A field full of strong sturdy trees.
Bright red apples with yellows splotches hanging below their branches.
The vast desert lying a few miles from where I stood
A long simple wooden fence dividing the lush trees from the barren desert
This was basically what the outer orchard was.
This is what I also dreamt of last night.
I found myself in the middle of the apple orchards late at night. From where I was standing, one could see the silhouette of the ranch house far off in the distance. As time went on, however, I noticed that my surroundings were slowly changing before my eyes. The trees and their apples were changing into different shapes and the silhouette of the house was slowly getting farther and farther away from me. By the time the silhouette was no longer visible, I would find myself in a patch of trees bordered by the cold desert; the outer orchards. And then the world fades to black and I’d wake up.
The weirdest part about the dream was that the details were so vivid and clear, I would remember all that I dreamt of when I woke up.
Every single detail.
That doesn’t usually happen.
The dream was already raising a lot of flags in my head the minute I woke up. I figured that taking a trip to the outer orchards would help make some things clearer for me.
Yes, I'm here because I want to go investigate and search the area, not to 'go get some fresh air'.
No one knows about my true reasons why I really went here. In fact, nopony actually really knows what’s going on with me for the past few days.
For one, no one knows that I’ve been searching the whole house from top to bottom for clues on the station collapse.
Unsurprisingly, I’ve yet to find anything significant except for that small metal key I found up the attic a few days ago. I still haven’t found out what it unlocks but something’s telling me that whatever this thing unlocks, it’s important for me to find out.
I feel kind of guilty that I’m keeping secrets from the others. Applejack would probably freak out and give me a little talk when she finds out what I’ve been doing. But that means, I won’t be able to find out what the hay is going on around here and help the town and all its innocent townfolk.
I looked back at Summerfree who was busy showing me around the outer orchard with a warm smile on his face.
The young colt really seemed to enjoy it here, his nervousness seemed to disappear and he seemed more... happier than usual.
“...You look happier than usual" I blurted out inadvertently. What the hay? Why did I say that?! That’s was the worst thing to say right now! Stupid brain! Hopefully Summerfree didn’t hear what I just said...
“Hmm?” Summerfree’s ears perked up. And his eyes stared back at me.
Sweet Celestia, this is gonna be awkward
"What did’ya say Twilight?" he asked me, his smile thankfully still there.
“Oh... uh” Think Twilight, think!
“...You...uh... seemed happier than usual” What the hay.
“Oh,” his smile faltered a bit.
Great, way to go brain.
“Uh, well it’s because it’s more... peaceful here”
Peaceful?
“Peaceful? How’s the outer orchard more peaceful than the rest of Appleoosa?” I asked
Summerfree looked away from me and lowered his head “...I wasn’t talking about Appleoosa, I was talking about back home... in Trottingham”
That caught my attention.
“Trottingham?” I repeated back. I saw him nod slowly.
“......”
“Summerfree, what’s going on back at home?”
“...Can we talk about something else please?” his voice was slowly losing its confidence again.
I slowly put my hoof on his shoulder. “Summerfree... what’s going on?”
He didn’t reply back. I was caught by surprise when he suddenly broke off into a dash and ran off, farther into the outer orchard.
Great, way to go brain. This is all your fault.
I quickly regained my thoughts and ran after him.
I lost track of him after a while and I was slowly getting tired. After a bit more of walking. I found myself back in the outer orchard’s entrance, and with my legs all tired, I ultimately decided to go take a rest in the tool shed before continuing my search for the runaway colt.
I slowly trotted back to the small shed and sat down on the bench outside and tried to catch my breath. The shed had a small door on one of it’s walls, gaining access to it’s interior. Guess it’s a good time now to go search around the place now that I’m alone. I stood up and walked up to the door and opened it.. Unsurprisingly, the shed housed a wide array of farming tools. Large tools like rakes, plows & shovels stood on the corner slowly gathering dust while smaller tools like trowels, shears & watering cans lay on shelves lining the walls of the small room.
Amidst the assortment of items laying on the shelves, something caught my attention. My eyes were directed to a pile of large metal objects laying on the bottom shelf. I grabbed one of them and examined it. It appeared to be a large nail, a very rusty one at that.
It looks rather worn out, I wonder what it’s used for?
My eyes scanned the entire room again and found nothing seemingly linked to the odd metal nail I was holding. I’m gonna have to go take a better look at this. I quickly tucked the metal object between one of the gauze bandages wrapped on my torso, hiding it from view. Don’t wanna let anyone get suspicious about why I had a large metal nail with me. I knew I should have brought one of my saddlebags with me. After I made sure that the metal wasn’t hindering my walking or making me feel uncomfortable, I took one last look at the shed’s interior before stepping back outside and continuing my search for the runaway colt.
I kind of lost track of the time already after walking for what seemed like forever.
The ground I was walking on was slowly losing its green the further I walked. The soil was also getting more loose and dry, and the apple trees surrounding me were getting more scarce and far apart from each other. I guess I was already nearing the orchard’s border. Nothing else after that but the barren, unforgiving desert, marked{?} by a long wooden fence that ran around Braeburn’s whole property.
My walk was abruptly stopped by said fence.
I took a long look at the landscape before me, having to shield my eyes with a hoof from the bright sun above. A wide plane of sand dotted by a few cacti. The massive rock formations also dotted the area. The largest one, Mount Buffallo, was maybe a ten minute walk away from here. Not so far in the distance, my eyes caught the glint of metal snaking across the entire landscape; the train tracks. My eyes followed it and found the familiar silhouette of the town a few miles from where I stood. Other than those, there was nothing else to be found, including Summerfree.
Great, where the hay could Summerfree be? Applejack’s gonna get really angry if he winds up lost.
I sighed and turned around, heading back to the shed.
...Only to quickly catch a glimpse of a figure a few trees away, looking at me.
It was Summerfree.
“...Summerfree?”
His eyes, which looked like he had been crying recently, widened when he realized that I saw him and he quickly ran off into the orchard.
I quickly recollected my thoughts and gave chase.
I’ll tell you one thing: Summerfree runs fast. Very fast. I could barely catch up with him, especially with my already weak legs that had just been injured. The only thing that was assuring me that I was on his trail was the sound of his hoofsteps.
“Summerfree, wait!” I shouted, in hopes that he would stop.
I dashed past the trees as fast I could, some of their leaves falling as I passed by.
I began to tire out, I was already having a hard time catching my breath and my legs were screaming at me to slow down. The footsteps were gradually fading away, implying that the distance between me and the young colt were widening. There was no way I could catch up with it. Still, I pressed myself to run faster and at least try. I didn’t have the chance to stop when I saw an apple tree a few meters in front of me.
And that’s when I collided and my vision went dark.