Applejack rose a few minutes ahead of her alarm as always. Celestia’s Sun had not yet crested the horizon, but it was time for farmponies to wake up all the same. She took a moment to yawn and stretch, then rested her hand on the empty side of her bed. Wait, empty? Applejack doubletaked.

Sure enough, there was nopony beside her in bed. Applejack’s surprise shifted to confusion, then satisfaction. “Well Ah’ll be,” she murmured, “Ah told her she’d get used to the early mornings.”

It only took a few minutes for Applejack to get dressed and ready to start her day. She silently waved to Big Macintosh as he emerged from his room on her way down the hall to the stairs.

“Dash, you downstairs?” she called as she entered the living room. “Got some chores for us to do before we get started on breakfast.”

Silence was the only response. Her marefriend was not in the living room. A quick peek in the kitchen confirmed she wasn’t there either. Applejack was just about to head out the back door to see if Rainbow Dash had gotten started without her (another pleasant surprise, if that was the case) when she spotted the folded sheet of paper on the table. Her name was written on it in Rainbow Dash’s handwriting.

Trepidation crept over the farmpony as she picked up the note. That trepidation gave way to shock, and then fear as she read.

Morning AJ,

By the time you read this, I’ll already be on my way out to sea. Don’t worry, I’m not going away forever. But this is really important and I gotta do it.

So, I feel kind of guilty about the past few days. You’ve been waiting patiently for me to talk about it, but I couldn’t for reasons that’ll be obvious below. To answer your questions: Yes, this is about Gilda and the journal she supposedly wrote. I know Twilight has repeatedly stated it’s a hoax, and while I was at the castle reading it, I played along for her benefit.

But except for the final couple entries, the journal sounds just like her. Call me crazy, but I think there’s a chance that the island is real.

Look, it’s more likely than not this was the work of some asshole writing sick fanfiction about me and Gilda, I get that. But there’s still that slim chance that the griffon I thought was dead for seven years is still alive out there. I’m the Element of Loyalty, AJ. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t at least try to find the island.

I think I have a good idea of where it is, and I spent the last week preparing to go find it. I’ll explain when I get back. And I know you hate it when I keep secrets from you. But you’d be able to tell if I was lying to you, and if I told you that I was going to look for Gilda, you’d have tried to stop me.

If I don’t find the island, I’ll come right back to Ponyville. Give me a week, and I’ll come back either empty-handed, or with Gilda.

Applejack, I Pinkie Promise you I’ll be home soon. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.

Awesome as always,

Rainbow Dash

When Big Mac finally sauntered into the kitchen to start breakfast, he found his sister pacing back and forth, one arm hugging her body and the other holding her phone up to her ear. Some of the tension left her when a tired voice answered on the other end.

“Twi, it’s Applejack,” she said. There was a noticeable quiver in her voice, “Dash’s gone. Somehow she got it in her head that Gilda’s still alive, and she’s gone off to Celestia knows where to find her!”

There was a long pause before Twilight responded. Big Mac tilted his head inquisitively, but Applejack waved him off.

“No...No...Ah dunno when she left...She was gone when Ah came downstairs. There was a note...Alright...See you in a bit.”

After hanging up, she turned to her brother, who had been standing stoically nearby. “Ah hate to do this, but can you take care of the morning chores for me? Bit of an emergency, and Ah gotta wake the other girls and get over to the castle.”

Without hesitation, the large stallion nodded and punctuated with a soft “Eyyup.”

“Thanks, Mac,” said Applejack, giving him a quick hug, “You know how important Dash is. How important all my friends are to me.”

“Eeyup.”

Stepping back, Applejack walked out onto the back porch to make a few more calls. It was going to be a long week.

By the time Applejack arrived in the map room, Twilight was already hunched over the map, studying it intently. Behind her, Spike was ferrying stacks of books to a folding table. He stopped to yawn between trips. “Sheesh, Twilight,” he grumbled, “Could you at least wait until the sun’s up before going on a research bender?”

“I know it’s early, Spike, but this is an emergency,” said the alicorn as she turned away from the map. Her mane was frazzled, though whether that was from bedhead or stress was unclear. Given she was still wearing her pajamas and a bathrobe, it could be either. “That should be everything I need. You can go back to bed if you want.”

The young dragon only nodded and made his way back to his room. Applejack joined Twilight at the table, her face set into a frown. “Ah got ahold of Rarity and Pinkie. Fluttershy didn’t pick up; Ah’ll try her again a little later. Rarity said she’ll be here in about an hour, and Pinkie -”

“Is going to make sure Dashie sticks to her Pinkie Promise!” exclaimed Pinkie directly behind Twilight, who nearly jumped straight through the ceiling.

“SWEET LUNA’S…” Twilight shouted, before taking a deep breath and crossing one arm in front of herself, then out. It was a well-practiced gesture. “I’m glad you could make it so quickly, Pinkie Pie,” she continued. Her gritted teeth and twitching eyelid suggested otherwise.

“Well yeah!” chirped the party pony. “Applejack said Dashie’s gone missing! And she also Pinkie Promised that she’d be back in a week, but Applejack doesn’t think she can do it. So we gotta find her so she can either keep that promise or apologize!” She ended her sentence with a curt nod of determination.

Applejack doffed her hat and covered her face with it. She hadn’t mentioned the promise made in the letter to Pinkie, but she’d learned long ago not to question how she knew these things.

“Try Fluttershy again in fifteen minutes,” said Twilight, “We need all the girls here for a briefing, and time is of the essence.”

“Is there something ya wanna tell me, sugarcube?” Applejack asked as she replaced her hat on her head. Her voice was eerily neutral.

The Princess of Friendship sighed. There was no point in lying to Honesty herself. “Yes. I’ll brief everypony in full once we’re all here. To keep things short,” she squeezed her eyes shut and took another breath, “the island is real. And we need to find Rainbow Dash before it’s too late.”

Author's Note

Here it is, the beginning of the next installment to this thrilling saga. I don't know if I'll be able to stick to my chapter-a-day schedule like I did with the last one, but we'll see what happens.

As always, be sure to comment! Tell me what you liked, or what you didn't like for that matter.