The Golden Trail

Lazy was never a word used to describe the goings on at Sweet Apple Acres. Everyday, the farm's residents found ways to keep themselves busy and productive. Whether it was through minor chores or major harvests, The Apples never let a day go to waste. As such, it was odd to see one of the farm's residents laying on her back, seemingly lazing under the shade of one of the trees.

At least, that was what it looked like on the surface.

Having long sense finished her lessons with Gaia for the day, Gold found little to do with herself beyond letting her thoughts wander. Given their subject matter, it was the only thing she could do to keep what little sanity she still had. After she crossed paths with Starlight Glimmer the day before, it took a lot of time for her to regain her composure. Memories of Moonstone's abuse kept flashing before her eyes, threatening to drive her into another episode. If Skully hadn't come out of the wardrobe to comfort her, she probably would've destroyed the room again.

When she finally regained control of herself and left her room, Applejack had returned and asked her if she would be willing to talk to somepony about her problems. Somepony a bit more familiar with trauma and had a much more delicate hoof when it came to handling ponies. When Gold asked who her cousin had in mind and she said Fluttershy, she was met with conflicting thoughts on the matter. While she was willing to admit that Fluttershy was the best option they had right now, the fact that she was so close to Discord put a massive pause in Gold's willingness to go to her.

In addition, Starlight had agreed to give them forewarning if Princess Twilight Sparkle or her assistant were going to come to the farm. When Gold asked how she was going to accomplish this, the farmer nervously revealed that Starlight was the Princess' student. That revelation along with the fact that a few of the ponies she had already met and her cousin were also in the Princess' circle of friends was enough to make Gold faint on the spot. It was only thanks to that, her trust in her new family, and another long talk with Skully that she hadn't had the mother of all panic-attacks when she awoke last night.

Now, with a whole day all to herself, she was left laying under the shade of one of the orchard's many trees wondering just what to do with herself. Did she risk being rediscovered by Discord by going to Fluttershy for help, or did she carry on as she had been up till now and risk possibly crossing paths with Twilight Sparkle? While she had still retained all of her stealth skills from her past life, they could offer her only so much protection from the two High Royals.

"Perhaps I should make a few escape plans," she mused, idly watching a leaf fall off of a branch. "If nothing else, I should plot out the most effective rout from the house to the Memorial Tree. If that does not work, then I should be able to make it to The Everfree Forest from there with little effort."

Wishing to push such thoughts aside for the moment, she closed her eyes and let the sounds of gentle birdsong and lightly rustling leaves take her worries away. She didn't get to enjoy her peace for long before a loud boom shattered it like a rock through a window. She had already jumped to her hooves seconds before her mind caught up with her body, wide eyes and alert ears moving frantically as she looked around for the sound's source. A bit of black smoke in the distance caught her eye and with a hint of curiosity, she grabbed her cloak off of the ground, threw it on, and galloped towards it.

When she came to the source of the smoke, confusion and panic took hold of her. A treehouse stood at the heart of one of the older parts of the orchard, its orange paint and shingles looking fairly fresh in spite of how ancient the tree holding it over the ground looked. A long wooden ramp connected to a small platform at the building's front, the ramp taking a sudden left turn two-thirds of the way to the ground. While the craftsmanship of the structure was impressive, the smoke pouring out of its windows demanded more of her attention.

When she heard some coughs from within, she charged up the ramp and nearly bucked the door off its hinges. When she turned to face the room, she saw something that made her pause. Three fillies sat in the middle of the treehouse, one she was easily able to identify as Applebloom in spite of the dark smudges covering her body and bow, but the other two were a mystery to her. One was a tangerine Pegasus filly with a messy purple mane and tail that seemed to be trying to glare a hole into a benson burner set in front of her. The other was a white Unicorn filly with a curly pink and purple mane and tail, though the white of her coat had been severely compromised by a thick layer of black ash. A few dozen broken test tubes and still intact potion components were scattered across the floor around them, but aside from a large scorch mark on the floor between them and the heavy smell of burnt sulfur in the air, everything seemed to be fine. That fact alone sucked all of the panic out of Gold, but the confusion still remained.

"Ah thought you were keepin' an eye on the Witch Hazel, Scoots!" Applebloom coughed, speaking at a much higher volume than usual as she rubbed soot out of her eyes.

"What?!" the Pegasus, Scoots, loudly asked, her voice rough even without the smoke still present in the room. "Did you say something Sweetie?!"

"My ears won't stop ringing!" the Unicorn, presumably "Sweetie" cried, her voice briefly cracking at a high pitch as she rubbed her ears in panic.

"What The Taker have I wondered into?" Gold blinked, stepping further into the room.

Applebloom was the first to notice her, an awkward blush creeping past the dark smudges covering her face. Scoots was the second one to notice her, the Pegasus giving the mare a look that sat on the edge of curious and cautious. Sweetie didn't notice Gold's presence until the mare was right next to them, the Unicorn letting out a startled squeak when she turned her head towards her.

"Who's that?!" Scoots cried.

"Where did she come from?!" Sweetie exclaimed, jumping to her hooves and running to Applebloom's side.

"Hey Gold! Thanks for visitin'!" Applebloom loudly cheered, a stiff smile hiding her shame.

She gave the group a raised brow, then gave her surroundings a brief once-over. Now that the smoke had somewhat cleared, she could see what few furnishings that survived the explosion. A podium, table, and a few stools made up the rooms furnishings, though the podium would need to have the top half of it replaced and at least two stools would need a new leg. Sitting on the table was a cluster of scattered paper and pencils along with a single notepad.

Smiling and nodding to herself, she motioned for the trio to stay put as she fetched some paper, the notepad, and a pencil from the table. She briefly mulled over how oddly natural it felt for her to do this with her mouth before she set her prizes down on the floor. Gripping the pencil with her teeth, she wrote three simple and sloppy letters to the three fillies.

To Scoots she wrote, I am Applebloom's cousin. She will be able to confirm this when your hearing returns.

Sweetie's letter said, I heard the explosion and came to see what had happened.

She gave Applebloom a stern frown as she hoofed her letter to her, which simply read, What happened?

Applebloom wilted under Gold's gaze and both sheepishly and loudly stated, "We were tryin' to make a Sap-Dissolving Potion, but Scoots let the Witch Hazel Extract get too hot! When Ah added the Stoneroot Powder...well....!"

As she said that, she gestured wildly around them with a hoof.

Gold didn't know whether to laugh or groan at her cousin's foolishness. At the same time, she couldn't put all of the blame onto the young Brewer. At least, not before she had more information to work with. Frowning, more at herself for her poor penmanship, she wrote out a quick message and presented it to the fillies.

Did Applebloom warn you all of the risks?

They nodded, Applebloom giving Scoots a disappointed glare out of the corner of her eye, while Sweetie looked especially nervous. Scoots merely looked confused, eyes squinting as she frowned at Gold's message.

"You have really lousy mouthwriting!" Scoots stated, her volume a little lower than it was before.

Gold grimaced at that, and quickly wrote, Is it wise to be commenting on my shortcomings right now?

Giving the Pegasus a raised brow, she pointed at Scoots, then pointed at the destroyed equipment. Applebloom shifted her half-glare at her friend into a full one. The orange filly cleared her throat and looked away, a sheepish smile and blush gracing her face.

The next hour was spent like this, Gold writing out messages to them and the fillies telling her their own sides of the story. At least, that was the case for two of them. the one named Sweetie holding her tongue and seemingly studying the older mare. Gold tried to ignore her and listen to the remaining two fillies, but her old instincts refused to completely phase the filly from her focus. Eventually, the trio regained their hearing and she could have a normal conversation with them, a fact that she silently thanked The Maker for when she spat out the pencil she was using for the last time.

I will need to practice that, she thought sourly. Yet another thing to take up my already limited free time.

"So, let me see if I understand this," Gold frowned. "You three tried to brew an Anti-Adhesive Potion specifically designed to work on tree sap.

They nodded, Applebloom still giving Scoots irate passing glances.

"And to mitigate the work, Applebloom decided to give each of you a different task."

Again, they nodded.

"I see," Gold sighed. "Aside from the Witch Hazel, who was in charge of what?"

Applebloom spoke first, puffing out her chest with pride.

"Ah was in charge of gettin' the ingredients ready, Scoots was responsible for the gear, and Sweetie was in charge of keepin' notes and readin' off the tips Zecora gave me."

"I see," Gold frowned. "And did you warn Scoots of the dangers of overheating Witch Hazel?"

Applebloom's eyes widened at that and the bravado she displayed earlier slowly slid out of her.

Gold's frown deepened.

"Did you tell her what signs to look for? Did you check her work before you added the Stoneroot powder? Did you have the proper precautions in place if something went wrong?"

Each question knocked the filly down one more peg. By the third one, she was staring down at the ground like a kicked puppy. Gold stared down at her sternly, letting the filly stew in her misery for a long moment. Eventually, she let out a sigh and pulled her cousin in for a hug, her stern mask falling away to reveal something much more tender.

"You need to be more careful," Gold intoned, a faint tremble slipping into her tone.

Applebloom blinked dumbly , taken far aback by Gold's sudden display of affection. Since the day the mare had come to the farm, she had always kept herself at a distance. While she had noticed that the distance had gotten smaller, she didn't know that it had shrunk to such a degree. Happiness took the place of shock as the filly eased into the hug, a small smile gracing her muzzle.

"Ah will, Ah promise."

"You had better," Gold frowned, pulling out of the hug just enough to lock eyes with her cousin. "You and your friends were lucky this time. I do not want to see the three of you in the hospital because of a reckless decision."

"Yes Gold," Applebloom nodded, conviction burning bright in her eyes and deepening her frown.

"Good," she smiled, fully pulling out of the hug.

A roguish edge crept into that smile as she followed up with, "Now, do you all still need that potion?"

"It wouldn't hurt," Scoots shrugged.

"Are you going to brew it for us?" Sweetie asked.

"Not quite," she chuckled.

***

The treehouse was a flurry of activity, the three fillies moving with surprising grace and speed under Gold's carefully trained eye. After they cleaned and patched what surprisingly little damage their previous attempt at potion making had dealt to the structure, Gold had each of the fillies put in charge of key aspects of the process. Applebloom put her lessons in the kitchen to great use as she prepared the ingredients like she had been doing it for years. Scoots was left in charge of the equipment, making sure the bottles and mixing tools were clean and fully functional. Sweetie was given the task of keeping the pre-made components safe and organized. Gold took it all in with a confident smile, stepping in when it looked like the fillies were about to make a dangerous mistake, but otherwise left them to their own devices. The whole experience brought a bittersweet taste to her mouth, memories of a similar scene happening between her and her grandmother coming to the forefront of her mind. Granted, the potions they brewed were mostly harmless, nothing more than laxatives or fur dyes used to prank her overbearing mother.

Maker how I miss her sometimes, she thought, fighting back a tear and forcing herself back to the present.

It was as she was doing so that she noticed something odd about one of the fillies.

Since the moment she put her to task, Sweetie hadn't once used her magic. Even now, as she arranged a few vials near the table Applebloom was working on, she did so with her hoof or mouth. While greatful on some level, she couldn't help, but be concerned about Sweetie's odd behavior.

"Sweetie, may I have a word with you?" she called, masking the worry in her tone.

Sweetie flinched, then set the vial in her mouth back down onto the floor and sheepishly approached her. Gesturing towards the door, Gold led her out onto the treehouse's platform so they could get some privacy. Once the door closed, she gave the cowering filly a worried frown and delicately asked something that made her fall to her haunches and wilt.

"Why are you not using your magic?"

Sweetie sighed, staring at the ground as she mumbled, "Because I can't."

A thick silence followed those words.

Worry for the filly settled deep into Gold, a million questions running through her mind at once. By the looks of her, Sweetie was at least ten years old, more than old enough to have at least a grasp of the most basic of Unicorn spells. That left her with only two possible reasons; Sweetie was not being properly trained or there was something wrong with her horn. Hoping for the former, Gold tried to keep her concern out of her voice as she tried to get the full story from her.

"Have you been trained or had your horn examined?"

Sweetie nodded, still looking at the ground as she mumbled, "The doctors say my horn is fine and my sister and Princess Twilight have been giving me lessons when they can, but nothing seems to be working."

Gold shuddered at the mention of the Princess of Friendship, a part of her sinking into a pit of dread over the fact that yet another pony tied to the High Royal knows of her existence. Conceding that her fate was sealed at least five times over at this point, she forced her fears to the back of her mind and focused on the here and now.

"These lessons, how are they preformed?" Gold asked behind a stiff smile.

"They put something like a ball or a broom in front of me and tell me to visualize it moving through the air," she muttered bitterly.

Gold frowned at that.

"And your progress?"

"Bad," Sweetie spat. "I don't know what I keep doing wrong! I follow the steps to the letter and memorized the spell formula, but the most I can do is make my horn flicker!"

"And is that all?" Gold pressed.

"...No," Sweetie huffed, looking up at Gold with a frustrated glare. "I feel like my magic is fighting me or something. I don't know how else to describe it. I'll be just about to levitate something, but then my magic will just cancel itself at the last second!"

Gold's eyes widened slightly in recognition, a kind smile joining it as she let out a relieved sigh.

"I see. I believe I know what your problem is."

"You do?" Sweetie blinked.

Gold nodded.

"It would seem you have not yet familiarized yourself with your magic."

"What do you mean?" Sweetie frowned.

"When I was young, I had a...friend who suffered from a similar problem," Gold clarified, slightly adjusting her story's focus. "When it became too much for her to handle, she asked her grandmother for advice. According to her, the secret was that she needed to reconnect with her magic, to become more familiar with it."

"Okay? How do I do that?" she asked, a hint of intrigue coloring her tone in spite of her raised brow.

Gold's smile grew a bit at that and she said, "According to her, the first thing you must do is close your eyes and relax your mind."

Nodding, Sweetie did just that.

Doing the same, Gold continued.

"Let your mind wander, take in your surroundings, but do not focus on them for more than a second. Acknowledge the birds in the trees, the rustling of the leaves, and the smells of the world around you. Set yourself adrift, let your mind be at ease, and be at peace."

Sweetie followed the mare's words, her voice adding itself to the many things helping her find her zen. It was a strange feeling for her, like sitting on the border between sleeping and being awake. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so calm. A faint green shimmer flickered behind her eyelids, startling her, but not quite enough to break her trance.

Gold heard a faint gasp come out of Sweetie and she knew that they were on the right track.

"You should see a colored light every now and then. Acknowledge its presence, but do not focus on it. Let it come to you on its own."

Sweetie didn't respond, but she took Gold's advice all the same. As the mare had said, the faint green light would drift into her line of sight. It was subtle at first, but became more demanding as time went on. Eventually, its presence became so abrasive that Sweetie fell out of her trance with a startled yelp. Gold chuckled at that, opening her eyes as she smiled down at the filly.

"The same thing happened to my friend," she added, her smile turning knowing. "She said her magic was a bit temperamental at first, but it gradually settled down over time."

"That was....really weird," Sweetie frowned, rubbing both sides of her head.

"It will be, but if you keep at it, i am certain that you will have better control over your magic."

"Really?!" Sweetie asked, hope shining in her eyes.

"It worked for my friend," Gold nodded.

Sweetie jumped to her hooves, happily prancing in place with a happy whiny.

"Thank you Mrs. Gold!" she beamed up at the mare.

"Think nothing of it," Gold tittered behind a hoof. "And just Gold is fine."

"Okay," Sweetie nodded, the filly practically glowing with happiness where she stood. "Oh, I can't wait to finally be able to do magic!"

"I am afraid that is the one thing you will need to do," Gold smiled.

"Awwww," she wined, huffing irritably.

"Now none of that," the mare sternly added. "If you want results, you must work hard and be patient. That applies to both magic and life."

"You sound like my big sister," Sweetie frowned, rolling her eyes.

"Then she must be a very wise mare as well," Gold smirked. "Now, shall we return to our previous task at hand before my cousin and your friend try to blast a hole through the floor?"

Nodding through her laughter, Sweetie and Gold made there way back to the door. When they opened it, they were instantly greeted by a sight that neither of them knew how to process. Somehow, while the two of them were talking, Scoots and Applebloom had managed to trap themselves in a large magenta blob of slime that was stuck to the middle of the floor. Applebloom was glaring daggers at her friend, angry muffled noises the only thing she could make around the sticky gunk covering her muzzle. Said friend was more interested in futilely struggling against their shared prison than whatever verbal venom the furious Apple was throwing at her. Dumbfounded, Gold approached the two trapped fillies and examined the slime.

Sighing, she looked over her shoulder at Sweetie and flatly asked, "Does this kind of thing happen often among you three?"

Reluctantly, Sweetie nodded.

"I see," Gold frowned. "Now I can understand why the three of you wanted a Tree Sap Solvent."

Looking over at what was left of the equipment and ingredients on hoof, Gold sighed and went to work.

Perhaps it would have been better if I had brewed it for them after all.