Applejack Gets Lost

by MagicS

The Big Tortoise

Applejack had been walking down a well-maintained road for a while now. Instead of just dirt cleared of any plants or errant rocks like the roads she was normally used to she was walking on paved stone that echoed loudly around her every time her hooves hit it. There were even solid stone guardrails on each side to make sure no grass or weeds started growing over the road. It was a bit interesting to her since you wouldn’t normally see this kind of quality so far out of town, or even in town if you were talking about Ponyville. Canterlot or Manehattan sure but the average little village in Equestria wouldn’t have a high quality road like this.

And she wasn’t even in a village yet, somepony had apparently just wanted to make some really nice and professional roads. But Applejack thought it still had to lead to a village or maybe even city. It was just too nice otherwise, and since there wasn’t anything where she started walking on it she must be going to where the road starts and thus the destination the road leads to.

Or somepony really did just wanted to make a nice road in the middle of nowhere that didn’t go anywhere.

But enough of negative thoughts like that. Applejack quietly enjoyed the trees along the side of the road, the leaves were a mix of yellows, oranges and browns, despite the fact that it most definitely was not autumn. Applejack chalked it up to just one more weird thing about wherever she was. The ground as well had a yellowish tint to it, the grass almost the color and appearance of wheat and the dirt a golden-brown under it. Beyond the trees Applejack could see rocky orange mountains in the distance, their color even more vibrant thanks to the rays of sunlight hitting them.

The day was a pretty calm one so far.

Applejack saw that the road went on for a long time right through this small forest before disappearing at the horizon, it probably started to gradually go downhill before leveling off again. Or there was a sudden cliff there. Either way Applejack couldn’t see what might be below her yet, she’d have to walk a little further.

Things were peaceful enough that she started humming to herself, she knew that days that seemed nice and calm had a tendency to end poorly for her but Applejack was going to stay optimistic. It was still fresh and early so if things kept up the way they were now it would be a well-deserved day of relaxation.

I think I’ll head to Ponyville spa pretty much right after I get back too. I’ll need it. Maybe I can organize a spa day for everypony.

As Applejack walked further down the road she noticed that it started to get even nicer looking. The road looked regularly swept clean without any dust or fallen leaves on it and the barriers on the side were painted a fresh sparkly white on top. She had to be getting close to somewhere, the place where the road dipped down a hill was coming up soon, she’d see what awaited her below.

Applejack picked up her pace a bit, she was pretty sure she could see the tops of some tall buildings now. More and more started to unfold in front of her as she got to where the road dropped until finally she was standing there looking out at a whole new town.

It wasn’t as large as Valley or Mountain Town but it was bigger than anything else she’d seen since then. The road Applejack was traveling on gently sloped down the hill and went right on into town. Most of the buildings seemed to be made of stone but painted with mixes of brown, orange, yellow, and red to match the leaves of the trees in the area. This was definitely a town that liked Fall colors. There were some buildings that looked a good five stories high and other short but wide dome-shaped ones with a tortoise shell pattern painted on them. Most other buildings were simple houses or business, the road Applejack was on went straight through the center of town, a large marketplace was at the center, a real town square. Applejack saw what looked to be a big statue of something in the middle of the town square but couldn’t make it out.

Delighted at what she was seeing, Applejack walked down the hill and into town. There were a lot of big oak trees planted around as well as all kinds of different maples. Applejack smiled, this really was a beautiful looking place.

The town was bustling with energy as it seemed just about everypony who could possibly fit in the town was crammed into the streets, Applejack found herself stuck in a crowd and pulled towards town square. She had wanted to look for a place to rest or eat first but oh well.

She could hear the ponies around her remark about how excited they were and how the big day they were waiting for was finally here again. Stuff like that that caught Applejack’s attention but made her a bit confused. Seems she arrived here on a special day, were they having a festival or something? Is that why everypony was out and about?

Dragged as she was to the center of town Applejack eventually was pulled to a stop with the rest of the crowd. She could now see above some of the pony’s heads, that big statue she had seen from afar turned out to be a large bronze statue of a tortoise.

There was a raised dais with a podium at its center in front of the statue, an older mare with a graying willowy mane stood behind it, ready to address the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlecolts!” Her voice was louder and carried a lot further than Applejack would’ve expected. “I am happy to once again ring in this most auspicious of days and occasions.” She paused for a second to look out at the crowd, all of them eagerly hanging onto her words. “In just one hour, it shall be here.”

The whole crowd erupted into cheers and stomping, so much that it took Applejack by surprise.

“For all natives and visitors, head to the cliffs shortly to find yourselves a spot. This shall be a great day!” The mare finished and stepped down from the podium.

The crowd started moving again to Applejack’s left and she was carried along with it once more. Having absolutely no idea what was going on she decided to ask a teal mare with a white mane next to her what this was all about.

“Uh, hey there.” She asked while they were still in motion, walking along with the rest of the ponies. “I’m not from around here, can you tell me what’s going on?”

The mare quizzically looked at her. “You mean you didn’t come here specifically because of today?”

Applejack shook her head. “Nope, I was just going this direction and ended up here. Do you live here or are you visiting too?”

“Oh, I live here! My name is Fall Breeze. In case you didn’t know this town is New Shellville.” She very friendly responded to Applejack.

“Well thanks, and it’s nice to meet you. So what’s so special about today? You got some kind of festival going on?”

“Oh it’s no ordinary festival. Every year on this day is when the big tortoise comes!” She was as excited as Pinkie Pie at a party when she told Applejack that.

“Big tortoise?” Applejack raised an eyebrow, not sure what to make of this all so far.

“Right! It’s amazing that you just happened to turn up here by chance on today of all days! You’re gonna see something incredible. Here-” She grabbed Applejack by the hoof. “Just stay with me and I’ll tell you all about it once we get to the cliff.”

The crowd filed out through the streets of New Shellville, Applejack saw building after building go by until they reached the town limits. Now with a lot more open space Applejack and Fall Breeze could actually move around and stop from being smushed and dragged around by everypony else. Applejack watched as everypony fanned out, walking through yellow grass and then onto dry dirt that kept expanding west.

Fall Breeze led her past many of the ponies. “You see those two mountains up ahead?”

Applejack looked, far ahead were two large mountains facing south and north separated by a wide valley. They were big but not so much that they had snow at the top, at least not at this time of the year.

“Today is the day, every year the big tortoise walks from the south mountain to the north mountain. Our whole town and ponies from all over come to watch its journey.” She happily told Applejack.

“Wait, that’s it?” It didn’t seem like something to be so excited for.

Fall Breeze giggled. “Oh, I know it might not sound like much but just wait and see. Also a lot of ponies will engage in a special ceremony while the tortoise is walking.”

“What special ceremony?”

“In honor of the tortoise, its peacefulness, slowness, steadiness, and dedication, we will sit still and not move for the entirety of its journey.”

Applejack looked at her in surprise. “Really? How long does it take for it to go from one mountain to the other?”

“Exactly twelve hours from when its head first appears from the south and its tail disappears past the north.”

Applejack stared slack-jawed at her. “You mean to tell me ponies just sit there staring at this big ol’ tortoise for twelve hours? And just do nothing?”

“Yes! It’s a test of endurance and inner strength.” Fall Breeze explained. “We do not move in the slightest, or eat, speak, or do anything else. Some ponies have mastered stillness so well that you would not even be able to tell they were breathing.”

“Wow, I guess that’s pretty amazing in its own way.” Applejack continued to walk with her until they came close to the edge of a cliff that looked out over the whole valley where the two mountains sat at opposite ends. Looking around she saw hundreds of other ponies gathered alongside the cliff, some of them had things like blankets, umbrellas, and food with them. Obviously not ones that would be partaking in the ceremony.

“There are only a few ponies from out of town who join in the stillness ceremony as well.” Fall Breeze said. “Pretty much all the ones who do it are those who live here.” She smiled at Applejack. “Would you care to try it as well? It takes a lot of mental and physical fortitude but it’s a truly rewarding experience. If you can do it you’ll feel so empowered.”

Applejack looked at Fall Breeze and thought about it. Compared to all the craziness she’d been through this would be like the opposite of everything else. Just sitting still and watching a tortoise walk from place to place. It would probably be difficult, or even impossible, for her to do it all the way but it seemed like a cool thing to try. Why not see how strong she was?

“Alright, I’ll join ya.”

“Great! It won’t be much longer before it arrives so you should probably stretch as much as possible now and get ready!” Saying that she started stretching and working the kinks out of her body while Applejack joined her.

Five minutes later it was finally time.

A low rumbling from afar and the smallest of shakes coming from the ground beneath their hooves told the gathered ponies that the big tortoise was coming. Instantly the ones who were planning to stay still got into formation, sitting tall and straight with eyes facing forward and already not moving in the slightest. Fall Breeze gave a final smile to Applejack before she too got into position, face becoming an impassive stone mask.

Applejack sat down next to her, focusing as much as she could to stay still. It would be tough doing this without any food but she would try. Since things hadn’t officially started yet she took a few glances at Fall Breeze and some of the other still ponies, they didn’t even look like they were blinking. That would be hard to keep up too.

And then it appeared.

She could see just from where the head was that the thing was gigantic. Big didn’t do it justice. It took almost a full hour of her sitting there waiting but as more of it appeared Applejack was certain that it was by far the largest creature she had seen in her life. The top of its shell came more than halfway up the mountain. But it looked surprisingly sublime, it wasn’t grotesque or a monster, it was just a really, really, big tortoise. And it slowly moved from south to north while Applejack stared at it with unblinking eyes and hoping that no other ponies would mind the noises coming from her stomach.

It was tough sitting there, just watching the turtle slowly walk. Not just staying still or fighting her hunger but fighting boredom too. It was hard for her to imagine ponies actually sitting like this for twelve hours when barely one had passed so far. She still stared straight ahead, trying not to blink or move her eyes either since that was part of it, but already she had memorized every last detail of what she saw in front of her.

I should’ve took tips from Pinkie when we had her watch paint dry…

Applejack’s mind started to wander. She probably was supposed to stay focused on the tortoise or clear her mind but she couldn’t help it. Her body was telling her it wanted to move and if she didn’t at least think of something to take her mind off that she’d never last the whole twelve hours.

Rainbow Dash would seriously lose it trying to do this. Starlight would never have the patience, Fluttershy would be amazed to see such a big tortoise, she might try to fly right up to it. Rarity would get too bored. Twilight could probably do it but she’d have a million questions to ask everypony else afterwards. Spike would start talking immediately. Same with Apple Bloom.

She felt a slight tremble in her lip as she almost laughed thinking about how her friends would handle watching the tortoise but she managed to clamp down on it and stop herself.

Each ponderous step of the tortoise sent out vibrations that could even be felt even from here. If she were right below it it would probably feel like an earthquake.

Still Applejack watched. It was well past noon now and considering when the tortoise started it would be sometime at night that it would be finished. Applejack admittedly failed to remain perfectly still, she had to blink a few times and she made a few slight, curious, glances to Fall Breeze and some of the other ponies sitting still. One time she saw a bird perched on the head of a pony and he wasn’t reacting to it at all, Applejack almost fell over when she saw that.

But for the most part she stayed strong. The growls of her stomach were an annoyance but she knew she couldn’t have been the only one to feel that way.

It was kind of… refreshing. Keeping still was strangely exhausting but this whole experience was so abnormal. Doing… nothing. She’d been through so many weird things and her days were usually packed with work or adventuring. And now here she was just sitting down watching a tortoise.

Fall Breeze was right. This was rewarding.

Applejack took the time to think about her sister, the rest of her family, her farm and her friends and everything else. Just quietly thinking about how much they meant to her and how happy she’d be to be back home. She wanted to close her eyes and almost just let herself drift off with those peaceful thoughts but more than that she wanted to complete the ceremony.

It would be fun to prove to herself that she could, and then she could take a nice long rest. It was strange how calm her mind was as she watched the tortoise compared to her protesting body. She was sore, hungry and a little itchy in places but it was actually getting easier to ignore all that and stay still.

The sun had started going down, it was evening now. The hours seemed to melt into each other and Applejack had no way of telling exactly what time it was. It was just getting dark out now. The tortoise had only just now barely reached the edge of the north mountain, it was on the last leg of its journey.

Applejack could appreciate the nice, even-tempered weather of the day. She and especially the ponies who lived in New Shellville must’ve been lucky that the tortoise came around today instead of on a hotter or colder day.

Wonder if it’s ever rained when it’s been walking…

Now that would be a test of endurance. Applejack thought back to Rainbow Dash, if the two of them were here together they could make a nice competition out of all this. Competing with Dash would make her even better at sitting still. Again she had to fight to stop herself from smirking at the thought of her and Dash sitting here stony faced and not moving a muscle.

Dash might enjoy it a lot more considering Tank though.

It was starting to get late now, there was barely enough light from the moon and stars to see the tortoise. If the sky was cloudy they probably wouldn’t be able to see it at all. It’s steps still reverberated all the way to them though. Applejack couldn’t help but blink, now she was just plain tired, the tortoise’s body was a little more than halfway behind the north mountain. The event was almost over.

She hadn’t taken any sneaky glances at the ponies around her in hours but they must be just as tired as she was. Applejack could hear noise coming from lots of ponies who weren’t partaking in the stillness ceremony, they must be getting ready to pack up their things and leave.

And finally, after twelve hours, the last little tip of the tortoise’s tail disappeared behind the northern mountain.

Applejack took a deep breath and relaxed her tense body. She heard a yawn from beside her and looked to see Fall Breeze getting up and taking a big catlike stretch. The other ponies that had been partaking in the ceremony similarly slowly got back up. All of them were taking things easy and slowly, as if still giving respect to the big tortoise even though the day was done.

Fall Breeze turned to look at Applejack and flashed her a smile. “That was great huh?”

Applejack found herself smiling back. “Yeah, you were right.”

“Since you weren’t planning to come here I’m guessing you don’t have a place to stay?” Fall breeze asked and Applejack shook her head. “That’s great, you can crash at my place for the night! I bet you could really use a nice bed and a good night’s sleep.” The friendly pony grabbed Applejack’s hoof again and started leading her back into town.

“Thanks for all this, and convincing me to join in with y’all.” Applejack saw the mare’s face brighten up at her thanks. “Maybe I’ll come back next year.”

Author's Note:

I think this is my personal favorite chapter. I wanted to spend more time on Applejack watching the tortoise but I'm bad at drawing things out and I don't care much for flowery prose.

Comments

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Biggest critter she's ever seen? Bigger than the Ursa Minor in Boast Busters? That's big.

[MagicS]

9381168
Yes indeed, a truly gargantuan tortoise. Taller even than the Tantabus got.

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Nice chapter.

[Luna-my-favorite-pony]

This chapter was.. strangely relaxing! I like it!

[Maud of Sterner Stuff]

This chapter is a nice change of pace from the craziness that inevitably occurs in every other chapter. I really like it, too.

[RoboRed]

Sometimes all you need is just to take a break from moving and slow down.
This was a nice chapter.