//------------------------------// // A Day at the Farm // Story: Destiny's Awakening // by Strange Harmony //------------------------------// A Day at the Farm The four friends trudged back to their cabin, the fight with the Minotaur had left them exhausted. Virtuoso couldn't stop thinking of the perplexing explanation he had given the train conductor, he couldn't get the conductor's confused expression out of his thoughts either. Lightning was happy everything had been resolved without serious casualties and tried to stay optimistic. Omega, walking behind his sister, kept asking her if she OK. She would always reply with "I'm fine Omega, don't worry," but he could see she was still trembling. The warm rays of the sun now bathed the landscape with their light and they were just a couple of minutes away from Ponyville. Thanks to their visitors they had not been able to get a proper nights sleep, and now, three of the four ponies had bags under their eyes. Lightning looked at Virtuoso and wondered how the unicorn didn't look tired at all, he had mentioned earlier he was exhausted but he sure didn't look the part, he wanted to ask how he kept himself so well groomed but that kind of question seemed horribly out of place at the moment, so he held his tongue.   "Does this mean we are going to be constantly chased by evil, blood lusting creatures?" asked Alpha as she fashioned a beautiful pink bow on her head. She looked extremely tired and after what happened in the furnace room, Omega wanted to do nothing more than comfort her. He knew, however, that she wouldn't let. She didn't like to show weakness.   "Probably, that is why we must make our stay in Ponyville a short one, I suggest you guys look around town for any clues indicating where one of the ponies we need to find is while I ta-" the loud whistle of the train cut off whatever Virtuoso was about to say. after it passed, he didn't bother repeating himself and instead just gathered his belongings, the others did the same and soon, they were on their way out of the train. To the ponies discontent, many, if not most of the ponies that had been in the train were looking at them as they passed. They tried their best to ignore their gazes and kept walking.   "Do you think your house is big enough for all of us?" asked Omega once they had gotten out of the train, they saw several ponies trot by, tools ready. They were probably called to fix the parts of the train which had been damaged, and this was no small number. Virtuoso decided it would be best to leave the scene before they were called for questions and motioned for his friends to follow him.   Virtuoso noticed how Omega didn't think twice about asking the question and how Alpha didn't stop him and say something like, "We could just find a hotel or something." He liked that because it meant they had grown closer. "Sure, before we do anything else though, I want to visit someone." With this, his friends began following him down a street, the air entering their lungs felt refreshing and made them feel a little bit better. Many of the ponies they passed waved at them and Virtuoso even greeted them some of them by name. Eventually, they stopped at a two story house. Virtuoso knocked on the door and a voice called out, "Just a sec."   A white mare wearing purple glasses answered the door. when she saw Virtuoso a look of relief and happiness appeared on her face, she accommodated her blue hair with azure streaks and Virtuoso deduced he must have woken her up. Without warning she leaped and gave him a hug, "Virtuoso!? Dude! Where have you been? Octavia and I have been worried sick, you said you would write to us when you were safely with your family, but oh boy am I glad to see you're safe, who are your pals here?"   "Hey there Vinyl, long time no see, I'm sorry I didn't write or anything, my life has been kind of...complicated lately, as for my friends here," he stepped back and pointed a hoof at Lightning, "this here is Lightning Courage, hes fast, brave, and ironically a bit shy."   Lightning blushed a little when his stomach growled but shook Vinyls hoof all the same, "pleasure to meet you miss...miss."   "The name is-"   Omega pushed Lightning out of the way, "Vinyl Scratch! One of Equestrias best DJ's and one of my personal favorites, pleasure to meet you," Omega vigorously shook the startled mares hoof.   "Always nice to meet one of my…umm number 1 fans." chuckled Vinyl nervously.    "My name is Omega, but you can call me whatever you want sir, I mean miss, can I get your autograph? Can you sign my coat? What's your favorite meal, colo-" the barrage of questions coming out of Omega's mouth seemed to be overwhelming Vinyl, not to mention he had not stopped shaking her hoof. Alpha stepped in and pushed her brother aside.   "You're making an idiot of yourself Omega, get a hold of yourself. I'm sorry about him miss Scratch, he can be a bit of a...fan boy, anyways, I'm Alpha and I'm glad to meet such an accomplished musician and friend of Virtuoso's."   "Don't sweat it Alpha, I can't help but drop the beats that drive my fans crazy so i'm used to this, and I'm always pretty stoked to meet some new ponies. Anyways, you still haven't answered me Virtuoso, where have you been?"   "It's...kind of complicated Vinyl...I'll explain later if we have time, but I can't stay for too long so I need to make this visit as brief as possible...where's Octavia?"   "She's been in Canterlot for the past two days, something about a-"   "Shes in Canterlot!? Vinyl, I don't know if you've heard, but Canterlot was attacked by two chimeras yesterday!"   "What! no-no-no-no, do you think shes okay?" Concern appeared in the DJ's face as she spoke, "She was staying in those fancy hotels or whatever, where all the snooty musicians stay."   "If that's the case then she should be fine, princess Celestia and Luna took care of the chimeras before they went deep into the city." Vinyls worried expression relaxed a little. "It's been great seeing you again and I promise to visit again before leaving Ponyville but I have to get going."   "Wait! Before you leave...do you know whats happening? I mean, all these monsters and stuff suddenly coming out of nowhere, and whats this I hear about an evil alicorn?"   "Vinyl, I really wish I could explain but...Its not really the best time, I have to get going."   "Alright...I, I think I understand. I'll hold you to your promise though!" Vinyl forced a grin but Virtuoso could clearly see the confusion and worry in her face.   "I'm sorry about all this Vinyl..." Virtuoso hugged her again and started walking away.   "I'll catch you all later then, its been a pleasure meeting you all," The DJ waved at all of them as they walked away and they waved back, a while passed and she went back inside the house.   "Guys, I just became friends with Vinyl Scratch!" exclaimed Omega excitedly as they walked.   Alpha shook her head and decided to ignore her brother. "Where do we go now? Your house Virtuoso, or should we go see Princess Twilight?"   "I think we should go see Princess Twilight, I would like to leave Ponyville with a lead by tomorrow if possible."   "You four, stop!" called out a deep voice that resonated with power, the four ponies looked at the direction where the voice had come from and saw a royal guard hurrying to them.   "What now?" asked Omega, slightly annoyed.   "I have been instructed by Princess Celestia herself to take you to Princess Twilight, so you may discuss the matters at hoof."   "Well that certainly saves us time," said Alpha, happy Celestia had already arranged everything, "can you take us to her right now?"   "Certainly," answered the guard. "This way."   Omega and Alpha had never been to Ponyville before, and they finally began to notice how beautiful the village was. Most of the buildings were at least two floors, but unlike the buildings in Phillydelphia, they perfectly blended with the surrounding nature. It created a strange harmony between civilization and nature that they had previously only seen in Cloudsdale. After walking for about ten minutes, a big tree stood before them. The tree was nothing new to VIrtuoso, it served as the Ponyville library and as the home of Princess Twilight. To his friends however, the tree was a new sight, they found it extremely beautiful and well designed. The guard reached for the door when it suddenly swung open, almost hitting his face. A small purple dragon walked out and payed no mind to the five sets of eyes staring at him. With a frown, he mumbled something to himself and disappeared behind some houses. The guard walked inside the house, seemingly not bothered by what had just happened and waited for the four ponies to walk in as well before closing the door.   Princess Twilight was writing something at her desk but stopped when she noticed her new visitors. "Oh! Hello there everypony, I'm glad you all got here as quickly as possible, there is much we need to discuss." Twilight noticed Alpha was about to bow, "No no! None of that, please...I um...I'm not one for that kind of stuff."   "Oh, I'm...sorry Princess. Anyways, I am Alpha, this is my brother-"   "Omega, I know. Sorry if that seemed a bit rude but I've already been informed of all your names and everything that has happened since Destiny attacked Phillydelphia, I'm also aware you are looking for four ponies and I think I have a lead." Twilight didn't say this as if it was a good thing, she looked worried and her expression grew solemn, "my friend Apple Jack, she has been acting strange lately, its obvious something is wrong, but she always avoids me or changes the topic when I try to confront her about it. It's not like her."   If Alpha wasn't mistaken, Apple Jack was supposed to be the element of honesty, Princess Twilight didn't say Apple Jack was lying to her but something must obviously be wrong if she was hiding something from one of her closest friends. "What would you like us to do princess?" asked Alpha, determined to get to the bottom of this.   "I think it would be a good start if you went to Sweet Apple Acres and tried to talk to her. I doubt you'll get anything out of her but it’s the best we can do right now.” The princesses expression changed when she had finished speaking. Maybe a ray of hope filled the princess but no one was too sure.  Virtuoso looked at the floor "Princess, what if I told you that I can't go with my friends?" "What do you mean?" Before he could answer, Omega said, "Wow, hold on, Princess," he gestured at Alpha and Lightning, "This is our first time being here, If Virtuoso can't go for whatever reason how will we know where Sweet Apple Acres is?" "I'll take care of that for you." The princess responded and waved her hoof to catch the attention of the guard who was distracted by the books on the shelves. "Ma'am?" The guard rushed to her and bowed, obviously showng his dedication to the Royal Guard. "Don't-" She sighed.  "Never mind, anyways, I need you to take these three ponies to Sweet Apple Acres, and it's very important they make it there quickly, so if possible, don't stop for anything." The guard nodded and walked to the door. He opened the door and waited for his companions to join him. Before the group could reach the door they were stopped by the princess herself, "Wait, Princess Celestia also informed me that Destiny might send monsters to hunt you down, and that they somehow always know where you are. I must take care of that before you leave." The princess took a few hoof steps back and her horn began to glow, a magical veil soon surrounded the four friends. The ponies couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement because not only was this magic they had never seen, but it was Princess Twilight herself who was performing the spell. The purple veil individually surrounded the ponies slowly closed in on their bodies until it was skin tight. Lightning began to feel numb and tried to squirm uncomfortably but Alpha stopped him. The force loosened up on the ponies and seemed to turn rock solid. It gave a faint white glow before disappearing, leaving the ponies to feel normal once again.  "Did whatever you do work Princess?" Asked Omega, feeling his body for any slight changes. "Do you know who you're talking to?" Asked the princess playfully, "of course it worked, this should keep you safe from any monsters that might be looking for you. Even though this spell is learned by a unicorn of pretty much the lowest level, it comes in handy. Some of the mining unicorns use this to-" "To cloak themselves and their findings so they're not detected by a dragon or some other creature who happens to be in the same area." Virtuoso said with a grin. "That's correct!" The princess said as she smiled and clapped her hooves. "I see someone has done their homework. Now, why is it that you can't go with your friends to Sweet Apple Acres?" "I know this probably isn't the time, but, can I stay with you for a while? I want to learn more, not so much new spells, but about magic itself." The princess pondered for a moment and came to her conclusion, "You may, it'd be my pleasure to teach you the most important subjects about magic and I'm sure it will help you on your journey."  Virtuoso turned to his friends, "I'm sorry about this guys, but I just can't pass this chance up. Besides, we'll be fine so long as this spell works like it's supposed to. Good luck everypony, I promise to catch up as soon as possible." Lightning shook a hoof at the unicorn, "Don't worry, we understand, good luck to you too." With that, the ponies departed to their destination. As they walked down the roads of Ponyville Lightning grew increasingly hungry until he could bear it no longer. "Excuse me, sir?" Lightning asked the guard nervously.  The guard turned to him with a smile, obviously trying to hide the long day he must be having, "Yes? What can I do for you?"  "I know this probably isn't the time but, I'm actually very hungry and i'm not familiar with this place at all. Do you know where I can grab a bite?" Alpha and Omega looked at one another. This is only about the second time Lightning had shown his nervousness when talking to ponies. They were sure if Lightning had to keep talking to the guard by himself, not only his face would turn red but possibly his entire coat. "You and me the same" said the guard, "I was only given details on where Princess Twilight's closest friends were located. Luckily, one by the name of Pinkie Pie works in a bakery we passed not too long ago, will that work?" The guard asked. I know Princess Twilight said to not stop for anything, but I haven't even had breakfast yet, besides, I can just tell the other two where to go. The nervousness on Lightnings face began to disappear as his mind began to wander, thinking about all the treats only found in Ponyville. Before he knew it, his mouth was wide open and watering from the thoughts of all those delicious desserts.  Alpha walked over to close his mouth and he caught himself, "Will you both be ok without me?" Lightning asked. "Yeah, I'm sure we will, there's hopefully a sign up ahead that points to Sweet Apple Acres." Alpha said and turned toward the guard, "We just follow this road all the way to our destination right?" The guard nodded, "Yes ma'am, and just like you said, there should be a sign. If we can, we will catch up as soon as possible." The guard and Lightning began to walk back while the siblings continued to make their way to Sweet Apple Acres. Suddenly, Omega stopped and turned around, they were still within shouting distance so he bellowed, "BRING ME BACK SOMETHING LIGHTNING!" Lightning and the guard had only been walking for about a minute when he heard Omega's request. Turning around to nod he is greeted with the stares of many of the Ponyville residents, blushing, he quickly nodded at Omega and quickened his pace to the bakery. Omega turned to his sister and in a sarcastic uptight voice said, "Shall we continue?" She hit him on the head and laughed, "Idiot." The siblings continued walking down the road until, sure enough, there was a sign that read 'Sweet Apple Acres ahead'. "I suppose we're not too far from it now." They started walking again and noticed a change of scenery. Apple trees were everywhere! They observed every bit of their surroundings, viewing every tree, checking which apples were ready to be picked, which were not and which ones were rotten. The pair was so observatory that they eventually deviated down a wrong road and ended up at a tree house instead of a farm. "Hey sis?" Omega said, eyes on the tree house. "Yeah?" Alpha responded. "You think we took a wrong turn?" "Is this a farm?" She turned to look at him with a dull expression. "I don't think so," he flew up to pick a ripe apple and flew back down to his sister. "Why?" She slapped the apple from his hoof, "Then we took a wrong turn!" She hissed. When she turned to look back at the tree house she noticed three pairs of eyes staring her down from the window. Faint whispers could be heard from the tree house. "We could ask her." "She seems kinda mean dontcha think?" said another one with a southern accent. "We don't even know her, I really like her mane though." said the last one with an adorable squeaky voice. Alpha wondered what they were talking about so she flew to the door of the tree house and knocked. Omega stood where he was and watched. "Uh...no ones home, leave a message." The first pony responded. A second pony whispered, "You expect her ta believe that, Scootaloo?" "Well Apple Bloom, I don't wanna ask her, how about you Sweetie Belle?" "Fine, I guess, since Apple Bloom's being a big Scootaloo, you chicken." She teased. "Hey!" The other two ponies said as Sweetie Belle opened the door. "My friends wanted to ask where you got your bow." "My bow?" Alpha touched the bow and a warm smile appeared on her face when she remembered how she obtained it. "My mother gave me this bow when i was around your age. She gave it to me as a present when i got my cutie mark." Alpha continued to smile until she noticed none of the three filly's had their cutie marks. "I'm sorry girls…I'm sure its not long before you get your cutie marks." "I'm starting ta doubt that..." said Apple Bloom as she lowered her head, "we've been tryin' ta get our Cutie Marks for ages!" The sadness in all of their eyes was too much for any pony to bear. "Tell you what," Alpha said as she raised Apple Bloom's head, "how about today, I help you three get your Cutie Marks?" She looked at all three filly's with a warm, reassuring smile. Their eyes widened and huge smiles spread across their faces. "Even if you don't get them today, I can at least give you ideas on what might get you your Cutie Marks." One of the filly's, a orange pegasi whom Alpha thought had the cutest little wings began jumping excitedly, "It's worth a shot, Rainbow Dash's methods didn't seem to work, maybe hers will." The girls filled the clubhouse with screams of joy as they jumped around the pink mare. Alpha couldn't help but laugh and felt happy she had chosen to help the girls. It was a welcome break from fighting monsters and running for her life. She walked over to a nearby window and peered outside to see if Omega was still there, to her surprise, he wasn't. She felt relieved, Omega must have realized that Alpha had just gotten herself into a compromise and decided to carry on alone. Her brother was usually a bit of a clown, but Alpha wasn't worried because she knew that he was reliable in the end. _________________________________________________________________________________________ "Is that all you say?" Asked Omega, "can't I talk to someone else who actually prefers to speak in complete sentences?" The red stallion he was speaking to pointed a hoof at a more elderly looking pony tending to some carrots. "Thank you." "Eeyup." The stallion responded. Omega walked away and shook his head. All the buildings in the farm appeared small in comparison to the vast fields full of apple trees and other crops. There were too many trees to count and there were animals scattered around going about their day. Everything seemed to be in order, except, where was Applejack? "Ma'am?" Omega stood beside the old mare. "Yes, sonny?" She turned to look at him, "Oh you're new around here arentcha?"  "Yes, ma'am, I am," He nodded. "but I need to talk to Applejack." "Oh, go right on ahead, I haven't been able to talk to her recently, she seems about as down as worm in this here soil." She stuck her hoof into the ground and pulled out a worm to show Omega. "Uh…huh, is she inside?" Omega would've loved to make more small talk and take more time to get to know these ponies but the clock was ticking. "Yep!" With that, the old mare went back to tackling the carrots, literally. Omega walked slowly toward the house pondering in his mind how to tackle the situation, never being able to talk to mares as a young colt was a major downfall for him, something he'd never be able to get a Cutie Mark for. He reached the entrance of the house and slowly opened the door. The creaking from it filled the entire home. Closing the door behind him he explored the first floor, no one was downstairs so he climbed the ladder to try his luck upstairs. "Wow," he said when he noticed how many doors the second floor had. Idiot, I should have asked where her room was. He went room to room, slowly opening each door, "Applejack?" he asked as he entered each room. When he opened the second to last door down the hall he saw a orange mare sleeping. Her head lay on a cloth woven pillow with her hair a mess and her hat beside her. Omega peered in through the doorway and examined the room intently, looking for anything that might have sent her into this state. He decided to quietly walk into the room and have a look around. He flapped his wings ever so slightly, just enough so he'd quietly glide along the floor to a dresser where he found several pictures of the strong mare and her family. She looked so lively, full of energy, full of life and happiness. What happened to her? What brought her down like this? "You could've knocked ya know." Omega turned to see the mare wide awake and staring at him with her green eyes. She must have faked being sleep to see what he would do, or maybe so she wouldn't have to talk to anyone. The stallion caught himself, "O-oh um… hey Applejack, s-sorry for barging in." He couldn't look her in the eyes, he started turning red and tried to think of an excuse as to why he had just walked into her room and was now looking through her stuff. "Don'tchu worry yer head there fella, ah don't bite." Applejack said as she sat on the edge of her bed fixing her mane. Omega took a deep breath and gathered his composure, "A-Applejack, I...I was sent here by Princess Twilight to see if I can see what's kept you down in the dumps." he said and flashed her a forced smile. It took a while for Applejack to react, but when she finally said something, she sounded angry, "Now I told y'all there's nothin wrong with me, I feel fine." She got up and seemed to forget about her mane, which was still messy, and opened the bedroom door. "Now if ya don't mind, i'd like you ta leave!" "AppleJack, your friends are worried about you and I'm sure they've done everything in their power to try and help you." Omega reasoned to the best of his ability. "You've given them no choice but to look for outside help, and right now that outside help is me." Her voice sounded tight and she was holding back tears, "Ya know, ah wanna know what's wrong with me too. Ah don't know what's goin' on, all these monsters an things I've been hearin' about, what's happenin' to Equestria? I'm not even myself anymore." Crying now the mare attempted to wipe her tears, "Ah use ta be so happy, but with all this stuff happenin' now…Ah cain't even tell mah friends what's happening with me, ah have ta LIE ta the people that matter ta me…and here ah am openin' up to a complete stranger..."  Omega felt like the right thing to do was comfort the mare, he walked to her but she brushed passed him and went to sit on the bed once more. "Applejack, listen, I haven't been myself either, something's been missing in my life and I'm trying to get it back, think of all the things you have in your life, great friends, a wonderful family! There should be no reason for you to be this way." "Fella…" AppleJack said as she sniffled a bit, wiping away the rest of her tears, "Ah ain't sad because ah ain't got enough," She slowly walked toward Omega now. "Ah don't give two apple about what yer missin', this is about me here, about what i'm missin'."  Omega could see this wasn't the Applejack every pony was talking about, and he was gonna get down to the bottom of this and make things right. "Then tell me! What is wrong? Show m-" Before he could finish his sentence Applejack grabbed his hoof and placed it on her chest. Surprised, he didn't know what to do, he felt blood rushing to his face...but then, he realized what she was trying to tell him and he noticed something was missing. No heartbeat. So many thoughts rushed through Omega's mind at once but one seemed more important than the rest. "I found one..."