• Published 5th Mar 2013
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My Little Caboose II: Friendship is Fragmented! - DarkWing



Church, finally freed from his stone prison after a month of having Discord trapped in his mind along with him, must readjust to the pony world with nothing but twisted memories, as well a group of equally twisted friends.

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Chapter 36 - "Never Free from Work"

"Not a single thing about the flower," Simmons murmured after he blazed through the last book for the second time.

Closing the book, his eyes settled on the item he was studying. None of the flowers in the book looked anywhere close to it. While he couldn't find out what it was, he knew he could still make himself useful by finding another one for Rarity's dress. As he rose from his chair, he used his magic to place the books into the bag so he could return them later, then placed the flower on his back.

"I'll be back soon. I'm going to see if I can find another one of these flowers," Simmons called out. Knowing Rarity was most likely trying to see if there was anything else she could do with the dress, he did not await for a response and just went.

Simmons, not sparing any time, quickly made his way over to Sweet Apple Acres. As he walked through the gate, he saw Applejack bucking a few nearby trees, a small amount of bushels filled with apples next to her.

"Hey, Applejack," Simmons greeted as he walked up to the orange mare. "What are you doing?"

"Gettin' th' last of th' apples before winter hits," she replied as she bucked another tree. "Anythin' Ah can do for ya?"

"Yeah," he replied, then remembered that he couldn't tell Applejack about the flower directly. "But it's really more about what I could do for you. Do you have those things that the girls borrowed to go digging in the orchard?"

"Sure do. What do ya need 'em for?" she asked, looking at him as sweat travelling down her face.

"Well, Sweetie told me that they didn't fill their small excavation site back up with dirt, and I thought it would be safer if I filled it. After all, we don't want them running around near their headquarters, not paying attention, only to fall into it and risk breaking a leg."

"That's awfully considerate of ya, Simmons," she said with a warm grin. Wiping the droplets off of her brow, she nodded towards the farmhouse. "The shovels should be in there near th' door. Ah'd show ya where, but Ah'm a little busy. These apples ain't gunna pick themselves, and ya gotta get 'em while they're good."

"I could help you with that if you want."

"No offense meant, but Ah don't think you're built for that," she chuckled. "Need a strong pair o' legs to get 'em down, not a strong brain."

"Oh. Okay," Simmons said, looking towards the farmhouse. He took a step towards it, then paused.

"Somethin' th' matter?" Applejack asked as she made her way next to another tree.

"No, just thinking," he mumbled.

"Seems like there's an awful lotta that goin' around lately," she snorted.

"Not enough, if you ask me," he sighed, then shook his head and smiled weakly at her. "I'll be back with the shovels as soon as I can. But don't wait up, I might be there for a while."

"Shouldn't take ya that long t' get done fillin' a little hole," she said curiously.

Over at Rainbow Dash's place, Rainbow Dash and Tucker were having a small lunch before they went to work. As Tucker went go bite a sandwich, his lips twitched slightly and he placed his food back on the plate.

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow!" Tucker yelled involuntarily, then coughed and pounded his chest.

"Where did that come from?" Rainbow Dash asked with a laugh.

"I don't know," Tucker replied as he looked around curiously. "But whatever it was, I hope whoever it was directed to heard it."

Back at the farm, Simmons' ear twitched, just barely able to hear Tucker's voice scream his favorite words from Rainbow Dash's home.

"Did ya hear what Ah said?" Applejack asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Simmons grunted as he shook his head. "The reason it might take a while is because I have to find it. Hopefully it shouldn't take too long, though."

"Alrighty. When ya drop the shovels off, you're welcome t' stay and eat with us," she said, tipping her hat at him.

"I might take you up on that," he said, smiling back at her.

Simmons quickly made his way over to the farmhouse. As he reached for the door, he hesitated when a shadow appeared next to him. Whipping around, he saw that a familiar green fragment was staring at him.

:Oh, it's you, Delta," Simmons said with a sigh of relief. "You shouldn't creep up on people like that."

"I apologize, I was just curious as to what you were doing here," Delta said, bowing his head.

"I was just going to borrow some shovels."

"Why would you need to do that?" Delta asked, then saw the small object resting on Simmons' back. "Ah, that must be the item Theta found, correct?"

"How did you know that? Theta told me I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Not even Sigma, and they're closer than Eta and Iota."

"Theta seems more elated recently. Applejack told me earlier that they had gone digging in the forest to look for objects of the past. Because of the way he has been acting, I assumed that he found something," Delta said as he used his magic to grab the flower from Simmons. "I also believe he means to give it to Scootaloo, correct?"

"Er, I guess so?" Simmons muttered. "He asked me to find out what it was, but I couldn't find anything about it in any of the books that Twilight had let me read through."

"So you came here to tell Theta you had no luck," Delta said, looking up at the clouds in the sky, musing silently.

"Yeah, but I'm also going to try to see if there are any other of these nearby where Theta found it," the red unicorn sighed. "Not sure what the chances of that are, though. It would probably take me forever to find another one."

"Why, if I may ask, are you looking for one as well?"

"Since you know basically everything, you probably heard about the dresses Rarity has been tasked with making," Simmons started.

"Ah, yes. The pre-Celestial garments," Delta stated, then looked back to the flower. "Seeing as it is a very old flower, I assume you wish to get one for Rarity so she may use it on her clothing?"

"Basically, except she wanted to find a way to bring the flower out of the shell and see if there was a way to grow them."

"I see," Delta said with a firm nod, giving the flower back to Simmons. "I believe I know somebody who may be able to help you with both finding out what it is and seeing if you can revive it."

"Really? Who?" Simmons asked quickly.

"Zecora," Delta answered simply.

"Zecora? You mean the rhyming zebra who lives deep in the middle of a dark forest filled with dangerous creatures?" Simmons squeaked.

"Yes. From what I've gathered, she knows more about alchemy and the things that go with it more than any book you could find," Delta explained. "It just so happens that flowers are one of the main ingredients she uses in potions. I am certain that she could at least provide a direction to go."

"I don't know..." Simmons said, beginning to think that the small flower wasn't worth all the trouble he was going through. "I'm not really to keen on the idea of going through a forest all by myself with wolves made out of bark, chicken-snakes that turn you into stone and multi-headed dragon beasts chasing after me."

"You wouldn't be travelling alone. I intend to come with you."

"Why?"

"I have been meaning to catch up with Zecora again, but simply could not find the time. Being trapped in stone for a month and watching the fragments while not in it took up the majority of my time," Delta said, already walking towards the gate with Simmons, who instinctively followed him.

"Why do you think it's safe to go talk to her now?"

"Seeing as Sigma is acting rather different, along with Church, Theta, Eta and Iota generally not being ones to cause physical damage, I am sure Sarge and the Apple family could easily watch Omega and Gamma."

"What about the creatures?"

"Do not worry, I know how to handle them," Delta said with a small, bemused chuckle.

"Alright, as long as it's not just me going in there, I guess it's a better idea than digging all day," Simmons sighed reluctantly.

"Great," Delta said with a smile, feeling strangely happy that he would be able to catch up with Zecora.

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