//------------------------------// // The Labyrinth I // Story: Applejack Gets Lost // by MagicS //------------------------------// Applejack ran through the hedge maze at full speed, the walls seeming to close in around her, she couldn’t remember just how many hours she’d been trapped in here already but she wanted out. As she looked up the walls were so high that they blocked out her view of the sun, the sky itself being only a tiny slit. Coming to an intersection Applejack ran right, then left, then right again. At no point did it seem like she was getting any closer to an exit. Her hooves echoed loudly off the walls of the hedge maze, it didn’t make any sense but it still happened. Where was she even going now? Her sense of direction was completely shot from all the twists and turns, at first she had tried to keep track of if she was still going west, east, etc. but over time as she had gotten more frantic it became impossible for her to remember where she was going. For all Applejack knew she could be right by the way she came in, just going in circles in a corner of the maze. Or the exit could even be just through the wall to her right, so impossible to get to it might as well have been miles away. Applejack had tried pushing her way through the hedges but they were completely impassable. So thick and strong she might as well have been trying to force her way through a concrete wall. As Applejack turned another corner she heard a rumbling noise and looked over her shoulder to see the path she just came through be blocked off by a new hedge springing up. It was about the tenth time she had seen that happen. This place is driving me nuts. One magic hedge maze was more than enough for me. Trying to climb out didn’t work either. The tops of the hedges seemed to perpetually remain the same distance away no matter how high up she went. Every now and then she’d come to a wider space with multiple branching paths, or a tunnel, a ways back she had even came out into a clearing that had a nice gazebo built into it. Whatever else this hedge maze was it was truly massive. And really wearing out my patience. Applejack slowed down a bit, realizing there was no point in running at full speed anymore. Despite her paranoia there wasn’t really anything happening to the hedge maze, it never harmed her and as far as she knew nothing was chasing her or even lived in here to begin with. Looking up she saw the sky to be much darker now, it was almost night. Maybe a good nights rest would make her journey easy tomorrow morning. On the other hoof though she didn’t really want to fall asleep in a creepy hedge maze like this. “Ugh, I just wish I could tell if there was at least someway out of here. Having somepony else to talk to would be nice too. Geez.” Applejack leaned against one of the hedges. For a pony that liked things simple and straightforward it was kind of ironic for her to be stuck in a situation like this. Or just annoying. She decided to pick up her hooves and continue on for a little bit longer at least, hopefully she could find another one of those gazebos and sleep in it for the night if she couldn’t just find the exit. I bet Pinkie Pie would just be having a blast in here, and Twilght would want to study it. As Applejack walked on she could faintly here a rumbling every now and then, the maze shifting most likely, each time it just made her sigh in frustration. Maybe the maze was completely random? Or maybe it changed depending on where she went in it? Applejack came to a four way intersection and deciding to change things up a bit she spun around and counted to ten and walked down the way she was pointing. She was pretty sure it ended up being a left. Going down that path for a bit the hedges started to arch together overhead, creating a total tunnel. It should’ve been totally dark but through some magic or other means unknown to Applejack there was enough light that she could see the blooming flowers all across the tunnels walls. Roses, lilies, lilacs, tulips, marigolds, petunias, and who knew what else. Roseluck and… the other two flower ponies whose name’s Applejack couldn’t remember would love this. “Wow.” She said to herself as she admired the pretty scenery. “Almost makes it worth getting stuck in here.” Even in this situation Applejack refused to use the word “lost”. The tunnel ended shortly and Applejack came out into a scene that, despite all the other weirdness she had been part of, she never expected to see. A cafe. A simple coffee house stood in the biggest clearing of the maze Applejack had come across yet. It had no sign above its doors but it looked just like one of the cafes Applejack would see in Ponyville, there was even an outdoor area with some white tables and chairs with umbrellas, all surrounded by a little picket fence and lined with flower boxes and planters. It may not have been home but the smell of coffee wafting from it made it just as inviting as Sugarcube Corner. And there were five ponies sitting at one of the tables looking at her. “Uh, hi?” Applejack said, cautiously waving at them. The five ponies, all of them earth ponies like her, looked pretty surprised to see her, and then huge smiles broke out on their faces and they left their table and came happily trotting over to Applejack. Who was only just a little bit weirded out by this. “Hi, it’s great to see a new face!” The lead pony, a light-brown stallion with a black mane and spool of thread cutie mark, said as he came up to her and eagerly shook her hoof. “I’m Thread Count, welcome to our nice little oasis.” “Pleased to meet you, name’s Applejack.” Applejack returned the hoofshake with an uneasy smile. How long had these ponies been in here? “And I am Effervescence!” A red mare wearing heavy eye-shadow and with her pink and purple mane done in a tight pigtail announced. She even posed a bit while she greeted Applejack, sticking her hoof into the air and one of her back legs out behind her, batting her curled eyelashes. I found Rarity. Applejack thought to herself as she also noticed Effervescence’s perfume bottle cutie mark. “My name is Lozenge.” A glasses wearing stallion with a pill cutie mark told her, his coat was a pale yellow and he had no hair on his head. “I’m Shiny Porcelain.” A mare with a lilac colored coat just like Starlight’s told her. She had the widest smile of the bunch and what looked to Applejack like a doll cutie mark. Her green mane was pulled back in a long ponytail that just about hit the ground. “I’m Flour Press. And that’s flour as in baking, not the plant, you know?” The last pony, an aquamarine mare with a short white mane and a bag of flour cutie mark told her. “Right...” Applejack looked over them all, they did seem genuinely happy to meet her. “Uh, how long have y'all been in here for?” They talked between themselves for a second. “Hm.” Thread Count answered her. “It’s kind of hard to say, it’s easy to lose track of the days in here, even though this is a big open area if you look up the hedges still curve at the top so you can barely see the sky. But we’ve all been here for a few months at least.” “What!” Applejack was shocked. “You’ve all been lost in here for that long?!” “Oh no, no.” Lozenge said. “We were only lost for a couple days. Then we gave up and just started living here.” Applejack sputtered at the absurdity of it all. She kept trying to form a coherent sentence as the others continued. “It was a bit off-putting at first.” Flour Press spoke up. “I mean, we all have families after all. But it’s pretty nice in here. There’s plenty of food you know? Lots of fruit trees and such. The cafe has some bedrooms on the second floor if you ever want to sleep someplace a bit more comfortable. Oh, and the maze rearranges itself so you can always find your way back here.” “Are y'all nuts?!” Applejack finally managed to get out. They looked between themselves for a second. “I dunno, maybe?” Thread Count replied. “It’s not like we never tried to get out or anything.” Effervescence started. “But we could never find an exit, so we made the best of a bad situation and now we’re quite enjoying ourselves.” She tossed her braid over her shoulder. “There aren’t any worries or troubles in the maze.” “Okay, well if that all works for you then fine. But me? I’m getting out of here.” Applejack turned away, walking towards one of the various pathways that led out of the big clearing. “That’s alright, it was nice to meet you.” Thread Count said afterwards. “We wish you well, no hard feelings if you end up right back here either.” “Thanks.” Applejack said over her shoulder before suddenly thinking about something and coming to a stop. “Uh… by the way, you said there are lots of fruit trees here. Would that include any apple trees?” The five weird ponies talked between themselves for a second. “Sorry, not sure what those are?” Thread Count again answered for them. Applejack hung her head low and sighed. “Figures.” She took off walking again, even though the cafe would’ve definitely made a nice place to sleep for the night she just didn’t want to be around it and those ponies who seemed so happy to just give up and live here in the maze. Heading down the nearest path she could see where it split off in two directions ahead. Right or left?