//------------------------------// // Chapter 28 // Story: When Friends are Said and Dun // by xenos29 //------------------------------// The sun began to set, and honey-colored sky swirled through the air around him and Applejack as they pulled their carts into camp. After unloading crate after crate of food, medicine and other supplies before a grateful group of ponies, the two called it quits, parking their carts in front of the hospital tent. As they walked out, Alpenglow unwittingly turned his head back and saw Nurse Redheart standing in the doorway. She beamed at him, nodding approvingly before she disappeared back inside. He hoped he would find a way to thank her, as well as Ms. Singer, and the zebra who had seen them off to the observatory- preferably before this was all over. It had been a busy day of moving supplies and training, though a rarely-used part of Alpenglow's mind gladly anticipated meeting everypony back at the study, which had become their impromptu meeting place. He pondered the novel feeling as they stopped at a balcony overlooking much of Equestria. In the distance, the pearly bead of Ponyville cast a weak glare on his eyes. "Guess we shoulda stopped at a different spot, huh?" said Applejack. "Looks that way. Aside from that, it is beautiful up here." "You said it." A moment of silence passed as they watched the sun continue its descent. He looked at Applejack as he leaned against the railing, becoming vaguely fascinated by the large, wide-brimmed hat she wore. He had never seen anything like it. Was it a personal fashion, or commonplace? Doubtful- he had yet to see anypony else wearing one. Still, it seemed to suit Applejack well as she tipped it to cover her eyes from the sun. In the past, such trivia always had a way of occupying him when he was tired or bored. Just then, it had served another purpose: it made him realize that for all the time he, Twilight, and everypony else had spent together, he still knew almost nothing about any of them. Why hadn't he tried to find out more when he first met them? He sighed. He must have just forgotten. There wasn't much to go on. Rainbow was clearly some sort of student athlete, probably aspiring professional flyer. Everypony else, on the other hoof, wasn't quite so obvious, especially Pinkie. In a way, she reminded him of Tawny, albeit with just a little more sugar and spice. Oh, the trouble they would get into here in Canterlot, surrounded by so many stuffy, pampered ponies. The two of them would've been as thick as thieves- just one more reason Tawny should've been the one standing here. The sun was visibly lower now. As it fell between the gaps of the mountains beyond the Everfree Forest, the sky bloomed. The meadow of orange, red, and gold above had become some sort of heavenly reflection of the ground below, and as the gorgeous pastoral scene unfolded before Alpenglow, another startling thought struck him: for the longest time, he had considered himself simply a part of the long tradition that was the Equestrian Knights; that he would be the last never occurred to him until now. To say he didn't consider himself most deserving of its legacy would have been a gross understatement. Alpenglow’s gaze eventually wandered back to Applejack, who was wisely just admiring the scenery. He let the previous train of thought go, and a smile returned. Blight had clearly gotten more than he'd bargained for when he attacked Ponyville. Maybe Applejack and the rest of them weren't knights, but there was something special about them, something he couldn't quite put his hoof on. Whatever it was, Princess Celestia's trust in them was well placed, and while Alpenglow hated to ruin the mood, he respected Applejack too much not to ask for her honest opinion now that she knew everything. He cleared his throat. "Penny for your thoughts, Applejack?" "What the hay’s a penny? "Nothing important." He chuckled once despite himself, then was back to serious. "I was just wondering, do you think I...could’ve done things differently?" "Now don’t you try and go down that road, partner. Yer gonna get stuck in the mud before ya get anywhere, and I ain’t in any spot to second guess the coulda’s and shoulda’s of what happened or what ya did." "It’s funny. You, Twilight, everypony, you don’t wear armor, spent every day guarding the princesses or fighting monsters, but in a way, you’re better knights than I ever was." "That ain’t true." "I'm not trying to flatter you, AJ, or even put myself down. It's true; it's no accident you all are friends. I don't know how, or why, but I know you all are going to change the world someday, in a way Blight couldn't even imagine, even with all his power." "How d'ya figure? Like we got some sorta grand destiny in store for us?" "Maybe, but even destiny needs a helping hoof. Some of it's fate, some of it's free will." "So how d'ya know which is which?" Alpenglow smiled, but didn't answer. He continued, "Princess Celestia saw it, and now I do, too. I just wish I could've seen it earlier. I've made some mistakes the past few days. And years." "I hear ya. But that don't mean you haven't done some good. We're darn lucky to have you." "Even luckier if Tawny was here instead." That made Applejack turn her head. The shimmer in her eye was familiar to Alpenglow by now; he had seen it from all six of them. They stood in stark contrast to Blight's hollow, pasty eyes, always staring at him from the crypt of his mind. But for a moment, the emerald kindness beat back the deep-rooted image. "You wanna know what I think?" said Applejack. "Way I see it, the stuff you had to go through woulda ground down anypony, eventually. It took real courage to be willin’ to face it again." "Thanks, Applejack. For what it’s worth, I’m sure you could’ve done it, and more." "Here’s hopin’ I never have to find out." "You won't- not if I have anything to say about it." "That's mighty kind of ya." "It's the least I could do for the Princess's newest group." "Huh? What d'ya mean?" "I'm going to guess and say you guys aren't knights. But you are the Princess's advisors or something, right?" For a second, Applejack looked at him as if he were some sort of alien. Then, her lips pursed together in a squiggled smile. It broke into a snicker, a hushed chortle, then at last, a long, loud laugh. "Alpenglow!" she hollered. "I ain't no fancy, schmancy royal advisor! I'm a farmer! You got that? A regular ol' apple farmer! And proud of it! What d'ya think this cutie mark stands for? The 'Apple and Banana Republic?!'" Alpenglow considered the three apples of Applejack’s cutie mark, recalled everypony else’s, and suddenly felt very, very stupid. "I guess not. Sorry, Applejack, I should’ve just asked." "Nah, nothin’ to be sorry for! Just the idea…you thought I was…" she broke off laughing again, taking off her hat. He smiled, embarrassed. "I must've thought they were symbolic." "Well, that sure does explain it! An apple a day keeps the royals away!" she laughed yet again. Alpenglow leaned against the railing. "Is it really that funny?" he asked, rubbing his chin as he pondered Applejack’s sudden energy. "So...what about everypony else?" "Well..." Applejack answered, wiping a tear from her eye, "...you probably got it figured with Twilight and Rainbow, but Pinkie works at this place called Sugarcube Corner. If you got a sweet tooth, you'll find no place better to take care of it. The best way I can describe Rarity is crazy. Oh, and uh, she designs dresses and fancy things for all the lots of high-society ponies across Equestria. The two of us don't always see eye to eye, but I'd never think twice 'bout her skill with a needle and thread." "Interesting…" "Last but not least, you’ve got Fluttershy. True-blue sweetheart, cares for all the critters around Ponyville, though you’d best not startle her. She’d probably run up the nearest tree if she weren’t so scared of heights." Applejack laughed again. "Whew, you gotta love ‘em…Hey, you all right, Alpenglow?" "Yeah, I just wasn't expecting all that." "Hope I didn't give you too bad a shock." "Not at all. It's funny, really. In three days, you all gave Blight more trouble than he ever could’ve imagined." He shook his head and smiled. "And he knows it. I know he does." The sky had darkened quickly with the sun's disappearance. Plum-colored stains began to mix with the orange as the remnants of the day retreated behind the mountains. It was like watching somepony stir a giant pot of jam and marmalade. The two ponies continued to watch as the first stars glimmered into view, and most spectacularly, as the moon leapt into their midst in time to catch the last amethyst shades of dusk. In the new, pale moonlight, Applejack’s face hardened. Putting her hat back on, she looked at him and asked, "You really think we got a chance to fix this, Alpenglow?" The old knight paused, looked down at himself, and felt a twinge of shame. Nopony had confided in him in a long time, and it hurt to think he had almost forgotten how to do it. Applejack's unexpected bout of giddiness suddenly made sense, and the importance of this mission to her instantly formed in his mind. It took a moment, but he finally managed to place his hoof on her shoulder and say, "I’m sure we do. It won’t be easy, but whatever happens, I’ll make it work for you guys." He nodded in the direction of the study. "Come on, let’s head back. It got late pretty fast, and we definitely don't want to keep Twilight waiting." They turned to leave the balcony, and he added, "For what it's worth, Applejack, I think the Princess bet on the right horses for this." Ponyville's beloved farmer smiled as she put her own hoof on his shoulder. "She ought’ve. She’s had plenty of practice pickin’ ‘em."