The Golden Trail

Gold sighed contentedly, a rare relaxed smile gracing her muzzle. As she had countless times since she came to the farm, she awakened to the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze. Her tattered cloak fluttered in the breeze, dried leaves crunching under her hooves as she patrolled the memorial orchard. Days had turned into weeks faster than she could've ever kept track of, the steady shift of time making her feel like she had established a place for herself on the verdant land. Surrounded by nature, she felt almost like a spirit of the wilds. The constant connections she had with the trees reinforced this feeling and the liberation that came with it. It also strengthened her allegiance to The Apples.

While she appreciated their kindness and their willingness to tend to her needs, she refused to let their relationship move beyond anything professional. She helped them with the crops and animals upon request and in exchange for food. When the meal was finished or the job was done, she instantly distanced herself from the family. After all, she was nothing more than a laborer. She had no right to be anything more than that to The Apples unless they directly told her otherwise. Even then, Gold couldn't help feeling hesitant to grant them such a request.

A cold wind washed over her, the first major sign that summer was coming to an end. She shivered it off and pulled her cloak tighter around herself as she entered the more orderly border of the two orchards. She yawned, the trees giving off groggy auras in response to the changing season.

I hope that won't affect my work, she thought, worry itching at the back of her mind.

Little by little, the orchard grew more orderly, eventually turning into straight even rows of trees. She giggled lightly as she felt some of the trees greet her, some of their energy tickling her playfully when she passed them. A faint undertone of confusion made her raise a brow at a couple of the older trees she passed. Shrugging it off, she passed the tree line and made her way towards the farm's main house. As she closed in, laugher and the clattering of cutlery gradually growing with each step. Upon reaching the door, she took a deep steadying breath and knocked. A few minutes later, the was opened by Applejack, the mare nodding and smiling as she moved aside. Gold returned the gesture and stepped in for breakfast. The rest of the family gave her smiles and waves all the way towards her chair, gestures that she returned in turn.

A piping hot bowl of oatmeal sat before her along with a mug of black coffee. Gold wasted no time adding a light drizzling of honey and brown sugar to her bowl before digging in. The warmth and sweetness brought a smile to her face while The Apple's idle banter warmed her heart. While mostly routine at this point, it was still one of the highlights of her day. Especially when she considered the path her previous life turned towards. Constantly wrapped in the darkness of the city's underworld, such warmth always came at some kind of cost. The price often being far more than the comfort's true worth. Her frown shrank as her mind drifted towards some of the things she did in the past. Even when she wasn't dealing with attacks from The Stone Family, her hooves rarely went long without being stained by blood.

"So, what are ya gonna do today?" Applebloom asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Pardon?" Gold blinked.

"What are ya' doin' today?" she repeated.

"Working?" she said, brow raised as if such a thing was obvious.

"Eeenope," Big Mac rumbled, shaking his head.

"Thanks to ya'll, we're done with all of the harvest for the season," Applejack beamed.

"So, no more work?" Gold blinked.

"There will still be some chores around the farm and we'll need to get some things ready for winter," Applejack corrected. "But yeah. We'll have more free time on our hooves for a little while."

"I see," Gold hummed. "I suppose this means that I will be spending more time among the trees soon."

"Huh?" Applebloom asked, tilting her head.

"If my assistance is not needed, then there is no reason for me to come to the farm."

"But... ya'll come by for meals, right" the filly asked, a small worried frown forming on her muzzle.

A sad smile grew on Gold's muzzle as she said, "If I don't work, I don't eat. That is the agreement."

Shock dominated Applebloom's face, an expression that was shared by the rest of her family.

"B-B-But-" Applebloom stammered, only to be cut off by older mare.

"Do not worry," she said with a melancholy chuckle. "I will be back in the spring, when the trees are awake and I am needed again."

"Ya' found a place ta' live then?" Granny Smith frowned.

"No," Gold sighed. "My camp is the closest thing I have to that. If you like, I can return the supplies you gave me until I can work again."

Granny's brow narrowed at that.

"And leave ya' shiverin' in the orchard? No way in Tartarus."

"I see," Gold sighed. "I did see a forest not far from town. I should be able to set up camp there until spring."

"In the Everfree?!" Applejack balked. "Hay no! Ya'll're stayin' where yer at!"

Gold's head reared back at the declaration.

"B-But-"

"None o' that!" Applejack frowned, slamming a hoof on the table. "If'n it'll take work ta' keep ya' around and safe, then dang nabit, we'll find somethin' for ya' ta' do around here!"

Frowning, Gold met the mare's glare with one of her own.

"Why? As I have said many times already, I am just a worker. If I can't work, I have no value to you. Aside from what I can do with the trees, I have no value!"

Applejack growled in frustration as she said, "Ah've told ya' hundreds of times already that things don't work like that here! Apples don't leave a pony in the lurch if we can help it, and we can help you!"

"Why?!" Gold demanded.

"Because you need it!" Applejack barked, slamming her hoof on the table again for emphasis.

"NO I DON'T!" Gold roared. "I DON'T NEED ANY HELP! I DON'T NEED FOOD! I DON'T NEED WATER! I DON'T EVEN NEED AIR! I..."

Her rage slowly petered out as she took in the family's shock at her outburst. Guilt's dark chill snuffed out the anger in her heart. With a deep breath, her face fell and she pulled her seat away from the table.

"I need to go. I will see all of you in the spring when the trees awaken."

Head hanging low, she exited the house oblivious to The Apple's protests. Her jaw clenched tight against the frustrated howl in her throat, dried leaves crunching under her hooves with each step she took. As the emotional tide grew inside her, so to did the speed of her stride. She barely noticed it when she galloped through the orchard towards her camp, the concerned energies of the trees she passed adding to her torment.

***

Gold laid bonelessly in her tent. No. In the tent The Apples lent to her. Just as she had the day before after her breakfast with the family. She felt The Memorial Tree's energy try to nudge her into action, she still refused to move. A dull rattling from Skully barely got more than a snort out of her. Her stomach growled at her to find some food to sate it, but even that went ignored.

Gold's face was blank, but even that was a lie compared to the twisting tide in her heart. Tossing and turning in the sea of guilt were countless ships struggling to fight the tide. Confusion, seemed to be faring well, the mare struggling to understand The Apple's motives. How can they care so much about a tool like her? Didn't they see her as one? Happiness took hold when she remembered all of the meals they brought her into and all of the warmth they shared with her. That was quickly consumed by her guilt. She had no right to what they had. She was an outsider. An asset. She was not part of their family. She was just a tool to be used and then stowed or thrown away when the job was done. It was so simple. So obvious.

So why did she have such a hard time believing it herself?

"I've gotten too close," she muttered, curling in on herself. "I'm starting to want more than I deserve again. Not again, Never again."

"Are you sure?" a female voice asked.

Gold flinched, then cautiously raised her head and looked towards the tent's door. She was greeted by the smiling face of a dark green Unicorn mare. Her mane was long and a bright shade of yellow, but what held most of Gold's attention was her eyes. Pure blue, like sapphires plucked straight from the darkest depths of the ocean, but held a kindness both alien and familiar to her.

"Who are you?" Gold demanded, quickly staggering to her hooves, half to fight and half to flee.

"A bit jumpy ain't ya?" she giggled, her voice an odd mix of cultured and country. "Why don't ya' come out here for a bit?"

"Why?" Gold asked, a faint edge entering her tone.

"Because there's not enough room in their for the both of us," she giggled, then backed out of the tent.

Gold was hesitant, but couldn't deny that the mare had a point. Besides, she had a lot more options if things went wrong outside of the tent than she did inside. She could run to warn The Apples if the mare turned out to be a threat and if she didn't make it, well, it was not as if she could die.

With a faint gulp, she slowly stepped out of the tent. The bracing chill of midmorning bit at her, a few crickets chirping out of site in the dim twilight. Standing about five feet away from her was the smiling mare. Now that she could see her fully, Gold couldn't help but to feel as though she had seen this pony somewhere before. The mystery mare held a toned build, rare for a Unicorn raised in the more comfortable confines of Canterlot. In contrast, she could see a bit of familiar refinement in how she carried herself. What held her attention the most was the fact that the mare's body seemed to give off a faint glow. That and the manchineel cutiemark that sat proudly on her flanks.

"Who are you?" Gold asked, the edge in her tone replaced by a hint of wonder.

The mare tittered behind a hoof, then smiled as she said, "Right to the point, eh Little Vine?"

Gold said nothing, the nickname prickling at something at the edge of her memories.

The mare sighed, her smile falling as she said, "I guess that filly died a long time ago. My name is Manchineel Vine."

Wonder turned to anger as Gold snarled, "Liar! Manchineel died years ago! I was at her funeral! I saw her body as it was lowered into the ground!"

"So you have," Manchineel nodded, a sad smile gracing her muzzle. "Yet here I stand."

Gold scoffed, then sighed moments later.

"A hallucination then."

"Perhaps," Manchineel chuckled. "But does that really matter?"

"No," Gold sighed, falling to her haunches, face turning to the ground. "I suppose it doesn't."

Silence, then the soft crunching of leaves under hooves filled the space. When a pair of hooves entered her line of sight, one of them rose to her chin and gently raised it to the mare's level. The gentleness of her eyes and hoof brought her back to her fillyhood. To times when she was ignorant of the darkness that owned the world around her. Before she became The Vine That Hangs or the dozens of other such wicked monickers she had earned over the years. It was enough to make her wish that this was real, that her grandmother had truly come back from the grave.

"So much pain. You have been through so much my Little Vine," Manchineel frowned.

"More than you can imagine Grammy, "Gold sniffled, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I...I feel so lost. The world I knew feels like some kind of sick lie. I...I don't know what do with myself."

"I see," she nodded. "You are finally waking up."

"Pardon?" Gold hiccuped, wiping away her tears.

"Listen well, dear," Manchineel said, tone and voice stern. "The world is dark, but it is also light."

"Huh?" she blinked.

"While it is true that there are terrible ponies out there, there are also those that will do whatever they can to help those that need it."

Her tone and expression softened as she said, "We must find a way to wield the light and the dark. To be strong and loving. To be protector and executioner. To be useful when others need us and to let others help us when we need it most."

"Balance," Gold snorted, a small smile forming on her muzzle. "You always taught me how important it was."

"Yes," she sighed, then grimaced as she added, "Something your foolish mother and old minded father squashed out of you. It broke my heart to see what they turned you into, how thoroughly Grape soaked you in darkness and how far you fell into Silver's philosophy."

"I...see what you mean," Gold frowned. "Everything feels wrong, but so pleasant. As if I were standing in a dream. I'm afraid that if I blink I will be taken back to reality."

"Do you want to go back?" she asked.

"No," Gold sighed. "But how can I stay here, knowing what I know now? I have blood on my hooves Grammy. If they knew what I've done, for what reasons I did them...."

She let that hang in the air, guilt crushing down on her like a mountain as tears ran down her face. A gasp came out of her as Manchineel embraced her, a delicate warmth filling her like the first rays of summer. She cried harder as she hugged her back. She wailed like a filly, years of suppressed regret and guilt falling out of her in an avalanche of painful tears. All the while, her grandmother rubbed her back and hummed a familiar tune to her. The same tune she sang to help her sleep as a filly, before her fall into a world of blood.

In time, Gold ran out of tears and simply allowed herself to be held, her grandmother's lullaby soothing her heart. After a long moment of silence, still in her grandmother's embrace, Gold broke it. Gold's voice held a fragile shutter as she asked a question that filled her with fear and hope in equal measure.

"What do I do now?"

Manchineel sighed, then with a deep frown said, "I wish I could tell you that my dear, but that is something you must figure out for yourself."

"I...understand," Gold nodded, an ember of fear and anxiety sparking in her.

"However," she smiled. "I can give you a bit of advice to help point you in the right direction."

Gold giggled at her grandmother's infamously mischievous tone. It was the same tone she used when she snuck cookies to her before dinner.

"And that would be?" she smiled.

"While the old you is dead, that doesn't mean that she should be forgotten. Use your darkness to protect your new light."

"Is that all?" Gold snorted, sarcastically.

"No," Manchineel snorted. You must also let your light heal your darkness."

As she said that, she softened her embrace just enough that the two of them could sit face to face. When their eyes met, Gold no longer saw a young mare. Instead, she gazed into the withered, yet spry, face of her grandmother as it was before her death.

"Can you do that my Little Vine?" she asked, her voice holding the pitch of age.

"I...I think so," Gold sniffled. "But, where do I start?"

"Oh, I'd say you're in the right place for that," she cackled. "You just need to let the right ponies in."

With that, the elderly pony faded away, right before Gold's eyes. For a long moment, Gold sat there in silence. Her heart and her mind waged war with each other over whether or not what had happened actually happened. Be it illusion or angel from beyond, Manchineel Vine's words resonated fully in Gold Vine's heart.

***

The early afternoon sun shined brightly on Sweet Apple Acres, the farmers in question enjoying a light picnic lunch amongst themselves. While the sight and spread was bright, the atmosphere was anything but. A heavy curtain of worry hung over the three Apple siblings as they ate. They hadn't thought Gold's comment about spring was serious at first, but her absence all of yesterday and that morning proved them wrong. As such, they had spent most of their free time scouring the orchard for any sign of her, only to come up short.

"Ah hope she's okay," Applebloom frowned, staring at her sandwich more than eating it.

"Ah'm sure she's fine," Applejack said behind a small forced smile.

"Eeeyep," Big Mac half-heartedly nodded.

"Ah just don't get it," she frowned. "What did we do wrong?"

Applejack sighed and said, "Bloom, some ponies just don't want to be helped and when ya' try, tempers flare. Can't really blame her too much. Ah shouldn't've lost my head like that."

"Ah should've said somethin'," Big Mac frowned, glaring at his food.

"Doubt it would've made that much of a difference," Applejack frowned. "She's plenty stubborn."

"And a fool," a female voice said, making the siblings flinch.

They turned towards the voice to be greeted by the very mare they were talking about. Gold leveled a sheepish smile at them as she approached, her steps slow and cautious. When she reached the two foot mark, she stopped and sat before the siblings like a cornered puppy.

"Before anything else I would like to say that I am sorry for how I acted," she frowned, forcing herself to look into the sibling's eyes. "You all wanted to help me and I took it wrong."

"Ah'm sorry too," Applejack sighed. "Ah shouldn't've yelled at ya like that."

"I think a bit of yelling was more than warranted," Gold snorted. "I was being rather...difficult."

"Maybe, but it didn't help much," Applejack said, her frown deepening.

"Ugh, CAN YOU TWO JUST ACCEPT EACH OTHER'S APOLOGY ALREADY!" Applebloom cried.

The two mares blinked owlishly at the filly, then burst out laughing.

"See what I mean?" Gold chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah," Applejack smiled, playfully nudging her younger sibling. "Ya' gonna' join us or what?"

"I don't see why not," she smiled, taking a seat next to Applejack.

Her flanks hadn't touched the picnic blanket for more than a second before Applebloom placed a sandwich down in front of the mare. Gold blinked at the smiling filly, before smiling back and taking a bite out of the offering. While the group basked in each other's company, Gold gave Applejack an apologetic look.

"This may not be the last time I will be difficult," she whispered. "There are things I fear I still need to work on."

"Don't worry about that sugarcube," Applejack smiled, nudging her shoulder with her own. "Just let me know if things get too much for you to handle. My offer still stands if you ever need to tell somepony somethin'."

"Thank you Applejack," she smiled. "I think this time, I really will take advantage of that offer in the future."

"Anytime Gold," Applejack chuckled. "Anytime."