Applejack Gets Lost

by MagicS

Wings of the Wind I

It was a lot warmer where they were now. The forest that was mostly pines had gotten leafier, hotter, and wetter, not quite a jungle or tropical yet but much more like the Everfree than what Applejack and the disciples had been walking through on their way to Pony Villas. Any real road or path had disappeared long ago and now the five of them trudged through the brush, it was tiring work but all of them were in pretty much the best shape a pony could be in. More than once though a vine had tripped up Applejack, and she had been warned not to go near any brightly colored flowers. Applejack knew that lesson well though.

Night would be upon them soon as well. It was a good thing too since Applejack was really tired of being drenched in sweat from a combination of humidity and the hot sun. But in a thick forest like this it could make things hard to see and predators could come out at night time as well.

Still the ponies went on, through trees, fallen trunks, over streams and rocks and everything in-between. Applejack took off her hat for a second and used it to wipe the sweat from her brow. The disciples had remained quiet ever since they started on their way to their old monastery, even quieter than before. Well Applejack was fine with that since she was still peeved about the whole “Ponyville” mix-up. It was just kind of weird though.

Whatever, let em stay quiet for as long as they want.

She came to a big pool of quicksand but a few hanging vines allowed her to easily swing over it. This was nothing compared to conquering the Everfree or any of Equestria’s crazy swamps. There weren’t even any fire spouts or giant monsters! She spotted more than one bush with some good looking berries but it was more than likely those were poisonous, she could imagine Pinkie or Dash scarfing down a whole bunch without a second thought. She snickered to herself.

If Twilight was here she’d probably have a big journal of what was and wasn’t safe to eat.

The four disciples behind her had shed their green cloaks, leaving them at the spa. Guess they’d just be a hassle around here? Or make em too sweaty when they don’t really need protecting from the sun anymore. It made her think about Quartz’s scars again, something was just wrong with those. How do you get all those tiny little scars? Tumbling through a thorn bush wouldn’t do anything like that. Maybe it was related to Obsidian’s scar and eye.

Applejack frowned, it was rude of her to think about such personal things concerning her friends. Especially when it was something upsetting like those scars. They’d tell her if they wanted to.

Bedrock had been abrupt and quieter around her ever since her little speech about “no killing”. Normally he’d at least quip something but now he treated her like empty space.

Marble was Marble.

Yeah the four of them were her friends but even though Applejack wouldn’t pry into their personal issues she was going to need to have a long talk with them soon. Just the way they were acting didn’t sit right with her. They didn’t mind explaining Hoof of the Earth but wouldn’t tell her why they were the last ponies who knew about it, or what happened to their monastery.

She sighed, she didn’t want to be the one to break the silence but she at least wanted to know how much longer they’d be going through this forest.

“Hey y'all, how much longer until we get to your monastery anyways?” She yelled back at them, Bedrock and Marble not even reacting while Obsidian deferred to Quartz.

“We should get there shortly after nightfall, it isn’t much further now.”

“You said there were some villages around here too?”

“Yes but not on this side of the forest, and no pony would come to our monastery.” Applejack didn’t exactly like Quartz’s cryptic words on that.

“Okay, well exactly why wouldn’t they come to your old monastery?”

An uncomfortable flash of displeasure appeared on Quartz’s face. “It’s something I’d really like to tell you when we get there. So we can all rest. But I promise, we’ll tell you everything. I know you’ve been wondering about some things and we haven’t been very forthcoming.” His lips twisted in frustration, Applejack could tell he was clearly bothered by them not talking to her about something.

“It’s alright...” She trailed off, accepting his words for now.

“This forest has really grown out of control since the time we were foals.” Obsidian butted in, trying to lighten the mood. “We all got lost in here at least once.”

“Hehe, exploring is all part of being young.” Applejack smiled at her, glad that they could at least still kill some time with friendly conversation. “My little sister and her friends would do something crazy every day back in Ponyville. I can’t even remember how many times I had to get them out of trouble.”

The two of them continued on like that, it made the difficult journey through the forest a lot easier. Applejack and Obsidian chatted together and the obstacles in their way were handled without any trouble. Through the canopy of the trees Applejack could see the light getting weaker and weaker until it had almost disappeared completely. If Quartz was right it wouldn’t be much longer before they got to their destination. Applejack put any negative thoughts about that out of her mind, she just wanted to enjoy the friendly chat she was having with Obsidian. Bedrock’s silence and Quartz’s dismay were things that could be dealt with later.

The temperature dropped quickly with the light, almost enough to make Applejack start to shiver despite it being so hot and humid only an hour before. This forest wasn’t one she would want to get lost in. She could tell, even though she couldn’t see it, that the sun had disappeared completely over the horizon. Only the last few licks of light from it making it into the sky, now the moon and stars had become the chief source of illumination.

Chirping crickets and croaking frogs made the night come alive. Swarms of fireflies, the bright eyes of owls.

Pushing through a few more hundred yards of trees Applejack and the disciples reached their destination.

“Well now.” Even in the dark Applejack could appreciate the building before her. They had pushed into a clearing in the trees where the monastery was built. Or to be more accurate, carved. A large orange rock stood out of the forest, flat on top, almost like a mountain that had its peak cut off. At the side of the rock that Applejack faced the entrance to the monastery had been sculpted into the wall, intricate carvings of ponies, swords, the sun, flowers, animals and monsters lined the entrance. A large jutting awning of rock shot out over the entrance, on it two earth ponies clashing their hooves together had been carved. Six large pillars were built on the outside of the monastery, creating a path to the shadowed entrance, although they were cracked and covered in vines and the outer two had fallen over and broken completely. The entrance itself was wide and tall enough for Fluttershy’s bear to walk on in on his hind legs and with arms spread wide. Applejack couldn’t tell how deep it went into the rock, the shadowy nature of the entrance and the night making it impossible to see in more than a few feet.

“Huh, pretty cool looking place ya got.” She told the disciples.

Quartz stepped forward to gaze impassively at the monastery. “It’s… seen better days. Come, let’s go inside.”

Applejack followed him as he walked in, the others joining them. “How long has it been since you were here?”

“Two years was the last time we visited, but Hoof of the Earth and the monastery fell long before that. When we were still young.” Obsidian answered.

Applejack just nodded along, figuring they would give her the full story soon on their own terms. But she wondered how they were going to be able to see anything in here, it was already pitch black and they hadn’t been walking for a minute.

“So how do you see in here? Are there any torches you can light up somewhere?”

“No, no, we use something much more attuned to us.” Quartz said from ahead, although Applejack couldn’t see him at all. “Wait one second and I’ll show you, we’re almost to the hall.”

Applejack did and they continued on in darkness. She had to assume that the hall was the typical meeting place in this monastery.

“Right, we’re here now. Now watch, Applejack.” Quartz’s voice called out to her and then she heard him tap his hoof to the ground, a small vibration going out through the floor.

At first it seemed like nothing was happening but ever so slowly parts of the walls began to glow. A strange bluish-white light, it got brighter and brighter until the whole room was lit up so well there might as well have been a sun in there.

The room was massive, maybe double the size of the royal castle’s throne room, with stone pillars going down the entire length on both sides. At her hooves there was what was once a large carpet extending the length of the room but was so tattered and worn it would knock Rarity unconscious if she saw it. The light came from dozens of circular recesses built into the walls and ceilings, they were so bright now Applejack couldn’t make out just what was generating the light.

“It’s lichen.” Quartz said, not looking at her but instead gazing down the grand hall. “Bioluminescent lichen, it activates through vibrations. A simple Hoof of the Earth technique. We can light up the rest of the monastery as we go on.” He finally turned to her. “However. I’ve put this off long enough, I don’t want to procrastinate any longer.”

Applejack stared back at him. Partially she was worried. It almost felt like he was about to tell her some sort of awful truth but she didn’t believe they were the kinds of ponies to be hiding something that bad from her. Obsidian, Marble and Bedrock gathered behind him, they were all ready to get whatever was eating them off their chests.

“I’ve been worried about telling you all of this because you might be rightfully upset with us after you learn everything.” He said with his eyes looking down at the floor, unwilling to meet her gaze. “But you have more than a right to know, we were just being selfish not telling you everything immediately. And obviously you noticed how guilty we were feeling as we thought we were getting closer to your home.”

“Yeah, yeah I did.” Applejack replied bluntly. Mulling over just what the hay could be such a problem.

“So it’s time.” Quartz said to her. “We’ll tell you the story of Hoof of the Earth, about what happened to us, the monastery, why we’re the last disciples of the art… and the Wings of the Wind.”

Author's Note:

Arc 3 begins.

Comments

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Love the description of the monastery and the sense of foreboding.

[redmar]

I suspect that there was some kind of trouble with the nearby towns that played a role in everything as the reason for their guilt when they thought they were nearing Ponyville.

[Tetrominon]

Hoofuto no Ken?