It was an ordinary, everyday lazy afternoon in Ponyville. Which, among other things, meant that Princess Twilight Sparkle could be found in the usual place... sitting in her library, sifting through a stack of books that needed shelving.
"Um, 'scuse me, Twi?"
The lavender alicorn looked up in surprise. The voice sounded like Applejack's, but it was meek and hesitant enough that it could have been Fluttershy instead. But it was in fact the orange farm pony.
"Hey, Applejack!"
"Uh, are... ya busy right now?"
"Not really. I'm just trying to decide how to shelve this collection of spell research journals the Archives sent over. I've been meaning for a while now to work up a comparative timeline for the development of spells in each of the various branches of magic."
"Right. And, uh... do what with that?"
"I have a suspicion that magic itself might change with time, such that new spells and variants of spells become accessible, rather than simply being discoverable at any time. If so, we might be able to work out a pattern, and thus determine when to expect new spells for any given branch of magic."
"Oh! So... kinda like knowin' when various kinds of trees and plants are gonna flower and be ready for harvestin'?"
"Exactly. And that way we can more efficiently focus the efforts of the research mages. And the only way I can determine that is by looking at trends in the discovery of existing spells. Hence the journals." Twilight tossed the elderly notebooks she was holding in her magic back onto the piles stacked around her. "But it's just a personal project. I can shelve these any time. What's up?"
"Wayall..." Applejack took off her hat and nervously fiddled with it in her forehooves. "Ah came to ask your advice. It's about the Zap Apple harvest."
"Oh, right! That's coming up soon, isn't it? Everyone's looking forward to when you start selling Zap Apple jam again. Spike and I finished our last jar from last year just this morning."
"Yeah, well... not sure there's gonna be a harvest this year."
"What?" Twilight stared. "Whyever not?"
"That's what I came ta ask ya about. See, the signs of the Zap Apple blooming shoulda happened weeks ago. But so far, nothin'. The signs have been late before, but never by this much. Even Granny Smith is startin' to mutter under her breath when she thinks we cain't hear her. And I'm powerful worried, Twi. We depend on the Zap Apple harvest for a big chunk of the farm's yearly income. Without that, things are gonna be mighty tight for Sweet Apple Acres."
"Applejack, I hope you know that even if it came to that, your friends would never leave the Apple family hanging."
"Ah know, Twi! But we Apples take it as a point of pride to be self-sufficient. Wouldn't like to feel we weren't able to carry our own freight around here. And with most other stuff, I'd just keep mah mouth shut an' muddle through. But this is important enough to us that I got to thinkin' I should ask somepony about it. And since the Zap Apple trees are magic... well, I figgered I should talk to our resident expert!"
"I appreciate that, A.J., and I'm happy to help in any way I can. I can certainly look into the magic side of things, though I'm afraid I don't know much about Zap Apples. They're a unique species, and you Apples haven't allowed much research to be done on them." She smiled. "In fact, whenever I visit Sweet Apple Acres, I get the feeling I'm going to be chased away with a pitchfork if I even look at a Zap Apple tree."
"Yeah, ah'm real sorry 'bout that, Twi. It's mostly Granny... she's a mite set in her ways, and worries that magic-users pokin' around the Zap Apple trees might bollux up whatever it is that makes 'em go. But even the rest of us -- Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and me -- well, we get to thinkin' we already know all we need to know to tend the crops we depend on. And with Zap Apples, normally that's the case, so long as the signs occur on schedule so's we can get stuff ready. But if'n they don't..." She shrugged helplessly. "Ah don't know what to do, Twi! And that's a fact! And ah didn't want to think my Apple pride was gettin' in the way of fixin' whatever it is that's wrong."
"I understand, A.J. And I have some free time right now. Why don't we go take a look at the Zap Apple trees?"
"Ah was hopin' you'd say that!"
Twilight peered up at the spindly branches of the nearest tree. "Interesting... it doesn't look too different from an ordinary apple tree... apart from the lack of leaves."
"That there's one of the signs," Applejack nodded. "When the leaves appear."
"And what are the others?"
"Lessee... first there's the howlin' of the timberwolves, which we drive off by bangin' pots and pans. Second there's stormclouds and electric-like sparks on the trees. That's when the leaves appear. The third sign is a change in the weather, and crows flying in an apple-shaped pattern. That's when the blooms form. Fourth sign is a meteor shower, when the unripened apples sprout. Fifth is the real light-show: lightning, rainbows jumping from tree to tree, an aurora, the works. That's when the apples ripen. And once that's happened, we gotta work like the dickens buckin' and gathering 'em all in one day, a'fore they zap away."
"Okay," Twilight said, "so... one observation is that the growing season of the trees is vastly accelerated and time-compressed. And magic can affect time, as with the Accellero spell and Star Swirl's time travel spell. So possibly the trees depend on the presence of ambient magic for the fruit to appear and mature."
Her horn sang gently, and she swung her head left and right. "Hmmm... I'm sensing the normal amount of ambient magic. So clearly magic's available to the trees."
"And... that's a good thing, right?" Applejack asked hopefully.
"I don't know." Twilight frowned. "I'm not sure what's normal here. Maybe the trees need more magic than this. Maybe they need something else in addition. Maybe timing is a factor. I'm hampered by the lack of an historical record. For one thing it'd help if we knew how the ambient magic behaved during a typical harvest: rising, falling, staying constant..."
"Yeah, that's on us again," Applejack said regretfully. "So long as the signs appeared as they always did, we were too busy gettin' ready and then harvesting apples to fuss with keepin' records on how things worked." Applejack shrugged. "But hey, you could always try some experiments, right? Like chucking in some extra magic, seein' if that primes the pump somehow?"
Twilight shook her head. "That's not how science works, A.J. Experiments are based on an hypothesis of how things should work, which the experiment provides support for -- or contradicts. And also, given how important the Zap Apple trees are to you, as well as indirectly to everyone else in Ponyville, I'm reluctant to just randomly meddle with things. I might wind up doing more harm than good."
"Well, shoot, I trust you, Twi. You're smart enough to know what to try and not to try."
"It isn't a matter of trust, A.J." Twilight objected. "And being smart doesn't mean magically knowing stuff. Knowledge is time, that's something Princess Celestia drilled into me from early on. You acquire knowledge over time by gathering data, keeping records, noting consistencies and trends, then summarizing it and writing it down for later use. Even when I look up stuff in my library, I'm leveraging the effort of ponies of the past in collecting and summarizing data. It's not instant, and it doesn't come for free."
"Fair 'nuff. So, what can we do?"
Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof. "Let's start with what we do know, and see what we can make of it. Now, the first sign is the howling of the timberwolves, right? And I take it you haven't heard them howling yet?"
"Nary a peep, Twi. Not even the occasional yip we sometimes hear when they're prowlin' in the area."
"Then let's see if we can find out what's happened to them..."
The walk along the cleared path through the Everfree Forest was pleasant enough. The warm afternoon sunlight slanted through the treetops overhead, and even the occasional bizarre shriek or hoot from the vine-tangled overgrowth to either side was merely startling rather than threatening.
"It shore is different," Applejack said. "I mean, from when we were all chasing through here trying to escape Nightmare Moon all them years ago. Back then you could hardly see your hoof in front of your face."
"Now that I've got the path cleared, it's certainly easier to get to and from the Castle of the Two Sisters," Twilight said. "And Zecora's hut. And Fluttershy's house, going the long way round." She lit her horn, and swept it about. "And there's ambient magic now, at least along the paths. It's reassuring knowing I don't have to rely entirely on my reserves if I meet up with anything threatening out here."
Eventually they reached the ruined Castle of the Two Sisters, deep in the heart of the Everfree. And then, finally, they heard a distant howling... beyond the Castle, even deeper in the Forest.
"Wayall," Applejack said, "at least they're here somewhere. So now what?"
"Now... we do something really inadvisable." Twilight grinned uneasily. "We go looking for them."
Beyond the Castle, there was a narrower, winding track leading further on into the Forest. Initially, it more closely resembled the Everfree in its original state: gloomy, muddy, and criss-crossed by branches and vines. After they'd followed the path for several minutes, however, the Forest started to open up a little. The trees were set farther apart, the path was clear of branches and vines, and there were occasional clearings occupied mostly by tall grasses, shrubs, and a few small trees.
And all the while, the howling in the distance was getting steadily closer.
"So... what we actually gonna do when we find them wolves?" Applejack asked.
"Observe them, see what we can learn about them," Twilight replied. "Though preferably from somewhere safe... like up a tree."
"Well... jest thinkin' ahead, if we should come across 'em sudden-like, don't you worry 'bout me. Jest grab air with them wings and find a safe spot. I kin handle myself all right. Plus if they get rowdy I knows a few tricks for turnin' the varmints into kindling!"
"Applejack, that's exactly what we don't want to do. We need to find out more about the timberwolves, and we can't do that if they're a pile of matchsticks."
"Hmmm... you're right, Twi. All right, then, I'll give 'em the runaround for a while, then get myself out of danger. And you can watch 'em and see what you learn. Sound good?" Applejack realized her friend wasn't listening. "Uh... Twi?"
Twilight pointed. "Applejack, is that what I think it is?"
Applejack looked at the tree the alicorn was pointing at, standing amongst a group of similar trees in one of the open clearings. And saw it, on one of the upper branches: a single, small rainbow-striped fruit.
"A Zap Apple tree?" Applejack trotted closer. "Way out here?"
"Well, you did say Granny Smith found and picked the first Zap Apples in the Everfree Forest."
"But that was a lot closer to Sweet Apple Acres. Never seen them growin' anywhere else. 'Course, I ain't been wandering out this far, neither. Hey look, there's another one, on that tree there. And on that one, too! Looks like a small grove here."
"Well, if worst came to worst, you might come out here and harvest some of these, right?" Twilight suggested.
"We could... but I don't see there's even one bushel tub of apples here. That's not gonna be nearly enough... even if Filthy Rich don't hold us to sellin' him the first hundred jars of jam. And if the apples zap away after one day, like usual..."
"Wait a sec..." Twilight's horn flickered fitfully as she swung it left and right. "There's almost no ambient magic here, just like in the rest of the Forest. So maybe the apple's growing season isn't accelerated out here."
"But I thought Zap Apple trees needed magic?"
"So did I. Stranger and stranger," Twilight agreed. "Well, let's take a closer look at these trees, and see if there's a difference between them and the ones growing on your farm."
"Uh, Twi... I think you're gonna get a real close look at 'em." Applejack pointed behind her... at the three large timberwolves who had just stepped out onto the path behind them. In shape, they were like wolves, but more strongly resembled huge, ambulatory sheaves of kindling and twigs, held together by a poisonous green magic glow.
The wolves stalked closer, with angry, gutteral snarls.
"Git clear, Twi!" Applejack whispered urgently. Then she raised her voice. "Hey! Hey, y'all! Over here!" Waving her forehooves, Applejack drew the attention of the wolves, while glancing behind her to make sure she had a clear path to start running.
Reluctantly, Twilight flapped into the air and then half-landed, half-crashed into an upper branch of a Zap Apple tree. In the process she knocked loose several dead branches and a couple of the fruits, which fell to the ground.
The wolves snorted in surprise, then howled, and then charged. Applejack darted to the side, hoping to lead them off... then realized they weren't paying any attention to her. They were falling on the dropped fruits and branches like manna, snarling and barking at each other as they contested over them.
Applejack stood where she was for a moment, surprised. Then she belatedly took the opportunity to clamber up a nearby tree herself. Its bare, gnarled branches made it appear half-dead.
"Well don't that beat all, Twi!" she called across. "Looks like we're not the only ones who like Zap Apples!"
"The timberwolves are held together by magic, and the Zap Apple trees probably concentrate what little ambient magic there is here, so it makes sense," Twilight called back. "And do you see what they're doing with the branches?"
Applejack looked. One of the wolves, who appeared to have a spindly, lamed leg, had grabbed up a fallen branch in its wooden teeth. It gently nosed it into place alongside the leg. The branch clung to its leg, and once attached it became indistinguishable from the rest of the branches that made up the wolf's scrub-brush body.
"Yer kiddin'... the timberwolves are made of Zap Apple branches?" Applejack shook her head. "Well, I do declare! I've been wonderin' why we occasionally see 'em scavenging around the brush pile at the farm, where we toss the pruned branches."
"Maybe we can use this to our advantage," Twilight said. "I can reach some of the fruit in this tree, and you can pull some branches from your tree. Then we toss them one way, and while the wolves are busy with them, we run the other."
"Sounds like a plan." Applejack reached around, hunting for dead branches to pull loose. But she found that the otherwise dead-looking tree actually had very little deadwood; it was quite solid and sturdy, in fact.
Then her hind-hoof landed on a branch that was drier than the rest, and she just barely caught herself as it snapped under her weight and fell to the ground.
One of the wolves looked round, snarled, and charged at the branch. And as it approached the tree, something startling happened: the branches all around Applejack began fizzing and sparking. She felt every hair on her body standing on end as a nimbus of potential built up around her.
"Whoa, Nelly!" Applejack called, worried she was about to be sizzled alive.
And then, in one quick burst, leaves sprouted all over the tree.
Applejack stared about her in astonishment. "Am I seein' things, Twi? This here's the second sign! The leaves sproutin'!"
"The wolves are made up of Zap Apple branches," Twilight agreed, "and they consume the magic concentrated in the Zap Apple fruit, so maybe they've become part of the tree's normal life cycle. Maybe the presence of the wolves' magic pushes the tree over some kind of threshold, allowing it to blossom."
"But the trees sprout just fine back on the farm," Applejack said. "After we've driven away the timberwolves."
"Sure," Twilight agreed, "but there's more ambient magic around your farm, so the timberwolves may only be needed as a catalyst." Twilight held up the Zap Apples she had gathered from her tree. "Maybe we should get clear of this group first, and discuss it later."
"Works for me. Whenever you're ready, Twi!"
Twilight hurled the apples as far as she could down the path beyond the tree Applejack was in. And as they'd hoped, the wolves charged after the fallen fruit, allowing Twilight and Applejack to drop down from their trees and hurry off back down the path toward the Two Sisters' Castle.
But one of the wolves was less distracted than the others. Spotting the escaping ponies, it reared around and came after them.
"Git airborne, Twilight!" Applejack panted. "I kin deal with this puppy if I have to!"
"We should stick together," Twilight replied. "Just run for the Castle. We can hide out there."
"Don't need to tell me twice!"
They could almost feel the wolf's sour breath on their flanks as they galloped back along the path, frantically shoving past branches and leaping over vines as the path became more obstructed.
Finally, they burst into the clearing on the hilltop where the ruin of the Two Sisters' Castle stood. Almost out of breath, they reached the sanctuary of the rear steps of the Castle.
And suddenly realized they were no longer being chased. Looking back, they saw the wolf standing a short distance up the path, pacing forward and back, uneasily. It took a few steps in their direction, then came to a halt. It snarled, sniffed the air briefly. And then it abruptly turned back down the path, and loped off.
"Huh! Wonder what spooked him off?" Applejack asked.
Twilight thought for a moment, then scanned with her horn. "There's a lot more ambient magic around the Castle, what with the Tree of Harmony and all. Maybe the wolves need a certain amount of magic to hold together, but can't tolerate an excess of it. It would be fascinating to find out. Buuuut... I'm not sure I want to put that to the test just now."
"Agreed. Count yer blessings, says Ah." Applejack bit her lip thoughtfully. "So... we found out a few things at least. The timberwolves eat Zap Apples for their magic, and they can use dropped branches to repair themselves. And they're somehow a trigger for the tree blooming. But we still don't know why we're not hearing the wolves around the farm like we normally do."
"Let's head back to the farm," Twilight suggested. "And think about the other signs along the way. I don't think we have the whole picture here yet."
"Suits me," Applejack agreed. Together, they trotted along the path from the Castle back towards Ponyville.
"So," Twilight said, "flights of birds in the shape of an apple, a meteor shower, rainbows and auroras... it all definitely sounds like arcane side-effects, indicating a significant magical draw. And you said that once the leaves have appeared on the trees, the rest of the flowering and fruiting pretty much happens like clockwork, over the span of four days?"
"Surely does... at least, up to now."
"Hmmm... yet in their natural environment, the trees have very little ambient magic to work with, and it appears they flower and fruit like normal trees. Planting them on the farm at Sweet Apple Acres, where there's tons of ambient magic available, the trees blast straight through their flowering and fruiting stages at high speed."
"Yet it don't seem to hurt them none. They've been doing it every year, regular. It's only a bit of a pain for us, having to buck the entire Zap Apple orchard in one day."
"But that says that we've taken the trees out of their natural environment, so what we're seeing on your farm isn't normal behavior for them."
"Good thing too, or Granny Smith and her family might've starved or had to move away... and there'd be no Ponyville."
"Granted, I agree things worked out for the best. Still, it's important to be aware of the effects of one's actions on the environment, to be aware that the changes you make can have consequences."
"No argument here, Twi. But if we didn't..." Suddenly, Applejack came to a halt. "Hang on a sec..."
"What is it, A.J.?"
"Check me on this, Twi... that dead tree over there. It's a Zap Apple tree, ain't it?"
Twilight stepped closer and looked. "Yeah, I think you're right."
Applejack reached up a hoof and tugged one of the bare, dry branches. It snapped off easily. "And dead as a doornail, too. And now I'm thinkin' about it, I'm sure we've passed at least three more just like it, along the path from the Castle to here."
Twilight's horn shone brightly. "The ambient magic along the path is almost normal level." She cautiously pushed her head through the branches at the side of the path. "But beyond, it drops off to the Forest's near-zero baseline. And I think I see a Zap Apple tree in the distance over there, deeper in the Forest, that's fruiting normally."
"Looks like the trees that grow here in the Forest cain't take that much magic," Applejack said. "But that don't make sense! The trees on the farm do all right with the magic we have there."
"Natural selection," Twilight said. "The trees growing on your farm are the ones that survived after you planted them in a normal magic field. They're tolerant of magic, and have adapted to it. But the trees already growing here in the Forest aren't adapted."
"And the timberwolves, they don't like a surplus of magic neither. In fact, the only times I've seen 'em near the farm is when they were angry enough to chase something onto it, or were rooting around in the brush pile."
"So plants and animals in the Everfree Forest are used to its low-magic environment, and are harmed by a level of magic that we would consider normal..." Twilight suddenly fell silent, her eyes wide. "Oh my word... the ambient magic along the paths! That's not natural here, either! By clearing and widening the paths through the Forest, and maybe even just by walking back and forth along them, we've been effectively creating magic leylines cutting across the Forest. And... if you include the section of the path that circles around to Fluttershy's house..."
"Yeah, I see what you mean," Applejack said. "We've pretty much created an invisible fence around Ponyville that the timberwolves don't like to cross. That's why they've been keeping away from Sweet Apple Acres!"
"Ohmygosh, I don't believe it!" Twilight looked ashamed. "Here am I, talking about being aware of the consequences of your actions... and I wasn't even aware that by clearing the paths to make it easier for me to get to the Castle of the Two Sisters, I was damaging the Forest, interfering with a natural occurrence that your family depends on for its livelihood!"
"Well, shoot, Twi... you didn't know. You'd have known better if we Apples had done more to learn about how the Zap Apple trees worked in the first place. Like we should'a done."
"Okay, okay, mea culpas all around, I agree. But we still need to find a way to fix this." Twilight shook her head worriedly. "I don't know if we could easily remove the leylines we've created here, even if we let the paths grow wild again. Once an environment is disturbed, it's very difficult to restore it to its original wild state."
"So... then maybe we need to do a round-up of some of the timberwolves?" Applejack suggested. "Corral 'em and drive 'em back closer to the farm?"
"That's not a sustainable solution, A.J. You'd probably have to do that again every year. And that's assuming you don't just wind up scaring off the wolves, driving them even further away. We need to find a way to make them want to hang around in the part of the Forest near Ponyville again."
"Huh... wantin' to bring them ornery critters closer to everyone here, 'staid of keepin' them away. Now ain't that a switch?" At Twilight's look, she rolled her eyes. "Ah'm just sayin', Twi. I'm with ya on this, a hunnerd percent. But what kin we do?"
"Hmmm... we need something that attracts the wolves, to lure them back..."
"Wayall, we know they like Zap Apple fruit. And the dead branches from the trees. I suppose we could always save up part of the harvest each year, to help lure the critters back next season. Or maybe..." Applejack suddenly smiled. "Hey, how about this, Twi? The Zap Apple trees we grow on the farm, they're tolerant of magic, right? What if we plant some of them in the Forest, close to the paths, on the Ponyville side. And we'll spread the brush we prune from the trees in piles on this side as well. That'll give the timberwolves a good reason to want to cross over the paths into this part of the Forest. And then they'll be able to trigger off the bloom for our trees on the farm, just like they used to."
"That sounds like a lot of work to set up and manage, A.J. -- and it might not even work."
"Shoot, it's just farming, Twi, and that's always a lot of work. We're used to it. All we need to know is what needs doing, and we can get 'er done. We just have to add timberwolves to the list of critters we manage on the farm. And plantin' Zap Apple trees along the paths ain't no trouble. With a source of magic, the dang things go from sprout to a full tree practically soon as you plant the seeds."
"I can help you with the magic if need be... it'll help me feel better about being partly responsible for all this."
"Hey, no blame, Twi, like I said. But the help's much appreciated. Come on, let's get back to Sweet Apple Acres and let Granny, Mac, and Apple Bloom know we got us a job to do..."
They all stood nervously by the fence surrounding the Zap Apple orchard. In the distance, they could hear the mournful howling.
"Sounds like they're gettin' closer," Applejack said, cautiously.
"I'm sure they are," Twilight replied.
"Now remember, Granny," Applejack warned. "We don't scare 'em off right away, like we used to. We need to encourage 'em to hang around this part of the Forest again."
"Well, land sakes alive!" Granny Smith shook her head. "Never thought I'd see the day I'd be hoping to see one of them varmints pokin' its nose out around here."
"It was loads of fun plantin' the trees out in the Forest," Apple Bloom said, smiling. "We don't often have the chance, here on the farm. 'Cept when a lighting storm takes one of 'em out and we have to replace it." She laughed. "But you have to be careful not to have your nose in the way when you plant one, right, Big Mac?"
The red stallion twitched his bandaged snout. "Eeyup."
"Hush your yappin', and quit your nappin'!" Granny Smith hunkered down, eyes narrowed. "I think I sees one of 'em out there."
From the verge of the Everfree, two timberwolves cautiously crept out. They approached close to the fence on the far side of the orchard, sniffing tensely. They glanced about, then lifted their snouts and howled, long and loud.
And then, tensing, they readied themselves to leap over the fence...
... and at that moment, with a loud electric crackling, all the trees in the orchard sprouted a full crown of leaves.
Startled, the timberwolves paused, staring at the still sparking trees.
"Hot ziggety! It worked!" Granny Smith brought up the tin pail she was carrying, and began whacking it with a ladle. "Thank ya kindly, you great, nasty, no-account forces of nature! Now skedaddle on back to the Forest. Ya got your own trees out there now!"
Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom joined in with their own pots and pans, clanging them loudly, driving the timberwolves back into the Forest.
And Twilight Sparkle stood off to one side, wearing earmuffs against the noise, carefully taking notes. The one thing she'd learned about natural forces was that it never paid to assume you finally understood them, and could take them for granted. Some day they might have to use what they'd observed today, in order to tweak things again.
When the timberwolves had finally been driven off, the farm ponies put aside their tin-pan-band implements and stared hopefully at the trees.
"Looks normal to me," Applejack said. "What do you think, Granny?"
"Wayall," the elder pony allowed, "looks all right. But don't count your chickens, young'un. We'll know for sure tomorrow when the birds show up."
"Thanks for helping us figure it out, Princess Twilight," Apple Bloom said. "We couldn't have done it without you!"
"Yes, well..." Twilight gritted her teeth uncomfortably. "It was the least I could do, considering."
She found Granny Smith eyeing her thoughtfully, and felt nervous. Applejack had said she wouldn't bring up Twilight's part in all this, but Twilight had always found Granny Smith to be just a hair sharper than she ever let on.
"Ya done good, Your Highness," Granny finally said. "You and Applejack figgerin' this out together. Never had much use for book learnin' myself. I 'spects that's why we leave it to the experts!"
"Thanks, Granny." Twilight smiled. "And trust me, my notes from this are going right on a handy shelf in my library. If anything like this should happen again, we'll be ready for it."
She caught Applejack's eye, and the two nodded to each other.
Both of us will, Applejack's look said.
The End
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, its characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro.
No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.
