Sanguine's eyes wandered in unabashed amazement as she and Fluttershy trotted along the path to the barn. "These trees go on FOREVER. There's just no end to them!"
From the ground, that seemed like the case. A forest like the Everfree, but in many ways the complete opposite. Every tree in sight was dotted with apples - the ones over here just beginning to grow, the ones over there big and red and ready for harvest - and there were hints of a pattern to their placement. Not a single withered branch was to be seen. A leg-high, three-barred white fence set path apart from tree, leading to an arch decorated in leaves and apples through which the two passed. The orchard was to their right; to their left, large patches of rows of plants stretched into the distance. Sanguine wondered if there was any being on the planet, pony or otherwise, who could look at this and not immediately recognize a farm.
And then there was the barn itself. Wooden, of course, like most of the buildings in Ponyville. Possibly one of the oldest, but if so it was well-maintained, not a hint of rot or disrepair. Reds and whites with a purple roof, it was two stories in most places with a third story sticking up at one point like a castle tower, topped by a weather vane with a fake flat apple - even painted red and green; Sanguine could not see a fleck of the black iron that made it up, judging by the blackness of the rest of the vane, peeking through the paint. Smaller, similar structures were off to the side. Two large lofts dominated the front, likely having been placed where they could be expanded as needed, and putting business in front of the living spaces just like Rarity's boutique and Twilight's library did. This was clearly a lived in and well-loved home.
"Well, there is, but the orchard is quite large, yes." Fluttershy's eyes tracked Sanguine's, and she walked slowly to let her companion take it all in. "I still don't know how she and her family find time to harvest them all."
"An' sometimes neither do ah," Applejack greeted from a door on the barn's right. "Morning, Fluttershy, Sanguine. What brings you on by?"
"Oh! Good morning, Applejack." Fluttershy approached, sparing a quick glance back to make sure Sanguine did as well. "Um, Twilight wanted us to ask a little favor, if that's alright." Her stomach grumbled. "Err..."
Applejack smiled. "We're just putting on breakfast now, if you'd like."
"Oh that would be lovely. Thank you!" Fluttershy walked inside.
Sanguine followed, only to stop just short of Applejack's suddenly outstretched hoof.
Applejack's smile was gone, as she leaned in close to Sanguine. "Mah young sister's in there, an' some other sensitive ears. You won't mention what you did to get in your mess, or anythin' of th' sort, right?"
Sanguine nodded. "Rarity did say I should try not to dwell on it. This'll be practice for me not talking about it."
Applejack retracted her hoof. "Good enough." Raising her voice, she called inside, "Apple Bloom, set two more places, we got company!"
"Thanks." Sanguine entered, following Applejack inside. "Err, if you don't mind me asking, I've never seen a farm this large before. How DO you harvest it all?"
"Hard work, good technique, an' knowin' which parts to harvest when. An acre now an' an acre tomorrow'll getcha more an' better apples than tryin' t' do both acres now an' neither tomorrow." Applejack never tired of boasting of - or "sharing", when she wanted to seem humble about it - her family's extensive lore on farming.
"I se-" Sanguine sniffed. "What...IS that..."
Applejack smiled weakly. "Uhh, thing is, mah sis' tried her hand at apple fritters this mornin'. If it's not to yer taste-"
Applejack found herself speaking to thin air. As she entered the dining area, she found Sanguine, sitting down and eyes attentive, having rushed past Fluttershy to the table.
The farmer grinned. "Heh. Hey sis, ah think you may have a fan here!"
"A fan?" A small yellow filly with red mane emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray almost as large as she was, barely visible under a mound of dark golden balls of fried batter filled with apple slices, wafting steam announcing how recently they had been on the grill. Carefully, she set the tray on the table as Sanguine's eyes tracked them like a predator. "Pleased to meetcha. Mah name's Apple Bloom."
Sanguine's eyes did not stray from the fritters. "Call me Sanguine are these 'apple fritters' when can we eat err!" She collected herself, finally turning a sheepish smile toward Apple Bloom. "I'm sorry. What are the rules here?"
"Rules? Heh," a wizened green pony, withered from old age, mused from behind Apple Bloom. "Sure, we got a rule here. If you leave that there table hungry, it ain't our fault. Now dig in, just lookin' atcha's makin' me hungry."
"YES MA'AM!" Sanguine stuffed a fritter in her mouth and was immediately halfway to fruity, savory heaven.
"Heh heh. Applejack, a word?" The elder pony retreated into the kitchen.
Applejack followed her in and lowered her voice. "What's up?"
"That the newcomer what had you unsettled th' other day?"
Applejack blinked, but in moments remembered she had given up trying to outguess Granny Smith. "I'm not even gonna ask how yah knew. Yeah, she's th' one. She's done some bad things, bad enough Celestia had t' get involved."
"Mmm." Granny Smith inspected the kitchen, noting a few flour spills she would have Apple Bloom clean up...later, after the foal had had a chance to enjoy the fruits of her labor. "Can you say what?"
Applejack spotted the spills, and was surprised her sister had not made far more of a mess. "Sorry. I swore not to."
"Mmm." Granny Smith nodded. "You don't make promises like that lightly, an' you let her in here, so I'll trust your judgement."
"Ah'm keepin' my eye on her, nonetheless." Applejack leaned back far enough to glimpse the dining table, and saw Sanguine and Apple Bloom chatting happily.
"You do that." Granny Smith gestured toward the others. "Now let's get back there b'fore th' food's all gone."
"...so we formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders to try to find out what our cutie marks will be," Apple Bloom finished as the pair returned. "Say, d'you got your cutie mark yet?"
Fluttershy coughed as apple juice abruptly went down the wrong pipe.
Sanguine smiled a nervous smile. "Hmm...sort of."
"'Sort of'? C'mon, Miss Sanguine, either ya do or ya don't!" Apple Bloom pressed.
"Well." Sanguine noted Applejack's warning glare. "Technically I do, BUT it's not entirely clear how exactly I am to do it. Fluttershy's going to show me some of what I'm missing today."
"Whoa." Apple Bloom looked at Fluttershy with amazement. "You can grant a pony part o' their cutie marks?"
"U-umm, well, that is..." Fluttershy began backing away from the table.
That only got Apple Bloom to lean forward. "Can you give us our cutie marks?"
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack put a hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Enough. You know Fluttershy is, err, shy. Ya're gonna intimidate her if you keep pesterin' her like that."
"Oh. Right." Apple Bloom sat back. "Sorry, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy scooted back to the table from having tried - unsuccessfully - to hide behind Sanguine, only to find Sanguine a size too small to conceal even Fluttershy's slender build. "Thanks, Applejack. Apple Bloom, I know you are eager to find yours but I'm afraid I can only help Sanguine like this. But if you want, come by my place around lunchtime. I'll be out all day, so Spike will be feeding my animals. You're welcome to help him. U-umm..." She smiled weakly. "Cutie Mark Crusader Animal Caretaker?"
Apple Bloom folded her forelegs and frowned.
"Now don't be like that," Applejack retorted. "She's just tryin' t' help. Speakin' o' which, it's a good thing y' came by. Saves me a trip t' ask. Jus' how much firewood did you get off those timberwolves?"
"Each one was a pile about as big as your trees," Sanguine replied. "I put it in three piles, one per timberwolf, because if I'd put them all together it'd have been taller than her house."
Applejack whistled. "Uh. Well. I'll jus' say it: Fluttershy, how much o' that can I getcha to part with? We're gettin' toward bakin' season, an' our trees won't be dropping kindlin' for months. We need to fuel the ovens somehow."
Fluttershy blinked. "Oh, well if it'll help you you're welcome to it."
Applejack cocked an eye. "Are y' sure? That's a mighty big load o' firewood."
Fluttershy nodded. "Sure I'm sure. Actually, we came by to ask you for something. Um, Twilight wanted us to ask you to come with us today, for safety."
"Oh? What're you doin' today?" Applejack finally got around to munching a fritter.
"Wandering Everfree Forest looking for monsters." Fluttershy was fairly certain the Apple family did not include any unicorns who would teleport in in surprise.
Applejack had just enough presence of mind to turn her head to point at empty space, and to avoid attempting to inhale, before she spit-took the bite of fritter that was in her mouth. That done, she looked at Fluttershy again. "Are. You. CRAZY?!?"
Fluttershy blinked. "That's what Twilight said."
Sanguine nodded. "You almost got the tone right, but her voice was a bit higher, kind of shrill, when she said 'crazy'."
Applejack let her jaw hang open for just a moment before recovering, completely unprepared for that conversation tack. "This ain't about vocal impressions. Fluttershy, WHY would you want to go jus' wanderin' around the forest for?"
"So that Sanguine can learn when monsters are simply hurt," Fluttershy replied. "Remember that manticore? The one who had a thorn in his paw?"
"Yeah, I remember nearly gettin' eaten alive." Applejack took another bite.
"Well, Rarity and Pinkie Pie talked Sanguine into looking for those kinds of situations, to help protect everypony." Fluttershy was no Rarity-grade wordsmith, but she figured she was doing a good enough job keeping a certain detail hidden.
Applejack chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. "...uh huh. Rarity and Pinkie Pie, two of the gentlest ponies I know besides you, talked somepony with more reason than most to avoid violence into..." She facehoofed. "...Pinkie used the word 'adventurer', didn't she?"
Apple Bloom looked up at Sanguine, wondering. "Your cutie mark's about adventuring?"
Sanguine smiled. "It's going to draw me into adventures. Close enough."
"Awesome!" Immediately her mind began dreaming up ways to imitate Sanguine's adventures to get a similar cutie mark - but kept sailing off in directions so vague, for want of further information, even Apple Bloom recognized it. She resigned herself to pestering Applejack for details later.
Applejack sighed. "So yer gonna go wanderin' th' forest, and you want me to guard ya."
Fluttershy nodded. "Just for today. We should be done by dark."
"Y'all'd BETTER be done by dark." Applejack shot Fluttershy a look briefly. "An', well, ah dunno, ah WAS gonna-"
"Applejack, dear," Granny Smith interrupted, "she's already payin' ya."
Applejack looked at her. "Come again?"
"Th' firewood. Seriously, ah KNOW you've got more sense than that. We get a lot o' firewood, you go off and traipse about with yer friends fer th' day." Granny Smith shrugged. "Seems fair t' me."
"...oh. Yeah." Applejack resumed consuming her fritter.
"So, Fluttershy." Granny Smith pantomimed three objects. "Three piles, each about as big as our trees? They're at your cottage, so th' firewood's yours, right? Hmm...how about, one pile fer Applejack's services today, an' fer a second one we'll give ya some a' the pies you made possible."
Fluttershy nodded. "That sounds fair."
Granny Smith smiled. "It's ah deal! Ah'll have Big Mac come by with th' wagon today t' pick up, an' we'll get those pies t' ya tomorrow. Applejack leaves wit' ya right from here, along with a good lunch fer th' three o' ya, an' she comes back t' us in one piece. Agreed?" She stuck a hoof out to shake.
Fluttershy put her hoof to Granny Smith's and shook. "Agreed, especially with returning Applejack intact!"
Sanguine wrinkled her nose. "It's a bit disturbing that you have to add that clause."
"This's the Everfree Forest we're talkin' about, missy," Granny Smith warned. "Y' don't mess with that."
"Why not?" Sanguine wondered. "I mean, alright, giant timberwolves came out of it but I don't-"
"Wild weather an' everythin'." Granny Smith had given this lecture before, and it showed. "Us ponies don't control the clouds, the trees, nothin' in there. Y'got any idea the kinds o' things that spawn in there?"
Sanguine blinked. "We had something like that near where I grew up. We called it a Wild Zone. I...I suppose there's only one thing to say to that."
Granny Smith nodded in approval at the youngster's quick acceptance of reality. "An' that is?"
Sanguine looked at Fluttershy. "Are. You. CRAZY?!?"