes tracing tracing the winding road leading to the house. Not so far away stood the property's long wooden fence. "Well, I guess I gotta go now, see ya again tomorrow Twilight" he said putting a hoof behind his head. "Okay, see you tomorrow Summerfree" I replied. "...oh and Twilight..." He suddenly said. I turned my face to look at him when he closed in on me and... ...gave me a kiss on the lips. "Good night" he said, before he turned and began walking out of the property. My mind stopped working for what seemed like a few minutes. I was trying to comprehend what just happened. Summerfree... He just kissed me on the lips... I heard the telltale sound of the door opening behind me. "Oh there you are Twilight" a voice behind me said, bringing me back to reality. I turned around and saw Rarity looking back at me. "It's dark out already, Applejack and Braeburn said that its dinner time now and... ...why is your face red?" I felt the heat rise up my face. ... I realized I was blushing. Author's Note FINALLY, after 3-4 months procrastinating and doing school work, I finally finished Chapter 10 (yaaay). I'll try to update faster next time, but it might be hard since I'm chocked up with my studies (I have school here right now in my place).
01 : The Wrong Side of the BedThe Journal by TropicalWings The first thing I felt when I woke up was the pierce, throbbing pain echoing down on my forehead. I have never felt anything like it. The pain was like a war drum beating constantly every few seconds; it was unbearable. I sat up and found myself sitting down on a bed, I touched my aching forehead, and that’s when I realized the whole thing was wrapped in a ton of bandages, save for my precious little horn. I looked around my surroundings and realized that the room I was in wasn’t familiar to me. I couldn’t make any sense of what was going on. Where am I? What’s going on? My mind was instantly filling up with a thousand questions. Does anypony even know I’m here? Why do I have this awful headache? My state of confusion was slowly turning into panic, and my instincts are telling me to run. Run and go back home, or at least go call for help. My mind began to wander; What if there were ponies keeping me here? What if they’re bad ponies keeping me here for their evil plans? But… what if they were good? What if they were taking care of me? That would explain the bandages, but… wouldn’t it be more practical to just bring me to a hospital? The more I think about it, the more I panic. Should I go escape from this place or should I stay here and wait? I then realized: I had no idea as to where I would go, even if I got out of this place. But instead of pondering on this fact, my mind went to work, instantly thinking of a solution to the current problem. I tried using my magic to open the only door in the room. Instead of an open door, I was greeted by a sudden wave of intense pain overwhelming my already aching head. Something is terribly wrong. I tried opening the door again, but more pain rushed to my head. It felt like my head was cracking open rather than the door. ‘One more time.’, I said to myself, and I mustered all my strength to open the door. What did you know, it swung open. The only problem was it wasn’t because of me; it was someone else. Through the door walked in a rather depressed mare. No use running away now. ...Maybe If I hide under my covers she won’t notice? No. Her eyes just caught sight of me and suddenly her jaw dropped with a gasp. Her mood suddenly perked up and she frantically ran out the room, weird. Just as I felt like she wasn’t coming back, she returned, only, she wasn’t alone; five other ponies joined her. Four of them were mares, and the other was a stallion, with sheer happiness evidently strewn on each of their faces. One of them, a pink pony with a rather puffy mane even began jumping up and down in excitement, “SHE’S AWAKE!” she shouted. “SHE’S AWAKE! SHE’S AWAKE! THIS CALLS FOR A ‘SHE’S AWAKE’ PARTY! IT’S A GOOD THING I BROUGHT MY PARTY CANNON WITH ME. THERE WILL BE SINGING, DANCING, CAKE AND EVERYTHING! AND THEN AFTER THAT WE’LL HAVE AN AFTER-PARTY AND THEN AFTER THAT WE’LL HAVE AN AFTER-AFTER-PARTY AND THEN AN AFTER-AFTER-AFTER-PARTY AND THEN AN AFTER-AFTER…” Man, what’s up with this mare? Did she even take a breath of air while saying that ridiculously long rant of hers? “Calm down, partner.” A voice told her. It came from an orange mare with blonde hair. She had three apples on her flank and a cowboy hat on her head. “Give her some space, she just woke up.” she added. Were they just talking about me? I don’t know these ponies, why the heck would they be concerned about me? Well, the pink pony finally managed to pipe down. Good thing, I thought my headache was going to worsen if she had continued rambling like that. The orange pony suddenly spoke up again, “Thank goodness you’re okay, Sugarcube, we’ve been worried sick ever since the accident.” Wait… “She’s awake”? “Worried”? “Accident”? What are these ponies talking about? Wait…How long was I out? ...Why do these ponies care so much about me? “…What’s going on here?” I asked. The smiles on their faces disappeared instantly and were now replaced with looks of sadness and confusion. “W-what?” stammered a yellow Pegasus, the one that had found me lying awake in the room. “Y-you…You don’t remember anything?” I shook my head in response, “No.” “Oh dear.” whispered one of them, a pale white unicorn with a set of purple curly hair. “This isn’t good.” “Darling…” she told me with a look of worry on her face,”…I think you have amnesia.” “What’s am-nee-sha?” asked a rather peculiar looking cyan pegasus with rainbow hair, questioning the word. The alabaster-colored unicorn frowned, “Darling, amnesia is a mental condition, it’s when you lose your memory.” ”Sometimes…” she added, “…sometimes amnesia just makes you forget recent events...Other times, you don’t get lucky, and get your whole memory wiped out, forgetting everything you ever knew…”. “That sounds horrible.” commented the brash pegasus. Sounds horrible? Of COURSE it sounds horrible! Doesn’t that pea-brained pegasus realize how serious this is? “…so, which kind of amnesia did yer friend here get then?” asked the blonde stallion, who had been quiet for most of the conversation. He was wearing a cowboy hat, just like the orange mare’s, and a vest, covering his entire chest. “Well, the best thing we can do to find out is to ask her, right?” Immediately, she trotted over to me, her face a few mere inches from mine. She stared at me, her eyes filled with concern. “Darling.” she said looking at me. “What do you remember?” What do I remember...? “Hmm… Well, I can definitely tell you that I have no idea where exactly I am, and I don’t remember experiencing any ‘accident’ you guys have been talking about, and, uh…” my voice trailed off. “What is it?” “…I don’t know who any of you girls are” Their already worried looks grew worse the minute they heard what I said. One of them, the pink, hyperactive pony, suddenly winced, and her once puffy hair suddenly deflated like a balloon into straight locks drooping down her head. “Y-you don’t know us?” the pink pony asked, her voice devoid of any happiness. “Sadly,... no, not at all...” I replied. I can tell by their reactions that they took my response like a punch in the gut. “Darling, are you sure you don’t remember?” asked the white unicorn, obviously hoping that I was lying and that I still remember them. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. “Positive.” I said. Silence had filled the room right after that, everypony was still trying to digest what I just told them, Everypony was too shocked to say anything. It felt like an eternity before somepony finally spoke up. “...If you don’t remember us... who do you at least remember then?” The question came from the buttercream colored pegasus. “I remember...” I was stuck mid-sentence. I gathered all my willpower to dig into my throbbing head for any clues. To my disappointment, none appeared. “I don’t remember anypony. Nopony at all.” The five of them were staring at me with blank faces. They really took this thing seriously. While thinking of a way to comfort them, I said: “Well, I do remember one thing. My …” Yet again, I was caught mid-sentence. But one thing came into my mind, a question I knew was vital to my very being: Who am I?
02 : Breaking NewsTwilight Sparkle. The name echoed in my head for hours. It was no ordinary name. I owned it; It was my name, my very identity. The six ponies had left my room a few hours ago. I found myself lying down on the wooden bed alone again, left to let my aching mind wander about again on what had happened a few hours ago. The orange cowpony with the apple cutie mark was Applejack. The ivory-colored unicorn was Rarity. The brash rainbow-haired pegasus was Rainbow Dash. The shy timid yellow pegasus was Fluttershy. The hyperactive party-addicted pony was Pinkie Pie. The blonde stallion was Applejack’s cousin, Braeburn. Apparently, I’m also right in his town right now, a quaint little desert pony settlement named Appleloosa. We’ve actually been here multiple times, as per Applejack’s request. They didn’t care to explain why, though. I repeated their names out again quietly, trying to get my mouth to get used to the feel of the words. They were my friends apparently, especially the 5 mares. Yet for some reason, I couldn’t really understand why I couldn’t remember them. They also said that they, no, we were heroes, not just to Appleloosa, but all throughout the land we know as Equestria. We were known as the bearers of something called the Elements of Harmony, a powerful set of supernatural artifacts once held by the rulers of Equestria itself until its powers went to us. Applejack possessed one known as the “Element of Honesty”, Rainbow Dash owned the “Element of Loyalty”, Rarity held the “Element of Generosity”, Fluttershy beared the “Element of Kindness” and Pinkie Pie had the “Element of Laughter”(figures.) For me, on the other hand, I owned “the most elusive element” among the others; the “Element of Magic”. Wow, talk about being cheesy. It was kind of hard for me to digest what they just told me. Lunar mares, chimeras, dragons, Eternal Night, Chaos, it sounded kind of far-fetched if you ask me. I mean, who would believe a story about the princess’s personal student, out in a desert town? What if they’re really just feeding me lies? Or am I just too skeptical? No, something deep inside me is telling me that they’re sincere about what they’re saying. But I still wonder, why keep me here? Why not bring me back to our hometown named Ponyville? Why not treat me in a proper hospital? Why stay here? I really should ask them that later when they come back to visit me, I was told I’m not allowed to go out yet for my own safety. For some reason, I’m getting tired all of a sudden. Well, I am in the process of recovering from that accident by the way, probably just normal. I made a mental note to ask them my questions later. Once that was all done, I closed my eyes and slept. I awoke to the sound of hooves trotting out in the hallway heading to my direction. Still sleepy, I turned my head to the other hide and suddenly my eyes met Pinkie’s face. I was suddenly startled awake, with her laughing on the floor. I found Rarity behind her, giving her an annoyed look. If her looks could kill, Pinkie would have probably been already dead a few hours ago. “Pinkie, do you honestly wanna frighten our badly injured friend here? We’ve talked about this a million times already.” she said, with a serious tone in her voice. “I can’t help it. TWILIGHT’S FINALLY AWAKE!!” she screamed. I don’t understand what goes on inside that pony’s mind. Rarity letted out a sigh and turned her attention towards me. “Please excuse her, Twilight, she’s just kind of over excited that’s all.” she told me, shooing away Pinkie Pie out of the room. “She was pretty quiet during the time you were in that dreadful coma, simply waiting for you to at least move. And when you did, what a fuss she made of it. She really wasn’t acting herself for once, I thought I was looking at some other pony...” Her voice trailed off. “Anyway, how are you feeling?” she asked me, quickly changing the topic. “Well sadly, my headache is still here,” I replied. “the pain lessened though.” I added. A look of relief filled the white unicorn’s face, “That’s a good start.” she said. “At least we know you can get up and trotting in no time.” “Yeah.” said a voice from the door, which turned out to be Applejack’s. “We’re actually pretty amazed yer in this kind of condition right now”. she added, “‘Specially since ya’ looked awfully banged up back there where we found ya.” “Back there”? What could she be talking about? Now that I think about it, they never actually told me yet why I ended up like this “Oh yes,” said Rarity, “you looked most injured. You had so many cuts and bruises when we found you.” “But... what happened?” I asked. “Why was I like that?” Dead silence hung in the room again “Darling, don’t you... right. You don’t.”, said Rarity. “...What?” “We don’t know why, but we found you outside in the middle of the desert.” “And...?” “Well... that’s it, to be honest,” Rarity replied. “...We actually don’t know why you were in the desert in the first place.” “So what you’re saying is...” I asked “...We’ll never find what really happened to me unless I jog my memory back?” “Maybe, just maybe.” said Rarity. “They say some ponies recover their memory from seeing certain important things in their life. In your case, your journal.” My journal? What could she mean? My mind tried to think, but it was distracted by Applejack’s talking. “Whatever it is,” she said, “Twilight might be the only way we can be able to know what exactly happened. Maybe if that ‘sudden memory recovery’ hee-haw of yours is true, we might be able to get the truth.” “Now wait just a minute,” Rarity replied, ”We can’t just get Twilight out of bed, she’s still injured.” “But we need to get her moving soon. So that by the time the train comes tomorrow, we could go back to Ponyville ASAP. We each have our own stuff to do. You’ve got your dresses, I’ve got my apples, Pinkie’s got her cakes and cupcakes and pastries, so I do think we should get her moving if we want to get back to business as usual.” “Good point, she has been in bed for quite awhile now, hasn’t she?” Rarity replied. “Alrighty, then. Twilight, think you can get up?” said Applejack. “I... I think so...” Slowly I moved my legs so that I could sit up on the edge of the bed. My body still felt sore. I realized it was also covered in bandages. Was my accident really this bad? “Excellent!” said Rarity, as I stood up on my four hooves. I was still trembling, but Applejack appeared beside me and said, “Here. I’ll help you.” “Ready to get back to Ponyville, sugarcube?” “Sure, I’m rea-” Before I could finish my answer, something crashed through the window, it was Rainbow Dash. Judging by the sweat trickling down her face, she must’ve been flying around for a while. “...Terrible...news....guys.” she said, trying to catch her breath while speaking. “The train station...” “Yes? Oh, speaking of which, prepare yourself, we’re going home. I’ll just tell Braeburn.” said Rarity. “No use.” interrupted the pegasus. “The train station, it's... it's...” “It has what, darling?” Rarity asked, her smile slowly turning into a frown. “It's been destroyed. We can’t get home, much less communicate with Ponyville. We’re trapped here.”
03 : Jumping to ConclusionsI found myself struggling to catch up with Rarity and Applejack, as we were headed for the train tracks. We were moving at a snail’s pace as Rarity and Applejack letted me place my forelegs on their shoulders while trotting to the train station. Some of the residents of Appleoosa were staring at us, but most of them were also headed in the same direction as we were, so I guess that this was a really, really bad thing. Currently, it was already around 4 in the afternoon, and the sky was slowly turning dark, the sun setting behind us... It’s my first time seeing the outside of Appleloosa. Well, not really, if you count the numerous times I went here before I lost my memory. “I’m really sorry for slowing you guys down.” “It’s all right. It’s for your own good anyway, we might be able to get to where we found you.” said Rarity. “Let’s not prioritize that first, we need to find out what happened at the tracks in the first place. I don’t remember Appleloosa havin’ any enemies, apart from the buffalos, which I thought we had already took care of.” said Applejack. She was referring to the Buffalo settlement neighboring the town. Apparently the two settlements have been in a constant feud and if it wasn’t for us, they would have still been warring with each other. Today, they’ve been co-existing with Appleloosa in peace and no conflicts between the two have ever been reported in ages. “Darling...You’re not saying they’re behind this, are you?” “‘Course not, I’m jus’ sayin’.” Before I could speak up, we finally arrived at the train station, or what was left of it. What I saw barely looked like a building let alone a train station; the roof has caved in the structure. Most of the walls collapsed into rubble like sand, those that didn’t looked like it would at any moment. The tracks that went through the station were now buried underneath all the rubble. Black marks surrounded majority of the station, if it hadn’t been turned into rubble. Many ponies were surrounding the pile of rubble, some of them were busy removing some heavy pieces of rubble to see if the tracks underneath were still in good condition. Sadly, the condition of the tracks were far worse than the station itself; it was a scorched mess of metal twisted and mangled in different directions, some bits of rubble had jarred some pieces of metal away from its place, some metal jutted out like an open bone fracture. The metal already looked really brittle and could collapse if stood on let alone crossed by a thousand pound locomotive. If a train crossed this, Equestria’s most costly disaster would obviously be eminent. We met up with the other 2 mares; Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who I swore was back at the house a few minutes ago. Fluttershy looked surprise when she saw me “Oh dear, girls, what’s she doing out here?” she asked with her soft voice, though it did have a tone of worry in it. “Don’t you know she could have gotten hurt?” she asked frantically. “She might have sprained her ankle! Or maybe gotten sunburn, or worse yet heat stroke, maybe even broken her horn, or lost her eyesight to some cactus, OR EVEN WORSE...” she rambled. “Fluttershy...” Applejack said. “...SHE COULD HAVE DAMAGED HER SPINAL CORD!” “Fluttershy.” I told her, catching her attention. “I’m fine, I’m not made of glass you know.” “Yeah.” Applejack said, agreeing with me. “She’s strong enough to go outside now.” added Rarity. “...Are you sure?” she asked back. “Positive.” “Of course she’s sure! I mean, if she were glass, that means she’d be all broken right now!” Pinkie Pie commented. I could see Fluttershy cringing at the statement. “Hey Girls.” a voice called out. It was Braeburn. “Glad to see you’re all okay, especially you Twi.” “Cousin, what in tarnation happened here?” Applejack asked. “Well, some ponies said they were just minding their own business when suddenly, WHAM! the station collapsed in broad daylight.” “Did anypony get hurt?” I asked. “Thankfully, no.” he replied “Hey, girls...” said Rainbow Dash suddenly. “How are we gonna get home now?” “Sure won’t be easy.” replied Applejack. “...should we go send for help?” asked Rarity. “I’d highly doubt it. That train was our only chance of communication to other areas in Equestria and back here.” “How about flying? ” the rainbow headed mare asked. “I can see some pegasi around here.” she added. “Rainbow...” Rarity said “...there’s a reason why they send mail through train here” “There’s not a cloud in sight; no pony can survive the sweltering heat out here, even a pegasus.” she added. “Oh...” she replied, as her hopes slowly lessened. “How about the buffalos? Maybe they can help?” “It’s not possible.” Braeburn interrupted “The Buffalos, we already tried asking them.” “They won’t help us?” asked Applejack “Apparently, no; we can’t seem to find them anywhere.” he replied “It’s like they’ve just disappeared...” he added. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! They must’ve been abducted by aliens!” Pinkie Pie interrupted, jumping to conclusions. “Stop all the nonsense, Pinkie.” Rarity said, butting in the pink pony’s rant. “Everyone knows aliens don’t exist.” she added “Aaa-HA! We have a skeptic here!” Pinkie Pie said in response. “Wha-? A skeptic?” Rarity said in disbelief, slowly getting annoyed with the hyperactive pony’s antics. “Yeah! A skeptic! You know, a pony that’s not sure if-” “I very well know what a skeptic is, Pinkie-” “Then why’d you ask ,silly filly?” “Could ya two please stop with all this nonsense?” butted in Applejack “There’s obviously a logical explanation here.” I added. “Maybe they migrated?” asked Rainbow Dash asked. “Do buffalos even migrate?” Rarity pointed out. “Not sure, but if they do, they should’ve at least told us.” replied Braeburn “Whatever, my money’s still on the aliens.” Pinkie said, receiving a few grunts of disapproval from a few ponies. “How the heck will we get help then?” asked Rainbow Dash, reverting the topic. “Well, we’ll just have to wait fer’ the train to come, stop them before they reach these darn’ tracks, and tell them to go back and get help.” “...and after all that, around when would we get back home?” “Umm... well, it takes a while for the train to get back to any town and get help... let’s say around one and a half weeks” Dead silence filled the air for a few seconds, until somepony shrieked. “I CAN’T BE STUCK HERE FOR ONE AND A HALF WEEKS!”Rarity shrieked. It was completely unlike her lady-like composure. “I HAVE SO MANY DEADLINES TO CATCH UP TO !” she added, “I HAVE TO FINISH MAKING TEN DRESSES TO SAPPHIRE SHORES” “Again?” Fluttershy asked timidly. “AGAIN!” she shrieked in reply, scaring Fluttershy. “THEN I HAVE TO FINISH UP A WEDDING GOWN BEFORE THE SEASON ENDS, AND THEN I-” “Rarity, hold yer horses.” Applejack said, shaking Rarity to her senses. “Yer’ not the only one here who has errands to catch up with back home, ya know.” “I-I suppose you’re right.” Rarity stuttered in reply. “Well, guess you girls are gonna have an extended stay.” commented Braeburn. “I’d better hurry back to to our house and get supper ready. You should too.” he added, and with that he trotted away from the tracks and back to our cabins. As the six of us watched him walk back, Rarity commented: “Applejack, isn’t it kinda weird that your cousin is taking this thing lightly?” “Braeburn’s an easy going stallion, he ain’t panicking anytime soon. I guess Appleloosa is better off being isolated.” “But how about us? We’ve got stuff to do in Ponyville” I asked. “Shouldn’t Braeburn be worried for us?” “Like ah’ said, he’s an easy going stallion, he ain’t panicking anytime soon.” she said, repeating her earlier statement. “But it is kinda weird now that you mention it, I’ll go talk to him about it later.” she added. The sun was slowly setting, and the temperature started dropping as the last hints of daylight started fading out. The crowd of ponies surrounding the damaged station started dispersing back to their respective houses and all that’s left is us and a few ponies. “Hey, AJ.” Rainbow Dash called out. “Why do you think the station collapsed?” “Ah’ have no clue whatsoever.” she answered back “Maybe it was because of poor construction?” she suggested “Mah cousin did say this town was built very quickly.” she added. “OR MAYBE...” Pinkie suggested. “ IT WAS BECAUSE OF-” “Pinkie. Stop.” Rainbow interrupted, quickly covering the pink pony’s mouth with a hoof. “...aliens!” Pinkie’s muffled shout still audible under her hoof-covered mouth. All of us had nothing else to say and just glared at her. By now, the last rays of sunshine were fading away at the tip of the desert mountains and the town’s lamps were being lit. Before we went back to the cabin, I decided to make a quick circle around the rubble. “C’mon Twi, we have to get back to my cuz’s place, we know we can’t let you stay here alone, especially with your condition.” Applejack stated. I payed her no heed and decided to continue checking. “In a minute, Applejack.” She was right though, I still found myself slightly limping while I trotted and I still had the headaches once in awhile, I can tell I still won’t be able to last walking alone for a long time without any help. Just then, something caught the corner of my eye in the midst of all the rubble Suddenly, I had the urge to try and check out what was there, thinking that inside that rubble there would be a clue to the train track’s destruction. I kept on separating sand and wood, metal and rock, to see if I could possibly find anything. And then, as I was reaching the bottom of the pile, I was shocked to find... nothing. That’s it. Just rubble. Nothing out of the ordinary. After fruitlessly sifting through the surrounding rubble, I went back to my friends, disheartened, and we began heading back to the ranch. Rarity and Applejack let me rest my forelegs on their shoulders again, watching the sun set behind us and shining on the only hope of getting to the world outside Appleloosa. Silence filled the air as we trotted back to the ranch. I thought of the station, how it collapsed, how there was so much rubble, how some the rubble and train tracks were... all scorched up. “Hey girls,” I suddenly said, interrupting the silence. “When was the last time there was a heatwave around here?” “Ah sure don’t remember any. Weather’s been fine all week. why’d ya ask Twi’?” Applejack said. “When was the last time any structural damage in the area was caused by thermal occurrences?” “Wut?” “When was the last time a building burned down or was melted because of, say, a heat wave or something?” “Wait, Twi, what’re you saying?” “Something just doesn’t seem right about those train tracks. I remember them having dull edges, as if it were melted. Also, the areas near the rubble seemed burnt from something... or it was done by somepony.” Rainbow Dash suddenly butted in. “Twilight, you don’t think the railroad was...” “-ATTACKED BY ALIENS?!” Pinkie Pie burst out. We were all staring at her with great disbelief. Rarity would’ve been chasing her off right now if my foreleg wasn’t resting on her. “Twilight, maybe you’ve hit your head to hard.” Rarity said, her voice growing with suspicion. “There could be another explanation” she said. “The train’s really hot underneath you know, maybe the previous train had melted it without the conductor or the driver knowing. “No Rarity, the tracks are made to handle that kind of stuff. Otherwise it would have been burnt by the brakes of the train itself if it were to make a sudden stop.” “Then that might have been the reason. Twilight, I think you’re thinking too skeptically. It would be easier to believe that.” Fluttershy replied. “No. Face it girls, somepony destroyed the tracks on purpose.” “You mean...?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Yes. It’s been sabotaged.”
04 : Debates Over Dinner“So, who do you think did it?” Rarity asked me. We were gathered around the dinner table eating the food Braeburn prepared for supper. We had decided to discuss who might be behind the destruction of the railroad- or at least, they were trying to put up with my allegations on how the tracks were destroyed. “Remember what Braeburn said? The Buffalo Tribe hasn’t been around recently. Maybe they did it?” Applejack suggested while munching down on some hay. “Applejack, the Buffalo Tribe couldn’t have done this. Even with their strength, I highly doubt they’d be able to destroy through thick metal like those.” I rebutted. “Besides, I don’t think buffalos have laser eyes to burn through metal. They were burnt, remember?” Rainbow Dash added. “UNLESS THEY’RE ALIENS!” Pinkie Pie replied. “No, Pinkie, it’s not aliens, and not buffalos either. I’d highly doubt they’d even want to sabotage the tracks. I say we lay off the buffalos; they’re obviously not the culprits, why in Equestria would they even do such a thing? Any other ideas?” “OOH! OOH! I KNOW!” Pinkie suddenly burst out. “If it’s aliens then don’t even bother-” “No, I’m serious this time! I think it’s paraspites!” “As much as I want to say so, Pinkie, parasprites don’t have fire breath. They BITE, not BURN.” I replied. “Why in tarnation would anypony even want to destroy the station anyways?” asked Applejack. “It’s not like they have any motives.” I added. “Parasprites aren’t that smart to do those stuff you know, so parasprites are out too.” Rarity replied while gracefully munching on a daisy salad. “...Fine, aliens did it then.” she replied. “Pinkie, if you say that one more time, ah’mma make sure yer gonna be in worse condition than Twilight after I’m done with ya.” Applejack said, extreme annoyance slightly evident in her voice. “Fine.” She said disappointingly. “The joke’s probably getting old anyway, probably boring the readers out already.” she added “The what?” I asked, completely perplexed “Oh, nothing...” she replied with a smirk as she quickly began munching down on a frosted rainbow cupcake. “Get used to it Twi, she does those weird things most of the time.” Applejack said, slightly relieving my confused mind. “Enough getting off topic. Let’s get back to investigating. I’m getting sleepy.” Rainbow Dash commented, who was playing with the last bits of beans on her plate with her fork. “Right. Who else do you think might have done it?” “Maybe a bunch of thieves did it?” said Pinkie. “Ugh. For the -nth time Pinkie, it’s been BURNT. Not STOLEN, not EATEN, not SHATTERED nor BENT, it’s BURNT.” Rainbow Dash said, before I could answer. “Wait Rainbow, what if Pinkie’s on to something.” I interrupted. “You know, the idea of a bunch of criminals destroying a train station isn’t really far fetched.” “Twilight might be right, it might have been taken.” Fluttershy added. “Hey, Braeburn, you did say the train station was the only connection this town has to the outside right?” I asked. “Sure is.” he answered back “Ok, also, when was the last time the train was here?” “Umm... around a week ago, you girls were riding it” “So it hasn’t been here recently?” “Yup” “Then that means...” I thought out loud. “...It’s very likely that whoever did it is still here!” “What?” Rarity asked “Think about it Rarity, the station’s the only way out of here and the train hasn’t been around for a while. And unless they’re planning to kill themselves out in the desert, it’s most likely that whoever sabotaged the station is probably still stuck here with us in this town!” I exclaimed excitedly, ignoring the slight headache that was slowly re-emerging in my forehead. “Now hold up Twilight. We’re not even sure if this guess ’a yours is even true. We’re basin’ this off what we think, not really if it’s true.” Applejack retorted. “Applejack, it’s worth the try anyway. If we’re wrong, we’re wrong.” Rainbow Dash said in reply. “No, Rainbow, Twilight couldn’t just go trotting around town investigating stuff; she’s already injured, and it’s possible that her condition could get worse.” “Aww, come on, Applejack.” I said “I’m not made of glass remember?” “I also know a lot about investigations and mysteries, you told me that Pinkie and I solved a case about some baking contest remember? Maybe I could-” “No!” Applejack snapped, pounding her hoof on the dinner table, almost spilling our drinks. “Twilight, I know you’re really good with solving stuff, but I don’t want you to get hurt no more, you even said that you can’t even do your fancy magic with those darn injuries of yours. You’re staying here weather you like it or not.” Despite how disappointed I was, she was right. I still can’t perform any magic, if I tried, the familiar headache buzzing in my head would suddenly intensify. “This sucks.” Rainbow said “So we’re just gonna let whoever did this get away?” Rainbow Dash added, her voice having a slight tone of anger in it. “Calm down girls, I’ll make sure Sheriff Silverstar knows about this.” Braeburn interrupted. “We’re not gonna let anypony get away with this.” he reassured. “Not after what they did to my town” “Braeburn’s right.” Applejack said “Just stay here and relax girls, we already had enough mishaps for the week.” “Besides, one of my other cousins is here with us right now, he just came here a few weeks before we got here, he’s kinda new around here, I’m sure you can help him get used to around here.” “Umm... where is he exactly?” Rarity asked “He’s not staying with us, Rarity; he’s staying at the other side of town, you gotta forgive him; he’s kinda shy.” “Shyer than Flutters here?” Rainbow Dash said jokingly “I take offense to that.” Fluttershy said “...Umm, if that’s ok with you that is” Rainbow snickered. I opened the door to my room and walked in, we just finished supper and it’s already dark outside, through my window, I could see that not much ponies were outside. I opened my saddlebag and in it, I found a brown, hardbound book nestled in the middle. It was my journal, the other thing Rarity said that could help jog my blurry memories. It didn’t look like it was the best journal anypony could have, but I guess that I seemed to put effort into working on it. She said, though, that it might not be that much of a help since the journal I have with me is relatively new and there aren’t much entries in them yet... Wait, how did she know that? ... Putting that thought aside, I put away the suitcase and lay down on the bed. I was staring at the book, thinking of what I could find, if I would ever get my memory back. Casting all of those thoughts away, I opened the book with caution.
05 : The First EntriesMerely opening the book gave me chills down my spine. The small, neat, hoof-written words were completely contradicting the book's rather tattered state. Apparently,my friends said the reason why it was in such state was because it was with me out in the desert. After examining the book, I went on to read the first few entries. March 4 2012, Sunday 7:00 PM Leave it to Applejack to convince all of us to accompany her to Appleoosa, again. She claims her cousin Braeburn needs another one of her “precious” apple trees, again. This has been the FIFTH time Applejack had to give him one of her beloved apple trees. And guess what, Braeburn’s reason was that half of his town’s supplies is constantly being ransacked by a bunch of things called “death-eaters”. Seriously, what is up with that colt? Seriously, it took FOREVER for Applejack to convince us to come with her again. I still remember her begging on her knees, trying to convince Rainbow Dash to come with her. That mare and her entire family’s driving everypony here nuts. On the bright side, everyone HAS been kinda stressed out lately, Rarity spent the whole week designing dresses for another random superstar, Pinkie Pie's been foal-sitting the Cakes for the whole week, Applejack's been doing all the Applebucking again because of her brother’s injuries (again), Fluttershy’s been training her animals for some party Mayor Mare asked her to handle. And don't let me get started on what Rainbow Dash has been doing. I figured everyone needed a time off, and what better way than to go to some western pony settlement in the middle of nowhere, right? ...Right. It's a sad thing Spike can't go, Celestia's been sending me too many letters again for some reason & Spike needed to go to the hospital because of all that letter-belching. Anyway, the train departs tomorrow morning, and I gotta get back to packing my luggage, we’re going to stay in Appleloosa for a while so I better pack a lot of things to keep me busy. March 5 2012, Monday, 7:00 AM I just woke up, we’ll be boarding the train in a few hours. I still have time to go check up on Spike at the hospital. 10:00 AM The train just left the station and we're now settling down on our cabins. Did you know we were supposed to leave the station at 9:00? Well, thank Rarity and her enormous amount of luggage for that. I mean, seriously, she brings everything except her kitchen sink, and half of her luggage is purely make-up and clothes, one fourth of which she never actually uses. Something's wrong with that mare. Speaking of which, Applejack just went to the caboose with the tree again. She's probably going to read a story to it again. It was funny the first time she did that, but now, it's just plain creepy. ...Now that I think about it, I'm starting to wonder why I became friends with them in the first place... remind me to ask Princess Celestia about that when we get back. 4:30 PM We just made a stopover at Dodge Junction, that other desert pony settlement Cherry Jubilee’s farm’s located at. Well, it’s a good thing we stopped; I just can’t stand being crammed into a small, moving metal box for more than twelve hours. Especially, with an extremely hyperactive party pony like Pinkie Pie. Just so you know, we stopped by here so the train can restock and refuel. It was just half a day and the train’s sugar supply already ran out. I’m going to have to tell Pinkie to lay off on the sugar, but that’s like telling a big brick wall to do a backflip. Applejack on the other hand, REFUSES to set a single hoof on the town. Obviously she still has bad memories about that rodeo fiasco that happened last year. 7:00 PM Well, we just left Dodge Junction, no more stopovers left. Appleoosa’s still one day away though. I better hope the train crew locked up their stash of sugar this time or else I’m gonna have to deal with Pinkie in a sugar rush for the rest of the trip, and let me just say that’s the worse kind of Pinkie to be stuck with. 9:30 PM It’s already dark and we just had dinner. Most of us are resting in our cabins, but it’s really obvious most of us can barely sleep, mainly because of Pinkie’s really, really, REALLY loud snoring. Currently, judging by the moonlit horizon, our train’s almost done passing through the forest. Some cacti are starting to dot the landscape indicating that we are nearing the desert. I could hear some faint buzzing. I guess those would be the insects of the night, coming out on their nocturnal feeding sessions. The faint howling of the desert coyotes also start to fill the land. Maybe I ought to start getting some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and I swear, I’ll give Applejack a piece of my mind if something screwy goes wrong in Appleoosa like the first time we went there. Wanting to read more, my hoof moved to flip the page, but apparently my eyes refused to and slowly started drooping down. I began to yawn and I had no choice but to just read the rest tomorrow. After placing the book at a nearby table, I slowly closed my eyes and began to fall asleep. ... ... ... ... ... ... I woke up with a jolt after hearing what appears to be a loud clanging noise Looking around the room, I checked my surroundings for any intruders. After finding nothing, I lay my head again on the soft pillow on the bed. ... ... A few minutes passed and apparently, despite my obvious sleep-deprived state, I couldn’t get myself to fall back to sleep. After trying tossing and turning a few times, I settled with sitting by the window staring out at the dark, lonely, moonlit streets of Appleoosa. I scratched my sleepy eyes, fully waking myself up. I took a look out of the window, admiring the tranquility of the scene. I saw nothing outside, not a bird nor a wolf nor anypony. The moon and the stars hover above me, giving some light to the small desert town. On the other side of the window, I could see Braeburn’s apple orchard, apple trees of varying cultivars trailing off as far as the eye can see. Nothing lay within the orchard, and the orchard look peaceful, nothing disturbing the quiet nighttime ambience... or at least, until I caught a glimpse of a four-legged figure dashing in the middle of the trees. I had the urge to go out and chase after it, so I did. I quickly grabbed and lit a lantern sitting on a table and ran out the house’s back door and galloped into the field, as I ran I heard high pitch hissing sounds nearby. Hisses? What kind of four-legged creature makes that kind of noise? I kept on running, constantly coming across the figure fleeing as quickly as I had reached it. All that was in my mind was to find out what that... thing was doing here. Soon after, I exhausted myself. I realized I couldn’t catch the beast. I couldn’t catch up with it, no matter how hard I pushed myself. Immediately, I gave up the chase and decided to just trot back to my cabin. But when I turned back, something bright and shiny that was sparkling under the moonlight caught my eye. I quickly trotted towards it curiously. As I went nearer I realized it was a small key. I picked it up with my hooves and observed it. It was made of steel and it had a complicated looking set of teeth. It looked a bit rusted under the moonlight, although it didn’t look worn out that much. Suddenly, the world around me darkened. Panicking, I turned around, looking for what was causing the sudden darkness. I could hear my heart pounding at a constant beat... or at least, I thought it was my heart beating. My vision started fogging up. My ears were suddenly filled with a shrill buzzing. I kept on turning around, looking for whoever was doing it. Then I saw it. It was the beast. The beast was a tall, slender, shadowy stallion. I looked up to it’s face and all I saw were bright red eyes. Emptiness filled the space where the mouth of a normal pony would be found. The being loomed over me. My vision kept on getting blurrier, the noise in my ears getting louder, my head began to hurt. You are much closer than you seem, my dear pawn, hissed a voice, coming from the tall, faceless figure in front of me. Much closer indeed. It said while it’s blank lower face split in half to reveal an enormous mouth filled with a set of jagged teeth. And with that, I screamed.
06 : The NightmareI quickly broke into a dash back into the safety of the ranch house, trying to evade the slender beast that was chasing me. I began to run faster and faster the nearer I reached the back door. Then, of all the worst times to happen, something caught my hind legs and I tripped. I looked back and found my legs being held by … dark figures. They were dragging me closer and closer to the tall creature. I tried to inch closer to the door using my forelegs but to no avail. Wait a minute, ...why the heck don’t my legs hurt? I was suddenly lifted up and was now dangling in front of the creature face-to-face, it’s enormous mouth grinning revealing the large sharp fangs hidden within. Did you really think...it hissed. ...that you could run away from me? With that, it inched closer to my exposed neck and opened it’s mouth wide before biting down deep into my flesh. I wailed as I felt an acidic fluid being injected in my veins through the sharp jagged fangs. The dark figures quickly let go of their grip on me and I fell back to the ground. I tried to run before things could get more grizzly, but for some reason, I didn't budge. I can’t move my limbs, in fact, I can’t even seem to move my jaw. I was paralyzed. Perfect. It said before opening it’s mouth even wider and lunged towards me, obviously intent on consuming me whole like a snake. As my whole world began to darken, I suddenly started seeing something pink at the corner of my eye and heard a faint voice and the ground began to shake. “T.....t ….ke...” “Twi... wake...” “Twilig... wake... up...!” “TWILIGHT! WAKE UP!” shouted a blurry figure beside me. I was shaken awake by somepony, and I was in too much shock to guess who it was. My eyes quickly flew open and I found myself lying down on a bed. I looked to my left and found myself face-to-face with a pink pony, Pinkie Pie “Pinkie? What the heck are you doing here in my room?” I quickly asked her. “Well...” she replied, her voice having a slight tone of worry in it. “I was walking by the hallway when I heard a commotion in your room, I think I heard you talking or something.” “Your voice sounded so scared like you were running away from something so I decided to go in and check on you.” “I found you squirming in the bed mumbling and you were sweating A LOT.” she added “I tried calling out to you but you didn’t seem to be responding, so I started shaking you and shouting at you to wake up.” “I think you were having a really scary nightmare” she said A nightmare? ... I remember... … Sudden clanging noises filling the night... A commotion in the orchard... A small metal key... A tall slender beast... The sharp teeth... ...That voice… ... It was all just a dream, I wasn’t out in the apple orchard, I was back in my second-floor room in the ranchhouse. But still, the dream felt so real... Don’t be so worry-some Twilight, I thought to myself. After all, It was all just a dream, right? “Anyways, Twilight, you better prepare soon. it’s already sunrise!”she said, derailing my train of thought. And with that, she bounced out the room. With my sleepiness obviously gotten rid off by the pink pony, I casually stood up from the bed and quickly trotted downstairs to the dining room in the bottom floor. “Morning, Twi.’” Applejack said as I sat down a chair. “Morning.” I answered. Applejack was also sitting on a chair. She was being accompanied by Rarity. They were in the middle of eating hay fries for breakfast. Applejack was already done and she was just waiting for the fasionista to finish. “Where’s Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash?” I asked them after noticing the lack of any pegasi in the room. “Oh, they’re out in the town getting us supplies.” Applejack answered to me. “Also, Pinkie and Braeburn’s already out in the outer orchard inspecting some apple trees.” she added. Strange, I could've sworn Pinkie was in my room a few minutes ago. ... Oh well, this is Pinkie we're talking about. “Glad to see you finally awake there darling.” Rarity interrupted. “What took you so long anyway?” she asked me. “Oh, I had a nightmare.” I told them. “Hmm... a nightmare, huh?” asked the white fashionista. “Yup, well, it was more of a night terror.” I told them. “...Anyways,” Applejack said, interrupting and changing the topic. “Today, we’re gonna do some yard work back out.” “We’re gonna go check up on one of the portions of the orchard, Twilight, yer’ gonna have to stay here and watch the house ‘cause of your injuries. Rarity, I need you to stay here and accompany Twilight, ‘case she gets in trouble, just go look for us out in the orchard.” “Fine.” Rarity answered. “I never really liked getting my hooves dirty out in that horrid mud trap anyway.” Applejack shot her a glare for a few seconds before continuing. “Anyways, If you need me, I'll be with Braeburn and Pinkie in the orchard.” And with that, she stepped out the back doorway. “Oh yeah, Rares, tell Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to join me at the orchard when they come back from town” “Oh, why must I do everything here?” she whined back before getting another angry glare from Applejack. “Fine, fine.” she said “...just don’t call me that horrid nickname ‘Rares’ ever again.” she added. “Whatever, Rares.” Applejack retorted before walking out the door leaving me with an irritated Rarity. “W-WHY I NEVER!” Rarity spoke out while I tried to hold down my snickering. “APPLEJACK, YOU ARE NOT GONNA HEAR THE END OF THIS, ONCE I GET MY HOOVES ON YOU, YOU ARE OH-SO GONNA REGRET SAYING THAT.” she shrieked before running out the door to give chase to the apple farmer, leaving me all alone as her constant rambling slowly faded as she went deeper into the orchard. I found myself all alone in the now quiet ranch house. I actually never got to explore the place well so now might be a perfect time for me to go get a good look around the house. As far as I know, the ranch had 4 floors; a ground floor, a second floor, an attic, and a basement. The ground floor, the one I was currently in, had a small kitchen with a backdoor and a den. The staircase leading up to the house stood nearby the den a few meters away from the house’s front door. I took a quick look outside the house and found a small locked door leading to the basement on the floor right beside one of the sides of the house, the familiar smell of apple cider emanating from within. Apparently, Braeburn’s ranch also produces apple cider like Sweet Apple Acres. The second floor was mostly a hallway filled with doorways, this is where my room’s in. The two doors adjacent to my room led to two bedrooms, each with three beds. This must be where my friends are sleeping. I continued walking down the hallway until I reached a dead end. The door nearest to me led to the ranch’s bathroom while the door right across it was locked, but I can tell that it’s probably Braeburn’s room. I casually looked up and found a trapdoor up the ceiling leading up to the ranch’s attic. I pulled on a nearby rope and the trap door flipped down, followed by a long foldable ladder. I climbed up the rungs and took a peek at the attic. The attic was relatively small and had a lower ceiling than most of the ranch. The ceiling also gradually sloped downward, following the slant of the house’s roof. The attic mainly housed an assortment of dusty boxes and chests, a few picture frames also occasionally lined the wall. Besides that, there was nothing else of interest. That is, until a sparkle caught my eye. I walked up to the source of light and found something small, tiny, and metallic.It was the key. The key I saw in my dreams. There was no doubt about it; it was the same size, it was made of steel, and it had the same intricate set of teeth. How I dreamt about it and how it got here is a total mystery to me, but something tells me this isn’t good. The sound of the front door being opened reached my ears and caught my attention; Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash must’ve just came back from town. I quickly grabbed the key and brought it over to my room and kept it inside one of the folds of my journal. After that was done, I quickly made a dash downstairs. I was surprised to find no trace of the two familiar pegasi; instead, there was a young, blonde-colored colt with hair that had the color of green apples. His cutie mark consisted of a very intricate looking red apple and he wore a stetson hat and a bright red bandana. Judging by this, he must probably be Applejack’s cousin, the one who was gonna come here and visit us. “Hey there,” I called out to him as I descended down the wooden staircase. He whirled around and faced me, his eyes widening in surprise the minute he saw me. “Oh, I’m sorry if I frightened you.” I apologized. “You must be Braeburn and Applejack’s cousin, right?” he nodded his head in response. “My name’s Twilight by the way, Twilight Sparkle” I added. “What’s your name?”. I looked back at him and found him staring at my bandaged forelegs. “Oh, if you’re wondering why I’m like this, it’s because I apparently got involved in an accident, I lost my memory and broke some of my limbs as a result” I explained. “So, as I was saying, what’s your name again?” “...Summerfree.” “Come again?” “.......Summerfree...” “...Couldn’t quite catch that.” “..........Summerfree.” “...okay...?” I said unsurely. Man, what’s up with this colt? I swear, when Applejack said that he was “as shy as Fluttershy”, I didn’t really think that she really meant that, what with all her odd metaphors and such. Seriously, ‘More nervous than a worm during Cider Season”, what’s up with that? We both exchanged awkward glances for the next few minutes, silence filling the air. After what seemed like forever, a distant sound finally broke the unnerving silence. As the sound grew louder and louder, I realized it was the sound of two ponies talking. Well, more like arguing. And I think I know just who they are. “AS LONG AS YOU KEEP CALLING ME THAT HORRID NICKNAME, I AM NOT GONNA LEND YOU ANY OF MY MAKE UP!” “Whutever Rares, as if I even care.” “HMMPH! WE’LL SEE WHO’S LAUGHING WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF NEEDING TO CURL YOUR EYELASHES ONLY TO FIND THAT YOU DON’T HAVE AN EYELASH CURLER!” “...like ah’ said, WHATEVER.” Applejack bucked open the ranch’s back door and walked inside, a few moments later, the purple-haired fashionista followed in. “Sorry fer leavin’ yah alone in the house for a while Twi’.” she said with her distinct southern drawl. “It’s just that some ponies take nicknames too seriously” she added while maintaining eye contact with the alabaster unicorn. “Anyways, had Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash come back y-” she stopped mid sentence the minute she saw the colt that was beside me. “Oh! Summerfree! Cuz, it’s good to finally see you here!” Applejack said ecstatically to him. “Ah see you already met my friend Twilight over here.” she remarked while looking at both of us. Summerfree nodded in response. “What’s the matter darling?” Rarity asked him. “Cat got your tongue?” He didn’t respond, instead, he simply lowered his head and pawed the floor with his hoof. “...are you... mute?” she asked unsuringly. He stared back at her in disbelief after hearing that question. “Rares, Summerfree here ain’t too good around other ponies. Best you not pressure him too much.” Applejack said. Facing Summerfree, she told him, “Now, Summerfree, these here mares are mah friends. You can trust ‘em. Go ahead, talk to them.” “Well come on now, don’t be shy.” Rarity responded. He stared back at us intently, and I could see his lips were trying to form words but they failed to leave his mouth. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” Rarity said with a gentle reassuring smile on her face. “My friend Twilight here doesn’t too, ...I’m not sure about your cousin over there though” she added jokingly. Behind her, Applejack was shooting an angry glare at her in response. Summerfree chuckled after seeing his cousin so worked up. “Thats it, come on now.” “...Umm..H-Hi...” he responded, confidence evidently starting to sound in his voice. FINALLY,I THOUGHT HE'D NEVER TALK His voice reminded me of Braeburn, except it had a tone of youth in it “There, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” Rarity asked him. He smiled back. "...N-no." “Alrighty. Now that we’re all acquainted and stuff, I’ll go bring Summerfree out to the orchard and show him the works” Applejack said quickly and sternly, interrupting our little conversation with him. “Applejack, I haven’t even spoken that much to Summerfree. And now you’re leaving with him?” I grunted, trying to show my disappointment “Don’t worry, Twi, you’ll get to catch up with each other later tonight.” she replied while nudging Summerfree out the back door. “Braeburn’s inviting the six of us and Summerfree to dinner out in town.” “Uh...why?” Rarity asked “Uh, Rares, this is Braeburn we’re talking about, one of the most enthusiastic and happy-go-lucky pony in the Apple family, besides Applebloom of course.” Applejack replied to us. “He’s probably doing it as big greeting to Summerfree or somethin’.” A faint voice suddenly echoed out in the field, “Hey, that’s my job!” “...” “...Anyways, while we’re out in the field, you two,” motioning to both me and Rarity, “stay here. Don’t touch anything. And if I see a single thing here has been moved or decorated in a ‘stylish fashion’, somepony’s not gonna hear the end of it from me.” she said sternly, all the while facing Rarity, who was just busy looking at her hooves from side to side. “Hmm... do you think I should go polish my hooves Twi?” Rarity asked me, oblivious to who Applejack was trying to infer. Applejack sighed in frustration. “Just don’t burn the house down, Braeburn’s gonna flip if that happens.” “Yes yes, whatever, Darling” Rarity said sarcastically “Anyways, see ya two later, Ah gotta go back to the orchard with Summers here, Braeburn’s probably wondering why Ah’m not with him right now” and with that, she left with the young colt in tow. I watched the two walk down the trail, and all the while I could see Summerfree’s eyes staring at us with a smile in his face while he blindly listened to Applejack’s rambling. “Well Twilight, that was tiring. I’m gonna go upstairs and give myself a warm, relaxing bubble bath,” Rarity told me. “If you need any help, just go call me.” “Yeah Rarity, sure.” and with that, she trotted up the stairs. Once again, I found myself alone. With nothing else to do for the rest of the afternoon, I decide to go continue my morning upstairs in the attic. As I turned my head around, heading for the staircase, I felt something on my neck, I touched it and felt a lump, as if it was swollen. I quickly limped towards a mirror and stared at my reflection and gasped. On my neck, were two small punctures wounds. A bite mark.
07 : Secrets & CommitmentsMarch 6 2012, Tuesday, 9:00 AM The train has covered a lot of ground during the night. All you can see now outside the window is the vast golden desert dotted with green prickly cacti and a few rock formations here and there; some of them were the same size as one of the train’s cars while others were as large as my library back at home. However, none of the nearby stone monoliths could compete with the ones far back on the horizon. Those were giants. Some of them were tall pillars as large as an adult fire dragon while others were large mesas capable of carrying two Canterlot-sized cities on its top. The largest of them all was Mount Buffalo, named for its massive size and its distinct peak resembling a buffalo’s prized pair of horns. Applejack told me Appleoosa was just at the other side of the mountain, at this rate, it would take only take us around one to two hours till we reach the town. Currently, I’m in the the train’s dining car with the others, Rainbow and Pinkie are busy munching down on breakfast while Rarity and Applejack were engaged on a rather tense conversation about how applebucking is better than dress designing and how dress designing is more superior than applebucking. Our meal for the morning was a simple plate of fried eggs and hay strips. Not really my ideal kind of breakfast. I’m more of a toast and tea pony, just like most Canterlotians. Anyways, I’m gonna go start packing up my things; I don’t wanna go on a rush later when we have to leave the train. 11:30 AM We’ve just arrived at the Appleloosan Train Station right now. The train has just come to a full stop and I could hear the sound of steam hissing out at the front. I’ve already gathered up my things together a few hours ago and all we’re doing now is waiting for Rarity to finish packing up before exiting the train. Sweet Celestia, that mare has no idea what the concept of “packing light” is. This is the second time we’re waiting for her this trip. I’m gonna have to go give her a little talk about that later. 1:00 PM I just settled into my room in Braeburn’s house right now. Well actually, I’m sharing rooms with my friends. It’s surprisingly still pretty spacious despite the six of us being crammed in there. The trip from the station was uneventful. Braeburn, naturally, was waiting for us at the train station platform with his goofy, happy-go-lucky attitude as usual. After all the greetings, we quickly started heading to the ranch. I noticed as we passed by that the town looked a lot larger since the last time we came here, there’s even a small (restaurant/diner[?]) nearby. Braeburn said he has a lot to show us here, “Appleoosa’s becoming quite the sight these days” he said, what with all the new ponies arriving here to get away from the rat race of city life. After we’re done unpacking our things, Braeburn’s gonna go give us a tour around the town as promised. Anyways, it is best to know what’s new around here. Especially since we’re staying here for about... a week. The train doesn’t come here much, okay? It doesn’t mean that since the town’s all prosperous now, the train’s gonna come by more often. It takes days to bring a train out here in the desert you know. I had a lot of questions popping up in my head. I slowly stroked the scarf covering the small lump on my neck, completely oblivious to what was going on around me. “Umm... Twilight...” “...Wh-what?” I asked, regaining my senses. “I was asking you to please pass me the salt shaker over there” “Oh, ah, sorry Rarity, my mind was just wandering off” I said, apologizing to her. It was already dark out and we were at a small restaurant in town thanks to Braeburn. Outside, the normally sweltering heat of the desert has changed dramatically, the temperature has dropped and the environment was now as cold as an icebox. “Are you sure darling? Are you sick?” she asked, eyeing me suspiciously. “U-uh... no” Lies. The bite mark on my neck was irritating me, I could still feel a throbbing sensation on my neck. And no one even knows I have it. Rarity continued staring at me, eyeing me suspiciously. “Twilight, Are you sure? Fluttershy could give you some medicine you know...” “Aww, let her loose Rares” Applejack called out from the far end of the table. From where I am seated, she appears to be chewing on some apple-laden appetizer dish. “Ya’ said it yerself; she ain’t made of glass” I saw Rarity pause and looked at me for a few seconds before averting her gaze. “Fine...” “That’s the spirit Rares!” I could see Rarity still cringing from the ‘horrid’ nickname Applejack’s been calling her since this morning. I heard Summerfree chuckling beside me as Rarity went back to eating the small bowl of salad in front of her with her magic. I, on the other hand, am still trying to get used to eating with my hooves; it’s still kinda hard to eat without help from my magic due to my injuries. Actually, I’m finding it hard to walk on my own again. I even need Rarity and Summerfree to support my forelegs while walking as of now. It’s a good thing that Applejack’s gonna go get me some crutches once we get back to the ranch. Speaking of which, Summerfree’s been talking with me and Rarity lately. I guess he finally managed to get out of his shell. Well, for me and Rarity at least, he’s still anxious around the others, especially Rainbow Dash. Figures, what with that pegasi’s brash attitude. “So... Summerfree...” I asked him, trying to change the topic. “Where’re you from?” I could see Summerfree lightly clearing his throat before speaking up “Well, I was born down in Mustangia but me and my family moved to Trottingham when I was around, I think, six years old. Been living there ever since, well, until now of course” Across the table, I saw Rarity’s pupils shrinking into pinpricks as she tried not to spit out the salad she was eating. “YOU’RE FROM MUSTANGIA AND TROTTINGHAM?!” she screeched back at Summerfree with high amounts of excitement evident in her voice. She was practically leaning on the table already and she was a few inches close to spilling her cup of tea on the table. Her face was a scant few inches from Summerfree’s quivering muzzle. Wow, haven’t seen Rarity this unlady-like since, well, never. I turned my attention back to the startled colt beside me “Uh...yeah?” Rarity squealed in delight upon hearing Summerfree’s faint confirmation. “I ALWAYS DREAMED OF GOING THERE!” “Um... where? Trottingham or Mustangia?”asked Fluttershy with a faint voice. “BOTH!” I watched in amusement as Rarity went back to ranting to the frightened colt beside me. “SO HOW’S TROTTINGHAM LIKE? I HEARD THEIR CUISINE IS SIMPLY DIVINE, IS THAT TRUE? HOW DO THE PONIES THERE LOOK AND ACT?” “Oh uh... well Trottingham, as everyone knows, is pretty big. Their food tastes kinda Bridltish. Most of the ponies there are paints and they have this thick snooty accent far heavier than the ones in Canterlot. Mustangia is kinda-” “WHAT’S THE BEST FOOD YOU’VE EVER TASTED THERE. I HEARD MUSTANGS HAVE THE LONGEST EXPECTED LIFESPANS, IS THAT TRUE? WHY DID YOU MOVE OUT OF THERE? WHAT WAS YOUR JOB BACK IN TROTTINGHAM? DID YOU-” “Uh... Rarity, you should go give Summerfree a chance to respond you know” I interrupted. You’re starting to act like Pinkie Pie. Rarity suddenly realized her unladylike attitude and blushed, A LOT. “Oh! uh, pardon me Summerfree, I wasn’t acting myself back there, I’m sorry.” Summerfree chuckled “It’s okay Rarity” when a big plate of pasta was suddenly placed on the center of the table. “Enough talk y’all,” I heard Braeburn call from the end of the table. “Let’s eat!” Rainbow Dash, who was sitting a few seats from me, sighed in relief. “Great, you know I couldn’t live with eating salads” and with that, she threw the lone leaf of salad on her plate behind her, not realizing that she just threw it on a passing waiter. I walked out the door of the restaurant with Rarity and Summerfree supporting me like a pair of crutches. In front of us was Applejack and Braeburn, while behind us were Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. “Welp, Ah gotta say Brae’, you picked the right place to eat; That was delicious” Applejack spoke up. “I agree, the food was very divine even though they’re not my kind of food. those hay strip salad was DIVINE.” Rarity chimed in. Fluttershy and I nodded in agreement. “Awww’ shucks girls, don’t mention it.” Braeburn replied to us sheepily “I’m just glad there was more than just salads there.” Rainbow Dash interjected behind us, a bit of sarcasm evident in her voice. “What say you Pinkie?” We all turned our gazes to the pink mare behind us, only to find and empty space. A few seconds later, Pinkie dashed out of the restaurant doors with over a dozen bags of food with her. We just stared at her with an unamazed face. She looked around in confusion. “What’cha guys staring at?” After around five to ten minutes of walking, we finally found ourselves back in the den of Braeburn’s ranch house. “...anyways Twi’, Ah’ll go get those crutches you need upstairs” Applejack exclaimed to me as we walked in. “Just stay right here with Summerfree and Rarity, okay?” “Sure, Applejack, it’s not like I could actually go anywhere you know” “Right.”and with that, we watched her trot up the staircase, leaving the rest of us in the den. Braeburn turned his attention to the young colt carrying my right foreleg. “Summers, it’s getting kinda late out, do you wanna just go stay here at the ranch for the night instead of going back to yer house in the other side of town?” Summerfree, who looked pretty exhausted, perked up. “A-are you sure? Umm... I hate to be a bother...” The older stallion laughed. “No worries Summers, you’re my cuz’ anyway. You could sleep in Twi’s room with her, as long as she doesn’t mind of course” Summerfree looked back at me with his expectant apple-green eyes. “Yeah sure, Summerfree, I don’t mind.” Summerfree nuzzled me back before the sound of hooves upstairs grew nearer and nearer until Applejack reappeared at the staircase with a pair of wooden crutches on her front hooves. “Hey y’all, what’d I miss?” “Oh, Summerfree’s staying with us at the ranch fer the night” Braeburn chortled happily. “Oh that’s good, it’s pretty dark out already anyways.” She then turned her attention to me. “Here’s the crutches you needed, Twi’. Hope it’s good enough.” she said before handing me the pair of wooden supports. Rarity and Summerfree helped me transfer to the supports before letting go of me. “So how is it Twi?” she asked me after I settled on the wooden supports. I tried shifting my weight on the crutches. It’s quite sturdy, it barely even bended. “It’s fine Applejack, thanks” I replied Applejack smiled at me before turning back to Summerfree. “C’mon Summerfree, Ah’ll go show you around the house.” Applejack exclaimed to him as they both went upstairs along with the others leaving just me and Rarity alone on the room. “...Does it still hurt Twilight?” Rarity suddenly asked me. My mind suddenly went blank “Uh, excuse me?” “I meant that bite mark on your neck, does it still hurt?” “...U-uh... What bite mark?” I answered nervously, a bead of sweat dripping from my muzzle I saw Rarity’s horn glow before something touched my injured neck and a rush of pain hit me. I winced in surprise. “...Twilight, I know you’re lying.” Rarity exclaimed, her face filled with disappointment. I lowered my head in shame. “Darling, we’re worried for your sake. Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Don’t you trust us?” “R-Rarity, I could explain” “Then explain; I’m all ears.” she asked me with a stern tone in her voice. I closed my eyes and stammered. “I-I don’t want you and the others to worry about me more, so I decided to go get some medicine from the first aid kit upstairs and treat the wound myself and not tell any of you girls.” I pulled down my scarf with a sigh and carefully touched the puncture wound on my neck. “It still hurts. I thought the antiseptics I applied on my neck just needed some time before it takes effect” I muttered. “Twilight you’re not acting like yourself; the Twilight I know doesn’t like to keep secrets from her friends.” Rarity exclaimed “Rarity, please don’t tell the others, I beg of you, they’ll freak out and I wouldn’t hear the end of it.” “Twilight...” Rarity muttered and looked at the stairs, probably deciding if she should go make a dash for it and tell the others or not. “Please Rarity. I-I could fix this...” I begged. Rarity grumbled and walked to me. “Ugh, I can’t believe I’m doing this. Twilight, I’m only giving you two days, if that horrid wound of yours doesn’t heal, I’ll be forced to go tell the others” her voice had a lot of doubt in it. I sighed in relief “Thank you Rarity...” Rarity’s face was still filled with worry “Just remember, I’m only giving you two days” I thanked Rarity out in the hallway for helping me get up the stairs with my crutches before going in my room. “Hey Twilight” a voice spoke when I opened the door. I looked around my room and found Summerfree lying down on a mattress laid out beside my bed reading a book. “Hey Summerfree, I could see you’re back from your tour of the house” “Yup!” he answered to me excitedly. “Cousin Braeburn has a really big house!” he added happily. “He even has a cider cellar! How cool is that?!” he rambled. “Yeah, amazing right?” He nodded before talking again. I went along with the conversation, but my mind was somewhere else. It was late already, the moon was high in the sky, bathing the town in its silver light. And everyone else right now is either deep in sleep or is struggling to do so. I was one of the latter. I was too busy to fall asleep. In my head, I was deep in thought. My mind began to wander. Sabotages, weird dreams, and bite marks of unknown origin... something weird is going on here. And I’m not just gonna stand here and do nothing about it. Forget about what Applejack said, I could take care of myself, and I’m gonna go out and investigate this town from top to bottom for answers. No matter what happens.
08 : The Walk"Hey Applejack, mind if I go to the outer orchards today?” Applejack’s eyes widened and she spat out the cider she was drinking, making a small mist of the stuff appear in front of her face. “This stuff tastes funny.” she muttered, eyeing her mug containing the rest of her drink before setting the mug down on the wooden dining table. “Anyways, are ya serious Twi?” she asked, looking back at me. It was already noon and we were having lunch, everyone else was already finished and had excused themselves from the table, leaving only me and Applejack all alone in the dining area. She pushed away her mug of cider and grabbed a glass of water, taking a sip from it. “Ah know yer’ legs have been feeling better recently, but don’tcha think it’s kinda too early to just go ‘round outside after that ordeal of yers?” “Nah, I’m okay Applejack, trust me.” It’s been two days already since I had that talk with Rarity, and since that night, the mark on my neck's been slowly disappearing. By now, it is barely visible to the naked eye. Perfect, I knew that medication I used would work, now Rarity doesn’t have to tell the others. “Ah’m not so sure Twi’. What if ya go get more of your legs broken or somethin’?” she answered back. “Just stay here in the ranch ‘till we finally get back to Ponyville.” I let out a frustrated whine. “Hey AJ, when did you ever become the worrying type?” I looked back and found Rainbow Dash coming down the stairs with Rarity and Summerfree. "Shut it Dash, just so you know what's going on here, Twi's asking me if she cud' go out to the outer orchard with that injury of hers" Applejack said without looking at the multicolored pegasus. Rainbow Dash took a quick glance at me. "She looks fine enough to me, AJ," she commented, "I think we should let her go." "For once, Rainbow's right, Applejack darling" Rarity exclaimed. "She actually looks quite right," she added as she looked at me from top to bottom. For a brief moment, we made eye contact. She smiled back at me, relief strewn on her face. Applejack shot a glare back at her, “Yer’ not helping Rares,” she retorted and pointed at me. “Look at her, she can’t even use that horn of hers!” pointing at the bandaged spike above my forehead. “Oh stop being worrysome Applejack, you can’t just keep the poor mare locked up here in the ranch forever you know.” Rarity chortled back. “I’m not letting her stay here forever, Rares. Just until help arrives and we cud’ get back to Ponyville. Right now, ah don’t want her to get lost or somethin’, not with that condition of hers.” I saw Rarity roll her eyes. “Applejack, she just wants to go to the outer orchard. She’s technically still here at the ranch you know. There’s no way she could get lost there.” “Yeah,” I heard Rainbow Dash say. “Plus, I could always just fly around and look for her if she ever gets lost. No biggie, you ARE looking at the fastest flyer in Equestria after all” I saw Applejack roll her eyes, letting the cyan pegasus bask in her self praise. Then she looked back at me and bit her lower lip, her mind deep in thought. She looks like she’s going to allow me to go around town. All I need to do is convince her a little more... “I could accompany her if you want...” a voice spoke. We all faced where the voice came from; it was Summerfree. He had the biggest expectant smile plastered on his face. …uhh, for an excuse, this isn’t really what I had in mind. “Oh, that’s a wonderful idea Summerfree!” Rarity chortled “See Applejack? Your cousin can go watch Twilight for you if you want so you don’t have to worry.” Applejack looked back at her cousin, her mind obviously trying to process what she just heard. She stared at his expectant face before taking a quick glance at me, and then to the mug of cider on the table. A few moments later, she sighed in defeat. “...fine, Twi’, you can go... as long as you’re with Summerfree.” she said, putting emphasis on the last part. Summerfree eyes grew wide with the smile on his face and he quickly went to Applejack and gave her a rather strong, friendly hug, almost knocking her over as he did. “Just... make sure ya keep... a good eye on her, Summers.” Applejack grunted while she was being crushed by her cousin’s grip, her face slowly turning purple. “I will Applejack!” he answered as he let go of Applejack. I watched the orange apple farmer gasp for air and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Now can I please get back to my lunch?” she asked exasperated. “You’re so stressed out AJ” Rainbow Dash chortled out, grabbing the mug of cider from the table. “You should be more relaxed like me sometimes you know” she commented before taking a swig from the mug. “Man, this is some good stuff.” It was around one o’clock in the afternoon when Summerfree and I left for the outer orchards. Braeburn said that’s where the more resilient cultivars of apples were grown, and due to their hardy nature, they required less attention than the more sensitive apple trees found in the inner orchards. The orchard was a one kilometer trek away from the ranch and at the rate we’re walking, it would take us around twelve to fifteen minutes to get there. Right now, we were just busy enjoying the scenery while we walked. It’s quite amazing, really. We’re out smack in the middle of the Great Buffalo Desert, one of Equestria’s most remote and barren landscapes, and hostile at that. Yet, these apple trees managed to grow and thrive under the sweltering conditions. Come to think of it, I wonder how I managed to survive, being lost in the middle of nowhere, all unconscious and hurt like that. My train of thought was suddenly broken by the voice of a young colt. “Hey Twilight, wait up!” I heard Summerfree shout. I looked back and found him running to catch up with me. I slowed down to a stop and waited for him to reach me. He panted a few times to catch his breath before he regained his posture. “Sorry Twilight, I got caught up checking the nearby apple trees when I realized that I was lagging behind.” he said sheepishly, he raised up one of his forehooves and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. I smiled back at him. “Nah, It’s okay Summerfree.” I told him before I looked back and began walking again, with Summerfree following close beside me. “So Summerfree,” I said, trying to start a conversation. He raised his head and looked at me. “What brings you to Appleoosa anyway?” “...What do you mean?” he asked me, lowering his head. “Well, you said that you were from Trottingham, why did you suddenly want to go here in Appleoosa of all places?” “...Oh, uh, I wanted a little break from city life, I wanted to go and get away from it all for a while, have some problems back there” he replied back. “...and you chose Appleoosa... why?” He raised his head up. “Heard it was a nice place, far, isolated. And the townfolk are really friendly, great place to get a break from modern life” “Oh, I see. So you’re planning to go back to Trottingham sometime?” I asked him. He nodded. “Maybe, but if I’m doing fine here at Appleoosa, I might stay here.” “Cousin Braeburn said he always did need help here at the orchard” he exclaimed, chuckling a bit. After a few minutes, the ranch house behind us has disappeared from view and all that was ahead of us was a blanket of apple trees. The dirt path we were walking on winded around the apple trees like a snake. It went along the contours of the ground rather than cutting through it. The leaves of nearby apple trees blocked most of the sun’s blinding light but allowed some to pass through in small spaces, creating a wonderful pattern of sunlight dotting the rather dim ground. Occasionally, the dirt path we took would edge a nearby cliffside, revealing an amazing view of the acres of apple trees the ranch maintained. If one would look far in the distance, one could also see the massive Mount Buffalo dotting the landscape along with a few other stone monoliths. Not far off in that direction was also our destination, the outer orchards. “The view here is amazing!” I exclaimed while we were taking a break along the cliffside. He nodded back in agreement. “I still can’t believe Braeburn and the town folk managed to plant all these trees out in the desert.” I exclaimed. “Well, cousin told me that it had something to do with underground water and how the ground underneath us has a lot of those, he said it’s kinda complicated” he exclaimed. “But I guess, it doesn’t matter now right?” he asked me. I looked back at the trees below me. Most of them bearing bright red apples. I smiled. “Yeah, I guess it doesn’t.” It was around ten minutes before two o’clock when Summerfree and I finally reached the entrance of the outer orchard, I guess we kind of spent too much time resting at that cliffside. The outer orchard was pretty big. There were over a hundred apple trees littering the area, most of them were bearing red & yellow apples. A few meters away from us was a small wooden shed, presumably housing equipment Braeburn uses to maintain the trees and its fruit. A small bench with a table was also there, Braeburn must also probably use the small shack as a resting station or something. "Cousin Braeburn and Applejack just took me here yesterday," Summerfree exclaimed as we walked towards the wooden shed. "The apples around here are almost in their prime, they said they'd harvest it by next week." "Are you hungry?" he asked me as we sat down on the bench beside the shed. "Cousin told me we cud' get a few apples to eat" he said, pointing at a nearby apple tree. "No thanks," I replied, raising a hoof. "I'm good". “Well then,” he replied back, standing back up. “Let's go take a walk around the outer orchard, I wanna show you a few things” he smiled, grabbing my hoof and pulling me up from the bench. I offered no resistance and followed his lead. In my head however, I was thinking of other things. There’s a lot of work to be done here. After all, I didn’t come here for no reason.
09 : The Iron SpikeA field full of strong sturdy trees. Bright red apples with yellows splotches hanging below their branches. The vast desert lying a few miles from where I stood A long simple wooden fence dividing the lush trees from the barren desert This was basically what the outer orchard was. This is what I also dreamt of last night. I found myself in the middle of the apple orchards late at night. From where I was standing, one could see the silhouette of the ranch house far off in the distance. As time went on, however, I noticed that my surroundings were slowly changing before my eyes. The trees and their apples were changing into different shapes and the silhouette of the house was slowly getting farther and farther away from me. By the time the silhouette was no longer visible, I would find myself in a patch of trees bordered by the cold desert; the outer orchards. And then the world fades to black and I’d wake up. The weirdest part about the dream was that the details were so vivid and clear, I would remember all that I dreamt of when I woke up. Every single detail. That doesn’t usually happen. The dream was already raising a lot of flags in my head the minute I woke up. I figured that taking a trip to the outer orchards would help make some things clearer for me. Yes, I'm here because I want to go investigate and search the area, not to 'go get some fresh air'. No one knows about my true reasons why I really went here. In fact, nopony actually really knows what’s going on with me for the past few days. For one, no one knows that I’ve been searching the whole house from top to bottom for clues on the station collapse. Unsurprisingly, I’ve yet to find anything significant except for that small metal key I found up the attic a few days ago. I still haven’t found out what it unlocks but something’s telling me that whatever this thing unlocks, it’s important for me to find out. I feel kind of guilty that I’m keeping secrets from the others. Applejack would probably freak out and give me a little talk when she finds out what I’ve been doing. But that means, I won’t be able to find out what the hay is going on around here and help the town and all its innocent townfolk. I looked back at Summerfree who was busy showing me around the outer orchard with a warm smile on his face. The young colt really seemed to enjoy it here, his nervousness seemed to disappear and he seemed more... happier than usual. “...You look happier than usual" I blurted out inadvertently. What the hay? Why did I say that?! That’s was the worst thing to say right now! Stupid brain! Hopefully Summerfree didn’t hear what I just said... “Hmm?” Summerfree’s ears perked up. And his eyes stared back at me. Sweet Celestia, this is gonna be awkward "What did’ya say Twilight?" he asked me, his smile thankfully still there. “Oh... uh” Think Twilight, think! “...You...uh... seemed happier than usual” What the hay. “Oh,” his smile faltered a bit. Great, way to go brain. “Uh, well it’s because it’s more... peaceful here” Peaceful? “Peaceful? How’s the outer orchard more peaceful than the rest of Appleoosa?” I asked Summerfree looked away from me and lowered his head “...I wasn’t talking about Appleoosa, I was talking about back home... in Trottingham” That caught my attention. “Trottingham?” I repeated back. I saw him nod slowly. “......” “Summerfree, what’s going on back at home?” “...Can we talk about something else please?” his voice was slowly losing its confidence again. I slowly put my hoof on his shoulder. “Summerfree... what’s going on?” He didn’t reply back. I was caught by surprise when he suddenly broke off into a dash and ran off, farther into the outer orchard. Great, way to go brain. This is all your fault. I quickly regained my thoughts and ran after him. I lost track of him after a while and I was slowly getting tired. After a bit more of walking. I found myself back in the outer orchard’s entrance, and with my legs all tired, I ultimately decided to go take a rest in the tool shed before continuing my search for the runaway colt. I slowly trotted back to the small shed and sat down on the bench outside and tried to catch my breath. The shed had a small door on one of it’s walls, gaining access to it’s interior. Guess it’s a good time now to go search around the place now that I’m alone. I stood up and walked up to the door and opened it.. Unsurprisingly, the shed housed a wide array of farming tools. Large tools like rakes, plows & shovels stood on the corner slowly gathering dust while smaller tools like trowels, shears & watering cans lay on shelves lining the walls of the small room. Amidst the assortment of items laying on the shelves, something caught my attention. My eyes were directed to a pile of large metal objects laying on the bottom shelf. I grabbed one of them and examined it. It appeared to be a large nail, a very rusty one at that. It looks rather worn out, I wonder what it’s used for? My eyes scanned the entire room again and found nothing seemingly linked to the odd metal nail I was holding. I’m gonna have to go take a better look at this. I quickly tucked the metal object between one of the gauze bandages wrapped on my torso, hiding it from view. Don’t wanna let anyone get suspicious about why I had a large metal nail with me. I knew I should have brought one of my saddlebags with me. After I made sure that the metal wasn’t hindering my walking or making me feel uncomfortable, I took one last look at the shed’s interior before stepping back outside and continuing my search for the runaway colt. I kind of lost track of the time already after walking for what seemed like forever. The ground I was walking on was slowly losing its green the further I walked. The soil was also getting more loose and dry, and the apple trees surrounding me were getting more scarce and far apart from each other. I guess I was already nearing the orchard’s border. Nothing else after that but the barren, unforgiving desert, marked{?} by a long wooden fence that ran around Braeburn’s whole property. My walk was abruptly stopped by said fence. I took a long look at the landscape before me, having to shield my eyes with a hoof from the bright sun above. A wide plane of sand dotted by a few cacti. The massive rock formations also dotted the area. The largest one, Mount Buffallo, was maybe a ten minute walk away from here. Not so far in the distance, my eyes caught the glint of metal snaking across the entire landscape; the train tracks. My eyes followed it and found the familiar silhouette of the town a few miles from where I stood. Other than those, there was nothing else to be found, including Summerfree. Great, where the hay could Summerfree be? Applejack’s gonna get really angry if he winds up lost. I sighed and turned around, heading back to the shed. ...Only to quickly catch a glimpse of a figure a few trees away, looking at me. It was Summerfree. “...Summerfree?” His eyes, which looked like he had been crying recently, widened when he realized that I saw him and he quickly ran off into the orchard. I quickly recollected my thoughts and gave chase. I’ll tell you one thing: Summerfree runs fast. Very fast. I could barely catch up with him, especially with my already weak legs that had just been injured. The only thing that was assuring me that I was on his trail was the sound of his hoofsteps. “Summerfree, wait!” I shouted, in hopes that he would stop. I dashed past the trees as fast I could, some of their leaves falling as I passed by. I began to tire out, I was already having a hard time catching my breath and my legs were screaming at me to slow down. The footsteps were gradually fading away, implying that the distance between me and the young colt were widening. There was no way I could catch up with it. Still, I pressed myself to run faster and at least try. I didn’t have the chance to stop when I saw an apple tree a few meters in front of me. And that’s when I collided and my vision went dark.
10 : Apologies and Revelations... I’m flying. Well, I think I am, judging by the fact that I’m about twenty feet off the ground. I think one of the inner orchards was below my hooves, but it was really hard to see because of the bright sunlight slightly blinding me. I'm really confused right now; this is physically impossible. I'm a unicorn, not a pegasus, HOW the hay am I dangling twenty feet up in the air? WHY the hay am I dangling high twenty feet up in the air? And more importantly, HOW am I gonna get down from- ...wait. ...I think I can make out the figure of a pony down below at the orchard. Thankfully, my eyes managed to adjust a bit to the blinding sunlight. It’s still kind of hard to see, but I think the pony’s a mare, judging by how thin and slender the figure was compared to the physique of an average colt. The fact that the figure also has a long mane seems to prove my point. Suddenly, I found myself going higher up in the air for some reason. I tried to move my legs in protest, only to find no response on either of my legs. Okay, something is really wrong here. I suddenly stopped gaining altitude. I breathed a sigh of relief... Before suddenly dropping down into a dive, heading towards the unknown mare in the orchard. I tried screaming, but I found that like my legs, I also couldn’t seem to move my mouth. My vision was getting blurry the closer I got to the ground, the color purple was also slowly filling my vision for some odd reason. And then, darkness surrounded me and I couldn't see anything. I still felt myself falling though. And while I fell, the darkness around me embraced my body. ... ... ... ... ... ... My head hurts. A LOT. Within a few seconds, my vision slowly returned and I found myself back on the outer orchard. Lying on the tool shed’s bench to be exact. I looked around and saw Summerfree not so far away, apparently unaware that I’m awake. The fact that he was pacing the floor frantically suggested that he was very worried and nervous. “Oh dear, oh dear,” I heard him say. “They’re gonna kill me when they find out what happened, I’m so stupid!” I sat up and rubbed my aching forehead. “Urgh, Summerfree?” I called out to him. He quickly turned and faced me, his face filled with surprise and relief. “Twilight!” he cried out, making a dash towards me and then giving me a rather constricting hug. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry about what happened to you.” he said with a very troubled voice. I wrapped my hoof around him. “...It’s okay Summerfree... it wasn’t your fault.” He buried his face on my shoulder. He looked like he was in the verge of tears. “...No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have ran away, I’m so stupid...” “Summerfree... don’t be so hard on yourself” I consoled him. “I’m alright. You didn’t mean to hurt me anyway. I just ran onto a tree, that’s all. No need to worry” Tears were starting to form in his eyes. “B-but... cousin Applejack will-” “Shhh...” I gently waved a hoof at him. “It’s okay. I’ve got your back, you have got nothing to worry about.” I told him. His grip loosened and he slowly broke the embrace. His mouth slowly formed a small grin. “Thanks... Twilight.” “I believe I owe an explanation.” Summerfree suddenly spoke up. It was around fifteen minutes since I woke up and we were spending the rest of our time strolling around the outer orchard. Summerfree had managed to calm down from his outburst a while ago. I rubbed my gauze-wrapped forehead and looked back at him in confusion. “An explanation to what?” I asked him. “...to what’s been happening back at home.” My mouth faltered to a slight frown. “Uhh... Summerfree, you don’t have to explain, I understand.” I told him. Summerfree shook his head. “No, I need to get this off my chest.” he sighed. "Please don't tell this to anypony else" I looked at him. “Okay...” He smiled back and took a deep breath. “If I remember correctly, I told you girls I was born in Mustangia right?” I nodded, clearly remembering what he said during dinner a few days ago. “Yeah, anyways, when I moved to Trottingham, the folks there didn’t exactly give me the nice treatment.” he said, his voice weakening a bit. My walking began to slow and looked at him. “Summerfree... what do you mean?” Summerfree stayed silent for a second before continuing. “...They said my accent was all stupid and that I didn’t belong there” he said nervously, his mouth quivering. “They’d sometimes gang up on me... and... call me names... and beat me up... and they'd throw rocks at me...” he said while raising a hoof and lifting up a portion of his mane, revealing a rather faint scar on the side of his neck, still partially covered by his rather dusty bandanna. “...I couldn’t really protect myself against them so I was easy picking” he said, lowering back his hoof and letting his hair fall back. “ but then... I met this mare” he continued. “She was way different from me, she was really brave and confident. It was really a mystery why she would hang out with someone like me. She always stood by my side, especially when I was in trouble.” he said smiling a bit before frowning. “But then, one day, she had to leave me. Her family had to move away from the city... and she told me before she left that she'll try to visit me sometimes... So far, I'm still trying to contact her but I haven't heard from her yet.” he lowered his head. “And now that she’s gone, it was obvious that the bullying would come back soon and worse, no one was there to help me.” He raise his head a bit and he tried to averthis gaze from me. "I had to get away from it all, I took the next train headed here in Appleoosa." "And here we are" He sighed and look back down on the ground, finishing his story. My mind was trying to process what Summerfree just said. Did he really suffer that much back at Trottingham? It was then that I realized that I had my mouth hanging open. "I'm such a coward" he mumbled, his eyes still staring down at the ground. "B-but I didn't know what else to do... all I could think of was to run, I’m so stupid..." He was beginning to tear up again. I walked to him and gave him a gentle hug. He's hurting himself. He needs a shoulder to cry on. And I'm gonna be there for him. We were quiet during the trip back to the house. I could feel the metal nail secretly strapped on my sides gently poking me gently but I paid no attention to it, I was still letting the new information Summerfree told me to sink in my head. Summerfree on the other hand, just kept his head down while walking. He probably also has a lot of things going on his head right now. The sun was already beginning to hide in the horizon, the sky was tinted a deep shade of violet and our surroundings were starting to darken due to the lessening sunlight. It was not long before the faint lights of the ranch house began to glimmer between some trees. I saw Applejack standing outside the backdoor, waiting for us when we came. "Glad to see you two come back in time" she said, smiling. "Although you two look rather dirty" she added. "Did'ya go take a run around the orchard or something?" "You could say that" I replied. I saw her slightly raise one of her eyebrows and smirk in response. "Well come on in you two and get washed up" she said before turning her attention to the colt beside me. "Summerfree, Ah take it that yer going back to your place in town tonight?" Summerfree nodded in reply. "Ok, you can go back to town after washing up. Ya better hurry 'cause it's starting to get real dark now" Applejack said, looking at the now indigo colored sky above us before opening the ranch's back door and going inside. Summerfree and I immediately followed her and entered the house. I sat down on my bed, just finished having a relaxing bath. In my hooves lay the odd looking metal spike I found in the outer orchard. Its purpose still remained a mystery to me and I don't think I should ask anyone about this. After all, it will obviously rouse suspicion. "Hey Applejack, I got this metal spike in the tool shed while no one was looking, mind telling me what it is for?" Seriously, who wouldn't find that weird? I examined the object for a few more moments before stashing it in my little suitcase along with the small metal key I found and my journal, which I was still in the midst of reading in an effort to jog my memories. I grabbed a small notedpad from my suitcase and jotted down a few notes to help keep track of my thoughts. 'Found an odd metal spike in the outer orchard, find out what its meant for soon.' I tossed the small notepad back into the suitcase and I snapped it shut and stowed it below my bed before stepping outside to the hallway and headed downstairs. ... I sat outside in the front porch, relaxing and taking in the cool desert air. The gentle breeze blowing between the bandages wrapped around me. The door beside me opened and Summerfree walked out. We stared at each other in a rather awkward silence for a few moments before I spoke up. "So you're going back to your place now?" "...yeah" "..." The awkward silence began to creep back. I was gonna speak up again when Summerfree started talking again. "Twilight, I wanna thank you for everything" he said, looking down at the ground as usual. I brought a hoof up to his chin and tilted his head up. "It's no problem Summerfree" He smiled at me. "Yeah..." I smiled back at him and I looked back to the front of the ranch, my eyes tracing tracing the winding road leading to the house. Not so far away stood the property's long wooden fence. "Well, I guess I gotta go now, see ya again tomorrow Twilight" he said putting a hoof behind his head. "Okay, see you tomorrow Summerfree" I replied. "...oh and Twilight..." He suddenly said. I turned my face to look at him when he closed in on me and... ...gave me a kiss on the lips. "Good night" he said, before he turned and began walking out of the property. My mind stopped working for what seemed like a few minutes. I was trying to comprehend what just happened. Summerfree... He just kissed me on the lips... I heard the telltale sound of the door opening behind me. "Oh there you are Twilight" a voice behind me said, bringing me back to reality. I turned around and saw Rarity looking back at me. "It's dark out already, Applejack and Braeburn said that its dinner time now and... ...why is your face red?" I felt the heat rise up my face. ... I realized I was blushing. Author's Note FINALLY, after 3-4 months procrastinating and doing school work, I finally finished Chapter 10 (yaaay). I'll try to update faster next time, but it might be hard since I'm chocked up with my studies (I have school here right now in my place).
