//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13 - Myth and Reality 
// Story: Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness II 
// by bigsnusnu 
//------------------------------//

Myth and Reality

A new day in Canterlot had just dawned, and Luna was on her way to the dining room after having lowered the moon and finished her work as guardian of the night and dreams.  When she arrived at her destination, the Princess of the Night was surprised to see that neither her sister nor her supposed niece were there.

"Where are the others?" Luna asked her faithful maid Sweet Caramel. The mare hurried to serve her a cup of coffee, as was customary every morning.

"Princess Cadenza is busy with preparations for the wedding." The maid replied, giving the princess a tray with fruit. "And Princess Celestia, along with Raven, attended Teacher Inkwell's funeral."

The word “funeral” shocked the alicorn a bit. She vaguely remembered her sister asking her assistant, Raven Inkwell, about her grandmother's health a couple of days ago.  However, she hadn't imagined that the situation was so grave that her life would be gone in just a few days.

"I see.  How most unfortunate." Luna said solemnly. She didn’t move for a second out of respect, and then continuing with her breakfast in absolute silence.

As she ate, Luna remembered that her sister wasn’t the only ruling princess anymore. She was a princess too. And just as her sister had done, it would only be right for her to also pay her respects to the ever-faithful Raven for her unfortunate family loss.

With that last thought, Luna hurriedly finished her breakfast, quickly stood up, and headed out of the palace, towards the Canterlot Cemetery.  It was somewhat far from the city center, but Luna was able to arrive there quickly thanks to her large alicorn wings.

Once there, Luna lamented seeing that apparently she had arrived a little late, just when the funeral seemed to be coming to an end. All the relatives and acquaintances of the deceased mare began to leave, including her granddaughter, Raven Inkwell.  Luna approached her and slightly bowed her head as a sign of respect.

"Don't worry Princess, it was something we had been waiting for a few days.  Her condition wasn’t improving, and…well, we're glad she's in a better place now." Raven said with a small smile.  She was obviously that her grandmother was no longer with her, but also relieved that she was no longer suffering and that her mother and the rest of her family could rest from caring for her poor grandmother.

"Forgive me for asking, Raven.  But did my sister already leave?" Luna asked, looking at all the ponies that were leaving the graveyard, and seeing that her sister wasn’t among them.

"Princess Celestia said she would stay for a few more minutes." Raven answered, pointing behind her. "She instructed me to go to the palace and adjust her schedule to compensate for these minutes of delay. So, if you'll excuse me, Princess." Raven added, remembering that she had a lot of work to do and hurried back to the castle and her duties.

After Raven left, Luna continued to advance through the cemetery, seeing from time to time a statue on a grave of a wealthy or famous pony. Finally, she saw her sister, who stood with a sad gaze looking at the grave of the recently deceased Teacher Inkwell.

"Sister, why are you still here? I think it's a bit of a gloomy place for the Princess of the Sun to be alone." Luna said with a small smile. The white alicorn still appeared to be lost in thought.

"I know… It's a place I always try to avoid. It makes me too melancholic." Celestia replied with a sad smile, not taking her eyes off the grave in front of her. "She was such a cheerful and enthusiastic filly…" Celestia added, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Hm? I thought this was Raven's grandmother's grave." Luna said, getting closer to check the name of the tombstone.

"That's right. Inkwell was a stubborn and somewhat peculiar old mare, but the image I remember most of her at this moment was when her father first took her to the castle when she was just a filly." Celestia said with a small smile and a twinkle in her eyes. "Did you know that some years ago some shadow creatures attacked the kingdom? They took us all by surprise. Everyone trusted me to protect them, but my magic wasn't enough to defend the entire city alone... It was there that a young Inkwell was the first to jump in to help me. She was a very talented unicorn in magic… I remember that it took me a lot to convince her to teach at the School of Magic. And she continued teaching for many years until just a few years ago... I trusted her judgment so much, that she was one of the judges I called to see Dusk Shine's test and see that he was worthy of being my student..." Celestia said trying keep her poker face, despite the fact that at times her voice cracked.

"Sister…" Luna said weakly, noticing that Celestia wasn't quite right.

"Over there is Honey Rusk, a shy little colt who grew up to be a fabulous baker…Over there is Red Blossom, a pretty filly with gorgeous braids, who grew up to be a mother and grandmother to many grandchildren…" Celestia continued speaking, raising her sorrowful voice, pointing to other nearby graves as she struggled to hide her sorrow. "All and every one… I've seen them be born, I've seen them grow, and… I've seen them die…" Celestia added, lowering her head and closing her eyes.

At that moment, Luna opened her eyes wide and looked away with pain, realizing something she hadn't thought about in all that time since she had returned from her exile. All the time that she spent as Nightmare Moon was like a long nightmare. A continuous fight against her dark counterpart for more than a thousand years, a mental fight that blurred her memories and the notion of time, making those thousand years locked up now only seem like something nebulous and far. The only thing that remained inside her heart were feelings, like fear, guilt, but mainly, loneliness. A loneliness that Luna thought that no one but her could suffer. However, now she realized that her sister had also suffered from that loneliness for a thousand years, only in a different way. Unlike her, Celestia was surrounded by ponies for a thousand years, but in all that time, no one could ever fully accompany her. For a thousand years Celestia had met and said goodbye to thousands of ponies, watching their lives fade away as she lived her immortal life, just like her, in complete loneliness.

Luna couldn't help but feel bad and blame herself again for the collateral damage that she hadn't realized until that moment.

"It's all my fault..." Luna whispered angrily, feeling a small shadow trying to break into her heart.

"No. It’s not your fault." Celestia said immediately, turning around and caressing her sister's face. "Stop tormenting yourself about your past. You made a mistake, we all do, including me. In fact… Especially me." Celestia added, putting on an anguished look as she remembered her own past. Seeing that look on Celestia, Luna couldn't help but put aside her own torment by worrying about her sister.

Since she had returned from the shadows, Luna had heard that same phrase from Celestia several times. She always averted her eyes with pain and sadness when she said it, as if there was something secretly tormenting her. For months, Luna thought about asking Celestia what exactly she meant.  After all, Luna knew much of her sister's past, and although there were some reprehensible things, she didn't believe that Celestia had done something so bad that she would make such a gesture. However, there was a thousand-year void that Luna didn’t know about her sister, a void that day by day began to worry her more and more... What had happened to the Crystal Empire and Princess Amore? What had happened to their allies from other nations? Why did Equestria seem to be so cut off from the world? How was it that Cadance had become an alicorn? All those were questions that haunted Luna's head, but Celestia always looked for an excuse not to answer.

"Sister… Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Luna finally said, worried when she saw the fleeting look of pain that her sister had put on when remembering her past.

Faced with that surprising question, Celestia stared at her sister, seeing her look of sincere concern, eager to want to help her. However, Celestia well knew that there were things that were better secret, problems that were hers and hers alone.

"You have already suffered enough, sister. Only I must suffer with the weight of my own mistakes…" Celestia thought, putting on a sad smile.

"Don't worry, I'm fine now... I told you, cemeteries make me too melancholic, hehe." Celestia said, putting on her usual smile again. "Come Luna, we must return to the castle. The day is just beginning and there is still much to do." She added, spreading her wings, ready to take off and fly back to the castle.

"Why are you doing this…? Do you want to protect me from something? Or do you just not trust me?" Luna thought in anguish. Then she opened her mouth to urge Celestia not to evade the subject again. However, just at that instant, a surprising magical flash appeared in front of Celestia, and a scroll magically appeared in front of her.

"A letter from Spike? Isn't it a little early for Dusk to send a report?" Celestia said, raising an eyebrow. She opened the scroll and started to read it.

Luna frowned as Celestia again seemed to find an excuse to avoid their conversation. However, Luna put aside her doubts and also went over to read the scroll when she saw her sister with a worried expression.

"This a problem?" Luna asked after finishing reading the letter.

"Most likely..." Celestia said with a worried look. "I think I should go to Ponyville right away."

"I'm going too." Luna said immediately, looking seriously at her sister. When the white alicorn began to object to the idea, Luna stood her ground and stared at Celestia. "I’m. Going. Too." Luna repeated loudly, making her sister understand that the decision had already been made.

Knowing she couldn't change her sister's mind, Celestia sighed in resignation and agreed to let her sister come with her. Then both alicorns took flight to Ponyville.





Several hours earlier, at Sweet Apple Acres…

'Would you like us to spend tonight together?' 

That was the question that Applejack had asked Dusk that afternoon. Something that made the lavender stallion blush deeply while his crazy imagination began to fantasize against his will with all the possibilities that simple but transcendental question implied. However, when the country mare brought her coltfriend over to the farm, Dusk Shine realized that things would be very different from what he expected throughout that afternoon.

"This... This isn’t how I imagined it..." Dusk Shine thought with underlying disappointment, lying on the floor of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo jumped above his head while playing. Granny Smith and one of her cousins were laughing uproariously as they reminisced about old stories. And finally, Big Mac was glaring at him from a corner of the house.

"Girls, quit jumping over Dusk. Save your energy to catch the 'Great Seedling'." Applejack said, walking into the clubhouse. She was a tiny bit concerned about how excited the fillies were still, even though it was already late at night.

"Sis! Tell us the story of the Great Seedling again!" Apple Bloom said excitedly, approaching her sister with expectant eyes that her friends also mimicked. 

"Sure!" Applejack replied happy to see her innocent little sister so excited. "Hm? What's up Dusk? You look somewhat depressed." Applejack asked before telling the story, looking at Dusk out of the corner of her eye and noticing the disappointed face that her coltfriend had for some reason.

Seeing that Applejack didn't realize why he was disappointed, Dusk simply sighed tiredly, resigning himself to the fact that he would spend a night very different from the one his crazy imagination had suggested. He remembered what happened that afternoon as Applejack began to tell the fillies again the story of the 'Great Seedling'

That afternoon, following Applejack's instructions, Dusk had gone a little before sunset to Sweet Apple Acres. Repeating over and over to himself that nothing 'too daring' would happen between him and his marefriend. That is, Applejack had asked him to spend the night together, but maybe she just wanted to sleep next to him. But… What if she wanted SOMETHING ELSE!? That was the question that Dusk couldn't get out of his head until he arrived at his marefriend's house.

Once there, Dusk was surprised to see that Applejack was together with her grandmother and her great-aunt Golden Delicious, who had come there to celebrate the hunt for the 'Great Seedling'. It was thus that Applejack explained to Dusk that every hundred moons her family celebrated 'The Confluence: a date in which each apple ripened at the same time and had to be harvested in a few days. However, the highlight of the confluence was the appearance of the Great Seedling, a supposed mystical being that guaranteed perfect harvests to those who caught it. A hunt that had been faithfully followed by the colts and fillies of the Apple family for years until they grew up and realized that the Great Seedling was just a story to entertain the youngers ponies.

"So, the Great Seedling isn't real?" Dusk asked, a little disappointed after Applejack had told him the story, since he really would have loved to find out more about that supposed magical deer that helped with the crops.

"Of course it's real!" Applejack's great aunt, Golden Delicious, hollered out at the pair.

"Of course it's not real." Applejack said with a tired look, ignoring her aunt. "But still, I want Apple Bloom to have just as much fun as I did when I was a filly trying to catch him."

After that, the entire Apple family, plus Dusk and the Crusaders, took advantage of the last rays of daylight to surround the entire Apple family field with numerous traps. All of which to try to catch the elusive Great Seedling.

With the traps ready, they all went to the Crusaders' clubhouse on the edge of the family's apple orchards and waited patiently, each with their own reason. The Cutie Mark Crusaders waited excitedly for some trap to activate and run after the Great Seedling. Applejack, Dusk Shine and Big Mac were waiting for the fillies to fall asleep so they could secretly activate the traps, so that the next day the fillies would be surprised.  The two elderly mares simply enjoyed their chat of the days of old.

Back in the present, after Applejack finished telling the story of the Great Seedling to the fillies again, she approached Dusk and sat next to him.

"Sorry if this isn't what you expected." Applejack said with a sad smile.

"I-It's not that. I've really had fun setting traps and hanging out with Apple Bloom and the others. It's just that..." Dusk replied, looking at his marefriend and feeling guilty. "It's no big deal! It's just that sometimes my imagination plays tricks on me, hehe." He blushed as he remembered the crazy fantasies he had had when thinking about what would happen tonight.

"Well, the night’s still young. And… I really like that you wanted to be here with me tonight." Applejack said, scooching over so that her body was touching Dusk's, smiling lovingly at her coltfriend. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here with you."

"Same here." Dusk answered, with a bashful but still loving look. Slowly, he brought his head closer to Applejack's, as he felt her heart fill with love for her.

"AHEM!" Big Mac coughed loudly, standing in front of Applejack and Dusk, startling both ponies to instantly separate. "Sister… Granny’s calling you." Big Mac said, with a very serious look.

Applejack stood up quickly with an embarrassed blush.  Meanwhile, Dusk looked askance at Big Mac, who looked at him with a murderous glare.

"I guess he doesn't like that I’m getting so close to Applejack when he's present...But is it just that? I'm sure Big Mac has been looking at me with hatred for several days..." Dusk thought, not knowing the reason why Big Mac looked at him with such distrust that night.

The night wore on and finally the fillies' excess energy came to an end and they almost instantly fell asleep.  And just like the fillies, the poor grandmothers couldn't stand to stay up so late either and fell asleep too. Thus, finally leaving the three young adult ponies so that they could continue with their mission of the night.

Silently leaving the clubhouse, Dusk Shine, Applejack and Big Mac headed towards the north field of Sweet Apple Acres to start activating the traps that they themselves had set, and thus simulate the passage of the magical Great Seedling.

Dusk Shine and Applejack began to walk together, but seeing that they were too close to each other, Big Mac quickly got in the way and walked right between them. That annoyed the young couple a bit, however neither said anything and just kept walking. It was obvious that the big red stallion was just being too overprotective of Applejack.

"I thought tonight might be fun if I was with Applejack anyway, but it seems Big Mac is determined that I stay away from her." Dusk thought sadly, noticing the tension in the air now that Big Mac was walking by his side.

"Maybe we should split up, that way we’ll activate the traps faster and move on to the other fields." Dusk said with a nervous smile.  In truth, he wanted to get away from Big Mac for a bit, since it made him nervous that the big red stallion would look at him so suspiciously.

Deciding that this was the most efficient method, Applejack and Big Mac agreed and the three ponies split up. Dusk recollected where they had placed all the traps to deactivate them without falling into them himself. However, for a second, Dusk believed that his memory failed and that he fell into a trap when suddenly his leg got caught in something and made him fall.

"Ouch…! What's this?" Dusk said while rubbing his leg after falling.  He looked back to see what had tripped him. 

Meanwhile, in another sector of the north field, Applejack carefully untied a knot that activated one of the many traps that had been scattered around the orchard. As she did so, Applejack turned around startled when she heard a sound behind her. Her eyes widened with the childish illusion that that noise had really been the mythical Great Seedling. However, the one who made that noise hadn’t been some invisible magical beast but only her own big brother.

"Big Mac, you scared me… What are you doing here? I thought you went to set off the traps on the other side." Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. Meanwhile, Big Mac just stayed silent, looking at her for a long time and then looked to the side with a huff.

"You... Do you know that Dusk is forming a harem of mares?" Big Mac asked, looking seriously at his sister.

"Uh… What?" Applejack asked incredulously, with a small, confused smile thinking that she had heard wrong.

"A harem. I heard Apple Bloom and her friends talking about Dusk having a harem." Big Mac repeated, narrowing his eyes.

"Pfft! Then you heard wrong.  Dusk doesn’t have a harem or anything like that.  He’s not like some prince of Saddle Arabia." Applejack scoffed, smiling at that absurd idea.

"So it's not true that you and your friends have a crush on him?" Big Mac retorted.

"Uh... Well... Actually... That's true." The mare reluctantly confirmed while averting her blushing gaze.

"And you accept that? That your friends look at your coltfriend with different eyes? And what about Dusk? Does he have feelings for them?" Big Mac continued questioning as he got closer to the mare.

"That… That’s none of your business! We’ve a deal." Applejack said, looking nervously at Big Mac.

"A deal?" Big Mac asked to the mare’s great discomfort.

"Dusk... He’ll be my coltfriend for a month. Then… he’ll be the coltfriend of one of the other girls.” Applejack stared at the ground.

"You… How could you agree to do something like that!? Do you think that's true love? Pretending to be a couple in love?" Big Mac said angrily.

"We’re not pretending! We really are a couple in love!" Applejack defended.

"He doesn't love you more than his other friends. That's not love. He doesn’t love you.” The older stallion berated his little sister.  “You need to break off whatever sham this is and stay away from him.”

"He does love me! You don’t know anything!" Applejack yelled, glaring at her brother.

"I just want to protect you. I don't want anyone to play with you." Big Mac said seriously. "What do you think our parents would say about your relationship? Do you think they would agree to 'that deal' you and your friends made?"

Hearing her brother mention their parents, Applejack widened her eyes and looked away, remaining silent for several seconds. Then she pressed her lips together, closed her eyes and sighed sadly, raising her head again to look at her brother.

"I know that Dusk and I aren’t like Ma and Pa. They fell in love from the day they met, and they didn't stop loving each other until the day they died... But that doesn't mean I don't know what love is." Applejack said, looking at her brother with a sad smile. "I want to be with Dusk and that together we find our own way of loving, our own way! I know it’ll be difficult with a lot of stuff against us, but I really think... No, I really KNOW that Dusk loves me. And I love him too."

After Applejack's response, both siblings stared at each other, until a noise behind them distracted them. Turning around, they saw that Dusk Shine was approaching.  When he saw that they were together in an awkward silence, Dusk stopped and decided not to approach until one of them told him.

With Dusk's arrival, Big Mac frowned, turned his back on his sister and began to walk away, just in the direction of where Dusk Shine was.  Just as he walked past Dusk, the young unicorn decided to break the tense silence.

"Big Mac... I know that for some reason you don't want me near Applejack..." Dusk said with a worried look, whispering so that Applejack couldn't hear him. "So if you want me to go, just tell me. I… I don't want to leave Applejack, but the last thing I want is for you and Applejack to get mad over me. After all, family always comes first."

Big Mac stopped when he heard those words. The phrase 'Family always comes first' was something that his father had always taught him, a philosophy that everyone in the great and tight-knit Apple family shared. And the fact that Dusk Shine said those words to him, was something that affected the red stallion in several ways. Then Big Mac turned around again and looked Dusk face to face.

"You’re a good colt, Dusk.  But no matter who it is, if anyone, including you, ever hurts my sister, or plays with her heart, I swear I won't forgive it." Big Mac said, looking menacingly at Dusk.

Before Big Mac's gaze, Dusk opened his eyes in surprise. But unlike other times, when he would have fearfully averted his gaze in the face of such a threat, Dusk stood firm. And to Big Mac's surprise, far from being intimidated, Dusk put on the same serious look as him.

"I swear on my life that I would rather die than hurt her." He said with absolute determination in his eyes.

For several seconds, Big Mac stared at Dusk to try and find any sign of falsehood or hesitation in his gaze. Eventually, it was he himself who finally looked away.

'CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: MAGICAL BEAST HUNTERS!' Suddenly the three ponies averted their gazes upon hearing a loud scream not far away. It had been the three young fillies who had apparently woken up and were preparing to go out in search of the Great Seedling.

"I'll go with Apple Bloom and her friends before they come here. I’ll distract them while you go to the south field." Big Mac said quickly, looking at Applejack and Dusk. "After that I'll take Granny and Aunt Golden back to the house. So it’ll all to you two."

Big Mac quickly walked away to go back to the clubhouse. As he did so, the red stallion's agitated mind continued to debate whether or not it had been a good idea to leave his sister alone with Dusk.

"I still can't trust Dusk one hundred percent, but for now... I'll trust that Applejack knows what she's doing." He thought as he walked away. Wishing he could talk to his father about what was the right thing to do as an older brother.

After Big Mac left, Dusk looked at Applejack and approached her. However, before Dusk could say anything, Applejack turned and started walking.

"Let's go to the south field before Apple Bloom and her friends get here." Applejack said as she rushed in that direction.

For several minutes, neither Dusk nor Applejack said anything. The two simply walked quickly to get to the south course early before the fillies saw them.

"I… I'm sorry if I interrupted you two. It seemed like you were talking about something serious." Dusk said, breaking the silence with a sad look as he followed Applejack. "I guess you were talking about me. I… I'm really sorry Big Mac doesn’t fully trust me. The last thing I want is for you two to fight over me."

"Well, he left us alone, so that's already a first step." Applejack said, calming down after getting angry with her brother, and then giving Dusk a small smile so that he wouldn't blame himself for what happened. "Besides, I'm the one who decides who to be with, not my brother." Applejack added smiling, staring at Dusk. Then Applejack noticed that Dusk was carrying something on his back. "What's that?" She asked, unable to see what Dusk was carrying due to the darkness.

"Oh, yeah! I wanted to ask you if this a normal field weed?" Dusk asked with a slightly worried look. He showed his marefriend a big black weed root with lots of thorns. "I stumbled upon this root a while ago and…well…it looks kind of weird." 

With a best friend who was an expert in crops and country life, Dusk had already seen Applejack pull up weeds many times. However, this root seemed very peculiar to him, not only because of its penetrating black color and its sharp thorns, but also because when he touched that undergrowth, it made Dusk shiver a little. As if the black root emanated a faint and strange magical aura. Despite that, Dusk didn't want to scare Applejack and tell her that, at least until he knew what that thing was.

"Hmm… yeah, it's some kind of weird weed. It started showing up a few days ago in the fields." Applejack said, looking at the dark root that Dusk was holding. "It’s difficult to cut, but the worst thing is that it reappears super fast. It's a real hassle."

Understanding that Applejack didn't know exactly what that dark root was either, Dusk kept a thoughtful look as he walked and levitated the root in front of him. Suddenly Dusk came out of his thoughts and stopped walking when he noticed that Applejack had stopped. Dusk was surprised to see that Applejack was staring straight ahead, as if she had seen a ghost.

"Dusk... We didn’t already cover the south field... Right?" Applejack asked, with a puzzled look.

"Uh, no, we only managed to go to the north field. Why do you ask?" Dusk replied confused, approaching Applejack and looking where she was looking.

At that moment, Dusk raised his eyebrows in shock to see that, now that they had reached the south field, it seemed that someone had gone ahead of them in setting off the traps. None of them had caught anything, but all had been sprung as if something had passed by. However, the most surprising thing was that there were several apples lying on the ground, all forming strange circular patterns, as if someone had left several marks on the ground after escaping from the traps.

"Uh…maybe it's the real Great Seedling, hehe." Dusk said with a small smile, joking while his logical mind searched for some rational answer for that phenomenon.

"The Great Seedling… Yeah… Yeah! It really could be the Great Seedling!!" Applejack suddenly yelled, her eyes full of emotion to Dusk's total astonishment.

"Wait, I was just kidding… Do you really think the Great Seedling did this?" Dusk asked incredulously, thinking for a second that Applejack could be playing a joke on him. However, Applejack's honest and excited eyes dispelled any doubt that she was trying to trick him.

"I know it's crazy, but... what other explanation can there be!?" Applejack said, a little embarrassed to realize that she had gotten too excited. "When I was a filly, I always wanted to catch the Great Seedling.  But of all those times, I never saw signs as clear as these!" Applejack added, pointing to the apple circles and the traps that neither they, Big Mac nor the elderly mares could have activated.

"There must be a logical explanation." Dusk said, trying to make Applejack realize that believing in a magical deer that brought eternal harvests was completely crazy.

"I stopped believing in the Great Seedling because I never saw any proof. And this year, I didn't want Apple Bloom to have that same disappointment. But these signs prove that the Great Seedling does exist! This time we’ll catch him!!" The country mare declared. She was so caught up in her own fantasies, she didn't even listen to her coltfriend trying to talk some sense into her. "The only weird thing is this." Applejack added, picking up a small pumpkin squash that was in the center of the circle of apples. "Where did this pumpkin come from? We don't grow them."

Suddenly, Applejack and Dusk's ears perked up in alert when they heard a sharp shriek. Then they both looked up and to their right. In the distance, just where that sound came from, they both saw a swift shadow moved through the trees, moving away from where they were.

"There he is! It’s the Great Seedling!" Applejack yelled excitedly, running quickly to chase the shadow. Dusk also ran to chase Applejack, amazed to see that shadow move so fast. Which led him to question whether the mythical Great Seedling really could exist.

As Applejack and Dusk Shine ran, they both suddenly heard a trap activate and 'something' falling to the ground. Then both ponies quickened their pace to catch the magical beast before it got away.

When they got to where they heard the noise, Applejack and Dusk saw that the trap that had been activated was a pitfall covered with a false floor to make its prey fall.  However, when checking the trap, Dusk and Applejack were surprised to see that there was no magical deer trapped in the big hole, but Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, who were complaining and rubbing their sore heads after having fallen surprisingly in the hole.

"What are you doing here?" Applejack asked, with a mix of annoyance and disappointment that she hadn't caught what she wanted.

"Uh... well...funny story, hehe..." Rainbow Dash answered from the bottom of the hole, giggling as she scratched her head. "During the afternoon, we found out that you two were planning to spend the night together, so… we decided to follow you."

"Not that we were spying on you, but we saw how you started setting traps all over Sweet Apple Acres, and we didn't understand why." Fluttershy continued with an embarrassed look. "Then we saw that you went to the fillies' clubhouse, and we heard from below the story you told about the Great Seedling."

"We all thought it was a lovely story, so we wanted to help keep the fantasy going for Sweetie Belle and her friends by triggering some of the traps." Rarity continued speaking with an embarrassed smile. "By the way, did you see the cute apple circle patterns I left? I think it’ll add a touch of mystery to the search for the Great Seedling when Sweetie and the others see them."

"So ... you made those patterns with the apples...?" Applejack said, deeply disappointed.

"Everything was fine until Fluttershy squealed in fear when she saw that you were close." Rainbow Dash added, scolding her pegasus friend with a look. "Then she ran and I went out chasing her. Until we collided with Rarity and fell here."

"You see, everything had an explanation." Dusk said with a proud smile, affectionately touching Applejack's side.

"I guess you're right..." Applejack said, pursing her lip.  She couldn’t believe that she had gotten carried away, just like she had when she was searching for the Great Seedling when she was a filly. "The only thing I don't understand is why the squashes?" She picked up another squash that was right next to the hole where her friends had fallen.

"RUN!!” Suddenly a high-pitched voice shouted from behind Applejack and Dusk.

Turning around, Dusk and Applejack barely had time to see that the one who had screamed had been Apple Bloom, who, along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, were running in terror to where they were. They were so scared that they ended up colliding with Dusk and Applejack, causing the five of them to also fall into the hole with Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy.

"Ouch! What happen? Why were you three running in terror?" Dusk asked the fillies, after seeing that they had also fallen into the hole.

Without giving him an answer, the three fillies simply pointed towards the top of the hole. Then Dusk and his friends looked up and saw that a strange shadow looming over the hole. The light of the moon slowly revealed more of the shadowy figure.

The silhouette over the hole was that of a VERY strange being. It was a kind of giant squash with legs and arms. It was standing on two legs, with a huge mouth and small eyes, almost completely hidden by its strange hair made of leaves.

Everyone's mouths hung open in disbelief as they had never seen such a strange creature. However, what stumped everyone wasn’t just its appearance. What made everyone freeze in perplexity, was to see that out of nowhere, the strange being smiled and began to dance as if he were celebrating some solo party.

"What's wrong? Haven't you ever heard of 'Sass Squash'?” The strange beast suddenly asked.

Hearing that question, two things surprised all the ponies in the hole. The first was that the beast didn’t move its mouth to speak.  In fact, it seemed as if its voice had come from its stomach. And the second thing that surprised everyone was the familiar high-pitched voice that rang out from it.

"Pinkie Pie!? " Dusk and his friends exclaimed.

"Waaahhh! The beast ate Pinkie Pie!" The three frightened fillies screamed, since Pinkie's voice had come from the beast's stomach.

At that moment, the beast put its hands on its head and began to pull upwards until it detached itself from its body, revealing that it was nothing more than a disguise. Then everyone's eyes widened in amazement when they saw that under the suit was Pinkie Pie, carrying Spike on top of her.  It seemed that both of them were operating the suit together.

"Pinkie, this... this is a new level of weirdness..." Dusk said, very confused at his friend's strange costume. "What is that costume supposed to be!?"

"I told you, it's a 'Sass Squash'!" Pinkie Pie answered with a cheery smile. "Back at the rock farm there is a legend. Once a year, the Sass Squash comes and exchanges the best stones for squashes, so you gotta hide your best rocks very well if you don't want the Sass Squash to take them from you. It sounded a lot like the Great Seedling legend, so I decided to wear this costume." Pinkie Pie added, finishing off her costume and grabbing Spike with her hoof. 

“Well, ridiculousness aside, why are you helping Pinkie scare the living daylights out of us, Spikey-Wikey?” Rarity huffed and asked the baby dragon.  

Spike blushed and tried to hide his face behind his tail.  “Um,…she asked nicely.” He said with a shaky voice.  He didn’t want the others to know that he was quick to help Pinkie when she offered to bake him some cupcakes with gem toppings.

"Anyway, I feel left out up here alone." Then Pinkie jumped into the hole too, landing with Spike on top of all her friends.

"Ugh! Pinkie, that was definitely not necessary..." Dusk growled in pain, as did all of his friends after Pinkie Pie used them as a mat.

Because they were all too tight and there were too many of them, Dusk couldn't use his teleportation to get them out instantly. So slowly, everypony began to settle down one by one to get out of the now narrow hole.

"What's up Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked once she got out of the trap. She noticed that her little sister seemed to be a bit depressed.

"It's just… If that monster was Pinkie Pie in disguise. Does that mean… the Great Seedling also isn’t real?" Apple Bloom asked, looking sadly at her big sister. A look that made Applejack's heart clench.

For a second, Applejack thought about insisting that the Great Seedling was real. But the truth was that with the filly looking at her like this, it was very difficult for her to hide the truth. Also, Apple Bloom and her friends only had to see Rainbow Dash and the others to understand that the only reason they could be there was to activate the traps. So it was only a matter of time before her little sister found out the truth.

"Huff... Well..." Applejack said sighing and then scratching her head, thinking of a way to tell the truth without breaking her little sister's heart. "The truth is that the Great Seedling is more of a feeling than a flesh and blood deer. It's the holiday spirit we have in the Apple family to commemorate the harvest, but that doesn't mean it's not-"

"It’s real! It’s real!" Apple Bloom suddenly shouted excitedly before her sister could finish. She pointed towards a distant tree, where, for some reason, a trap had been activated.

Hearing the trap being activated, Apple Bloom and her friends completely ignored the speech Applejack was telling them and ran outside to see if the trap had finally caught the Great Seedling. The other mares (and Spike) also ran, thinking that because they were so excited, the fillies might fall into another trap and hurt themselves. Thus, only Dusk and Applejack remained, the latter with a surprised and confused look upon hearing a trap going off without them.

"Do you... think maybe it was Big Mac?" Applejack asked looking at Dusk, beginning to walk towards where the others had gone.

"Probably. Maybe he doesn't want his little sister to stop believing in the Great Seedling." Dusk said, accompanying his marefriend. "By the way, I just realized why you could so easily lie to Apple Bloom about the Great Seedling." 

"What are you talking about?" Applejack asked.

"I mean you represent the Element of Honesty.  By the same token, well... you're terrible at lying, hehe." Dusk said with a sly smile. "But when you told the story of the Great Seedling to Apple Bloom, your face didn't have the typical expression you get when you force yourself to lie. You told that lie with your usual honest look, and that’s because deep down, you also want to believe that the Great Seedling really exists."

Applejack blushed and looked away in embarrassment at the admittedly plausible theory.

"I-It's not that I believe in fantastic creatures or anything like that…" Applejack explained. "I know the idea of a magical deer roaming the apple orchards is a bit ridiculous. But-" At that moment Applejack stopped talking when she saw that Dusk had stopped and froze with a completely perplexed look.

Looking up, Applejack saw that her friends and the fillies were also looking up with puzzled look. All looking at the hole that was in front of them, which apparently was the trap that had been activated a few moments ago. Not understanding anything, Applejack also looked down and adorned the same shocked expression everyone else had.

"D-Dusk…. That… That's…" Applejack stammered, still not believing her eyes.

"A... deer..." Dusk answered slowly.  Inside the hole was a small creature with small, but distinctive horns on its head. The lavender colt recognized the creature from all the history book he had read growing up.

"What's wrong with you!? You went really overboard with the traps this year…" The creature trapped in the hole grunted, rubbing his aching head. Everypony was even more stunned to see that this creature could speak their language.

Just then the sky was slowly clearing with the coming of dawn. With the extra light, everyone got a better look at the so-called 'Great Seedling' they had captured. The creature was a small deer, a fawn to be more exact, due to his small size and age. He had ocher and white fur, brown eyes, and small horns on his head. In addition, a necklace from which a small barrel hung in front hanged on his neck.

"~We caught the Great Seedling~ We caught the Great Seedling~" The three fillies began to sing and dance happily after coming out of their disbelief. 

"Well, I think the 'GREAT' Seedling part was a bit of an exaggeration." Spike said, noticing how small the deer was.

"Well you seem a little small for a dragon yourself." The deer shot back, clearly offended. "And by the way, I'm not some, Great Seedling or whatever. My name is Prince Bramble of the kingdom of Thicket." 

"The Thicket?" Dusk asked, vaguely remembering that he had read that name in some history book, but it didn’t specify where that kingdom was. Then, quickly understanding that having captured a prince from another kingdom could imply a serious political problem, Dusk approached the hole and extended a hoof to the little deer to help him out.

Once outside, the little deer looked at Spike, and after checking that he was a bit taller than the baby dragon, he smirked, making Spike huff in annoyance.

"But, if you’re not the Great Seedling… what are you doing here?" Apple Bloom asked the young deer. 

"I’m here because I need to contact the Princess of the Sun." Bramble said, radically changing his attitude and looking at Dusk with a very serious look.

"Princess Celestia?" Dusk said in surprise.

"Can you contact her somehow? Right now, if you can. I don't think we have much time." Bramble asked, remembering that he had a mission and had no time to lose.

"Uh, well, luckily for you, you have next to you the only dragon who can communicate with her instantly." Dusk said with a small smile and gestured to Spike. The baby dragon crossed his arms proudly, thinking that if that annoying deer wanted him to send a letter to the princess, he would have to ask very nicely. "Spike can send her a letter right now if necessary. But why do you want to talk to the Princess?"  The unicorn’s mind was buzzing with faint excitement at the idea of getting to know about a new species and kingdom that Equestria hadn’t had relations with in centuries.

Just then, Bramble pricked up his ears in alert and looked back in fright.

"That was faster than I thought." Bramble muttered worriedly. Then he turned around again, looked at Spike and gave him a strong shove with his head, causing the dragon to fall into the same hole he himself had fallen into before.

"What are you doing!?" Dusk asked, shocked to see the little deer pushed Spike.

"Sorry. It's the only way to stop this." Bramble said, showing Dusk a small piece of black root that he had kept. Dusk widened his eyes in surprise, realizing that strange weed he found earlier was definitely not just any root if the deer kingdom was also concerned about it.

"Everyone quiet!" Suddenly a loud voice ordered from behind the ponies.

Everyone turned around and were shocked to see that there were now at least seven more deer, only these were adult deer. All of them were wearing golden helmets and pointing their horns menacingly at the ponies. The new arrivals had surrounded them so silently that none of the ponies had noticed them until now. It was then that Dusk understood that Bramble had been the only one who had managed to hear them before they arrived.

"Prince Bramble, are you alright?" Asked the deer that seemed to be leading the others. A deer taller than Dusk, who wore a red helmet and armor of the same color. In addition, he carried the same small barrel on his neck that Bramble and the other deer carried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Blackthorn." Bramble said, approaching the captain of the guards. "It was lucky you got here before these ponies that kidnapped me got too far."

"What!?" Rainbow Dash yelled at the blatant lie. Before she got ready to argue with the little fawn, Dusk stopped her by pulling her by her tail. Then Dusk looked at Bramble, who almost imperceptibly nodded, thanking Dusk for stopping Rainbow Dash. "What the heck, Dusk!?” Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder.

"Shhh… calm down. I think he has something planned." Dusk whispered, looking out of the corner of his eye towards the hole and guessing that Bramble had pushed Spike there so that the other deer wouldn't see him.

"How did these ponies kidnap you?" Captain Blackthorn asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"That doesn’t matter now. What we have to do is bring them before my father so that he can judge them." Bramble said with a small nervousness in his voice.

"Prince Bramble, you know that foreigners, especially ponies, are forbidden-" Blackthorn began to speak before being interrupted.

"I was kidnapped! We can't let these ponies go without judgment." Bramble insisted, his gaze full of determination.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Captain Blackthorn narrowed his eyes and finally accepted what little Bramble requested. Then the other guards made the ponies line up, threatening them with their horns to walk and follow Captain Blackthorn.

"It's lucky it's not dark anymore, thank Celestia for the Sun and its light!" Dusk said out loud, just as they began to walk.  He hoped that Spike, who remained hidden, would understand what he should do now. Bramble picked up what Dusk was doing and secretly smiled, happy that that lavender colt was smart and went along with his plan.

The deer quickly led their prisoners to the Everfree Forest, wanting to get into the forest quickly before they were seen by other ponies. As they walked, Dusk thought about what could be the problem caused by that strange dark root. Meanwhile, Dusk's five friends were very restless, looking with fear at the pointed horns of the deer. On the other hoof, the little three fillies seemed oblivious to all that potential danger and chatted excitedly to each other and to Bramble, who seemed to enjoy talking with fillies his own age.

Applejack listened in on the youngsters’ conversation and discovered that the reality of the myth of the Great Seedling was arose because the deer were prohibited from approaching the lands of the ponies. However, years ago some deer had discovered the delicious apples of the Apple family from time to time would sneak away and take several apples.  In return, so as not to seem like thieves, they used their magic to harvest the apple trees.

"Do deer know how to use magic!?" Dusk asked surprised upon hearing the story. He gazed at deer antlers and wondering if they would work the same as unicorn horns.

"Heh, why don’t you see for yourself?" Bramble replied with a small smile.

Just then, the deer and their prisoners reached the edge of the Everfree Forest.  However, they couldn’t continue, given the thickness of the forest and the lianas that were there. Then, Captain Blackthorn reached down and slightly opened the barrel on his neck, causing water to fall from the barrel. As soon as the water touched the land, it trembled slightly and all the lianas that were blocking the path moved, clearing the way and opening a path never seen before there in the forest.

"Wow… Zecora would be fascinated to see this." Dusk thought, amazed to see how the deer's magic seemed to deal with the movement of plants and lianas. That made Dusk ask himself many questions about where that water would come from, if it would only be common water, if they could move the lianas at will, etc. Until he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to go in search of Zecora today, and again it seemed that he got sidetracked.

Ater going a little deeper into the Everfree forest through areas that none of the ponies present had traveled before, they all reached the secret the kingdom of Thicket. A kingdom completely hidden which was in the middle of the huge Everfree Forest by vines and other foliage.  The ponies were surprised to see great constructions on the trees, even a castle inside a huge tree in the center.

Arriving at the Kingdom of Thicket, the deer natives of the place looked in amazement at the ponies, for many of them had never seen one. What caught Dusk's attention was that a few deer even ran away when they saw them, as if they were afraid of the ponies. Then the captain quickly led the prisoners towards the King's castle to keep the prisoners away from the more intrigued subjects. Once they entered the castle, a deer that seemed to be a majordomo quickly approached Bramble.

"Thank the Heart of the Forest that you’re well, Prince Bramble." The deer majordomo said, hugging Bramble and then looking at the captain and his prisoners. He looked at the ponies with interest instead of fear. "Captain, why are you bringing these ponies to the castle?"

"We brought them here for the King to judge." Blackthorn answered, looking around and wondering why the King hadn't appeared yet.

"Oh, I'm sorry captain, but the King left last night and said he wouldn't be back until tomorrow." The majordomo deer said.

"Hehe… great, just as planned." Bramble said suddenly with a mischievous smile.

"What is it you planned?" Blackthorn asked raising an eyebrow suspiciously, already accustomed to the mischievous attitude of the King's little son.

"My father is away, so in his absence… I’m in charge of the kingdom!" Bramble said pointing to himself with a proud smile. "And since I’m in charge, I order the prisoners to be released and to be my honored guests!"

All the deer in the room were shocked. Then Blackthorn frowned and glared at Bramble, knowing that he had fallen into his trap. Then the captain looked suspiciously at the ponies behind him and reluctantly ordered his guards to stand back and let the prisoners go free.

"The King will be back soon, and I'm sure he won't like this." Blackthorn said sullenly to the smaller deer before he made his leave with his troops.

As soon as Blackthorn and the guards left, Bramble began to jump for joy that his plan had worked. Meanwhile, Dusk couldn't help but smile a little when he saw how cunning the little fawn had been.

"Well, now that your plan has worked, what is the real reason for making us come here?" Dusk asked, already wanting to discover the answers to the dozen questions he had in his head.

"Oh yes, of course. The reason why-" Bramble said excitedly. However, he stopped as Apple Bloom yawned, showing that she was about to fall asleep. Then her two friends yawned too, and following the contagion of yawning, Bramble ended up yawning too. Only then did his body remember that he was actually very tired, as he, like everyone else, had been up all night. "Yaaawwn... Yeah, maybe we should get some sleep before we go through with all of this." 

After that, Bramble asked the palace majordomo, named Birch, to guide the ponies to the rooms so they could rest. The majordomo did so with great pleasure, excited to have guests in the castle. As he led them on, the majordomo didn’t stop talking, showing how interested he was in the whole situation.

"You know, my dream has always been to own an inn. In fact, I had one before I became a majordomo. Of course, having a traveler's inn is a lousy business idea when there are no travelers in this kingdom, hehe. And this poor castle is so quiet and lonely that sometimes I even think I see ghosts. I'm really glad to have visitors!" The majordomo said, chatting animatedly as he led the ponies up a long spiral staircase that climbed up the side of the tree castle.

As they climbed the long staircase, the majordomo took the opportunity to tell the ponies a few details about the kingdom of Thicket.  It wasn't really forbidden to leave the kingdom, but what was forbidden for the deer was to be seen by the ponies. Fortunately, their kingdom was in the middle of the Everfree Forest, so not many ponies would come that way. In addition, the few deer that dared to leave the kingdom of Thicket had the advantage of their race, of being very fast and stealthy in their walk.  Something that Dusk and his friends saw firsthand, when they were ambushed by the guards without even hear them approach.

In exchange for talking about his kingdom, the majordomo also took the opportunity to ask the ponies that accompanied him for some information. He was surprised to discover that Dusk was the student of the Princess of the Sun, and that Applejack was the owner of the famous apple orchard where the deer sometimes went to sneak apples.

Finally everyone reached the top floor, where there was a long corridor with several doors on each side. However, what caught Dusk's attention the most was a side corridor that led to another larger room, with letters that read ‘library’. 

"I need it, I need it, I need it!" Dusk thought excitedly, always a fan of books and libraries. "No! Wait until later, there are more important things for now." Dusk repressed his impulse to run to the library. The stallion was determined that after sleeping and helping whatever Bramble needed them to do, he would ask the deer prince for permission to visit it properly.

"These are all empty rooms." The majordomo said as he approached the first door in the long hallway. "As I was saying, we don't have many guests, so everyone can have their own room." The majordomo added, opening the first door on his left.

"We'll sleep together!" The three fillies said excitedly. Quickly entering the room together and jumping on the bed that was there. "Crusader Sleepover!" The three fillies shouted excitedly. Until their bodies reminded them of all the tiredness and accumulated sleep they had, and the three immediately fell asleep after screaming, falling on top of each other in total exhaustion.

"Yes, well... Well, let's move on." The majordomo said with a smile and closed the door to the fillies’ room.

Birch then led the rest of the ponies to their respective rooms. First Pinkie Pie, then Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy, until finally only Dusk and Applejack were left.

"This will be your room." Birch said to the surprise of both ponies.

"Uh… Is it a room… for the two of us?" Dusk asked with a subtle blush.

"Sure, you two are a couple, right?" The majordomo said with a mischievous smile. "You’ve been walking very close together since you arrived. A good innkeeper should be aware of those details, hehe.  Alright, rest well." After that, the majordomo left, leaving Dusk and Applejack frozen in front of their room.

"I-I guess it's okay... I-If you don't have a problem..." Dusk finally said, completely red with embarrassment, not even daring to look at Applejack because of how nervous he was.

Without answering, Applejack just lowered her head so that Dusk wouldn't notice how red her face was and quickly entered the room.  Dusk slowly closed the door behind him and moved just as slowly around the room, averting his eyes from his marefriend so that she wouldn’t notice how nervous he was.

Throughout the previous afternoon, Dusk had imagined what it would be like to spend a night with his marefriend. Later, he was disappointed to discover that what he imagined wouldn’t happen. But now, the stars had aligned and somehow his fantasy had come true. And now that his crazy dream was reality, the only thing Dusk felt was nerves and dizziness.

For her part, Applejack sat on one end of the bed, took off her hat and began combing her mane with her hoof.  While Dusk went to the bathroom to wet his face and washed his hooves, wanting to delay going to bed as long as possible since he felt that his nerves would betray him and he wouldn’t be able to lie down with Applejack.

"What the heck is wrong with you!? It's just sharing a bed! You've done it before with your friends!" Dusk said to himself mentally, trying to give himself courage. "That's true, it's not the first time, but… It's the first time I’ll share a bed with MY MAREFRIEND!"

Finally, Dusk couldn't delay the inevitable any longer and walked to the bed. There, he saw that Applejack was already lying at one end of the bed with her back to Dusk, apparently already asleep. Seeing her like this, Dusk felt a strange sensation of relief and disappointment. He really wanted to be lying next to his marefriend, but he was also afraid of ruining the moment, and that was killing him.

Dusk opened the blankets and lay down on the other end of the bed, lying down in the same position as Applejack.  Both ponies had their backs to each other as they tried to sleep. But the reality was, neither could sleep in that situation. Dusk couldn't stop sweating knowing that Applejack was lying so close to him, feeling her body heat in great detail. Also, those beds had been designed for the slender bodies of deer, so the two were closer together than in a normal pony bed.

Minutes passed and neither said anything, Dusk was so nervous that he was trying to control his own breathing so that it would be more normal and so that Applejack, if she was awake, wouldn't be able to hear how nervous he really was. Then, there came a time when curiosity was stronger than nerves, and Dusk slowly moved his head to look with one eye behind him.  As he did so, he saw that Applejack had also done the same and was spying on him with one eye. They both noticed that they were looking at each other, and quickly looked away and pretended that nothing had happened.

"Wait a second… Was she doing the same thing as me?" Dusk realized.

At that moment, Dusk steeled himself and turned his body completely towards Applejack. Meanwhile, with perfect timing, Applejack also did the same. Thus, both were looking very close to each other, face to face.

Applejack had done the same thing as Dusk at the same time. The same looks, the same gestures, and now, Dusk saw the same nervous and expectant look that he probably had himself. That was how Dusk realized that Applejack had been thinking the same thing as him, and had been just as nervous as he was, doing exactly the same thing! It was as if both were a mirror of the other and they hadn’t realized it. And precisely at that moment, seeing each other directly in the eyes, Applejack also understood that Dusk was just as nervous as she was in that situation.

Finding that they both felt the same way, the couple looked at each other and laughed, finally realizing how clueless they had been in not noticing how the other felt, and at the same time glad that their partner shared those feelings. The nerves were finally starting to recede. 

"We are such..." Dusk thought as he laughed.

"…a clumsy couple." Applejack thought, also laughing, knowing what Dusk was thinking.

After laughing for a long time, they both continued to look at each other in silence with gentle smiles, simply enjoying seeing the face and eyes of their beloved partner.

Steeling himself, Dusk slowly raised his hoof and nervously brought it closer to Applejack's face. Applejack meekly closed her eyes and let herself be caressed by her coltfriend's soft hoof. Then they both looked at each other again with blushing looks and got lost in each other's eyes.









A few hours later...

'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!' The knock on the door was heard.

"Sis, are you up?" Apple Bloom said from outside the bedroom door.

"Uh!?" Applejack grunted, quickly raising her head with her mane completely disheveled.

"Bramble says to come downstairs right now, it's important." Apple Bloom said after verifying that this was her sister's room. Then Applejack heard her little sister walk quickly away from the door.

"She sounded a bit nervous... I think we should hurry up." Applejack said thoughtfully, looking at the stallion next to her and blushing when she saw his cute face.

Dusk and Applejack rushed out of their room, in such a hurry, that neither of them noticed that they were both quite disheveled. They then walked quickly down the corridor they had come through a few hours ago to go down the stairs and quickly reach the main hall.

As they walked, Dusk was distracted for a moment when he saw the entrance to the library again out of the corner of his eye. However, this time he wasn’t distracted by his strong desire to run there, but because he thought he saw something strange.

"Is it my imagination or did the library door open and close on its own?" Dusk thought. Then he remembered that the majordomo Birch had said that sometimes he thought he saw ghosts in the castle. However, Dusk's logical mind quickly discarded that absurd idea. He had to focus on more important things, and quickly continued walking with Applejack to go down the stairs.

Finally, Applejack and Dusk arrived at the main hall, where their other friends were already.

"Sis, why do you and Dusk look so frazzled?  Did you sleep okay?" Apple Bloom asked when she saw her sister and Dusk.

Upon hearing that comment, the faces of the other mares present froze when they saw Dusk and Applejack in their current state: haggard eyes and their messy manes, a sign that they had not slept much. Then the faces of Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie turned pale, their gazes lost in space, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Dozens of theories went through the heads of the four mares to explain why Dusk and Applejack looked like that.  There was a theory that seemed to be the most logical.  However, that theory was so reckless and terrifying that none of them wanted to believe that 'THAT' could have really happened between Applejack and Dusk.

Just at that moment the great doors of the hall opened. Little Bramble walked through the doorway with a scared look on his face. And behind him, the most imposing figure the ponies had ever seen.

"So these are 'your guests'…" A huge white deer said as he stood next to Bramble. He spoke in a powerful voice and looked at the ponies with a fierce gaze.

As soon as the great white deer spoke, Bramble cringed as if he had been rebuked. While Dusk, Applejack and the three fillies froze before such an imposing presence. Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie seemed oblivious to everything, as if they hadn't even noticed the huge white deer in front of them. The four mares just kept staring at Dusk and Applejck with shocked looks, full of perplexity and disbelief while their minds seemed to have exploded at what they saw.





The white deer was markedly different from the other deer the ponies had seen that morning, both in size and in presence. This was a white deer with an ocher back, with a height almost equal to Celestia's; their huge antlers overshadowed the horns of the other guards who had captured them; his emerald eyes stared menacingly at the ponies; and on his neck, unlike the barrel carried by the other deer, he wore a golden necklace with a large red heart seemingly made of glass. The mere presence of that deer commanded respect. There was no doubt, if the Great Seedling really existed, that would be its vivid and powerful image.

"I am King Aspen, ruler of the Kingdom of Thicket." The great white deer added with a powerful voice, approaching to where Dusk and his friends were and looking at them threateningly. "Now tell me, which one of you is putting my kingdom in danger?"

End of chapter 13