Found And Lost
An orange pegasus filly lay sprawled out on her bed, sound asleep and blissfully unaware of the barking, soaking wet collie standing right next to her bed.
Winona let out a howl, pausing after to see if it had done any good. A moment passed and the filly let out a soft mumble before rolling onto her back. With an annoyed growl, Winona approached the bed and grabbed the slumbering filly by the tail and dragged her from her bed, the young pegasus still somehow sound asleep.
Peering outside, one last idea came to mind as the collie, with a firm tug, tossed the filly out into the rain.
"Whoa! Wha... Aunt Daring?!" the filly cried out, snapping awake and discovering she was no longer in her warm bed but now out in the cold rain as a familiar collie ran up to her and started barking. "Winona? What's wrong?" the filly asked, before noticing her cape was tied around the dog. "Did Aunt Daring give you this?" she rubbed her chin with her hoof, recalling her aunt saying something about borrowing the cape for some reason the filly was far too sleepy to remember.
"Well, whatever's going on, her super-cool niece is here to help!" the filly declared, thrusting her hoof in the air dramatically before realizing she was still standing in the rain. "Just let me grab my stuff real quick!" she said, heading back inside and grabbing her scooter and a wagon with a small sack loaded onto it and tying them together.
Hopping on her scooter, she slowly wheeled it back out into the rain and slid her helmet on. "Alright, Winona. Lead the way!" she said with a proud smile on her face.
~
Applejack's ears perked up at the sound of barking, and shortly after she saw Winona rushing towards her, followed by the orange filly on a scooter. "Oh, thank the stars ya made it alright!" she said, tipping her hat to the filly. "How ya doin' Scootaloo?"
"Eh, still a little groggy but Aunt Daring taught me to always be ready!" Scootaloo said with a big smile as she hopped off her scooter.
"Good to see something stuck, though I'll bet the dog had to drag you out of bed first," Daring replied flatly. "You brought the gear, right?"
"Of course I did! My stuff's right here!" Scootaloo said proudly.
"...And mine?" Daring asked.
"You don't have it?" Scootaloo asked, cocking her head.
Daring let out a heavy snort and facehoofed. "If I did, why would I need you here of all ponies?" she asked, annoyed.
"Oh, right..." Scootaloo muttered, her ears drooping in embarrassment.
"Well, maybe this isn't a total loss, actually," Daring replied. "It gives you a chance to put everything I taught you on our exploration trips to the test, starting with that cliff right there," she said.
"Ooh, the wall-spiking technique?" Scootaloo asked. "Wow, this'll be the first time you let me do it!"
"Yes, very observant of you. Now why don't you demonstrate this to Applejack and help her up this cliff?" the older pegasus asked.
"Oh, on it!" Scootaloo said, eager to impress her aunt as she reached into the sack and took out her saddlebags, and reached into them with her hooves, drawing out a pair of staple-shaped grappling claws. "Watch and be totally blown away!" she declared as she hooked one into the wall, followed by the other, repeating the process with more and more of them that she drew from her saddlebags as she brought herself up higher and higher, and flapping her wings as hard as she could to maintain altitude and eventually reaching the top.
"Wow... you taught that filly well, Daring," Roseluck muttered, staring agape at what she just saw.
"Don't let her hear you, Roseluck," Daring replied. "Alright, Applejack, scaling that cliff should be a synch, now!"
"Great, on my back an' hold on tight, Winona!" Applejack ordered, leaning down so Winona could climb on as she wrapped her hooves into the rungs of the makeshift ladder and began pulling herself and the collie up the side of the cliff and eventually joined the orange filly waiting at the top.
"Nice work, Applejack! Maybe Aunt Daring can teach you our tricks someday, too!" Scootaloo cheered. "...Soon as I show 'em to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle!"
"You'll have your chance once we find 'em," Applejack said as Winona hopped down and sat by her. "We're actually lookin' for 'em right now," she explained, approaching the tattered saddlebag that hung from the broken tree and looking it over. It was indeed pink, with a single blue diamond embedded into the side where the button would have been placed.
Scootaloo's ears drooped and her cheerful demeanor faded. "That's Rarity's... what happened to her? Do you think they're hurt?" the filly asked, looking up at Applejack with worried eyes.
"Ah'm sure they're alright, we just need ta find 'em!" Applejack said, giving Scootaloo a small hug as the heavy rain suddenly began to let up and finally stop altogether.
"Well, at least it's not raining anymore," Scootaloo observed, suddenly looking down the path ahead a second later. "Hey, did you hear that?" she asked, whispering.
"You an' Winona wait here. Ah'm gonna go take a look," Applejack replied, walking slowly and carefully down the path where she soon heard more noises that sounded like whispers and strange beeping.
"What in the world..." Applejack mouthed as she stared at the strange spectacle before her.
Two ponies, wearing costumes identical to the ones the pony she'd seen in the forest had on, were standing before some kind of purple and blue podium with a curtain placed over something. Surrounding the podium were four glowing crystals that illuminated the place in a blue light. One of the ponies suddenly turned, its goggles glowing brightly as it stared at the farmpony and a second later the other pony turned as well.
"Alright, who are you varmints?! Ah ran into one'a your friends in your little forest fire earlier now ah want answers!" Applejack demanded angrily.
Neither pony responded, letting off only low, raspy breaths from the gas masks they wore over their faces as they began to back away, bumping into one another and causing something to fall from one's cloak. Glancing at one-another for a moment, the two costumed ponies both drew star-tipped wands from their cloaks and advanced to the podium, tapping the figure covered under the sheet several times as powerful shocks fired from the wands as they made contact with whatever was underneath.
"Applejack, what's going on?" Scootaloo asked, rushing in with Winona and stopping on her tracks when she saw what the farmpony was looking at. "Who are those ponies? Are they even ponies?"
"Ah dunno, Scootaloo, but ah know they had somethin' to do with what's been goin' on all night!" she said. The two costumed ponies looked down at the form under the curtain again, then at one-another, then back at Applejack and the two new arrivals before tapping the shape again, shocking it multiple times. This time, however, whatever was underneath began to stir, standing up to about twice the height of any pony and the curtain fell away, revealing what they had awoken.
It resembled a hippo, one much like one of the ones Roseluck had mentioned living in the river that Applejack had seen from time to time. It had none of the friendly disposition it once had as its one normal eye now had a savage glare to it. Its body was now a dull gray with half its face and both of its tusks replaced with metal, and three spouts puffing steam were grafted to its back.
"Proto Hipprobo, engage!" One of the costumed ponies shouted, before both did some kind of salute and backed away from the monstrosity.
"I got a bad feeling about this, Applejack" Scootaloo said, trembling as the creature began to stomp towards them, letting out a fierce grunt, steam puffing from its metal nostrils and out of the spouts on its back.
Applejack immediately charged forward, flipping in the air and turning around to give a buck to the beast's face. As her hooves met metal with a resounding clank, she turned just long enough to see that the creature did not appear particularly phased before it swung its massive head and sent her flying into the rock wall that framed the pathway.
"Applejack!" Scootaloo cried out before noticing the Hipprobo had turned its attention towards her, its false eye glowing a bright blue as it glared right at her.
"Remember what Aunt Daring taught you, remember what Aunt Daring taught you," Scootaloo repeated to herself, finding new resolve as she charged forward.
"Scootaloo, wait!" Applejack cried out, but the filly began flapping her wings as hard as she could, gaining altitude and avoiding the Hipprobo's massive jaws and landing on its back. The creature let out a bellow as it shook its body, but the filly clamped a pair of staple hooks into the fleshy portion of its back and held on tight.
Applejack stared in amazement, as much as she didn't want Scootaloo in danger, she had to admit Daring had trained her rather well after all.
"Alright, and..." Scootaloo suddenly let go, landing behind the Hipprobo and hooking one of her staple hooks into its left hind foot, followed by its right. "Oh yeah! Check that out!" she declared proudly as the beast struggled to free itself.
Winona barked at the Hipprobo, drawing its attention before she lunged at it, leaping onto its back and biting into one of the three crude metal tubes that was occasionally puffing steam from its back. The collie tugged and pulled with all her might, eventually breaking it off and leaping back to the ground to where Applejack lay, dropping the pipe in front of her owner.
"Thanks, girl," Applejack said with a smile, grabbing the pipe up in her teeth and getting back up. Scootaloo dashed around the Hipprobo while it still struggled and quickly rejoined Applejack's side.
"What now, Applejack?" Scootaloo asked, noticing the Hipprobo beginning to free itself from the staple hooks.
"Ah finish this!" the farmpony declared, rushing forward and jumping at the Hipprobo, and with a great spin, swung the pipe as hard as she could into the side of the creature's face. Sparks flew from where she'd hit, the creature's false eye dimmed and faded out as its body began jerking all over. The Hipprobo, staggering now, pawed the ground, thick clouds of steam puffing from its remaining spouts as it immediately charged forward at the three opponents before it. Quickly, Applejack, Scootaloo and Winona jumped out of the way and the half-blinded creature rushed right past them and over the edge of the cliff, a loud crash could be heard as it impacted somewhere in the woods, followed by a burst of fire and crackling magical energy.
"Ah reckon it's gone, now," Applejack said, breathing a sigh of relief and turning towards the two costumed ponies who had been watching the entire time. Despite both of the strange ponies being completely concealed in their odd costumes, it was obvious both were extremely panicked now. "Feel like givin' me some answers, now?" Applejack asked as she began to advance on them, Winona growling as she approached by her side.
The two costumed ponies looked at one-another, then at Applejack before giving a quick salute and throwing tiny pellets at the ground, creating thick clouds of blue smoke. Applejack and Scootaloo coughed and waved their hooves to try and get rid of it, and Winona immediately began barking again. Opening her eyes, Applejack saw the two ponies fleeing down the path and immediately galloped after them.
"Oh, no ya don't! Yer comin' right back here an' yer both gonna start... ...talkin?" Applejack's angry threat quickly faded as she found herself face to face with another strange display. A gigantic, metallic pointed hat on tripod stands stood at the end of the path, the two costumed ponies climbing up a small staircase that lead into it. As soon as they entered, the hatch underneath immediately closed up and the tripod stands folded and receded underneath it as the giant metal hat took to the air and began hovering away. As it rose higher and higher into the sky, an odd music blared from it before it flew off into the distance.
"Consarnit!" Applejack cursed angrily, slamming her hoof into the rocky ground in frustration as her only apparent source of answers escaped.
"Applejack! Over here! I think one of those ponies dropped this!" Scootaloo said, rushing over with Winona following behind, a book of some kind in the collie's mouth.
"Let's see that," Applejack said as her dog set it down and she looked it over.
Opening it, Applejack flipped through the pages with her hoof and found only the first page to have any writing on it. Flipping back, she decided to read what was written in the rather stylish writing.
"I cannot abide such mundane creatures, so horribly lacking in any form of awe-inspiring splendor! It is for this reason I demand they each be remade into something that will really wow the crowds! I hereby name this "The Great and Fantastical Chimera Project"! Get to work on mixing and matching the best of the best, at once! The stage waits for nopony!"
"What do you think that means?" Scootaloo asked, peering over to read the message.
"Ah dunno, but ah suspect it's got somethin' to do with that thing we just fought," Applejack replied.
"Think that's the thing that caused all the trouble?" Scootaloo asked.
"Ah doubt it, Scootaloo. Whatever came through the forest an' down this cliff was much bigger. At any rate, we better go tell the others what we found," Applejack said, heading back to the cliffside and letting Winona climb on her back before grabbing up the remains of Rarity's saddlebag in her teeth and scaling back down, Scootaloo following shortly after.
"Hey, they're back!" Roseluck shouted, getting Daring's attention as the two ponies climbed down.
"So, did you find anything up there?" Daring asked.
"What was that thing that we heard fall earlier?" Roseluck asked.
"There's a lot to tell, but we'll discuss it later, alright?" Applejack asked. "Point is, we didn't find my brother or any of the others up there, they gotta be past that path that was blocked off."
"Well, let's head over there and see if the pegasi found anything!" Roseluck replied.
"Way ahead'a ya," Applejack answered, leading the way back down towards the path to resume their search.
"Hey Applejack!" Cloudchaser's voice called out up ahead.
"What's goin' on, Cloudchaser? You find 'em?" Applejack asked.
"Yes and no, we found the foals near the river, Redheart's tending to them right now. Still no sign of your brother or Rarity, though," the pegasus replied. "W-we're still looking, though! Thunderlane and Flitter are still checking further upstream!"
Applejack sighed, she was still worried about her friend and her big brother, but it was a relief to know the foals were okay. "Lemme see my sister, an' Sweetie Belle, ah'm sure she's mighty scared for Rarity," she said before looking over to Roseluck. "Go find the others'n head back to town, we'll catch up later!" she said, the other earth pony giving a nod and head off down the path leading to town.
"They're right this way," Cloudchaser said, flying off ahead and leading the group further into the woods.
~
"A-Applejack!" Apple Bloom cried out weakly, shivering under the blanket she was wrapped in.
"Oh, Apple Bloom! Ah'm so happy you're alright!" Applejack said, nuzzling her little sister as she held her in a hug.
"They're still pretty cold from the trip down the river but they'll be alright after a couple more minutes in front of the fire," Redheart explained.
"Heya, girls," Scootaloo said sheepishly as she approached. "Guess I missed out on a pretty cool adventure, huh?"
"T-trust me, y-you..." Apple Bloom let out a sneeze and began shivering again.
Sweetie Belle whimpered a little, snuggling up to Applejack and Apple Bloom.
"It's alright, Sweetie Belle, ah'm sure your sister'll be along right soon," Applejack said, putting her foreleg around her reassuringly.
Sweetie Belle did not respond, instead she continued to shiver, as though something had scared her badly.
"Sweetie Belle? It's gonna be okay... Rarity... she can handle herself, and Big Mac's out there, too," Scootaloo said, hugging her friend and trying to comfort her.
"Look, girls... did ya... see anythin' unusual 'fore you were found?" Applejack asked.
"Th-there... s-something... something... big... it..." Apple Bloom stammered, trying to finish her sentence but then froze up completely.
"Listen, there's somethin' bad goin' on, Scootaloo an' I-"
"Applejack, please! We don't need to scare them anymore! They're frightened enough as it is!" Redheart protested.
"Sorry," Applejack muttered. "We'll discuss it later. For now, let's just wait till Thunderlane an' Flitter get back,"
"Good, in the meantime, I made some hot tea, we should all warm up now that the rain's finally gone," Redheart replied.
"C'mere, girls. It's gonna be alright," Applejack said softly, laying down by the fire and the three fillies and Winona lay snuggled up to her while they waited for news about their missing family.
~
"Applejack!" Thunderlane's voice called out a half hour later, causing the farmpony to stir in her sleep.
"Thunderlane! You're back!" Applejack immediately stood up, waking the fillies nestled up to her. "Where's my brother? Ya find him an' Rarity?" she asked.
Thunderlane grew silent as he landed, staring down at the fire for a moment. "AJ, look..."
"What's goin' on? Out with it already! Ah got two fillies here who're waitin' to hear news about their families!" Applejack replied impatiently.
Thunderlane sighed, Flitter landed beside him and put her hoof on his shoulder, a distressed look in her eyes.
"W-we got... we got kind of a good news-bad news situation, here, Applejack," Flitter explained.
Applejack cocked her head in curiosity. "Whaddya mean?"
"Well... the good news, first," Thunderlane began. "See, Flitter and I went upstream along the river, and we found this tooth, I think it belonged to whatever's out there... it might make a good weapon if we ever run into it..." he explained, managing a small but forced smile.
"Ah don't care about some stinkin' tooth!" Applejack snapped, snorting. "Where's my brother an' Rarity?!"
Thunderlane grew quiet again, he mumbled something but no words seemed to be coming out. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to speak again. "Uhmm... yeah... Th-that's... that's where it was..." he said softly.
Applejack regarded the stallion, a look of confusion on her face. "...Whaddya mean "That's where it was"?" she asked.
Thunderlane took a few breaths before speaking. "Applejack... He's dead. That fang was jabbed through his heart."
Applejack stood there, frozen in place as Thunderlane's words replayed through her head.
"......What?" her response was weak, barely above a whisper as her body began to tremble all over.
"And Rarity... wasn't too far from him," Thunderlane continued. "She was covered in deep cuts and her entire ribcage was caved in. Looked like it was some kind of enormous claws..." he paused as he saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom staring at him in shock.
"R-Rarity... sh-she's... she's... dead?" Sweetie Belle stammered, her eyes tearing up as she collapsed to the ground, struggling to hold back sobs as Redheart rushed over and held her, Scootaloo and a tearful Apple Bloom joining her.
Looking back at Applejack Thunderlane saw the farmpony's still, horrified expression had now become a cold glare. "A-Applejack?" he asked nervously.
"Outta' my way," Applejack said, her voice dangerous and low.
"A-are you okay?" Thunderlane asked, taking a step back.
"Ah will be when you stop wasting my time when ah could be searchin' for my brother an' Rarity!" Applejack yelled furiously, her face now inches from the pegasus'
"Applejack, i-it's the truth, Flitter and I, we saw-"
"My brother wouldn't just die!" Applejack shouted. "He's not dead! Ah know you're lyin'..." she could feel tears forming. "You... y-you have to be lyin'...!" Her voice began trembling. "P-please... Please tell me you're lyin' so ah can just yell at ya an' get back to lookin' for 'em..." she struggled to keep a strong face, but it was crumbling rapidly with this horrible news she didn't want to believe.
"I'm... sorry Applejack..." Thunderlane said, his tone soft and cautious. "I'm... I'm sure they gave their lives to protect Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle... and..." he couldn't finish, realizing nothing he said was likely to do any good for his friend.
Applejack didn't respond, turning around, she staggered towards the fire, collapsing to her haunches as tears began flowing down her cheeks. Her sister's and Sweetie Belle's sobs behind her made it all the more real to her; that her big brother she'd known her whole life and one of her best friends were gone and she'd never see either of them ever again... Letting out an anguished growl, Applejack slammed her hoof into a nearby branch in the fire, splintering it and sending sparks flying at the other ponies gathered around.
"Applejack! Calm down!" Cloudchaser pleaded, approaching the farmpony.
"DONCHA TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" Applejack shouted, her grief turned to pure rage as she grabbed up a branch from the fire with her teeth and swung it at the pegasus, causing her to stumble backwards as she attempted to avoid it and fell to the ground, Flitter immediately rushed to her sister's side and held her, staring up in fear at the enraged farmpony.
"Applejack, please, put that down, now!" Thunderlane insisted, jumping in her path and trying to swat it out of her teeth with his hoof, only to immediately be struck in the face with it.
"Shut up! Get outta my way now! Ah gotta find my brother an' Rarity!" the farmpony snapped furiously.
"Big sis! Please! Stop it!"
Applejack turned around instinctively, the fury on her face fading as her angry eyes met her little sister's frightened stare, causing her to drop the burning branch from her mouth and distracting her long enough to suddenly feel something strike her in the back of the head. Applejack, dazed, turned just in time to see Cloudchaser holding a branch of her own in her teeth before everything went black.
Thanks to Luna-cy for helping arrange the particular scene at the end...
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
901 users online
1,148,934 hits today, 2,167,270 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
DEATHDEATHDEATHDEATHDEATHDEATHDEATHDEATH
So much for the CMC's childhood innocence...
So, did anyone here see the awesomeness of the Mother 4 trailer?
5682651
Oh I did. It just made me want it to come out sooner!
5682657 Dude, I've waited years for it. It's killing me to see it so close, but so far.
5682659
Well, hopefully the story will keep you entertained till then.
Even if a lot of tearjerkers are ahead given what game it's based on 
It looks like Mother 4's gonna (hopefully) be out by this June.
5682723 Luckily the new trailer has given us mountains of new fan content to hold us over.
5682730
I'd have to say the extra turn mechanic has got me the most interested.
5682723 Ah, there we go. Thanks Shadejack.
And shouldn't there be a comedy tag too? Ah, right, can't be sad and comedy.
Damn, now I remembered why Mother 3 is more dark than any of the previous games.
5700518
Yeah, I never understood that. I'd get not being able to put Comedy and TRAGEDY together, as those contradict each other, but I'd think something can still be comedic AND sad(like Mother 3).
5701344
Yeah, this was the game that made me cry
5701552
Thanks, I'm hoping to get another chapter out this weekend
5701701 5681864
Great story so far, but I expecting you to use the Save Frogs or maybe the Diamond Dogs or Changelings in their place. And will Doctor Whooves will be the time displace Dr. Andonuts? And are some MLP villains will appearance in this story like Sombra, Lord Tirek? And are the Dragons(from Dragon town) and the Deers from the MLP comics will play a role in this story? I can see Trixie being a immortal with a old Alicorn bedridden body hooks up to a mobile hospital bed.
5706924
Whooves obviously will return, given Andonuts did. Sombra and Tirek will not be in it. The rest, wait and see, because I can't say too much
5706924
Saving the game would kind ruin the whole adaptation, maybe they can have Zecora as a traveler advisor and seller of wares?
5707005
I hope to see you use the doorknob joke throughout your story.