Nightfall. Twilight Sparkle was still fast asleep, and Applejack felt it best not to wake her - she had been through an awful lot, after all. The earth pony had already started a small fire in their make-shift camp, and many of the items that had been in Twilight's saddlebags had been dumped next to the warmth of the fire to give them a chance to dry. Many of the unicorn's belongings survived her plunge into the water, and even the books would be quite alright. They had each packed a sleeping bag and tent of their own, however, and both of those seemed to be missing entirely from the lavender mare's belongings. That might prove to be a problem later on, but they had good weather thus far - there was no reason to believe that it was going to get any worse.
Applejack sighed and set Twilight's saddlebags by the fire before returning to her own. Taking a seat by the fire, she opened up her own saddlebags and pulled out a harmonica, pressing the metal to her lips as she began to play. She didn't know any songs - not really, at least - and most of it was often just playing what she desired. The orange mare closed her eyes, slowly rocking back and forth as she belted out a somber tune, a series of soulful notes echoing out into the night. Completely unbeknownst to her, Twilight Sparkle had woken up and was now watching her friend with a great deal of interest and curiosity, having never known one of her friends was capable of playing an instrument. As she played, Applejack thought back to Sweet Apple Acres and to Appleloosa, and to her family - Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and all the others. Most of all, she thought of her Mom and Pop, though it soon proved enough to make the mare stop. With her eyes still closed, Applejack set the harmonica upon the grass and began to rub her face when she heard a peculiar sound. It was almost like it was... clapping hooves.
"That was beautiful, Applejack."
The earth pony's eyes shot open and she quickly looked over at Twilight Sparkle - she was still laying upon the ground, but her head was now raised, a smile on the mare's face. "I didn't know you could play anything."
"I uh... yeah. I can. Sorry fer wakin' ya up, Twi. I didn' mean ta, honest." Applejack hadn't been expecting to play for an audience, and she was somewhat embarrassed by the whole ordeal.
"What song was that anyways? I don't recognize it."
"It ain't a song." The earth pony had since picked the harmonica up off the grass and played with it. "I usually jus'... think of stuff an' play what I feel."
"So what were you thinking about? Or feeling, for that matter?" Twilight cocked her head to one side and peered back at Applejack, an eyebrow raised. "I mean, towards the end there, you looked kinda... in pain, almost."
The orange mare frowned, her ears flattening against her head. "I'd... rather not talk about it, sugarcube. Hope ya don' mind."
"Are you sure, Applejack? I've always heard you and the other girls out when you've had something on your mind. You can tell me."
She hesitated for a moment, looking away from Twilight before returning her gaze to her. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'll keep it in mind though. 'preciate it, Twi."
Twilight smiled and nodded, laying her head back down upon the grass as she stared at the burning embers of the campfire. "Still hard to believe that I was actually dead for a few moments. Like... clinically dead. Wonder what the other girls would say if we told them?"
"I dunno, ta be honest. They migh' freak out about it a bit, an' I get the feelin' Rainbow would think I'm some sorta hero or somethin'. I don' think we should tell 'em I had ta give ya mouth-ta-mouth, though."
"...why wouldn't we?" The lavender mare had her head cocked again as she listened intently.
"Well they migh' get the wrong idea... ya know, 'bout us?"
"But you did it to save my life! I mean... they couldn't possibly misinterpret that, could they?"
The orange mare sighed and rubbed her forehead before continuing. "Look at it this way, sugarcube - two mares, those two bein' us, go off alone and one of 'em ends up givin' mouth-ta-mouth. It'd be kinda easy to jump ta conclusions an' think that there's somethin' goin' on, right?" Twilight Sparkle stared blankly at her friend, and Applejack had to suppress a laugh as she realized just what the issue was - the poor girl had spent so much time shut in with her books, she had no idea what Applejack was hinting at. No wonder she was confused. "Eh, don' worry about it, Twi. If you wanna tell 'em, tell 'em."
"It'd make for a good story. Oh, my stuff! You even put it out to dry and everything. Looks like everything's in one piece..." Twilight had slipped out from under her blanket and had already begun to inspect her things. The ink in the books and on the map were a bit smudged and the pages were more fragile, but it was all intact. She'd simply have to repair them after their trip was over. "Wait, everything's here except-"
"-yer tent an' sleepin' bag. I guess it got washed away or somethin'. Ya still got everythin' else though, right?"
The unicorn nodded and took a seat by the fire, using her magic to pull the blanket over herself. The camp was quiet for a bit, and Applejack used the time to pull some fruit from her saddlebags - a little snack couldn't hurt. The mare took a bite and began to chew, only swallowing after she heard her friend begin to speak again.
"Applejack, what's it like to have siblings?" She eyed the earth pony intently, and Applejack could already see that spark of curiosity in her eyes, knowing full-well it wouldn't be sated until she had gotten a proper answer. "I mean, I know it sounds like an odd question, but I'm an only child."
To Applejack, it truly was an odd question. Still, she was indeed an only child, and the orange mare felt it an obligation as her friend to answer her. "Well, it's... hard ta explain. Siblings can be kinda wishy-washy - some days, they can be the best darn friends ya could ever hope ta have around, an' other days they'll absolutely drive ya crazy. It's awful complicated, Twi. I dunno if I can explain it any better." She continued on, telling Twilight several tales of both the good and bad antics her and her siblings sometimes got into. Applejack got so carried away with her storytelling that she failed to notice that her friend had fallen asleep once more, the lavender mare quietly snoring as she lay by the fire. "Oh... right. Well uh... g'night, Twi."
There was the slightest hint of disappointment in her voice upon finding out that her companion had fallen asleep, and though Applejack knew she should get some sleep for the next day, she simply couldn't fall asleep herself. She tried playing a song or two on her harmonica, but soon lost interest, and another few minutes were spent aimlessly wandering the camp. Frustrated, she cast her hat aside and walked over to the edge of the cliff, taking a seat and simply... watching. She watched the moon and stars. She watched the water below. Something was eating away at her - she could feel it, and yet she didn't know what it was. That was the worst part of it all. Her ears twitched as she heard hoofsteps behind her, and she turned to look over her shoulder as she watched Twilight Sparkle come over and sit beside her.
"What's wrong, Applejack?"
"Nothin's wrong, Twi. I'm fine." She felt her nose scrunch up, and she hated herself for it. It was a habit of hers whenever she attempted to lie, and it became fairly well-known to all her friends when Discord had corrupted her.
Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, and it was evident she had caught it. "You took your hat off, AJ - you never take it off unless you're going to bed, and you're clearly not going to sleep any time soon. You're a terrible liar anyways."
"...shoot. It's no big deal, sugarcube. Don' worry yerself over it."
"No, I am going to worry myself over it. I've seen what happens when you've got something bothering you and you keep it bottled up. You get... well, self-destructive." The lavender mare looked towards her friend pleadingly. "Applejack, please - if it'll make you feel better, just get it off your chest. It's just us anyways. It's not like anypony is gonna hear."
Applejack sighed and lowered her head, burying her face in her forelegs. "Alright, fine. But ya just opened th' floodgates. Hope ya know what ya've gotten yerself into. Sometimes... well, I jus' get scared. Not stuff like 'boogey ponies under th' bed' or nothin'. It's all emotional junk."
"Like what?"
"Well, ya know how important family an' friends are ta me. Every now an' then, maybe once a month, I get this awful nightmare. I wake up at home, 'cept nopony's there. I run over ta Ponyville, and again, nopony at all. I check yer house an' all the others - yer not there, an' neither are any of th' other girls. An'... I dunno, Twi. I find it terrifyin'."
Twilight Sparkle stared back at Applejack. "You mean... you're afraid of being alone?"
She didn't want to admit it - after all, she was a tough girl, one of the toughest around - but yes, she was afraid. Deeply afraid, even. "When ya almos' drowned an' I was tryin' ta bring ya back... I was scared half ta death that I might lose ya. Not only 'cause I'd lose one of mah closest friends, but 'cause I'd be all alone out here. I... I hope that don' sound selfish or nothin'."
The unicorn slowly shook her head 'No'. Twilight had never seen Applejack show such a vulnerable side. Sure, she could be spooked, but Applejack wasn't really afraid of anything - at least, until now. "I noticed that... you don't really talk about your parents much."
Applejack was almost prepared to put everything out in the open, but that was an especially tender subject for her. It crossed the line, and she had no desire to talk about it. "...go back ta the camp, Twilight."
"W-what? Was it something I said?" She blinked, not sure if she was even hearing things right. Did Applejack just tell her to leave?
"Yes. Jus' go back ta the camp. I'll be back in a bit."
Reluctantly, Twilight Sparkle stood up and slowly made her way back to the light of the camp. She knew not what she said wrong, but she soon figured it out - from a distance, she could see Applejack lower her head and bury her face in her forelegs. Every fear and phobia had an origin, and it didn't take long for the young unicorn to figure out where the earth pony had gotten hers from. It pained her greatly to see Applejack in this state, but Twilight knew she simply wanted to be left alone. She slipped beneath her blanket and curled up by the fire, watching Applejack off in the distance.
Sleep would not come easily for either of them that night.
-----
"Look, I said I was sorry for mentioning it!"
"And I said ta shut up about it."
Twilight Sparkle frowned and flattened her ears, no doubt still regretting her actions from the previous night. The two of them trudged onwards, having been on the move since that morning, and though they had made good ground, tensions were high. Neither of them had slept well - Twilight felt immensely guilty for having mentioned Applejack's parents, and Applejack still found herself feeling vulnerable from revealing so much about herself, even if it had been to a pony who was likely her closest friend.
"AJ, just... stop for a moment."
The orange mare begrudgingly did as asked, stopping in her tracks and turning to face the unicorn. She was tired and irritated, though she did her best not to show it. "What is it, Twi? Ya need ta eat or somethin'?"
"No. I want to know what's gotten into you - you've been snapping back at me all morning."
"Ya wanna know why?" She stomped up and was standing nose-to-nose with the unicorn. "Ya mentioned somethin' ya darn well shouldn' have."
"How was I supposed to know?! You never said anything, so I didn't know!"
Applejack blinked and stepped back for a moment, frowning and shaking her head as she saw the situation from another perspective. "Yer... yer right, Twi. I'm sorry fer yellin' at ya. Jus'... don't mention that again around me, okay?"
"Noted." Twilight huffed as they continued their march once more - her near-drowning and subsequent rescue had strengthened their bond, but the ensuing fiasco regarding Applejack's parents had left things feeling uneasy. They were still close friends, of course, but there was certainly a bit of bad air between the two of them. The two mares had been walking through this forest for hours on end, and neither had any clue if they were getting close to leaving it.
"Hey Twi, I think there's a clearin' up ahead. Might be worth checkin' out."
"A clearing? I don't remember reading anything about that." Her horn softly glowed as she pulled out the map from her saddlebags and unfurled it in front of herself - sure enough, there was no clearing at all upon the map. "...nor do I see a clearing either. I guess we should check it out, though. Might make a good camping spot anyways."
"Good idea, sugarcube." Applejack took the lead as they cautiously approached the clearing, but as they broke free of the treeline, the orange mare came to screeching halt. "...uh, Twi?"
Twilight Sparkle, her head still buried in the map, bumped right into her friend and stumbled backwards. "Oof! Why'd you stop, AJ?"
"Jus'... put th' map down. Ya need to see this."
"I don't see what could be so..." She hastily rolled up the map and put it away, finding herself staring in disbelief once she looked back up. "...important."
In front of them, filling much of the clearing, was a cemetery - most of the tombstones were crumbling, the epitaphs completely worn away by the sands of time. Applejack found herself chilled to the bone at the sight of so many graves, but Twilight Sparkle wasn't nearly as affected. The young unicorn cautiously approached one of the tombstones in better shape and brushed away at the face of it with a hoof. "...Applejack, if these epitaphs are right, these graves have been here for a very long time."
"How long are we talkin', Twi? A hundred years?" Even with the sun still out and her friend close by, the orange mare still found herself nervously looking about the graveyard. "More than that?"
"Much more... well over a thousand years. Possibly several thousands. It's remarkable that such a large grave-site could be completely absent from most Equestrian annals."
"Look, Twilight, I appreciate th' history lesson an' all, but could we get outta here? I'm startin' to get mighty creeped out." Applejack quickly trotted over to Twilight's side, and it was clear that she was feeling uneasy. "I'm startin' ta get another one of those gut instincts too. A bad one, I mean."
The lavender mare grinned and placed a hoof on her friend's back. "Applejack, I know we're in a cemetery, but just look - it's out in the open, and not a cloud in the sky either. What could possibly go wrong? Just give me a minute or two, I wanna get one last look at these gravestones."
"Bah, fine. I'll jus' be over yonder." Applejack left Twilight to her studies and trotted off a fair distance, standing in the center of the graveyard. She nervously paced about, the gut instinct growing more prominent by the second, and she could have sworn she was seeing things when the ground rose up a bit. It took another minute for her to realize that the ground wasn't rising - she was sinking. "...well shoot. Stumbled on a sinkhole, didn' I?" As if giving her a resounding 'Yes', the ground gave out beneath her, and Applejack tumbled into the darkness without so much as a yell, her hat sailing off to the side.
Not long after, Twilight Sparkle wandered over towards the center and looked around for any sight of her friend. "Odd, she said she was going to be right here. Where did that pony run off... to." She ended her sentence as she saw the gaping hole in the ground, and Applejack's hat laying on the grass beside it. "Ooooh goodness. This is not good. Not good at all. Okay, um... um... maybe a levitation spell! Or..." The longer she stared at the hole, the more she realized that magic alone would not solve this problem - if she was going to find Applejack, she was going to have to dive in after her. With a sigh, she picked up Applejack's hat and stuffed it into her saddlebags, then cautiously approached the edge of the sinkhole.
"Don't worry, AJ! I'm coming! I just hope you're okay..."
She jumped, letting out a yelp as the pit seemingly swallowed her - there was no turning back now.