The Revival of a Heart

by TheMessenger

Neverfree 3

Neverfree 3

"So what brings you ponies to my humble hut?" asked Zecora, setting her teacup down. "I hope you aren't in some sort of rut." As she said this, she looked at the grey stallion who choked on his tea. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash snickered.

"...Ah don' get it."

"Well, when a mommy deer and a d-" Pinkie Pie began.

"Twilight's in trouble," Ash explained. "A spell went wrong and we've got to reverse it before it's too late. We need a sedation though and I was told you were the pony, or rather, the zebra to go to."

Zecora nodded slowly. "That's the reason Twilight's not here I take. Do not worry, such a potion is not hard to make." She finished her tea and made her way to the caldron in the corner, muttering ingredients along the way.

"Wow, this is gonna be easier than I thought," Rainbow said. "No monster encounters, no pitfalls, we'll be out of here in no time."

"Unless Zecora's missing some important ingredient and needs us to go deeper in the forest to find it," said Pinkie Pie.

"Yes, that tends to happen really often with potion makers and other crafters." Ash shook his head. "For some reason, they never seem to have all the supplies they need."

"Yeah but lookit all tha stuff Zecora has," Applejack observed. "Ah'm sure she's got everythin'."

Zecora returned to the table shaking her head. "Oh my pony friends, I am sad to say; you must back another day."

"Wait, you mean you can't make the potion?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"That is correct, Rainbow Dash. There is one key ingredient missing from my stash. The bark of zap apple trees I need to make a sedation of full power and speed."

"Psh, that's it? Easy-peasy. We'll just borrow some from Sweet Apple Acres. I'm sure the Apple family won't miss them."

"Hold yer horse, RD, don' go speakin' fer mah family fer me. Ah know fer a fact Granny Smith would rather skin herself than tah see one of her zap apple trees skinned. Those trees are all she has of her own pap, besides tha town."

"Well then, what else are we suppose to do?" Rainbow asked angrily. "Where else are we suppose to find zap apple trees, huh?"

"Ooh, ooh, I know! I know!" Pinkie hopped up and down. "I remember Granny Smith taking about how Ponyville was founded and I remember not falling asleep like when Twilight tells it cuz she never told the part where Applejack's granny almost got eaten by timberwolves when she discovered the zap apples in the Everfree Forest and then I learned the valuable lesson of not following rules cuz you can only go so far by following rules."

"So there are these trees in the forest then." Ash tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Do you know where we can find these trees we need?" he asked Zecora.

"...Yes," she answered with a little hesitance.

"Perfect." The grey Unicorn swung his pack back on his back. "We might still be able to get this all done today."

"I can see that you are itching to go but to that I must say no." Zecora shook her head. "The Everfree is dangerous as you can see but the danger grows as you approach the trees. This season is when the timberwolves are on the prowl. It is impossible to gather tree bark now."

"Feh, I say bring it." Rainbow took to the air, or at least as high as the hut permitted her. "If Granny Smith could handle them as a filly those wolves are probably nothing but bark."

"Your recklessness reminds me of a foal," the Zebra chided, "thinking of nothing beyond her goal. When the zap apples are ripe, the wolves are not at their prime. The wolves will be fully mature and organized this time. They are now twice as large and masters of the hunt. Those dreadful creatures young Smith saw were nothing but runts." She sighed. "I am sorry and I truly wish I could help you, Ash, Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie." Her tone grew harsh. "But I will not assist you on a path leading you to die. Wait a month and it will be safe. The timberwolves will have left for a different place."

"Very well then." Ash got to his feet. "Thank you for your hospitality but we must get going."

"Are you leaving for Ponyville? Let Twilight know I wish her well."

"Oh, we're not going home. Not yet."

"We're not?" Pinkie asked. "Where are we going then?"

"To find those trees of course." Ash was at the door, waiting.

Zecora leaped up from her seat. "Have you gone mad? Did you not hear a word I said? Has your hearing gone bad?"

"I heard." The door swung open. "But Twilight is running out of time. We can't afford a month." He stepped out.

"Do not be foalish. You will get easily lost and it will be your life as a cost."

"So it's us either dying by wolves or dying from being lost in a God-forsaken forest." Ash turned his head toward the Zebra. "Your call. C'mon," he said to Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, leaving an extremely astonished and slack-jawed Zecora.

They had not gone far before she called back to them, demanding that they wait.

*****

"Ah'm a mite upset how you pulled that off," Applejack whispered Ash as they followed Zecora deeper into the woods. Light was becoming even more scarce.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, doesn't it strike as ah little, well, dishonest?" The farmpony shook her head. "Ah'm mean, tricking a friend like that jus' doesn' sit right with me."

"There was no trickery," Ash said. "Time isn't exactly a luxury we can afford, especially not a month."

"Yeah, well, Ah still don' like how yah guilt-roped Zecora into this. Jus' don' seem right."

The Unicorn was silent. He agreed; he'd have preferred it if their guide had been willing but Zecora had been stubborn and with reason. And it wasn't just for her own protection; no, Zecora had refused to protect them as well. It appeared that such selflessness was common among Equestria's inhabitants.

A low growl pulled Ash back into reality. Well, most of Equestria's inhabitants he amended as a pair of yellow glowing eyes glared hungrily at the group. Before anypony else could react, the Mage pulled out a rock from his bag and sent the missile flying at an incredible. A pained yelp followed by the rustling of bushes indicated that Ash had hit his target.

"Geez, that's a nice shot," said Rainbow. Her wings folded back to her sides as she relaxed. Everypony seemed less tense now that the danger passed.

"Ah was wonderin' why yah had a sack full of rocks."

"Yeah, well, what I wouldn't do for a decent fireball," the Mage grumbled. "Whatever that was, it got away."

"There is no need for too much ferocity," Zecora. "Most creatures just wish to satisfy their curiosity."

"And their hunger."

"Yes that is true," the Zebra agreed. "And for your protection, I thank you. But the use of fire would not be wise, especially in a forest of this size."

"I suppose you're right," the Unicorn conceded. "Guess I'll have to get creative with sticks and stones." He sighed, looking up into the sky, or what sky he could see. A small, sad chuckle escaped him.

"What's up?" asked Rainbow.

"Huh? Oh, just remembering an old saying about magic from home. 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but my thoughts will liquify your organs'."

"I trust you're not from around here then?" observed Zecora, a little disgusted. "I've never heard such a morbid saying in anypony's living den."

"Oh, that's right! You didn't know! Ash is actual-"

"Not around here," Ash said, cutting the pink Earth Pony off. "I'm from, well, somewhere different. I suppose we do have a bit of a sense of humor."

"Humor indeed," Zecora said with a snort. "Ah well, to each his own to please." She tilted her head back to the path. "Come, we cannot afford any more delay. It will become too dangerous when night has consumed the day."

"A race against time." The Unicorn sighed. "Some things never change I guess," he muttered, following closely behind.

*****

"U-u-m-m, g-uys? C-c-can w-we t-ta-take a b-break?"

Ash groaned. "Pinkie, if you needed to go, you should have went before we left."

"T-this is-isn't a p-p-potty emer-gency!"

The Unicorn bit back a sigh. He wearily rose an eyebrow at the sight of the pink party pony shake and shiver uncontrollably. "What now?" he asked.

"Oh, nelly." Applejack gulped. To Ash she whispered, "It's her Pinkie Sense."

"Pinkie Sense?"

"Yeah. Ah can't explain it but somehow Pinkie can tell when something's gonna happen before it actually does."
"She can see the future?" Ash asked curiously.

"Ah think it's more like feelin' tha future. Ah know it's hard tah believe but when Pinkie's tail's a twitchin', well, yah best stay indoors." Applejack turned to the pink Earth pony. "Tha last time she was this bad we got attacked by a hydra an'
Twilight exploded or somethin'."

"I-i-it's a doozy a-a-alright," Pinkie managed to chatter. "A-a-a doozy!"

"Do you know when she'll stop?"

"Can't say," Applejack answered with a shrug.

"Perhaps we should take a break," Zecora suggested. "We have some time before it gets too late."

"I suppose we don't really have much of a choice," Ash conceded reluctantly. Pinkie Pie was in no condition to continue. "We'll take a few minutes, I guess, and see if you get any better," he said to Pinkie Pie.

"S-s-s-or-ry."

"Don't worry 'bout it, sugarcube," assured Applejack. "Ah'm sure we've got plenty of time left."

Ash began to gather some fuel for a fire. Even though it was only to be a small break, a campfire would still provide some much need comfort and protection from wild creatures, or at least some of them.

"Whelp," he said as he worked at the fire. "At least we know whatever's on the other side can't be pleasant."

"Yah believe, then?" Applejack asked. "Twilight had some trouble with it and, well, you two seem real similar, being all magical an' everythin'."

"Well, when you work with magic, the line between reality and otherwise becomes blurred. Small wonder Twilight was dubious if Pinkie's sense-"

"P-P-Pinkie S-Sense," Pinkie interrupted. "Y-you hav-e t-o say i-it w-wit-th a c-ca-pit-al S."

"If Twilight had never seen Pinkie's Sense before, I'm not too surprise she wasn't more than a little skeptical." Ash bit back a curse as the stick he worked with slipped and brushed his leg. His fur had blocked most of the damage and there wasn't even a mark but it still stung.

"Allow me, if you'd be so kind."

"You sure?" the grey Unicorn asked.

"Most certainly," Zecora responded. "I do not mind."

Ash stepped away from the smoking wreck and watched as the Zebra skillfully transformed it into beautiful forge, like a work of art.

"Anyways," he continued, "a sixth sense isn't too uncommon. Unexplainable? Yes. But so are a lot of things. I've seen people see danger miles away, days for disaster strikes." His voice grew low. "Once knew a man who predicted his death perfectly, from the very minute to the make of the bow and wood of the arrow."

"Man?" Zecora questioned.

"Oh, uh, it's a slang," Ash said quickly. "For...um..."

"A-a-a mi-ser-ab-le pile o-of s-e-cr-ets."

Zecora chucked. "An unusual term, odd but if true, I can think of no better word to describe you."

The grey Unicorn stiffened slightly. "It's getting cold," he said, drawing closer to the small fire.
Applejack nodded and made her way to Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus laid on her stomach, her chin on top of her forelegs.

"Hey," the farmpony greeted. She got a grunt in response.

"Might be warmer at tha fire."

"I'm fine."

"Yah sure?"

"Yes, Applejack," Rainbow said tersely. "I'm just tired and want to be alone for a bit."

"Now Ah know somethin' definitely wrong." The orange pony sat next to her cyan friend. "Yah hate bein' alone."

"Are yah kidding? I love being alone."

Applejack chuckled. "Nah, no yah don'."

"What do you want, Applejack?" Rainbow growled.

"Hey, jus' wanted tah see if Ah could help. No need tah bite off mah head." Applejack looked into Rainbow's eyes. "Yah've been silent fer way too long. Yah didn' even complain when we had tah stop fer a break. That's not like you. Somepony's might think Ah'm not too sharp but even Ah can tell when mah friend needs help."

"Yeah, but you can't even tell when you need help yourself."

"Yeah, well, Ah suppose that's why Ah'm not too bright." She and Rainbow Dash shared a short laugh at her own expense. "What's wrong, RD?"

"It's, well, Ash's been talking a lot about his old home lately and remember what I said at the library? You know, while Ash was sleeping?"

"Yeah. S-oh. Oh."

"Yeah and well...I guess I feel kinda bad...kinda sorry."

"Kinda? Yah said some pretty gosh-darn harsh thing there."

"Okay, really sorry."

"Well thanks but don't go apologizin' tah me." Applejack nodded toward the grey Unicorn near the campfire.

"Yeah, I should and everything, but, well..."

"What, yah scared?"

"What?" Rainbow's wings sprung open. "Me, scared? Hah! Well, maybe a little."

"Why? It's just Ash."

"But what if he gets angry? What he decides he doesn't want to be friends anymore?"

"Yah care that much?"

"Of course I care," Rainbow Dash answered. "If I've learned anything, it's that friendships are precious. I don't want to end up breaking another one. This time I won't have a stupid griffin to blame, just stupid old me."

"Huh. Whelp, best advice Ah can say is to apologize. Ah don' think Ash's tha type of guy who'd end a friendship over a few words." Applejack gave Rainbow a sideways glance. "Even if they were a bit cruel."

"You think so? You don't think he'll get mad?"

"Ah won't go that far. Ah'm sure he'll be more than a little upset but he'll fergive yah."

*****

"Feeling any better?" Ash asked.

"N-n-n-n-"

"Alright then." He turned to their guide. "How much further are these trees?"

"Less than a thousand hoofsteps lie between us and them." The zebra let out a breath of relief. "Soon this adventure will be at an end."

"A thousand hoofsteps...one's about half a foot so two thousand feet?" Ash muttered to himself. "But we've got four feet so would I have to divide..." He shrugged and said. "I guess we can rest a little long then. Are you going to be alright?" he asked Pinkie.

"Y-y-y-y-"

"Must be one hell of a doozy." Ash looked toward down the beaten path. "What are you hiding?"

"Um, hey, Ash?"

Ash turned. Rainbow Dash stood nearby, pawing at the ground nervously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"What? Wrong? Pft, of course not." The Pegasus tried to laugh. "Why would anything be wrong?"

"Well, I've never seen that behavior from anypony besides Fluttershy," he said, noting the small hole Rainbow had dug.

"Well, we...um..." Rainbow turned around. Seeing Applejack nod helped her grasp a bit of her usual confidence. She took a deep breath. "Yeah, there's something wrong. Can we talk? You know, alone?"

"I suppose so," the Unicorn said warily. He got to his feet and made to follow the multi-chrome Pegasus.
"Do not wonder far, my little ponies," Zecora called. "Stay near so you can call help with ease."

They had gone some distance before stopping. "I think this is far enough. What's the matter?" Ash asked.

"So, uh, you've been talking about, you know, your other world a lot lately."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, well, the saying, your skills...that kind of stuff."

"Oh, right." Ash shook his head. "Sorry, it's just, old memories surface whether I want them to or not and sometimes things slip." He sighed. "But what's this about?"

"Well, you know how you fell asleep at the library? You know, while you were speaking?"

"Yes?" the Unicorn said slowly, uncertain as to where this was headed.

"Well, I kinda, sorta, uh, said some stuff back there that I shouldn't have and, well..." Rainbow steadied herself with a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"...Okay?"

Rainbow opened her eyes. "You're not...mad?"

" Is this why you were acting so strange today, because you thought I'd be mad over a few ill chosen words that you said while I was unconscious?"

"Hey, this is serious!"

"If you say so." Ash shrugged. "Consider your apology accepted."

"You're not taking this seriously," Rainbow said. She glared at the Unicorn. "This is important."

"What do you want me to do? Get angry?" he responded impatiently. "Look, whatever you said, it couldn't have been too bad, at least not enough to make me mad. You don't get to be a Mage if you're too sensitive and can't take a few harsh words without setting someone on fire."

"But I told you I wish you died back with your other world!" Rainbow clasped her hooves over her mouth too late. "Pony feathers," she whispered. She gulped as she examined the grey Unicorn she had cursed, fearfully looking for some sort of reaction.

The total lack of reaction was infinitely more frightening. Rainbow almost wished for some sort of outburst.
There was a long moment of silence, then: "Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why?" Ash repeated coolly. "Why did you say it?"

"Well, it was after you fell asleep and after Fluttershy asked if you could fix Twilight's brain problem, you kinda nodded." Rainbow said, flustered. The grey Unicorn nodded, gesturing to her to continue. "We didn't know you were asleep so I thought you just didn't care and guess I kinda lost it."

"Oh."

Ash was silent once more. He sat down and began to draw in the dirt.

"Are you...mad?"

"Sometimes, I wonder the same thing," Ash said, looking up from his work. "Maybe it would have been better to die in a world I belong in. Maybe..." The Unicorn turned to Rainbow. "Do you think so too?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Rainbow almost shouted. "You're a great pony, Human, guy, whatever! Don't you ever think that and don't let anypony ever tell you that, especially not a stupid one like me! Why do you think I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, I understand. Thanks." He went back to his drawing. "I'm not angry. A little upset perhaps but not angry. Your apology is still accepted of course."

"Really? Even after what I said at the library?"

"What's more important is what you said afterwards," Ash said. "And that gives me hope, that perhaps one day, this world will be one I belong to." He extended a hoof toward the Pegasus. "Don't worry, we are 'cool'."

Rainbow laughed as she extended her own so that the two appendages bumped into each other at the center, making a soft clapping sound.

"Hey, uh, if we're cool, can you do me a favor not tell anypony I called myself stupid?"

"Of course," Ash assured with a smile. "Can you do something in return?"

"I guess. What?"

"You got angry because you thought I didn't care for Twilight. You got angry because you did care."

"Well duh. Twilight's my friend. I'd defend any of my friends, no matter what."

"Good." Ash grew solemn. His eyes grew dark and hard. His tone became almost bitter. "That loyalty, that drive to protect your friends, no matter the cost, never lose it."

The way Ash glared out into the forest sent a shiver down Rainbow's spine. "So, what are you drawing?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Huh? Oh, right." He rubbed what he had drawn into oblivion. "Just a list of those I kind of also need to apologize to...nothing important. Let's head back to camp and see if Pinkie's in any condition to continue."

Comments

[Narutofan110]

"A-a-a mi-ser-ab-le pile o-of s-e-cr-ets."

I love you now :)