//------------------------------//
// Chapter Two: Odd Introduction 
// Story: According to You 
// by Razor Blade the Unicron 
//------------------------------//

Applejack passed through Ponyville at a fast trot, not quite reaching a gallop. She wasn't normally one to get nervous about things, but it was a whole different matter when it concerned Sweet Apple Acres. If there was something wrong with the trees, they'd normally have at least some clue what happened. But she had never seen magic act up like this before.

There was one major thought that kept cycling through head. What if Limestone didn't know what was happening either? Who else could she go to? There always had to be a solution to a problem, but she needed to know the actual problem first.

No, Limestone would be able to help. She was sure of it. She had never met an Earth pony with such powerful magic as Limestone, especially without ever having seen her magic in action. With every step she took she let out a small burst of passive magic, noticeable only to other Earth ponies.

A chilling howl snapped Applejack out of her thoughts, and she automatically looked towards the Everfree Forest. It was unusual for the timber wolves to be awake at this hour, but you never knew when it came to Everfree. Despite her worry over the farm, she walked towards the forest to see if anything was coming out.

Mere seconds later, a loud crash came echoing out of the forest, which she easily identified as a tree falling down. A unicorn with a purple coat came sprinting out of the forest at a remarkably fast speed for her size, a timber wolf snapping at her tail. Applejack wasted no time, and sprinted towards the wolf. She whipped around and slammed her back hooves into it as hard as she could, sending sticks flying everywhere.

She threw the nearby sticks into Everfree before the wolf could reform, and tuned towards the unicorn who had been outrunning it. "You alright, sugarcube?" she asked worryingly.

"Y-yeah!" replied the unicorn, her voice quivering slightly. "I mean-" She coughed sharply. "Yes." She was much more firm and calm this time. "The creature caught me off guard and I was unequipped to handle it."

"There ain't too great of a way ta handle them timber wolves." Applejack looked towards the forest as the wolf reform, satisfied to see it sprinting away. "Pesky things put themselves back together real fast, so ya gotta be fast on yer hooves."

"I remember from training. The best way to stop a timber wolf is fire, but I couldn't risk setting the entire forest ablaze."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ya know a fire spell?"

"Well, yes, of course." She paused for a moment. "Oh, right, I went without my armor today." She somewhat shyly stuck out her hoof. "Twilight Sparkle, Royal Guard."

"Applejack." She gave Twilight's hoof a quick shake. "Wait, are you that guard from the Summer Sun Celebration?"

"Indeed." Her face fell. "Did... did I hurt anypony? I was trying my hardest to fight Nightmare's control, but I just couldn't..."

"Ah don't recall anypony gettin' hurt. 'Sides, like ya said, it was Nightmare controllin' what you were doin'."

Twilight smiled a little. "Thank you. That's a relief to hear." Her smile widened a bit. "Um, would you happen to know where Amethyst Star is right now?"

Applejack was caught off guard by the sudden subject change. "She's probably sleepin'. She lives in the library."

Her smile widened even more, making her look somewhat creepy. "The library? What's it called?"

"Golden Oaks."

"Golden Oaks Library." Twilights nodded, her smile not wavering. "Won't be hard to find! Thanks for your help, Applejack!"

She shrugged. "Ain't a problem ta help out others."

Applejack continue towards Limestone's, and Twioight started towards the library. "Wait!" Applejack turned around to see Twilight looking at her in a panic. "Why do you hate Amethyst?"

Applejack took a step back in surprise. "How- Why-" She scowled. "What's it to you?"

She giggled. "Oh, never mind." She turned and walked off without looking back.

She rolled her eyes. "Rude."

Applejack continued on towards Limestone's without interruption, her thoughts already drifting back towards the farm.





Rainbow grinned as Ponyville came into sight, and quickly increased her height. At her chosen peak, she tucked her wings to her sides, and began diving down. Not only was it a delightful adrenaline rush, but it gave her wings a break after the somewhat long flight.

As she seamlessly tore through a cloud, she couldn't help but wonder about Twilight. If she wasn't in Canterlot, she had to be in Ponyville. But what if she wasn't in Ponyvile? Or, on the reverse side, if she was in Ponyville, what was she doing there? And why wouldn't she have told Rainbow yesterday? It was all very un-Twilight-ish, especially after they had made great strides the day before in their training.

Rainbow noticed two things before she flew down too low to see the entire town. Applejack was walking away from Limestone's home, and Twilight was walking away from the Golden Oaks Library. So she must have gone to visit Amethyst! But it was very odd to go so early in the morning, especially without telling anypony.

Rainbow flapped her wings in reverse to slow down as she neared the ground, oddly not getting Twilight's attention. She did an aileron roll and a loop-de-loop, and ended by hovering in front of the unicorn. "Twilight!"

"Heya, Rainbow," replied Twilight casually, continuing to walk as Rainbow flew backwards. "What's up?"

Rainbow stared for a moment after hearing Twilight talk like that. "Uh... What are you doing in Ponyville?"

"Visiting Amethyst."

"Why did you tell anypony? Shining Armor was looking for you all morning! He's still looking for you right now!"

"Oh..." Her ears flattened down. "I'm sorry, I must have forgot."

She stared wordlessly at Twilight. "You forgot."

"Y-yes?"

"Twilight, please tell me you're not serious." Twilight shook her head nervously. "You forgot?! The same pony who left me an essay-length letter that described how we would train; the same pony who already knew that the proper term is an aileron roll and not a barrel roll; the same pony who was the youngest to ever join the guard; forgot to write a little note saying you were going to Ponyville?!"

Twilight winced. "I mean, when you put it like that..."

Rainbow took in a breath to calm herself down. "Just... are you feeling okay?"

"Just peachy."

"Are you sure? If it's that you're tired from training, we didn't have to keep going."

"No, really, I'm fine." She smiled. "Now I need to get going. I'm on a mission right now! See you later, Dash!"

Twilight trotted off as Rainbow landed silently on the ground, her mouth agape. Twilight had never called her Dash before. Something was very, very wrong.