The Last Letter

by ManestreamStudios

Memoirs of the Heart

Rainbow Dash soared through the air, blissfully grinning whilst sporting her Wonderbolt Academy suit. The wind whistled in her ears, the clouds all blurred together, and her heart raced with each downstroke of the wing. Flying faster and faster, the air began to tug at her jowls and sting her eyes. Yet, Rainbow Dash couldn’t let up. Flying fast was the most exhilarating experience she has ever known. A rush that seemed to defy the laws of physics. It was simply the only way she could describe it.

A visible barrier began to form before her, the wind swirling around in resistance. It was strange, but at this point, Rainbow Dash could swear that she saw a tunnel or path. An air-way that guided her in flight. Wordlessly instructing when and where to bank, helping keep her wings in time, silently whispering the promise that if she followed its every command to the letter, nothing bad would happen.

But, since when has Rainbow given in to command alone?

Seeking the extra thrill, her frame moved ever so slightly while her wings altered their pattern, sending the mare into a corkscrew. Almost as if the action could bend the timeless, invisible force to her will, she could feel the air rushing past at greatly increasing speed. The barrier creased narrower and narrower, until it broke like a plastic film, sending Rainbow Dash right into a sonic rainboom. The resulting rainbow trail that was left in her wake twisted and turned with her like a drill, creating a rather unique effect. Soon enough, she felt herself begin to tire, and she rapidly receded from the sky. She dropped down through the air towards a nearby hill which held her friends, all jumping and cheering at the performance. Joining them, Rainbow touched grass just before striking her usual, cocky pose.

“That was amazing Rainbow Dash!” Twilight chimed.

“Simply marvelous, Darling! I didn’t know you could do that!” Rarity commented.

“Look, it even flies by itself!” Pinkie proclaimed as she pointed to it.

“Wha-?” Rainbow looked back to see her rainbow trail spinning on its own, slowly inching across the sky. It then appeared to curve and fly in directions as it desired, which she thought was kind of weird. But, it was awesome. That much couldn’t be denied.

A trail of electrified clouds suddenly came into view now, as Spitfire rapidly appeared on the scene.

“Hey, Spitfire! Check it out, is it awesome or what?” Rainbow directed her towards the animated rainbow trail.

Spits looked over for a moment with scrutiny, before returning her gaze back to Rainbow Dash. “Yes, remarkable. Now hurry up! You’re gunna be late for the rally!”

“What?” Rainbow now seemed confused. “B-But, I’m not a Wonderbolt yet. Right?”

“Did you get wasted last night or something? You’re a Captain! And as Captain, you have to attend all the rallies. Now get your flank moving!” Spitfire barked.

Rainbow was genuinely surprised, but somehow the notion seemed to make sense. After all, why wouldn’t she be a Captain? “Oh… okay, sure. Let me just say goodbye real quick.”

Spitfire cocked a brow before looking around. “To who?”

“My friends, who else?” she gestured behind herself, but jumped when she realized that they were all gone. Walking back towards Ponyville together. “Hey, wait up!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire beckoned authoritatively, stomping a hoof into the ground while Dash flew after the others.

“What the hay, guys!? You just left me up there!” Rainbow announced in annoyance after having caught up.

Each of her friends looked up towards Rainbow as she flew over the group, all smiles while they continued their trot. “Sorry Rainbow, but I have important research to do. Ponyville doesn’t run itself!” Twilight explained before she disappeared in a magical burst, leaving the group entirely.

“What?” Rainbow was beginning to feel weird now. Something didn’t seem to ring true, but at the same rate she couldn’t argue with it.

“My apologies Dear, but I must get back to Spikey. We have things to do today that simply can’t be put off any longer! I’m sure you understand,” Rarity reasoned, who then suddenly disappeared into her own magical burst. Now Rainbow knew something was off about that.

“Pinkie, you never leave without saying goodbye!” Rainbow sputtered, trying to get something other than eerie smiles from the remaining three.

“Sorry Dashie, but I’ve got parties to plan! whoo-hoo!!”

Then, without rhyme or reason, Pinkie just disappeared into thin air. No magic, no logic, just nothing. Mouth agape, Rainbow quickly shot down in the middle of the path right before Fluttershy and Applejack, stopping them. “C’mon, this isn’t like you guys!”

“I’m sorry Rainbow. I just didn’t want to get in between you and the Wonderbolts. They are everything you’ve ever wanted, after all.” Fluttershy then came up and gave a quick peck on her lips. “I’ll make you your favorite salad when you get home!” Fluttershy promptly flew off, humming a tune as she left.

Rainbow might have stopped her, but the sheer surprise of having just been kissed so casually threw her off. Yet again, some part of her couldn’t say that it was wrong either. Watching her fly off for a moment, Rainbow shook her head before turning back towards Applejack. “Uh… well, you won’t leave me hangin’, right A-...J…?”

Looking back to the orange earth mare, Rainbow was blasted with a deathly scowl. Applejack suddenly seemed different in both appearance and demeanor. Her previously healthy frame was replaced with that of a frail and lean one, and her coat was dulled.

“Deserter!” she declared, throwing Rainbow back slightly. “Why don’t ya just go get blasted with your drinkin’ pals, and buck the night away with your marefriend!?”

“Applejack, what the hay!?” Rainbow shot back.

“Was stayin’ here and bein’ friends so bad!? Was ah just too borin’ for you, Rainbow Dash!?”

“W-what!? N-no, that’s not it!”

“Do ya still feel loyal, Rainbow?”

“AJ, wait!” she called, trying to go after her friend as she trotted off. But it seemed as if she was going nowhere. Yet, the ground moved by below her. Suddenly, she found her limbs very hard to move, like they were weighted down by lead. Taking flight was found to be equally fruitless.

“AJ, don’t leave like this!” Dash called after AJ. Who was slowly disappearing on the horizon. The sun setting with her.

Suddenly, a loud whistle blow claimed Rainbow’s attention, seeing Spitfire show up in heated anger. “You’re late! I’m sending you back to the academy, Rainbow Dash!”

“What!? No, wait!” Dash looked back to try and find Applejack again, flapping with all of her might. But a spiral of rainbow color collided with the prismatic pegasus that created it.

Rainbow was now hurdling through the air, fighting as hard as she could to get away. “Wait! Stop! I need to see my friends!” Unable to free herself from the rainbow trail, she began to flail against it to try and beat it off of her. It responded by swiftly curving upwards, slamming into her jaw as it soared away. Shocked, Rainbow Dash began to fall through the sky, plummeting towards Ponyville. Just as she was about to hit ground at break-neck speeds, the fabric of reality seemed to shatter around her, leaving the hyperventilating mare at wits end.

Nothing made sense, and she couldn’t process what was going on around her. Spinning around in the darkness, voices of her friends began to talk down to her. Calling her a deserter. A fillyfooler. An arrogant boaster. And many others all trying to claim dominant insult in her ears.

“No! No! I didn’t know! I didn’t know! I’m sorry! Just give me a chance! Stop it, please!” The cyan mare pleaded. Desperate to end this living nightmare.

“Mmph… ergh… no… stop it,” Rainbow muttered in her restless slumber, tossing and turning all the while. Then the cyan mare jolted to life, flailing the covers off of her.

“NOOOOO!”

Rainbow quickly found herself in a very strange place. Nothing seemed to sit still, even though she was sure she was. The prismatic mare felt like she’d just fallen back into her body, which wasn’t a pleasant experience. If RD had to compare the feeling to something, it was most like having just been run down by a large stallion.

There were some gasps in the strange room with her when she’d woken violently. Rainbow Dash looked around desperately to find the source, breathing heavily while her heart tried to jump free from her chest. However, all this succeeded in was the loss of her balance, and she fell on herself in a miserable heap in the middle of the bed.

“Rainbow! Rainbow, calm down, you’re going to hurt yourself!” commanded a familiar voice.

“Wha-! Where-... where am I!? What’s going on!?” RD cried desperately, trying to grasp reality once more. Soon enough, she felt hooves grab a hold of her shoulders, which pushed her back into a proper resting position. Being forced to remain still under the weight of another’s hooves, Rainbow looked around as best as she could. The images of Cheerilee danced around before her, quickly joined by Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and a slightly more distant Fluttershy.

Seeing them constantly move like a broken record made her quickly aware of her painful headache. Rainbow gave a horrid groan as she placed her own hooves to her head. Her eyes tried to look up towards a white ceiling, but even that seemed to twist and turn in a never-ending loop. Closing her eyes, she soon remembered what this feeling was.

“Oh, Celestia… I’m so dizzy…”

A short thought passed through her mind that the sentence she’d just formed didn’t make any sense. But, somehow, she couldn’t dispute it either. It hurt her head even more to try and focus on the notion, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it either. Rainbow Dash was at wit’s end right now, and she could feel her heart racing to try and keep up.

“Rainbow Dash? Rainbow, can you hear me? You need to calm down.” Cheerilee continued with well-controlled concern. She could see the mare’s eyes shifting slowly, and her body continually moved in a repetitive order as well.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes now. She could hear somepony talking, but it somehow didn’t register. Leaving them without a response.

Cheerilee didn’t like this. She looked back to Apple Bloom who seemed equally worried, but didn’t hide it as well. “Apple Bloom, go call the doctor.”

Nodding her acknowledgement, Apple Bloom galloped out of the room and down the hall. Cheerilee then returned her focus to the distraught mare, and forced herself to speak slowly and calmly. “Rainbow? I need you to relax, Sweetie. Slow, steady breaths…”

Rainbow heard the voice call to her again, but more quietly now and with serenity. She still didn’t fully understand, but somehow the sound itself informed her that she was safe. Soon after, she could hear the sound of deep breathing, slowed to the pace of a lazy trot. She then became aware that this was not her own breathing, and found her lungs to be working erratically.

With what focus she could summon at the moment, Rainbow Dash began the efforts of mimicking the soothing sound. Over the course of about a minute, she was able to work down to a steady and low pant. By the time Apple Bloom returned with a doctor, Rainbow was able to maintain a mostly normal breathing cycle.

“Move aside, please! Move aside,” Doctor Stable began, moving over to the side of Rainbow’s bed while everypony else backed away some. Stable started to check through the heart monitor, before bringing his attention back to Rainbow Dash. She was holding her head, an obvious sign of a headache. That was to be expected.

“Can you open your eyes, please?” he asked calmly. the mare didn’t seem to comprehend. He took note of that. “I’m just gunna take a quick look here…”

Carefully, Doctor Stable lifted her puffy eyelids to reveal slowly shifting eyes. Rainbow was quick to squirm from his grasp however, holding a hoof before her face to block the light. At least, that’s what he could tell. Her hoof was held so far away from her face that it almost hit him. “Can somepony shut the blinds?”

The other four were quick about covering up the windows and turned off the light over Rainbow’s bed. Again, Doctor stable inquired to the mare, “Can I see your eyes, Rainbow?”

Rainbow seemed to be able to understand a bit better this time. Hesitantly, one eye inched open to make sure it wouldn’t hurt this time.

“Good. Now the other.”

Rainbow made her best attempt to stay focused on the source of this new voice. “I… wha?” she muttered.

“Open the other eye…” Stable repeated a bit more slowly.

“Uhm… oh…” Rainbow acknowledged him that time, and slowly opened the other eye. Both eyes repeatedly scanned his general area, to which he nodded slightly.

“Can you tell me how you feel?” Rainbow gave Stable something of a vacant stare before he repeated once more. “How do you feel?”

Rainbow crunched on the words for a moment, before she was able to attempt her self-evaluation. Which brought little success. “I… I don’t know. Head… hurts. Dizzy… I think. No, I can’t… just… where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital, Rainbow. Do you understand?” Stable made sure to sound out each word carefully, hoping to get her to understand him the first time.

Again, Rainbow gave him something of a dumbfounded stare. “Hospital…?” She knew what that was, but yet couldn’t seem to grasp a concept.

After a moment of labored thought, she attempted to look around slightly, before struggling to find the doctor again. “But… where are all the books?” The doctor shook his head slightly, which didn’t make her feel very comfortable.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Again, Rainbow didn’t seem to fully catch his phrase. “What is the last thing you remember?”

Rainbow seemed at a loss for words. She looked away to where she guessed was down and tried to think some more. After a moment, she managed to find something.

She remembered seeing an orange mare, whose name she couldn’t fully place. Something to do with oranges? “Orange mare…” she began, waiting for more to reveal itself. Something came from the side and blurred her vision, and then nothing. “She hit me… I think… or bucked me… I…” Rainbow suddenly groaned, shutting her eyes while her hooves patted around until she found her temples and gently rubbed them. “My head hurts! I can’t think! Where am I?”

At this point, Doctor Stable sighed. “Try to relax, Rainbow. I will have a nurse bring something to ease the pain. Okay?”

Rainbow wasn’t fully sure what a nurse was, but the stallion seemed reassuring enough, so she let a nod escape her.

At that, Doctor Stable lead the other four over to the other end of the room where Rainbow wouldn’t hear their conversation.

“Is she going to be okay?” Fluttershy asked, first to voice her concerns the moment they were far enough away. She seemed almost as distressed as Rainbow at the moment.

“It’s too early to say for certain.” Stable began. “Your friend here has suffered a concussion. Recovery rates are high, so if all goes well, she should be fine in about a couple of weeks. But Rainbow is also showing a lot of symptoms. From what I’ve gathered so far, she has; dizziness, impaired coordination, light sensitivity, and disorientation. And that’s just going off of what’s apparent to me. She needs to be under twenty-four hour observation for at least a few days to see what all she has, and if the symptoms worsen. If they do, it could mean that she has lesions.”

Fluttershy put hooves to her mouth instantly.

Cheerilee didn’t like the sound of that. “Well… okay. If she were to have lesions, what could that mean?”

Stable shook his head. “It’s too hard to just tell. Lots of ponies have returned to their normal lives. Some, however, suffer from a disability. Some retain a speech impediment. Some suffer from delusions. Others have experienced neurocognitive deficiencies, and even intellectual disability. Changes in personality are common. Any of these can be temporary, or permanent.

“I won’t have a more definite answer until I’ve ran some tests. But even then I can only speculate about any long term effects and how long they will last. The odds are well in her favor…” Stable trailed off subtly at that. He didn’t want to say, ’but it is no big secret that the Wonderbolt does a lot of drinking, which could alter her chances’. He doubted that he could find any surprise if Rainbow ended up with a long-lasting symptom or two.

After a moment, Stable shook the thought from his mind. “Regardless, Rainbow Dash will most likely be confined to that bed for at least a week. She needs plenty of sleep, and absolutely no cognitive activities until her condition improves. No books, no games, no work. Nothing that requires focus or concentration.”

“Where is she!?”

A voice shouted from down the hall where a receptionist sat at her desk. The small group instantly recognized it, and Big Mac stepped out into the hall to see that Twilight was there with Rarity, Spike, three guards, and an older, tan-coated earth pony. The receptionist pointed Twilight’s eyes down the hall, which instantly caught sight of Big Mac.

He gave a short wave to tell them to come over, even though that was unnecessary. Twilight bolted over as soon as she saw him. She was in such a rush that Big Mac had to stop her from running by and bowling everypony else over.

“Well hold on now, Twilight!” Big Mac grunted, using all his strength to hold the alicorn back.

“Let me see her, Big Mac! I can help!” Twilight pleaded, trying to force her way through his hold.

“Princess, please, you need to calm down if you want to see Rainbow,” Stable urged in a level tone. Grateful that Big Mac had caught her. He came over to rest a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder as she slowly stopped her struggle. The princess was strong enough to put up a good fight, but Big Mac ultimately won.

When she calmed down enough, Stable continued. “Try to remain calm, Princess. Rainbow Dash is awake, and she will be fine, but she’s disoriented and confused. I cannot have her panicking.”

Once Twilight was done trying to escape Big Mac, and the doctor explained, Twilight heaved somewhat of a relieved sigh. Though, it didn’t settle her nerves any. In a slump, she wiped the tears from her face and looked up to the doctor. “O-okay… I’m… okay. Can I see her now?”

Stable nodded, prompting the large red stallion to let go of her. Cheerilee and the others parted to let the two through, before Rarity and their group came in to fill the gap. Two guards sat outside the door and waited patiently, while Flash opted to sit inside the room just beside the crowd.

“What in the world happened to her?” Rarity asked in a hushed tone. She could just make out the famous Wonderbolt laying in the bed like a mess with two black eyes dominating her face.

“Granny didn’t tell ya?” Apple Bloom asked in an equally low tone. No guess work involved in figuring out how they knew Rainbow Dash was here.

Spike shook his head. “Twilight raced off the property before she could explain.”

“Ah know what happened,” Big Mac interjected, closing the door behind him. “Ah was waitin’ near the bottom of the stairs after Rainbow went up ta see her…”

Twilight painfully forced a small smile on her face when she finally saw Rainbow, awake and okay - for the most part. Rainbow’s shifty black eyes trying to keep her in sight. The princess had been looking all over for her the moment she got into Ponyville with the others. First at Fluttershy’s cottage, and then each place the alicorn thought the Wonderbolt might be on her way to the Apple farm. She was worried that the daredevil pegasus had been hurt the whole time, but never imagined it would be physical.

“H-how are you, Rainbow?” Twilight choked out.

Rainbow Dash didn’t respond. Not at first. She could hear the concern from… Sparklefly. But the way Dash had left her and the others last night put a hot iron in her throat. Though she felt justified in her anger, Rainbow could admit that there was a more subtle way of going about it.

“I’m sorry,” came the patient’s response after a few moments.

Twilight couldn’t help a small, half-hearted laugh at that. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.” Rubbing her eye with a foreknee once again, Twilight pushed a little harder now. “How are you feeling? I… might be able to help.”

It took the cyan mare a little bit to process the inquiry. “My… head hurts. Can’t think. Kinda dizzy…”

Twilight nodded slightly, before looking over to the doctor. “What’s her condition?”

“Concussion,” he began simply. “She has the typical symptoms. Headache, dizziness, confusion, delusional, and poor coordination.”

“Tired…” Rainbow commented, only just happening to perfectly add that to Stable’s list.

They both looked to her for a moment before bringing their attention back to each other. “And lethargy. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s another Stormball patient.”

Rainbow Dash’s injuries told a different story, however. They were just too obvious. The bandage strapped to the side of her head indicated that she was struck by an object that caused cuts or gashes. And her black eyes seemed to have the shape of horseshoes around the edges. And there was no guess work required to tell which was inflicted first, or who caused them. Twilight took a moment to shake the thought from her mind. Now was not the time to dwell on that.

“I know a spell to treat headaches, if it’ll help,” she chipped in, thankful that she had the opportunity to learn it from her sister personally in the past.

Stable nodded slightly, prompting the alicorn to face Rainbow. Her horn became aglow with magenta aura as she concentrated on the magic, quickly casting the healing spell on her friend. It’s gentle warmth enveloped the pegasus momentarily, then diminished. “Feeling better, Rainbow?”

Rainbow grit her teeth some as the magic seeped into her skull. But only for a moment. As quickly as the spell dissipated, so did her mind-numbing headache. She opened her eyes upon hearing the voice again. The room was still moving, but at least it didn’t hurt as much. She could even feel a portion of clarity return to her mind as well.

“Do you feel better?” Stable reiterated after a few moments.

“Uhh… yeah… a little,” Dash confirmed. Feeling like she could process her thoughts now, a question came back into her mind. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital, Rainbow,” the purple mare elaborated.

Stable watched as Rainbow Dash looked around in confusion again. Seeming as if she didn’t think that this was a hospital. “She’s going to have trouble with recognizing places and ponies for a while,” he remarked.

Twilight seemed troubled by this. “Do you… know who I am?”

Rainbow thought about that for a moment. She knew that she recognized the ponies around her, but somehow she felt like she didn’t at the same time. It almost made her head hurt to think about it. Out of frustration, Rainbow picked the first name she could think of. “Yeah! Uhh… mmm… Princess Egghead!”

Twilight couldn’t help a small snort at that, holding a weak smile afterwards. “Close enough.” Twilight’s eyes then drifted slightly, looking over to a clock. It was nearly a quarter to twelve. She then looked back to Doctor Stable. “How long do you think she’ll be here?”

He shrugged a response. “That’s wholly dependant on her rate of recovery. If you’re looking for an approximation, I’d say a couple weeks. Give or take a few days.” A heavy sigh from the prismatic mare drew their attention for a moment.

Twilight shook her head some. “I should’ve flown after you, Rainbow…”

Rainbow Dash offered a blank stare until the comment fully processed. At which point she shook her head slowly. “Why must everything be your fault?”

Twilight didn’t seem to have an answer for that one. Or, at the very least, she didn’t offer one. “Blame the white one,” RD commented. She then heard a familiar, dramatic tone gasp abruptly, before trying to form a word or two of retaliation. But it would seem that the voice just gave up after the third or fourth try. This earned a weak laugh from the patient.

Rainbow then quickly lost her train of thought. She felt like she was suppose to be going somewhere, but wasn’t sure where. At wits end, she decided to pick up where she left off. “Why must everything be your fault?”

After having repeated herself, Rainbow felt like she’d already heard somepony make the joke. Frustrated, she just sighed. “Ugh… this sucks. Still can’t think straight. Too tired to care.”

Twilight kept hold of her small smile for the moment. At least she didn’t seem different. That was a good sign. “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on getting better. I’m going to fix everything, I promise.”

Rainbow stared for a moment, before shaking her head slightly. “No, you don’t worry. Apple Mac is mine.”

“Rainbow, you’re going to be here for at least two weeks. Am I suppose to just ignore her until you’re better?” Twilight reasoned. However, Rainbow Dash continued her determined stare. Twilight wasn’t sure if Rainbow didn’t hear her, or if she was just ignoring what she said. Either way, the outcome would be the same.

“When you’re better, you can have any discussion you want with her. But once I find her, I intend to have my own with Applejack,” Twilight decreed firmly.

Rainbow Dash continued to stare for a moment, before looking away in disappointment. She’d only just awoken minutes ago, and she was already aggravated by being bed-ridden. “Fine,” she sighed. “Just… don’t hurt her… okay?”

Twilight watched Rainbow for a minute, her rosy eyes drawn back to the alicorn. She wasn’t sure if she should be more surprised that Rainbow thought Twilight would intentionally harm the earth mare, or at the fact that Rainbow was still genuinely concerned for her friend. Putting one another in the hospital was not exactly on her ‘How to Pass the Time with my Best Friend Today’ list. Such things generally fell upon her ‘Reasons to Avoid Certain Ponies’ list.

Nonetheless, Twilight offered a small nod, “I promise.”

Stable took a moment to clear his throat, grabbing the attention of the mares. “I think we should let Rainbow get some more rest. She can be visited again in a few hours.”

Twilight nodded to the doctor before looking back to her friend. “I’ll visit as often as I can, okay?” Rainbow spent a few moments before a nod escaped her. That’s when Twilight looked back to the doctor. “If you need anything at all…”

Doctor Stable chuckled slightly. If only he had a bit for every time a friend or family member of a patient expressed their uncertainty to him. “There’s no need, Princess. Though I understand your concern. Just try to refrain from galloping through the halls and disturbing the patients. Rainbow is not the only one who requires uninterrupted rest…”

“Right… sorry about that…” Twilight blushed for a moment, before returning her attention back to Rainbow Dash. “Try to rest well, Rainbow.” The pegasus mare nodded slightly after a moment. Prompting the alicorn and the doctor to turn on their hooves and leave her.

Rainbow watch Twilight walk away slowly before something came to mind.

“See ya later?” she tossed out, though more as a question than a statement.

Twilight stopped to look back and smile warmly. “See you later, Dash.” The Wonderbolt gave up a weak smile before returning to her own little world. Twilight rejoined the group, who all seemed to have been watching them.

“How’s she gunna be, Twilight?” Spike asked in a low tone.

“Well… the doctor thinks she’s going to be okay. Besides, she’s holding together surprisingly well. Despite what happened…” Twilight spoke softly.

Rarity gave her a curious look. “You know what happened?”

“It’s not hard to see. The lack of defensive wounds means that both strikes happened in quick succession. The first was obviously a large, fragile object, like a bottle or vase. The second was a buck to the face.” She looked on to see Big Mac offer a nod to confirm this. “Knowing Rainbow, she pushed and pushed until Applejack resorted to violence.”

“Essentially,” Big Mac responded. There was a little more to it than just that, but that was the cut and dry of it.

Twilight nodded. “Well, the way I see it, there’s only one thing left to do.” The alicorn then leveled her narrowed eyes on Big Mac.

“Where is Applejack?” the princess requested with authority.

Big Mac mulled over the decision to tell Twilight that she was likely at the motel, as he witnessed what could be best placed as a vengeful glare from the princess. He almost felt like he was standing before an entirely different pony for the moment. “A-Ah don’t know if confrontin’ her’s such a good idea today, Twilight. Ah think this needs a day or two ta blow over and settle down first.”

“I admire your concern, Big Mac, and I might be inclined to agree under different circumstances. But this is unacceptable.” A wing pointed back towards Rainbow for a moment, who was turned away on her side to try and find some comfort in her bed. “Friends don’t hurt friends. Not like this. It’s painfully obvious to me that leaving Applejack alone is simply no longer an option. Now, if you don’t want to help, that’s fine. But I respectfully ask that you not impede me either.”

Big Mac could feel himself shrink away, mentally. While he didn’t want to tell her, something told him he should stay close so he could intervene if he needed to. “Well… what do ya plan on doin’?” Her answer to that would be the deciding factor for him.

“Simple.” And yet, everypony there leaned in slightly, hanging from the one word that couldn’t describe the situation. “Applejack is going to give me a piece of her mind…”

Earlier, that morning…

Applejack laid awake on her motel room bed, the sunrise having just crept through the window and blanketed her tear-stained face. Yet, even as the sun welcomed her to a new day, and invited her to start it off, all she could do was stare blankly at the ceiling. Dwelling on the prior night. Replaying it over and over again in her mind.

Eventually, it all boiled down to the one question left standing…

’Is this it for me?’

She hadn’t forgotten what Granny said to her either. Overall, it was pretty much the hardest part to take. But at the same time, Applejack couldn’t envision herself continuing to stay on the farm any longer. It now held too many painful memories. Memories she wanted to escape.

Finally, the orange mare moved her head to the side where a clock sat. It was just a few minutes before six-thirty. Knowing her family, they'd have taken the morning off to stay with Rainbow Dash.

That was fine.

The earth mare got out of bed slowly now, collecting her hat off the nightstand before taking her leave of the room. She checked out at the front desk before sauntering through the early morning streets of Ponyville. As her eyes wandered, other citizens came in and out of view, all going through morning preparations and catering to early risers. Things seemed eerily normal as she passed through town: the restaurants held ponies who were abuzz over breakfast delights, shops here and there were busy with consumers, and foals raced each other playfully towards the school.

As she approached the market, Applejack stopped for a moment. Her eyes locked onto the usual setup spot for the apple farm. It was empty right now. But, for the farmer, a little shimmer of the past played before her eyes. A nicely built stand came into view, operated by herself... and a pale-blue stallion.

"So, zhis is vwhat you do?" the stallion asked, circling the stand to test it against his scrutiny.

Applejack shook her head, comfortably seated behind the stand. "Not always, no. But considerin' you've never been apple buckin' before, Ah thought you might like to take it easy at first."

He stopped where he stood to look over at the mare, acting as if he took offense to her statement. "Vwhat? You zhink I can't handle zhe vwork? I vwas a farmer vonce too, you know!"

Applejack chuckled. "Heheh, buckin' ain't as easy as Big Mac makes it look, Oliver. Besides, Ah didn't want us to be too tired tonight." With that, she tossed him a playful smirk.

Oliver raised a brow slightly. "Oh? Got a hot date tonight?"

"Ah might..." she teased.

Oliver now moved in close to his marefriend, nuzzling their cheeks together slowly. "You should tell me who. I might have a bone to pick vwizh zhem later." Yet, as he said this, there was only the lightest hints of lust in his voice. No notes of betrayal or animosity to be found for miles.

"Hahaha! You're so weird, Oliver." Applejack smirked as she pushed him off. “Alright now, stay focused! Ah think we’re about to have our first customer today…”

Applejack watched on as the memory faded after that. She shook her head slightly before continuing on her path. Ears flat with her gaze down low.

Soon enough, the houses and shops gave way to big, open fields and grassy plains. The path became a little more coarse, not having been traveled as frequently. Then trees came into view, all bearing delicious apples.

Stopping before a fenced-off section, another shimmer of the past bled into view.

"Vwhy is zhis vone locked?" Oliver asked, jiggling the fence gate as if the effort would unlock it for him.

"That there's a part of the orchard that some fruit bats nested in,” Applejack elaborated. “Me and Fluttershy turned it into a sanctuary so that they'll leave the rest of the apple trees alone. If ya look close enough, you might get to see one."

“Hmm…” Oliver now cast a squinted stare up into the trees, trying to find a sign of life among the leaves. Suddenly, a fruit bat flew in and out of view, quick as a whip. The excited Oliver threw up a hoof in the general area it left to. "Oh, hey! Zhere's a red vone!"

"Eyup. The whole section is filled with the little varmints." Applejack remained stoic as another one came up to perch itself on a branch and partake in the delicious red fruit before it.

"Zhey're kinda cute," Oliver commented, getting a good look at the new one.

Applejack shrugged. "Ah guess they can be, compared to the vampire fruit bats anyway."

"Vampire?" Oliver asked nervously.

"Ah wouldn't go gallopin' to see them anytime soon if Ah were you," Applejack warned, nodding off towards the path to signify that they should continue walking.

Oliver rubbed his chin in thought, trying to envision a vampire fruit bat all the same. "Hm, I'll just take your vword for it." He then rushed right up to trot alongside the mare.

Just as quickly as the two translucent figures came into view, they disappeared. Headed off to the farm house. Even though they were shadows of the past, Applejack couldn't help feeling left behind.

Continuing her small journey back home, Applejack managed to get back to the house without fanfare. It seemed just as she figured, everypony was gone away from the house. It was quiet there now, save for the light melody of Granny Smith’s snoring coming from her room. She wasn't too concerned about waking her. Granny was too heavy of a sleeper.

Looking around the house, random shadows played at the edges of her vision. All memories that she'd nearly forgotten about. Too far back to even piece together a single event.

Hooves guided AJ up the stairs and back to her room. Opening the door, the earth mare finally realized how much of a mess she was living in. But Applejack couldn't worry about that much anymore.

Hooves began to sort through the clutter, allowing her to dig up a saddle pack from underneath old clothes. She quickly strapped it around her barrel, and began to fill it with some travel essentials. As she packed, Applejack came across an old duster jacket. Attention was quickly brought upon the mare’s own image, turning her head to see that her physique had diminished in recent years. It was nothing new, but she couldn’t help feeling slightly self-conscious about it now. The jacket was picked up and dusted of debris before it was wrapped around her person.

It was a slightly loose fit, which was fine. Applejack would have room to grow. If she were to get her appetite back anytime soon, that is.

Looking herself over again, her unkempt body didn’t stand out much anymore, which made AJ feel a little better. But, the pale grey color didn’t suit the rest of her attire well. She planned to change that, though.

When Applejack felt like she had everything ready, she took one last look around the room. Her eyes fell upon the corner of the room which held her bed, where the ambient light seemed to dim slightly. A ghostly light flickered, guided by another pair of shadows.

Oliver huffed and panted, sweat dripping from his brow. A wipe from the fore-leg flicked the beads away, before he looked back to Applejack. “Huff, huff… fhew! I zhink I have a deeper respect for vwhat you do here now.”

Applejack giggled at her coltfriend’s expense. “Why don’t you take a rest on the bed, while Ah wash up real quick.”

“Don’t have to tell me tvwice!” He smirked before pushing himself up onto the bed.

While Applejack disappeared into the bathroom, Oliver finally had the chance to catch his breath. As he did so, he looked around the room. Not really having gotten the chance to see it before.

It was tidy and quaint, yet it seemed to lack personality. The only decorations to mention was a painting above the headboard, and a single picture frame on the night stand. Holding an image of more ponies than he dared to try and count, all standing before a large red barn.

“What’cha got there?” Applejack asked, having come back in with freshly washed hooves.

“Huh? Oh, I vwas just lookingk at zhis picture. Is zhis your whole family?”

Applejack nodded before going over to sit on the bed next to him. “Eyup. That there’s from the Apple Family Reunion that Ah organized myself. Largest gathering in Apple history!” She chuckled.

“I can see zhe resemblance…” Oliver’s eyes scanned over the photo some more, before looking back up to her. “So, vwhich vone of zhese ponies are your parents?”

Applejack’s eyes widened slightly, before looking down, ears laid flat against her skull.

Oliver bit his tongue immediately. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright, Sugarcube. Ya didn’t know…”

Applejack hopped off the bed and wandered over to her night stand. She pulled the drawer out and dug up a small three-by-five photo. A warm smile creased her muzzle as a hoof gently slid over the face of the picture, before she gave it to Oliver. “My parents… died a long time ago… when Ah was just a young’n…”

The mare watched Oliver carefully take the picture into his hoof to look it over. “That there’s when Pa first taught me to buck apples. He gave me his hat as a reward,” Applejack elaborated.

Oliver stared at a young filly playfully nestled atop her father’s back, grinning as he placed an oversized hat upon her head. Beside them was one of the many apple trees, with a hoof-full of apples about the ground.

He could really see the resemblance between them. This stallion was big and bulky, like Big Mac. But he had almost the exact same coat color as Applejack. The only real distinguishing difference between the two, besides size and gender, was their mane colors. The father had a red mane, almost similar to Apple Bloom, but not quite as rich in tone. “You look just like him.”

“Heheh… everypony use to say that all the time. ‘Specially Ma.” She smiled slightly while a tear was wiped from her face.

“Do you have a picture of her?” Oliver asked hesitantly, holding out the picture for her to take back.

“Course Ah do.” her smile brightened some, which prompted a warm smile from him. “H-here… let me get ‘em all out for ya.”

She grabbed the small stack of pictures she owned and hopped back onto the bed, sharing her memories behind each photo with him.

The room slowly lit back up as the shimmers faded, leaving a messy bed in its wake. Applejack wandered over to her drawer and pulled it out, revealing the aged stack of photos of her parents. Some of her happiest memories were there in that stack. Something told her she would need those to get by. So, she carefully picked them up and placed them in a safe spot inside her saddle pack.

Beside that, among the other things she almost forgot about, was a little filly’s diary bearing her name. She opened it up and glanced through the pages. All manner of foalish topics were listed there. Dreams and aspirations. Among other typical things. Soon enough, Applejack got half-way through the little book, where the rest of the pages remained blank. She could never work the courage to continue writing in her mother’s gift for her. After so many years, she doubted she ever would again.

Taking a pencil into her mouth, Applejack flipped half the journal under itself and set it down on the stand to write on.

My Dear Family,

I have a feeling that you might come across this some day soon. I don’t have it in me to face you anymore. Not after all the problems I caused. But I know I’d regret it if I didn’t leave you with one last note. To Granny: I love you. I’m sorry. I’m just not good enough for you anymore. I know now, that I failed you. I really am, truly, sorry. Cheerilee: please forgive me. I haven’t added up in your eyes. And I never meant anything I said against you. I know you’ll make a fine mare for my brother. Big Mac: please, don’t hate me. I just can’t stand by your side anymore. I never meant to hurt you. For Apple Bloom: dear, dear A.B. Please don’t blame me. I’ve always done what I could. What I thought was truly right. But, lately, I haven’t had my head on straight, and I ended up hurting you the most. I remember everything… and I wish I could take it back. If there was one last thing I could do for you, I would take it all back. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sor

Her lips failed, the pencil falling from her mouth before she could finish it. A few stray tears dotted the page. Applejack sniffled slightly while rubbing her eyes, before flipping the diary over to a fresh page on the other side. It wouldn’t do any good to leave them a messy note. But the coal in her throat wouldn’t allow her to jot down another long message. So, she resolved to writing a simple, three-word apology in the center of the page. Followed by ‘goodbye’.

Under the guidance of her hoof, the journal found its way to the middle of her bed before she left, making sure not to wake Granny Smith as she did.

Farther down the orchard, past the sanctuaries and beyond the fences. In the farthest reaches of the property, there sat a hill with a lone apple tree. Big and tall and strong. Even more so than the other trees below. And at the foot of the hill, Applejack sat. Staring at the old tree.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there. But, judging by the position of the sun, she guessed that it was likely around eight in the morning by now. Looking back towards the tree, Applejack took a moment longer to marvel the serenity of it, leaves rustling gently in the breeze.

The voice of a young filly quickly drew her attention to the right, however.

”Whoa! That tree is huge, Pa!” exclaimed a young Applejack.

A large, orange earth stallion sporting a red mane chuckled aloud. “It sure is.”

“Why is it all by itself, Pa?” the little filly inquired.

“ ‘Cause it’s special, AJ,” The stallion elaborated without missing a beat. His voice deep, yet soft and soothing.

“Bein’ big makes it special?” The little filly seemed a bit confused by the statement. “Wouldn’t that mean that Big Mac is special?” That thought came with a sad, puppy-dog face. Which was directed towards her father.

He chuckled again, scooping the filly up into a hug. “No more special than you or Ah am, Applejack.” The little filly giggled as she accepted her father’s warming embrace, before being placed on his back.

“Now, what makes this here tree special isn’t its size. Me an’ Ma would always go an’ sit under that tree in our free time. Share a lunch an’ such. Watch the clouds pass by... and wonder ‘bout the little things.” He smiled.

“Did you and Ma kiss there too?” Applejack asked, disinterest apparent in her voice.

The stallion’s eyes widened slightly at that. “Now who went an’ put that idea in yer head?”

“Granny said you two would be out all night every now and then, kissin’ and huggin’ under the moonlight before Big Brother was around. If this tree is your special tree, then this is where you and Ma must’a kissed, right?”

Applejack smiled slightly. Oh, the ignorance of foalhood…

The stallion chuckled nervously now, a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his neck. “Ah guess ya caught me red-hooved!”

“Did you give Ma colt cooties there, too?” The little filly’s disinterest in the tree slightly increased now.

“Yer just full of ideas today, aren’t ya AJ?” The stallion bellowed his laughter.

“Tell ya what, little filly. Why don’t we go up to the tree, and you can see for yerself why it’s so special. You can see the whole apple orchard an’ everythin’ from up there! Nice, cool breeze. Great for after a hard day’s workin’!” the stallion carried on as he took her up the hill on his back.

“Ah’m not gunna get colt cooties too, am Ah?”

Applejack laughed now, going up the hill alongside her father, who laughed with her.

”Ah’m not gunna give ya colt cooties, Ah promise. But, ya know? One day, yer not gunna think colt cooties are all that bad…”

As she neared the top, the memory faded from Applejack’s mind, receding back into the past. There, under the shade of the tree, sat two headstones. One beside the other. Both worn and chipped by time.

Stopping some distance away, another pair of shadows played across her vision before the grave markers, both sitting in sullen silence. There were a few moments where neither talked or moved, before the stallion spoke up.

”Zhis vwas zheir favorite spot, huh?” Oliver asked quietly.

“Yeah. Ah like to come by and visit them whenever Ah’m feelin’ sad or alone. Talk to ‘em... an’ think about the little things.” There was a short moment of silence before she continued. “Nopony else knows Ah ever come here,” Applejack remarked in a low voice.

Oliver looked around some, taking in the glory of the scenery. “It’s beautiful up here. I can see vwhy zhey loved it so much.”

“Ah reckon it is,” Applejack agreed plainly. The hill once had an appeal to her. But, these days, she couldn’t find anything spectacular about it anymore. It was just a physical reminder of the tragedy she endured.

When she felt a hoof slowly wrap around her shoulders, the farmer leaned her head against her coltfriend, closing her eyes in a vain attempt to hold back a stray tear. “Ah miss them... so much.”

“Da, da… I’m... certain zhey miss you too…” Oliver silently cursed himself. He wanted to try and make her feel better right now, but he recognized that those probably weren’t the best choice of words.

Taking a moment to think more, he continued to try and console her again. “Deazh leaves a heartache zhat nopony can heal…” Oliver looked down to her now, a sniffle escaping her muzzle. “But love leaves a memory nopony can steal.”

Applejack slowly looked up to meet Oliver’s eyes after that. “Wh-hat’s that suppose to mean?” she choked out.

Oliver smiled, albeit somewhat weakly. “I’d be lying if I said zhat it gets better vwizh time. But, zhe ponies zhat you love are never truly gone. Zheir memories help zhem live on… right here.” He gently placed a hoof over her heart. “Remember zhat zhe next time you feel sad, or alone. And, vwhen you come here… focus on zhose memories. You just might hear zhem speak back… vwhen you need zhem zhe most.”

Applejack returned his smile with her own small one. “Thanks, Oliver.”

She then leaned up and pecked him on the lips, before lowering her head onto his shoulder and making herself comfortable. Focusing on good memories to try and see if she could hear her father again.

The memory quickly faded, allowing the orange mare to go over and sit down where she once was before the graves.

Only, truly alone this time.

It was eerily quiet for a short while as she observed the stones. She then closed her eyes, and thought back on all the good memories she had of her parents. Learning how to buck apples, making her first pie. The first time she helped sell at the market.

Soon enough, a light breeze blew by, which sent chills running up and down her spine. For a moment, Applejack felt as if there was somepony on either side of her. Not wanting to lose that familiar warmth, Applejack kept her eyes shut.

“H-... hi Ma. Hi Pa. It’s… been a while, hasn’t it?”

Applejack couldn’t help feeling a little weird. Half of her mind told her that there was no logical way they were there. But the other half would swear by it. This war of feelings was short-lived, however, when Applejack felt something strike her on the head.

“Ow!”

A hoof came up to rub her scalp, finally opening her eyes to find that an apple had fallen from the tree and knocked her on the head. A nervous chuckle escaped her at that. “Ah guess Ah deserved that, didn’t Ah? Ow!!”

Another one hit her while she was watching the first one. The second apple bounced off the back of her head before rolling away down the hill.

“Alright, alright. Ah really deserved it. Ya got one each, so can Ah talk now?” She chuckled meekly.

Suddenly, it didn’t feel so odd sitting there on the hill, talking to the air. Maybe it was just because her eyes weren’t closed anymore. Carefully taking the apple that didn’t roll away, Applejack placed it atop her mother’s stone. Then, she removed her hat and held it over her chest.

“Ah’m so sorry, Ma. Ah know you’re disappointed with me. But… Ah just don’t have the strength to fight anymore. Ah’ve lost too much here. You, Pa… Oliver. My friends. My happiness… Ah’ll never have any of that here again. Ah need to… to start over… somewhere…”

As she carried on, she could feel the sadness and despair plague her. Where would she go? Who would she turn to? Who could she turn to? She shook her head slightly. “Maybe… maybe if Ah settle down somewhere different, Ah can… Ah can forget… about…”

Another sniffle escaped, her body tremoring under a cold, dead chill. The memory of losing her parents. Her mother compelling her to leave with Big Mac and AB, while she stayed behind.

Blood.

Bruising.

The howling.

Another gentle breeze brought her out of the dark memory, pulling her attention back into the present. Applejack heaved a weighted sigh before continuing. “Ah just… can’t stay here any longer. Ah’m gunna miss you, though. Maybe… if Ah’m ever in town. Maybe Ah’ll stop by and visit again. Okay?”

Now it was her fathers turn. Moving over slightly to sit before his stone, Applejack placed the hat down on the top of his marker. It fit nice and tight, reassuring her that it wouldn’t go anywhere. “Ah’m sorry, Pa. Ah haven’t done anything to deserve this anymore. I-... it was yours, anyways. Thanks for lettin’ me hold on to it for ya, though…”

Applejack took a moment to think, before continuing. “You’re probably disappointed the most. You’re the one that taught me hard work and honesty, after all…” A half-hearted chuckle escaped her at that. “Ah’m so sorry…”

Applejack felt like she was at a loss for words now. Simply put, there just wasn’t much more left to say. Stifling a choke, Applejack got up onto her hooves.

“Ah guess… this is goodbye, then. Ah… Ah love you.”

A strong breeze enveloped the mare in a soothing, cool feeling, sending welcome tremors throughout her body. Applejack closed her eyes to enjoy it as it blew through her mane.

”We love ya too, AJ.”

“Be strong, my little Apple.”

A smile graced her lips as she experienced the warmth of their voices, relishing in the opportunity to have heard them again. Even if it could be mistaken as the wind. For, in that moment, while the breeze swirled around her… Applejack felt the warmth of her mother’s love once more. fortified by the strength of her father’s pride.

Nothing left to say or do, the mare slowly turned around and left the graves. As she descended the hill, the shadows of a large orange stallion sitting next to a green earth mare appeared. His hoof around her shoulders as they watched Applejack leaving. Both a hopeful smile on their faces, and tears in their eyes.

“Here ya go, Derpy!” A tan-coated pegasus cheerfully slid a paper bag across the counter, labeled with a muffin topped by a lemon wedge. “Last of the batch, just for you!”

Derpy chimed her glee as she took the bag into her hoof, exchanging a small sack of bits for it. “Yay! Thanks Pound Cake! I really do love these.”

“Anytime,” he replied cooly, waving the googly-eyed pony off as she left. With the last of the breakfast line taken care of for the morning, Pound Cake settled the bits into the register before going back into the kitchen to check on the others.

“How’s everything going, girls?” he asked as he casually walked into the kitchen.

“Super-duper!” Pinkie cheered, who was currently decorating a dome-shaped cake with different colors of frosting. Blue and white dominated the decorations, with a little bit of yellow for a sun. All slowly coming together to make a masterful skyscape. Themed for a pegasus, in all likelihood. Or perhaps a pony that really liked the sky.

A ‘ding’ rang out on the other side of the kitchen, prompting Pumpkin Cake to grab an oven mit. The door opened to reveal a tray full of freshly-baked cupcakes, all toasty and puffy. Those were taken from the oven and set to cool while another batch of batter-filled cups went in and the timer restarted.

Setting the mit down, Pumpkin smiled her delight. “Doin’ pretty good over here as well!”

“Great!” Pound replied with a smile. His attention was redirected to the cake Pinkie was decorating, Pumpkin joining in on the watch as well. “That’s looking pretty good, Pinkie. Who ordered it?”

“Nopony ordered it. I’m trying out a new recipe I thought up in the bubble bath yesterday. I thought to myself, ‘Pinkie, how awesomely fluffy would a cake be if you made it with clouds?’ So I put clouds in the batter before I baked it!” Pinkie offered a broad grin to them before finishing up the last touches to the design. “And, since I made it with clouds, I thought, why not make it a cloud cake? And now it’s got lots and lots of clouds!”

The twins exchanged quizzical glances while the earth mare hummed a delightful tune. That’s when Pumpkin spoke up, “Sounds good. But… how did you get clouds for the batter?”

“With a measuring cup, silly! How else would I know when I have just the right amount?” the party pony reasoned in an upbeat tone.

The other two were still left without the intended answer, but decided not to inquire further. Even with having lived with Pinkie Pie all their lives, neither could figure her out. It was odd, but in a comical way of speaking.

Taking it at face value, Pound Cake shrugged it off and went over to grab a set of plates and a knife. “Well, I’ll bite. Certainly sounds like it would be interesting.”

Having finished her latest creation, Pinkie giggled at a thought. “And fun, too! Watch this!” She then took the knife and a plate from the stallion and began to carve out a slice. The blade was then pushed under the cake, before swiftly flipping it into the air as if it were a pancake.

The twins gasped under their breath, expecting it to flop to the side. Instead, it softly and slowly flipped through the air, landing safely upon the plate Pinkie was holding on her other side.

Pound’s jaw hung loose at the spectacle. Much the same as Pumpkin’s did. Though, he was the first to break the silence. “That’s wild, Pinks…”

The earth mare giggled. “Not at all. It’s actually pretty tame. If it were wild, it’d probably be all, ’Whoo-hooo!!’ Or maybe, ’Vrooooom-neeerrooom! Awm-narm-rawrm, wrahr!!’”

The three shared in some light-hearted laughter at the pink mare’s joke before two additional slices were cut out and plated.

“Well, here goes!” Pound sounded, before taking a bite out of the creation. They each moaned their muffled delight in the new experience.

“It’s so fluffy and light!” Pumpkin exclaimed after having swallowed her mouthful.

“I think this is my new favorite!” Pound commented before eating some more.

“Mega-fun-tasti-rific is the first word that comes to my mind!” Pinkie chimed, enjoying it a lot herself. “Lots of ponies are gunna really love this!” Such a notion only filled her with glee. In her excitement, Pinkie ate the rest of her slice whole, deeply enjoying the experience.

Savoring the texture with a satisfied sigh, Pinkie was brought back from Candy Land when she heard the door bell jingle. Pound and Pumpkin were both busy eating. So, naturally, Pinkie Pie opted to go help the customer. “I’ll go take care of that,” was all that was said before she was out the kitchen door.

Merrily strolling down the short hallway, Pinkie began to speak before the customer had a chance to feel like nopony was there, “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! Where everything is-”

Pinkie’s train of thought was ground to a halt, just like her stride, when her eyes fell upon a slightly uncomfortable Applejack standing behind the counter.

AJ expected as much from her. Out of all her friends, Pinkie took the brunt of her aggressions the most personally. Though, instead of a disgruntled mare, Pinkie would find that Applejack now seemed down, and a little desperate for help. Which wasn’t far from the truth at all. Silence pervaded for a couple of minutes, before Applejack summoned the courage to break it. “Pinkie Pie… can… Ah talk with you… for a minute?”

Pinkie had never felt such shock and awe in all of her life. Or, at least, she couldn’t remember a time in which those feelings were greater. Which was unlikely, because she made an effort to remember everything. Right now, all she could remember was everything that Applejack had ever said to her. How hard she pushed her away, and the lows she summed to for her peace.

Pinkie now seemed to exist somewhere between anger and depression. Resulting in mixed feelings for the orange mare. Something decided to give the benefit of a doubt, though. Her legs took her over to the edge of the counter, and wordlessly gave the smallest of nods.

Applejack shuffled her forehooves slightly before giving a small sigh. She wanted to start with an apology, but it was kind of hard to voice out for some reason. “Ah’m...sor-... sorta leavin’ Ponyville.”

“Sorta leaving?” Pinkie inquired, giving her an odd look.

Applejack simply nodded.

Pinkie Pie couldn’t help feeling a little sad about that. “Well… okay. I mean, what about the farm? And your family… and friends?”

“Ah overstayed my welcome,” came Applejack’s reply, a hint of sadness in the undertone.

Pinkie’s mane deflated slightly, her eyes losing a notable amount of vibrance. She hadn’t talked to her in about three years now because of the things she said. But, deep down, after all they’ve shared together, she still held a place in her heart for the down-to-earth country mare. It was simply her nature to love and accept her as family. “You… can stay with me… if you want,” the pink mare offered hesitantly.

Applejack just shook her head slowly. “That’s mighty kind of you, Pinkie… but Ah need a new town… not a new bed.”

Pinkie looked down and to the side now. Lazily brushing a hoof against the ground. “So… is that all…?”

Applejack remained quiet for a minute or so. Fumbling a hoof against the floor in the same manner as the baker. She then managed to swallow her pride enough to look back to her. “Ah was wonderin’... if Ah could borrow some money. Ah need a train ticket to… somewhere.”

Pinkie subconsciously shook her head slowly. “Don’t ask me to help you leave,” She said in a low tone.

Applejack sighed. “Ah can pay ya back later…”

Pinkie Pie thought about it deeply for a moment. Her gaze wandered over to the register, then back to Applejack. Watching her pleading eyes.

For an instant, Pinkie resented the fact that she looked so defeated. What gave her the right to play at this like a victim? But, then, Applejack wasn’t always that way. She was once a good pony and a great friend. That’s when a thought came to mind. “I’ll give you what I can… if you tell me what’s wrong.”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed slightly at the trade offer. “Why do y’all care so much about my own personal business?”

Pinkie didn’t have to think long at all on that one. But the pause she spent made it seem that way. “Because we’re friends. Friends help each other… no matter what.” There existed a long list of other reasons that could answer that question, but the one she gave summed them all up pretty well.

Applejack sighed heavily. For a moment, she contemplated telling her what she wanted to know just so she could get her bits and leave. That route was quickly thrown to the side, however. “This ain’t somethin’ you can fix with hugs and smiles, Pinkie. Nothin’ can. Can’t Ah just leave it at that?”

Pinkie shook her head again. Some of her fluffy mane returning to her now. At least she didn’t get a negative reaction this time. Maybe if she were to push for it, Pinkie might finally get an answer to all this.

“No, you can’t,” she began, taking a moment to open the register. A sack sat within her view, likely holding somewhere between twenty or thirty bits. This was taken by a hoof and set down on the counter between them.

Both eyed the pouch for a moment, then each other. “You want to leave? That’s fine. But if you want this, you’re going to have to sing.” Pinkie now watched her with determination.

“Sing?” Applejack deadpanned.

Pinkie nodded. “Like a stool pelican.”

AJ raised a brow, catching the gist of what she meant. Applejack had to think about this one as she exchanged glares with the pink mare. She could easily rebuke the notion, but this situation wasn’t quite so simple now. It pretty much all boiled down to one question.

How badly did she want the money?

Applejack debated just hoofing it to the south. But, to make any decent time, she’d have to cut through Everfree. Going around it would cost her a couple of days. A tough journey if she didn’t have supplies. And she needed bits to get supplies. This left AJ feeling trapped between a rock and a hard place. A feeling she didn’t much care for.

“Ya want the truth, Pinkie Pie?” Applejack began indignantly.

Pinkie flinched slightly, but for the most part held firm with a solid nod.

“You couldn’t understand the truth! You don’t know what it’s like to live life constantly reminded ‘bout the things you’ve lost! The ponies ya loved most, who raised and cared for you, stolen from your very hooves in an instant!” Watery eyes now betrayed Applejack’s spiteful anger as she choked a cough, staring the wordless mare in the eyes. “Ah had to watch ‘em die, Pinkie! Leave ‘em in the middle of the forest covered in their… their blood!”

By this point, the pain she so thoroughly fought to escape crashed her entire being, flooring Applejack in a tired, trembling heap of sorrow. Pinkie Pie hesitated while she listened to her friend sob unceremoniously in the middle of the store. She looked around for a moment, before slowly going around the counter to stand by Applejack’s side.

Pinkie slumped down to the floor by the orange mare and held her tightly in a side-long embrace. The only thing she could fathom doing. She never knew the whole story, but she knew that something awful had happened to Applejack. Pinkie never imagined it was quite this bad, though. “You’ve always been afraid that it’ll happen again, huh? To you… or somepony else you love?” Pinkie ventured a hunch instinctively.

Applejack wordlessly nodded. “Ah can’t get past it… every time Ah try… it hurts too much.”

Pinkie remained silent while Applejack finally let everything out, tears and all. The pink mare held her friend close to make sure she didn’t feel alone.

When Applejack’s crying finally wanned, Pinkie lightly nuzzled the sides of their heads together, choosing to talk in a low voice. “You’re right. There’s nothing I can do to fix it. But… I do know what it’s like to lose somepony special to me…”

There was a brief pause before Pinkie Pie continued. “Three years ago… I lost a good friend of mine. A pony I never thought I would have lost. A pony I consider family. When I did, I felt like a part of my soul was lost with her, and it made me feel empty and alone. My friends loved and cared for me, but I couldn’t get over it. In a way, I never did…”

When Applejack realized who she was talking about, Pinkie Pie nodded a silent confirmation. She then looked to the country mare and offered a weak smile. “After a while, I began to see that my depression was starting to affect the ponies who were trying to help me. And I didn’t want to hurt them too.”

Applejack sniffled slightly before looking away. “Wha-... what did you do?”

“I smiled,” Pinkie answered resolutely. “I smiled and laughed until it hurt, and smiled some more.”

Applejack seemed confused, prompting the party pony to elaborate. “I realized that the ponies I love, who care about me and love me back, don’t want me to be sad. They want me to be happy. And it makes them happy to see me happy. So, I made myself happy, and I stayed that way. Because I don’t like to see them sad.”

Applejack didn’t quite understand that. “So, what? Ah’m s’ppose to just… brush it off? Act like nothin’ happened?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “No. It’s not meant for you to try and forget the loss. It’s meant for you to weigh what’s more important to you. The ponies you’ve loved and lost… or the ponies still here, who love you, and are afraid of losing you too.”

Applejack seemed to be deep in thought now. But at least she appeared to feel a bit better.

Pinkie patted her back lightly before getting up. Her hooves went over to snatch-up the coin pouch, before going back to offer them to the farmer. “As promised…”

Applejack stared at the money in front of her face for a moment, before slowly completing the exchange. Pinkie watched her rise up to her hooves and dust herself off a little. That’s when the pink mare found the impulse to ask. “Can I… see you off at the station?”

Applejack offered the weakest of smiles with the smallest of nods, which Brightened Pinkie Pie a little herself.

“Wait here.” Pinkie Pie slowly trotted off towards the kitchen, stopping at the beginning of the hall to see Pound and Pumpkin slouched against the wall. Both looking down and concerned. “Hey, guys.” she said quietly. “What’cha doin’ here?”

Pound and Pumpkin both exchanged slightly worried looks before their attention was given back to the pink mare. “You alright, Pinks?” Pound asked quietly.

Pinkie Pie threw out a grin, but her still slightly deflated mane betrayed her act. “Yeah. Never better.” That’s when she opted to give them both a firm hug to help them feel better. Or maybe it was for herself. “I’ll be right back, guys. I’m gunna take Applejack to the train station. Can you two manage the store for a little bit?”

They both nodded silently, and she smiled a little bit before turning around to leave with Applejack.

Presently…

“Excuse me!” Twilight began as she entered the main lobby of the motel, gaining the attention of the pony behind the counter.

“How may I help you, Princess?” the lean stallion asked, an old smile hung from behind his spectacles.

Twilight bore a warm smile as she trotted up to the desk. “I’m looking for my friend, Applejack. I was told she stayed here last night. Could you tell me what room she’s in?”

“Applejack?” he asked, unfamiliar with the name. He then adjusted his glasses while opening his log book, flipping to yesterday’s page. “Applejack, Applejack… Jack, Jack, ah! Here. It says she stayed in room seven. And…” He then flipped over to today’s log page, sliding his hoof down the lines. It then stopped, and he shook his head. “Sorry, Princess. Your friend checked out early this morning.”

Twilight let a small sigh escape her. “Did she say where she was going?”

The stallion shook his head again. “No, I don’t believe she did. Awfully quiet for her age. Rather down and pale, too. Wish I could help more, Princess.”

“It’s fine. Thanks, anyways.” Twilight turned to leave after that.

“Have a good day, Princess Twilight,” he bid as he waved her off.

“You too,” Twilight offered back before leaving through the door. Outside, the rest of the group was waiting for her.

“Is she here, Darling?” Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her response. “Applejack checked out some time this morning. She didn’t say where she went.” Twilight then turned her attention to Big Mac, Cheerilee, and Apple Bloom. “Do you know of any other places she goes?”

The three exchanged thoughtful glances. A hint of concern mixed in. Big Mac probably felt the worst out of them all. He was the one that told her to leave to begin with. “Ah’m… not sure. Ah don’t know if she has other places she frequents…”

“She’s kind of always been in the fields over the years. There were the times she’d go ta Canterlot an’ the market. Ah don’t think Ah’ve seen nor heard her go much place else,” Apple Bloom added.

Cheerilee nodded her agreement. “The farm has pretty much been Applejack’s whole life. The only times I would see her were when I’d come over for lunch or dinner. Occasionally, I’d see her at the market selling apples. Once I saw Applejack having lunch with a stallion at a cafe, before she found Oliver. But, typically, any other place she’s gone to was for a delivery.”

Twilight mulled this over as she began to think about how to attack this. Their next step would have to be casting a wide-net search to see if she was still even in Ponyville. Twilight hoped that she was. Else, the farmer could be anywhere in Equestria, and a search that big could take weeks.

Looking back to the group, it would seem all eyes were upon the princess for direction. “Cheerilee, you and the Apples go check the farm. Fluttershy and Cirrus Stream will go with you to help search the orchards.”

“Yes, Princess!” her pegasus day guard saluted. Him and Fluttershy then took to the sky while the others galloped off towards the farm.

Twilight now turned her attention towards the rest of the group. “Spike, Rarity, Pennyworth, and Lance. You four will split off into groups of two and check around town for her.”

Spike and Rarity both nodded before looking to each other. “I will take Pennyworth, Darling,” Rarity began.

“Me and Lance will cover the south side of town,” Spike finished.

“Meet up at the farm when you’re done, and send me a report!” Twilight added, before the two groups split off to cover their designated sectors. There, that left only her and Flash Sentry.

“What should I do, Princess?” Flash asked after everypony else left.

Twilight gave her attention to him now. “You and me will both be checking the outskirts of town.” Her wings unfurled, giving him the cue to follow suit. Twilight then lead him into the sky towards their first destination.

When the two touched down into a large, grassy clearing, Flash Sentry looked around the place. Keeping pace with Twilight while she searched the usual places for disturbances. There was a small lake nearby with a tree close to the edge for shade. It was quiet and serene here, the occasional chirping of birds the only sound to break the silence.

“Wow…” Flash let out under his breath. “This place is nice.”

Twilight gave a half-hearted chuckle. “You say that like you’ve never seen anything like it before.”

This caused Flash to pause in his step, a small blush escaping him. Twilight must have noticed he wasn’t following anymore, as she stopped to look back with curiosity. “Well… I haven’t, actually…” he admitted with slight embarrassment.

Twilight almost couldn’t believe it. “You mean you’ve never seen a lake or a grassy plane? This is one of our favorite hangouts… lots of ponies come here,” Twilight rationalized.

Flash just shrugged. “Canterlot and the Empire aren’t exactly well known for their natural scenery. I’ve read about stuff like this in books, but never actually seen them for myself. Closest I’ve come to this is the Oasis Bar.”

Twilight cocked a brow. “Were you raised in Canterlot?”

Flash nodded at that. “Surprising, I know, being a pegasus and all. My parents weren’t big on traveling. Canterlot and the Crystal Empire are the only parts of Equestria I really know.”

Twilight nodded slightly. On a personal level, she almost understood his position. If it were not for that fated day before the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight would have never left Canterlot either. Not because she loved the city too much, but because of her indifference for the rest of Equestria. Back then, Ponyville was just a dot on the map. Now, she doubted she could ever call another place home and still feel the same way.

“Well, maybe when all this blows over, I’ll show you around Ponyville a little. It really is a great town.” Twilight smiled slightly.

Flash returned the smile with one of his own, glancing downwards some to redirect her attention before a blush had the chance to form. “Yeah… well, what are we looking for here?”

Twilight returned her eyes to the grass, scanning over her immediate area. “Some kind of indication that Applejack might have laid here somewhere. But it doesn’t look like any pony has been to this place yet today. C’mon, there’s more ground to cover before we’re done.” Twilight took to the sky once more, with Flash following close behind her.

Rarity cantered along down the street of Ponyville with Pennyworth close behind her. Masking her rush by putting a spring in her step. They stopped alongside every building to sneak a glance about for her friend. After a short time, however, she looked back to Pennyworth to find that he seemed to be struggling in his search. “Is something the matter, Dear?” Rarity inquired quietly.

Pennyworth took his attention from the many ponies going about their daily business to look at Rarity. “I’m afraid that I don’t quite know who I’m looking for, Miss Rarity.”

Rarity blushed slightly. “Oh, right, you’ve never been formally introduced to Applejack, have you?”

Pennyworth shook his head. “I’m afraid ’an orange country mare’ is the best I have to work with.”

Rarity placed a hoof to her chin in thought. “Oh, I do wish you could have met her previously…”

That hope trailed off, replaced with some quick thought on how to give Pennyworth a better visual description. The rubbing of her hoof-tip against her jaw, however, was fuel enough for a decent idea.

“Applejack owes me a hooficure when this is all said and done…” Rarity muttered under her breath. Picking a patch of loose dirt, Rarity began to lightly scratch into the ground, using her artistic skill to render the image of their missing friend. This took no more than a minute, adding in the last detail of her signature hat before stepping back to let Pennyworth see it. “There! I know ’orange’ isn’t much to go on, but Applejack doesn’t really do fashion. The only thing she does wear is her hat. Other than that, she’s all pony tails and freckles, with a moderate country accent. You’ll know her went you see her, Darling.”

“Undoubtedly,” Pennyworth agreed while he eyed the drawing to get a solid mental image of the pony in question. “If I may say, you are quite the artist, Miss Rarity.”

“Oh, do go on, Pennyworth,” Rarity replied with a blush.

“Rarity?”

Rarity turned quickly to the sound of a familiar voice calling her name. The pony that came into view was her sister, Sweetie Belle. Bearing saddle bags filled with groceries.

Rarity gasped mellow-dramatically, running over to greet her sister. “Oh, Sweetie Belle!”

Sweetie giggled slightly as she welcomed Rarity into a short-lived open embrace. “It’s good to see you, too.” When they parted, Sweetie Belle gave them both a curious look. “So, what brings you to Ponyville? And who’s he?”

“Its a bit of a long story…” Rarity started hesitantly. “Sweetie, Dear, you wouldn’t happen to have seen Applejack at all today have you?”

Sweetie Belle raised a brow slightly. “Uh… well, yeah, I saw her this morning. But, it was weird…”

Rarity’s eyes brightened up slightly. “Do tell, Darling, I need to find her!”

Sweetie nodded a little. “I saw her moaping through Main Street while I was eating breakfast with Scoots. Seemed to me that she was heading back to the farm. It didn’t dawn on me until after she was out of sight, but this was soon after Celestia raised the sun. Too soon. Like, ponies were still setting up shop, soon. And I didn’t remember seeing her enter Ponyville before hand. So, she had to have already been in town before the sun was even raised.”

Thinking back on it, this brought another subject to the white mare’s attention. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with Abby, would it? She wasn’t working the apple stand today…”

Rarity gave off a sigh of relief. “Oh, this is good, they might have already found her, then…” she consoled herself. Rarity then gave her attention back to Sweetie Belle. “Apple Bloom is fine, Darling. She should be back at the orchard looking for Applejack right now with the others. I need to go, but if you run into Spike, could you be a dear to tell him that I’ll be at the farm as well?”

“Uh… sure,” Sweetie Belle replied with moderate confusion. Wondering why they were separated to begin with. Before she could ask, Rarity began to gallop off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“Promise me you’ll come by later and tell me what this is all about!?” Sweetie called after her sister. But without getting an answer back, she could only hope that Rarity heard her. Now having more questions than answers, Sweetie Belle shrugged it off for the moment and returned to her chores for the day.

Twilight and Flash touched down once more before a dense line of trees not far from a cottage bustling with critters. Flash looked about while Twilight snooped with her nose to the ground, looking for more clues of activity. But this wasn’t Flash’s current focus.

Standing before a lone pathway beaten into the ground over the years, Flash simply stared deep into the darkness beyond the trees. This forest was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. The coverage was so thick that it almost seemed like nighttime existed just a few more steps away. Some of the plant life there around the entrance looked different, too. Even the trees were unique to this forest.

And he could swear, as he stared into the abyss, that something was staring back at him.

"Flash?" Twilight called when she noticed that he was just sitting there. Being taken in by the mysterious forest. He didn't seem to hear her though, so she went over to gently rest a hoof on his back.

"Huh?" Flash nearly jumped from the feeling. His body immediately reacted by moving away, before he looked over to see that it was just the princess. "Oh... sorry, Princess Twilight. I just..."

His line of thought trailing off, Flash looked back over to the foreboding path. "What is this place?" he managed to utter under his breath.

"This is the Everfree Forest," Twilight answered, looking in to it with him. "It's a dangerous place to be alone, especially at night. Even I try to avoid it when I can..."

Flash swallowed hard at that statement. If the princess, an Alicorn, was afraid of this place, he feared what kinds of things could be lurking just beyond the shadows. "Do you really think your friend would be in there?"

"It's hard to say," Twilight began, looking around some more for freshly disturbed ground. "Applejack is no stranger to it. The trail blazes a shortcut to some of the towns she would deliver to. And one of our friends, Zecora, resides in the forest itself."

"Somepony lives in that thing!?" Flash blurted out. Only to blush in realization of who he'd just raised his voice to. "Uh-uh-uhh, your Highness...?" He correctly hastily.

Twilight stopped for a moment to look over to her guard. "I've never fully understood it myself, but Zecora actually loves living in the forest. And Zecora is more of a Zebra than she is a pony," she added tactfully.

"A Zebra?" Flash asked, interested in the fact.

"Mmhm," Twilight confirmed. "She is something of a mentor to me, too. She has taught me a lot about magic. Maybe you'll get to meet her before we leave Ponyville." She ended on something of a high note before taking a final look around.

"Well, it doesn't look like anypony has been through here recently..." Her thoughts halted, however, when a scroll magically appeared before her horn, dropping to the ground once it materialized. There were only a hoof-full of ponies, and one dragon, that this could have possibly came from.

Twilight's horn became alit with magenta aura, which whisked the scroll into the air before her and unraveled it. Bright purple eyes quickly scanned over it, before becoming wide. "Quickly, Flash, with me! They found Applejack." The scroll swiftly rolled up and disappeared in a magical burst, allowing both ponies to take wing and hurdle off into the sky.

Applejack was seated in the middle of the room. Pinkie Pie by her side, with the Cakes, Spike, and a royal guard opposite of them. Spike had just finished blowing a scroll into his magical green fire before having joined them.

The air was filled with a stale silence that irritated AJ’s body like a bad itch. An itch that couldn't be scratched. The Cakes seemed to hold a level of concern, while Spike's demeanor was too hard to read. Mostly because she couldn't bring herself to look at him. A constant running theme of her day, it seemed.

the silence ate at Spike's mentality as well. Personally, he'd never been offended by Applejack. But, then, that was likely because him and Rarity didn't try butting in to her problems. Even though they probably should have. Given the current state of their friends, and her relationship with them thus far. It was a nagging guilt that existed behind his stoic expression. Guilt that he probably could've done more. That his inaction might have allowed this whole thing to happen. Though, honestly, he may never know what help he could've been. Especially if Rainbow Dash couldn't do it.

To that end, Spike finally decided to break the silence. "What happened to you, Applejack?" He meant for there to be concern in his tone, but somehow it wound up being more stern and disappointed. Feelings he also couldn’t deny.

Applejack paused for a moment in thought, before shaking her head. "It's... difficult to explain."

"Applejack," Spike began, finally getting her to look at him. His eyes narrowed slightly. "I saw Rainbow Dash."

Her eyes widened, before looking away in shame.

"We all saw Rainbow. She's a mess!" Spike continued.

"Spike, I-"

"No, Pinkie, Applejack needs to hear this." Having silenced the party pony, his attention fell back to the orange earth mare. "Especially considering I don't know what Twilight will do once she gets here."

Applejack winced at the mention of her name, even if only in a subtle way.

Spike merely nodded. "Yeah, she's pissed, AJ. You've probably got one minute before this becomes emotional ground zero. I can try to help, but nothing I say or do will mean anything if I don't know the story."

Applejack shut her eyes tightly to try and stop them from watering while she grit her teeth. It took everything to keep from falling into her habit of bucking all and shoving it in his face. A habit that landed her in this position to begin with. A gentle hoof on her shoulder, however, leveled that desire. With watery eyes, Applejack looked over to the owner of that pink hoof. Who gave her a sympathetic nod.

"You have to talk, AJ. We can help you." Pinkie voiced calmly with a small smile. "Be honest. Not for us, but for yourself..."

"We're all concerned, Applejack." Pumpkin added, with Pound Cake giving a nod in agreement.

The guard, Lance, took this moment to quietly get to his hooves and trot off to a distant window and watch for his princess, out of respect for the group of friends.

Applejack took this moment to fiddle with her hooves, trying to piece together the right words to say. It was all so simple. Yet, the words just couldn't manifest themselves. Part of her wished that this never would've happened. That she never tried dating to begin with. Life would've been so much more simpler. Alone...

Finally, she looked up to her friends. All waiting patiently. Even Spike didn't seem angry. Maybe disappointed. Definitely disappointed, but there was some level of understanding there. Applejack gave a heavy sigh. "Ah-"

"The princess is here," Lance announced subtly.

Applejack swallowed hard, attempting to steel herself for the talk of her lifetime. A fruitless effort, she imagined. The farmer watched Lance pad over to the door, his gilded hoof shoes thumping against the wood floor. To Applejack, the low rumble of his steps sounded more like the thunder before the storm.

When he opened the door, Twilight stood there. Wings flared. Staring at Applejack with unmoving eyes. After a moment, Twilight entered Pinkie's house, looking around subtly to see the textbook definition of uncertainty plastered on everypony's face. She stopped a short distance beyond the doorway, returning her gaze back to Applejack. Flash slipped by to join Lance beside the door, but she didn't pay any mind to him after that.

"Meet me outside." Shortly after she spoke, Twilight turned around and slowly exited the house.

Applejack looked at the others for a moment before hanging her head down low. "Ah'm... sorry, y'all..." Once that was finally said, she got up and left at an equally slow pace to Twilight.

Twilight glanced over her shoulder to make sure Applejack was there behind her. Once that was confirmed, she started forward again. "Follow me."

Twilight started off the venture with a slow trot. Applejack took a moment to look back to her friends, watching from the open door. Drooping her head once more, Applejack began to trace Twilight's hoofsteps with her own, silently wondering where she planned to take her.

Pinkie watched the event fold open in awe. She'd never seen this side of Twilight before. Ever. But, then, how could she expect anything else from Celestia's own protege. It was just like the coveted sun princess, after all, to emulate the seriousness of a situation. When they were out of earshot, Pinkie looked back to the others. "So, who's going with me?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Pinkie?" Spike inquired.

"Abso-pony-positivi-lutely! AJ may have been mean, but she's our friend, and she needs support. I have to make sure support is exactly what she gets!" Pinkie carried on.

Flash Sentry shrugged. "Well, unless ordered, I'm not suppose to let the princess out of my sight. And she didn't ask me to stay..."

"That's the spirit!" Pinkie cheered. "Follow me!"

Spike watched the two slink off in Twilight's direction, before looking back to the others. Lance seemed to be following Flash Sentry's policy, while the Cakes appeared unsure. "You two coming?"

"We're suppose to be running the store..." Pumpkin thought aloud.

Pound Cake was on the fence about it too. After a bit, though, he nodded in agreement. "Pinks is a strong mare, she can handle this with you guys. Thanks for helping us find her, Spike, but we need to get back to the store."

"I understand," Spike nodded, allowing the two to leave before closing the door behind himself.

"Keep an eye on her, please?" Pumpkin requested.

"Like a dragon watches his gems," Spike affirmed before heading off to join the group.

The walk with Twilight was long and silent. Not even the sound of Ponyville's citizens doing their daily routines around them could be heard. The tension was too thick. Creating a barrier around and between the two, blocking all sound that dared to interrupt.

Numerous times, it seemed, did Applejack want to dodge around a corner and hide, or even just roll over and die. Why couldn't Twi just stop and lay out the judgement now? Throw her into a cell and be done with it. Any of that would've been easier than this.

Before too long, Ponyville Hospital came into view. But Twilight began to deviate from the path leading to the entrance, and go along the left of the building. It seemed weird, almost. She thought that Twilight was going to take her into the hospital, not around it. Was she trying to kill her with the silent treatment? Wait until it finally broke the orange mare?

Suddenly, Twilight stopped before a window and turned around. Applejack felt the full force of her glare, before a wing pointed out towards the glass.

"Look inside. Tell me what you see." Twilight commanded in a level tone.

Applejack watched her disapproving eyes for a moment longer, before turning her head to the window. Slowly, her hooves took her to the transparent barrier, her being casting a shadow which she could use to see through the glare.

“Ah see…” the farmer’s voice trailed off. ‘Rainbow.’ She couldn’t say the name. The pegasus looked… okay. Ruffled by her restless sleep, bruised, and bandaged… but still just… okay. “Ah… Ah put her there…” Applejack admitted with regret.

Twilight looked at her friend, she saw the silent battle that was waging, Applejack looked beyond burdened, and the princess was loathe to push this further. Though she would need to do just that. “Rainbow suffered a concussion, and is at risk for brain lesions. She might never fully recover…”

The earth mare heard the words, yet all that registred was ‘never recover’, and it was her fault. It was all her fault, “Ah… Ah!”

The quiet internal struggle Twilight was watching exploded outward, Applejack turned to her, eyes small, panicked breaths. She looked crazed, boiling in silent desperation. And while no words came, her jaw worked to form them.

“Applejack!” Twilight called as her friend’s stance shifted. The Alicorn firmly planted a hoof down over the end of her friend’s tail before the earth mare could get far. Applejack was crying now, a hoof pulling at her ponytail. It looked like she was about to trample the wall just to get to Rainbow.

“Dash!” The farmer didn’t know what would never recover. Did she cripple Rainbow’s wonderbolt future? She had to do something, so she turned, and walked half a step...

Into Twilight's embrace.

"Do you know what I see, Applejack?" Twilight’s voice came, muffled by embracing hooves, and all encompassing wings. "I see one of my best friends in need of good help. Help that I am not sure I can give her anymore, because I fear she might be too far gone. But, I am going to try my hardest, because I love and care for her. Deeply, and truly. That is what I see..."

Applejack couldn't stand it anymore, she stopped fighting the hug. All the tears she'd been holding back and the emotions she felt flooded into existence. Hooves covered her tired eyes while she sobbed quietly. "A-Ah'm sorry!" She choked. "Ah didn't... Ah never... meant to hurt anypony! Ah just..."

"I know... I'm sorry too," Twilight finally said quietly, wings hugging harder.

Applejack opened her eyes. Where a once angry alicorn stood was now just her friend, and sad teary eyes replaced her scowl.

Applejack was bewildered by the statement. What did Twilight have to be sorry for? She didn’t do anything wrong. “T-Twilight...!? But... what-"

"I'm sorry," the purple mare repeated, cutting Applejack off. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most. I'm sorry that I allowed this to happen. I'm so sorry, AJ!" Another sniffle escaped before she continued. "Sorry, that I wasn't a good friend to you. I had gotten so caught up in making sure I would be a good princess... that I had forgotten to be a good friend."

Applejack took this time to fully absorb what was happening to her. When reality finally set in, Applejack hesitantly raised a hoof, before fully accepting Twilight into her own embrace. Holding her tightly to her chest. "Ah... never should've blamed you. All of you. Ah was wrong... this ain't nopony's fault but my own. An' it's about time Ah owned up to it..."

Twilight gripped Applejack harder, thankful that it could all be over now. "I just want my friends back... all of them."

"Ah'm here, Twilight," Applejack consoled, rubbing Twilight's back gently. "Ah'm never goin' anywhere again..."

Pinkie Pie and the others watched from around the corner, tears in her own eyes. As well as Spike's. Flash Sentry, however, was best described as completely blown away. The emotional shift from one extreme to the other was utterly derailing for him. Yet, at the same time, moving. He never would've guessed that the enraged Alicorn he'd been following was just a front. A level of benevolence, surely, even Celestia would commend. Out of respect, they all just sat there and watched on in silence.

When Pinkie was sure that everything was going to be okay now, she turned back to the others. “Looks like everything’s going to be okey-dokey-lokey from now on. I need to get back to Sugar Cube Corner. Tell Twilight to not worry about Bringing AJ to me. We’re already good and solid again.”

Spike nodded slightly, prompting the pink mare to bounce off gleefully to finish her work for the day. Shortly, however, Spike ran by what she said once more, and looked towards her curiously. “Wait, wha-?”

Too late. The crazy party pony was already out of earshot. The dragon’s questioning gaze now fell upon the guards, who shrugged their response with an equal level of confusion. Before their curiosity could get the best of them, their attentions were returned to Twilight and Applejack.

The two mares had finally separated from their bonding embrace, allowing the alicorn to wipe away her tears with a wing. “I know this was hard for you… but I’m hoping you can do an encore for everypony else.”

Applejack’s gaze wandered over to spy her reflection in the glass. For a moment, her vision pushed through the barrier to where Rainbow laid, troubled in her needed rest. As much as she wanted this whole ordeal to be said and done, Applejack had made a mess, and she needed to clean it up.

Yet, at the same time, she felt nervous. Causing Applejack to look down to the ground. “Ah… Ah’m…” The earth mare heaved a sigh before looking back to Twilight. Who held both pleading, and encouraging eyes. After another few moments of thought, Applejack slowly nodded. “Could you be there with me, though?”

Twilight gave her old friend a warm smile. “Of course, Applejack.” She then turned and nodded off towards the direction of the farm. As she started off, the orange mare trotted along beside her.

The princess could feel the nervousness seeping out of her friend’s being, though. Her first instinct was to get the farmer talking a little bit to try and ease her thoughts. But with recent events, trying to strike up some casual conversation without creating an odd and stale air around them would be difficult.

Several topics flowed in and out of the purple mare’s mind without any seeming to stick. Her day, the new duster jacket, apples, the family. Et cetera. As unsettling as it might be, keeping the topics to recent happenings would be easier than trying to change the mood entirely. Five minutes into the walk, Twilight couldn’t stand the silence herself any longer. “Forgive me if the topic is touchy, but where have you been all day? We’ve all been looking for you all over town…”

Applejack might have heaved a tired, heavy breath, but she couldn’t help some small bit of curiosity. That, and the silence was eating at her as well. Any subject would do. “All y’all?”

Twilight confirmed the vague question quietly, knowing that she was talking about both friends and family.

Applejack’s eyes fell to the ground again, watching her every step as she began to trace back her day. “Well, Ah went back home to grab a few things an’... think for a short while. After that, Ah went to see Pinkie about borrowing some bits for a train ticket…”

She trailed off from there for a bit, leaving a question dangling from Twilight’s lips. “You were going to leave?” the alicorn finally voiced, answered only by unsettling silence. “Well… something must have kept you, right?”

At the station…

“Could Ah get a ticket?” a country mare asked at the train station booth, accompanied by her pink friend.

The booth pony nodded slightly. “Where to?”

Applejack studied the list of destinations for a moment, before looking back to the train. Still off-loading ponies at the station. “Where’s that train goin’ to?”

The booth operator looking down to the schedule for a moment before returning his gaze back to the orange mare. “Las Pegasus,” he answered bluntly.

Applejack looked over to Pinkie Pie for a moment in thought. The baker didn’t seem to like the idea, but her thoughts on the destination were not the orange mare’s concerns at the moment. AJ was more focused on the kinds of jobs she could pick up in Las Pegasus.

The city that never sleeps. Populated mostly by pegasi and earth ponies, this city was a breath-taking combination of beautiful skyscapes and feats of earth pony architecture. Best known for its casinos, theaters, and many other tourist attractions. Great place for business and sightseeing. But not so much for living. Wages there are low, and the prices are staggering. Not to mention the kind of activities the city hid behind its shadows.

Applejack heaved a weighted breath. With all the guilt she wore, Pinkie Pie could see plain as day that she would have no problem going there. Perhaps the orange mare even felt like she deserved it. “You’re not seriously considering going to Pegasus, are you AJ?”

‘I-It’s not all bad, Pinkie,” the farmer began, trying to find the words to assure her friend. “Las Pegasus ain’t just nothin’ but Tackers… n’ stuff. Ah can find honest work…” Giving the pink mare a weak smile, AJ turned back to the booth worker and pulled out a hoof-full of bits. Those slid by under the window, and a goldenrod ticket was exchanged.

Once that was done, both mares turned back towards the train, passengers already boarding it.

“All aboard for Las Pegasus!”

The farmer looked down to her ticket, then over to Pinkie. The two shared a short hug goodbye, before AJ went to join the end of the line for boarding. Looking back out of the corner of her eye, it all but broke her heart to see the happy-go-lucky pony look so… defeated. Applejack took a moment to raise the collar of her jacket before moving forward.

“Ticket, please. Thank you! Ticket? Thanks.” The ticket pony carried on and on, stamping each pass before allowing them onboard. Another pony boarded before he looked on to a pair waiting patiently. A mother and her son, by the looks of it. “Tickets please.”

The mother nodded and reached into her saddle bag, riffling through her things. One was pulled out and given to the colt, before she reached in again for another. After a moment, the mother’s eyes shrank slightly. “Where is it!?”

The stallion at the door gave her a curious look. “Is something the matter, miss?”

the mare chuckled nervously. “Oh, no, I’m sorry, I just… have to...huh?” hurried searching eventually revealed to her that a hole existed in the back corner of her bag. “Shoot! It must have fallen out!”

The ticket pony shook his head. “I’m sorry miss, but I can’t let you on without a ticket.”

“No no! I-It’s here… heheh! Uhm… let me just, uh…ooh!” She began to look around frantically for any sign of a dropped ticket.

Applejack watched on for a moment, almost feeling lost. Her eyes wandered down to her ticket as she waged a full-blown debate with herself. Soon, the mental image of posing on stage with a glittery outfit came to mind. With a sea of faceless stallions…

’... maybe this was a mistake…’ the orange mare looked around, seeing other ponies in line getting restless. After a quiet sigh, her better nature finally compelled her hooves to move.

“Beg your pardon,” The farmer interrupted, grabbing the attention of the mother almost instantly. A hoof came out to present her ticket to them. “Ah, uhh… think this here belongs to you.”

“Oh, thank Celestia!” the mare exhaled in relief, taking up the ticket and offering it to the stallion for her stamp. “Thank you so much, miss…?” she left it open in the hopes of a name.

“Applejack,” the farmer answered simply.

The mare gave her a warm smile. “Thank you, Applejack.”

AJ watched the two board the train before turning away. Pinkie coming over to join her. “Applejack, you gave away your ticket!” she whispered.

The earth pony nodded slightly. “She needed it more than Ah did…” Suddenly, the cowpony felt herself become caught in a Pinkie hug. Before she could say anything, the orange mare’s stomach spoke up first. Letting out a low and empty rumble.

Pinkie leaned back to give her friend a blank stare before bearing a weak smile. “The next train won’t be in for a while. Want to come back to my place for some lunch?”

Applejack nodded slowly. “Yeah… Ah guess so.”

Pinkie happily bounded off, leading the way for the farmer.

Thinking back on it, the country pony just released a sigh. “Ah don’t rightly know what possessed me to stay. Ah suppose… suppose Ah couldn’t leave until Ah fixed things first. Maybe…” She wasn’t very willing to admit that it was because she feared winding up as some nameless sex icon for ponies to drool over. Twilight didn’t need to know the details of everything. What mattered now, was that everything was starting to turn out for the better. Now she just had to keep the ball rolling.

“Listen, Twi… Ah know your heart’s in the right place, but Ah don’t much what to think about the past anymore.”

“I understand,” the princess said quietly. “Just know that if you ever need anypony to talk to, I will always have time for you AJ.”

The farmer gave off a meek grin. “Thanks, Twilight…”

As night began to fall, Applejack found herself to be somewhat restless still. Today was a long and stressful day. So many ponies around her, all of whom she had to apologize and explain to. An explanation that was tough to get out. But, in a small way, therapeutic. Hugs were passed around, words of sentiment. Other’s followed Twilight’s hoofsteps and said that they were sorry too. Pinkie and the Cakes came around and brought her stuff back. Food got passed around, and soon enough the house was alight with conversation.

Applejack couldn’t help feeling out of place the whole night, though. The fact never left her mind that she hospitalized her bestest of friends. Twilight had put on a strong face and assured them all that Rainbow would pull through. But Applejack knew fear when she saw it. The young princess was drenched in it.

The orange mare groaned slightly, tossing her covers off. She couldn’t sleep with all these thoughts running around in her head. ’Maybe if Ah clean up a little bit...’

Looking around, her room was still a huge mess. Lighting a small lamp, Applejack began to get to work as quietly as she could. tossing dirty clothes into a hamper. Carefully moving a few stray dishes to one neat stack. Garbage in the garbage. Belongings where they belonged.

A chore such as this might have taken her ten minutes, tops. But, with everypony else trying to get some shut-eye, and plagued by mental fatigue herself, it seemed to take at least half an hour. But, eventually, all that was left were dusty surfaces.

Starting at the window sill, a hard breath blew away much of the particulates. A few brushes across the surface with her hoof took care of the rest. Inspecting the surface, Applejack turned up the corners of her muzzle, before something instantly caught her attention.

The farmer stared out the window, senses on high alert, trying to find the source of the anomaly that first drew her eyes. She could’ve sworn she saw something moving between the trees. Her mind first tried to rationalize that it was the wind. Closer inspection, however, revealed that there was no wind this night. The leaves were perfectly still.

Applejack locked in as close as she could, holding a hoof up over the window pane so she could see more clearly. Suddenly, the shadow reappeared, drifting between another set of trunks farther up the property.

the earth mare sighed heavily. “What the-... who the blazes could that be?”

All of her friends had gone home for the evening. The only ones without an honest bed was Spike and Rarity, and they left early to see if Sweetie Belle might let them crash at her place for the night.

Seeing the shadow drifting farther once more, Applejack groaned to herself. “Well, Ah ain’t gunna figure it out just sittin’ here…” Grabbing the lamp, Applejack began to make her way through the house and out into the orchard, tracing the path of the intruder.

The journey through the orchard was long, and somewhat confusing. But that was to be expected. It had been a long time, after all. And he’d only ever been taken here once…

But, here he sat now. On top of a tall hill, under an old apple tree. Before two grave markers. One bearing a familiar hat.

Oliver heaved a sigh, taking a moment to bring two necklaces into his vision. The golden chains bearing two shining rings. One thick and plain. The other; simple, yet pretty.

Thinking back to the day, Oliver began to wonder if this was such a good idea anymore. The only reason he came was because he knew that he cared deep down inside. Even if he wasn’t going to be with her, he still wanted her to be happy.

Letting the rings fall back against his chest, Oliver reached out to the brim of the hat, removing it from the head stone. The stallion’s eyes wandered over the worn material, before his gaze rose to the stars above while he held it close to his chest.

“Vwhat vwould you have me do, Tvwilight Sparkle…?” He had hoped to find Applejack here on the hill. But it seemed he’d missed her.

“Oliver...?”

Or did he?

“Huh?” The ice-blue stallion looked back to see Applejack coming over the hill, holding a lantern. The memory of a hearty mare with a deep coat quickly gave way to a pale luster, and a malnourished frame. The sight nearly left him speechless. “A-... A-Applejack…!”

The orange mare was just about as surprised as he was. “What are you doin’ here? In the middle of the night?” Her eyes wandered down to see her father’s hat being held against his chest. “What do you think you’re doin’ with my Pa’s hat?” she asked, a bit more sternly now.

Oliver’s eyes widened, darting down to see the hat still in his hoof. Half of his mind compelled him to replace it upon the grave marker post haste. The other half told him that it might be a good idea to try and cover up the rings for as long as possible right now. Revealing them might make things go from bad to worse.

“Uh… nevermind zhe hat.” Oliver began, looking back to her. His expression loosened up to that of great concern now. “Applejack… vwhat happened? Zhe princess said you needed help, but…”

The earth mare sighed, placing down the lantern and slowly moving towards him. Oliver took a step back, but only one. Passing by him, AJ carefully took the hat from his care to put it back where it belonged. Nice and tight upon the stone. after a bit, she heard what sounded like nervous shuffling behind her. Sucking in a deep breath, the country pony steeled herself for one more performance. “Ah’m sorry…”

Oliver had taken the necklaces off and set them aside in a patch of grass where they wouldn’t be seen easily. Taking advantage of the fact that she wasn’t watching him anymore. When she spoke up, though, his full attention snapped to the mare. “Vwhat?”

“Ah’m sorry, Oliver. Sorry ‘bout everythin’. Breakin’ your heart, an’ pushin’ you away…” Applejack explained with a burning coal in her throat.

Oliver went to say something, but just sighed and looked away. He wanted to dismiss the whole thing. Tell her it was all fine. But, fact of the matter was the whole thing hurt him. A lot. He was still sore about it, even. But, sometimes you have to sit back and reorganize your priorities in life. Now wasn’t the time to be bent about something nopony could change.

“Forget about it…” he finally said, nearly choking on a portion of his pride that he swallowed. “None of zhat matters right now.”

Applejack felt his hoof wrap around her shoulder in comforting measure. But she just shook her head. “You’re a horrible liar.”

Oliver voiced a weak chuckle. “Isn’t zhat, how you say? Zhe kettle callingk zhe pot black?”

“Hmhm… close enough,” Applejack agreed plainly. It then fell silent for a moment, before the mare brushed the hoof off her shoulder gently. “Listen, Oliver… Ah’m a might glad you were concerned enough to check up on me an’ all. But, Ah’m fine now. Really. So… you don’t have to stay any longer. If you don’t want…”

The stallion cocked a brow at her statement. Which he thoroughly didn’t believe. Puffing out his chest, the chef scoffed in faux offence. “So, vwhat, zhat’s it? I’m sorry, you can leave now?”

Applejack shook her head. “Well… what do you want me to say?”

“Do you love me?” He asked, a bit more seriously than he intended.

Applejack winched slightly, but chose to remain silent.

Oliver decided to press a little harder. “Jackie… you pissed me off… you lied to me, tore my insides apart, and zhen left me to pick up zhe pieces. Vwizhout even so much as an answer. Yeah, I’m angry about zhat. I lost my job. I lost my motivation. Lost my vway. But, despite all zhat, and zhree years of emptiness and restless nights, I never did vonce stop lovingk you. And I never vwill…”

After a moment, the mare looked to him a little bit, with tears in her eyes, giving a small sniffle in response.

“I don’t care vwhat happens. You could go off and marry somepony else. Move far avway from me. Have foals, be successful, vwhatever! And I’ll be angry and bitter, and hate everypony. But I vwill still love and care about you. And be zhere for you. So, forgive me if I am beingk selfish right now, but zhis is kind of important to me. And I vwant your honest answer…”

Applejack nodded slightly, prompting the stallion to continue.

“I love you, Applejack. Do you love me?”

Applejack took a moment to wipe the tears off of her face with a foreknee, before nodding with a sniffle. “A-Ah do… Ah Love you, Oliver. Honest.”

He nodded. “Zhen, please! Tell me vwhy! Vwhy did you leave?”

“Because I was afraid!!” Applejack blurted out to the sky. Visibly catching the stallion off guard.

Finally looking him in the face, the farmer met a dumbfounded stare. Begging for an explanation. She heaved a weighted breath of air, before looking to the graves. “Did Ah ever tell you how my parents died?”

Of course not. She didn’t need to look back to see his answer. She knew he didn’t know. “AB wasn’t even a year old yet when it happened. Pa rounded us all up in a wagon and took us to see some family down south of the forest. We all had such a good time that we didn’t realize how late it was until the sun was already startin’ to set. They asked us to stay the night… but we needed to be back in the orchard bright an’ early for harvest. We didn’t have a choice.

“Travelin’ the Everfree is pretty risky durin’ the day. We all knew that. But we’ve never run into trouble before, so we figured it was just going to be smooth sailin’ home, so long as we stuck to the path. But luck has a funny way of turnin’ sour when you’re least prepared for it.

“A pack of timberwolves attacked us on the way home. They tried gettin’ at me an’ the kin first, but Ma… she…”

Applejack shuddered and trembled at the ice cold memory, shrinking to the ground in the hopes that she might just disappear. Slowly, she felt Oliver come over and huddle up next to her, casting a hoof around her shoulders to try and comfort her.

In a way, it helped. She didn’t feel like she had to bear so much of the pain anymore.

“She got real torn up protecting us from their claws. Pa was quick to jump in an’ fight ‘em off. Ah wanted to help fight, too. Oh, Celestia, Ah wanted to help so bad… but Ma and Big Mac grabbed me an’ AB and ran for the end of the forest. Ran and ran… until finally, Ma just… just fell over. We were only yards from the end, Ah could see the clearing beyond the forest. Me an’ Big Mac tried getting her back up… but she was bleedin’ too much…”

A cold chill descended over the hill at that point, followed by a deathly silence. Oliver, for his part, was in utter shock. In all his years, he could have never imagined such a tragedy to endure. It soon became vaguely apparent what this was all really about. And nothing he could think of saying would help. So, instead, he just held the mare closer and tighter while she silently wept.
“The last memory Ah have of my parents… is Pa disappearin’ in the darkness… and Ma tellin’ me to run home… covered in her blood. Ah never saw them again after that…”

Oliver took a moment to rest his cheek against AJ’s, gently rubbing their heads together. “I’m so sorry, Jackie…”

Applejack was inches away from a complete emotional meltdown. Trembling uncontrollably while she tried to keep a leash on her sobbing. “Ah’ve always been afraid that it would happen again. That Ah would start my own family… just to lose it all in one cold night. For all my life, Ah had to push it all back and carry on the family business. Ah… had to be strong. Fight off every single reminder of the pain. Without knowing why.

“Bein’ with you helped me forget about everythin’. But, when you gave me that ring… it all just… Ah couldn’t…” Finally, Applejack’s limit had been broken. Strength and reserve were thrown to the wayside as she flopped over before the headstones. Crying hysterically. “Why!? Why couldn’t we have just stayed!? Why does it have to be like this!? Why!?”

Oliver watched on in silence for a while. The scene before him the most heart-wrenching and pathetic event he has ever experienced. The mare carried on in a tangent, though most everything she said at this point was garbled, drowned, and incomprehensible. Looking down and away to hide his own sadness, the stallion caught a glimpse of the rings he’d nearly forgotten about. Slowly, delicately, her scooped up the jewelry and placed them around his neck once more. A subtle glow reflecting off the polished metals.

Moving back over to the mare, Oliver laid across his belly to rest, gently pulling Applejack back into a tight embrace. As she cried, the stallion dipped into his childhood memories for a moment. Then he shut his eyes, and began to hum a tune he could vaguely remember. Starting off slowly and quietly, only getting to a decent level with mild confidence when the melody finally started coming back to him.

Minutes passed. Long, painful minutes that seemed to drag on for hours. While Oliver continued to hum an old, wordless bedside rhyme to the sorrowful mare. Over and over again, long after Applejack finally quelled down to mere sniffles and streams of tears. And with each repetition, her eyes fell heavier and heavier.

Lullay, dear child, goodnight angel, mine. Rest now, in Luna’s soft glow. Troubles give way to calm bliss now, I bid. And fears I shall tame on my own. Think not of sadness, of pain, nor of strife. And carry the warmth of love’s light. Angels, fly down and protect one more soul. Cast all guilt out far from this mind. And sleep well now, sweet child of mine.

Having remembered enough words to piece together a decent version of his childhood lullaby, the orange mare was finally cast off into a deep sleep. Seeing as he wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere anytime soon, Oliver lightly rested his head on top of hers and patiently waited for his own impending rest.