Applejack, the bearer of the element of honesty, sighed in exhaustion.
The sun was just starting to set over the boarders of Sweet Apple Acres by this point and small beams of sunlight were decreasing because of the gray clouds that threatened the imminent arrival of a powerful and oncoming storm. Faint stars started to appear and flicker in the darkening skies. The summer season was approaching and it was getting quite hot and every creature struggled under the boiling heat of Celestia's setting sun.
That time of year was approaching again…
The Confluence!
Harvest time!
And harvest time usually meant two things:
Lots of work to harvest the apples in the orchard and trying to catch the Great seedling.
The Apple family toiled and worked hard throughout the day in preparation for the Confluence and, as such, the farm was lined with baskets that were practically waiting to be filled with bright red apples in perfect position and almost every square inch of the farm was filled with traps to catch The great seedling. Everything was all set for Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and his new bride known as Sugar Belle, Applebloom, their guest Golden Delicious and Applejack to all get prepared to harvest the ripened red apples.
Another day was done and the orange mare's muscles ached like mad and her hind legs felt like they were going to fall off any moment due to the exertion they went through with bucking so many trees all day, not to mention the fact that her poor back just about felt prepared to give way. She didn't bother to brush a hoof through her messy blonde mane or anything as she was a bit too preoccupied by the thought of just turning into bed early since every pony else had already retired to their respective beds by now as the apple family had all spent the day trying to harvest the apples that had just finished growing on the trees.
Her body was covered in welts and bruises, her straw-like mane was practically a birds nest and she ached all over due to the effort she had put in to buck the apple trees but she didn't much care at the moment. All she wanted to do now was get inside and have a hot bath to soak in and soothe her aching pores before heading off to bed for an early night, the closer she got to the house the more her excitement grew.
But then Applejack stopped dead in her tracks when something else caught her attention.
She didn't want to make her bath wait a moment more but her curiosity proved too great, however, when she spun around abruptly and looked down at the abnormally. What she saw made her jaw drop in sheer disbelief and she couldn't believe her eyes and blinked them multiple times to refresh her vision as it must have been the exhausting day getting to her and making her see things or maybe it was just a trick of the light.
But no, it remained the same.
"What in tarnation...?! G-Glowin' apples?!"
A small pile of apples that were spiralling on the ground and glowing with a bright and radiant red radiance that could light up even the murkiest depths of a black abyss. They twitched with movement and it was clear by the fact that they were rolling away into some foliage leading into a certain area that they seemed to be trying to lead her somewhere.
Applejack froze as she tried to comprehend all of this.
What was happening right now?
Out of all the sights she had bore witness to, this was the 5th strangest thing she had seen and that was saying a lot!
Nevertheless, this had "bad news" written all over it and she had half a mind to turn tail, grab the rest of the mane six and have them investigate all this together…but there was little to no chance that she could grab them all at this hour and she had a feeling that this needed to be sought out at once, this couldn't wait. There had to be more to this as there was no way her sensible and logical sense of rationality would allow her to entertain the possibility that this was anything but an ominous sign.
Could this be a trick by Discord?
A prank set up by Rainbow dash?
A magical unicorn spell gone awry?
In all her years, she had never seen apples glowing and moving independently like this!
Especially not leading into the Everfree forest!
She knew now that she just had to investigate this…but should she?
Every pony knew how dangerous the Everfree forest was and it was even more dangerous at night then it was during the day. Yet this was a situation most unprecedented and Applejack was definitely curious about this bizarre mystery. She really didn't want to do any investigating right now as her home and bed were beckoning her like a sirens call…however there was something churning in her gut and pulling on her heartstrings that was just trying to get her to just investigate this for the sake of closure.
She desperately wished she could put this off until the next morning but she knew she needed to seize this opportunity while it was right in front of her or it would probably slip from her clasp.
Applejack touched her own chin with a hoof as she mused to herself.
Was this really a good idea?
"...Hmmm...ah' wonder..."
She tried to ignore it but this was like an itch in her brain that she couldn't scratch and so, reluctantly, she made her body move. Everything ached in protest and she felt her the muscles in her legs pulling and straining with every limping step she took back up the path she originally came from, the dirt shifting beneath her hooves as she dragged her legs along to keep herself moving that little bit longer.
Soon enough, she found herself stood in the entranceway which led from the orchard and into the Everfree forest.
She flinched momentarily when she remembered that one time where a pack of Timberwolves honed in on her and Spike had to rescue her, but she swallowed that fear and decided to focus on the task at hoof right now. Her heart galloped in her chest as she forced her legs to keep moving and forced herself onwards and into the forest, determined not to go too deep and lose her way but also trying not to lose sight of the glowing apples.
The orange mare's guard was heightened to the umpteenth degree.
Applejack swallowed nervously and reflexively, stepping slowly through the dark forest as she kept her head down, squinting her eyes to try and see through the darkness that surrounded her. She really wished she had thought of bringing a lantern or something with her as the blackness did nothing to lessen the spine-chilling sight of the threatening trees of the Everfree Forest which surrounded her. The trees mangled and twisted branches reached down from their canopies like deadly claws and seemed to spread out in all directions.
The silence of the forest was also strangely unnerving and it did nothing to help lighten the dark ambiance of the place.
The Element of honesty had traversed through these forbidden forest lands with her friends time and time again but they never got less scary with time and it even seemed to worsen, especially with it now being sunset and her mind and the sharpness of it being affected by the days exhaustion that had already plagued her.
It didn't take long before she lost sight of those glowing apples either unfortunately…
She didn't even know how long she'd been traversing these dangerous forests but she was pretty sure that she could see beams of Luna's moonlight shine through the thick branches that stretched and grouped and entangled themselves together overhead.
It was official:
She was lost.
"Fer lands sake…" Applejack grumbled. "…Ah knew I should've-"
Her words died in her throat when she heard a sound.
RUSTLE!
RUSTLE!
The mare froze dead on the spot, her eyes narrowed, and her ears stood erect.
It sounded like something was shaking and quivering.
She turned her head in order to properly focus on the source of the noise yet all she saw was a single bush located on the edge of the clearing and, only after squinting her eyes a bit on said shrubbery, she could have sworn that there was moving around on the inside the foliage just out of sight. Something was causing the leaves to rustle alas she didn't know. The shaking was violent but the Element of honesty felt an instant pang of fear hit her in the heart; she wanted to investigate the sound but she knew better than to do that. She didn't want to accidentally run into a Cockatrice or something!
Applejack's mind and pulse raced.
What could it possibly be stuck in that bush?
Could it have really been some sort of trap?
Could it be a monster?
She didn't know but she didn't want to find out right now...!
Applejack was never one to usually turn tail and flee but the fear building up was too much this time and she turned tail, pivoting on all four hooves and took off like a dart the way she came and ran towards home as fast as her hooves could carry her. It was a mistake to come in her now, she could see that, but her weary mind was heavy with both exhaustion and was racing a mile a minute. Her heart leapt high into her throat as panic seized her body and powered her sore legs to keep running despite the muscles screaming in pain with every single movement they made to keep running.
Despite how dark it was, the mare determined not to trip.
If she tripped, it was game over for her.
Thankfully, she had just enough sense to remind herself to keep on and dirt path so she would know which way was home.
She ran and ran and ran, her heart pounding in her ears and her sense of direction going out the window as she continued to gallop for her life, she was stopped when she suddenly bashed into something which sent her tumbling backwards and on to the ground. The orange mare groaned dizzily as she was about to lift a hoof to rub at her aching head and she managed to crack open her deep emerald-coloured eyes, trying to regain her bearings. She should have watched where he was going, fair enough…but she hadn't expected to bump into anything since she had kept to the path as she could determine the feeling of dirt under her hooves.
Her gaze quickly fell upon what (or who) she bumped into.
It was none other than her little sister.
It was Applebloom.
The mare was able to tell because apparently, the filly had the foresight to bring a lantern with her which illuminated the dark forest and allowed the both of them to see.
Applejack's mouth fell promptly wide open in disbelief and she watched worriedly as all previous fright had dissipated on the mare's face and was instantly replaced with a mix of shock and fury. Pushing herself back on to her hooves, she instantly noticed that her younger sister was laying stomach-first on the ground. She moaned as her freckled muzzle became flushed either from embarrassment or the fact that she was going through a huge hot flush as an uncomfortable warmth flowed through her body and sweat dripped profusely from every limb.
"A-Applebloom, what in tarnation are YOU doing here!?" She boomed.
Applebloom let out a long and heavy moan as she, too, felt dizzy from the collision and didn't reply to the question asked of her.
Applejack, meanwhile, could feel her eyebrows knitting together and gathering like angry thunderheads but she still managed to exhume a deep breath from deep within her throat as she recollected her composure. She sat down on her haunches and buried her muzzle in her strong front hooves and tried to avoid her younger sister's strong apricot-coloured gaze, she further lowered herself to lay in a crouched position as her tail curled around her body. She brought up a hoof to try and correct the position of her hat which had been knocked askew due to the collision.
When she started to rise in order to climb back to her hooves, she glared at Applebloom.
What was her sister doing out here?
How did she find her?
How did it ever become possible for Applebloom to even be so reckless by going after her!?
The orange mare had decided to repeat her initial query as she scowled stern daggers down at the trembling filly sat in front of her.
"Applebloom, ah'll ask ya again: What in the hay are you doing out here?!"
Applebloom was taken aback by the tone of her big sister's voice, her face a mix of worry and hurt by the way Applejack spoke to her. She looked down with her big amber eyes which had eyes glistening and then swelling with tears and her lower lip jutted out and then quivered, her ears down and splayed backwards.
In turn, Applejack felt the anger on her face slowly dissipate. Her face had scrunched up and her eyes narrowed with fury but she felt her anger subside when she saw tears start to cascade down the little filly's face as she softly sobbed and sniffled before she started to explain.
"Ah' was just checkin' the last of th-the traps before ah' went to bed and ah' saw ya wanderin' into the Everfree. Ah' got worried!"
AJ sighed and her gaze fell to the ground, suddenly feeling guilty for making the young filly cry.
The mare hated seeing her baby sister break down like this and she hung her head and sighed with resignation while knowing that she couldn't really stay angry for too long but her big sister instincts allowed her to have a remaining smidgeon of anger cling stubbornly on to her soul which easily came across in her face as she stared at her little sister with hardened eyes which could penetrate steel.
Applebloom sniffled as tears streamed down her face, leaving wet little trails down her cheeks that shimmered in what little moonlight there was at the time whilst Applejack reached across and gingerly wiped a stray tear away with the tip of her hoof.
"Don't worry, sugar cube..." Said AJ "...ah'm alright."
She tried to reassure and pacify her little sister.
Applebloom wiped a stray tear from her eye and then peered up to glance questioningly at Applejack.
"But then why are ya in the Everfree forest? Did sumthin' happen?"
Applejack didn't know whether or not to explain to her sister about the strange goings-on transpiring at the moment and, as a result, hesitated while she contemplated this. In truth, seeing her sister here had been such a shock that she had forgotten about practically everything else —not to mention that she was pretty sure that not only was she certain that her baby sister wouldn't believe her (who would?) but she had decided to just put down what she was seeing to exhaustion clouding her mind.
It just wasn't worth pursuing, at least not for tonight.
She hung her head and sighed in defeat.
"Ah'...Ah' guess ah' came out here lookin' for sumthin' but it looks as though it came to an end as dead as a doorknob anyway...seein' things maybe…."
The youngest of the Apple family could also see that Applejack was trying to put an end to her line of questions by dismissing the subject entirely but not only could she not prove it, neither could she bring herself to question it right now.
Applebloom just titled her head a little bit in confusion, her mind like a hive full of angrily buzzing questions such as "What happened?" or "What could have made Applejack purposefully venture into the forest?" and "What was going on here?" and each inquiry was more bothersome than the last as those questions felt like they were trying to pick at her brain to the point where it annoyed even here.
Applejack then glared at her sister.
"But fer lands sakes, Applebloom! Ya can't go into the Everfree after dark! It's dangerous!"
Applebloom glared right back.
"You went in here first!"
"Yeah! But ah' am a grown mare and you are a filly! Ah' can take care'o mahself!"
"Ah' know that but that ain't gonna stop me from worryin'!" Applebloom shouted back.
The two sisters simmered and stewed silently for a few moments, letting their rising tempers cool so they could have a more productive talk instead of just verbally lashing out at one another. This was going nowhere fast and, while AJ was still cross at her sister for putting herself in harms way, she knew that she was just worried for her well-being and she felt a bit guilty for telling her off when she had a good reason for tailing her like this.
The mare sighed through her nostrils in defeat and resignation.
"…Fine. Fine. Ah' was wrong fer making ya worry like that but we're gonna have a strong talk 'bout this some other time when we aren't exhausted."
Applebloom considered her sister's words and then nodded but then she finally noticed that her big sister looked dreadful. No sleepiness was a match for the worry she felt right then and there.
"Sweet Celestia, sis! Ya look awful! We oughta getcha to bed!"
Applejack couldn't argue there.
The two started to walk cautiously back the way they came.
Thankfully Applebloom had traversed these forests many times before despite it almost being so dark that one could barely see a hoof in front of their faces and almost knew the area so well that she could have easily made a map of it by memory alone; the lantern managed to help a lot, though.
This was how she managed to find Applejack so easily.
The young filly wished she could brag about her Everfree forest knowledge more often but she feared of getting into trouble with her family for going into such a dangerous forest more than a pony her age should so kept those smug thoughts to herself.
As a result of her knowledge, however, Applebloom was able to start leading her exhausted big sister out of the foliage and back on to the farm land with ease and Applejack felt her heart swell with both pride and relief that her sister studied under Zecora's potion-making tutelage. The two apple sisters would have struggled if it weren't for the zebra and her willingness to teach about the short cuts and pathways through the forest. Their hooves throbbed with each step and the muscles in their legs strained and pulled and the poor necks pulsated with pain.
It was as if their limbs had sandbags attached to them and that didn't make moving any easier.
Needless to say, when the Apple family home was in their sights, the two ponies smiled tiredly as both of their exhaustion hit them like a buck to the face since it didn't quite hit them as to how exhausted they really were until just now.
They both just wanted to get inside and rest their weary hooves and then get to sleep and they made sure to keep their hoofsteps even on the dirt path that led to their home.
"Come on! Let's get to bed, we have got an early start t'morrow." Applejack announced.
"Right!" Applebloom agreed wholeheartedly.
The apple sisters proceeded to head down the dirt path towards the house in order to inside to retire for the evening, fully intending on replenishing their depleted energy; Granny Smith, Big Mac and the others were more than likely fast asleep right now as it was getting late and everyone needed their sleep to get an early start in the morning so hopefully no pony would be disturbed when the sisters entered the house.
However, if either one of them had bothered to look back, they would have seen that something had been staying hidden amongst the bushes. It was small and feeble and clearly cautious…whatever it was…and this something had clearly been following the two ponies.
But what was it?
Why was it following them?
Author's Note
Heres a new MLP story about Applejack and how she finds herself raising none other then the Great seedling! I thought it would be interesting if the Great seedling actually became an actual character so I thought of this idea.
I hope you guys enjoy it!
