Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze had been caught unaware that Fireshot had been bucked through a wall by Applejack. They had braced themselves to fight, and currently were staring between an angry looking Applejack and the hole shaped after Fireshot’s silhouette.
On the other side of the wall, Fireshot was catching his breath. The force of the buck and the impact with the wall had knocked the wind out of his lungs, he was currently staring up at the ceiling of the next room. It still hadn’t quite registered with him that he had just been bucked through a double wood wall by a mare.
As for Applejack herself, she was just staring at the hole in the wall, a lot calmer and feeling a lot better after all the remarks about mares that Fireshot had rattled off at her.
Finally, a cough on the other side of the hole was followed by the head and face of Fireshot as he got back on to his legs. He glared at Applejack, and calmly stepped through. Rainflower noticed the look on Fireshot’s face, and spoke up.
“Do try to remember that miss Applejack is from the future. Maybe mares are treated differently in her own time.” she said calmly.
Fireshot glared at Rainflower, then returned his gaze to Applejack, before snorting and walking away.
“Mares treated differently in the future? Like, they would work outside of a house?” Forest Breeze questioned.
“Ya better believe we do! Why, Ah do more work on the farm than mah brother does!” Applejack answered, sitting down.
Standing across from her, Forest Breeze seemed to have a brain malfunction. His jaw went slack and his eyes glazed over. Beside him, Cloudswirl snickered discreetly. He sat at the table and looked to Applejack.
“Times are different for all of us. Understand, miss Applejack, Fireshot did not mean to make you sound helpless, and certainly, after putting him through a wall, I doubt any remarks about mares being weak will be said while you are around. It is just the times we live in. For you, clearly, such remarks are very much the thing of the past, but to you, this IS the past. You can not forget this.” Cloudswirl stated.
As the conversation had gone on between Cloudswirl, Forest Breeze and Applejack, Fireshot, who was still not pleased with being kicked through a wall, had quietly spent the time doing a final check on the supplies. He counted a dozen grappling hooks, one hundred small jars that contained chemicals designed to flash brightly when the jar was broken, enough food for the trip to the citadel and back, along with several bundles of bandages and three pots of a lotion designed to heal wounds.
He took a deep breath and let out a sigh, which caught the attention of Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze. Both walked to his side and examined the supplies, before looking at him confused.
“Is something wrong?” Cloudswirl questioned.
“No, nothing. All we could need is here, rope, grapple hooks, distraction jars, food and even medical supplies. And yet,” he paused, sitting down, “I feel we are missing something. Discord is unlike anything we have faced before, there must be something we have not got yet that could take him down.” Fireshot stated.
Applejack walked to the other side of Fireshot and looked over the supplies that the three had gathered together. The attention to any possible detail of what they would require reminded her of how Twilight would have a checklist for a checklist.
“Ah say ya just need to believe in yourselves now. You seem to have the right things, ya just have ta act now.” she said calmly, with a smile on her face.
The three colts looked at Applejack, smiles slowly forming on their faces as the mulled over her words. Without a word, the supplies were separated into three sets of saddlebags and placed on each colt’s back. Fireshot and Forest Breeze were first out of the building, Applejack lingered in the doorway and looked back at Cloudswirl and Rainflower.
The pair were talking and saying farewell, embracing each other one more time. As she looked on, Applejack felt like she had been kicked in the stomach.
‘Ah hope the princesses arrive during the battle with Discord, for their sake.’ she thought, as she finally turned away and walked outside.
--
One hour later, as the chaos of Discord continued to shake the world, Applejack and the three colts seemed to be getting no closer to where Discord currently resided. Applejack was thankful however, that the reason for this was not some sort of trick, but to the fact it was actually a long distance to travel.
They had long since passed a small forest, which she was told was the Everfree Forest, and where Fluttershy had returned to the future. A quick check of the much smaller Everfree made it clear the only way back to the future however was still the only one Fluttershy could use, and not Applejack.
Conversation since then had been sparse. When asked what Celestia and Luna looked like, Fireshot had become slightly eager to learn what would become of Celestia, and understandably became disappointed when he couldn’t be told, after a reminder from Cloudswirl. After this, and Fireshot’s clear lack of interest in participating any longer, Applejack learnt that the future princesses were just simple unicorns, gifted with immense magic, allowing them to move the sun and moon. As this line of conversation continued, Applejack was informed that before Celestia and Luna, it took teams of unicorns to preform the tasks of raising the celestial bodies, with one group dedicated to raising the sun, and the other the moon.
Naturally, trying to learn more so she could tell Twilight later, Applejack then inquired about other towns. Like Fluttershy had mentioned, Forest Breeze named a town that had been destroyed by Discord, and also added the fact that the new pegasi city, Cloudsdale, had to be abandoned due to Discord changing it into some sort of food he could eat. As for other towns, most had been abandoned soon after Discord begun to take control, with ponies from those towns leaving Equestria far behind.
During another long silence, Applejack recalled a name Fluttershy had mentioned, and so, she decided to ask about it.
“Who is this Sunshine Blaze that Fluttershy mentioned?”
Fireshot stopped, causing Applejack, who had been walking behind him, to walk into him. He glanced over his back to look at Applejack, and sighed.
“From what he said after Fluttershy returned to your time, he too came from the future, seeking someone who came to change the past. He is young, despite how he acts, evidenced by the fact he soon wandered off after we met him.” Fireshot answered, resuming walking once again.
“Alright,” Applejack replied, “but that still didn’t tell me who he is. Ah mean, how do you know he can be trusted?”
“In times like this, Discord causing chaos and bringing the end of the world closer, and ponies from the future trying to either change or maintain our present, it is not exactly clear who we can trust. We just have to and hope it does not go wrong.” Fireshot said calmly, keeping his eyes forward as he walked.
“Also, the fact he helped Miss Fluttershy return to the future suggests he isn’t somepony to fear.” Forest Breeze added.
As soon as Forest Breeze stopped talking, Fireshot stood still again, his ears swiviling. A look of panic appeared on his face, as he begun to also look around the sky.
“What is it?” Applejack asked.
“Wing beats, Cloudswirl, you are on the ground right?” Fireshot questioned.
“Of course, being in the air with what we are heading to do is a bad idea.” Cloudswirl answered.
Fireshot pointed to a ditch that lay behind a brush.
“Everypony, into the ditch, it could be a Roc or worse, Akyrun. Hurry!” he said in a loud whisper.
Wasting no time, the four ponies ran to the ditch and lay on their bellies, looking under the brush to see what was approaching. The wing beats grew louder and soon stopped as four orange hooves landed on the ground.
Applejack looked up and saw the pegasi that had just landed. He was orange, with a blue mane and tail, and flight goggles on his head, which had a toggle switch on one side. Beside her, the three colts relaxed and came out of hiding, soon followed by Applejack herself.
“That was a fine ‘hey, nice to see you again’ you just gave me.” Sunshine Blaze quipped.
“Now you know our situation, young colt. We had no idea if the sound of your wings was that of the wing beats of our enemies. We had to hide just to be safe.” Fireshot responded.
“That’s fine. Anyway, another mare? Also from the future?” Sunshine Blaze asked.
“Indeed, she is a friend of miss Fluttershy. Applejack, this is Sunshine Blaze. Sunshine Blaze, this is Applejack.” Fireshot introduced them.
Sunshine Blaze studdied Applejack for a moment, before holding a hoof out to her.
“A pleasure to meet you. Sorry, I should have arrived earlier, the element you are linked to is corrupted, but no matter, we can still get you back to the future and force him out of hiding.” Sunshine Blaze smiled.
“What did you jus’ say?” Applejack asked, narrowing her eyes.
Sunshine Blaze looked around for a second, before returning his attention to Applejack.
“Um... I said pleasure to mee...”
“Not that.” she snapped.
“We can get you back t...” Sunshine Blaze took a step backwards, as Applejack took one forward.
“Back the cart up a bit.”
“Uh... I should have arrive...” Sunshine Blaze begun to sweat, as every step he took backwards, Applejack took two or three forwards.
“Speed it up.”
“...The element you are linked to is corrupted?” Sunshine Blaze questioned.
“That’s it. Now what the hay does that mean?” Applejack shouted, not noticing that the three colts reacted to this by running for the ditch again.
Sunshine Blaze’s calm and aloof façade disappeared at the face of a very angry adult, a sight every young child feared. He was now sweating and tears forming in his eyes. He tried to articulate an explanation.
“I-it’s something the one I’m t-trying t-to stop is doing, he did the s-same to Fluttershy, now he’s done it to you.” Sunshine Blaze stated in a tone that would make even Fluttershy’s quiet speech seem like shouting.
“Yeah, and Ah bet your helpin’ him do it!” Applejack shouted, now angry at what Sunshine Blaze had said, she forced her nose against his, glaring with all her anger into his eyes, while unnoticed, the goggles slipped off Sunshine Blaze’s head, bounced on his back and landed on the ground beside him.
As Applejack pulled back from him, Sunshine Blaze lay flat on the ground, sobbing.
“I’m sorry, I could have stopped this and didn’t. I’m so sorry.” he cried.