Gold sat at her haunches, eyes closed and mind as clear of distractions as she could manage. Her ears twitched as they picked up on the sounds that surrounded her. The rustling of leaves. The chirping of birds. The crunching steps in grass. All of it reminding her of the life that flowed openly in The Everfree Forest on a daily basis. Not that they were necessary reminders for her. All around her, she could feel the forest's magic flowing like a constant torrential river. She could almost see it in her mind; a constantly shifting current of green energy that threatened to consume all of her senses if she gave it a chance. She tried to reach out towards the current, ready to dip her hoof into it to see what kind of secrets it was willing to share, but her mind refused to calm itself enough for her to form such a connection.

A dejected sigh escaped Gold as she let herself fall out of the trance, her surroundings coming back to her as she opened her eyes.

She was in an open clearing, one of the few allowed to exist in the heart of the ancient forest. Sitting on her haunches seven feet away from her was her teacher and the spirit from which the forest gained its name. Behind her lay Gold's appointed guards, eyes closed and breathing steady, but their constantly flicking ears revealed how alert they still were. Gaia opened her eyes and looked down at her student, concern entering the glowing green orbs.

"You are distracted," she stated. "Has something transpired?"

"Yes," Gold nodded, meeting her gaze with nervous orange eyes.

"Would you like to share?" Gaia smiled. "I may not be as skilled as Hearths Warming, but I can at least offer an ear."

Gold sighed, then closed her eyes and rubbed the bace of her muzzle with a hoof.

"Where to begin!?" she groaned. "It would seem my Grandmother held more secrets than I thought! Not only was she a farmer before she met Grandfather; she was an Apple!"

"I see," Gaia chuckled. "I wondered when Granny Smith would tell you."

"So you did know," Gold frowned, then rolled her eyes as she bitterly muttered, "Of course you knew," under her breath.

Gaia chuckled good-naturedly before gesturing at her to continue with a paw.

Gold let out a small sigh as her eyes drifted towards the ground.

"Arrangements are being made for me to move into the main house later today as well as a party to welcome me officially into the family."

"Sounds like your life is improving," Gaia frowned, tilting her head as she asked, "Why do you act in the contrary?"

"Because I will bring nothing, but pain for them," she spat, anger and misery mingling in her tone. "This means that The Apple Family has a tie to The Vine Family. Should this make it to The Stones, it will drag them into a shadow war they have no place in! The fact that they are Earth Ponies will only make things worse for them, given the outdated views that family lives by! If I were to leave, I could take the trail away from them and keep them safe, but..."

"But?" Gaia pressed.

Gold took a deep breath to steady herself before she leveled a pained smile at the spirit.

"I don't want to leave them. All of them have been nothing but kind to me, willing to go so far as to feed and care about what amounted to a total stranger that wandered onto their property. To find out that I am in any way related to such a warm and loving line of ponies is too much to take all at once."

"I can only imagine," Gaia smiled. "Tell me, are these Stones as dangerous as you claim?"

"Yes," Gold nodded with a cold frown. "While they lack The Vine Family's stealth, they are masters of intelligence. Torture, blackmail, potions, they use them all with relish to learn what they need. It is because of such practices that my former family hates them."

"I see," Gaia mused. "So they can't hide themselves as well as your former clan?"

"They can not," Gold nodded, a flickering ember of pride entering her heart at the admission. "Even with enchantments and wards, they lack the grace needed to be proper assassins."

"I see," the spirit frowned. "Quite the disappointment."

Gold raised a brow at that,

"I will send an additional seven wolves to patrol the farm at night in case your fears are realized. Should these ponies be as dangerous as you claim, they will be dealt with as necessary."

"If you kill them, could you please do so off of the property?" Gold coldly asked. "I would rather not have Applebloom be exposed to such carnage if it can be avoided."

"I can make no promises, but an attempt will be made," the spirit nodded.

"Very well," Gold sighed, then bitterly muttered, "That is at least one problem taken care of," under her breath.

"There is more?" the wolf asked, brow arched.

A sheepish grimace spread across Gold's muzzle, her mind struggling against shame as she tried to find the words needed to describe her plight. While it paled in comparison to the potential problems The Stone Family posed, it was still a problem that she had to overcome. Especially now that she was aware of her lineage and what it potentially told her about herself.

Opting for the direct approach, she ripped off the metaphorical bandage and awkwardly spat out her problem.

"I've taken a fancy to my cousin!"

Eyes wide and face red with shame, she stared up at Gaia in preparation of the look of disgust she knew she would see. Imagine her shock when she was met with confusion instead, the great wolf looking at her as if she had declared a love of eating plants. Blinking slowly, Gaia asked something that made the mare's jaw drop to the ground.

"How is that a problem? Is Big Macintosh not an excellent mate?"

Gold's mind froze at that, choked babbling falling out of her slacked jaw as she tried to process the spirit's logic. She had just admitted to having incestuous thoughts! How could the High Royal be so blasé about such a thing? Was what she announced common among such beings?

Before she could voice that line of thought, a hint of understanding seemed to come to the great wolf.

"Ah, I forgot that such things are taboo among your kind," she sheepishly chuckled. "Please forgive my ignorance, as such things mean little in my domain. If they are good mates, a Manticore will breed with their cubs if they live to adulthood, as will most other beasts."

"N-No offense taken M'lady," Gold stammered, relieved that the matter was resolved so quickly. "Though I suppose that will complicate any advice you may have in the matter."

"Aren't you a noble or something?" Hazel asked, raising her head and leveling a deadpan at the mare.

"In the broadest definition," Gold frowned.

"Well, don't nobles rut their family all the time, anyway?"

"She has a point," Birch nodded, adding himself to the conversation.

Gold let out a sigh, rubbing the start of a migraine between her eyes.

"While it was a practice that was done in the name of royal purity, it is one that died out not long after the passing of Prince Oedipus Complex and his wife, Pure Blood."

"I believe there were health complications as well," Gaia nodded sagely. "Too many diseased mates to keep such things going."

"That, and it grew to be seen as disgusting," Gold grimaced.

"Don't farmers have a similar reputation?" Hazel asked flatly.

Everyone leveled deadpans at the she-wolf for that, Gaia included.

"What?" she frowned.

"Shut up," Arbor intoned, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"But I heard-"

"Moving on!" Gold growled, more than eager to get back on track.

"Quite," Gaia sighed. "I'm afraid there is not much I can do in regards to that. Deny your interest and find another mate that does not share your blood is the most I can suggest."

"Agreed," the mare frowned.

Just when I thought I may have found the one too! Such bloody cruel comedy!

"Then there's the welcome party I mentioned."

"Are you not fond of crowds?" Gaia asked, tiling her head.

"Not particularly," Gold groaned tiredly. "In my past life, I attended parties and galas just for appearances. I never attended them with enjoyment in mind."

"Sounds like a hassle," Hazel snorted, letting out a startled yelp a second later when Willow smacked her across the back of her head with her tail.

"Rather mild of an assessment, but yes," Gold bitterly muttered.

Her tone softened as she added, "I don't know how one should act in these kind of occasions."

"Didn't you ever have a birthday party or whatever ponies call them?" Birch asked.

"In a sense," Gold frowned. "My parent's idea of celebration involved teaching me how to end lives and present myself in a regal fashion."

"Hey, me too!" he grinned. "Wanna be my mate instead?"

"No," Gold intoned, tone colder than a winter gale.

"Your loss," he shrugged. "But yeah, I think you're coming at this the wrong way."

"What do you mean?" Gold asked, raising a brow.

"I mean, you're thinking too much about this when you should just be doing," he lazily smiled.

"I...don't understand what you are trying to tell me," Gold blinked.

"He's telling you to relax," Arbor flatly stated.

"Exactly," Gaia chuckled. "The Apple Family is a very open sort, warm as the sun to all especially when it comes to their own. It may feel strange to you, but I believe you will not regret letting yourself become part of their family."

Gold mulled over the pack's words, a part of her eager to find a hole in their logic. There was no way it could be that simple. To relax and let things happen in the hope that everything would work out? Blasphemy! She needed to make a good first impression, impress the rest of her new family or forever be the laughingstock they held in contempt. Forever in the literal sense in her case, unless she could find a way to break Discord's curse anytime soon.

She was going to voice this counter point, when a thought froze her tongue.

Little by little, memories of her time spent with her cousins and Great Aunt came to her. Mixing potions with Applebloom and meeting her teacher in this very same forest. Working with Applejack in the fields and sharing meals with her. Playing the Violin with Big Mac for the first time and being reminded of her love of the instrument for the first time in years. Traveling to the past with Granny Smith through her photo albums and finding a home she never knew she had. Seeing the ghost of her Grandmother and allowing herself to step out of the shadows of her past life. Each memory warmed her heart in a way that was just as exciting as it was terrifying. Especially now that she knew that there were more to come when she met the rest of the family.

With a small nervous smile, she nodded and meekly said, "I...can only promise that I will try."

"And I shall request nothing more," Gaia smiled.

"Maybe you can find a better cousin than Big Mac," Hazel smirked.

Everyone gave her flat looks, then laughed when a four foot long root sprouted out of the ground and smacked her across her rear.

"Not cool mom!" she whimpered, rubbing her rear with a paw.

"I never claimed I was," Gaia said casually behind a smirk.

***

The room provided for Gold was not extravagant by any means. It was a simple, one-pony room with a window, door, and the barest necessities in terms of furniture. A faint scent of dust and wood hung in the air, in spite of Applejack's insistence that it had been thoroughly cleaned. Her new bed was a simple mattress in a plain wooden frame with a thick hoof-woven brown comforter and pillow. Her oak wardrobe held nothing but her camping equipment, her cloak, and the saddlebags her friend Skully called home.

She sat, staring at her reflection in her new vanity mirror, a small glare of early afternoon sunlight catching her in the eye as she mulled over the past couple of hours and what was waiting for her in the next couple to come. Taking her campsite apart hadn't been all that difficult, the whole thing having been constructed with quick escape in mind from the start. The complicated bit had been trying to smuggle Skully past Applebloom's curious wits, the filly just as eager to help as she was nosey. Gold had managed to keep the filly at bay by telling her that the bag contained some extremely delicate and important heirlooms that she had inherited before she left home. Ones that, if damaged or mishandled in any way, could never be replaced. The filly had quickly let it go right after, even giving the bags a cautious wide birth.

It hadn't technically been a lie. Her bones were something she inherited from her parents and if Skully were to be discovered, she doubted her new family would take it very well. She still felt guilty for, at the very least, misdirecting her younger cousin on the matter.

She frantically ran a brush through her mane, desperate to get her silver locks into some level of order. It was the only thing she could do to make herself remotely presentable. She lacked any of the the dresses or makeup her past live afforded her and she highly doubted the tattered rag she called a cloak would leave a good impression. It would leave a lasting one, but not the kind she was hoping for.

"Would you please cooperate for once!" she snapped, trying to force a stray lock into place with her brush.

After fifty more attempts to tame her mane, she let out a frustrated huff and stared out her window. A nervous stone settled in her gut when she saw ponies hard at work setting up for her welcome party. Due to her skittishness and the suddenness of her existence, only a hoofful of Apples had managed to find time to attend. A small blessing to her when Granny Smith showed her a more recent family photo. The thought of meeting a literal small army of ponies almost made her faint on the spot from the sheer insanity of it all.

It was only thanks to a family tradition that she was not down with the rest of her new kin setting up. After all, as Granny Smith put it, "What kind of yahoo makes a pony set up their own party?"

The memory brought a small chuckle out of her.

Left with little else to do, she watched everypony work from her window. It was almost like watching a play, only, if she was born mute and could only watch it from a box-shaped hole. Applejack, Big Mac, and a yellow Earth Pony stallion wearing a brown vest and stetson with a long two-toned orange mane and tail were setting up tables. Granny, Applebloom, and a light yellow Earth pony mare with a flowing cobalt mane and tail, were laying plaits out on the already standing tables. Unlike her stallion counterpart, the mare sported a light green long-sleeved shirt with an orange ribbon tying its hem to the middle of her barrel. An orange bandana hung loosely at the base of her neck, while her white stetson kept the sun out of her sky blue eyes. The fact that she had a musical note for a cutie mark as opposed to some variation of apple confused her, but a quick glance at her own flank reminded her that exceptions can happen. Her thoughts on the matter didn't last long when a pink blur moved all around the front of the house, the faint clopping of hooves telling her that it was most likely another pony. When the blur would stop, she could catch enough of a glimpse of the being in question to further confirm her theory.

It took several tries, but the pony managed to stop enough times for her to get a rough idea of what was decorating the party area. It appeared to be a pink Earth Pony mare with an extremely curly mane and tail that was a darker shade of pink than her coat. Her eyes were blue and her cutie mark appeared to be three balloons, but it was difficult for Gold to be sure.

She was certain that the mare knew she was watching her, the pony in question seemingly appearing in front of her window with the widest smile she had ever seen. After letting out a startled yelp and jumping ten feet away from the window, Gold stared wide-eyed at the mare as she clutched her chest in a desperate attempt to keep it where it belonged. The mare gave her an enthusiastic wave and was gone just as suddenly as she appeared.

Gold blinked dumbly at the window, her mind struggling to come to terms with what just happened. Then with a sigh, she dragged herself back towards her mirror and brush.

"First my mane and now my hallucinations are coming back. What more do I need to contend with tonight?"

***

After an hour of quiet contemplation and futilely trying to get her entire rebellious mane to cooperate with her, Gold nervously stepped out of her room. Instinctively falling back onto her training, the navigated through the house without making a sound, her ears twitching as she picked up the faintest traces of speech from the outside world. When she made it to the front door, she reached for the nob and froze.

As soon as she opened this door, her old life will have officially ended. She would be an Apple, both in name and blood. She would be a part of the warm family that brought her in from the cold darkness that had a strangle hold on her for most of her life. A lifetime of pain and suffering, of shadows and death, of vanity and poison all put to an end with just a simple turning of a nob. A more morbid part of her wondered if this was what it would've felt like to take her own life, the similarities bringing a sad smile to her face. Pushing such a dark thought away, she took a deep, bracing breath, and opened the door.

The sun hung low in the horizon, adding a warm glow to the scene roughly ten feet ahead of her. Three tables stood, one loaded with every kind of sweet imaginable straight from the Apple's kitchen. The second had two large barrels of cider while the third held mugs and plates waiting to be used. Both The Apples and the new ponies gave her their full attention the second the door opened, putting a small stone of nervous tension in her gut. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her poise, and stepped out of the house.

While The Apple's gave her worried looks, the guests stared at her with confusion plastered across their faces. This only doubled when she walked right past what she presumed to be a pink hallucination and gave a small bow to the yellow stallion.

"Greetings. My name is Gold Vine. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Er, howdy," the stallion blinked. "Name's Braeburn. Right pleasure to meet ya' too."

Sporting a faint bashful smile, Gold nodded and moved on to the yellow mare that was currently standing near the cider barrels with Applejack. When she made it to her destination, she hadn't even opened her mouth before the mare moved to her side and with a crooked smile put a hoof over Gold's shoulders and pulled her to her side. She flinched into a ridged posture, but didn't respond beyond that at the contact.

"No need to be so formal, cousin," the mare chuckled. "Ah ain't gonna bite cha'! Name's Fiddlesticks."

"Gold Vine," she nodded, then blinked in shock as the mare's name clicked into place for her. "Wait, you are the mare that taught Big Macintosh how to play?"

"Eeyup!" she chuckled, letting the mare go. "'Course, Ah heard ya'll might be able to give me a run for my bits."

"I would not be so sure of that," Gold giggled. "I fear that I have become rather rusty over the years."

A roguish smile spread across Fiddle's face at that.

"Rust can come off if'n ya' give it enough time. Give me a week and Ah bet Ah can get ya' shining again, no problem."

"I think I will take you up on that," Gold smiled.

Before the conversation could progress any further, a pair of loaded cider mugs seemingly appeared on the ground between them. While Fiddle just shrugged and took her mug, Gold eyed the beverage as if it was an alien from another planet. Cautiously, she picked up the mug and took a small sip. It tasted just as heavenly as she expected, but it lacked the bitter sting of poison she was expecting or the quick heavy grogginess of drugs. Granted, such things wouldn't mean anything for her one way or the other thanks to her condition, but that didn't mean she would look forward to such effects.

When she gave some movement to her left a passing glance, she did roll her eyes.

Standing next to her was the pink pony hallucination from earlier, still smiling. As far as hallucinations went, the mare in question was definitely one of the better ones she'd experienced. Not quite as good as the one where she thought she was a Pegasus, but at least she wasn't turning her into pastries or some other nonsense.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" the hallucination chirped. "And you must be Gold Vine, right?!"

Gold nodded, trying to enjoy her drink.

"It's really really really nice to meet you!," she smiled, bouncing in place with each 'really'.

"I wish I could say the same," Gold muttered. "Could you please disappear so I can enjoy myself in peace?"

Pinkie visibly wilted at that, the sound of a balloon deflating slightly with her dropped mood. Looking like a kicked puppy, the mare walked off with her head hung low. Shrugging the scene off, Gold went back to nursing her drink in peace.

"A mite rude don't ya' think?" Fiddle frowned, raising a brow.

Applejack nodded and said, "Ah know Pinkie can be a bit much, but that wasn't called for."

Gold nearly chocked on her drink at that.

Fighting back a coughing fit, she set her mug down and sputtered, "You can see her too?"

Both mares traded confused looks before shifting their attention back to Gold and saying "Yeah?" in unison.

Realizing her mistake, Gold's jaw dropped as she turned her head in the direction Pinkie went. Spotting the mare take a seat by the snack table, she asked the two mares to watch her drink and made her way towards her without waiting for an answer.

When she reached the mare, she took a seat at her right, sheepishly trying to think of where to go from here. Obviously, she needed to apologize, but was she supposed to say afterwards? Could she explain herself without sounding insane? Would Pinkie Pie forgive her? Not likely, seeing as they had only know each other for less than a minute and she had already hurt her.

Before she could start to spiral, Birch's words from earlier in the day echoed in her head.

"I mean, you're thinking too much about this when you should just be doing."

Right, she thought with a sigh. Let us get the important part out of the way first and take the rest as it comes, shall we?

"Um. Pinkie Pie, was it?" she awkwardly asked.

The mare in question nodded, turning to face Gold. The hurt she saw in her light blue eyes stung at her, but Gold pushed past it to get her tongue to work.

"I would like to apologize for my rude behavior. I...."

Her mind froze as she tried to think of a way to explain her actions that didn't make her sound insane. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't know if she could trust this mare with the truth either. Choosing her words carefully, she decided to meet somewhere in the middle for now. If this came to bite her later, she was more than willing to take what was due when it came.

"I Suffer from hallucinations from time to time; a cruel side-effect of my upbringing I'm afraid and assumed you were one of them. I...know that may sound insane, but it is truth."

Pinkie's mood seemed to brighten at that before she let out a small giggle and looked back at the buffet table.

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're not scared anymore."

"Pardon?" Gold blinked.

"My Pinkie Sense told me that somepony new had appeared at the farm a few days ago, but that they were really scared and I shouldn't go looking for them yet. When Applejack sent me an invite and my sense told me I could see you, I was soooooo excited! I love making new friends, but meeting new family members is so much better!"

It took a moment for Gold to process what Pinkie had told her, but when she had finally managed it, one particular detail caught her attention,

"You knew I was here?" she gulped.

"Sort of," she shrugged. "Like I said, my Pinkie Sense told me somepony had come to the farm recently and that they were scared. That was it."

"'Pinkie Sense'?" Gold blinked, confusion growing.

"Yeah!" Pinkie beamed, hoofing a plate of apple fritters towards Gold. "Every Pie on the rock farm has a sense. Marble can sense emotions, Limestone can tell if you're lying, and Maud can find anything or anypony she wants!"

"And you can....tell when ponies enter a location?" Gold asked, trying to navigate this new brand of insanity as she accepted the offered sweets.

"Yes and no," Pinkie smiled smugly. "Mine's a little bit of my sisters' senses combined with a little extra!"

"Extra?" she blinked, starting to feel a little dizzy.

"Yep! I can predict the future a little!" she giggled.

"You can predict the future," Gold more flatly stated than asked.

Pinkie nodded.

And I was worried she would think I was insane, she mused, nibbling on a fritter.

"Maybe I could introduce you to Pinkamena and her husband Tattle sometime," she giggled.

"Another sister?" Gold asked, raising a brow.

"A me from another dimension and Princess Luna's son," she said without even a hint of deception.

Gold stared at her for a moment, finding herself yet again struggling to process her new relative's words. Quickly finding that it was a losing battle, she concluded that her main mission had been completed and a new one was starting to take form. For the sake of her remaining sanity, she needed to end this conversation in favor of one more grounded in reality.

"I see," Gold nodded, smiling politely. "Well, it was nice talking to you and again, I apologize for my horrid behavior."

"Apology accepted!" she cheered, pulling the mare into a quick hug. "Now, go have some fun, cousin!"

Gold nodded, taken aback by the mare's forwardness and shift in demeanor as she staggered away with a plate of fritters in one of her hooves. When she managed to hobble her way back towards Applejack and Fiddle for her mug, she was greeted with satisfied smiles.

"Looks like ya' patched things up," Fiddle snickered.

"Yes," Gold sighed, falling to her haunches and taking a long pull from her mug.

"And how do ya' feel?" Applejack pressed, her smile taking on a knowing hint.

"Like I may need a few more of these," she sighed, nodding towards her now empty mug.

Both mares chuckled at that while Gold continued to suffer in silence.

"Yeah, Pinkie can be a bit much at first, but you'll get used to her," Applejack beamed.

"Eventually," Fiddle added, cheekily.

"I will take your word for it," Gold lightly snickered, rolling her eyes. "For now, I could use a few more mugs of cider."

"Sure thing sugarcube," Applejack chuckled, then put a hoof up to her muzzle and cried out, "Hey Braeburn! Get three ciders ready!"

"On it!" he called back, giving a quick salute from his place by the barrels before he went to work.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Gold wolfed down the last of her fritters , placed her empty mug onto her plate, and made her way towards the barrels with Applejack and Fiddlesticks not far behind her. She was not sure just how many mugs it would take to forget Pinkie's insanity, but she was more than willing to find out.

***

The party was in full swing all the way through the day and into the early evening. Food was eaten, drinks were downed, and many laughs were had. Eventually, everything wound down to, Gold, Applejack, Braeburn, Pinkie, and Fiddlesticks taking seats around a fire with mugs of chilled apple juice within reach. With the youngest and oldest Apples resting in the house, the remaining ponies were much more open with each other, something the few dozen mugs of cider they had shared not too long ago most likely helped along.

"So Braeburn, how're thin's goin' between ya' and Little Strongheart," Applejack smirked, raising a brown as she took a sip from her mug.

"Pretty good," he smiled, blushing a little. "Thanks to her, thin's have been going real smooth-like between the town folks and the tribe."

"That's not what she meant and you know it," Fiddle teased.

"Eeyup," Big Mac nodded.

Pinkie just giggled at Braeburn's misery, the poor stallion's blush spreading to his ears.

"Is there going to be a new addition to the family soon?" Gold asked, with a small smirk.

"Oh cut it out guys!" he cried, throwing up his forelegs in exasperation. "It ain't anythin' like that!"

Everypony, Gold included, laughed good-naturedly at that while the stallion crossed his forelegs over his chest and sulked.

"Oh relax Brae, ya' know we're just givin' ya' a hard time," Fiddle snickered.

Gold nodded, then sported a wicked smile when some movement behind the stallion in question caught her attention.

"Although, if you are interested, I know a girl who's looking for a mate."

"Really?" he blinked. "Who?"

She nodded towards something behind him and he quickly turned around. He let out a startled yelp at the female Timberwolf sitting a foot behind him. Fiddle and Pinkie were equally startled while the rest of the party nearly fell over laughing. Braeburn barely noticed them as his terrified eyes met the wolf's glowing green ones. He gulped, not sure if it would be safer to run or play dead and hope for the best. The wolf gave him a curious sniff, seemed somehow disappointed with him, got up, and smacked him across the muzzle with her tail as she returned to the trees. When he turned back to face his kin, he was met with two Apples wheezing for breath past their mirth and Gold nearly falling over herself. This doubled for her when she heard Hazel's comment upon her exit.

"If I wanted a mate that would piss himself so easily, I'd mate with a stream spirit!"

"I-Is that a normal thin' around here or am Ah loosin' it?" Fiddle nervously asked.

"That's the first time I've seen any of them get this close to us," Pinkie gulped.

"So long as you don't hurt me or the farm, you have nothing to fear," Gold smiled, regaining her composure. "Really, they are more like unruly teenagers than savage beasts."

"Ah take it you're the one that tamed them?" Fiddle asked, raising a brow.

"In a sense," Gold nodded. "Let's just say, a favor was owed and leave it at that."

"Sounds like you're just full of surprises," Braeburn chuckled, finally managing to shake off his "brush with death".

"More than you know," she softly muttered, a small smile gracing her muzzle.

***

Gold let out a content sigh, her eyes heavy as she stared into the dark at the ceiling of her new room. The party had wound down not too long ago and everypony had made their way towards their homes or rooms for the night. For Gold, this meant getting a chance to sleep in an honest to Maker bed for the first time in what felt like ages. While it wasn't fine silk or imported down stuffed pillows, it was the greatest bed she could remember being in. She felt so light, wrapped in the comforting embrace of her mattress and borrowed comforter as her mind wandered towards everything she had experienced since coming to the farm. It was almost like a dream, a fairytale about a sickened pony finding paradise in a cruel world filled with blood and pain.

She swore she could feel the love put into every stitch as she pulled the comforter up to her neck, the thought slowly lulling her into the land of Luna's domain. Just when she started to drift, a familiar chuckle turned her blood into ice. Her eyes snapped open, scanning the room for who she preyed would not be there. Her preyers went unanswered as Moonstone Dagger crept out of the shadows to her right. Gold could only stare, paralyzed with fear as the silver mare stared down at her, twisted glee shining brightly in her red eyes.

"Did you really think I was done with you?" Moonstone purred. "No, no, no, my little mud horse. I will never be done with you."

Her horn glowed red and the comforter was ripped off of Gold's body. She gasped as she saw that her mattress had been replaced by a cold metal table. She tried to flee, only to find leather straps holding her barrel and head to the table. She flinched as metal shackles latched onto the wrists and ankles of her legs and forced them to the corners of her prison. Her throat turned sore, her eyes widening as her body changed from a healthy build to emaciation right before her eyes.

Moonstone smiled smugly down at her, a knife hovering close to her in her crimson magic's grip.

"Now," she purred. "Shall we begin?"

***

A blood-curdling scream tore Applejack out of a dead sleep, while the sound of splintering wood made her jump out of bed. With her body moving faster than her mind, she bolted out of her room towards the desterbance, muffled cries and loud crashes guiding her towards her destination. She barely registered the sound of the front door bursting open or the pounding of wooden paws that accompanied her hooves. When she made it to the room in question, both her hoof and Hazel's paw practically rammed it off its hinges in their efforts to open it.

What they saw shocked them in place.

Gold stood at the center of her room with her back towards them, all of the furniture smashed to pieces. Deep gashes covered the walls, floor, and ceiling as if a beast had ran its claws through them. Blood trailed down her legs from her back where eight golden vines covered with silver thorns lashed violently at something on the other end of the room. Heaving gasps fell out of her muzzle, panicked whimpers coming out of her with each lash.

Hazel and Applejack struggled to both process what they where seeing and what they could do to defuse the situation. Gold's ear flicked in their direction when a bored creaked under the two witnesses. A cold chill shot down their spines when she looked over her shoulder at them. Her orange eyes were wide with fear, glowing in the dark in response to her unstable magic as they stared at her without focus.

They jumped back when she turned and ran towards them, before stopping at the doorway and turning to face whatever unseen force had a hold on her.

"NO! YOU WILL NOT HURT THEM! I WILL NOT LET YOU!"

They watched in stunned horror as Gold continued to literally lash out at shadows, neither of them sure what they could do to help her.

G-Gold?" Applejack gulped.

Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Gold froze and clarity started to come to her eyes. When it did, she slowly turned towards the pony and wolf just outside her room. Then, with tears in her eyes, she threw her forelegs around Applejack and pulled her into a tight hug. Stunned for a moment, Applejack donned a sad smile as she returned the action. At the same time, Gold's vines withered away and fell off of her back, the holes they sprouted from already healing away.

Author's Note

man this was a pain to write, but I'm glad I managed to get it out there. Fun fact, the last scene was originally going to happen much sooner, but I decided to wait until Gold and The Apples had a stronger bond first or at least knew her better. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner than this one. Until next time, chou!