Chapter 6
"What do you mean there's no eight-fifteen train to Canterlot?" Rainbow demanded.
"I mean, there's no eight-fifteen to Canterlot," the stallion said, sounding supremely bored. "It's been cancelled."
"So uncancel it!"
"That's really not an option."
Rainbow threw her hooves up and let out an inequine scream of frustration. Twilight stepped up. "So when is the next one?"
"There's one at ten and one at eleven thirty."
Rainbow calmed slightly. "So let's get tickets for the train at ten."
"I'm afraid that's not possible either. The ponies who were supposed to go on the eight-fifteen have been rescheduled and there is no more room." He smirked. "You might be able to purchase some first-class tickets for the eleven thirty, though. Full price."
Fluttershy and Rarity had to jump forward and forcefully restrain an infuriated Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie stuck her tongue out at him. "You're being a painy-pain," she said. Then, her eyes widened, and her smile brightened. "I bet you need a party!"
Rainbow stopped struggling. As one, the other ponies slowly backed away and left him to his fate.
* * *
Rainbow looked over at the fan of tickets Pinkie Pie held in her mouth. "So he just gave you these tickets?"
"Yep!" Pinkie said brightly.
"They're first class," Rarity breathed.
"For free?" Rainbow asked.
"Yep!" Pinkie confirmed. "He said something about shreds of sanity. I prefer shredded cheese. Or shreds of carrots in carrot cake."
Rainbow pulled her into a hug. "Pinkie, you're the best. We'll be up there in no time."
Twilight didn't have the heart to remind her that Canterlot was still a day and a half's train ride away.
* * *
“Thanks again for lettin’ me stay here,” Applejack said.
“Any time,” Luna said, feeling the strange modern phrase roll off her tongue. She always had a soft spot for the mares that had rescued her, and she worried. Applejack hadn't left her room all day. In fact, that's what Luna had come for; giving Applejack some food. Of course, some of the servants had balked at the idea of a princess doing such menial labor; but then they were reminded that it would be wiser to balk at the idea of disagreeing with a princess.
“Sorry I ain't been too social,” Applejack said as she took a bite of the turnover. While not her grandmother’s cooking, it was still very rich, and she quickly took another.
“Oh, it's quite all right,” Luna said. “If I were to be honest, going out doesn't always appeal to me much, either.” Her voice flattened. “Politics and petty nobility squabbles are things I certainly haven't missed in my absence.”
“Heh…” Applejack cracked a smile. “Wouldn't like that any myself, either.”
“You are more than free to move about the castle,” Luna continued. “For rainy days, though, I recommend visiting the library. It is most peaceful there.”
Applejack nodded gratefully. “I'll do that,” she said. She wasn't usually much for reading, but for this she might make an exception. It sounded like a welcome escape.
* * *
The train ride up to Canterlot was done in relative silence. Fluttershy had worried all night with Rarity, and the two of them were sleeping against each other on one of the throne-like seats. Pinkie Pie had eaten her weight in the complimentary snacks and was currently hanging her head out the window, letting her tongue flap in the breeze. Twilight looked out the window at the gathering clouds, and Rainbow Dash sat pondering.
“What if we don’t find her?” Rainbow asked.
Twilight looked up.
“What if she left another way?” Rainbow asked. “What if she took another train or hopped on an airship or something and disappeared off the face of Equestria forever?”
“Would that bother you?” Twilight asked.
“Yes!” Rainbow snapped. “That would definitely bother me! I lo-” She paused. “I really care about her,” she finished lamely. “And I maybe really want to see her again.”
Twilight smiled. That was all she’d needed to hear. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll find Applejack. I promise.”
* * *
It had been two days since Applejack had arrived at the castle. It was raining, but only a drizzle. Applejack hated drizzles; it was as if the sky was waffling between raining and not raining. If it were going to rain, it should just pony up and do it. None of this fake rain drizzle horseapples.
She wandered the shelves of the library, looking at all the books. This made the Ponyville library look like the stack of books under her bed. She stopped and stared at the numerous books, all with different covers in different colors. It was really beautiful. Maybe this was why Twilight liked living in a library.
Then again, Rainbow Dash liked libraries, too…
“Can I help you find something?”
Applejack spun around. A unicorn librarian sat at a desk, nearly hidden behind a wall of books.
“No, I don't think..." An idea suddenly occurred to her. "How about memory stuff?” Applejack asked.
The mare nodded and pushed her glasses up to her forehead. “To remember, or forget?”
“Prolly forget,” Applejack said.
“Most ponies use the anatomy reference books.” She directed a hoof towards some absolutely monstrously thick books.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “And just how in the hay do those help?”
“You bash them against your head until you can't remember what you came to forget!” She laughed. It was a quiet but high-pitched and nasally snickering, and it grated harshly against Applejack's spine. Applejack glared.
The librarian's laugh dropped off, and she was serious again. “May I see your library card?”
“Library card?”
“Memory potions and spells are in section 503 in the Forbidden wing,” she explained. “I just need your library card to show you have access and I'll let you in.”
Applejack pursed her lips. “Nope, don't have one of those. Guess I'll ask Luna for one la-”
“Wait.” She held up a hoof. “You're the pony Luna's been taking care of?”
Applejack nodded.
The librarian hopped off her stool. “Then I'll take you there. Just follow me!”
She led the way to some rooms far in the back, until they reached hall 500. Applejack shuddered. This entire hall had felt darker than the rest of the library, as if it knew it had secrets waiting that probably shouldn't ever have been revealed. Each offshoot of the passageway was guarded by a stone wall with two doorways, both glowing with a red forcefield. The librarian stopped under section 503 and stuck her horn into the slot between them, and the forcefield on the right vanished.
“Stay as long as you want,” she said, extending a hoof to let Applejack know she could enter. “Just push that lever there when you want to leave.”
Applejack nodded her thanks and entered. Section 503 was a relatively small section; it was more like a broom closet than a cave, though it was also carved out of rock. A table with four chairs around it sat in the center, and against the rear wall was a single shelf that had all the books on it. Applejack looked over the covers.
Forgetfulness and You: What you can do when you can't remember what you're doing
Memory Potions for Dummies
Memory Retention Spells for Aged Ponies
Applejack cracked a smile. It deepened into a frown as she found another book close to the other end of the shelf.
Forgetting
A simple word, but full of import. Maybe it was the gold lettering or how thin it was, but Applejack found herself drawn to the book. It seemed to be newer, as if it were a new translation of an older manuscript. She brought it to the table and began to read.
If there is one subject that must be treated with respect, it is that of forgetting. This book deals not with forgetting affairs or poor social interactions, though readers seeking cures for such incidents may find some of the recipes herein to be of some use. Rather, this book deals with permanent erasure of memory, a responsibility which is not to be assumed lightly.
Aside from the smaller tasks, such as the potion to help foals forget terrifying nightmares or the post-birth concoction, many of the mixtures in this volume involve water from Tranquil Lake. Of course, the Lake will be discussed in its own chapter, with the dangers and warnings a powerful artifact such as it merits.
Applejack quickly flipped back to the table of contents, found the page where the chapter on Tranquil Lake was to start, and flipped to that page.
At least, she tried to; but the pages of that section had all been ripped out. She ran a hoof over the torn edges. It had been too smooth a tear to be anything but magic. She frowned. Who had done that? And why?
“I see you took my advice.”
Applejack jumped. She slammed the book shut and spun around. Luna stood outside the barrier, and Applejack dropped into a bow; as well as she could from her seat at the table, that is.
“Rise,” Luna said, lighting her horn and walking through the barrier. “We are friends, are we not?”
Applejack blushed slightly. “Right.”
“It is good to see you here,” Luna continued. “Reading is a most enjoyable pursuit when you wish to leave something behind.” She cleared her throat and straightened up. “When my watch alerted me to your presence here, I had assumed you had gone to section 509, looking for love potions. I am glad to see I was mistaken.”
“Love potions? Really?” Applejack hadn't even considered that option, and was mildly offended that Luna had even considered that a possibility. If Rainbow Dash didn't love her for real, it wasn't even worth it.
Luna misunderstood the reason for her surprise, and nodded. “Yes. Real love potions. We keep them locked away, and for good reason. Can you imagine the chaos that would result if potions like those were left out to where any foal could get their hooves on them?”
Applejack coughed and brought a hoof up to scratch the back of her neck. “Yeah,” she said uncomfortably. “That'd be pretty messy.”
“There are much better ways to soothe pain, ways that give true and lasting results.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “When Celestia is sad or stressed, she eats cake. Often, she orders cakes to be sent to her room from various bakeries so it does not appear that she is overeating. Once, two bakeries happened to deliver their cakes at the same time.”
Applejack winced. “Bet that ended well,” she said sarcastically. Bakers tended to be quite proud of their craft.
“Medics did have to be called,” Luna admitted. “But both cakes were delicious.” She paused. “What are you studying, anyway?”
“Just this,” Applejack said. “Do you know about Tranquil Lake?”
Luna frowned. “No, I cannot say that I do,” she said. “Unless… Oh!” She brightened. “It is the Lake of Tranquility!” Her smile of success quickly turned horrified as her pupils shrunk to pinpricks, and she closed her mouth.
Applejack waited, but Luna did not expand on that. “And what's the Lake of Tranquility?” she asked, prompting.
“It is nothing,” Luna said, a bit too quickly. “A thing of legend. Likely it does not even exist anymore.” She paused, realizing that she was only digging herself a deeper hole. “Though that is making the assumption that it ever existed; which I can assure you it never has.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow and pointed at the book in front of her.
Luna bowed her head and sighed in defeat. “It is known as the Lake of Tranquility, or the Well of Forgetfulness. It is a magical source of water which can soothe the pains of anypony—even those of the princesses.”
Applejack perked up, but Luna was not finished.
“However, it comes at a terrible price; the loss of all the memories and feelings of that which caused them the pain.” She met Applejack's eyes. “It is a fate not many choose, and many who do drink of the lake come to regret it.”
Applejack nodded slowly.
“So it would not be a good idea to seek out this lake.”
Applejack nodded slowly.
“And it is not marked on any of the maps of Canterlot in the maps section of this library.”
Applejack nodded slowly.
Luna paused, then exhaled slowly. “I am not good with misdirection,” she admitted. “Perhaps you would like to accompany me to a play tonight?”
“Yeah,” Applejack said, already making plans to return. Maps and cartography was in the 220 wing, wasn't it? And maps weren't forbidden information. “That sounds good.”
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Oh, AJ. Don't do anything that you're going to regret. Please.
wait what aj thinking of doing?
that's just fucking stupid!
and is luna trying to help or let her go through with it?
4431570 I think that she's thinking of drinking the water of the Lake of Tranquility to forget the love that she has for Dash. The only thing is, that could be a very two-edged sword, where that's concerned. She could even forget the platonic love that she has for her, and that would not bode well for their friendship.
And yes, yes, it definitely is.
Hmmmm, I dunno. Methinks that Luna's sneaky enough to work it so that she doesn't go through with it.
I hope.
Anyway, I can't with for the next chapter to find out! Hopefully, the girls...and especially one (very remorseful) Rainbow Dash...will arrive in time to stop AJ from making such a horrendous mistake.
Even if Luna can't. (Won't?)
Well, as much as I like Appledash.. Hey, I wouldn't complain at a little Lunajack. Just without the
magical roofieser, Lake of Tranquility.You lo-?
You LOVE her?!
This story just keeps getting better and better.
And what made the others think AJ would be in Canterlot?
I hope Luna isn't leading both parties on...
That kinda cheapens the story for me.
These later chapters have been improving from the earlier ones. Pacing issues seem to have straightened out a bit. Glad I stuck with it. Taking interesting turns.
Somebody needs to give AJ a hefty dose of common sense, Here you go AJ.
4432411
I have never considered LunaJack, but it intrigues me now…
4433393
They didn't; in chapter five Twilight suggested they go to talk to Luna because Manehattan was too large to search on their own. If Luna had seen Applejack, she should know something.
No, Luna is not. There is no tragedy tag.
Thank you! My prereader also said I jumped into the first chapters a little quick… I might go back and extend it. Someday.
I hate princess romance. That better not be a date. I will stop reading this if it's a date.
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