My Little Hide-Out 1
A light pound echoed through Fluttershy's cottage as Applejack knocked at the door. When there was no response, the orange farmpony sighed and knocked again, this time with much less force. "Fluttershy, it's me, Applejack," she called as she peeked through the window for hints of the owner, a tuff of pink hair beneath a quaking bed perhaps.
"Oh, hello Applejack," came a sweet little voice from behind. "I didn't know you'd be visiting."
"S'all right," Applejack said as she turned around. Fluttershy hovered to the ground, the small cart attached landing with a small thud. A small group of bunnies hopped out and went inside. "Jus' want'd tah know if yah've seen Applebloom."
"No, I haven't. I've been at the lake all morning. Angel and his friends wanted to have a lakeside picnic today." The Pegasus' expression grew worried. "Is she alright? Do you need me to help you look for her?"
"Nah, she's probably fine. She left with her friends so early Ah didn' get tah tell her that their clubhouse needs some maintenance work done. Some of tha floorboards are gettin' loose and one of tha windows is havin' problems." Applejack shook her head and shrugged. "Nutin' too big but Ah was hopin' tah warn them before anypony got hurt."
"I heard Ash joined the Crusaders recently. I'm sure they'll be fine with him."
"They'd better be..."
"I'm sorry?"
"Nuthin', nuthin'," Applejack quickly said, waving her hoof. "Is Ash still at Twi's?"
"I don't know," the yellow Pegasus admitted. "Maybe you should try there first--"
Poor Fluttershy was interrupted by a sudden boom, like thunder or the crash of a giant cymbal. As the timid Pegasus ducked behind her, Applejack clutched onto her hat as the accompanying force threatened to send it into the air. When she looked up, she nearly gasped at what she saw. A burst of orange light shot out from the Everfree Forest and cleaved the sky open, like an insanely powerful volcanic eruption. The skies were red, the same color as during a sunset or a sunrise.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over.
Applejack blinked in disbelief. "D-did yah see that?"
Fluttershy shook behind her. "No," she squeaked. "And please don't say we have to investigate."
"Why would Ah say that?"
The Pegasus released a breath of relief. "Oh good. I was afraid you'd want to investigate since the Everfree isn't too far away from your farm and you'd be worried. But I'm glad that's not the case."
"...Yer right, we should check it out."
*****
"There, good as new."
Twilight took a step back to admire her handiwork. Nopony would have realized that a big furless ape monster had recently punched a hole into the floor of the library. With some quick spell-casting, the purple Unicorn fixed the floor boards nearly as fast as a properly motivated Rainbow Dash at clearing the skies.
Cleaning the blood had been a harder task, made tricker by Twilight's sudden squeamishness. Seeing Ash's life juices leak from his knuckles, dripping onto the floor like rain falling from a roof's shingles or tears reluctantly released from a determined child's eye was enough for Twilight to feel faint. Strangely, she had no problems when she had cleaned the wound out and bandaged Ash's raw knuckles.
The blood left a dark smear on the wooden floor that required a wet towel to be removed. Even after the bloodstains were no longer visible, Twilight remained dissatisfied. The blood was still there, she knew, even if she couldn't see it. And if the blood was still there, somepony could possibly, somehow, discover it. And while Human's were still fundamentally mammals, Twilight wasn't sure pony blood was the same as Human. It wouldn't be long before Ash's secret was revealed.
And so for hours, Twilight sat on the floor, scrubbing furiously at where the bloodstain had been with an enchanted chemical-soaked sponge.
With a tired smile, Twilight tossed the worn sponge into a bucket and brought it down into the basement where she could safely dispose it. She glanced over at the clock. It was already eight. Ash should be returning soon.
Twilight stopped in front of the bookshelves on the way to the kitchen. She quickly pulled out a few books on the subject of dreams and the subconscious. Hopefully after releasing some stress, Ash would be willing to share his vision and the two could figure out what they meant, why he kept having them, and how to stop them.
"Morning Twilight," Spike mumbled as he crawled down the steps, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Geez, what's that smell?"
"Diethanolamine and triethanolamine mixed with butyl cellosolve ethanol. Try not to inhale the fumes or else you'll end up with hallucinations."
"...What?"
Before Twilight could clarify she was cut off by a thunderous roar, similar to that of a firecracker. The explosive noise seemed to shake the very foundations of the library. Or maybe it only seemed that way because of Twilight's ringing eardrums and canals.
"W-what was that?" asked Spike fearfully as he held his quaking head.
"A Sonic Rainboom?" Twilight speculated. She stuck her head out the window. "No rainbows though. Hmm."
"You don't think the Cutie Mark Crusaders got their Cutie Marks in something explosive?"
"I hope not. I'm still not sure how those three got those lemons to become combustible. While they were making lemonade."
"Hey, wait a sec." Spike did a quick scan of the library. "Where's Ash? Do you think he had anything to do with it?"
"Of course not. Ash is one of the most intelligent ponies I've ever met. He said he was going to let out some steam but he wouldn't do something this risky and dangerous."
"Where is he again?"
"The Everfree Forest."
The dragon crossed his arms and gave Twilight a skeptical look. "And you don't think he'll do anything risky or dangerous?"
"Well..."
The purple Unicorn was cut off by the library door as it was thrown open. Rainbow Dash stood on the other side, feathers ruffled in excitement and wings sticking out to each side.
"Hey Twilight! Didja hear the explosion? The entire sky over the Everfree is orange right now! All the clouds got blown over here too."
"Did you say...Everfree?"
"Yeah. Anyways, since all the clouds are over Ponyville the weatherponies are suppose to be pulling double duty so I was wondering if I could hide here for a bit and...Twilight, you okay? You're looking kinda pale."
*****
Slowly, very slowly, Ash's sight return. Faint outlines were appearing among the white background. As he blinked his blindness away, Ash endured the sharp piercing buzz in his ears.
The first thing he noticed were the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom were running in circles, screaming in panic. At least, it looked like they were screaming; Ash heard no actual sound, save for the ringing in his ears.
Ash opened his mouth but nothing audible came out. He tried again, louder. All he heard was faint buzz. The fillies heard just as much and continued their panicking.
A sigh nopony heard was released. As much as he wanted to join the Crusaders, somepony had to keep calm and find some sense of order if they wanted to survive this.
"Hey." The word was barely audible.
The Crusaders continue to run. The buzzing in his ears continued as well. Both were getting annoying fast.
"Oi!"
Ash went unheeded by the three fillies. The buzz was getting louder, less bearable. He shook his head to clear it. The buzz droned on, becoming exponentially more intense. Ash sucked in a frustrated gust of air through a set of clenched teeth.
"QUIET! Gah!" The Unicorn ducked down, clutching his head between his hooves. "Ow!" It appeared that his hearing had finally returned.
And by how the three fillies skid to a stop, so did their hearing.
"Ow, hey. Wait." Scootaloo blinked in surprise. "I can hear again."
Applebloom opened her eyes. "Ah can see!"
"I can...whoa." Sweetie Belle's eyes widened as she quickly examined the area. "Geez, what happened here?"
Ash followed the younger Unicorn's glance and sighed. "Yeah, no way we can clean this up. At least no one, er pony got hurt."
"Looks like a hurricane went through here," noted Scootaloo. And it did: trees had been torn out of the ground from the roots. Debris in the form of discarded branches, bark, and leaves littered the ground. Chunks of earth had been ripped out and scattered on the surface.
But in the center was a monument demonstrating that what caused all this was no natural force. The grassy surface had been replaced by a hard, blue-tinted material. Cautiously, the Crusaders approached the area. A resonating ring filled the air as they tapped the strange surface.
"It feels like, like..."
"Like glass," Sweetie Belle finished for her Earth Pony friend. "How did this..."
The trio slowly turn to face the grey Unicorn. Ash, noting their rather apprehensive stares, struck an awkward pose, with one forefoot pointed in the air and the other across his head in a salute of sorts.
"Ta-da?" he said with little confidence. His back legs began to wobble.
Silence filled the air, intensifying the situation's discomfort. Then slowly, very slowly, the young fillies began to applaud in pony fashion. The stomping grew faster and louder and soon even cheering could be heard. Ash made a goofy attempt at a bow, leading to the addition of laughter to the hurrahs. Even Ash couldn't help but grin. Really, he was just relieved everypony was alive and well. The magic ball had been hot enough to turn earth to crystal; he did not want to even imagine what would have had happened if it had touch him or one of the fillies.
Eventually, cheering died down and Ash became somber and businesslike.
"Okay, now we need to get out of here before any, anypony arrives."
"Huh? Why?" Sweetie Belle had spoken but she spoke for all three fillies. Applebloom and Scootaloo before wore the same face of confusion.
"Take a good look around you." Ash gestured around him. "Place is a mess and they'll be looking for somepony to clean it up. And I don't wanna so let's get out of here."
"Hold it! It's yer mess though," Applebloom protested. "Applejack says it's important tah take responsibility for yer actions."
"And she's right. We should take responsibility for our actions. But technically, it's not my mess: it's yours. Hey, you three were the ones who wanted to see some magic," Ash argued with a shrug.
Sweetie Belle looked behind her on both sides nervously before saying, "Um, maybe we should leave before anypony does get here."
Scootaloo and, with evident reluctance, Applebloom silently agreed.
There was no pride in manipulating children like this and there was a bad taste in Ash's mouth but he was convinced that it wouldn't take long before somepony discovered that what ever caused all this damage may not have been a regular old Unicorn. This argument wasn't enough to justify such deceit but Ash quickly cleared his conscience by resolving to buy the three candy or something later on.
"So, any secret hidey holes?"
*****
"Wait, so Ash been having bad dreams."
"Yeah," Twilight replied as she and Rainbow Dash sped off. "And by how he looks every morning, they're really, really bad."
"So he asked if he could 'blow off some steam'?"
"Yes."
"And you said he could?"
"Uh huh."
"Alone. In the Everfree?"
"Well..."
"And you thought this was a good idea?"
"It did at the moment," the purple Unicorn nearly snapped. She sighed. "I-I really didn't know how to help him. It's been awhile since either Spike or I had a nightmare and I honestly don't think reading Puff the Magic Dragon or a glass of milk is going to help."
"What about--" Rainbow Dash managed to say before crashing through a window of Fluttershy's cottage.
"What in tarnation-- Rainbow Dash? What are yah doin' here?"
"Applejack?" Twilight stuck her head through the cottage's recently opened window. Sure enough, the farmpony, wearing her trademark hat, stood in Fluttershy's living room. The owner was nowhere to be seen, though tuffs of pink hair stuck out from beneath the couch. "What are you doing here? And where's Fluttershy?"
"Ah was lookin' fer mah sister when we saw this giant explosion. Kinda like the ones RD pulls off, only bigger an' much less colorful. We're goin' tah go check it out an' make sure it's nuthin' dangerous but Fluttershy here needs some convincing." As if one cue, the couch began to shake. "Speaking of which, have yah seen Applebloom and her friends?"
"Yeah, they came over looking for Ash," Twilight answered as she entered through the door. "But he wasn't home so they ran off."
"Do yah think they found 'im?"
"You'd better hope not," said Rainbow Dash as she stumbles into the room, a hoof clutching her head.
"Yah think so too, huh? Ah'm not too worried, gave 'im a clear warning tha other day."
The cerulean Pegasus stared blankly at her friend. "Uh, what are you talking about? Hey, how do you know Ash's in the Everfree Forest?"
"...'scuse me?"
"Yeah, Twilight said Ash went into the forest to unwind. Oh and that he probably caused that little explosion earlier. What did you think I was talking about?" Rainbow shook her head and sighed, taking no notice of Twilight's frantic waving and visual warnings. "Geez, it would suck if those three fillies were with Ash during whatever that spell was. Hey Applejack, you okay? Lookin' kinda pale."
*****
"So this is where it was."
Ash looked up into the tree and at the wooden house sitting snuggly in it.
"Yep," Sweetie Belle said proudly. "Our clubhouse."
"Hey, you never came over during our planning session." Scootaloo frowned at the older pony. "We had to do all the hard stuff without you."
"In my defense all these trees look the same. It's hard to determine one location from another." The grey Unicorn rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Though that means the clubhouse makes a great hideout. If I had trouble finding it..." Ash looked back at the Crusader's headquarters. "Did you really build this?" he asked, genuinely impressed.
"Aw shucks, well, Ah had some help," said Applebloom. A slight blush of embarrassment lit her face. "Applejack said this was 'ers when she was a filly an' we fixed it up."
"Still, neither you or Applejack look like the handym, err, pony. I've seen professional work that's not as well designed or constructed. Hold on." Ash turned to the little farm filly. "Did you say this used to belong to Applejack?"
"Eeyup! At firs' Ah was a little upset 'bout getting mah sister's hoof-me-downs but--"
"But that means Applejack knows where the clubhouse is," Ash interrupted. He sighed before muttering, "Guess it's not as secretive as I thought."
"But it's only Applejack!" the young cream-colored pony protested. "We can trust her. Oh, an' Big Mac. He knows 'bout tha clubhouse too."
Great. If there's anyone I really need to hide from it's Applejack, especially after that stunt. The farmpony's warning rung clearly in his memory. Ash rubbed his neck nervously. "Any--"
" Oh, an' Granny Smith, probably. She knows everything 'bout tha land."
"...Is there any other pony that knows about this place."
"I told Rarity about it," confessed Sweetie Belle.
"The Rainbow Dash fan club used to have meetings here. That's like, um, fifty-ish other ponies." Scootaloo paused for a moment, clearly in thought. "Oh and the Mare-Do-Well fan club too, so another fifty-ish."
"Ah found Pinkie Pie sleeping here one night. Said somethin' 'bout being first fer cider season." Applebloom scratched the back of her head. "Ah think it was the day after cider season ended."
"Wasn't Twilight here last Zap Apple harvest?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Oh yeah, Ah remember. She wanted tah study 'em up close an' ended up with a rainbow mane fer a week."
"Boxxy Brown's crew was here delivering our piano." Scootaloo shuddered slightly at the memory of having to dodge the cascade of keyboards and the occasional anvil.
"I think the mayor had a meeting here when town hall was being repaired."
"Is there anyone in town that /doesn't/ know about this place?" Ash asked, growing more and more exasperated.
"Well, you know now," Sweetie Belle answered. "So, nope."
"So much for a hide-out," Ash mumbled with a sigh.
"It makes a great hide-out!" Applebloom protested.
"If every...pony knows about it, how is it a great hide-out?" the white-maned Unicorn questioned. "Besides, wouldn't this be the first place somepony would search if they were looking for you three?"
"Exactly! It'd be tha first place somepony would search tah look for us so..."
"...So it be the last place they'd search," finished Scootaloo.
"How does that even make sense?"
"Since it such an obvious hiding place, nopony would bother to look here," explained Sweetie Belle. "It's called reverse psychology. Rarity uses it all the time."
"...That still doesn't make any sense," Ash asserted as he grappled with the Crusaders' reasoning. "If it's such an obvious hiding spot, why wouldn't anypony search it?"
"Would you hide in an obvious hiding place?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"No, of course not. That's why I'm against hiding here."
"Then you wouldn't hide here," the Unicorn filly continued.
"Yes, that's what I said." Ash struggled to remain patient.
"So if you wouldn't hide here because it's such an obvious hiding place, why would you search it if you were looking for yourself?"
"...Oh my God,"
The Crusaders grinned triumphantly. "C'mon, last one in is a baked bad!" Scootaloo challenged before the three ran wildly to the clubhouse.
*****
For several moments, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight stood in silence, awestruck by the chaotic scene before them. Individually they attempted to piece together an imagined symphony of violence and devastation based on the aftermath in front of them. At last, the silence was broken by a fallen branch followed by a comment from Rainbow Dash:
"Geez, it looks like a tornado tore through here."
Twilight had to agree with her friend. She had seen first-hand the power of a cyclone during tornado day and the damages were similar. The difference however, was the extent of the destruction. While the water-gathering tornado was contained and controlled to a degree, whatever went through this part of the Everfree was not. It was as if the Pegasi simply gave control of the winds to the wild forces of nature.
"Oh, look at all these poor trees." Tears brimmed in Fluttershy's eyes. "So many homeless animals. I hope none of the birds or squirrels got hurt."
"Hurt..." Applejack gulped and took a long and deep breath. "Applebloom!" she bellowed. "Applebloom! Are yah here?"
"Doesn't look like the Crusaders or Ash are here," Rainbow Dash noted.
"But they were." Twilight pointed to the ground. Everypony gathered around and followed her hoof to the hoof-steps implanted in the mud. Three sets of smaller ones and one set that was much. Three fillies, one stallion.
"And there's definitely been some magic done here."
"Why? Are yer Unicorn-senses tingling?"
"No." The purple Unicorn pointed to the patch of ground some distance from the hoof-prints. "That's a complete giveaway."
"What the hay?" Rainbow hovered over the mentioned area and almost fell out of the air at the sight of her own reflection. She struck at the ground and was rewarded with a clear ringing sound, like that of a bell, and a sore hoof. "It's hard."
"Wh-what is it?" Fluttershy slowly approached the place of interest, shrinking back when she saw herself in the ground.
"It feels like a gem," said Applejack, giving the material a good rap. "Ah didn't know there were any mines in tha Everfree."
"There aren't, at least, not in this section." Twilight tapped the ground with her horn. Both the crystal and the horn lit up like candles, the horn brilliantly violet and the ground a dirty dark grey lighting. "Whatever happened here, it was because of magic. And I doubt Sweetie Belle has this type of ability. I don't think even I could transform rock into crystal. Or even Rarity and she specializes in gems and crystals." The Unicorn closed her eyes as she tried to visualize the sort of spell could have done all this. "How did Ash manage this?"
"Does that matter now?" Applejack pawed at the ground, a habit more prone to the nervous Fluttershy. "If Applebloom an' her friends were here before, where are they now?"
"Hm, it looks like the hoof-prints lead out of the forest," Twilight observed. "So at least we know they're no longer in the Everfree."
A sigh of relief was released by the orange Earth pony. "Good."
"Plus the prints seem to stay together so all four of them must be with each other."
"Oh, that's good," Fluttershy said with a smile. "If those fillies have somepony older with them I'm sure they'll be taken care of."
"That's right. If Ash is with Applebloom, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." Twilight shared Fluttershy's grin. Neither noticed that Applejack did not.
"Ah...Ah better not have anythin' tah worry 'bout."
"Hey, AJ, you alright?"
"It's nothin' RD," Applejack replied to the cyan Pegasus as she turned to leave. "Least, it better be nothin'. C'mon, we've gotta hurry."