//------------------------------//
// 5. Elemental Stones Part 2; Honesty 
// Story: Equestria's Dreamscape 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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	"Care to explain to me why ah'm here sugarcube?"

That was the question Applejack had asked the moment she had awoken in the Dreamscape laboratory that Twilight had spent the first night constructing. The same laboratory she had built on the edge of what appeared to be a barrier with a forest filled with thorns on the other side. The exact same laboratory that Twilight was running around, rearranging items on the various shelves and double checking her results on some of her other tests.

Applejack was more than willing to wait, she had all night to help Twilight with...whatever project the Princesses had asked her to assist them with. According to her friend Twilight was supposed to be searching for the source of something that was, as she put it, corrupting the dream area they were stationed next to. She was told that the corruption was making the dream area darker and more evil then it should have been, hence the thorns that were still at the moment.

The other weird thing was that Fluttershy was back in the dream area, seeming to stare at the thorn trees as if she was searching for something or somepony.

"Fluttershy reported that there's a castle area in this dream area," Twilight explained, dropping a drip of liquid on her thorn sample, "so I asked her if she would venture back into the castle and find the strange stallion she met last time she was there. Your here to help her in case she gets in trouble and maybe get the name of the pony we're dealing with."

"Why do we want this stallion's name so badly?" Applejack asked, not really seeing the logic in finding out the pony's name.

"Because Luna can search for him next time she's in the Dreamscape," Twilight explained, a smile appearing on her face as she turned to her friends, "We get his description and she searches for him. We find out why all this is happening in one night and fix up the zone before anything else happens."

"To be honest ah'm not sure if we'll see that stallion again," Applejack said, turning her head to the forest again, "but ah am more than willing to see what type of trees our 'friend' has dreamed up for us."

That was the other part of her mission, her own objective that was different than Fluttershy's objective of finding the stallion again. Twilight's reasoning behind finding out what trees there were was so she could form an opinion as to where the stallion actually lived. Plus Applejack knew a thing or two about trees, so she and Fluttershy could easily figure out where the tree might be located. She just hoped that they would find something useful while they visited the castle.

"Don't worry too much Applejack," Twilight assured her friend, "If anything bad happens and you girls need help I will come flying as fast as I can. I will not leave my friends hanging in their time of need."

And so Applejack and Fluttershy walked through the Forest of Thorns, the vile forest that Princess Luna had nicknamed due to the thorny trees. Their eyes were peeled for anything dangerous, anything at all, that could deter their progress or threaten them all together. That was including looking for any signs of the stallion or the castle Fluttershy had seen the last time she had been in this area.

After barely half an hour of walking they found the location they were searching for, the towering gateway entrance of the castle Fluttershy had seen. What Applejack had been expecting to find was a castle in such a pristine condition that the walls gleamed with the light of the sun and the very air was filled with beauty. What she found was a rundown castle, the walls were falling apart in places and there was even an entire tower in complete ruin. Even the courtyard, an area with a couple of trees and a ruined walkway, was in terrible condition. It was even worse than her barn at times.

"Are you sure this is where that stallion of yours is supposed to be?" Applejack asked, wondering if there could have been a second castle they weren't aware of, "It doesn't look like anypony has been here for a couple of years."

"I saw the stallion just yesterday," Fluttershy replied, not believing what her eyes were showing her, "and his snow leopard was sitting right over there."

The ground shook for a minute, but Applejack watched and suddenly found that there was an elderly stallion standing in front of them. She didn't know how the stallion had managed to do so with the low level of magic an elderly unicorn was supposed to have, but she knew something was up.

"Oh, young Fluttershy," the stallion welcomed her calmly, "I see you brought a friend to visit us. Mistwing loved to have visitors come to our house and would often chat up a storm with them. And you are my dear?"

"Applejack mah name," she replied, curious as to what the stallion was talking about, "Whose this Mistwing your talking about?"

"My wife of course," the stallion answered, shaking his head before moving down a ruined path, "Forgive me, I forget that neither of you have had the pleasure of meeting my wife and I should not have burst out the words. Come and I will introduce you to my wife."

Both ponies were expecting the stallion to lead them into the castle itself, but instead they were lead to the very back area of the castle. It was an area that had an iron gate and a dozen, if not more, tombstones scattered about all over the place. The stallion had lead them to a cemetery, but the thing was that neither of them could see anypony else walking around the place.

"Why are we here sugarcube?" Applejack asked, eying one of the tombstones as the three passed it by.

"Mistwing's around here somewhere," the old stallion said, clearly lost as if he had forgotten where the stone was, "She said she would be here as soon as our guests arrived. I guess by those words she meant you two...ah, here she is."

Fluttershy was expecting to actually meet the mare that she had been told she resembles, but when they arrived at where the stallion said Mistwing was supposed to be she quickly learned the truth. The mare that the stallion was remembering was dead, buried in the ground of a forgotten castle somewhere in Equestria.

"I hate to tell you sugarcube," Applejack said, getting closer to the elderly stallion as she spoke, "but the mare your waiting for is...dead."

"No...no...she isn't dead." the stallion cracked up, tears rolling down his muzzle as he laid on the ground in front of the tombstone, "I've known her for so many years, there's no way she could be dead."

Fluttershy sighed and sat down next to the stallion, trying to calm the stallion down as the truth of the situation came to his memory. While she did that Applejack wondered how the stallion could have thought that his wife was still alive when she was clearly dead. There was always something weird in the minds of the elderly.

"I'm sorry sugarcube," Applejack said, sitting on the other side of the stallion, "I'm sure that Mistwing was a great mare while she was alive, but your going to have to quit dwelling on the past at some point."

"I know," the stallion replied, "I guess that I shouldn't remain buried in the past anymore. I should let my memories go and let her move on at last."

Before either mare realized what was up they suddenly woke up, surprised by what had happened. Twilight would be happy to learn something about the stallion they were trying to figure out, but would be disappointed to learn they hadn't discovered his name. There were more opportunities to discover the stallion's hidden name in the future, they just had to be patient is all.

Back in the dream world the stallion smiled to himself as an orange apple floated next to him. Things were going exactly as he had planned, but with only two keys he had some more planning to do before everything was done. The next visitor would prove to be interesting when she arrived.