//------------------------------// // Three: Beginning // Story: White Apple, Red String // by Nom dePlume //------------------------------// Stone yelped as he stumbled into a briar bush, dodging a patch of vicious-looking flowers with an ominous blue glow. He didn't know what they were, but his Earth-sense told him they weren't exactly benevolent. Nothing in this Celestia-forsaken wild-land was benevolent. Tearing his hooves out of the entangling thorns, he cantered to keep Jackie's golden tail in sight. "Why are we here again?" Applejack sighed and balanced the apple-laden hat on a mossy branch. "Zecora lives out here. I'm taking the apple to her place so we can see if she knows anything about this blight." Something rustled in the bushes. Stone caught a flash of feathers and scales as it slithered by. He must've looked frightened, because Applejack scoffed again. "Oh, for Luna's sakes, it's just a cockatrice, Stone. Don't be such a scaredy-colt." Stone's jaw dropped open. "Just a cockatrice?! How dangerous is this place?" Applejack shrugged. "I didn't exactly ask ya to follow me, as I recall. You can head back to the farm, if ya like." Stone set his jaw and stamped a forehoof. "No way! I'm not letting you go running around this forest--" "LET ME?!" Applejack was livid, her eyes wide and full of green fire. Seething with anger, she advanced on Stone, her teeth bared. "Let's get somethin' straight here, Stone. You don't 'let me' do anything. I act of my own volition. You and your opinions have no effect whatsoever on what I do. Do you understand?" Stone, who was by this time shrunk between a tree trunk and the dirt, trying unsuccessfully to hide beneath his hat, sprang up. "Now who in the hay says I'm tryin' to tell ya what to do?!" He stamped the ground in exasperation. "I'm just sayin' I'm gonna stick with ya to make sure nothin' sneaks up on ya, that's all! If you got hurt..." Stone trailed off, realizing Jackie was not taking his explanation any better than her assumption. Her green gaze cool and face impassive, Applejack stepped back to the hat. "I don't need to be protected, Stone. Now shut up and keep up. The Everfree's not a good place to get lost in." And with that, she snatched the apple and hat up and resumed her trot to wherever this 'Zecora' lived. Why can't I ever say the right thing? Stone sighed and moved to follow the mare. ~*~ After what felt like an hour, Stone and Applejack emerged into a small clearing, with a little plaster-walled, thatched-roof hut sitting in the middle. Stone raised an eyebrow at the decorations, but kept his mouth shut. Applejack seemed like she was still angry at him, and he didn't want to give her an excuse to turn on him again. The door creaked open, and a mare striped in shades of gray walked out to meet them. "Applejack, back so soon? And where is little Apple Bloom?" Applejack set the hat down on the ground, expression worried. "Hey, Zecora. I know I was here earlier with those apples, but you may want to be careful. There's a blight of some sort in town. Oh. This is--" Zecora, who had now reached the ponies, pulled back in shock upon seeing the blank-white apple nestled in the dark brown felt of the hat. "Introductions, I fear, will have to wait. We must act now, before it's too late." Stone glanced sharply at the strange, rhyming mare. "You mean you know what this might be?" Zecora took the hat in her own teeth and merely nodded, motioning for the ponies to follow her into the hut. Inside the low-walled, one-room structure, Stone found he liked the interior decorations no better than the exterior. Ominous masks glowered out from the walls, overlong expressions turned even more sinister by the waning light of the lantern that hung from the ceiling. Stone shuddered, but kept his unease to himself, as any good guest would. Zecora set the hat down on a low table that ran along one wall, then turned and reached up to snatch an old, worn-looking leatherbound volume from a high shelf. Stone averted his eyes, feeling ill at the sight. Leather products had been highly illegal in Equestria for well over five hundred years. Even before that, it had been intensely regulated, so that no leather was formed from a skin that had not been donated to just such a cause. The zebra flipped through the pages rapidly, seeming to have forgotten the ponies were even present. At last, the yellowed and cracked parchment was allowed to rest, and Zecora jabbed a hoof at one page triumphantly. "A-ha, here it lies. Come, ponies, and feast your eyes." On the page was a gorgeous, full-color illustration of a grove of fruit trees, marred by a startling whiteness. Applejack shouldered in between the stallion and zebra, planting a forehoof on either side of the text as her eyes scanned across the lines. The color drained from her face, and Applejack took a shuddering gulp. "Listen to this: 'The Monochrome Blight, as historians have come to call it, swept across the continent millions of years ago. This marked the end of the First Pony Age, which fell into decline when the Rein of Four ended. Almost all land was rendered infertile, save for a few places, such as Dream Valley, far to the south. All other pony civilizations..." She pulled away and shook her head slowly, staring at nothing. Stone felt his body grow cold. "What? What happened?" Zecora leaned over and gently shut the book. "They are no more, you know the cause. We haven't now the time to pause." Stone wrapped a hoof around Jackie's shoulders, trying to gently bring her back to the present. "I s'pose you're right, Miss. Ah, what should we do?" Zecora nodded, thinking. "I'm glad you ask, my pony friend. You must go to where the world begins." Stone frowned, trying to puzzle the rhyme out. "...What?" Zecora sighed and rubbed her forehead between her eyes. She lowered the hoof and waved it in a circle, trying to phrase the concept better. "If this curse you would reverse, find what the Blight was giving berth." Stone's head began to ache, and part of his mind shied from figuring out exactly what that was supposed to mean. "I-- I still don't understand." "That's nothing new," Applejack snapped, throwing Stone's hoof off her shoulders and returning to her apparently usual cranky self. "If we're headed back to 'where the world begins...' We're headed to the farm. I'm going to Dream Valley. You're staying there to help with the harvest and the Fair." Stone drew himself up, ready to object, but Applejack's tone and accompanying glare brooked no argument. His ears fell back against his skull as he deflated. Applejack turned to Zecora. "Thank you for your help, Miss Zecora. If there's anything you need--" The zebra held a hoof up. "No debt to pay, dear orange mare. I oft eat free, upon your fare." Applejack gently pushed Zecora's hoof down. "No. With all due respect, Zecora, this isn't just a service to me, or to Ponyville. What you've helped us with has been a service to all Equestria. So I give my word, not just as Applejack or as your friend, but as a Knight of Harmony, a Lady of the Royal Court, and all those other fancy-shmancy titles Princess Celestia keeps piling on me, that--should you ever need me--I will come." Zecora smiled warmly, sadness tinging her eyes. "I knew already, my dear Applejack. Yet I pray it should not come to that." Applejack nodded, pensive. Suddenly, she lunged forward and wrapped Zecora in a hug. Stone refused to acknowledge the twinge of jealousy in his gut. "'Bye, Zecora," Applejack said, pulling away. "I'll hurry as fast as I can. Tonight I'll pack up, and head out at dawn. If what I remember from Great-Aunt Bramley is right, it shouldn't take more than two weeks at the outside. I hate to ask you for more help, but... You're a fair hoof with plants. Can you help contain this mess for that long?" Zecora nodded thoughtfully. "I will do my very best. The least repayment for my debt." Applejack's brow furrowed. "What? You don't owe me a thing--" Zecora chuckled. "Not to you, young Applejack. It's Granny Smith I must pay back." Applejack's eyes betrayed an endless list of questions, but Zecora merely removed the apple from its hat and returned the article to its rightful owner's head. "Not now, my friend, you must move fast. Last I'd heard, you hadn't packed." Applejack shook her head to clear it, and nodded decisively. "Right. Questions later. We need to move. Goodbye, Zecora, and thank you again for your help." She turned and swept past Stone, who had retreated near the door. As he began to follow her, Zecora placed a restraining hoof on his shoulder. "My nameless friend, do be aware, some growl to bite, and some to scare." "...What?" Zecora growled and jabbed a hoof out the door, her meaning clear this time. Stone glanced at the zebra, not sure what he'd done to anger her, and waved an awkward goodbye as he turned and trotted out after Jackie. ~*~ "So why're ya goin' to Dream Valley again?" Applebloom bounced lightly on her sister's bed, watching as Applejack carefully counted out a variety of items. "Flint-and-tinder... Fifty feet of rope... Canteen... Extra canteen...What was that, Bloom?" Applebloom sighed and hopped off the bed, circling to face her sister. "Why. Are. You. Going. To--" "Dream Valley. I get it." Applejack set down her checklist -- they weren't quite as helpful as Twi had claimed, but they sure were useful -- and turned to her little sister. "I'm going to deal with this blight. If I can figure out what kept Dream Valley safe, maybe I can bring it back here. Maybe it'll restore our land." "'Maybe?'" Bloom's face was worried. "Ain't it kind of a far trip for something that's not a sure thing? Not to mention dangerous..." Applejack reached out and wrapped Applebloom in a hug. "Don't you worry about me, sugarcube. I've handled worse than a long trip through uncharted territory." "Not alone, you haven't!" Applejack pulled away and looked her sister in the eye. "I haven't? Who saved who's rump in the fire swamp?" Applebloom giggled. "I didn't need savin' Sis, as ya might recall. But that chimera did go down pretty quick." Applejack patted Bloom on the shoulder, smiling a bit smugly. "Exactly. Now, ain't ya s'posed to be helpin' me pack?" ~*~ The next morning, Applejack stood at the gate, her bulging pack between her shoulders and her eyes on the pale gray horizon. Applebloom slouched beside her sister, following the older pony's gaze. Both were silent, their goodbyes spoken last night as they had packed. Granny Smith came creaking up the path behind them. "Now you be careful, Missy," she sighed, gently taking her eldest granddaughter's face in her forehoof. "I don't think this family can take losing another Apple so soon." Applejack smiled wanly, laying her own hoof atop Granny's. "Don't you worry. I'll be safe. I'll come back right as rain, you'll see." I just hope you'll be okay, too. I don't know who's gonna get hurt this time... Don't think I want to, either. A massive shadow was all that signaled his appearance. Applejack turned to face her brother's concerned gaze. "Mac, I've got this. No one needs to worry; I'll be fine." Macintosh's face shifted into that look of sheer, obstinateness only an older brother could manage. "Eeyup. 'Cause you ain't goin' alone." Applejack's nostrils flared. "What?! Mac, I ain't lettin' you tag along on this! No way in Tartaurus is my big brother gonna babysit me! I don't need protection!" "Nonsense," Granny Smith chimed in. "You gotta sleep sometime, honey, and we'll all rest easy knowin' you got somepony to watch over ya while yer eyes are closed." "I still can't let Mac come with me," Applejack insisted. "I'm leavin' behind too much for y'all to do as it is!" Mac laughed. "Nope. Yer right, Jack. I'm stayin'." Applejack blinked, her eyes flicking between her three family members. "If it ain't you... Then who? I sure as sugar ain't takin' Granny or Bloom along, either." "And no one's askin' you to." Applejack turned again to find Stone, his own heavy pack on his back, approaching. Winona trotted happily at his side. "Mac and Granny say they can hire another farmhoof any day of the week. I've been released from my contract, and we -- Winny and I -- We're goin' with ya." Applejack was angrier than anypony there had ever seen her, but with one look around at their faces, she knew she wasn't going to win this one. Still, it was worth a try. "No. No way, no how. I told you before, Stone, I don't need your protection. Now take that pack off." Stone's eyes narrowed. "Make me." Applejack bared her teeth and took a slow, deliberate step forward. "Stone--" Mac thrust a dark red hoof in her way. "Jack..." He trailed off warningly. "Jack, it's him or me. I can pick up the slack, 'specially if we hire another farmhoof to replace him. We ain't got the budget to hire the three farmhooves it'd take to cover both you and me, though." Applejack glared at Mac, but after a moment, she relented. "Fine. But he's gotta watch his own back out there. I ain't his Celestia-blasted nanny." Stone shrugged. "Fair enough. Now let's get a move on! We're burnin' daylight!" After a final round of hugs -- and one tear-filled outburst from Applebloom -- Applejack, Stone, and Winona set off for the train station.