//------------------------------// // On the Road to Huh? // Story: Applejack Gets Lost // by MagicS //------------------------------// For two days now Applejack and the disciples had been walking through the forest north from the Twin Towns. Saddlebags full of fruit, not apples sadly, and with a well rested spring in their step. Applejack slid back her hat a little bit to feel the rose that Bouquet gave her still in there and smiled. Her trip was gonna be over soon, she was glad for that but she was also glad for the friends she had made. Despite some problems she could safely say she didn’t regret getting lost. Not that she was admitting to getting lost. Not to Big Mac at least. Or Rainbow Dash. With any luck Dash would at least not be in town when she got back so she could relax a little and not have to deal with anything from her. Hopefully Rarity wouldn’t see her and start gabbing about how “disheveled” she looked. Pinkie Pie was another she should watch out for, Applejack could picture getting suddenly roped into a spontaneous welcome back party. That’s really not something she wanted to deal with at the moment. She just wanted to get back to her farm and grab a nice apple. That would be perfect. No one else around, sitting under a tree and eating a nice juicy apple. Maybe taking a good nap afterwards. Quartz and the others had been mostly quiet the past couple days. They were never the most talkative bunch to begin with but they hadn’t even really given her more tips on Hoof of the Earth or anything either. Obsidian even seemed a bit sad, maybe they thought Applejack would just ditch them when she got back home. Well… she certainly didn’t plan to devote years of her life to Hoof of the Earth or anything but they were her friends now at least and they’d always be welcome at Sweet Apple Acres. They always said they were the “last” disciples too and it didn’t seem like they really had a home of their own. The thought made Applejack frown. She supposed she could throw them a party or let them stay at the farm as long as they wanted. Maybe she should go find Pinkie instead when they got to Ponyville. Applejack looked around at the forest around her, pines, pines, and more pines. It didn’t look familiar to her at all. Big Dad Redwood said Ponyville was only a couple days down this road so she figured she’d start recognizing things by now. Maybe this forest eventually went into the Everfree or came out somewhere around there? “Hey y'all.” She called back to Quartz and them. “You been in this area right? What’s around here?” “Not here specifically.” Quartz replied, also looking around at the trees. “Far to the west at one point but mostly more east, that’s where the monastery is. Or was, more accurately, since it’s practically in ruins now. Also around there are some villages, far north east of here there’s a mountain where some old, crazy, unicorn king once lived. But we’ve only heard about that, never traveled that far.” “Small villages.” Marble cut in. “Smattered about in the forest east of here, after some low mountains and rocky areas.” “Well wherever else you’ve been I know you’ll like Ponyville when we get there, it’s just about the nicest town you could think of. I’ll show you around and everything.” As Applejack sang the praises of Ponyville Quartz and the others shot each other uneasy glances, something Applejack caught out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t know what but those four were definitely hiding something. For the next few minutes as they walked in silence Applejack wondered if she should just call them out on whatever was eating at them or respect their privacy. They’re worried about going to Ponyville but why? Do they actually know Ponyville in some way? Applejack continued on, her tail swishing as her green-cloaked companions followed her. Obviously nopony was going to start a conversation now but this evening when they were all settled down she’d try to get them to open up. Applejack licked her lips and reached into her saddlebag, pulling out the last banana she had. Couldn’t compare to an apple but it’d do for now. She started humming to herself a bit to pass the time, half expecting some monster or something to suddenly come out of nowhere and sidetrack her again. Good thing this wasn’t one of those Daring Do stories Twi and Rainbow Dash liked so much. Hay, maybe after all this though she’d give those a shot too. Dash would flip out if she started reading it… of course though Twilight would then take the time to try and recommend every single book in her library if Applejack showed the slightest interest. Stupid “Organized Orchards” book… Applejack yawned and stretched her legs, the forest didn’t seem to be parting anytime soon but at least it was a lot better than climbing a cliff or being baked in the desert. “Guess you all are used to walking a lot more than this huh?” She said back to them again. This time Obsidian actually decided to trot up beside her. “Yep, we’ve been on the road pretty much all our adult lives.” She put on a small smile to assuage Applejack’s concerns but it was pretty shaky. Still she kept up the conversation so their minds wouldn’t wander. “We’ve seen the big ocean to the west, and the lands beyond it, the sea to the south and the big desert before it. It’s crazy how big the world actually is. As foals we were kept in one place the whole time and all we knew were other earth ponies.” She picked up the pace to head in front of Applejack, a bend in the road coming up, Obsidian wanted to be the first to round it. “I didn’t have a problem with that or anything though, everyone was nice and that’s how all of us got together.” She smiled back at Applejack, blind eye slightly visible past her long hair. “We should be getting to Ponyville soon right? Maybe it’ll be just around this corner!” She dashed forward, going out to the middle of the road and looking at what was down the way. Her smile fell. “Oh.” Applejack frowned, increasing her pace she lightly ran to Obsidian. “What is it?” She reached the bend and looked at what had bothered Obsidian so much. ~WELCOME TO PONY VILLAS RESORT AND SPA~ ~COME RELAX WITH US~ The large sign was suspended over the road by two wooden poles. The welcoming and happy greeting seeming to mock Applejack. “Ya can’t be serious...” Applejack forced herself to not enjoy the spa. After obliterating all the fruit she still carried in her saddlebags in a rage she stomped grumpily down the road and into the resort town of “Pony Villas”. The disciples quietly followed behind her, giving her space and not wishing to possibly set her off again. Now Applejack sat in a warm bath. Her face looking like it had been born with a frown on it. Obsidian sat in another personal bath next to hers while the stallions were getting massaged a room over. This would normally be a very welcome and relaxing thing for Applejack but the sheer disappointment and annoyance she felt overcame everything. So instead of being mature about things she decided to be grumpy. “Do you want to talk about it?” Applejack ignored Obsidian. “Do you wanna do nothing but sit there all day?” Applejack submerged herself entirely and came back out, mane out of its usual tie and wetly sticking to her face and body. She stood up and got out of the bath, grabbing a towel and drying herself off. Obsidian followed her, pushing back her long mane so it hung over her neck and shoulders instead of over one side of her face. “Wanna get a massage? I don’t know about you but I had my eye on that cute blue stallion.” Now it reminded Applejack of a Rarity spa trip. Speaking of that, Rarity was probably complaining to Aloe and Lotus Blossom about how many spa dates Applejack had missed every time she went now. Maybe she would try and rope Rainbow Dash into going with her, as soon as she would give up and admit she liked hooficures. Applejack hadn’t even bothered to ask the staff here if they had any apples or apple juice for refreshments. She was pretty sure she knew what the answer was going to be. She looked over at Obsidian as she shook and dried herself off. Still not in the mood to talk, Applejack didn’t wait for her to finish and went out the door of the spa room. She’d go sulk outside until Quartz and the others were done. The disciples found her sitting on a big plush cushion in the resort’s lobby. Still frowning and doing a good job of frightening off several other ponies. “Could you please get her to leave?” One of the administrators of the resort asked them, her violet eyes narrowed in annoyance. Quartz sighed and walked up to Applejack. “Applejack, I know you’re upset but enough is enough. Let’s get back on the road.” “And go where?” She grumbled out. “I’m sure you’ll find a way home soon, this was just another detour.” “Hmph.” Applejack blew out a deep breath and pouted. Quartz frowned and looked back at the other disciples. “Shall we?” He asked them. Applejack raised an eyebrow as the other three nodded back at him, wondering what was going on. Quartz turned and looked her deeply in the eyes. His face as impassive as ever. “I wasn’t planning on this since I thought you were close to home, but it’s probably a good thing that it’s come to this. Applejack, would you like to come back to our monastery?”