//------------------------------// // Where There's Smoke... // Story: The Heartbreaker and the Cultivator // by XSomeGuyX //------------------------------// Where There’s Smoke...   “Scootaloo,” Applejack addressed the orange filly. “Go back to the farmhouse and get Big Macintosh.”                  “O… O-ok,” Scootaloo said, still unable to stop shaking.                  “Spike, we’re going into the Everfree Forest,” the blond farmer told the dragon.                  “Wait, what?” Spike said, caught off-guard. “I thought you just told Scootaloo to get Big Mac… Aren’t we going to wait for him?”                  “Big Mac maybe the strongest stallion in Ponyville but he sure as hay ain’t the fastest,” Applejack said as she lifted the dragon onto her back. “If we wait here, sittin’ on our hooves, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are gonna be Timberwolf chow.”                  “Then maybe we should split up,” the purple dragon said, climbing down off the earth pony. “We can cover more ground like that and if they split up too then maybe we can get to both before those pile of sticks do.”                  “I don’t know, Spike,” the hatted pony replied, unsure that the dragon could handle himself.                  “Don’t worry about me, Applejack,” Spike told her, flexing his “biceps”. “With these thick scales and muscles, there’s no way the Timberwolves will get past me.”                  “Alright, alright, we already too much time standin’ around chit-chattin’,” Applejack said. “Let’s get in there, we have fillies to find.”                  Both quickly rushed into the brush of the forest and lost sight of each within a couple of minutes of running.                  “Ok, ok, calm down,” Applejack told herself. “Applebloom’s ok. She’s safe, she’s a tough little filly. She can take care of herself.”                  Unfortunately, a familiar scream unnerved the blond earth pony. She knew it was her sister and by the sound of the scream, she knew she was far from “ok”. Applejack could not help but feel a bit responsible for this situation. She said it herself, she had not had much to do but instead of checking in on the little club of fillies, she decided to have a picnic.                  “Hold on, Applebloom, big sis is comin’!” Applejack yelled as she pushed her legs to carry her faster towards the scream.                  “Sweetie Belle! Applebloom!” Spike’s voice traveled through the forest as he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. Arriving at a small cliff, he stopped to see if he could catch a glimpse of either filly or at least some sort of movement. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a stampede beneath him, actually causing him to lose a bit of his balance.                  “Whoa!” the dragon said, trying to remain on his feet. Looking over the edge, Spike saw a white little unicorn running for her life as a large pack of wooden wolves chased after her, closing in with every second. “Oh, well… umm…”                  The dragon did not know what to do. One problem was solved but another made. He found the endangered filly but how was he going to get to her was now the issue. If he were climb down, it would take too long for him to reach the ground. If he tried to go around, it would take even longer. That left only one choice, a leap of faith. If he could manage to make a solid landing, he could help Sweetie Belle before the Timberwolves could catch her, it was his only hope.                  “Here goes nothi---!” Spike yelled as he jumped off the cliff. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, the dragon landed on one of the wolves passing by.                  “Oh, this can’t be good!” the purple reptile screamed as he struggled to stay on the snarling mythical creature.                  Meanwhile, the unicorn out in front was running out of steam as she began to slow her pace. She always already breathing very heavily and was no longer even paying attention to the direction she was running in. Eventually, this caused her to run herself into a corner as the hungry wolves slowly enclosed the area.                  “Whoa!” Spike said as the wolf he rode finally managed to jerk him off. Crashing on the wall behind the frightened unicorn, he immediately stood back up and grabbed a small, fallen branch nearby and held it to the ravenous pack in front him.                  “Spike? What are you doing here?” Sweetie Belle asked, huffing and puffing throughout.                  “I came to save you!” the dragon said, waving the stick around as the wolves dodged the blows.                  “But who’s going to save you?” the terrified unicorn asked as she turned around to, too scared to face the drooling wolves that surrounded them.                  “I-I still can do this, Applejack is counting me!” Spike replied, after one of the bolder wolves bit the stick, rendering the dragon unarmed. Sweetie Belle had lost control of her quivering tail as it rubbed against the dragon’s face. “I ca-ca-ca… AAAAH!”                  “Spike? Are you ok?” Sweetie Belle asked as she turned to the dragon who had his head raised and a claw to his nose.                  “CHOOOO!!!” the little dragon let loose a large stream of emerald fire from his mouth. The wolves were dumbfounded and frightened by the sudden unleashing of a wild, magical fire as they stared blankly at each other and the young dragon. The entire pack then scattered, each member whimpering, in every direction possible as the threat of a firebreather scared the appetite right out of them.                  “You did it, Spike!” the unicorn hugged the dragon.                  “Huh?” Spike asked, rubbing his nose. “Hey, I did, didn’t I?”                  The two rejoiced in the fact they somehow managed to survive that life-threatening situation. But sudden howl broke up the happy celebrations as Spike realized that there was still another filly in danger.                  “Applebloom!!!” the elder of the Apple sisters called out. Applejack knew she was closing in on her sister, finding a couple of Timberwolf stragglers trying to rejoin the main group. She continued to follow these laggards as they lead her to the rest of the pack who were already nipping at the heels of the country filly.                  Charging through the pursuing predators, Applejack managed to make her way to the front and finally meet up with her younger sister. Little Applebloom looked and sounded like she was just about to collapse. Suddenly, she found herself off the ground and being lifted higher and higher. Applejack had picked her by her tail and thrown her onto her back.                  “Applejack! You don’t know how good it is to see ya…” her sister said as she relaxed herself.                  “We’re not out of the woods yet, Applebloom,” Applejack replied, knowing that the wolves were still following very close behind.                  Unfortunately for them, the wolves that had stopped their preying on Spike and Sweetie Belle had followed the howls of the second half. They began to cut off the blond farmer and her sister at every turn as Applejack soon found it difficult to choose a safe path to run one. She every time she tried to change direction back towards the farm, more and more wolves would pounce on her, only to narrowly miss their target.                  The situation only grew grimmer as Applejack realized that they were driving her deeper into the forest, where the trees grew closest to each other and made it hard for bigger creatures, such as herself, to move quickly. It was their territory and she was now on unfamiliar ground, running blindly, losing her bearings through the chaos of the chase. It was only a matter of time before they surrounded the filly and her sister.                  Though the rescue of Sweetie Belle was a success, the calls of wolves continued echoing through the forest. It was obvious to the little dragon that it was no time to celebrate. Taking the lead, Spike began to retrace his steps to find a path out of the forest and back to Sweet Apple Acres. “Spike, where are you going?” Sweetie Belle asked the dragon.                   “We should go and get out of the forest,” Spike ordered the young unicorn. “Applejack must of found Applebloom, I bet they even found their way out of the forest.”                  “What if they’re still in the forest!?” the unicorn said as she followed him, the howls of the Timberwolves become more and more frequent..                  “Well… hmm… I can’t just leave you alone,” the purple dragon said.                  “But they might need help, there were so many of them when we were together,” Sweetie Belle told him. “I don’t think even Applejack can take them all.”                  “That many?” Spike gulped. “C-can you find your way back from here?”                  “I think so,” the white filly answered. “Are you going alone? You can’t! They’ll swallow you up!”                  “But they’re scared of my fire, maybe I can help,” the young dragon rebutted. “I have to help somehow! I can’t just let them eat two of my friends! You get back to Sweet Apple Acres and I’ll try to find Applejack and Applebloom.”                  “Good luck, Spike!” the young unicorn said as she hurried out of the forest.                  “Ok, so where to start…” Spike said as he wondered where the Apple sisters could be. He continued to here howls from deeper in the woods and along with them, more Timberwolves appeared but they seemed disinterested in him. They all headed in the direction of the howls.                  If they were calls, then there needed to be a reason to call. Maybe the wolves had the sisters cornered or were trying to corner them. Either way, it was a good guess that Applejack and Applebloom were probably in the same direction. There was no possible way that Spike, being so small, could keep up with these swift predators. But perhaps there was another way.                  “Alright, alright… it’s for Applejack and Applebloom. There’s no other pony around to help. It’s up to you, Spike!” the young dragon convinced himself as he looked down yet another cliff, even steeper than the last. “You can do it!!! YOU! CAN! DO IT!!!”                  Yet another howl summoned more Timberwolves as they ran deeper into the forest, following their fellow wolves’ wail. He began to rush towards the edge only to break harshly at the very edge. Seeing the large vertical drop, Spike’s resolve dissipated and was replaced with nervousness and fear. “I-I… can’t do it…”                  “Applejack, are ya ok?” the youngest Apple sibling asked, noticing that her sister was finding it hard to breath.                  “Y-you kiddin’, I-I can keep this u-up all day,” Applejack replied, taking a ragged breath with each step she took forward. Most would agree that the farm pony was pretty athletic, not even Ponyville’s rodeo star could outrun the pack of hungry hunters behind her forever. She was long since lost; the poor earth pony could not recognize a single landmark that told her that she was in some familiar part of the Everfree. And that was definitely not a good sign, not with her legs starting to lose their strength.                  “Applejack, I’m sorry…” Applebloom apologized to her sister, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s all our fault that we’re here… We should’ve listen to ya, Applejack.”                  “K-keep that chin up, Applebloom!” her sister replied, though still struggling to catch her breath. “We’re gonna make it out of here! And then you’ll be grounded for two weeks for not listenin’ to me!”                  “But Applejack…” the red-headed filly said.                  “Not but’s and that’s final Applebloom,” Applejack ordered. However, their situation was fast becoming dire straits as the gap between them and the ravenous pack was slowly closing. And unfortunately, it only worsened as yet another wooden wolf attempted to ambush the siblings but this one was lucky enough to succeed in finally laying a claw on the blond farmer. “AGH!”                  “Applejack!” Applebloom exclaimed, seeing the small trickle of crimson running down her sister’s leg.                  “Don’cha fret, it’s just a scratch,” the earth pony said. She was not lying to the young filly, it was merely a small scratch but it was also a harbinger about the ticking clock they had. Her reflexes had slowed from the strenuous amount of running she had been doing and she had already seen it affect her speed but her injury made it all the more apparent. It was obvious that the Timberwolves were not going to quit in their hunt, so Applejack was forced to think outside the box in order to ensure that at least her younger sister safely made it out of the forest. “Applebloom, I have an idea.  When I tell ya to, ya hightail it out of here, find somewhere safe and hide! Got it?”                  “Ok, Applejack,” the little filly nodded.                  “Ready...” the elder sister warned the filly, starting to time her throw. “NOW!” Applejack said, whirling around and tossing her younger with all her might behind the pursuing predators.                  Landing with an “umph,” Applebloom quickly scrambled to her feet and began to gallop in the opposite direction as fast as her young legs could take her. But just like her sister, Applebloom was completely lost within the deep, dark inner forest. It was impossible to tell where she was going but she was satisfied with getting away from the Timberwolves. Of course she had second thoughts about leaving her sister but disobeying her was the original cause of this situation.                  In hindsight, Applejack saw that it was not such a great decision. Applebloom might have been a smaller meal but a much easier one at that. It was an obvious choice for hunters, get the easy meal before she gets away, come back for the bigger. Applejack had now left her younger sister to the mercy of the Timberwolves as a few stayed behind to ensure that the main course did not escape before the rest of the pack were able to enjoy the appetizer.                  Applebloom again found herself in a dire situation as the wolves that chose to follow her were again closing in on her. Though the filly had somewhat rested up while on her sister’s back, she was still very exhausted from her previous chase. Fortunately, her terrain favored her. The narrow paths allowed her to slip through small opening that forced the Timberwolves to find alternate paths. But even this only delayed the inevitable as her speed slowed drastically with every second the hunt continued.                  She soon found her unable to run any longer. Eying a small nook inside a small hill, the redheaded filly quickly wriggled her way into the cramped hole. The Timberwolves would not be so easily fooled as they quickly sniffed her out and began shoving snouts and claws inside her hiding place. They swiped at her, just barely unable to reach their prey by mere inches. Their snouts blocked off the entrance to the small burrow as they barked and attempted to take a bite of the filly that tried pushing herself further into the back wall of the hole. The frightened filly was to be able to see the drool drip of the wolves’ wooden fangs each time they opened and clamped their jaws shut, letting out a terrified scream as she did.                  The sudden scream startled the purple dragon right off the edge of the cliff as he found himself plummeting disgracefully towards the ground below. Soon he found himself once again mounted on the back of a Timberwolf as it struggled to throw him off and move towards the howl. It was no use, the dragon had his arms wrapped around the predator’s neck and he had no intention of letting go.                  “AAAAAH-HA-HA-HA!!!” Spike cried out as he went along for the bumpy ride.                  The wolves that had surrounded Applejack had trickled down in number to measly handful. Most had been scared away by the potential of this full grown and decided to take their chances with the easier meal of a filly. The few that remained did so out of stubbornness but, one by one, the wolves left after being dismantled by the athletic mare and having to regenerate. It was a losing battle on their part as with their dwindling numbers, they stood less and less of a chance at taking the full grown pony down, even when they had the advantage of her low stamina. Just as their numbers diminished to final two, a new, smaller pack of these magical creatures ran past the scene, one carrying the young dragon as he bounced around on its back.                  “Spike?” Applejack asked herself as she tried to follow the passing group, only to be cut off by the two remaining wolves. They snarled and growled at the pony, warning her that proceeding will result in them pouncing on her. She slowly backed away from the duo but as she did, one decided to lunge and tried to take a premature bite out of its prey. The apple farmer quickly swung her hind legs and sent the brash wolf crashing into a nearby tree, dismantling it on impact. Pulling itself back together, it simply escaped from the confrontation, giving up on this takedown just as all the others before it. And then there was one, and it seemed just as hardheaded as the last as it crept towards the mare. However, this one realized that it was now alone, completely separated from the rest of its pack. It tucked its tail between its legs, lowered its ears and began to whimper as it stared at the triumphant pony. “Boo!” Applejack said, scaring off the crying wolf. She watched it run off into the canopy of the forest and then remembered that her sister and now possibly Spike were still very much in danger. Hearing a howl from the wolves, the earth pony restarted her search for her sister, and, now, the young dragon. “WHOA!!!” Spike yelled as he struggled to keep himself on the Timberwolf. The wolf was start to enjoy torturing the dragon as he bucked and maneuvered wildly. Eventually it came to point where losing its tag-along no longer mattered, instead he reveled in the fear that it brought him. So much so that it lost concentration in the path it was running and crashed directly into a tree, dismantling itself and sending the poor dragon jockey flying. “Umph,” he groaned as he slowly picked himself in the middle of the frenzy of wolves as they continued trying to dig their way to the filly hiding inside the tiny hole. But soon, they switched their attention to the newcomer as they began to circle him, like sharks. Spike could feel the fear well up in his body as he broke out into a cold sweat, completely forgetting his advantage of fire. The build-up would not last much longer as the first wolf pounced on the young dragon, who guarded himself using his arm. Spike gritted his teeth, shut his eyes tightly and waited for the pain from the bite to hit him but he felt nothing. He cautiously opened on eye only to see that his scales had broken the Timberwolf’s wooden teeth. The mares used to say that he was just blowing smoke when he said that he was tough, wait until they hear that he was the ultimate weapon against Timberwolves. He smiled at the thought but a snarl and howl from the surrounding predators brought him back to Equestria. An inedible prey is something that the Timberwolves were not interested as threw the little dragon aside and continued to dig into the dirt wall, desperately trying to reach their meal. “Alright, you guys wanna play rough? I’ll play rough!” Spike said as he began to take in a long breath. The ravenous pack paid him no mind even as his chest began to expand with air. Almost as if on cue, Applejack caught up just as the young dragon lungs reached their max volume. “Spike!” Applejack called out to the dragon but quickly paused her advancement, seeing him begin to release a firestorm from his mouth. Sensing the sudden burst of heat from behind them, the Timberwolves stopped their excavation of the nook and turned around to see the giant wave of fire, which just managed to singe the ears of the entire pack. As Spike finished his firebreathing, the wolves again lost their appetites as they backed into each other. Spike began taking yet another breath in and just that seemed to be enough send the entire group of hunters running in fear. And as the last of them left the scorched scene, Spike gently let out the breath he was holding in as he fell over. No longer seeing any teeth or claws trying to reach her, Applebloom poked her head out of her hiding place. As far as she could tell, the coast was clear except for a collapsed dragon and her sister, who seemed to be awestruck for some reason. “Spike! Applejack!” Applebloom called them, snapping her sister back into reality. “Applebloom! I’m so glad to see yer alright!” Applejack said as she hugged her sister. “Spike! Spike?” “Are the Timberwolves gone?” the dragon asked, breathing heavily. “Yeah… thanks to you… thank you, Spike…” the blond farmer affectionately nuzzled him. “Ya should be thankin’ him too, Applebloom! He’s the one that saved yer little flank from being wolf chow!” “Thanks, Spike!” Applebloom said, helping the dragon sit back up. “Whew! Didn’t think I had another one of those in me!” Spike told them. His little stunt had really taken it out of his young body, not only was he tired but his stomach was begging for something to eat. “Come on, let’s get outta here,” Applejack said as she lifted both onto her back. It was long, confusing and, fortunately, peaceful trek back to the farm lands of Sweet Apple Acres. Perhaps Spike’s mere presence warded off any new attacks from the Timberwolves or perhaps the pack moved on out of the area out of fear of the firebreather. Either way, the two ponies considered themselves lucky that they had a dragon for a friend. And it seemed that perhaps a reward was due to the hero of the day, at least it seemed this way to Applejack. Just as they reached what they believed to be the edge of the forest, they began to hear calls of “Applejack!”, “Spike!” and “Applebloom!” They came from the usually silent giant stallion of the Apple family. Seemingly alone, until the three wanderers came within a stone’s throw of Big Macintosh. As they did, two fillies popped out of from behind the red stallion, much to his disliking. “Applebloom!!!” the unicorn and Pegasus fillies yelled, running up the trio. “Didn’t I tell ya both to go back to the farmhouse and stay there with Granny Smith,” the eldest of the Apple siblings scolded the two unknown tag-alongs.          “We couldn’t leave before we knew that Applebloom was ok!” Scootaloo argued back.          “Yeah!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, standing by her friend. Big Mac merely shook his head in frustration.          “Hey now! If Big Macintosh told y’all to do something, ya listen! Don’t you remember how this all started!” Applejack also scolded the filly, raising her voice as she did so. “It’s still dangerous out here!” “What happened there, sis?” Big Macintosh asked Applejack, pointing at the scratch on her front leg. “Oh, it’s just a scratch, Big Mac…” Applejack said before her brother lifted her right off her hoofs and onto his back. “I’ll be fine… really!” “Nnnope!” the big brother said simply as he prepared to carry the stubborn pony home. “Wait! Hold yer horses, Big Mac!” Applejack ordered her brother who was already heading back to their farmhouse. She removed her hat and placed it on Spike’s head, an act that astonished almost all present, including the little dragon. His head was just bit too small to fill it as it sank covered his eyes. “I wanna thank ya, Spike. Ya don’t know how much it meant to me that ya came saved my lil sis… and me. It was mighty brave, what you did…” “I don’t know what to say, Applejack…” the thunderstruck dragon said. He was completely caught off guard, it was something he would have never predicted would happen. In all the time that he had known Applejack, there were very, very few times that she was separated from her trademark Stetson hat. Many considered it a permanent part of her, something she would forever refuse to give up, but yet, she had given it to him. He could only imagine how much it meant to her and how hard of a decision it was to give it to him. “But…” Spike said, removing the hat. Apologizing in advance to Big Macintosh, he began to climb up with hat in claw onto the large red pony, eventually reaching the mare on his back. With a swift movement, he plopped the hat back onto what he thought was its rightful place, back on Applejack’s head. “I know it means a lot to you and I know you want to thank me but, it’s enough to know that you and Applebloom are safe. Besides, it looks better on you!” “Spike…” the apple farmer said quietly as her cheeks began to redden. “Anyways, the look on Twilight’s face when I tell her that I scared away a whole pack of Timberwolves is all I need!!!” Spike said excitedly, hopping the giant red stallion. “Make sure she gets her rest, Big Mac! It might a little scratch but she still needs to take it easy!” “Eeyup!” the stallion nodded. “Well, ya think ya can make it home by yerself, Spike?” Applejack said, hiding her blush beneath her hat. “I think I can manage that…” Spike assured her. Noticing the setting sun, the little dragon waved good-bye as he rushed back to his library-home, not wanting to be near the mystical but dangerous forest alone after dark.