The Golden Trail

Applejack let out a contented sigh, the front door sliding shut behind her as she let herself in. The quiet brought a smile to her muzzle with each step she took towards the kitchen. These rare moments of freedom always threw her off, work taking up most of her time to the point of routine. That was not to say that she didn't have hobbies or ways to occupy her free time, but to have so much of it all at once felt wrong to her. Of course, recent events kept such moments from being boring.

Alright, Ah just need to see if we have enough carrots for dinner tonight, she mulled, approaching the refrigerator. Then Ah need to see if-

"Good afternoon Applejack," a familiar female voice said from the shadows.

Applejack let out a startled yelp and turned to face the voice, hoof pressed to her chest and panting. Gold stood by the sink, wearing her tattered cloak with a glass of juice in her hoof. The late afternoon shadows did a better job of hiding her than they really had any right to.

"Dag nabit Gold! Ya' nearly scared the life out of me!" she barked.

"My apologies," Gold nodded, taking a sip from her glass.

"Keep it up and Ah'll have to tie a bell around your neck," she muttered, fishing a jug of juice from the fridge.

"That may make things worse," the mare sighed, handing Applejack an empty glass from the cupboard. "Imagine being put on alert every time you hear a bell."

Applejack mulled that over for a bit as she poured herself a glass.

"Ah could live with that. Better than getting a heart attack all the time."

"I could announce my presence when you are alone if that will help," she offered, taking a seat at the table.

"You mean like you did just now?" Applejack frowned, doing the same across from her.

"Actually, I came in with you," she said matter of factly. "I had only just managed to get your attention."

Applejack gawked at that while the mare happily sipped her juice.

"You're slipperier than a greased pig in a butter barn," the farmer huffed, leveling a small smile at her.

Gold blinked at the analogy, looked down at her foreleg and said, "I suppose it has been a long time since I have had a bath. Do I really look that bad?"

"Wha? No! That's ain't what Ah'm sayin'," Applejack sputtered. "Ah'm sayin' you're hard to keep track of!"

"Oh," Gold nodded. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. That, and my...talent for vanishing. It is not something that I can effectively turn off I'm afraid."

"Special talent?" Applejack asked over her glass.

"Practiced talent," she corrected, sighing as she stared into her drink. "Let's just say, the life I led required such a skill and leave it at that."

Applejack gave an understanding nod and took a swig of her drink.

This wasn't the first time Gold mentioned her past, though it maintained the usual patter from when she did. Each time, she would let something slip, but always hid the details behind some kind of vague non-answer. Applejack would be lying if she said it didn't eat at her a bit. She knew that there was something important being held behind those words, but she knew that pressing would get her nowhere. She just needed to be patient and let the mare speak on her own terms.

She nervously bit her lip when her eyes drifted towards the mare's cloak.

While she was not a master of fashion, even she knew that such a classification was extremely generous. The gray fabric that wrapped around the mare was more akin to a tattered blanket than a cloak. She could almost see the frayed threads holding the thing together. At most, it looked like the thing had about three more weeks left in it before it finally fell apart.

It was because of that, that she had a hard time finding the right words, especially given the behavior she had observed from the mare from time to time. Eventually, she saw no point in prolonging the inevitable and decided to cut to the chase.

"Say, uh, Gold?" she coughed nervously.

"Yes?" Gold asked, face unreadable.

"My friends have been comin' by the last couple of days, right?"

"I have been seeing a few new ponies come by recently," she nodded, raising a brow.

And then disappearin' each time like a ghost in the night, she thought frustratedly.

Nervously chuckling, she continued, "Well, my friend Rarity and Ah went out for some drinks one night and Ah...may have let it slip that you're on the farm."

A moment of silence filled the room, an awkward frown decorating Applejack's face while Gold's was impossible to read. Before the silence could become suffocating, Gold broke it with a tone as unreadable as her face.

"Is she the pink Earth Pony?"

"Uh, no?" she blinked.

"Bright blue Pegasus?"

"No," she answered, raising a brow. "She's a white Unicorn."

Gold's expression didn't change, but her face did pale a bit.

"Gold? Are you okay?" she asked, nervousness turning into concern.

"Y-Yes," she stammered, closing her eyes and taking a steadying breath. "I'm fine. P-Please. Continue."

Nodding, she filed her reaction away for further thoughts later.

"Anyway, she was rantin' about how her sister keeps messin' up her clothes and Ah brought up your cloak."

"My cloak?" she asked, giving her article a passing glance.

"Yeah," she sighed, then awkwardly added, "Ah may've said it was a...um....giant rag."

Gold gave her a flat look at that.

"Sorry," she sighed. "Drinks make me too honest sometimes."

"It is fine," Gold sighed. "You are not wrong, after all."

"Right," she coughed behind a hoof. "Anyway, when Ah said that, she said she wanted to get you something better."

"I don't have any bits," Gold stated.

"Because you won't take any," Applejack frowned, then sighed as she added, " And Ah might've mentioned that to her too."

"I see," Gold frowned. "And with that knowledge, what does this "Rarity" want me to do to earn this."

"Well, she would need to get your measurements fir-"

"Not that," Gold cut through, a glare adding to her frown. "What does she want in exchange for the cloak?"

Applejack froze, a frightening sense of deja vu coming over her as she met Gold's glare.

Applejack took a deep breath and said, "She just wants to be help you."

A spike of anger shot through Gold. She knew that Applejack knew she was not an idiot. Nopony does something like that for free. True, The Apples were helping her, but it was not a one way streak by any means. Even her arrangement with Gaia Everfree had its strings. To think that a Unicorn would do anything for free was as absurd as-

...A Unicorn loving a Pegasus.

Slowly, she forced her anger down.

"Very well," she sighed. "When will she come for me?"

Applejack let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding and with a weary smile said, "Whenever you want to meet her."

"I see," she frowned. "Then we shall do this tomorrow."

"Really?" Applejack blinked.

Gold nodded.

"Best to get this out of the way as soon as possible."

"Ah guess," she said, a sullen edge in her tone.

"But I have a few conditions," Gold frowned.

"Alright?" she said, raising a brow.

"First, she is not to use any magic around me."

"Wha- why?" Applejack asked, shocked.

"I have had some bad experiences with magic and I don't trust myself to be gentle around it," she frowned, staring into her glass. "Believe me. It is for her safety just as much as my own comfort."

"Alright," Applejack nodded, more than a little concerned by that ominous statement.

"Second, I.... do not want to be alone with her," she said meekly, a faint tremble entering her tone. "Whether it is you, or anypony else in your family, I need to have one of you in the room at the time."

An odd mix of anger and pity struck Applejack as she stared at the mare before her. Anger at whoever hurt her so deeply and pity for the poor creature hurting in front of her. It was easy for her to forget just how jumpy the mare use to be, especially when she started to finally open up to the family. She remembered how she would freeze up if even Applebloom so much as brushed up against her. Now?

Applejack placed a comforting hoof on the mare's own, it's owner giving her a thankful smile as she let go of the glass to match the farmer's grip with her own. She could feel a trace of fear, a faint tensing of a grip a step too strong to be normal, but it was a step up from the forced attempt and shaking limb she felt at the start.

"Is that all?" Applejack asked.

Gold nodded.

"Ah'll head off a little later to let her know then," she smiled.

"Thank you Applejack," Gold sighed.

***

The early morning sun shined brightly all across Sweet Apple Acres. In front of the farmhouse stood Gold Vine and two Timber Wolves, a new normal as far as the farm was concerned. The mare in question nervously paced, small unintelligible mutterings slipping past her muzzle with each pass. Hazel watched her with a bored frown from the front porch while Willow laid at the left of the front door, a nervous Winona caught in her forelegs. Both wolves watched the mare, with Willow breaking line of sight every now and then to nuzzle the captured dog.

"You know," Hazel droned. "I could just eat her if you want."

"Absolutely not!" Gold barked, stoping her pacing to stomp a hoof at the wolf.

"Didn't you already eat this morning?" Willow asked, giving Winona an affectionate lick.

"Yeah, but I can make room," she smirked.

"Not if you don't wan't your mother at your throat," the older wolf frowned. "Don't forget the accord."

"Only eat vermin or the fruit from the trees," she irritably recited. "It's not like I want to eat her. I'm just saying it's an option."

"One that will not be explored!" Gold snapped. "Unless this "Rarity" tries to harm me, you are to be on your best behavior! Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah," Hazel snorted, falling to her haunches. "I swear, prey can't take a joke these days."

Before Gold could respond, two more wolves entered the clearing from the tree line.

"Applejack is returning," Arbor said, his voice a rumbling bass. "She should be here in a few seconds."

"Right, thank you Arbor," Gold sighed, smiling weakly.

"Don't get too comfortable," Birch snorted, scratching his ear with a hind leg. "The pony had a Pegasus with her too."

Gold's smile fell.

"That wasn't what we agreed upon," she quietly muttered

They turned towards the path leading out of the orchard. Sure enough, three ponies rounded a corner onto the path a few seconds later. It didn't take her long to identify the orange dot and the white one as Applejack and Rarity respectively, but the yellow and pink dot moving at her friend's side was a mystery.

Gold took long, even breaths, a mix of will and stubbornness keeping her in place against the growing anxiety in her heart. The thought of being in the presence of a Unicorn was already a nerve-wracking proposition for her, but to combine that with a Pegasus was almost too much for her to bear. She fell to her haunches and wrapped her cloak tighter around herself for comfort, desperately trying to keep her breathe steady.

It will be fine. Applejack wouldn't go against our deal if it wasn't for a good reason. Though now that I think about it, I never told her that other ponies couldn't come as well.

She mentally facehooved at that realization, taking a small note to be much more careful with her agreements in the future.

Her ears twitched as the sounds of hoofsteps started to become defined to her, mere light taps that hammered in her ears like thunder. She took a shuddering deep breath and forced her eyes open. The trio was much closer now, details just starting to become clearer. The Unicorn, Rarity, carried herself with poise, but it was clear to Gold even from there that it was a poor imitation of how Canterlot Elites carried themselves. That aside, she certainly maintained their level of grooming as her alabaster coat shined brightly in the sun. Her dark purple mane held a similar shine, said hair styled into a single curl that draped elegantly across her left shoulder. What she had thought were abnormally large blue eyes were in fact eyes decorated by an expertly applied coat of blue eyeshadow. A pair of saddlebags were strapped to her sides, each sporting a trio of diamonds similar to the ones that marked her flanks.

The Pegasus was a different, yet still intriguing mystery altogether. She could tell just from their walk that they were a mare, though the long pink mane was also a fair point in her assumption. Her coat was a soft butter yellow and while it didn't shine in the same way that Rarity's did, it still gave of a very healthy glow. Three pink butterflies could be seen decorating her flanks

In time, the three ponies stood before the mare, by which point she had already forced herself to stand. The trio kept a safe five foot distance from her, part from a warning Applejack had given them on the way and part from the four Timber Wolves that sat in a wide circle around the mare. Applejack knew that the wolves were harmless, for the most part, but that only applied to her family and Gold. When the wolf Gold called Willow showed her fangs, she knew that it wouldn't take much for them to prove her right.

Biting back her nerves, Applejack forced a smile and said, "Gold, this are my friends Rarity and Fluttershy."

"Ch-Charmed," she curtly stammered.

A look of concern graced the Pegasus' delicate face at the response.

"Are you okay?" the Pegasus, Fluttershy, softly asked.

"Y-Yes," Gold gulped, then hastily added, "Could you give me a moment?"

Before anypony could respond, she jabbed a hoof at Applejack and aggressively gestured for her to follow her. As the mare stiffly made her way towards the farm house, Applejack let out a nervous chuckle and followed her inside.

A second later, Gold stuck her head out and yelled, "Best! Behavior!" before she pulled it back in and glared at her friend.

"Explain," she demanded.

"Flutters ran into us on the way over," she sighed.

"I see," Gold huffed. "And I assume it never crossed your mind to tell her that this might not be the best time for a visit?"

"Ah know Ah know," she frowned, hooves up in a placating manner. "But trust me. Fluttershy is harmless. She wouldn't hurt a fly."

"That is not the point!" she snapped, stomping a hoof for emphasis. "I agreed to meet with Rarity, not this "Fluttershy" mare. You need to tell her to leave. Now."

"Can't you give her a chance," Applejack frowned. "We gave the Timber Wolves one."

"That is a completely different matter and you know it," Gold frowned, pointing a hoof.

"Not as far as Ah see it," she intoned, eyes narrowing.

Gold met her glare with one of her own, the two locked in a battle of stubborn prides. Unfortunately for Gold, it was a battle she found she could not win. The fire she saw in her friend's emerald eyes was just as unyielding as it was warm. Gold would've had an easier time moving a mountain than the mare's resolve. With a defeated breath, she turned and made her way towards the door.

"Fine," she sighed. "But you are responsible if anything happens. The Pack is very protective of me and your friends are not part of Gaia Everfree's accord."

Applejack didn't miss the nervous lilt at the end of Gold's comment. Taking that as a warning, she nodded and followed her out of the house. What awaited them made her jaw hit the floor.

Hazel was laying on the ground, kicking a hind leg as Fluttershy happily rubbed her belly. Willow and Arbor watched the exchange with small smiles while Birch laid on the ground next to them laughing uproariously and pounding a paw into the dirt. Rarity took in the sight with a mild smile that almost matched the one the two older wolves sported, the events seemingly not outside the norm by her assessments.

Gobsmacked, she looked over her shoulder at the pony behind her and pointed at the spectacle before her. Applejack just gave her a crooked smile and a look that promised more sights of this caliber in the future. She wasn't sure how she felt about that promise. Shaking off her shock, she approached the odd pair while Applejack moved to Rarity's side.

"While appreciated, this was not what I meant," she smirked, raising a brow at the wolf.

Fluttershy let out a small "Eep!" before she flew back to Rarity's side while Hazel looked up at her with wide eyes.

"It wasn't what it looked like!" she barked, jumping to her feet.

"Of course it wasn't," Gold snorted, rolling her eyes. "Just wait until I tell Gaia about this."

"You wouldn't dare," the wolf growled, staring the pony down with fangs bared.

"Keep up the good behavior and I won't have to," she said, smile growing.

"That's one way to put a leash on her," Birch snickered as he staggered to his feet. "Think the yellow one can do something so we can get a muzzle on her?"

Hazel aimed a glare at him, but all it did was make his smile grow. Willow just rolled her eyes and went back to doting on Winona while Arbor got up to resume his patrols. Rarity and Fluttershy watched the exchanges with great interest. This was the first time they had seen Timber Wolves act like this, especially in regards to the back-and-forth between Gold Vine and Hazel. To them, it almost looked like a mother teasing a routy teenager as opposed to a pony taunting a fearsome predator. Though just how fearsome was up for debate as Fluttershy had so openly demonstrated.

"Is this a normal occurrence," Rarity asked Applejack behind a hoof.

"Eeyep," she chuckled. "But just with that one. The other three are a lot less ornery with her most days."

"And they understand her?" Fluttershy asked softly, studying the way Hazel reacted to Gold's words.

"According to Gold, they do," she nodded.

"That's amazing," the shy Pegasus beamed.

A loud series of barks reached them, but to Gold they translated to, "Keep your guard up around the yellow one. She's not your typical prey."

"Right," Gold snorted, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure she is just dying to give me a belly rub."

"I'm serious," the wolf frowned. "There's something off about her."

Gold gave the mare in question a side-glance that made her take a nervous step back. Fluttershy didn't seem like the type to do anything shifty, but whose to say that wasn't the plan. There were countless jobs she took that required her to act weak to get closer to her target in her past life.

Well, let us see what these two have in store for me.

Sighing, she turned towards the unplanned duo and approached them as calmly as she could manage. Once she reached the two foot mark, she gave them a proper look over. While Rarity's imitative regality was on such a full display that it almost hurt, Fluttershy was a bit harder to read. While she was an admittedly stunning mare, it was an almost alien type of natural beauty. Aside from that, a few words came to her that best described the yellow Pegasus. "Soft" was one, "delicate" as well, but the word that held the most weight to her in regards to the mare was "safe". That paradoxically put her on guard more than before.

Give them a chance, she thought, taking a deep breath through her nose.

"I b-believe you want to measure me, correct?" Gold softly stammered.

"Yes," Rarity smiled, giving Gold's cloak a passing glance. "Applejack told me that you wear this cloak everywhere you go and it is, shall we say, "well loved" at this point."

"I-It serves my needs," she said softly. "But I su-suppose a replacement wouldn't hurt."

"Excellent!" Rarity beamed. "Where would you like to do this?"

"The barn has plenty of space," Gold said, pointing towards the building in question.

Rarity looked at the building and for a brief second, a look of disgust broke through her professional mask. A small spike of anger ran through Gold at that, but she kept what few bitter words she could muster to herself.

"I tr-trust you remember my conditions," Gold stammered, regaining Rarity's attention.

"Of course," she smiled, her expression taking on a softer shift. "Are you ready, or do you need a moment?"

Gold nodded, forcing her eyes away from Rarity's horn.

With that, the four mares silently made their way towards the barn. All the while, Gold tried to keep herself from running away. Every fiber of her being demanded that she hide, that every step she took towards the barn was a step towards the gallows. A passing glance at the two mares in front of her brought back memories of toxic cocktails being forced down her throat or her skin being pealed from her body. Shaky breaths crawled past her muzzle as she tried to fight off the wicked memories.

A hoof on her shoulder made her flinch and turn her head to her left. Its owner, Applejack, looked at her with worry heavy in her eyes. A small smile graced her muzzle as her dread slowly retracted to whatever dark corner to her heart it called home. She was not trapped in a dungeon somewhere being tortured for some sick mare's amusement. She was safe.

"Are you okay, sugarcube?" Applejack whispered.

"Y-Yes," Gold nodded, taking a deep breath to bring back some stability to herself. "At least, as long as you stay close, I will be."

Applejack nodded, but it was clear to Gold that the mare didn't believe her.

Soon the four ponies were safely secured inside the farm and ready to begin. Gold had been right about the farm having plenty of space. The massive building's main room was large enough to host a large party, even with a quarter of it being occupied by towering stacks of crates, hay bales, and barrels in the far back. openings in the ceiling let enough light from the out doors creep in to allow the ponies to see clearly, even with the main doors shut.

Seeing little reason to prolong this anymore than necessary, Gold slid her cloak off and draped it over a barrel. A shocked pair of gasps made her freeze. Slowly, she looked over her shoulder at a seemingly mesmerized Rarity and Fluttershy. Suddenly self-conscious, Gold snapped to attention, eyes locked onto the wall in front of her as a small blush colored her cheeks.

"C-Can we please move along?" she stammered stiffly.

"Of course darling, my apologies," Rarity tittered, reaching into her bag with her mouth. "I just never imagined that Applejack would work with a model."

"A model?" Gold asked, then chuckled ruefully as she added, "You flatter me. Believe me, a creature as foul as I am no model."

"Don't sell yourself so short, darling," Rarity tutted, moving to Gold's right with a roll of measuring tape in her mouth. "That mane, that coat, that build! With a bit of pampering and the right application of make-up, you would absolutely shine!"

"Manure wrapped in gold foil is still manure," Gold sighed. "Besides, I am far happier hiding in the rafters than standing on center stage."

"A shame," Rarity dramatically sighed, them smiled softly as she drew the measuring tape with her hooves and said, "But that doesn't mean you can't still be lovely in the dark."

"I...suppose," Gold blinked, frowning in thought at that.

She flinched slightly when Rarity made contact, but was otherwise motionless as the mare went about her work. Every now and then she would ask her small questions about herself. What brought her to Sweet Apple Acres? Had she always been friends with Timber Wolves? What color did she want her new cloak to be? Did she want any special designs? Most of her answers had been vague or outright yes or no answers while any questions regarding her cloak she left up to Rarity's judgements.

Over all, the whole situation had been a lot less harrowing than she thought it would be. In fact, she quickly found herself enjoying it, in spite of the gnawing paranoia sitting at the back of her mind. It was because of it that she maintained her guard around the two new ponies, but at least now she was sure that they weren't planning to attack her.

"And that should do it," Rarity nodded, letting her tape roll back up.

"So soon?" Gold softly smiled, staring down at Rarity's front hooves.

Rarity noticed, but chose not to comment on it as she smiled and dramatically said, "Sadly, yes, but maybe the next time we meet we can do so under less business related conditions."

"I...I think I would like that," Gold nodded, her gaze creeping up to Rarity's neck.

"That is good to hear," Rarity tittered. "Well, until then, ta ta!"

With that, Rarity walked towards the door and, with a little help from Applejack, made her exit. Gold chuckled at that, only to freeze when her eyes met Fluttershy's. The Pegasus held a stern look on her face as her teal eyes bore into Gold's orange ones. A strange feeling filled Gold, an odd mix of guilt and calm that reminded her of being put under the Memorial Tree's scrutiny, only less divine in nature. The urge to run she expected to feel never came, even as the yellow mare approached her.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Gold blinked when the Pegasus stopped a foot in front of her.

Fluttershy stayed like that, a determined frown decorating her muzzle as she took a deep breath. At the same time, her eyes wandered all across Gold's form, seemingly scanning her for something. After a few seconds, seemingly satisfied, Fluttershy asked something that took Gold completely by surprise.

In a calm clear voice, she asked, "What did Discord do to you?"