//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Passing Through // by Meteor_Mirage //------------------------------// The mid-day train to Appleloosa slid to a halt in the town’s station, jerking slightly as the breaks were applied. This was expected by most of the passengers on the train, preparing themselves to not be thrown off by the sudden shift.  All except for one.  Sunburst, having been nodding in and out of sleep for most of the two hour trip, had finally been able to get a few moments of rest. Using his blue cloak as a blanket and one of his many bags of luggage as a pillow, he managed to find a bit of comfort even on the uncomfortable train seat.  But then the train lurched forward.  Sunburst immediately snapped awake as he felt his world shift, but only had a few seconds to scramble together before unceremoniously tipping over onto the floor. But at least the floor was cushioned with more of his luggage. Sadly, the books inside didn’t provide much comfort to the poor stallion. Sunburst groaned softly, shifting to-and-fro in order to prevent the books from cutting into his ribs. But ultimately this proved fruitless, as the books surrounded him completely. And he couldn’t stick around for much longer, lest the train take off again with him trapped inside.  He had business to attend to, and he couldn’t exactly wait around for the train to visit Appleloosa again. Slowly, with an undue amount of effort, Sunburst peeled himself off of the floor and shook off the pain and tiredness, though they still remained. He took a moment to clip his Wizardly Robe back on, finding small discomfort in his brief lack of clothing, before lighting his horn and sweeping all of his luggage up in his golden magic. With a small sigh, he trudged his way towards the exit and disembarked the train. The first thing that hit Sunburst was the Appleloosan heat. He had been told that the town could get a bit hot in the summers, but he didn’t expect the absolutely overbearing heat that surrounded him. The dry desert air was nothing like the temperate weather that Ponyville made him more than used to. It brought a sweat to his brow almost immediately, though it was a mixture of worry and heat that did it to him. Without a second thought, he cast a basic temporary cooling spell on his robe, cursing the fact that he hadn’t thought to do it before. As it stood it would only last for a few hours, but as he stood he was moderately more comfortable than before. And then he was approached. While distracted in casting his spell, Sunburst wasn’t aware of the tall earth pony stallion walking towards him.  “Well howdy there!” The yellow stallion said with a wave and friendly grin towards Sunburst. “Y’must be Sunburst. AJ told me you’d be showin’ up today to help us with our little… problem.” His face flashed a look of discomfort for a brief moment, but quickly went back to a warm smile as he extended his hoof to Sunburst. “I’m Braeburn! Sorta the town’s unofficial welcome committee.” “Well, uh, consider me welcomed. It’s nice to meet you Braeburn.” Sunburst gave an uneasy smile as he accepted the hoofshake. Having experience with The Apple Family, he expected his hoof to be crushed but, to his relief, he was able to pull it back without injury.  Noting Sunburst looking down at his hoof with a mix of relief and confusion, Braeburn gave a loud chuckle. “Hah, guess AJ and Mac are still takin’ grown stallions out with a hoofshake, huh?”  “I had to keep my hoof on ice for a few hours after meeting Big Mac.” Sunburst explained. “And Applejack nearly sent me to the hospital.” Braeburn laughed loud again, then clapped Sunburst on the shoulder with a hoof. “Well don’t you worry, partner. I’ve got a bit of a lighter touch than my cousins.”  Feeling the pain in his shoulder, Sunburst was no longer sure who to trust. But he still nodded shyly, then cleared his throat. “So, uh, about this… problem. Applejack was too busy with the harvest to tell me more than that it was related to your orchard, so do you think I could have a look?” “Of course!” Braeburn said with a bright grin. He then let out a small chuckle. “Figured you’d’a wanted a tour of the town first but-” Before Braeburn could finish his sentence, he heard his name being called from across the station. Both stallions turned to see a group of ponies trying their hardest to pull a large apple tree through the door of the last car of the train. At first, Sunburst was confused as the open roof of the car left an easier way to excavate the tree. But then he realized the group was 100% composed of Earth Ponies. Braeburn let out a gentle sigh. “Ah ‘scuse me for a sec. I should probably take this.”  As Braeburn dashed off to be of assistance, Sunburst stayed behind to take a breath. He let his luggage rest on the ground for a minute, giving his magic a break before he overtaxed himself too much.  And he had a moment to take a break before, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Braeburn waving him over.  “Hey, uh, Sunburst?” He called. “Hate to bother, but do you think you can lend a horn? We’re kinda a li’l wedged, so we probably need to get it through the top instead.” Sunburst blinked. It took him a few seconds to realize what was going on but, as soon as he did, he rushed over to the crowd to inspect the problem at hand.  The tree was wedged with the thick trunk only a partial way through the doorway. That much was clear. There were a few beefy earth ponies that were still trying to unstick it with their massive muscles, but it was clear that a more deft touch was necessary.  Sunburst took a deep breath, lighting his horn with a golden glow as a similar glow overtook the large apple tree. Using his magic, he gave the tree a cursory wiggle to see which ways it wanted to move. Through this, he found he could tilt the tree just enough to force it back through the door, making lifting it up through the open roof a breeze. Sunburst cringed as he felt the full weight of the adult apple tree in his magic. The vegetation weighed heavy on his horn, much more than he was anywhere near prepared for. His horn began to flicker in warning, threatening to release its spell at any moment. In a panic, Sunburst sweating heavily, he quickly found a safe place on the ground to drop the tree and did so unceremoniously. Sunburst panted, shaking his head as he tried not to stumble and fall over from the stress of his magic.  He then jumped as a hoof graced his shoulder, then he turned to see Braeburn looking him over with a strange gaze. “Sorry ‘bout makin’ you do it like that. We’ve normally got a few unicorns to help, but they’re a mite busy over at the orchard.” Braeburn explained. His gaze held on Sunburst for another moment, eyes flicking up towards his horn to see the stallion’s magic still flickering on and off. “Y’alright? You were lookin' a li'l outta sorts for a bit there.” “No, no, I’m fine.” He said, waving the notion away with a hoof almost immediately. “I just… overextended a bit. I really should stop trying to cast while I’m exhausted.” He sighed, trying to shake off the wave of tiredness that his casting brought on, then took in a deep breath. “Sorry about dropping the entire tree like that. I hope I didn’t hurt it or anything.” Braeburn chuckled, shaking his head with a wry grin. “Naw, takes more than that to hurt an Apple Family tree. ‘Sides, a bruised apple is better than no apples, And that’s all we got for now.” He shrugged, then waved all of that away with a hoof. “Aaaanyway, I could still probably give you that tour of the town I mentioned. If you’d like.” Sunburst considered this prospect briefly, looking out to the small desert town and wondering just what kinds of secrets it held.  And then he looked back towards the mass amounts of luggage he’d left sitting on the train station floor.  “Well, I should probably stow my things away first. And then it’d probably be for the best if I take a look at the orchard problem myself.” Sunburst decided. He then hesitated, clearing his throat as he pushed his glasses up his muzzle. “I, uh, I mean I appreciate the offer. Maybe a rain check on that?” “Wantin’ to get right to work? I can respect that.” Braeburn nodded along, then looked over to the pile Sunburst had to carry. “Heck of a lot of stuff you brought though. Think you’ll be needin’ all of it? ‘Cause I dunno if my guest room can fit all that.” “Well, I didn’t know exactly what I’d be dealing with, so I figured bringing all of the books I could find on plant-related maladies was the best solution.” Sunburst explained with a blush. Only afterwards did what Braeburn said fully register, his blush only growing more apparent on his orange cheeks. “W-w-wait, guest room? Not that I mind, but I thought I’d be staying at a hotel of some sort.” Braeburn laughed. “Well you’d be hard pressed to find one out here, partner. But don’t you worry, I’ve been told I’m one heck of a host.” He smiled, then gestured off toward a quaint little house that sat opposite the town, right next to the apple orchard. “It’s just a short little wander over yonder if you wanna take a look.” Sunburst smiled softly. “I’d like that, but, uh…” He attempted to light his horn briefly but, as it began to flicker again, he just let out a sigh and ended any casting immediately. He looked towards Braeburn bashfully, then nodded towards his luggage. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to carry my things on my own. Do you think you could…” Despite Sunburst’s trailing off, Braeburn knew exactly what was needed. With an undue amount of energy for the task at hand, he sauntered on over to the pile of luggage and threw a few bags onto his back without a second thought.  “Whew!” He laughed loudly. “Y’sure there’s just books in here? Feels more like you packed bricks!” Though, as he said this, he showed no signs of effort in lifting five bags on his back. “Sorry.” Sunburst said again, following behind and placing the final bag onto his back. He grunted, his legs wobbling as he did his best to maintain his balance. Braeburn chuckled again, clapping Sunburst on the shoulder with a hoof while, somehow, maintaining his balance. “Aaaaaalright! Let’s get some work done!” Sunburst gave a small yelp as he finally collapsed under the weight of his own luggage. Braeburn then decided that it would probably be for the best that he took all of the luggage on his own. ----- After Braeburn stored the luggage safely within his home to be further stored later, he was finally able to give Sunburst the tour of the orchard that he so desperately wanted. And as they walked, Sunburst found himself looking around with no small amount of confusion as he realized with horror: It looked like an apple orchard. He had no idea what the problem was. He gave it a few more moments to try and understand before turning to Braeburn with a worried expression. “I know this is probably a dumb question, but what exactly is the problem with the orchard?” As he asked this, he reached up to grab an apple off of the tree. It may have been a bit lighter than he was used to, but it was certainly apple. “The trees seem to be healthy, and the apples are growing-”  Braebrun interrupted Sunburst’s speech by grabbing the apple right out from his hooves. Before he could complain or apologize, Braeburn cut in further. “Y’might wanna cover your nose. Definitely don’t wanna breathe this stuff in.” Braeburn waited for a very confused Sunburst to follow his suggestion and, while he really wanted to question the command, Sunburst found no reason to not just resist the urge to breathe for however long he needed to. He also covered his nose with a foreleg, just in case whatever Braeburn wanted to show him had a habit of forcing its way into any of his cavities.  After living in Ponyville, he was more than used to things like that. Braeburn dropped the apple onto the ground, then stomped on it with a hoof. Instead of the uncomfortable squishing sound that Sunburst expected, there was a loud popping noise that nearly made him jump out of his fur. He fought to keep from gasping out in shock, especially as a putrid black smoke filled the air between the two stallions. The boys held their breath for a few moments as the smoke filtered into the air, thankfully fading instead of holding and torturing them both further. Sunburst stared up at the smoke as it diffused itself into the open air. “That, uh, doesn’t seem very healthy!” He decided as the inky black smoke continued to dissipate. He looked down at the remnants of the apple beneath Braeburn’s hoof, seeing that only the thin skin remained. He leaned down, adjusting his glasses as he continued to stare. “Veeeery interesting… It seemed so solid when I was holding it, but it was full of smoke? What kind of smoke even is it? Is it… is it deadly? Did we nearly die?” As Sunburst looked up towards him with worry, Braeburn simply scoffed and shook his head. “Naw, nothin’ like that. I’d never risk somethin’ like that with a new friend! The smoke just… puts you to sleep for a while, is all.”  “For a while?” Sunburst asked. “Well, depending on how long a while is, I don’t really see the problem here. I mean, if all I have to do to get a good sleep is eat an apple then I’ll, uh… I’ll take your whole stock!” He gave a light, nervous giggle that quickly transitioned into a loud yawn. Braeburn laughed along with, though his constitution was far too strong for a yawn to be forced upon him. Instead he gave a slight sigh, his natural smile fading briefly as he nodded towards the tree Sunburst had plucked. “Well, it ain’t just plain luck you picked one’a the bad apples. Dang near the entire orchard’s infected at this point, so we’re runnin’ a bit low on apples around here.” “Oh.” Sunburst blinked. “Well, that’s probably a bad thing.” “Eeyup.” Braeburn confirmed drearily, then pressed a hoof against one of the trees. “It ain’t too bad, I guess. If we keep gettin’ shipments from the Ponyville orchard, we can set up another orchard across the way, then cull this one.” His expression darkened slightly at this prospect. “Kinda wanna avoid all that, so I was hopin’ y’all could help me figure this out.” “We’ll figure it out, Braeburn. Don’t worry.” Sunburst said softly, gently placing a hoof on Braeburn’s shoulder. “Just… how did this even happen? I may not know much about tree diseases, but I didn’t come across anything like this in the studies I was able to do on the train.” “Probably has a li’l somethin’ to do with this.” Braeburn said, reaching into a pocket in his vest and pulling out a small vial to show to Sunburst. “A couple’a two-bit scammers showed up and started peddling some dodgy sleep potions. We ran ‘em outta town as quick as we could, but we found an open pile of these in the center of the orchard.” Taking the vial from Braeburn, Sunburst inspected it for a few moments. “Well, that could probably explain it. You never know what ponies put in their potions these days.” He lit his horn, intending to cast something to identify what little potion remained in the vial.  Instead, all he got was the sharp pain of his magic telling him to stop casting and take a rest. Sunburst shook his head, his magic flicking off for what would probably be the final time for the day. “Ach, that was dumb! My, uh, magic hasn’t exactly recharged yet, so I’m not sure how much use I’ll be of today.” He looked over to Braeburn bashfully for a moment, then looked away. “I hate to say it, but I might have to spend the rest of the day studying instead of casting.” “Ain’t a problem. If you can’t cast, then there’s no need to force it.” Braeburn shrugged, then gestured over to his house just a bit away. “It’s gettin’ close to lunchtime anyway, and you’re welcome to join me if you want. I don’t wanna toot my own horn, but I’ve been told I’m one heck of a cook!” Sunburst didn’t even have to consider the offer, just smiling softly with a nod. “I think I’d like that.” ------ Sunburst sat patiently in Braeburn’s dining room. It was a small, yet quaint room, brightly lit by a large window to Sunburst’s right. A few family photos and paintings were spread sparsely across the green walls, matching the sparse, almost minimalist decoration of the rest of the room. Just a few chairs, and a dark wooden table sat in the center. He had been told to make himself at home while he waited for Braeburn to finish cooking their meal, so he was doing exactly what he did best. He currently had three books open on the table, each one detailing a different kind of tree-related disease that had swept and ultimately brought a town to its knees. Truly a light pre-meal read. Though as hard as he tried, he couldn’t seem to focus on any of the books at all. His stomach growled loudly, the smell of Braeburn’s cooking serving to only intensify his craving for food further. It seems that skipping breakfast in favor of a few more hours of attempting to sleep was a bad idea after all. And then he noticed that there sat an apple in the center of the table. It waited there ominously, practically begging for him to consume it and satiate his hunger for the time being. And the temptation was strong. Practically stronger than he’d ever known before. He reached over to grab the apple with a hoof, staring at it with narrowed eyes. “Alright, so there’s a 50/50 chance that you’re a Nap Apple.” He said to the apple. “Now, what are the chances that Braeburn would leave one of those just lying around for anyone to eat?” The apple, being mostly inanimate, did not respond. “Probably low, but definitely possible.” Sunburst concluded. Yet, despite this, he continued to stare with an inquisitive stare. “But, if it is a Nap Apple, is there anything wrong with giving it a try anyway? I would say it’s my scholarly duty to know, first-hoof, exactly what this fruit does to a creature. And especially if I’m to cure them completely.” He said with hunger in his eyes. He held his stare for another few moments, salivating at the thought of eating an Apple Family apple. Finally, with a resounding “For Science!” he leaned in to take a bite. The apple popped, releasing an inky black smoke that, upon his scared gasp, Sunburst inhaled readily. There was only a second of shocked realization from Sunburst, who immediately realized what a bad idea this really was. “Oh son of a…” Sunburst said softly, trailing off as the tiredness overtook him like a wave. His tired eyes finally slid shut, slumping over onto a book depicting one of the many famines that faced Trottingham. “Weeeeell, I hope you’re hungry, ‘cause I made a lot!” Came Braeburn’s voice from the kitchen. Moments later, he pushed open the swinging saloon doors separating the two rooms, carrying with him a platter of food.  Upon entering, he saw Sunburst snoring peacefully which brought a soft smile to his face. He sighed, glad that his loud outburst hadn’t woken the snoozing unicorn up.  But then he spotted the discarded apple skin on the ground.  “Y’know, I really shoulda seen this one coming.” Braeburn said with a sigh, shaking his head.