A week has now passed since the farewell party for PaperBack, The ponies all going about their daily lives: working of the farm, planning parties, caring for animals… ect. However, within the confines of the castle of the Princess of Friendship, things were not alright.
“Where is it Spike?” the lavender alicorn said, frantically tossing books from their shelves, “I can’t find it anywhere!”
The young purple dragon, also looking for the book Twilight was after looked up from the pile of books he was digging through, “I don’t know Twi, did you leave it in Canterlot when we were there last?”
“Oh I hope I didn’t, I really need that book. PaperBack wanted to borrow it, and I was going to give it to her before she left for Manetana.”
“Well why doesn’t one of us write a letter to Celestia asking if she could check around for it?” Spike asked shrugging his shoulders
“NO Spike!” she shouted, turning around to face him, “Celestia is very busy with other things and probably doesn’t have time to look for a book that may or may not be there.” more books came flying off the shelves they were resting peacefully on.
Her thoughts and frantic searching were interrupted by a loud knocking that echoed through the castle, making Twilight jump at the suddenness of the sound assaulting her ears.
“Now who could that be?” the lavender princess asked out loud releasing the dozens of books levitating above, and around her letting them fall to the floor walking out of her library.
Arriving at the front door to Castle Friendship, wrapping the dors in a faint lavender glow and forcing them open, revealing…
“ TWILIGHT, MY CUTIE MARK IS BLINKING!.” shouted a bouncing pink mare pointing to the three balloons that adorned her flank.
“Huh…” Twilight questioned, her mind still wandering looking for the book she was going to lend PaperBack, “Oh, I didn’t notice.. heh.” turning to look at her own cutie mark too was flashing.
“Well come on y’all let’s see where the map is sending us this time.” a orange earth pony said walking through the gold doors and into the castle.
A blur of rainbow color flashed by Twilight and landed next to the orange earth pony, “Yeah, come on Twilight, I’m itchen’ to kick some tail.” she punched the air to emphasise her point.
“TO THE MAP ROOM!” shouted Pinkie pointing a hoof in the general direction of the map in question.
“Wait where’s Fluttershy and Rarity?” she asked looking back to four of her friends that were already there, “We can’t go anywhere without them.”
“I am right behind you darling” said the white unicorn
The startled alicorn whipped around to look her friend, “ Well that answers where one of you is, now all we need is Fluttershy. Anypony know where she could be?” she asked hoping one of them would know the answer.
“Well is it Tuesday, isn’t it?” Asked Rainbow Dash, now hovering in the air.
“I think so,” Twilight said putting a hoof to her chin recalling if today was actually was Tuesday, “Yes I believe it is” she finished nodding in confirmation.
“Then she is prb’ly havin’ tea with Discord right ‘bout now, rahght?” asked Applejack
“Well, somepony should go to her cottage and see if she is there.” said the hovering rainbow maned pegasus.
A flash of pink and a gust of wind accompanied the end of Dashes statement.
Twilight just stood, and blinked, “Well I guess Pinkie is going to see if she is there. While we are waiting on them to get here why don’t we go and see where the map is sending us this time?” smiling at her friends, who were present.
“That sounds like a mighty fine idea.” said Applejack, returning Twilights smile.
Closing the doors Twilight and the others made their way down the hallway to the room that held the map of all of Equestria. Each of the ponies present, so far, seated themselves in their chairs surrounding it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“... and then my right paw brought me back a stick instead of my left leg hahahaha.”
“Hehehe. Oh Discord that has to be the funniest story I have heard yet.” the light yellow mare said sipping her tea from her purple tea cup she balanced in her hooves.
“Yes I must say it was rather amusing to be apart of the antics my paw got into.” Discord said waving his eagle arm around in the air, “I was just lucky enough to I didn’t--”
Discord was cut off by the door suddenly bursting open and a pink mare standing in the center of the room panting.
Fluttershy peeking out from behind the chair she was sitting in, with her hooves covering her eyes, and timidly said, “Rainbow, I said not to practice your tricks near my house.” slowly uncovering her eyes to see if in fact it was Rainbow Dash who had crashed into her house again only to find Pinkie Pie standing in her living room,” Oh, I’m sorry Pinkie, I thought you were Rainbow Dash.”
“Nope, I’m just Pinkie” squeaked the pink party pony “ Have you looked at your cutie mark lately?”
The shy pegasus looked at Pinkie curiously cocking her head to the side “No, I haven’t, should I be?” she said turning to look at the three small, pink butterflies that adorned her light yellow flank, “Oh my” was all she could say before she was grabbed by Pinkie and tossed over back.
“Sorry Discord but-- yip” was all Fluttershy could say before the pink pony she was on started running to Castle Friendship.
Discord stared blankly trying to come to terms with what he has just seen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Where’s Pinkie? She should be back by now, hopefully with Fluttershy.” Twilight said looking down at her hooves.
“Ah’m sure they’re on their way.;” Applejack reassured her
As soon as she said that the doors burst open, a pink pony trotting in with a light yellow pegasus on her back.
“There you guys are, where have you been Fluttershy?” asked a rainbow maned pegasus
Dismounting Pinkie she turned to Dash, “I was having tea with Discord, like I do every Tuesday.”
“Oh… I didn’t mean to interrupt your time with Discord, but this is important. Have you looked at your cutie mark at all today?” Twilight said to the timid pegasus.
Fluttershy looked at the lavender alicorn through her light pink mane that hid one of her beautiful light blue eyes, “....Well…. No I haven’t” she turned to look at the three pink butterflies on her flank “ Oh.. my”
Twilight waved her hoof dismissively and smiled, “Well you’re here now and that is all that matters.”
Now that the Princess of Friendship and her friends were gathered around the map, all now sitting in their respective chairs, their cutie marks still flashing. Holograms of said cutie marks flew from their flanks floating above it, Twilights in the center with her friends marks circling hers as they floated down the surface and hovered above an unknown location. The topography of the location was a bowl, with mountains on all sides. And right smack up against one side of the valley was a town, about three times the size of Ponyville.
“Where in Equestria is that place?” asked Rainbow Dash pointing a hoof to the mountain surrounded town. All of the ponies present looked at one another, with puzzled looks on their faces, hoping somepony would know the answer.
After a long silence Twilight was the first to shatter it, “I don’t know, maybe it’s--”
“Oh, Ah know that place!” Applejack interrupted waving a hoof to get their attention, and scaring Fluttershy right out of her chair.
“Well then tell us, darling, what is that place?” Rarity asked
The farm pony felt the entire room look at her, “It’s Bozemane, Manetana.” she said matter-of-factly. The ponies seated around the map looked at her confused, her happy expression soon turned to one of annoyance, at her friends forgetting they all knew a pegasus that lived there.
“Where PaperBack is from!” squeaked Pinkie, smiling with her eyes closed.
“Oh.. that’s where she said she was from?” asked Dash
Everypony looked at her in shock that she didn’t already know this information.
“Really RD, ya didn’t hear her talk for hours about how much she missed her hometown, and that she was going there after her visit was done here?” Applejacks voice heavy with sarcasm.
Twilight raised a hoof hushing her friends, “Well now that we know where we’re going let’s get ready for our journey. I’ll write to Princess Celestia, and tell her where we are going, incase she should need me and wonder where I am.” With that said the princess of Friendship jumped down from her chair and started her preparations for their journey.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Applejack was trotting into her family's farmhouse, after her and her friends had gone to gather things they would need for their journey west to Bozemane.
“Hey Applejack,” her little sister squeaked upon her entering their humble abode,” where ya been?”
Applejack looked at her little sister and said, “Ah’ve been with Twilight an’ the girls. The fancy map in her castle has the ability to make our cutie marks flash ‘er somethin’ like that, and it shows us where someponies may need friendship an’ whatnot.” she said smiling at her.
Apple Bloom looked up at her big sister, eyes as big as dinner plates with wonder, “Wow, where y’all goin’?”she asked quickly, not wasting a second.
“Bozemane.” AJ said matter-of-factly.
Apple Bloom cocked her head to the side and said, “Bozemane? Where in Equestria is that?”
“Manetana” AJ said with a small nod.
“Oh...Okay!” Apple Bloom quipped and then promptly ran out of the door Applejack had come in moments ago.
Applejack just smiled after her little sister, and walked upstairs to her room to get her saddlebags and a few essential items that she would need.
Not long after she had arrived at her home she had the things she thought she would need for their trip. Such things included a mane brush, spare mane ties, a good book or two and many other miscellaneous items needed for travel by train. She descended to the main floor of her house and said goodbye to Granny Smith, and Big Mac, telling them she would be back soon. Opening the front door she was surprised to see a certain cyan pegasus standing on the other side.
“Hi ya Rainbow,” the farm mare said upon laying her beautiful emerald eyes on her, “What are y’all doin’ here, I thought we were supposed to meet at Twilights as soon as we were ready?” she gave Rainbow a curious look.
“Yeah, we are, but I figured I would fly over here and walk with you back to Twi’s.” She said.
“Well that’s mighty nice of ya,” said AJ a small smile cracking her face.
Rainbow looked around the front porch avoiding eye contact with the orange mare, “ Sooo, shall we get going?” she asked at last.
“Yeah Ah reckon so,” she said and closed the door behind her.
Once they were out of earshot of the farm house, Applejacks eyes wandered all over, from the clouds above her, to the trees she loved and cared for so much before finally landing on the flank the rainbow maned pony in front of her.
‘Man Ah never noticed Rainbows flank before, Ah mean Ah know she’s an athlete an’ all but, Ah mean somepony musta noticed by now. just look at her tail bounce. Wait a second Rainbow Dash is mah best friend... Ah've known her fer years. Ah can't have feelin's fer her plus she's a mare. Git yer mind outta gutter Applejack sa matter with ya?’
Her thoughts were interrupted when the pony, who’s flank she was admiring, turned around.
“Uh… AJ watcha staring at?” asked Rainbow
Shaking her head to clear it from the fog Rainbow’s falank had cast upon it.
“Uh… Nothin’” she said quickly averting her gaze away from Rainbows general vicinity.
She glared at the farmer, “Oh no, you were lookin’ at something, and I wanna know what it was.” the cyan pegasus could tell that she was lying, which everypony knew AJ wasn’t the greatest at.
“Fahne, Ah was starin’ at yer cutie mark.” she confessed, which wasn’t a total lie.
“Can I ask why, you’ve seen, like, a million times. What makes so interesting this time?”
Aj blinked nervously, but managed to say, “Ah how it’s lightningbolt shaped, ‘cause it reminds me of thunder, and rain, and Ah just love the smell of rain.” she finished grinning sheepishly.
“I know, right, isn’t the smell of rain awesome? Heck it’s almost as awesome as me!” she said putting a hoof to her chest, closing her eyes and pridefully raising her head.
Applejack just rolled her eyes, and started walking past the beaming pegasus, “If yer done feedin’ yer ego? We have a train ta catch.”
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, and lowered her hoof, “Right, let’s get moving then.” and together they walked to the rest of the way o the train station in silence.
Arriving at the station they meet up with their other friends and together they all boarded the train, having an entire car just for the six of them… oh and Spike. Once they were all settled in their seats, their saddlebags safely stowed under them, the train lot out a long whistle, and the conductor yelled loud enough to be heard over the whistle, “AAAALLLLLL AAAAAABOOOOAAARRD!” And a few seconds later the train shifted forward, along with its contents,and passengers, slowly gaining speed as it left the Ponyville station heading to faraway lands,and unknown destinations.