//------------------------------//
// The Start of It 
// Story: Everfree 
// by J3sterking 
//------------------------------//

Timber Spruce pacing nervously was not a usual sight.  

Sunset slipped out the passenger door, calling out, "We came as fast as we could."

"Great," Timber said, rushing over. "I'm not normally prone to big, epic freak-outs, but, uh, this kind of has me, you know, somewhat concerned."

Twilight stepped out from the driver's seat, pulling out a small mechanical device. "I wouldn't worry too much," she said.

Sunset patted Timber on the shoulder, saying, "Relax. I'm pretty sure this is nothing to worry about."  

Twilight's device began humming, and she said, "Can you show me where the unnatural occurrence happened?"

Timber nodded, leading the way to the woods at the edge of the main campground.

"Where's Gloriosa?" Sunset asked.  

"Business at the bank," Timber said. "Thanks to the money you guys raised, we're not going to have to worry about Filthy Rich taking this place, but there are still some things to take care of."

"And you were here...alone...when strange things started happening?" Sunset asked.

Timber shook his head. "She was here, too, but the bank business needed to be taken care of, and we didn't both need to be here just to show you guys the same two things."

He pointed to a tree, separate from the rest of the woods, with a massive blackberry bush around its base. "That tree wasn't there yesterday."

"Blackberry brambles," Twilight commented. She held up her device, checking the readings she was getting. "Hmm...the tree itself doesn't seem to be magic, but I'm definitely picking it up."

"Same," Sunset said, rubbing her geode between her fingers. She stepped over, touching the blackberry bush carefully. "Yeah, nothing I didn't expect, really."

"What?" Timber asked.

"You said two things happened," Sunset said, ignoring his question.

"The other was at the dock," Timber said, pointing.

Sunset immediately snapped her head to look at it, then let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I thought it had been broken again," she said, moving over to it.

"Quite the opposite, actually," Timber said. He pointed to the base, saying, "Look at that."

Sunset stooped, examining the posts underwater. The posts seemed to have been reinforced with a mass of vines, coiled around them thickly. They'd also grown around the overhanging arch above the dock.

Sunset grabbed the nearest vine and gave a tug. It didn't budge.

"Same readings as the blackberry bush," Twilight offered.

"Yeah, I figured," Sunset said slowly. "The dock looks fine, though, and unless the tree is in an awkward placement, it'll be fine."

"And what if it is in an awkward placement?" Timber asked.

Sunset shrugged. "Cut it down."

"Will that be fine? I mean...we saw...dang it, we saw trails of gem dust between the tree and the dock," Timber said, finally losing his cool.

"Don't worry about it, we have it under control," Sunset said.

"What?"

Twilight put a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "It's fine, we got this," she said. "We mostly only came here to confirm, but yeah, everything's fine."

"Confirm what?" Timber asked.

"We'll tell you later, but I'm not sure she wants to be fully in the open about this," Sunset said, partly to herself. "It'd be best not to tell everyone until she says I can."

"She?" Timber asked.

Sunset smiled. "Yeah, yeah, take your guess," she said.  

"Gaea Everfree?" Timber asked hesitantly. As he did, a chill wind blew through, rattling the branches of every tree. A vibrant, pink gem dust that had been scattered throughout the campground blew past them, into the lake.

"I think," Sunset said. "But, uh, we got this. Why not you two take the opportunity to hang out?"

Twilight frowned. "Don't we have another friend to go talk to?"

"That can wait. Besides, I'll be doing that by myself, so you don't worry about it." Sunset smiled. "Just enjoy yourself for a little while.





Twilight and Timber were oddly competitive with each other, but Sunset could hardly pay attention  to them. After an hour, they decided to head back—it was a several hour drive home, after all.

Sunset bid a polite farewell first to Timber, then to Twilight as she stepped out of the car after the drive.

"Are you sure you don't want me coming?" Twilight asked. "We should do this together, right?"

Sunset shook her head. "I don't know why she hasn't brought it up herself yet, but I have a hunch," she said. "I don't want to pressure her by bringing everyone. Let them know I'm talking to her. We've all seen how weird she's been acting lately, so...I'm certain everyone will be happier if they know me and her are talking it out." She gave Twilight a reassuring smile. "Relax. I've got this."

Her Gloriosa voice did its job well, and Twilight chuckled. "Alright. Call me if you need a ride home."

"I can probably get a ride from her, or just sleep over," Sunset replied. "Relax. Let me handle this."

She stepped back as Twilight pulled the car out. She'd always wanted to get a car, but her limited funds, and questionable citizenship, had always prevented her.

Sunset sighed, then turned and walked past the fence, and onto Sweet Apple Acres.  

Truth be told, she didn't like apples at the best of times. She tried to avoid complaining too much, but her friend's obsession with the shiny red fruit often left Sunset bringing her own food to their meetups. Not that there was anything besides pizza that all seven of them truly loved.

Sunset stopped, looking up at the nearest tree. The apples in it were a dull, almost reflective gray, but her geode told another story. The tree was charged to the brim with Equestrian magic.  

She didn't need the trail of gem dust trailing away from the tree to tell her what that was about.

Sunset waved to Big Macintosh as she neared the barn. "Hey, Big Mac!" she called out.

Big Mac turned to her, chewing on a piece of straw. "Let me guess," he said slowly, "Applejack?"

Sunset nodded. "Is she, uh, here?"

Big Mac thumbed over to the barn.

"Thanks."  

Sunset walked past him, then stepped around the open barn doors. She stepped along a trail of pink gem dust, looking to where her friend sat, staring at an apple.

Applejack looked up from it, and Sunset hesitated. "Um, what big eyes you have," she said.

Applejack stared at her, blinking two glowing golden eyes. The 'white' part was actually black, and as Sunset stared, she realized it was even fully liquid, swirling around the golden pupils slowly. "Uh, yeah, I ain't doin' that," Applejack chuckled. She blinked, and her normal green eyes stared back. "Hey, uh...so."

"Me and Twi were just at Camp Everfree," Sunset interrupted. "Timber called. He was kinda freaked out about some weird things going on up there."

"Uh...yeah. Sorry, I'm...I..."

"Stop," Sunset said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You're not obligated to share absolutely everything with us, so we're not mad that you don't want to share this. But we've all noticed that something is going on with you, and I also noticed how much Equestrian magic you've been carrying around. Even when you're not wearing your geode."

Applejack closed her hand right in front of her bare throat, then sighed. "I'm not...tryin' to hide anything," she said slowly. "I just...wanted to get my thoughts in order."

"That's fine, too," Sunset said. "We're not mad, Applejack, but most of them are a little spooked."

"And you?"

"Uh, if I'm right, and I believe I am and the gem dust isn't a prank--" Sunset grinned at Applejack's sheepish expression. "—Then you're Gaea Everfree."

"Uh, yeah," Applejack said. "That's...that's the long and the short of it, I guess."

Sunset let out a long slow breath. "I have so many questions," she said, "but, uh, most of them can wait, I guess. Do you want to talk to our friends, or...do you just want me to tell them that you're fine and just not quite ready?"

"We can talk tomorrow," Applejack said. "I owe you gals that. I'm sorry for scaring ya'll, too, I'm just...I didn't have all my memories to start with." She shrugged. "They all...came back slowly, so I wanted to sort things out before I brought it up to you gals."

"That's fine," Sunset said. "But, uh...one question now?"

Applejack sighed. "Shoot," she said.

"Are you Equestrian?"

She nodded. "Eeyup."

Sunset let out a short squeal. "This is so exciting," she said. "I--"

Applejack put a finger to her lips. "Tomorrow, with all you girls there," she said. 

"'Kay," Sunset said. "See you then."

"You need a ride home?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, that would be for the--"

Vines grew out of the ground in a circle around her and Applejack, forming a dome over them. Sunset let out a startled cry, shielding her head with her hands, as the dome rapidly shrank around them.

The vines shrank away into the floor, disappearing. Sunset slowly uncovered her head, looking around her house in confusion. Then she looked up to a sheepish Applejack, rubbing the back of her head while blushing.

"Sorry, sugarcube," she said. "I, uh, didn't think that through."

Sunset laughed. "No worries, just, uh, warn me next time." She stood up, then blinked in surprise as a fine pink gem dust fell out of her hair.

"Oops," Applejack said. "My bad."

"No worries," Sunset repeated back.  

Applejack disappeared into a twist of vines, which collapsed into a fine pink powder.  

Sunset sighed, then stepped over to where she kept her broom. "Yeah, AJ, no worries," she muttered. But she quickly got over her annoyance. After all, the ponying up and the geodes were their own things, but this was something else entirely!

Gaea Everfree. She'd heard Twilight mention the spirit of chaos, Discord, and had wanted to meet him, but Discord, potentially on purpose, never seemed to be around when she was.

Was she responsible for the Everfree Forest in Equestria? Why were her memories sealed? How much could she do?

I should make a list of all my questions, she thought to herself.





Applejack sighed. Night had fallen some time ago, but sleep eluded her. Too many thoughts, worries, and returned memories plagued her mind like vermin in the kitchen. Perhaps worse were her expanded senses. If she let her mind wander, she'd be seeing through the trees around the barn and from the owls as they hunted, before she snapped her attention back to Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack looked behind her, seeing a massive ring of sparkling gem dust where she'd been pacing.

Shoot, she thought. At least it disappeared after a while, so it wouldn't get everywhere. That said, maybe cleaning it up would help her think? But it seemed inevitably pointless when she'd just leave more in the next five minutes, and sweeping dust off the dirt was not a viable pastime.

"Applejack...?"

Applejack looked up, to see Applebloom wearily rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Watcha doin' out here at night?" Applejack asked. "Sorry, sugarcube, did I wake you?"

"Kinda," Applebloom said. She stepped over to her big sister, sitting on an old, fallen log. "Something botherin' you?"

"Every damn thing is," Applejack groaned. Then she slapped her forehead. "Darn," she clarified. 

Applebloom stared at her. "It must be really bad if yer cussin' about it."

Applejack sat down next to her, sighing. "Yeah," she said. "I'm just frettin', don't you worry none."

"Well, would it help if you told me yer problems?"

Applejack thought it over. "I told Sunset that I'd talk to the girls tomorrow about...well..." She gestured to the ring of gem dust. "You know."

"The, uh, magic thing," Applebloom said. "It's really cool, huh?"

Applejack let out a frustrated growl. "Yeah, it's cool, but how to explain this to 'em? Where do I even start?"

"Who says you have to start anywhere?" Applebloom asked.

Applejack stared at her. "Um, pardon?"

Applebloom shrugged. "I think they'll ask 'bout whatever they're curious about, and ya can explain th' rest afterwards, right?"

"Ah...suppose," Applejack said slowly. "Hey. You must be curious and all, too, right?"

"Well, uh, yeah...a bit," Applebloom said.  

"Heh. We'll talk over here, and you can sit with us. You and Big Mac both, right?"

"Yeah! We can make some fritters and all just sit around havin' a good ol' time!" Applebloom said ecstatically.

"Guess we should both go get some rest, then, huh?" Applejack said.

"Prob'ly," Applebloom said.  

Applejack plucked an apple from the nearest tree, taking a bite. "C'mon. Let's head in."

Applebloom stared at her, then looked over to the tree. "Uh, AJ? Did you just...grow an apple tree?"

Applejack choked, coughed, and turned towards the tree that had grown up out of the middle of the road. "Oh, Applesauce," she muttered. "I'll deal with it tomorrow. Tonight, we should get some rest, a'right?"

"A'right!" Applebloom rushed back into the mouse, letting the door swing wildly as she passed.

Applejack sighed, turning to the small apple tree. I really need to manage my powers better, she thought. She reached over, touching the top of the small tree. Then, she walked back inside, intent on finally getting some rest.