Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 2:14 - Promises to Keep

Chapter 2:14 – Promises to Keep

“Y’re sayin’ I shouldn’t go,” Applejack said testily in between stuffing provisions into her saddlebags.

“Nay, but I am sayin’ that ‘tis not th’ best time,” Big Mac replied as he watched disapprovingly, “Th’ first zap apple harvest has come, an’ Apple Bloom is helpin’ wi’ Granny t’ make th’ jam, but we still need y’ here, Applejack.”

“Y’ know our situation better than I,” Applejack said, pausing in her packing, “Y’ know that e’en wi’ all th’ proceeds from th’ zap apple harvests, e’en if all goes as could be hoped, we’ll still barely scrape by.”

Big Mac said nothing in reply, but just stared at Applejack. The filly averted her eyes after a few seconds. He didn’t blame her for being gone all the time with the Brave Companions, she knew that, but what was left unsaid was that it had had a detrimental effect on the success of the farm this year. There was no slain criosphinx this year to help make up for the difference either. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way she could still do so, though. However, it would require her to go away.

“Th’ Appleoosa Tournament is offerin’ sizable prizes for th’ winners o’ competitions. If ‘tis anythin’ like th’ White Tail Tournament, I should be able t’ make more than enough,” Applejack said, “I have t’ go. I’ll be back afore th’ second zap apple harvest.”

As she moved toward th’ door, Big Mac blocked her way with one of his massive forelegs. When she looked up into his eyes, expecting him to be cross with her, she instead saw fear.

“Be careful, sis,” he said, “E’ry time y’ leave, I fear it’ll be th’ last time I see y’. Promise me y’ll come back t’ us.”

“I promise,” Applejack said, “I promise t’ return, an’ bring enough coin that we won’t have t’ worry anymore.”

***

A week-and-a-half later, Twilight Sparkle trotted through the countryside around Ponieville, bundled up against the cold. Spike bounced on her back, not quite so bundled up as she, taking down the notes the sorceress relayed to him and reheating his inkwell with his breath whenever the ink began to stiffen. She was on her way to the Apples’ homestead for two reasons. Firstly, she’d been studying the bizarre “zap apple” trees that grew nearby ever since the start of the harvest had alerted her to their presence. Magical plants were not unheard of, but Twilight was having a difficult time making sense of how these functioned. Perhaps if she could witness another harvest, it would enlighten her. According to Big McIntosh, another was due any day now, and so was Applejack. That was the second reason for Twilight’s visit.

Her friend had taken off for Appleoosa without a word to her or the other Brave Companions, which she was of course free to do, but it was still odd. Twilight was anxious about being apart, in case another pony possessed by Discord surfaced. So far, she’d relied on being able to counter the anti-Element with its associated Element, and Deceit, the counter to Applejack’s Element of Trustworthiness, was still out there somewhere. If she was unable to locate Applejack, that could be a problem. The sorceress had tried scrying for her along the most logical routes between Appleoosa and Ponieville, but she had been unsuccessful in finding the farmer. She should have returned by now. Twilight was holding out hope that she was either at the Apples’ homestead, or had sent them word.

When she neared the enclosure, a courier was just trotting away. Twilight picked up her pace, and Spike dismounted to run after her. When she arrived at the Apple family’s home, the three members other than Applejack were gathered around a letter, Apple Bloom reading it aloud.

“I won’t be returnin’ t’ Ponieville. Don’t worry, I’ll send th’ money soon,” Apple Bloom read in surprise before looking up at Big Mac, “What money?”

“Who will not be returning to Ponieville?” Twilight Sparkle cut in, “Applejack? Why not?”

“It doesn’t say,” Apple Bloom said sadly as she allowed the letter to fall to the floor, “Applejack’s … not comin’ back?”

“Applejack not coming back, that’s crazy!” Spike said as he caught up to the group just in time to hear Apple Bloom’s tearful pondering, “Something awful must have happened if that’s true.”

“You are right, Spike,” Twilight admitted, “Applejack must be in trouble.”

The Apples looked at Twilight expectantly, though she almost felt the looks were accusatory, as if they blamed her for dragging Applejack into danger. Admittedly, she had on several occasions, but not this time … not that she was aware of, anyway.

“I will find her,” Twilight swore, “You have my word on that.”

***

It wasn’t just Twilight that set out on the quest to find Applejack and bring her home. In addition to her near-constant companion Spike, the other Brave Companions joined her as well. Rarity shut down her smithy yet again this year with only a minimum of bemoaning the lost business. Rainbow Dash rushed to finish her current contract before the group departed Ponieville. Fluttershy and Pinkamena informed the druids’ circle and the Cakes respectively that they would be gone for some time. Their friend was in trouble, maybe even in danger, and they were all going to be there for her. After all, Applejack had been there for them in the past, so the least they could do was return the favor.

It would have been slow going through the snow had Twilight not used her sorcery to help clear their path. It left her exhausted every night, but it was a sacrifice she was willing to make, both because it would help them find Applejack more quickly and because it helped her hone her skills. The sorceress wasn’t the only member of the party that was exhausted by the end of the day, either. Rainbow Dash flew far and wide, scouting to make sure they didn’t miss Applejack on a return journey or wherever she might be held up. Whenever their course took them through a village, everypony fanned out to ask after her.

Eventually they reached their first destination: Appleoosa. In nearly the year since they’d last been here, the town had grown. Though it still seemed incredibly small to the Cant’r Laht sorceress, it was now of a size with Ponieville, buildings spreading beyond the wall originally built to keep the bison out. Alongside the house of the former self-appointed sheriff was rising a stone structure befitting his new Celestia-appointed title, a keep for Thane Silver Star. Few signs of the tournament these ponies had put on remained. It hadn’t been a large or particularly prestigious tournament, what with little established order in the South Equestry Valley, and the fact that most of the nobles who did live around here looked down their muzzles at the upstart thane, but in time it might become another White Tail Tournament.

Given that a large number of the ponies who lived here were Applejack’s kinsponies, it wasn’t hard to find somepony who’d recognized her and knew where she was. Well, they knew where she had gone, at least. East, to Dodge’s Crossing, with a pony named Cherry Jubilee. The Brave Companions headed east as well, following Applejack’s trail and praying that she was still in Dodge’s Crossing or that somepony there knew where she had headed next.

The town of Dodge’s Crossing sat on the current border between the Duchy of Balte-Maer and the Dominions of Cant’r Laht (as re-established by the Treaty of Boulder Brook signed between the Appleoosans and the bison). Six thousand years earlier, the crusader-lord Dodge successfully forded the White River here while it was in flood, taking the pegasi on the west bank by surprise and establishing his own kingdom in the rich South Equestry Valley as a result, simply because he had managed to do what his more powerful, more wealthy fellow crusaders had failed to do: cross the river. The story became enshrined as a legend, and the spot became known as Dodge’s Crossing. Many villages with the same name had sprung up in this spot throughout the ages, the current one only a few centuries older than Ponieville.

The White River was no longer fordable here, but it was still the easiest place to cross within a hundred leagues due to the bridge that had been built from bank to bank. Originally, the bridge that formed the foundation for Dodge’s Crossing had been built by the mages of the growing College of Eyes, a vast span of stone that would have taken years and the backing of a king to build without the aid of magic. Ponies had built their homes and shops on either end of the bridge at first, but had soon begun building on the bridge itself. There was more than enough space; the bridge was wide enough for ten wagons to pass abreast. Buildings continued to expand onto the bridge until only an avenue down the middle remained. That didn’t deter the ponies of Dodge’s Crossing from continuing to build, though. Homes and shops were stacked, and wooden streets built between them. When the towers of buildings grew too high, bridges were built alongside the main bridge, with their own houses and shops built and stacked on top of them. Nowadays, the bridge was nearly three times its original width, and three more levels of bridges passed overhead. The town was the bridge, and the bridge was the town; there was no separating them anymore.

“I hope this doesn’t turn out to be a dead end,” Rainbow Dash commented as the Brave Companions stepped onto the bridge. She flexed her wings nervously, uncomfortable at being boxed in by buildings on either side and more bridges overhead.

“We will find her,” Twilight Sparkle promised, “They said she came here with Cherry Jubilee, so if we find her, then we find Applejack.”

“I found her!” Pinkamena exclaimed, jumping into the air and sending a store’s sign swinging as she struck it with her head.

“Cherry Jubilee?” Rarity asked, “No offense, darling, but how could you tell?”

“Not her, Applejack!” Pinkamena shouted, pointing with a hoof into the crowd of ponies on the bridge.

Everypony looked in the direction the bard was pointing, but nopony could see any sign of the farmer. Rainbow Dash spread her wings, earning a cry from the pony next to her, and hovered just above the crowd. There were two stacks of buildings between the stone bridge and the wooden one above, but banners and lines of laundry were spread over the walkway, keeping Rainbow from flying too high. She did get high enough to see what Pinkamena had seen, an orange mare at the far end of the bridge.

“There she is!” the Hunter proclaimed before trying to wing her way toward Applejack.

Dodging through the tangle of hangings, she made it about a fifth of the way before deciding it would be easier to fly back and over Dodge’s Crossing entirely. Meanwhile, the other Brave Companions tried to make their way across. Fluttershy had a little more success than Dash, carefully moving through the lines, but only Rarity fell behind her. Pinkamena bounded through the crowd, somehow managing to land on only a few ponies in the process. Twilight Sparkle teleported through the groups, Spike clinging tightly to her neck, sometimes zipping up to the balconies on the second floor to get a better view or slip past a knot of ponies. She and Rainbow Dash arrived at Applejack around the same time, with the others drifting in one by one.

“Applejack!” Twilight Sparkle called, and her quarry stopped in surprise.

“Twi’? What’re y’ doin’ here?” Applejack asked, before spotting Pinkamena bounding up, Fluttershy extricating herself from a clothesline, and Rarity stepping out of the crowd leaving the bridge, “What’re y’ all doin’ here?”

“Why didn’t you come back to Ponieville?” Rainbow Dash demanded, landing on the wagon Applejack was pulling.

“Why are you here?” Rarity asked as she trotted up.

“Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked with concern.

“What happened after you left Appleoosa?” Twilight asked, “Why did you come here?”

“Well, I, uh …” Applejack said, pointedly avoiding making eye contact.

“Applejack!” a cream-coated pony with a highly-stacked red mane and a finely-cut dress exclaimed as she descended the steps of a nearby home, “I didn’t expect to see you back so soon.”

The newcomer’s home was quite large and built beyond the main sprawl of Dodge’s Crossing, so there was some space between it and the other buildings. There weren’t too many houses like it around here, which meant the pony who owned it had to be rich, powerful, or most likely both. She appeared to know Applejack, which gave Twilight a hint as to who this pony was (as did the cherry-shaped brooch that fastened her cloak).

“And who are these ponies?” the unfamiliar mare asked as she approached, “Could these be your friends from Ponieville you spoke of?”

“Indeed, we are,” Twilight Sparkle answered, “Cherry Jubilee?”

“The very same,” Cherry Jubilee said proudly, “I suppose Applejack told you all about me. I was lucky to be the one to snatch her up after the tournament. Why, she shone in every competition she entered, which was very nearly all of them. I can always use a pony with quick hooves and a strong back, so when I heard she was looking for a change of scenery, I offered her a job working for me here as fast as I could. Speaking of which, there’s still plenty of work to do today, but I’ve no fear you’ll manage. Catch up with your friends and I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, Mistress Jubilee,” Applejack said with a deferential bow.

“Looking for a change of scenery?” Rainbow Dash asked with derision once Cherry Jubilee was out of earshot, “What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothin’,” Applejack said quickly as she began pulling the wagon again, nearly knocking Rainbow Dash off balance, “I wanted some time away from Ponieville, so I came ‘ere. That’s all there is t’ it.”

“That can’t be all there is to it,” Pinkamena said pleadingly.

“What about your family in Ponieville?” Rarity asked, “Or us?”

“We didn’t travel all the way here and track you down just to go home without you!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she swooped down to land in front of Applejack.

“Well, I didn’t ask y’ t’ come lookin’ for me in th’ first place!” Applejack yelled back, before jerking her cart around Rainbow Dash and continuing to trot away, “I’m stayin’ ‘ere, so accept it!”

“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked after Applejack had left.

“There has to be something she is not telling us,” Twilight Sparkle said thoughtfully, “What could it be?”

“Whatever it is, we’re not leaving until we find out,” Rainbow Dash said gruffly.

***

Applejack swung her axe against the tree’s trunk one last time, and it began to topple over. It was a change of pace from how she usually interacted with trees, but there wasn’t much to harvest in the middle of the winter. Except for zap apples. No, Applejack, focus. They’ll do fine at the zap apple harvest without you. You need to concentrate on keeping your promise to Big Mac, and you didn’t promise to return in time for the second harvest. Applejack shook herself from her inner monologue and got to work lopping off branches from the newly-felled tree. As she did so, she spotted three familiar ponies trotting her way.

“Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkamena, what are y’ doin’ ‘ere? I told y’ I’m not comin’ back t’ Ponieville with y’.”

“Settle down; we aren’t here to ponynap you,” Rainbow Dash said, “Cherry Jubilee hired me to clear the forest of gnomes.”

“And I’m here on behalf of the local druids’ circle to make sure Cherry Jubilee is felling the forest responsibly, not too many trees,” Fluttershy explained.

“An’ what about y’, Pinkamena?” Applejack asked, “Have y’ come t’ bake Cherry Jubilee some bread? Or maybe sing while I work?”

“No, though I could,” Pinkamena said, pulling her lute out of her voluminous mane before getting a look from Rainbow Dash and tucking it back away, “Maybe not. I’m here to work, too! Cherry Jubilee hired me to chop and trim trees!”

“D’y’ have any experience wi’ that?” Applejack asked skeptically.

“Well, no,” Pinkamena admitted, “But Cherry Jubilee said you could teach me!”

“Fine, but I don’t want t’ talk about Ponieville,” Applejack huffed.

“Perish the thought!” Pinkamena said, “So, what’re we doing?”

Applejack sighed before showing Pinkamena how she could help her with trimming the tree’s branches. For some reason, the other two continued to hang around as well. Fluttershy at least had some excuse, but Rainbow Dash should have been off tending to the gnomes, some of which Applejack had seen in her time working for Mistress Jubilee.

“So, how was Appleoosa?” Rainbow Dash asked once Applejack and Pinkamena got going, and Applejack shot the Hunter a look, “Appleoosa’s not Ponieville, is it?”

“I s’pose not,” Applejack sighed, “It was fine.”

“How was the tournament?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Fine,” Applejack answered, annoyed at trying to be engaged in a conversation while she had an axe in mouth.

“Did you get to talk to your family there?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, I did,” Applejack answered.

“How’d you meet Cherry Jubilee?” Rainbow asked.

“Like she said, she scouted me out once th’ tournament was over an’ asked if I could work for her,” Applejack replied, “In th’ winter, she manages a lumber business, but she’s also got a cherry orchard an’ farmlands for th’ rest o’ th’ year. Somethin’ I understood.”

“So, you told her about your family’s farm, then?” Rainbow asked suspiciously.

“Yes.”

“And did you tell her why you weren’t going back?” Rainbow demanded.

“No, because it’s not her business, an’ it’s not your business either!” Applejack exclaimed, dropping her axe, “I don’t want t’ talk about it, an’ I’m not tellin’ y’! Don’t y’ get it? I’ll come back when I’m ready! Now, I’m tryin’ t’ do m’ job, so why don’t y’ leave me alone and do your job?”

“Fine,” Rainbow Dash said with a frown before taking off for the forest.

“You too, Fluttershy,” Applejack said once she’d cooled down a little.

As the druid also left, she was left alone with Pinkamena. She at least didn’t seem to be intent on getting Applejack’s secrets out of her, but then again, you could never really tell just what Pinkamena was thinking. At the moment, she seemed to be intent on doing her job while humming a tune to herself. Applejack sighed and got back to work.

“Applejack, you mind if we talk?” Pinkamena asked a few minutes later.

“That’s fine, I s’pose, so long as y’ don’t ask any questions,” Applejack said after thinking for a minute. It really wouldn’t be good to shut her friends out when they just wanted to help.

“What about the question I just asked? Oh, that was a question too, wasn’t it?” Pinkamena babbled before putting her forehooves over her mouth.

“That kind o’ question is all right, Pinkamena,” Applejack assured her, “Just, nothin’ about Ponieville or why I’m ‘ere, okay?”

“Okay,” Pinkamena mumbled through her hooves before dropping them, “I was just thinking about the Elements of Harmony, and how all of us are connected. And you know how Twilight says we’re connected in another way, too? I don’t just mean that we’re friends or Brave Companions or anything like that. I mean the sonic rainboom Dash did back when we were all fillies. The one that even you and I saw even though we weren’t anywhere near, you know? That’s how we got powers, she says, like my premonitions. I haven’t had one of those in a while, though maybe I will whenever the next piece of Discord’s soul is found. Anyway, your special power from the rainboom is to make plants grow better, right? I was wondering if you could make this log sprout more branches. Would it have to be rooted still? Could you make your crops better even after they’ve been harvested? When do you think we’ll find another pony with a piece of Discord’s soul? I know Twilight’s worried about it; she kept bringing it up on the way here. She says every Element of Harmony has an anti-Element of Disharmony that these soul pieces have. Do you think the ponies with Discord’s soul are linked, too? Other than by sharing a draconeqawhatsits’s soul, that is. They’ve got powers, like us. Did they have a sonic rainboom too? Or, maybe an anti-sonic rainboom! No, that doesn’t sound right. A sonic anti-rainboom maybe? Or a sonic rainwhisper! Can you imagine it, hardly any sound at all in a collapse without any color!”

“Stop, stop, please stop talking!” Applejack pleaded with her hooves over her ears. She’d been pleading for a while but Pinkamena continued to talk over her about anything and everything that popped into her head.

“Maybe the pony with the anti-Element of Mirth also has premonitions, or maybe it’s the opposite and they have visions of the past, or maybe only sometimes don’t have premonitions. What would the anti-Element of Mirth be? Cruelty? Gloominess? I’m sure Twilight has it written down somewhere, don’t you, Twilight?”

Applejack looked up with surprise to see that the sorceress had joined them, as had Rarity. Pinkamena’s mouth was still moving, but no sound was coming from her, courtesy of a spell that Twilight had cast.

“We didn’t want to force you, darling, but that’s what it’s come to,” Rarity said, “If you want Pinkamena to stop her chatter, you’ll have to tell us the real reason you came here instead of returning to Ponieville.”

“I can’t, I won’t,” Applejack said stubbornly.

“Very well, then,” Rarity said, and Pinkamena’s voice became audible again.

“… but that probably won’t happen for another hundred years or more. I wonder if any of us will still be around then? Maybe Twilight, if she follows in Celestia’s hoofsteps. Maybe you too, Applejack, if you take after your Granny Smith. Was she really around before Ponieville was founded? I can’t imagine Ponieville not being there. Did she tell you what it was like? I guess you didn’t want to talk about that, did you? I’ve only lived there for less than half my life, of course, so it would be different for you to think about, if you wanted to think about it, which you probably don’t. I grew up in the Kingdom of Los Pegasus, not the Dominions of Cant’r Laht. I guess now you’re not in Celestia’s dominions either, are you? This is the Duchy of Balte-Maer, or Duchess Seaspray claims it is, anyway. Did you know I met Duchess Seaspray, not once, but twice? Rarity was there for the second time. That was when you were in Manehattan with Fluttershy. I’ve never been to Manehattan before. What was it like? Fluttershy said you saw Saint Cassius’s Basilica and the Fiery Isle. Saint Cassius, what a mare …”

“Stop, I give up!” Applejack said as Pinkamena’s voice cut off. She’d been motioning for Twilight to stop her for the last few seconds and was relieved when the babbling ended.

“You can stop now, Pinkamena,” Rarity said, and Pinkamena snapped her jaws shut.

“Aw, I was just getting into it,” the part-time bard, part-time baker said after Twilight lifted the spell of silence from here.

“Well, Applejack?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“I’ll tell y’ everythin’ when we meet t’morrow mornin’ for breakfast,” Applejack said, “We should all six of us be t’gether when I do it, an’ Rainbow Dash an’ Fluttershy aren’t ‘ere right now.”

“I don’t know …” Rarity said thoughtfully.

“I promise,” Applejack vowed, “And I would never break a promise.”

“All right then, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle said, “Tomorrow at breakfast you will tell us the whole story.”

***

They agreed to meet to break their fasts in a tavern in Dodge’s Crossing, on the second level and looking out over the White River. The next morning, all five of the other Brave Companions (and Spike) were assembled there, seated near a window. Applejack hadn’t yet shown up, which was peculiar since she tended to eat early, but that could be attributed to her dreading this meeting. Twilight Sparkle wasn’t sure just why Applejack wouldn’t want to tell them whatever was going on, but she was determined to get to the bottom of it today. They needed to trust each other, and she thought that Applejack knew that. Of all the Brave Companions, the bearer of the Element of Trustworthiness should have.

“I’m glad Applejack agreed to meet us,” Rarity commented, both to pass the time and try to ease the feeling that she wasn’t coming, “We’ll finally be able to get some answers from her.”

“Maybe,” Rainbow Dash, who hadn’t been overly thrilled that the others had agreed to let Applejack wait until this morning to tell them, said.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow,” Pinkamena assured her, “Applejack promised, and she’s sure to keep her vow.”

“Or, maybe she’ll just skip town,” Fluttershy said as she gazed out the window.

“Now, why would she do that?” Rarity asked.

“I don’t know, but she is,” Fluttershy said, pointing out the window.

The others crowded around, inadvertently pushing the druidess to the floor in the process, to look where she had been pointing. Down below, where the homes and shops hadn’t crowded out over the river yet, docks extended out into the flow, where several river boats were tied up. Applejack was standing on one of those boats as it cast off to head downriver.

“What does she think she’s doing?” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Applejack is breaking her promise!” Pinkamena gasped simultaneously.

The group vacated the window hurriedly and headed for the tavern’s exit, causing quite a commotion. Thankfully, it wasn’t very busy at this time of day, but the few patrons that were there shouted at their tails as they vacated the premises. Rainbow Dash swooped down the narrow alleyway outside the tavern, nearly knocking other ponies aside with every flap of her wings. Fluttershy followed her, apologizing profusely all the while, while those who couldn’t fly headed for the nearest set of stairs. By the time they reached the docks, Applejack’s boat was far away, so they headed toward the nearest bank (the Balte-Maer side) to follow her.

“Applejack! Where do you think you’re going?” Rainbow Dash yelled as she dove toward the boat.

Applejack spoke to the boat’s owners, and they quickly put on speed. Rainbow pulled up from her dive just over the surface of the river and flapped after them, slowly closing the distance. The river boat angled toward the Balte-Maeri bank, passing into a dense stand of tangled trees, yet somehow managing not to get stuck on any roots or ice floes. The captain of the boat had sailed this way several times to avoid guards, and knew just where to sail to get through safely. Rainbow Dash did not know how to pass through and quickly became caught up in the branches.

They were losing Rainbow, but passing through the trees did necessitate slowing some, and those on the bank began to gain on the little boat. Soon they were galloping within sight of Applejack’s vessel but were still unable to reach it. Pinkamena wasn’t going to let that deter her, though. The pink poofy pony darted across the ice and through the branches of the trees until she landed on the deck of the boat, startling its crew and Applejack alike.

“Applejack! You broke your promise! How could you?” Pinkamena demanded.

“I did not break m’ promise,” Applejack said firmly with a shake of her head.

“What?” Pinkamena said incredulously.

“I promised t’ tell y’ when we met for breakfast, but I didn’t promise t’ come t’ breakfast. I never met y’ for breakfast, so I never broke m’ promise,” Applejack explained, but even to her the explanation sounded weak.

“Hmm, I suppose you’re right, but that’s not really an answer. I guess that’s good enough for now,” Pinkamena said before suddenly throwing herself off the boat, “Rarity, catch me!”

“Wait, what?” Rarity said in shock as Pinkamena fell toward her.

She, along with the others, was nearly upon the boat now, since it had strayed close to the shore. She’d gone ahead and ventured carefully out onto the ice, and she slipped as Pinkamena landed on her. The ice cracked, and both ponies plunged into the freezing water, popping up gasping for breath a second later. Rarity shot Pinkamena a shocked and angry look before paddling toward the shore.

“Spike!” Twilight Sparkle called.

“I’m on it,” her dragon page said with a salute before blowing fire to create a warm, dry place for the two drenched ponies once they were out of the river.

“This has gone on long enough,” Twilight mumbled before teleporting herself through the tangled branches and onto the boat.

The boat’s crew jumped back in fright and began to abandon their posts, until the boat knocked against a root and the captain yelled for them all to get back to work or they’d sink. Twilight stared down Applejack, who had nowhere to retreat.

“All right, Applejack, it is time for some answers,” the sorceress said, “Why are you running away? What can you not tell us? Why can you not return to Ponieville? Why would you send your family that letter saying you are not returning and worry them so?”

“I-I did?” Applejack said shakily. She had never meant to worry Apple Bloom and Big Mac and Granny Smith. That letter was supposed to assure them that she had a reason for not returning immediately, not make them think she was abandoning them.

“What is wrong, Applejack?” Twilight asked, more tenderly this time, “You can tell me. I am your friend, am I not?”

“Yes, Twi’, I s’pose so,” Applejack said, slumping in defeat, “Cherry Jubilee said she was impressed by m’ performance at th’ tournament, but I don’t know why. I came in fourth, third, second, but I ne’er won a single event. Th’ whole reason I went t’ Appleoosa was t’ win prize money t’ help th’ farm, but instead I ended up bein’ away durin’ harvest an’ not winnin’ a thing. We’re comin’ up short this year, an’ if w’ don’t pay our taxes, Mayor Mare’ll take land from us instead. It’s what she’s always after. Th’ Apples are goin’ t’ lose more o’ our land, an’ it’s all m’ fault!”

“You came here to work for Cherry Jubilee to earn coin for the farm,” Twilight Sparkle said as Applejack began to sniffle, “Oh, Applejack, you do not have to be ashamed because you did not win at the tournament, and you do not have to worry about losing the farm.”

“Huh?” Applejack said as she looked up at the sorceress.

“Applejack, your friends are here for you; you need only ask,” Twilight said, “I would gladly help you, and I am sure any of the rest of us would likewise do anything that they can to help. You are not alone.”

“You’re right,” Applejack admitted, before trotting up and embracing the sorceress, “Thank y’, Twi’!”

I’m not the only pony that needs to learn how friendships are supposed to work, it appears. That was a comforting thought, given how Twilight had been dwelling on how rocky that first year in Ponieville had been for her ever since Discord’s return. As if thinking about the draconequus triggered poor luck, Twilight suddenly sensed a burst of chaos magic, far to the northeast. It was good they’d found Applejack when they had, for she might soon be needed.

“What is it, Twi’?” Applejack asked as she let the unicorn go and noticed the distant look in her eyes.

“We need to get off this boat, get everypony together, and head for Fillidelfiyaa,” Twilight Sparkle replied, “Another pony has Awakened.”