The cool evening was quiet save for the rapid beating of hoofs in the leaf litter. Applejack ran through the shrubs that dotted the mysterious valley. Her mind was reeling from what had just happened. One minute she was bucking trees, the next she was here. She didn't recognize the landscape at all. Throughout her life, she'd been all over Equestria and could orientate herself from anywhere. But this was the first time she felt truly lost.
The more she tried to remember what had happened, the harder it seemed to be. Certainly she'd had her fair share of cider in her days. She could throw them back with the best of them. But she'd never blacked out and woken in a strange place. Her breath didn't smell of cider. It wasn't even cider season. Nothing about what was happening made any sense. And what was worse, for all her running, she hadn't seen a single other pony since she arrived in this place.
She tried to find the highest ground she could to scout out the area around her. Up on the top of the ridge, she could see for miles in every direction. She raised her hoof to shield her eyes from the sunlight. Her hat and ribbons were missing when she arrived. She felt naked without them. Nothing about the landscape looked familiar. No sign of Ponyville, or anything even resembling civilization. But there, just at the edge of the forest where it met the meadow below her, she saw a small group of ponies. She raced down the steep slope of the hill. Hopefully they'd be able to tell her where she was and how she could get back to Ponyville. She rushed up to the group, anxious to find out what the hay was going on.
"Hey y'all. I don't suppose you'd be able to tell me where I am would ya?" She asked the group. The other ponies glanced at the newcomer. But none spoke to her. "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I was a mite rude there. Let me introduce myself proper. My name is Applejack and I seem to be a bit lost. If y'all could help point me in the right direction I'd be plum grateful." She said. Again she was met with blank stares and no responses. The rest resumed chewing on a bit of the grass at their hooves.
"Um, I apologize for just rushing up on y'all like this, but I'm in a bit of a jam and I really need your help." She pleaded. She waved a hoof in front of one of the pony's face. "Hellooo?" The pony's eyes followed her hoof for a moment before ignoring her once more. "What in Equestria is going on around here?" She muttered to herself.
She waited around for several more minutes, if only waiting for somepony to tell her to leave. Anything to get some kind of reaction from them. There was something just so unsettling about the dull look in their eyes. Like nopony was home. The gentle breeze tussled her mane. But then, all at once, the head of every one of them shot up, their ears perked as they all looked at her. Applejack felt her heart lurch with adrenaline. It was so creepy the way they all acted like that. Were they going to attack her? She backed away slowly. Their eyes didn't follow her. They were looking at something else.
In a flash they all galloped away from her. She didn't even have a chance to run after them to ask what it was. She lost track of them as the scattered into the dense forest. She looked back across the meadow. She couldn't see what it was that had spooked them. But if they were all running, she knew better than to stick around. She ran into the woods after them.
Arthur crouched, stalk still in the tall grass and cursed under his breath. He was so close. Another few steps and he could have lassoed one of them. But the wind changed and the herd had caught the smell of his scent. He rose to his feet and recoiled his rope. He'd been tracking that pale orange one up over the ridge all afternoon. She was by far the most beautiful mustang he'd seen since he moved out into the country.
He latched the coil of rope to his belt and started the trek back to his ranch. He was familiar with the herd she'd run into. He had a few from that group back at his stables. The rest didn't have the coloration he was looking for. Except her. But tomorrow was another day. It was another chance for him to try to catch his chestnut mare.
He didn't get inside his new home until after dark. He hung his hat by the door and kicked off his boots. There wasn't any time to waste. He had a quick dinner and hit the hay. He'd have to be up before dawn to make it back to the pony valley in time to track her again.
It wasn't Applejack's first time camping. But even when she was roughing it, she still packed at least a small saddlebag of supplies. She'd never gone off into the woods like this with naught but her wits. But if her wits were all she had, they served her well. The rest of the herd was long gone by now. She'd managed a simple shelter from branches and foliage. She'd brought together a heap of loose grass and leaves and burrowed herself into it. It was no sleeping bag, but it would do to keep the chill of the night off of her.
Her stomach growled. In her haste to escape whatever had scared the others, she'd neglected to eat. The others seemed content with eating the grass. And as simple a pony as she tried to be, she really didn't enjoy eating grass. Sure there were some grasses she enjoyed. What she wouldn't do for some Kenbucky Blue right now, she thought as her mouth watered. Another rumble from her belly told her that entertaining such thoughts did not improve her situation. Her tired body much preferred she just lay her head to rest.
RINGringRINGringRINGringRINGringRING!
Arthur smacked the clock beside his bed. It was only four thirty in the morning. It was still very dark outside. But he knew that his quarry would be up with the dawn. And it would be no use trying to track her if she already had a head start on him. He dragged his tired body out of the bed.
The old embers of the cooking stove were just barely enough to get the coffee percolating. He poured it into a mug and stirred in a bit of cream and a couple lumps of sugar. His fingers let go of the spoon and it stood straight up in the black beverage. It was ready. It might have tasted like death warmed over, but it worked by golly. Part of him missed the convenience of the automatic coffee machine at his old job. With the push of a button he had a perfect brew. But this, it kicked like a mule. He theorized that it worked by burning a hole through the wall of his stomach to inject caffeine directly into his heart.
At least that was how it felt.
The rest of his routine was a chemical blur. A hearty breakfast, a light lunch to go, boots on and out the door. The eastern sky was just barely beginning to lighten. If anything were out and about with him this early, he'd be able to see their silhouette. He picked up the trail of where he'd lost the chestnut mare yesterday. His feet moved in practiced silence as he reached the edge of the forest.
The first streak of sunlight cut in through the branches of the trees. Applejack had already been awake for a while herself. As a farm pony, she'd always been an early riser. She made short work of scattering the branches of the shelter before she moved on from the site. She turned about in place, trying to figure out which way she had come into the clearing. She had been walking toward the setting sun last night. So she decided to keep moving west, with the rising sun behind her. Hastily, she put as much distance behind her as she could.
Not long after she'd left, Arthur carefully crept into the clearing. He kept his head on a swivel and his ears on high alert, sensing for any sign of her. His mentor had taught him about tracking. Is was as much an art as a science. It was detective work, looking for clues in the forest. Ponies were notoriously difficult. They didn't leave distinctive cloven hoof prints. The soft pads of their hooves left only the subtlest trace of their passing. But the pressed circles of grass, and broken twigs, they were enough and often the only thing he had to go on. But then, a breakthrough!
He darted quickly toward the scattered grass. It had clearly been in a pile recently. It was dry, lacking the morning dew of the forest around it. A pony had made its bedding here. He scooped some of it up in his hand. It wasn't warm. But it wasn't as cool as the rest of the woods. The pony had been here recently. His eyes quickly darted around, looking for any sign of her. He brought the grass to his nose and smelled it. He'd been working with ponies long enough now to know the scent of a mare's sweat. And there was something else in her aroma. It smelled vaguely of... apples?
He pulled the red orb from his lunch bag. It wasn't his apple he smelled. This was something different. He let the grass slip through his fingers, silently drifting to the ground. He continued moving forward, in the logical direction of her path. A couple of mangled ferns told him he was on the right track. His mental map had him a couple clicks to the east of the brook that ran through this part of the valley. It seemed a likely place toward which a thirsty pony would head.
Applejack was delighted to have happened upon a small stream. And there, on the banks, were a few berry bushes. She carefully nipped a few strawberries from their stems. It wasn't until she'd had a couple did she realized how hungry she'd become in the last two days. The tedious work of picking them one at a time kept her from the glutinous satisfaction of gorging herself. But she knew better than to say no to the chance to eat. She took her time with the process.
Arthur's heart leaped at the sight of her. He'd moved abreast of her trail, keeping himself downwind. Also, he didn't want to be spotted by any of the other ponies with her again. But just like when he was following her yesterday, she was all alone. She'd never seen her with that herd yesterday before. She must have been a stranger to them.
She was all exposed out by the bank of the river, giving him a clear view of her in the morning sun. But likewise, he couldn't get any closer to her without exposing himself as well. He didn't want to lose her again, so he bid his time, waiting there in the brush. His time could certainly be worse spent. She was certainly the prettiest mare he'd ever seen. So he just enjoyed the scene of her taking a meal.
Applejack could feel her stomach giving her mixed signals. The berries were delicious, but so much sugar at once had made her a bit queasy. She needed something with a bit more sustenance. Some nice wheat or other grain. She leaned down to the water to take a drink. That was when she'd caught her reflection. She looked like a fearsome predator of the Everfree. He mouth and cheeks were stained red from the raspberries. Not to mention the rest of her was quite a mess as well.
While she had no problem getting dirty, she certainly didn't like being dirty. After a hard day's work on the farm, she'd always be the first to bathe. She felt the sweaty mess of her tangled mane sticking to her matted fur. She stepped into the stream and dunked her head under the water, soaking her hair. She rolled around in the water, feeling it washing the grime from her.
Arthur took a chance as she dove under the water again, dashing closer, just behind the berry bushes. When she came back up onto the banks, she'd be right in front of him and he'd be able to lasso her. He unlatched the rope from his belt, ready for her to step up onto the land.
Applejack's body rose up out of the water, wading just at the edge of the sandy bank. She shook her head and flank, whipping her mane and tail about. Droplets of water arched through the air, shimmering in the morning sunlight. Arthur's thumb nervously ran over the knot in the loop of the lasso. Just a bit closer and she'd be his. She turned her back to him, looking out across the stream, trying to survey a shallow point to cross.
He waited a moment, but she didn't seem like she would be moving. Not any closer to him anyway. He needed to take his shot now while she wasn't looking. He readied to toss the rope and jumped forward through the bushes. But it was a critical error for him in two ways. Firstly, the prickers of the raspberry bushes snagged his rope, causing it to fall pitifully short. And secondly, said prickers cut up his arms something fierce, causing him to involuntarily yelp.
Applejack practically leaped out of her fur at the sudden rustling of the bush behind her, followed by the noise the animal made. She'd barely got a look at the thing before her hooves were already moving under her. She went into a running jump, diving halfway across the stream, and speedily paddling to the other side and sprinting up the embankment up over the ridge.
"Damn it." He berated himself, pulling the tangled rope from the bush. "Damn it. Damn it!" He dunked his arms into the river, washing away the excess blood and cleaning the cuts as he hurriedly crossed the water. He'd hoped to avoid swimming today, but the nearest crossing was more than a mile downstream. It was some fallen logs that he had lashed together to make a rudimentary bridge. And by the time he'd made the trip, the trail of dripped water would have long dried.
His soggy boots made obscene squishing noises as he climbed the far hill. His waterlogged clothes kept him from moving with any kind of speed. But he didn't need to. All he needed to do was follow the trail of wet hoof prints. After walking for a short spell, he found himself up on Stony Ridge. She'd gotten away a couple of times before. But after two days, he was determined to lasso her. It was perfect. She was shaking off her wet mane near an old tree at the end of a line of shrubs. Behind was a clear path up to her, a dried river bed.
Luckily his boots had ceased their incessant noise. He moved with silent grace that would make a ninja proud. He reached the edge of the bushes, lining up perfectly with the tree between them. He was able to slink around to the front keeping the wide trunk between them, blocking her view. With nothing blocking his shot, he readied his rope a final time and darted out from behind the tree and flung it into the air.
His aim was true and his rope loop was on point. Before Applejack had a chance to even react to the noise behind her, there was a rope around her. She didn't even look to see what it was that had roped her. She just took off as fast as she could. But she barely got a step away before she felt the tension of the rope pulling back on her. She turned and looked back over her shoulder to see what she was hung up on. That was when she saw it. Whatever it was, it had its hands on the rope, and heels dug it, holding its ground.
Arthur felt a rush of adrenaline. He got her. She turned back on him and dug her hooves in, trying her darnedest to pull away from him. He wrapped the rope around his wrist, pulling it close to him, grabbing another fist full, closing the distance, inch by inch. But she kept on pulling back like a mule going up a ladder. That was when she grabbed the rope with her teeth and started whipping her head from side to side, trying to pull the rope free from his hands.
He followed her motions with his arms, keeping an even tension. But as he got closer, it became harder for him to keep his footing. She was nearly as tall as he was and way more muscular. It was the moment of truth. He wasn't going to be able to pull her back to the ranch on a lead. She was being to stubborn for that. But he swore he wouldn't lose her again today. He gave her one more good yank and jumped up on her.
He'd never tried it before without a saddle. And damned if he didn't land right on her. And she took off running up onto the ridge, higher than he'd ever been before. He held on as best as he could, holding himself steady, gripping her waist with his legs, and wrapping his arms around her neck, rope still in hand. He needed to let her run herself out. Then when she was tired out he'd be able to coax her back to the ranch.
Well she was running along just fine until she stopped like something spooked her. He hazarded a glance over her shoulder. There on the path was a sidewinder all coiled up and ready to strike. Applejack shuffled her hooves nervously, not sure what to do for a second. There wasn't enough room to go around without risking a bite.
In a panic she jumps off the edge with him holding on. Arthur wasn't sure what he expected her to do but he certainly didn't expect this. But there he was, free falling through the air, holding onto his chestnut mare.