Applejack returned to the farm with a heavy heart, having just returned from Applebloom's CMC clubhouse, she felt the bitter disappointment of not finding her sister. She had already searched the farm area twice, finding no sign of her. All she could do was wonder where she could have run off to. But her mind drew a complete blank, having already looked everywhere they could think.
The only thing she had now was to hope she had wandered into the forest, and Rainbow Dash or Trader would find her. Just as she thought that, the familiar sound of a flying pegasus tore through the air. Immediately, Applejack's gaze darted to the source, spotting her cyan friend as she dove down and landed in front of her.
“Rainbow Dash,” she breathed, the mare's heart skipping a beat as she looked to her friend expectantly, “did you find Applebloom?”
Before the pegasus even uttered a word, the expression she wore said it all. “No... I couldn't find any sign of her,” she replied. Seeing the crushing disappointment on her friend's face, she was prompted to quickly add, “But, I'd say that's a good thing. I'd rather have her off somewhere in Ponyville than in the forest at this hour.”
“Maybe you're right,” the farmpony murmured.
“What about Trader?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Has he been by?” Not needing an answer, the pegasus already knew what she'd say. “Yeah... it'll probably take him a bit longer to get back. There's no way he'd be able to check as fast as I did.”
Hearing the stallion's name, Applejack looked to her friend suspiciously. “What were you doin' with him anyway?” she found herself asking.
Rainobw Dash blinked in surprise for a moment. “Well, I might not have known him since foalhood,” the mare replied, “but I did want answers from him. Surprised his best friend ever couldn't be bothered to do the same.”
Applejack huffed at that. “He made it plenty clear he was the one who didn't want to be bothered by us. It's not like it's the first time he's gone and left Ponyville!”
At that, suddenly snapped where the pegasus' patience was. “Will you stop that?!” the multi-colored mare suddenly blurted out. “Celestia's sake, you're just as stubbornly dense as he is! He's your friend, yet you're getting so mad at him for no reason! I don't know if you just got it in your head that he doesn't care, or if you can't deal with the fact that you care about what's happening too, but this needs to stop!” Hovering in the air, the pegasus used her elevated position to look down on the earth pony. “This might not be the best time, but you need to know. The guy likes ya, alright? I mean, he really does have feeling's for you.”
“What?” Applejack said aloud, staring at the mare in bewilderment. “D-don't be ridiculous, Rainbow, he-”
“I mean it!” the pegasus stressed. “Okay, I'm not totally sure on the details, but Trader does like you. He just... I guess he just doesn't really know what to do about it.” A light blush appeared on her cheeks. “And I kinda know what that's like... But he's got these weird ideas in his head, and it's messing him up bad.” Applejack just sat there, expression growing more and more shocked as her friend began to explain everything she knew.
“T-Trader... Please... wake up...”
The voice sounded so far away to the pegasus as his eyes opened, groaning aloud as his entire body ached. He had a clear view of the sky, looking much darker than it had earlier, it wouldn't be long before the sun was set and darkness would cover the land. Almost immediately, his vision was obscured by the yellow face of Applebloom, an ecstatic look on her face.
“Trader! You're okay!” she exclaimed, hugging him happily. “Ah was scared you wouldn't get up.”
With a bit of effort, Trader managed to sit himself up, groaning even louder this time. Every movement shot jolts of pain throughout his body. An ordeal, he finally managed to stand on all fours, still feeling dazed and confused. It all quickly became clear as he turned to see the sheer cliff next to them, able to judge how far they had fallen.
“Well... that could have been worse,” the pegasus murmured aloud. “Are you alright?”
“My leg really hurts,” Applebloom replied, looking down at her back leg. It was easy enough to see, as she kept the limb up off of the ground in her pain.
Trader knelt down to her, examining it for himself. “Can you put any weight on it?” he asked, to which the filly shook her head. “Hmm.. well, I doubt it's broken, or we'd know. Just don't walk on it and you'll be fine.” Now that he thought on it, he realized how his own leg ached, much more so than the rest of his body. Like Applebloom's, he was certain it wasn't broken, if only barely. He just didn't want to worry the filly, deciding not to mention it.
Still, they were in a bad situation, something they needed to fix soon. “Don't worry, Applebloom,” he said cheerfully, “a quick flight out of here and we'll be back in Ponyville in no time.” Readying himself to fly again, he unfurled his wings, feeling a sudden, stabbing pain in his side. He nearly collapsed again as he cried out in agony, startling Applebloom.
“W-what's wrong?” the filly asked. It took only a moment for her eyes to focus fully on the pegasus' side, seeing his mangled wing.
It wasn't folded down against his side like the other. The wing remained stretched out, holding a strange and unnatural angle to it. Trader's breathing became heavier as he braced himself, trying to move the appendage, and again feeling the jolts of pain course through him. “Well... I guess that's broken,” he managed to say. “Stupid, worthless things, the one time I need them!”
“Y-you're bleedin' too!” the filly exclaimed, noticing the stains of crimson trailing down his side. It was the first time Trader himself noticed it too, feeling a gash on his back just above the broken wing. There was little effort needed to picture what kind of landing they had. “Are you gonna be okay.”
With a reassuring smile, the pegasus simply nodded, saying, “Of course. It just means we don't have the ease of flying out of here.” He looked around at his surroundings, trying to remember what direction the town was in. “Yeah... we should be able to make our way back. Maybe we'll get lucky and Rainbow Dash will fly over and find us.” Knowing that the little filly shouldn't travel on her injured leg, he laid himself down and gestured her over. “Hop up.”
Without a word, she managed to limp toward him and climb onto his back. Waiting a moment for her to get situated, Trader set off further into the forest, doing his best not to let Applebloom in on his own limping. Though he wasn't completely certain his direction was the right one, he figured it was as good a guess as any.
It was hard to tell how much time was going by while they trekked through the forest. With the thick canopy above them, and even thicker brush ahead, there was little to see of the sky above them. They only occasionally caught a glimpse of a darkened color, with night nipping at their heels. Trader hoped to get out of there before it came to that, not wanting to see what kind of nocturnal beasts would appear.
“Trader... Ah'm sorry...” Applebloom murmured suddenly, nearly startling the pegasus with the sudden break in silence.
“For what?” he murmured, walking up a small slope.
“It's my fault we're here,” she replied sadly. “Ah just wanted to keep you from leavin' Ponyville.”
Though she had a point, Trader wouldn't dare tell her that. “Don't worry about it,” he said to her. “You didn't mean for this to happen. It was an accident, nothing more.” Those very words tasted bitter in his mouth.
“Do ya really have to leave?” Applebloom then asked, her voice the epitome of pleading.
All Trader could do was heave a sigh, having already figured she'd ask that eventually. For a few moments, no answer was given. The pegasus just continued on, carrying the filly in utter silence. “Applebloom,” he eventually said, “I can't stay.”
“But why not?” the filly retorted, getting frustrated again. To her, the pegasus was just being stubborn.
“You wouldn't understand,” he muttered. “I'm a walking disaster waiting to happen. That's just who I am, somepony who messes up in everything they do. Maybe... I could talk to Applejack... Explain myself to her, but I still have to leave. I just thought if she stayed mad at me she'd eventually get over it, then I wouldn't have to confuse and worry her with my reasons.”
An agitated huff escaped the filly. “And what's so bad about messin' up?” she remarked. That particular idea hit a little close to home for her. “Me, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo always mess up. Even if we succeed, we still don't ever get our cutie marks. But we just get to try somethin' new. That's why you're so cool, even with your cutie mark, you just keep tryin' stuff too!”
“It's a nice sentiment,” the pegasus replied, “but it doesn't work like that. Don't try and think I'm anypony to be admired. You should look up to a pony who's capable and determined. Your sister or brother would be good choices. Go by their example, find what you like and succeed there.” Waiting for his words to sink into the filly, he remained silent for some time. “So, what is it that you like to do? What's your dream in life?”
“Hm?” the filly murmured, thinking on the question. “Ah don't know...” From her spot on his back, she completely missed the flat expression on the stallion's face. “There's so much stuff Ah can do, that Ah wana do. It's especially fun when Ah do it with my friends.”
Trader thought on that, understanding how the right companionship can make anything enjoyable. “I guess that's a good enough answer, for now anyway,” he remarked. “You're still young, I suppose. You'll have plenty of time to figure everything out.”
“And you?” the filly asked curiously. “What's your dream?”
“My... dream?” the stallion questioned. From his tone alone, it was clear that such a question never crossed him. He didn't say anything right away, looking away in deep thought as he traversed the forest floor. “I remember... a long time ago, I had wanted to own my own store, like my mother.”
A light chuckle escaped him as he thought more on it. “I'm not even sure why,” he admitted. “Maybe to live up to my name, or to make mom proud. It's hard to say... Though, I do remember how fun it was helping her. Ponies would come in, and you'd be there to help. You'd almost feel needed, in a small sense anyway. But... I guess that dream slipped away from me. Now, it's rare I ever look beyond the next morning. I usually just go on one day at a time, trying my best not to mess up until I can crawl back into bed and start it all over again.”
“That doesn't sound very fun,” Applebloom murmured.
“No... I guess it isn't,” Trader thought aloud. Then, something occurred him. “Maybe... maybe that's been the problem. Maybe I'm just too focused on the wrong things, or not enough on the right ones. I'll have to think on that...”
They didn't talk much after that, remaining silent as they passed through more of the forest. There still seemed to be so much of it, yet the stallion was certain that they had to of made some sort of progress. Slowly, the idea of having gone the wrong way crept into his thoughts, making him a little worried that they were just getting more lost.
Things seemed to become so still in the forest, little noise made save for Trader's own hooves in the dirt. It could almost be described as peaceful, making it all the more jarring as the pegasus was struck without warning. The blow was so strong, it knocked him off his hooves. Applebloom was tossed from her perch on the stallion as well, sent tumbling across the ground.
Trader grunted in pain as he picked himself up, having no idea what had happened. He quickly found Applebloom and rushed to her side, making sure she was okay. But before he could utter a word to her, a heavy thud sounded as a large gryphon fell from the sky and landed just beyond them. His body was a familiar black while his feathered head was a dark gray. Looking at him, Trader was in a trance, feeling a sharp tremble of fear race up his body.
“V-Vincent...” the pegasus said, eyes wide as he stared at him.
The gryphon matched his gaze, a smirk worn on his face. Then, his eyes moved to Applebloom, causing the filly to step back suddenly. “I've finally found you,” he said mirthfully. “And so have you, Trader. Though, a little worse for wear, from what I can see. But good... I've wanted to see you again.”
“What... what are you doing here?” Trader asked, trying to stop his voice from shaking.
Vincent stared at him for a moment before smiling and pointing at the filly. “I've come for her,” he said plainly. “This forest is such a dangerous place, isn't it? It would be so tragic if something befell one so young.”
Stepping between the gryphon and filly, Trader glared furiously at him. “You're not getting near her!” he snapped.
All he received in reply was a chuckle, a look of amusement crossing the gryphon's mug. “You know, Trader,” he said civilly, “I really should thank you. If it wasn't for your help, I'd never have looked twice at this little town, and that wonderful farm you've taken residence in.”
“What are you talking about?” the stallion demanded.
“Isn't it obvious?” Vincent said, not showing any reaction to Trader's own anger. “That family of nitwits don't even know what they're living on. All of that land, practically in the shadow of the capital city itself... Such a fortune could be made.” A large grin spread across his face as Trader could see a mad glint in his eyes. “I already know all about the troubles they've had here, nearly losing everything on more than one occasion. Why, with a little push, I'm sure they'd have no choice but to rid themselves of this burden. I already know two buyers who'd happily pay a hoof and a horn for just a piece of it, and to be rid of those on it now.”
“There's no way we'd ever sell the farm!” Applebloom shouted, matching Trader's own expression.
“Hmph, we'll see,” the gryphon remarked, his eyes falling back on the pegasus in front of him. “You've already been quite the help with that. Incapacitating their best worker, as well as costing them so much money already, that I'm neither of you have gained back yet. I've had my eyes and ears on this place ever since we last met, waiting for the right opportunity to surface. And I was overjoyed to hear when their littlest one went missing.” Again he chuckled lightly. “You might not be missed, Trader, but she will. And there's nothing like a family tragedy to ruin a business. You of all people should know that.”
Trader just stared at him, aghast and unable to fully believe what he was hearing. “You're sick! What is the matter with you?!” he shouted. “You'd do all that, just for some piece of land?!” Even as he said it though, he knew the gryphon well enough to know what the answer was.
Then the crushing feeling of guilt hit him, realizing that it was all because of him that Vincent even knew about the farm. He'd destroy everything just to get what he wanted, ruin their lives for his own personal gain. All because of his own mistakes. It reminded him of what the gryphon did to him before, and that crushing guilt turned to rage, a fiery blaze that consumed the stallion's sense of reason and ability.
With an enraged cry, the stallion charged forward, surprising the gryphon as he tackled into him. The two rolled across the ground for a moment before the pegasus managed to pin him down. His eyes met Vincent's own as they were inflamed by his hatred of the creature. “You've wrecked my entire life!” he shouted, raising a hoof up to strike him. “I won't let you do that to anypony else!” Too angry to notice, he never saw Vincent's clawed hand swinging up, knocking him aside as he sliced into his cheek.
Immediately, he was seized by the neck, held up by the gryphon as he slammed him hard into a nearby tree, the cracking sound of bark breaking away from the trunk sounding clear. Dazed, there was little he could do was Vincent then brought him down onto the ground, still holding his choking grip on the pony. Though Trader struggled as best as he could to escape the deadly hold, he was no match for the gryphon's brute strength.
Vincent could only laugh at his pathetic attempts, a smile spread across his beaked face. “You know, Trader, it's times like this I'm reminded of the problem with you grass-chewers,” he said, raising his free hand up, claws poised to tear into him. “You just don't make good predators!”
Ready to cut him down, the gryphon was suddenly stopped as an earth-shaking roar filled the air. All three of them recoiled in pain as their ears throbbed. Out of nowhere, from within the thick forest around them, a massive beast came barreling toward them. They didn't have a chance to move as the creature smashed into them, sending both Vincent and Trader flying.
As the pegasus landed, he scrambled toward Applebloom, staying by her side as they stared in horrific awe at the beast. It was a mighty thing, with a lion's body, bat-like wings, and a scorpion's tail. They both knew full well what it was, a manticore, one of the most dangerous things one could find in the Everfree forest. Its eyes darted about, catching both ponies as well as the fallen gryphon. Constantly, its feline nose twitched catching the scent of blood in the air, making Trader shudder to think of what had led it to them.
Vincent managed to get back up as well, staring up at the beast as it loomed over him. Without wasting a second, his wings flared open and he took off. But the manticore was much faster, its own wings lifting it up as it caught the gryphon in its paws. They crashed to the ground, Vincent nearly crushed under the weight of the animal. He stood no chance against it, only able to look up at it in consuming fear as the manticore's maw opened wide and it lunged toward him. In that instant, Trader threw himself over Applebloom, covering her eyes and ears as nature did what it did best.
Another roar erupted from the manticore as it then turned to set its sights on the two ponies. Trader looked at the filly, their eyes meeting as he quickly told her, “Applebloom, you need to run, okay? Run, as fast as you can.”
Applebloom suddenly became aware of what the stallion was intending, eyes growing wide in panic. “N-no, you can't-”
“Run, Applebloom!” the pegasus shouted, not giving her a chance to argue with him as he pushed her away. Without a choice, she turned and dashed off into the forest as fast as she could on her injured leg, leaving Trader alone with the hungry manticore.
The mix-matched beast stared at the pony as he stood his ground, but its gaze quickly shifted to Applebloom as she disappeared. Realizing its prey was escaping, the manticore charged forward, ready to go after her. Trader had no chance to react, the creature's large paw swinging out and striking him away, throwing the pegasus into the brush. Determining that that little filly was more likely to escape it, it continued its path and gave chase.
Applebloom could hear its mighty roars behind her, each one sounding closer than the last. She could barely think, thoughts racing as her heart pounded in her chest. Fear gripped her tightly, propelling her forward despite her hurt leg. But she could still hear it coming closer and closer, the massive beast tearing through the forest to get to her. It was so large, and she was so small, she stood no chance of outrunning it as it bounded toward her with no sign of stopping.
Clearing the distance between it and its small prey, the manticore pounced, flying through the air toward her. The filly narrowly missed the monstrous thing as it crashed down just behind her, the impact tossing her up causing her stumble to the ground. Now vulnerable, the manticore acted quickly, leaping forward at the pony, claws out and ready to bring its next meal down. A satisfied growl came from it, hearing the agonizing cry as its claw found their mark.
Shock and confusion was felt by the filly as she realized that she had not been hurt. Looking at the beast, she felt a surge of horror as she saw Trader standing between them, bleeding out from the wound he sustained. The claws had slashed across his already broken wing, before cutting into his side, leaving five deep red marks.
In Trader's mouth, he held tightly onto a large branch. Swinging it as hard as he could, it smashed into pieces against the manticore's head. Reeling back, the best jumped away from them, rubbing its face as it shook away the splintered pieces of wood. Now, the beast looked more angry than hungry. It stared the pegasus down, leaning closer to the ground as its powerful muscles readied themselves. Then it charged at them.
With the manticore coming, Trader already knew they had no chance of running from the beast. Perhaps if he wasn't so badly injured, he could fly around it or dodge it on the ground. But there were no options for him. Looking at Applebloom, he could see the fear in her eyes, her young mind unable to fully deal with the situation at hand. But the pegasus wasn't about to let anything happen to her, he had promised Applejack that he'd find her, and he wasn't about to fail that.
The manticore lunged at them, its fangs gleaming while its sharp claws were at the ready. With nothing else left to think of or to do, Trader did the only thing he could. Waiting for just the right moment, the stallion turned himself around, showing his back to the beast and suddenly kicking out with all the strength he had left.
There was a loud sound of cracking bone, immediately followed by the eruptive screams of Trader as he immediately fell to the ground, which were drowned out by the manticore's own roars of pain. It thrashed about angrily, paws up and clutching at its face while droplets of blood seeped from its broken nose. Finally, figuring that the rest of its meal was more trouble than it was worth, the best took off, flying through the air and away from them.
Applebloom could hardly believe her eyes as the air around them became still once again, as if the beast had never been there at all. But such peace was broken as another cry came from Trader, drawing the filly's attention to him. His entire body writhed in agony, his leg twitching badly. The moment it had struck the manticore, the bone broke, feeling as though it had shattered like glass.
“A-Applebloom!” the pegasus hissed through clenched teeth, doing his best to simply not continue his screams. “Which way did it fly?”
“W-what?” the filly questioned, looking back up into the sky as she remembered the right direction. “That way... Ah think...”
Trader's entire body trembled as he slowly forced himself up. Now, he couldn't even move his leg without feeling the unbearable pain run through it, but he forced it out of his mind as he brought himself up to three hooves. “It would have... gone deeper into the forest,” he managed to say through his rapid breathing. “If we... go the other way... we should make it out of here...”
“You're hurt,” Applebloom said, able to see the red stains on the ground where he was.
“I'll... I'll be fine,” the pegasus said reassuringly. “We need to get you back home... before night fully comes. Now, can you... can you follow me?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Good, just stay by my side... and we can keep moving forward together.” Staying against his side, the little filly helped keep the stallion standing as he headed off in the opposite direction of the manticore. Trader made sure to keep her at his better half, not wanting her to see the mangled wounds he had, still bleeding badly and leaving a scarlet trail as they walked.
They didn't encounter any more denizens of the forest. Perhaps the roars of the manticore had scared off any smaller animal, or they were just lucky. Either way, they did their best to keep going, not wanting to stop and rest for a single moment as they were certain they were on the right path.
It was all Trader could do to not collapse on the spot. Body continuously in pain, he held back as much as he could, only occasionally giving the small grunt or stunted cry. He felt so cold, but even still, droplets of sweat began to drip from his forehead. It became hard for him to even think straight. So he kept his eyes dead ahead, keeping his focus by reminding himself of who was with him, and the task he had. That determination was all that kept him moving, to get the filly to safety no matter what. If there was anything in his life he'd do right, anything of any kind of worth or meaning, it was this.
“We're going to get you home... safe and sound,” he said continuously. It was his only response whenever Applebloom asked if he was alright or if they were going the right way. She wanted to get home as much as he did, but for another reason, able to know that the pegaus was in bad shape.
Eventually though, almost miraculously, the mind-wracking pain slowly ebbed away. His wounds and injuries simply felt numb, as if they were hardly even there. If anything, he only felt tired. Exhaustion clung to his body tightly, clouding his mind even further as it tried to convince him that there was nothing he wanted more in the world than to lie down and fall into a deep rest.
It was like that for an incalculable amount of time, the sky nearly empty of the sun's light. Emerging through more trees, Applebloom's heart swelled with joy as they broke out of the forest and saw open fields. And just a far distance away, cast in the last vestiges of twilight, they could see the farmhouse, a welcoming beacon to the two weary souls.
“W-we made it!” Applebloom exclaimed, rushing forward a few steps as she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.
“We... we did... didn't we...” Trader murmured, his voice only a weak whisper.
With a new found energy, the filly continuously had to stop herself from bolting toward the house and leaving the pegasus behind. “Come on, Trader,” she said quickly. “We can find somepony to help you with-” She was silenced as she heard a heavy thud behind her, turning to see Trader having collapsed.
Applebloom rushed to his side, pushing him as hard as she could. “T-Trader!” she cried out, her voice shaking as tears welled up in her eyes. “Get up! Please... Please get up!” But even as she pleaded with him, the stallion didn't move a muscle, his body completely still. Frantically, she looked from the pegasus to her own home, seeing how far it really was. Panic setting in, she got up and rushed off toward her home, screaming as loudly as she could.
It was the last thing Trader could hear, Applebloom's frantic cries for help as she ran toward the farm, back to safety. Eventually, it simply ended, everything going quiet. Even as his conscious mind began to fade into darkness, the world around him completely lost to his senses, he found himself smiling. He felt a sense of accomplishment.