Applejack Gets Lost

by MagicS

Heart of Fire IV

Applejack felt sick. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been limping along through the forest, she had passed out and woken up sometime ago after the fire pony had left her. Her hoof was charred and in constant searing pain, so much that she could hardly put any weight on it and was barely able to walk. Now sweat dripped from her brow and it wasn’t from any fire but from the fever breaking out in her body. She was no doctor but she was sure her hoof was infected after taking that fire and having her practically drag it through a dirty forest.

“I don’t feel so great...” In her delirious state she wasn’t even sure what direction she was going anymore. North like she was originally? Maybe she had gotten completely turned around and was heading south. Without the river nearby there was no way to tell.

Applejack’s eyelids felt heavy, her head hot and pounding, she had lost her saddlebag at some point too. She couldn’t even remember if it had fallen off or if she willingly left it to lighten her load. What time of day was it even? Everything was just a blur to Applejack now.

She slumped up against a tree, breathing heavily and on the verge of passing out again. Worried about doing that in the middle of who-knows-where Applejack steadied herself as best she could and forced her body to continue walking forward. It was difficult to walk in a straight line, her body kept lurching and making her zig-zag back and forth instead of just going where she wanted to. Now the pain and smell from her hoof was making her nauseous, and with her head already hurting a ton Applejack was doing all she could to keep from throwing up.

Now the unnatural quiet from the forest was actually a positive, Applejack didn’t need anything else bothering her.

“Gotta get to… why’s everything so hot?” Applejack’s fever was rising in pitch, an accidental hoofstep where she put too much weight on her sensitive hoof caused a lance of pain to go up her leg. She didn’t cry out, just simply fell forward onto the ground, breath ragged and sweat pouring down her body. She was too disoriented at this point to understand what was going on.

Applejack shifted in and out of a semi-conscious state, body shivering and shaking while it tried to fight off the fever and infection. It was lucky she was in just about the best shape a pony could be in. Her eyes flickered about in their sockets, shapes and images dancing around her blurred vision like she was having a waking dream.

She wasn’t sure how long she lied there in her delirious state. For brief moments of clarity she would will herself up and continue walking. She didn’t know where, just forward, just somewhere that wasn’t where she was right now.

At some point she realized there weren’t any more trees around. She had left the forest completely and was now wandering down a grassy field. Her unfocused eyes tried to take in what else was around her but she couldn’t process much in the state she was in. It wasn’t yellow like the plains she had seen to the west but that was all Applejack knew for sure.

Still feverish she didn’t notice the switch to rocky ground beneath her hooves either, a stumble over some loose pebbles later and Applejack had collapsed on the ground again.

“I could… use some water.” With one eye open Applejack stared absentmindedly up at the sky, the sun was all one big blur to her. “Twilight, some help would be appreciated. Sorry for taking so long to ask… I’m stubborn.”

And with that Applejack drifted off into feverish sleep again.

---

Applejack half woke up muttering to herself, legs kicking at the air, the heat and pounding in her head had weakened but she was confused as to where she was now. She was in a bed under some sheets, she looked to be inside some sort of building, the roof that she was staring at through bleary eyes looked like stone to her. Whatever fever dream she may have been having was gone now, not even the slightest memory remained. She was still exhausted but she wasn’t sweating up a storm or had her head stuck in a fog. The pain and higher than average temperature were light enough for a healthy pony like herself to handle on her own now.

The only pain that Applejack still really felt strongly was her hoof. Pushing the sheets off herself Applejack saw that her hoof was wrapped in bandages. It felt odd, different from just the typical pain she was feeling from it earlier, maybe whoever put the bandages on used some sort of special medicine.

Whatever the deal was with it it still really hurt.

“Now where in the hay am I?” Applejack scanned the room. It couldn’t get any more simple, there was no window so wherever she was it was likely a large building, besides the bed she was in there was a table in the middle of the room and a smaller nightstand with a glass of water on it next to her.

Applejack’s mouth was parched so she had no problem grabbing the glass and drinking down its contents. After that Applejack hopped off the bed, keeping her leg bent to avoid using her hoof, it made walking awkward but she would have to make do. Her hoof continued to throb with every movement and her fever still hadn’t broken completely, things were still pretty woozy for Applejack, she was gonna have to take things easy for a second lest she wind up in a heap on the floor.

She slowly walked over to the door and turned the knob with her mouth, once it was open she peeked her head out into the hallway. “Hello?” Her voice echoed down the stone hallway lined with torches but there was no answer for her.

Applejack sighed and chose to hobble down the hallway to her right. Every now and then there would be an open door that led into a room just like the one she woke up in, besides that it was just a normal hallway. Now really, where was she now? To Applejack it looked like they were in some sort of cave or mountain, the whole place looked like it was just carved right into the rock. She couldn’t remember her journey after getting burned too well but maybe she wandered over to the huge mountain wall on accident.

After walking down the hallway for a bit it opened up into a much larger room, the walls were painted with beautiful pictures of ponies frolicking in flower gardens and the ceiling was one huge painting of two ponies, one made of fire and one of water, entwined in a dance together with white roses and brambles bordering them.

“Wow, I aint much for art but this is mighty pretty.” Applejack said as she looked around the big room.

“Oh my, you’re already up?”

Applejack looked over to the source of the voice, a tall and very thin unicorn walked towards her from the back of the room. There was a large set of double doors back there built under a stone archway where she must have come from. The unicorn herself was pink and wearing a white cloak that covered nearly her entire body, but it was clear from her face and light hoofsteps that the mare was almost thin as a skeleton.

“Well howdy, and yeah but I still aint back at a hundred percent just yet. Thanks for helping me out by the way. Or at least I assume y’all did, I can’t really remember too well.” Applejack greeted her.

“We did indeed. We saw you collapsed practically right outside our shrine.” The unicorn answered.

“Shrine?” The word sent alarm bells off in Applejack’s head. “Would that happen to be the Spirit Shrine by any chance?”

A troubled look spread across the unicorn’s face. “Your burn isn’t from any normal fire is it?”

Applejack shook her head. “No miss, it’s not. And I think you know what I mean by that.”

The unicorn frowned, eyebrows furrowing as she seemed to debate with herself on what to do next. Finally she spoke up again. “My name is Temperance, if you would please come with me I will explain things to you.” She lifted a hoof and guided Applejack to the large doors at the back of the room.

“Alright, my name’s Applejack by the way.”

---

“Her name is Green Field.”

Applejack sat in a chair as Temperance spoke to her, she had been led to a dome shaped room wide and tall enough to fit Twilight’s castle in it that was decorated with more of the same kinds of paintings as well as a number of fountains and planters filled with flowers. In the middle of the room was an altar with an ornate golden chest sitting upon it. A perfect white marble floor radiated out from the altar, bordered by immaculately cut green grass. Temperance and Applejack sat together on fancy and intricately carved wooden chairs situated on the grass.

Nine other mares were also gathered around them, all wearing the same white cloak, some unicorns and some earth ponies, maybe even a couple of them were actually pegasi, Applejack couldn’t tell with the cloaks on. All of them were just as skeletal thin as Temperance, it was a little unnerving.

There was still a dull throb in her head and she felt a lot hotter than normal but Applejack was still fully aware of what was going on. “So what is she?” Just knowing the fire pony’s name didn’t really tell her much.

“Green Field is a completely normal earth pony just like yourself. The fire that she has become is the result of a magical artifact called the Heart of Fire.” Temperance told her. “She stole it from here.” The unicorn glanced back at the golden chest. “The Heart merged with her body and turned her into the pony you saw.”

“Okay I’m following along so far, I think, but why did she do this? When I met her she seemed really angry and upset and she mentioned something about justice and revenge.”

A ripple of sorrow and disappointment went through the cloaked ponies, Applejack could plainly see how they were affected by what she had said about Green Field.

Temperance closed her eyes and bowed her head low, tears forming under her eyelids. “Green Field was a simple farmer not long ago. With a family and home she cherished. She lived on the far side of the valley opposite from here, close to the endless plains. One day a band of outlaws from beyond the valley came to her farming community, a group of evil ponies who only knew how to steal and destroy, they stole food and attacked ponies, even setting fire to some of the farms. Green Field went to seek help from the various villages and towns in the valley but they all refused. Whether it be from fear or apathy I do not know. Whatever the reason the farming ponies were defenseless. Green Field’s home was burnt to the ground and her family… was tragically lost.”

Applejack sat back with a look of horror on her face. “That’s horrible! How could nopony help them?!”

Temperance opened her eyes, the sadness and guilt in them spoke volumes.

“Wait.” Applejack narrowed her eyes at Temperance and threw a hard glare at the others around her. “She asked you for help too didn’t she?”

“She did.”

Even through her fever Applejack was still Applejack enough to sputter angrily. “Well why in all of Tartarus didn’t you help!”

“We are pacifists, all who watch over the Heart of Fire are sworn to peace.” Temperance sighed sadly. “Green Field, like many in the valley, knew the Spirit Shrine contained magical artifacts. She came not to ask for our assistance but for us to allow her to use the Heart of Fire to protect her home. We refused her.”

“I… I see, I guess it aint so simple. I mean, if that’s your way and everything I don’t mean to be rude or anything.” Applejack cradled her wrapped up hoof, still feeling dismayed about nopony coming to the aid of Green Field. “And that thing is definitely dangerous too.”

“Thank you, but I regret how we handled things, we could’ve done more for her. I know it. And we were unable to stop her from stealing the Heart afterwards.”

“Well, you’re not responsible for what she’s done since. That’s on her. I guess she wants revenge on all the ponies who didn’t come to help her?” Applejack thought.

“Yes.” Temperance nodded. “After she first stole the Heart she went to her former home and… disposed of the vile ponies that had attacked her. Now we believe she’s going to go burn down every other settlement in the valley, she’s become twisted by despair and anger. The magic of the Heart of Fire would have taken her some time to get used to but now it seems she’s ready to get her dark revenge.”

Temperance looked around at her fellow shrine ponies. “It won’t be long before she comes back here as well, to destroy us for our inaction.”

Applejack shook her head at that. “No way, I aint letting this go on.” Temperance looked at her in surprise. “I may not have anything to do with this, but I can’t let Green Field keep on going like she is. Even if what happened to her was terrible it’s just as wrong for her to take it out on innocent ponies.” Applejack looked down at her hoof. “By the way when do you think my hoof will be good as new?”

“We used our magic and medicine for your hoof.” Another pony, this one either a blue earth pony or pegasus, spoke up from the circle around Applejack and Temperance. “My name is Sincerity, I helped with your wounds and sickness. Our healing magic is strong and with a body as resolute as yours all you will need is a full night’s rest to be back to normal. Just make sure you leave the wrap on overnight.”

“Thank ya kindly.” Applejack nodded to her and the other ponies.

“Yes, I believe we should all get some rest now. Miss Applejack, we can talk about this more in the morning. I suppose you don’t know what time it is but we’re just about into the evening now.” Temperance said, standing up from her chair. “If you are determined to stop Green Field there is much we can discuss tomorrow. But for now please allow me to take you back to your room.”

Applejack didn’t protest as Temperance used her magic to hold Applejack’s injured hoof, making it a lot easier for her to walk without having to put any weight down on it. Her fever and headache were diminishing by the second and Applejack was excited to be back in tip top shape after some sleep.

Comments

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

“Yes.” Temperance nodded. “After she first stole the Heart she went o (to) her former home and… disposed of the vile ponies that had attacked her. Now we believe she’s going to go burn down every other settlement in the valley, she’s become twisted by despair and anger. The magic of the Heart of Fire would have taken her some time to get used to but now it seems she’s ready to get her dark revenge.”

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Engaging chapter. Love Green Field's origin. (An example of how Pacifism is suicidally stupid.)

[redmar]

This is what happens if you refuse help to those who need it. I assume there is a good reason the ponies of Spirit Shine are sworn to pacifism but it can have bad results as shown here.