Three ponies walked down the roads that cut through the Everfree Forest, not one of them speaking aloud. Heavy thoughts hung in the air, and although Applejack couldn’t read what drifted through Luna’s and Skylight’s heads, the subtle anxiousness on their faces gave her a clue.
Hearing the clip-clop of hooves on stone beneath her, Applejack stole another glance at the paved cobblestone road stretching away. “Mm…”
Both companions snapped to attention. “Oh, did you say something?” Luna asked.
“Something on your mind?” Skylight added.
Applejack shook her head. “No, no, just thinking… Well, yeah, there’s a whole lot on my mind, but that’s not what I meant.” She stamped her hoof a few times against the road. “Just trying to wrap my head around the fact that there’s an actual road in the forest now. No more dusty trails.”
“Ah yes,” Luna said. “I can see how that would be surprising. The Everfree used to be quite the nightmare, no?”
“Right it did. What I’d like to know is how ya’ll managed to build a town smack dab in the middle of it and not be overrun by monsters every day.”
Skylight sprang up by Applejack’s side with a flap of her wings. “I can answer the second question! We can’t be overrun if there’s no monsters to do the overrunning.”
The farm mare shot back a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”
“There’s monsters in the forest, but they don’t bother us much.” She raised her hoof to her chin in thought. “I think the last time one strayed in was month or two ago.”
“…Huh.”
“Perhaps I could elaborate?” Luna said, catching up to them. “Through the efforts of many ponies, the Everfree’s become more… tame, you could say. It’s much more similar to most of Equestria’s other forests. Of course, this only applies to the areas close to towns. The Everfree spans whole provinces after all.”
Applejack nodded, taking a moment to glance around the gnarl of trees and shrubbery with a new outlook. “So ponies wanted to make it safer for the one’s living by it? Considering Ponyville’s track record, I think I can understand that. When did that all happen?”
“They were deemed successful about fifty years ago.”
“Yeah? How long did it take to get there?”
Luna didn’t answer right away, taking a second to draw out the answer. “…Twenty-five years?”
“So that was seventy-five years…” Applejack trailed off, eyes snapping up as she put two and two together. “…Years ago… Oh.” Stuck in her thoughts, she nearly missed a step. I caused that… didn’t I?
Her eyes met each of her companions for a second, but Applejack payed no mind. The forest’s safer now… At least I can say something good came out of this, right? For whatever reason, the sentiment didn’t brighten her mood.
“So how long ‘till we get to Ponyville?” she asked, shifting the subject back to the road ahead.
“Almost there,” Skylight chirped, voice returning to its usual cheery tone. “Just a few minutes.”
“Is that right…?” she mused.
“Right!”
Applejack shot her another look. “That was a rhetorical question.”
“So… I gave you a rhetorical answer,” she said, an innocent grin on her lips.
“…” She looked to Luna, but the Princess of the Night had nothing to give other than a smirk. “…Well alright then.”
In truth, Applejack already had an idea of how much longer they had to go. As much as the scenery had changed, she could still make out the sights of an older time. As the trio marched her home, she’d counted a gorge that once held a rope bridge, now abridged by a sturdy, stone one; she’d counted a riverbed, now serene and calm, that once held a stylish serpent; and she’d counted sheer cliffs that marked the territories of the manticores… if there were any still there. She hadn’t spotted hide nor hair of one.
Like a trip down memory lane… in some ways, literally, she thought. If this was a trip, then Applejack knew she’d entered the final stretch. She took in a breath of air, letting it flow out in a sigh before steeling herself. A hill approached from ahead, and she knew Ponyville lay waiting for her on the other side; she didn’t know, however, what kind of greeting she’d receive.
“Okay…” she muttered under her breath, not letting either of the others hear her. “Here we go. I need to set things right… and this is the way I start.”
Pace quickening, not enough to be noticeable, Applejack strode for the mound of earth that kept her from her town. Reaching its base, she wasted not a second in trudging uphill, one hoof after the other. Let’s see…
“Now!” she called, teeth gritted as she stomped onto the crest, giving her a panorama of the traveling expanse on the other side, now uncovered with her eyes. Then she gasped.
“Welcome to Ponyville,” Skylight said, nudging Applejack. Getting no reaction, she gave the out-of-place mare a once-over. “Oh, uh, you okay? I know this must be a shock to you, but you look a bit… ditzy.”
Placing her hoof on Skylight’s shoulder, the princess shook her head. “I imagine it’s a much greater shock than you realize… Please, give her a moment.”
Applejack’s mouth floundered, trying to find words to form. What… what is this? “What is this?” she cried, voice a note to high. She jabbed her hoof out, pointing toward the concrete jungle that stood where her town once did.
Her mind clung to the phrase “That’s not Ponyville,” repeating it over and over as she looked out to the hustle and bustle of the city before. Although years away from the skyscrapers of Manehatten, the aura of progress wafted in the air, spreading from building to building by the carts wheeling down asphalt roads. Small and neatly trimmed trees adorned the streets in specialized rows, only broken by the frequent light post or traffic light.
But most of all, Applejack couldn’t recognize a single sight. Even from her perch on the hill, the distinct architecture of town hall or Rarity’s boutique or even Twilight’s tree should’ve been visible. Instead, higher squared off buildings of glass and concrete blocked the view; fear shot her system at the thought of the places she knew being gone, bulldozed away for some other pony’s business.
“I-I… Ponyville?” Applejack gasped.
“Mmhm…” Luna said, nodding slowly as she gazed down to the mare. “Much can change in a single year, Applejack. In eighty, a whole new world can be born.”
“Yeah, but this?!” she said, mouth hanging open as her eyes darted from scene to scene. “What happened to Ponyville? This isn’t the same town.”
Taking a few steps forward to survey the city, Luna replied. “Progress happened, Applejack, progress happened. I’ll admit I don’t know of Ponyville’s recent history that well, but I believe factors such as the town’s proximity to the capital lead to ponies moving in, and naturally, that would cause expansion.”
“But… it was never like that before. For all the years Ponyville existed before I was even born, it never turned into this!” she argued as if trying to prove the sight before her wrong.
“As I said, progress happened. I imagine with recent advancements, the town was given a unique opportunity to thrive.”
Skylight spoke up. “Like, I bet trains contributed to that.”
“We had trains. I’m not that old…”
“Not like this,” she said, shaking her head. “We have fast ones. Magic powered.”
Applejack sent her a sidelong glance before turning back to the town, a sigh escaping her breath. “All I keep hearing is how much everything’s changed… I think I’ll see for myself.” With a breath to try and calm her nerves, she set off down the hill, leaving behind the edge of the Everfree and heading for the city they called Ponyville. In a few seconds, the sound of hoofsteps told her that Luna and Skylight followed behind.
As the town loomed ominously ever-closer, Applejack kept her eyes trained forward as if seeing a ghost. A ghost town. She shifted her gaze for a moment to make out the shape of a billboard down the road, reading ‘Welcome to Ponyville!’
“We’ll see about that…” she murmured. “We’ll see.”
Tossing her gaze behind her, she called to her companions. “Let’s get a move on! I ain’t wasting a moment more!”
The two shared a glance before turning forward again. With nothing else to do, they trotted ahead.
What is that…? And that? And what is that…?
Applejack heaved a sigh as she wandered down the street, eyes tracing sight after unfamiliar sight. She’d said it before and she’d say it again—miniature Manehatten. It only needed a few skyscrapers and smog to really seal the deal. “So this is Ponyville…” she muttered under her breath.
Her hooves carried her over concrete and cement, weaving through the streams of ponies going about their daily routines. Not even a second glance, she thought, tasting bittersweetness. At the very least, she wouldn’t have to deal with unwanted attention.
Save for the princess behind her, of course. The ponies that managed to turn away from their newspapers and pay attention to the road ahead all followed the same pattern—surprise, greeting, bowing, then leaving. The usual shebang that Applejack knew. “A pleasure to meet you… No, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she heard Luna say to the passing ponies.
Applejack rolled her eyes, turning back to the task at hoof. “Ponyville… Whoa nelly, what happened to you?”
“What was that?” Skylight asked, a grin still on her face from watching Luna’s show.
She shot the pegasus a sidelong glance, not turning her head. “It’s different. Not much else to say. Quite honestly, Skylight, I don’t know what I should be feeling right now. I thought coming here would put me down, but I just feel… like I’m exploring a new town. I don’t recognize a single sight. I don’t think the roads are even in the same layout anymore.”
Skylight nodded, looking to the corners of her eyes in thought. “Maybe it is a new town. You’ll just have to look a teensy bit harder for what you know.”
“…Alright,” she replied, her tone neutral as her eyes meandered back to the city around her.
“Right now we’re in the market district.”
Sure enough, Applejack’s eyes told her the same story. Far from the street vendors and wooden stands, all the stores resting inside of buildings, bidding ponies to take a look through glass widows at colorful signs advertising the best deals. Up and down the street, a store existed for just about anything a pony could want—clothing, food, books, more clothing—and a few more for the ponies that didn’t know they wanted something.
Applejack pursed her lips. “I kinda figured we’d walked into some kind of market place. Just not the kind I’m used to.” She paused for a moment, stepping to the side of the path so other ponies could keep trotting by. Skylight joined her.
“Yes, yes, it’s a pleasure to meet me. No need to bow in the middle of the street… ugh.” Luna sighed, exasperated as she caught up to the two. “Perhaps I should’ve cast an illusion spell on myself beforehoof. As pleasant as my subjects are…” She waved her hoof.
“They’re too loving?” Skylight suggested.
Luna opened her mouth before promptly shutting it. “I’ll just go with that, yes.” With a breath, she glanced down to Applejack, regarding her with hint of intrigue behind those cyan eyes. “Applejack…?” she asked, not needing to finish her question.
“I’m fine,” Applejack replied. “I think. As I said to Skylight, this doesn’t feel like Ponyville. There’s not a sight I recognize. Even these stores—” She tapped her hoof against the glass of the one by them. “Are new. New business names and brands I’ve never heard of.”
“Mmhm… Let me ask you, were you expecting any different?”
She stared at Luna for a second. “…No. I guess not. I just don’t know what to expect…
“I… I just have this itch, and I know the only way to scratch it is to set things right. But here… in this city called Ponyville… I can’t do that.” With a sigh, she cast her eyes away, finding the cement at her hooves rather interesting. “I just realized something.”
“What’s that?” they both asked.
She answered. “This ain’t my home. Not anymore. I’m not sure if there’s a home to come back to eighty years later.”
As Skylight pursed her lips in thought, appearing to search for words to say, the Princess of the Night set her sights elsewhere. “…I’m not so sure about that,” Luna said. As Applejack looked up to her, confusion in her eyes, the princess continued. “I may not know Ponyville that well, but I believe I recall a… few places.”
Applejack furrowed her brow before speaking. “Whaddya mean by that? You mean places I know that are still around?”
“Not quite,” she said, quick to answer. “However, I think you’ll find them to your… Well, I was going to say to your liking. No, I think you’ll just find them interesting...
"...One way or another.”