//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Secrets of the Forest // by Cloud Thunderhoof //------------------------------// The train pulled into the Ponyvill station, the ride had been much different than Snow expected.Twilight turned out to be an extremely interesting pony, what began as selling a ruse turned into genuine interest. Of course he had not given her any real information about his past; it had all been altered to fit his cover as a historian. It turned out that a project of hers would prove very useful to his plans. The mare, Twilight, he had to get used to calling her Twilight. Twilight had mentioned she was working on decrypting some text she had found on some artifacts she found in the forest. He stepped off of the train and into the sunlight outside. Once his eyes adjusted to the light out of the train he noticed it was very different than the crystal empire station. The Ponyvill station was much smaller; there was a ticket office and a platform but not much else. Mountain Snow and Twilight disembarked and walked to the center of town together. Neither of them spoke but for different reasons. Snow was taking in the scenery and accessing different escape routes and hiding spots. Twilight on the other hand was just happy to be home. They walked in silence for a few minutes before coming to their destination. Twilight had offered to give Snow some things he needed once they got into town. It was around five in the afternoon on a Sunday so naturally the townsponies were out enjoying themselves. There were ponies everywhere; mares and stallions went about their business, some ponies chatted idly, some were preforming various hobbies, some foals played a ball game in the park, all in all it was oddly peaceful. Their destination turned out to be a tree, but there had obviously been a house carved out of it. The entire town had a down to nature feel to it. Snow was used to bustling cities full of big buildings and many more ponies, this country atmosphere was chillingly calm. Twilight opened the door to the tree and they both walked in. The first thing that struck snow was how clean and organized it all was. When she had told him she lived in a library he had pictured a much more disorganized and dysfunctional place. Neat rows of books lined the walls and a table with a horse head statue lay in the center with book stands on it. After the door shut Snow heard a crashing noise coming from above him and twilight rushed up to investigate. The blue stallion peered up the stairs, it was her living quarters but seemed more chaotic than the main space of the library. There were two distinct voices coming from upstairs, Twilight’s and a male one. The mare had not mentioned she live with anyone else so Snow pondered it for a moment. The second voice was youthful and sounded like a colt around 10 or so, but it didn’t sound nasal like most colts of that age. The blue stallion kept himself occupied with his thoughts until he heard something behind him. He could hear heavy hoof steps from behind the door. The door creaked open and every muscle in his body tensed up ready to fight. He spun around and assumed a defensive stance. An orange mare with a blonde mane and cowboy hat stood in the doorway. “Didn’t mean ta’ scare ya’”, she spoke with a very distinctive accent. Snow mentally slapped himself for being so uptight; he was attempting to blend in with the other ponies, not act like a paranoid freak. She gave him a strange look but seemed to shrug it off after a few awkward moments. “Don’t reckon I’ve seen you 'round these parts before sugar cube, ma’ names Apple Jack by the way”, the orange mare said as she extended one of her hooves towards the now uncomfortable blue stallion. He stared at it and then into her eyes before realizing she wanted a hoofshake. He touched her hoof with one of his and they shook. The mare was surprisingly strong seeing as she did not have any obvious muscle bulges. Her hat was worn and had obviously seen years’ worth of heat and sunlight. Her cutie mark, three apples hinted at some sort of farmer or farm laborer. She probably worked at one of the farms he had seen on the way into town. The awkward air between the ponies grew, neither one spoke but they exchanged uncomfortable looks. I’d take being pursued by elite guards over this social interaction stuff any day, if this is what being subtle entails then I want to be found, the blue pony thought to himself. Then there was a crash from upstairs and a then thunking coming from the stairs. Both ponies turned their heads to look for the source of the noise. The same young voice from before came from the stairs, correction, it came from a small figure falling down the stairs. There was a small bipedal figure tumbling head over heels trying to hold down what looked like an owl. Snow nearly fell over in shock, “No way, I…I…” he stammered out loud, which garnered a strange look from Apple Jack. His heart was racing up until the moment he saw what it really was. A short green and purple dragon got up and dusted himself off before shaking a fist at the bird, who flew out of his reach. He looked up and greeted the two ponies in front of him. “Hi Apple Jack, and your name’s Snow right?”, the plump lizard said, addressing the stallion directly. “He aint much for talking”, Apple Jack replied. Twilight came down the stairs shortly after the small dragon. “I’m so sorry about that, Spike and Owlicious don’t always get along”, she said in an apologetic tone as the bird perched on her back and she shot the dragon a disapproving look. “Apple Jack, this is Mountain Snow. I met him on the train and he’s going to be staying in Ponyvill for a few weeks. Snow, this is my friend Apple Jack, she’s a farmer”, Twilight continued in an attempt to formally introduce them. Twilight produced a small scrap of parchment and gave it to Snow, he picked it up in his mouth and read the top lines: 459 Clover lane: ask if they have a room you can rent out. There were more lines after that but he couldn’t read them on account of them being inside his mouth at the moment. “Those are just some places you should stop by while you’re in town. The first one is for Lyra and BonBon, they have a spare room they rent out to travelers and ponies who are just getting started”, twilight told him as he attempted not to ruin the parchment with his saliva. The blue stallion nodded and began to trot out of the door but Apple Jack stopped him. “I know we may have gotten off on the wrong hoof, but any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine. By the way, don’t be afraid to stop by some time if ya’ get hungry, we got the finest apples in all of Equestria”, Apple Jack said before letting him pass. When Snow left the house the sun was low in the sky and most of the ponies had gone inside. It was too quiet for his taste and he found himself listening for any signs of a pursuer or somepony waiting to ambush him. He knew that it was safe but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. The house mentioned on the slip ended up being a medium sized two story building with a porch and small lawn. The lights inside were on and he could her voices inside. He walked up to the door and knocked on it. He could hear yelling coming from inside and thought it might be best to come again later. Just as he had turned around and was leaving he heard the door open and a female voice ask “Can I help you?”. Snow turned around and said, “Yeah, I, um… Twilight told me you might have a room I could rent for a few weeks, my name is Mountain Snow by the way”. It took the mare a moment to process the words coming out of his mouth but she eventually got it. “Oh… That, yeah, come in and we’ll talk about it. My name is BonBon by the way, my roommate and I live here”, she said then turned around and led him to a kitchen table. Snow finally got a good look at the mare, she had a pistachio colored coat, her tail and mane were pink and purple, and she had grey/blue eyes. Her cutiemark, three candies, indicated some sort of confectioner or baker. She led him to a table in what looked to be the dining room and told him to sit down. “Do you have any identification so I know you are who you say you are?”. Shit, Snow thought as he pulled a forged passport out of his saddle bags. It was under one of his old aliases, not his current one and she would probably notice. His “on the run” mentality kicked in and he started to analyze the room for possible escape as he gave the mare the small booklet. Just before she took it they heard a crashing noise coming from the hallway. The mare got up and yelled “Lyra I told you to keep it down in there!”. Then she turned to Snow and said “follow me, is show you your room. It’s getting late and we can go over the details in the morning”. The two ponies got up and walked through the hallway to a staircase. As they walked a mint green unicorn mare poked her head around a door but BonBon shot her an accusing look. The room Snow was lead to was basic but clean and inviting. There was a bed in the corner, a sofa with a table in the center, some bookshelves, and a desk. The blue stallion thanked her and walked in, “If you need anything don’t be afraid to ask, I have to go to work in the morning but Lyra should be home all day tomorrow”, was the last thing the mare said before closing the door and walking off. Immediately Snow closed the curtains on the windows and laid some maps out on the table in the center of the room. He picked up his journal and a pencil from his saddlebags and began writing. It took him the better part of an hour but he copied the maps he had stolen into his journal. The sounds of fighting from downstairs subsided and Snow finally got some quiet time . It felt like days ago he had been in the crystal empire, evading guards and stealing precious artifacts. However the entire escape had happened this morning. He sat back on the couch in an upright position with his legs dangling down. He had always found that position more comfortable than the normal prone position of a sitting pony. The door swung open and a mint green unicorn mare stepped in. “Damn kid have you ever heard of knocking!?”, Snow exclaimed almost jumping out of his skin in surprise. She stepped back and mumbled in an apologetic tone, “Sorry, it’s just that BonBon told me to come up and apologize for the noise before”. She looked up and said, “I’m Lyra by the way”. The two ponies’ eyes met and their blood ran cold. As if on cue they both said in hushed voices “Oh my gosh”. Both Lyra and Snow were petrified with shock, and confusion was written across their faces. Lyra dashed out of the room and returned seconds later with a quill and parchment. She hastily scribbled something on it and levitated it on to the table in front of the blue stallion. He looked down at the paper, there were a series of numbers and letters written on it: E-204-1. Snow hastily scribbled down a reply on a page he tore out of his journal: N-32-3. He passed the slip to her and she stared at it. Snow gulped and realized the situation had become much more complicated than he originally expected.