//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: Emergence 
// Story: What Separates 
// by Zurock 
//------------------------------//

	Rainbow Dash decided to stick around at the cottage.  She had no idea where in the forest Applejack was anymore and it would take a mountain of effort to search for her.  Besides, that farm pony knows how to take care of herself so she would probably be fine.  Probably.  By sticking around Rainbow Dash could at least continue to monitor James until she got a chance to question Twilight directly.  She didn't want to discuss any more details with him until she got that opportunity.  Spike was a little surprised to see her back without her assigned partner but the blue pegasus swiftly claimed that she had come back to help out around the cottage.  It was a white lie which backfired as far as keeping completely out of work was concerned; Spike was quick to recruit her assistance in watching over the animals.  While she did help out, she was unsurprisingly hard to keep a tab on and the other two often didn't know where she was or what she was doing.
What remained of the afternoon passed by without incident.  Fluttershy's pets were still content to wait for her return.  They didn't again give any more deliberate trouble for the caretakers left in charge.  Inside the cottage, Rocky the squirrel managed to fall asleep several minutes after being fed, freeing James up to return to regular duties.
Just as afternoon was closing and the trio was getting hungry enough to consider dinner, two of the venturing ponies returned.  Rarity tiredly trod back towards the cottage, weary hoof by weary hoof, with her head hung low in fatigue.  Even though she was physically drained, it appeared she had managed to keep the perfect curls of her mane and tail.  Pinkie Pie followed close behind her, shining and chipper, untouched by the exhaustion that filled her partner.  Although a crowd of critters had gone with the group when they left, the two ponies brought back with them only four animals: two raccoons, a chipmunk, and a porcupine.  Their approach was well announced since every step of the way back was filled with words by Pinkie Pie.
"At first I thought I wasn't sure it made any sense but then when I thought about it suddenly I started thinking that that I thought it made a lot of sense!" the exuberant pony jabbered while bouncing along.  "I mean, a tree hollow?  That seems like a place to hide away, not a place to live!  But then look at them!"  She lowered her face down uncomfortably close to one of the raccoons walking alongside her.  "They're like little bandits!  It's the perfect place for them!  Don't you think?"
Rarity just kept silently plodding along, summoning every last ounce of willpower necessary to keep the babbling from taking her sanity.
Spike dropped what he was doing without hesitation the instant he realized Rarity was coming back.  James followed as he noticed the dragon running off to the meet the returners.  Neither of them was sure exactly where Rainbow Dash was at the moment as she had been rapidly making rounds and again they had lost track of her.
Finally seeing salvation from being the ear for Pinkie Pie's rambling, Rarity ran to greet Spike and James.  Not that it stopped Pinkie Pie from matching her speed without breaking vocal stride, right up until the very last second possible when Rarity began addressing Spike.
"Oh, Spike, thank goodness!" she exclaimed with relief.
The happy dragon swung his arms around her neck and embraced her, joyful not only to see her unharmed but also enthused by her greeting.  Her face flushed with slight embarrassment at the sudden hug, but she accepted it regardless.
"Well, it's good to see you're both back in one piece," James said.  Although he was glad they hadn't come back hurt, he was a little bothered that they seemed to have no serious trouble.  For all the warnings Twilight had made of the risk of the Everfree Forest, here was a dressmaker and a... whatever it is that the bubble-headed Pinkie Pie does... who apparently had no trouble whatsoever in dealing with the dangers of the forest.  Second thoughts about not having struck out on his own came to him, wondering if he would come to regret his decision.
Releasing his scaly arms from Rarity, Spike proclaimed, "And it looks like you girls did really well!"
"Yes.  It took some work to get going, I admit, but once we got in far enough we found plenty of space for the animals to make their nests, and dens, and warrens..." Rarity verified.  "I think everything went rather well.  They all seemed sure they would have everything they needed there."
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie shouted giddily.  "There was a pond and some berry bushes and places to dig holes and trees and everything!  We even found some nice, friendly local animals who helped us out!"
Rarity began filling in the details, explaining, "There were some animals already living in an area we came across, but they weren't the usual disgusting monsters of the forest."  She scrunched her face thinking about the horrid things they could have bumped into while in there.  "They were just some other small critters making a living in the forest.  They were generous enough to make what room they could for the others animals, and they pointed us in the right direction to keep our search going afterwards."
Some of the excitement fell off Pinkie Pie's face as she added on, "We almost found enough room for everyone."  She gestured to the four animals they had brought back with them.  It was hard to tell that there was any amount of disappointment in them, though.  They seemed thrilled that all their other friends had found new homes, and they were more than willing to continue spending time with Fluttershy until they got their chance to be resettled.
"It was just getting too late to keep searching," Rarity said.  "I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to return before the sun would begin setting."  At this time it was low enough in the sky now that it certainly wouldn't be long before its encroachment on the horizon would change the heavens' color into a warm orange.
"I guess we can get them back into the pens Fluttershy had set up for them," Spike said regarding the returned animals.  "She'll know what to do with them."
"Speaking of Fluttershy, are she or any of the others back yet?" Rarity asked.
Spike began, "Well, mostly not."  He cranked his head around swiftly to look for any sign of Rainbow Dash, but there wasn't a trace to be found.
When Rarity raised a puzzled eyebrow at Spike's incomplete answer, James chipped in.  "Fluttershy stopped by for a short time earlier, around midday, to drop off an animal here before heading back into the forest to continue her search with Twilight.  She had said they were making a lot of progress with it, though."  His shoulders gently shrugged.  "Haven't seen her since," he finished.
"Ah.  Good to hear at least that they've been doing well," Rarity acknowledged, nodding her head.  "I suppose we'll just have to wait for the other four to return, then.  I can't imagine they'll stay out too much longer at this hour."  She started moving towards the cottage, tired and spent.  Just laying down and getting some rest inside would be the most relaxing thing in the world right now.  However, she only made a few steps before Spike interrupted.
"Actually," he said, "Rainbow Dash is already here.  She's around... uh... somewhere."  He scratched the back of his neck, unsure what more he could tell them.
Pinkie Pie swatted at her twitching tail to calm it before she looked upwards.  Pointing at the sky, she said to the others in a bouncy voice, "Oh, she's right up there."
They all turned their heads skywards to see the missing pegasus hovering in place way up over them.  Realizing that she had been spotted, Rainbow Dash dove down in a spiral.  Even if she was troubled that she had been discovered, she was unable to resist showing off just a little bit.  She hit the ground fast and steady before them, folding her wings behind her back after the landing.  Her smile worked to try and smooth over the fact that they had caught her attempt at clandestine surveillance.  "Pinkie Pie!  Rarity!  Welcome back!" she bellowed with forced enthusiasm.
"Rainbow Dash has been here for a few hours, helping us with the animals," Spike explained.
Rarity cocked her head, easily picking out that something with amiss with these circumstances.  Pinkie Pie, by contrast, was as energetic and upbeat as ever.  "Wow, Dashy!" she exclaimed, "You really are the fastest pony in Equestria if you and Applejack finished your search with so much time left to help out here!"
"Ha ha, yeah..." Rainbow Dash uncomfortably laughed.  "S-something like that."  She was caught between her natural desire to confidently accept the praise that was being levied at her and her knowledge that she hadn't quite earned it in the way Pinkie Pie was suggesting.
The speculative unicorn gave her nervous friend a hard stare and then glanced around the backyard of the cottage, searching the area for any indication of what the scene was missing.  Finding no answer with her eyes, she openly questioned Rainbow Dash with a long, drawn out, "Where's Applejack?"
Words came blowing out like a hurricane from Rainbow Dash's mouth.  "Oh she's fine I'm sure, hey did Spike say these animals should go back into their pens well why don't I take care of that Rarity, you just sit back and relax."  In a flash she whipped into motion, blasting around her surprised friends and grabbing the animals they had brought back with them.  Her rainbow trail shot off towards the fresh animal pens, the squealing of the stunned animals she carried fading as she went.
"Huh," Rarity muttered, finally breaking the silence that the rainbow blitz had brought about.  Hastily she checked her mane once to make sure every hair was still in place.  "That was very... abrupt.  So... where's Applejack?" she asked the others, growing a little bit more concerned.
"Rainbow Dash separated from Applejack to stay here," James said.
"Oh dear... does that mean Applejack's still out there, alone?" Rarity realized.
"Nah," Pinkie Pie lightly dismissed while shushing a few involuntary ticks and twitches in her body.  "She's right over there!"  Again the pink pony pointed, this time off towards the direction she herself had come from with Rarity only a few minutes ago.  As if on Pinkie Pie's cue, Applejack came into view, trudging along with all her aches and sores.  She was scuffed and dirty with several twigs and leaves caught in her hair, and her hat had fallen off center.  Perched on her back were the three remaining birds she hadn't found any nesting space for, clearly indicating her own success despite the handicap she had been saddled with.
The group went out to meet her halfway.  Pinkie Pie caught the lone pony's attention when she loudly called out Applejack's name in a sing-songy voice.  Seeing fresh and friendly faces picked up the tired girl's spirits and she stepped up her pace a notch.  Her fatigue wasn't going to keep her from greeting her friends properly with a smile.
"Howdy, everypony!" she greeted spiritedly.  She took a moment to correct the position of her hat, but she knew from the looks she was getting, particularly Rarity's, that she wasn't appearing at her best just now regardless.
"Woah.  Applejack," Spike said while taking a close look at her.  "Everything alright?  No offense, but you look like a mess."
"Mess is right," Rarity concurred, magically pulling out some twigs from the farm pony's hair.  Applejack winced as one of them caught on her locks and pulled out a strand.  She gave a strained stare to her friend; a stern request to "knock it off", spoken right through her eyes.  "Oh, sorry," Rarity hurriedly apologized, "but you look like Opalescence after she's gone chasing field mice.  Look at this dirt!  Ugh.  You weren't rolling around in the bushes, were you?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Applejack assured them.  "Just a li'l worse for the wear is all.  I," she stressed the self-reference, "found trees for most of our winged friends, excepting these three here.  I suppose they'll have to sit with Fluttershy a might longer, though they don't seem to mind."  Her three passengers all gave nods in agreement.  Like the animals Rarity and Pinkie Pie had brought back, they were more relieved to have seen their friends get reestablished and were comfortable with waiting a bit longer for themselves to personally be resettled.
Pinkie Pie reared up cheerfully, already having forgotten her previous interpretation of events derived from Rainbow Dash's actions.  "That's great, Applejack!"  Her hooves landed not with a heavy thump but a buoyant patting that matched her positive energy.  "I didn't know you were so good at finding nesting grounds, too!" she declared. 
Applejack's smile drooped slightly.  "Yeah, well, turns out I'm a fair bit better at bucking trees than I am at climbing them," she complained.  "It would've been handy to have the help of a certain winged pony with me to do some flying."
There was a marked tone in her voice that caught James off guard.  It was a barely detectable amount of... hostility, almost.  He wasn't sure what to make of it.  When he and Twilight had originally spoken to Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres there was no mistaking the genuine concern her voice carried, specifically when she had spoken directly to him.  She had been absolutely serious in her worries for the safety of the situation.  But there was no way any reasonable person would mistake it for anything close to contempt.  Now, her subdued anger at Rainbow Dash beat back against the fantasy worldview that had been forming in his mind.  It was days of seeing decadent castles, pretty colored ponies, a life-sized gingerbread house, tremendous concern for the welfare of deceptively emotional animals, and being told more than once that war isn't a reality here.  And yet here it was, in the middle of this perceived otherworldly happy paradise, that he saw a typically human reaction.  When her friend abandoned her to make the long haul alone, Applejack was angry in a very raw way.  She didn't show it much, but it was unmistakably there.
"Rainbow Dash went to settle in the animals that Rarity and Pinkie Pie brought back," James told the agitated pony.  He was mildly unsure how to really handle what he was seeing, but he thought it was at least fair if Rainbow Dash herself got the first chance to try and explain things to Applejack.  Besides that, he felt he owed the pegasus anyhow, seeing as he had already wound up thanking her sincerely twice now for the things she had done for him.  "The fresh cages for the birds are there too, so let's bring them over."
He started leading the way and all the others were quick to follow except Rarity, who didn't move.  "I think I'd rather head inside and rest my poor, overworked hooves," she said.  She picked up a hoof and looked it over carefully in disappointment, saying, "I'm going to need another hooficure because of this."
"Wait for me, Rarity!" Spike yelled as he broke from the group to follow her.  The two headed inside while the rest made their way to the cages to deliver the returned birds and confront Rainbow Dash.
When the freshly set up animal pens and bird cages came into view, Rainbow Dash was still there, her back to the incoming crowd.  Applejack immediately scowled and moved faster, getting ahead of the others while muttering to herself.  "Gonna give that lazy pony a piece of my mind..." she snorted under her breath.
James didn't bother to catch up or try and interfere.  In a way he was kind of curious to see how this would play out, still uncertain as to how these behaviors fit into the impression of their world that he had been getting.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Pinkie Pie also slowed down.  After coming to a stop, in fact, she simply took a seat on the ground.  Was she just going to observe too?  Or maybe she was predicting what was coming and knew better than to try and get in the way?  Whatever it was, she still wore a peppy smile on her face.  He stopped close to her and folded his arms across his chest, watching the clash between the two ponies unfold with morbid interest.
Applejack stomped right up behind Rainbow Dash, who was engrossed with removing the last of the porcupine quills she had pricked herself with when she rushed to snatch the animals earlier.  Finally plucking out the last one, she didn't notice the aggravated pony's approach.  The birds on Applejack's back, sensing the tension right through her and realizing what was coming, lifted off to flap back into the cages Fluttershy had prepared for them.  At last in position to strike, the orange pony hollered loudly, "Rainbow!"
The surprised pegasus flinched while she whirled about to face her aggressor.  In her shock she was unusually reserved and withdrawn, speaking nervously, "Oh!  Hey!  Applejack!  Eheh... good to see you..."  She avoided making eye contact.
"What in tarnation was the big idea, leaving me out there all by my lonesome self?" Applejack demanded to know, leaning in towards her friend with a furrowed brow.
Rainbow Dash stayed remote and evasive, giving Applejack a gentle tap on the shoulder.  "Hey.  Look at the birds you brought back," she said weakly.  "You sure did a great job out there.  Yeah."  Unsteady and ever so slightly shaking, she took a single step backwards.
Relentless, Applejack took two steps forwards and thrust her face right up to that of her friend's, hitting nose to nose.  "I said," she powerfully insisted, "what did you go running off for?"
Backing up again, Rainbow Dash gestured over her shoulder.  "I should go check on... you know, the thing.  That I need to check on," she said.  With one more last faint laugh and a trembling smile she quickly turned to take off.
"Oh no you don't!" Applejack shouted, snatching the fleeing pony's tail with her teeth.  Rainbow Dash's wings beat furiously to try and gain some distance.  Despite Applejack's sore joints and exhausted body, she still had more than enough strength and determination to overpower her opposition.  The retreating pony only succeeded in making marks in the dirt as she dragged her anchor barely a few inches along the ground.  Through clenched teeth, the heavy weight snarled, "You're gonna be staying right here and give me a straight answer!"
With Rainbow Dash being so flighty it seemed like James might have to step up to provide a clear explanation, but he wasn't sure he wanted to.  This display before him was still boggling him and it was so difficult to break away from just watching it.  To him it resembled a strange mix between a one-sided barroom standoff, two household pets having a spat, and two siblings quarreling.  What really made the experience surreal was that it was between two brightly colored horses with vibrant tattoos, one angrily imposing upon the other.  Presumably this was the kind of conflicting thing that only a man in a straitjacket usually sees.
Suddenly Rainbow Dash stopped resisting, obviously becoming fed up with her failure to escape.  With new and fresh determination she dropped back to the ground, growing stolidly defensive and serious in demeanor as she turned to face Applejack dead on.  There was only one way out of this now.  Seeing that she was ready to be direct, the farm pony let go of her rainbow striped tail and stared directly into the pegasus' eyes.  This ought to be good.
Looking right back at her orange friend with renewed conviction, Rainbow Dash told her strenuously, "Look, I had more important things to do, okay?"
"More important?!" Applejack yelled incredulously.  "You come all the way out here in the morning to help out Fluttershy but then all of a sudden you got 'more important' things to do?"  Again she leaned in, pressing against Rainbow Dash.
However, this time the pegasus was ready to push back.  Applejack's eyes flashed for a moment when she was pressed back a step, now leaning on the defensive.  Rainbow Dash shouted at her, "It's none of your business, Applejack!"
Once more their stances changed as Applejack pushed forward and returned fire.  "It's my business if it leaves me monkeying up and down trees all day!"
Pinkie Pie giggled.  James wasn't sure if she was seeing the colorful horse fight in the same way he was or if she had just pictured the idea of a monkey Applejack swinging between trees.  He was too caught up in the events to care until he noticed her suddenly get up and start to walk away.  She was shaking off a few errant twitches as she went.
The two arguing ponies continued to shout back and forth at each other in a stalemate.  Each time one spoke they would press forward into the other; an exchange of ground with every line they uttered.  Their specific words faded as James watched and mulled over what he was seeing.  In some ways it was like encounters he had seen before.  There would be some point at which the two combatants couldn't restrain themselves anymore and the fists would start flying.  But in other ways he was still caught on the surface absurdity of it.  Even more, there was lingering confusion about how this all played into the apparent magical land of ponies and princesses he had been experiencing.
He recalled Twilight's passionate and emotional responses to things they had talked about.  Whether it was the abhorrence at the ugliness of war or the resolve to tell him that he couldn't accompany her into danger, those deep emotive responses were present in these creatures.  It was those gooey, innate feelings that cause individuals to respond and react in ways that aren't always the best thought out.  The stirring inside that can subtly guide thoughts and actions, and sometimes even drive people to do things of many extremes: heroic, submissive, or terrifying.  It was the thing that made rules sometimes fail, when the rigid structures of words and law and situation stand too hard against the flow of the heart and soul.  Everything was telling him that if what he was seeing was true, then this world, as he thought of it, should be impossible.  Nobody with deep feelings can universally think before they act.
But maybe Twilight had a deceptive amount of wisdom.  What can be really known about someplace so new and different?  Or maybe he was wrong to assume he knew as much about his home as he thought did?  Must passion lead to pain?  Wiser people have written better words and spoken better things than he ever did, and he was still relatively young and inexperienced compared to those that have seen many more decades pass by.  This was all a strange dance of mind and consciousness.  Being thrown into a world and situation where he felt like he knew nothing and now, after time and progress spent towards gaining an understanding, he had just fallen back in a hole of ignorance all over again.
"Girls!"  The loud cry pierced all thought and action.  Everybody's attention was immediately drawn to Twilight, who positioned herself between the two arguing ponies.  "What's going on?  What are you fighting about?" she asked, strained.
Awoken from his musing, James looked around.  Twilight and Fluttershy had returned, and with them had come a reasonably sized crowd of forest critters.  As Fluttershy had implied earlier, their own search turned out to be a great success.  Now Twilight was trying to diffuse the situation between Rainbow Dash and Applejack while the yellow pegasus was processing all her new charges, getting them ready for their temporary stay at her cottage.  Pinkie Pie sat near them, smiling as always, having gotten up before to go and greet them as they arrived.
Before he could continue to observe how the conflict would resolve itself, Fluttershy stopped what she was doing and approached James.  Her eyes glittered and she had a contained smile, clearly very happy about something.  It was, perhaps, the most excitement he had seen from her yet.
"Oh, you'll never guess who we found out there!" she said with a soothing joy.  There was hardly any need to guess since as soon as she spoke two mature squirrels bounced up from behind her hair and perched themselves on her head.
"Rocky's parents?" James verified.
"Yes!  Isn't it wonderful?" she expressed while her face lit up with a calm glee.  "The little guy is going to be so happy to see them again!"
There was some undistinguished shouting from the trio of embattled ponies.  Rainbow Dash was obviously disdaining the fact that Twilight seemed to support Applejack's side more than her's.
"Oh my," Fluttershy moaned.  "I think I should stay out here.  I have to make sure the rest of my new friends are ready for their time here.  Also," she said while looking over at the three disagreeing ponies, "maybe I can help them...?"  Weakly she dug at the ground with her hoof before turning back to the matter at hand.  "Could you please take Rocky's parents to him?"
"Sure, no problem," he answered.  The two squirrels leapt from Fluttershy's head and caught his shirt, immediately crawling up to sit on his shoulders.  He flinched for a moment when they jumped at him, not fully expecting them to be so comfortable riding him.  He quickly fell back to normal, realizing he has been seeing a lot of new behaviors from animals today.  No way was this as sudden or surprising as his instincts were telling him it should be.  Passengers all aboard, James left to enter the cottage.
Fluttershy looked once more at her friends, huddled and yelling.  Flushed with uneasiness, she bit her lip watching them.  After several long moments of staring, she at last decided to act.  Ignoring them for the time being, she directed her following of critters around the battleground to get the cages and pens where her entourage could gain some respite after their ordeal.
"Rainbow Dash, please," Twilight pleaded, "I really do trust that you had a good reason if you say you did, but it was still dangerous to leave Applejack alone out there!  You were supposed to stick and work together."  Her mediation didn't seem to be amounting to much as the opposing ponies simply avoided eye contact and frowned.  "But I can't understand why you did it if you won't tell us," she begged her friend.
"I told you, Twilight", Rainbow Dash shot back, annoyed, "I'll explain in a little bit.  I just want to talk to you about something first.  In private."
"Fine.  Suit yourself.  I don't care," Applejack griped.  She had hit her limit for what she was willing to tolerate from her dodgy friend.  Walking off in a huff, she looked back to tell Rainbow Dash, "I'm going to go get some rest.  You know, on account of all the hard work I put in today."  She made sure to stress all the right words so her indignation wouldn't go unnoticed.
Twilight let out a heavy sigh as Applejack stormed off.  Might as well hear out Rainbow Dash now... but of all the problems she feared she could come back to, this wasn't one of them.





Inside the cottage, James carried the squirrel parents through the rooms to take them to their child.  They passed by Rarity on the way, who was seated in front of a mirror mounted on the wall, keenly checking herself over.  Spike sat with her, fawning over her in every way he possibly could.  Unnoticed in passing through, James entering the room where Rocky lay asleep.  Angel, unfaltering and diligent, continued his vigil over the young animal.
Seeing their progeny for the first time in days, the two squirrels scrambled down James' shirt, leaping off at waist level.  The light clunk of their landing woke the young squirrel up.  He abruptly snapped into a fearful position before registering that it was his own parents rushing towards him.  They ran over his blanket, coming right up to him and wrapping their paws and bushy tails around him.  Was he dreaming?  He had a moment of unresponsive shock before recognizing the truth and tearfully embracing them back with a soft, faint, squirrely cry.  All their tails wriggled blissfully like an overjoyed ball of fuzz.
It was nice seeing what was lost become found.  Seeing the shattered made whole again.  Seeing what is separated become joined.  Although it was witnessing Fluttershy's distress that had got him initially bothered and guilty about the whole affair, it was the sight of these three squirrels' reunion that seemed to put everything back in the right place again.