Cutie Mark Caverns

by Tropical Applejack

Path One - Honesty

Our hero stepped forward into the red light wondering what was ahead. Had they made he right decision splitting up the way they did? Celestia did have it requested that they go where it felt right... but what if this was wrong? What if one of them needed help? What if-

AJ's thoughts were quickly disrupted as she saw what seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, there! She could see the tunnel opening up! She picked up the pace to a brisk gallop over the hard stone beneath her hooves. And as the light grew brighter, she had a bit of trouble seeing what was in front of her. Only when she exited the tunnel did her eyes adjust to the bright, red light still reflecting off her coat. Despite this, her pace never changed, and she nearly flung herself off into a chasm before quickly stopping herself, skidding to a stop and just barely escaping a plunge down into a river of molten rock.

The mare took several deep breaths, watching as the orange-red river ran down another far-away tunnel. At the heat of the magma, carrying up to her, she looked up and away to see the sight of her life; there, on the wall opposite of her and high above her, were three openings in what would have otherwise been a wall of stone. The openings were formed in the rough shape of apples. Not perfect, but accurate enough to not seem accidentally or naturally formed. For a moment, Applejack simply stood and watched as crimson, liquefied rock poured from two of these figures, leaving only one seemingly safe for passage. And in it, Applejack saw herself: one apple in a bunch of many, aspired and known to live a life all her own just as those before her.

She looked around for anything else of interest, but the only thing there was that one open passageway - besides the one that she had come from, which she had left far behind her. All she wanted to do was beat the heat and get up there, but there was more to it than that. With every step, she felt that she was drawing closer to the truth. And with every step, she felt stronger for a reason she could neither explain nor observe. Very soon she would need all of this strength, for in front of her sat the highest rock-climb she'd had in years.

Wedging a forehoof between two rocks just above her and hastily pulling up, she used her other forehoof to make another wedge into the wall and soon did the same with her back legs. All she had to do was climb these stone stories, and she would be out.

Without even knowing it, her cutie-mark began to shine brilliantly: more brightly than even the magma in the crimson river below. It was her honesty: her destiny. That's what had brought her here, and it was what was going to get her out, too. A deep friendship ran beneath the shine of her flank as all her truth-telling materialized in her mind in a montage of memories.

And the earth pony remembered what she stood for.

Honesty.

---

Honesty can make all the difference in a friendship. While it is true that honesty can be brutal, sometimes an inconvenient truth is better to tell than a convenient lie: something that can undermine the very foundation built under the connection between friends. Applejack knew this best of all. Honesty was the one thing that she knew as she climbed the rock wall. So long ago, she had been entrusted to uphold the values of honesty within Equestria. She rose up and came to be a great inspiration to others, growing up as a family mare and staying true to ponies, most of all herself. She would come home after adventuring to a loving sister, brother, and grandmother, and she would tell them all about it - word for word, accurate as she could be.

Honesty isn't always precise, but it does its job in upholding what it does: the foundation of connection, giving individuals the opportunity to truly understand one another with few to no secrets left between them.

This was Applejack's path. She knew this all too well upon reaching the passage, out of breath and sweating profusely. And still, she felt stronger than she ever had. Applejack knew that she had made the right choice coming this way.

---

In one place, somepony admits their wrongs.

In another, an apple tree finally sprouts.

And Applejack smiles, feeling no dishonor.