> Flying Without Wings
>  by FierceRainbow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: Two Little Birds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Two Little Birds


The loud thuds of Applejack’s hooves hitting the dusty trail brought a wild grin to her face, old memories of countless times galloping that same track through the trees running through her head. Now, she wasn't at full speed, but that was fine, as she wasn't alone as she had been before. On her left, a blue Pegasus with an adorably scruffy rainbow mane blowing about about the place trotting briskly. On her right, a purple Alicorn with a darker mane, highlighted with a bright pink streak, struggled a little bit to keep the pace, slightly out of breath.

“Hey Twi, ya’ll wanna take a break?” Applejack offered, breaking the silence of the three happy runners.

She shook her quickly in response. “I’m fine. It’s not my fault you two are such great athletes!”

“Yeah, I can’t help being awesome,” Rainbow Dash took to the air, lazily flying with her belly up to the sky, before twisting round to wink at Twilight. “I know how much you like my flanks.”

“What? Stop it!” She broke out into embarrassed giggles, blushing furiously.

Applejack allowed herself a good-natured chuckled. “I have to admit, they are pretty nice,” at Rainbow’s expected smirk, she leaped up and grabbed the prismatic tail hairs between her teeth, successfully yanking her marefriend to the ground. “Now stop showin’ off and jus’ run with us.”

Of course, she wouldn't be put down that easily, blowing a loud raspberry before flipping backwards and looping round above their heads. Finished with a show, she flew onward. “Betcha can’t catch me!”

“Rainbow, wait!” Twilight grinned, beating her regal wings to chase after her, filled with obvious excitement.

Applejack watched happily as the two met in the air, wrapping their arms around each other in a tight hug, even sharing a short kiss. She paused beneath them as they circled around each other, putting their wings to good use. A relationship with three ponies seemed a hard feat to sustain, but after the initial awkwardness and confusion, they’d settled down just fine.

While her two marefriends continued to flit about, Applejack trotted to a tall tree with heavy green leaves providing plenty of shade for the three ponies. She nudged her saddlebags off her back, opening one to reveal a carefully folded red-checkered picnic blanket. Grasping it in her mouth, she set it out, smoothing the wrinkles out. Glancing up to see Twilight and Dash still flying, she set out various items of food, calling out to them. “Soup’s on, gals!”

In a single moment, Rainbow Dash had swooped down, landing heavily, her eyes eagerly taking in the display before her. “Oh wow, this looks great AJ! We should totally go on more picnics.”

Applejack pushed her lightly, a grin still splayed across her face. “Only if ya help out with th’ food next time!”

“Done!” Rainbow bumped a blue hoof against her own. “But don’t blame me if we all get food poisoning.”

“Rainbow, slow down a little,” Twilight protested, fluttering down in front of them. “I didn't even realize you were gone.”

“Twilight, there’s food, what do you expect?”

The princess rolled her eyes, sitting down on the blanket, legs curled underneath her. “Thanks for doing this Applejack, it looks really nice.”

“Aw shucks, that ya kindly, Twi. I did mah best,” Applejack steadily gripped the handle of a knife between her teeth, cutting three slices from a warm apple pie baked just that morning. She loaded up the plates, passing them out. “Dig in, ya’ll.”

She picked her own piece up, taking a bite and chewing contently. Rainbow Dash had nowhere near as much restraint, gobbling up the apple pie furiously. “Mmm, thish is declicioush!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Twilight scowled as a half-chewed bit of pastry landed on her shoulder, magically flicking it off.

She sheepishly swallowed. “Sorry, Twi. But it is delicious.”

“That’s true,” she rubbed her head against Applejack’s neck, causing a blush to bloom upon her cheeks. “Maybe we can cook together someday? I’m not that good, but I’m sure you could teach me how.”

“She promised me as well,” Dash snuggled up against her over side. “We can have a big cook-up, or something.”

Applejack smiled at the warmth from her two marefriends. “What’s with all th’ attention today? All I did was bake a pie.”

“A delicious one.” As if to prove her point, Rainbow Dash chomped down on her meal, punctuating her chews with ‘mmm’ sounds.

A familiar warmth blossomed in her chest. Everything was perfect. From the sun above casting gloriously warm rays down onto the farm, to the ponies by her side, who she loved more than anything. 

It didn't take long for them to devour the meal Applejack had spent the morning preparing, washing it all down with fresh water from little stream trickling between two trees. Dash was soon in the air again, calling for Twilight to join her. Holding hooves, they spun around, practicing simple little tricks Applejack assumed they’d worked on another time.

With them busy, she lay back in the shade, glancing up through the patches the leaves didn't cover. She glanced over at them, her two little birds, swooping about as if they had no care in the world. Smiling, she let her eyes drift shut to the welcoming cover of darkness.

An orange bird perched on her branch, shuffling every now and again as if it would ward of her terrible boredom. She’d caught some tasty worms earlier, but now she was stuffed and knew she couldn't eat any more. She sighed, glanced with contempt at a pair of birds, purple and blue, soaring between the branches together, singing their song proudly. She hadn't sung in a while. After all, singing was practiced when a bird was happy. She wasn't happy.

Sinking her claws cautiously into the soft wood, she peered over at the ground below. It lurched, moving further away from her until she would have to squint to see it. But she didn't want to see it, not when squeezing her eyes tight shut in terror was an option.

No. No longer would she be afraid, huddling on her branch day in and night out. She was a bird, she was free! Filled with new spirit, she launched herself forwards, ready to unfurl her wings and take flight. That was, if she had any. She stared in horror at her body, lacking the wings that would take her to safety, leaving her to plummet to her eventually doom. How could she forget?

How could she forget she had no wings?

Applejack awoke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. The feelings of falling had been so real, nothing to stop her from dying. It was then she noticed Rainbow Dash and Twilight watching her, worried frowns across their faces. “Hey AJ, are you okay? You seemed like you were having a bad dream.” Dash said.

“O-oh, nothing,” she pressed a hoof against her forehead, willing herself to calm down. “I’m fine now. Why don’t we play a game?”

“If you’re sure,” Twilight seemed hesitant. “What do you want to play?”

“Well, we could continue the run,” she began to pick up the used plates and uneaten pie (although it seemed a lot like a large wedge had gone missing, and Applejack had a sneaking suspicion a certain Pegasus was at fault), slotting them back into her saddlebags. “We've finished all of our food. Unless ya’ll wanna do somethin’ else?”

“No, I’d like to stretch my legs,” Rainbow Dash trotted on the spot. “Been flying for a while.”

Applejack’s eyes rested on the feathery appendages, neatly folded against her sides, flickering over to the smooth slope of her own back. “Yeah. Ya have.”

She bent to pick up her saddlebags, only to have them snatched by Rainbow. “Hey, you had them the whole way. Let somepony else have a turn.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Ya’ll say it like it’s some special privilege to carry mah saddlebags.”

“Oh, but it is,” she held them close to herself, theatrically sniffing them. “They smell of you, Mistress Applejack.”  

A soft weight on her back made her jump, only to recognize it as a purple wing. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Twilight murmured quietly. “You’re not normally so easily started.”

“I’m fine, sugarcube. Don’t worry about it.” She stole a quick peck on her cheek, before pulling away. I’m fine.


~~~~~~~~~~


Applejack dropped her saddlebags onto a spare armchair, unable to clean up after herself for once. The rest of the day had been fun, but she couldn't help feeling there was a shadow hanging over the whole thing. It was from her mind really, with her stupid obsession with their wings suddenly.

With a huff, she stomped up the stairs, pushing open the door and throwing herself onto her bed. She’d never had a problem with being an Earth pony before. She was proud of who she was, and had never wanted to change. But for every date they went on, Twilight and Dash would be up above, enjoying the weather the Pegasus way. She knew she shouldn't mind, though sometimes she did wish she too could spread her wings, easily flying up to join them.

Growling, she buried her head beneath her pillow. Stupid. She was being stupid. Peeking out, she grabbed a framed photo beside her bed, bringing it closer. It was a picture of Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, all huddled together and beaming, taken when they first started dating. They’re growin’ away from me. Before I know it, they’ll be dumpin’ me an’ going’ off on their own, she frowned. That ain't going to happen. But I can’t keep up with ‘em like this.

Placing down her picture, she made her way towards a tall mirror, gazing at her reflection, trying to imagine a pair of orange wings sprouting from her back. She couldn't see it. With a sigh, Applejack placed her hoof against the mirror. Would it really be fer th’ best, if I were a Pegasus? AIn’t no way I could be, anyhow.

Applejack buried herself under her duvet. Jus' stop thinkin’ about it. Everythin’ will be alright.

> Chapter Two: Freedom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Freedom


The loud caw of the cockerel echoed across the empty farm, reaching through Applejack’s window, ringing out with a clear sound that easily broke through the peaceful fog of sleep. She groaned, trying to grasp onto the precious threads of rest that were steadily slipping away from her, replaced by the morning’s warmth and a pang of hunger in her stomach. Well, she was hardly going to miss breakfast.

Reluctantly, she pushed aside her duvet, sitting up and rubbing her eyes with a yawn. She really wasn’t ready to get up, plagued by strange dreams of flight and losing her marefriends all night. Her bed lay just beneath her rump, tempting her back to dreamland. But she was never one to give into temptation, so she resolutely stumbled onto the wooden planks, running a brush through her mane and tail, before binding them with her normal hair ties, finishing with her worn stetson. Happy with her appearance, she headed out.

As soon as she made it to the top of the stairs, the warm scent of apples floated up her nostrils. She sniffed appreciatively, following the smell to the kitchen, where Big McIntosh stood, a pink apron tied around his middle, plating up some steaming apple pancakes.

“Nice apron, Mac,” Applejack teased him lightly, punctuating her words with a friendly nudge.

He turned to face her, laughter sparkling in his eyes. “Eeyup.”

Leaving him to his work, (there was no use offering help, he always denied it) she returned to the main room, where an elderly pony lay snoozing in her slowly moving rocking chair, quite creaks protruding from it. “Granny? Granny, it’s time fer breakfast.”

Granny Smith showed no signs of hearing her, twitching slightly and mumbling something about ‘stopping the war’. Shaking her head, Applejack leaned closer to the floppy ear. “Granny! Breakfast!”

“Wh-what?” the old mare jumped in surprise, startled out of her slumber. “Applejack! Ya’ll should treat ya elders with more respect.”

“So ya want me to jus’ leave ya’ll to sleep all day?” she snapped, her thin patience with Granny Smith bending under pressure, though refraining from the shame that was breaking.

“Yes! I can do what I want!” With a disapproving sniff, Granny Smith began to move towards the table, her worn-out bones making a creaking sound worryingly akin to that of her rocking chair.

Applejack sighed, her head drooping slightly. Although she got on her nerves, she often fretted about long she had before she passed on. She tried not to think about it, as was the circle of life, but it was hard. Shaking off her discomfort, she took her seat at the dining table as her brother put plates full of apple pancakes in front of them.

“Oh Applesauce, ya’ll work too hard,” Granny Smith cooed, shoving a mouthful of pancake into her mouth, chewing it up with her false teeth, clearly exposed to any who were forced to look.

“Uh, Granny? His name’s Big McIntosh.”

“Oh, whatever. I knew that.”

Ignoring her confused words, Applejack contemplatively chewed her own pancakes, her thoughts elsewhere. Those dreams last night… they weren’t nightmares, but they were weird, unhealthy. Why should she want to be a Pegasus, when she was just fine as an Earth Pony?

“Me and Scoots are gonna go get our cutie marks in exploring caves today,” Applebloom said, her voice laced with excitement at the prospect of yet another chance to discover her special talent. “Sweetie was gonna come with us, but she’s afraid of th’ darkness, so she’s gonna play with Twist. I feel kinda bad ‘bout leavin’ here to play with mah new gals, but I’m sure she’ll have a lot of fun with Sweetie.”

That’s right, I stopped seein’ her little friend ‘round here once she met Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Hmm, Twist, was it? I hope she’s okay.

“Now Applejack, ya’ll being awful silent,” Granny Smith piped up, leering at her from across the table. “Is it because of those cute fillies yer datin’? Bet they did a number on ya last night.”

“What?” her cheeks felt like they’d just been set on fire as the implications settled in, leaving her to splutter in embarrassment. “We didn’t do nothin’ of the sort, I swear on the farm! We were jus’ havin’ a normal date is all…” She broke off as realized Big McIntosh and Applebloom were muffling their giggles, while Granny Smith was chortling away happily.

“Oh Applejack, ya’ll are gettin’ flustered,” she said with a wide grin. “Now, jus’ what are ya gonna do if they really pull some moves on ya?”

“Granny, don’t talk about that with Bloom here!” she blushed furiously at the idea, cutting of her little sister’s protest. “I gotta go. Bye!”

“But Applejack, ya’ll didn’t finish ya breakfast!” Applebloom called out desperately, but she was already gone. With a shrug, she forked the dripping pancakes onto her plate, preparing to dig into her bigger than ever breakfast. “Oh well, more fer me.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Although her cheeks were still slightly warm from the earlier conversation, Applejack had calmed down well enough, courtesy of a few deep breathes as she trotted briskly past the rows of apple trees. Maybe leaving had been immature, but she couldn’t bear to suffer through that conversation any longer. She needed to talk to Rainbow Dash, anyhow. Her cheeks lit up again as thought of the mare seducing Applejack entered her mind. Cursing her own mind under her breath, she continued on past the farm.

Luckily she didn’t have to look far, spotting a rainbow-colored tail hanging off the edge of a straggling cloud hanging long above the rolling green landscape. Bending down in preparation, she leaped with all her might, managing to grip the tail in her teeth and give it a strong yank.

With a yelp, the rest of Rainbow became visible, tumbling down atop Applejack in a flurry of limbs. She shifted uncomfortably under the light weight of her Pegasus marefriends, shoving her off. “Gah! Uh, sorry ‘bout that, sugarcube.”

Rainbow Dash stumbled briefly from the shove, but quickly regained her balance to fix her with a glare. Her mane was slightly more scruffed up than normal, sticking out at odd angles, rather than the somehow orderly disarray it was normally in. It was pretty cute. “What the hay, Applejack? I was having a good dream as well.”

“I said sorry, I didn’t mean ta wake ya’ll up,” she ducked in, stealing a little nuzzle. “What was yer dream about?”

A sly expression slid into the place of her angry one, batting her eyelashes suggestively. “It was about you.”

Yet again, she felt the heat rushing to her cheeks. “Uh, I…”

“Ha! You should see the look on your face!” Rainbow fell about laughing, throwing her legs up into the air as she chortled.

Applejack rolled her eyes in annoyance, before chuckling as well, looking down fondly at her. “Alright Rainbow, that’s enough now. I wanted to talk to ya.”

She straightened up, the laughter subsiding from her with only a few joyful tears left for her to wipe away. Finally serious, she wrapped her warm hoof around Applejack’s, to her pleasant surprise. “Okay, okay, c’mere.”

Curiously, she followed her lead of nestling down on the soft grass, staring up at the cloud-spotted sky. She glanced over at Rainbow to see her gazing up intentently. After a few more seconds, she began to speak. “You see that cloud over there, Applejack?” she followed the direction of the blue hoof to see the indicated cloud, seemingly drifting apart. “It looks like a cat, don’t you think? It wasn’t meant to look like that, it was supposed to just look like a, well, a cloud. We did everything, from getting the water to Clousdale to make it, to carefully shaping and positioning it. But when we leave it, it drifts apart and does it’s own thing.”

Applejack blinked as Rainbow Dash finished her speech. Am I like a cloud, then? Pushed to be an Earth Pony, and thinkin’ that’s what I should be, when really I should be a Pegasus? But how does Rainbow know about this? “Dash, that’s… actually kind of deep. I didn’t know ya’ll could be like that.” 

Rainbow glanced over, raising her eyebrow. “Nah, I just felt like talking about clouds.”

Applejack mentally face-hoofed. Of course.

“So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

“O-oh,” she felt her voice failing as the attention was directed to her. “I was jus’ wondering… what’s it like ta have wings?”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash seemed surprised at the question, giving her an odd look. “Why?”

“Nothin’ important,” she said awkwardly. “Jus’ wonderin’.”

“You’re cute when you get all flustered,” Dash leaned forwards, planting a kiss on her cheeks, drawing away to take to the sky, landing on a cloud and splaying her wings out for Applejack to admire, and she greedily did so, always rather in awe of the magnificent feathered limbs. “It’s only natural that you’d want to know about these bad boys. When ponies hang out with me, they soon find they want to be just like me, especially my awesome talent at flying.”

Applejack playfully rolled her eyes, smirking up at her. “Would ya’ll get on with it, Rainbow?”

“Aw, you know you love it,” she winked suggestively. “But whatever. Anyway, wings are actually require a lot of work. You have to stretch them out so they don’t get stiff and preen a lot as well. Seriously, like every day,” maybe it ain’t so good after all. “Still, nothing compares to flying. Every day, spreading my wings, soaring across the sky, just me and the birds up there. It’s the most wonderful sense of freedom I’ve ever had, the wind in my mane… I love it!” With a flourish, she dived off the edge of her cloud, heading straight towards Applejack.

She yelped in surprise, having no time to duck before Rainbow Dash barreled into her, pushing down firmly on her shoulders and pressing their lips together. As she drew away, Applejack was left breathless. “R-rainbow? What’s gotten into ya’ll?”

“What? Don’t tell me you didn’t like it,” Dash smirked, wettening her lips with a prolonged swipe of her tongue. “I was just getting excited, I guess. Talking about flying does that me. Sorry, I have to go now. But I’ll see you later, right cowgirl?”

“Definitely,” she finally responded to the kiss, returning it roughly with one of her own. “Ya’ll go play around an’ have fun. Then come down to the barn later, an’ we’ll have some real fun.”

Rainbow Dash shivered slightly. “Damn you’re hot. Uh, bye!” With that, she shot off, leaving her trademark bright trail behind her.

With a wide grin plastered over her face, she watched until she had disappeared from view, and then a bit longer. After a while, she got up to begin her walk. To where, she didn’t know, as her plan had been to hang around with Rainbow. I guess I’ll go an’ see Twi’ then. A plan in mind, she headed off.
> Chapter Three: Stories and Legends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stories and Legends


Quite different from the dirt paths Applejack normally travelled on, the cobblestone streets of Ponyville rang out with a quite clip clop as her hooves hit the ground. Her pace was rather fast, easily dodging the other ponies out on their daily business in Town, intent on reaching the large tree library not far off. One could hardly blame her for wanting to see her marefriend, having already spent time with the other.

Smiling, Applejack knocked clearly against the door, letting its residents know that there was a visitor. Sure enough, Twilight’s face soon greeted her as the door swung open, before she was folded into a hug. “Applejack! I’m so glad to see you!”

“Me too, Twi’,” she carefully untangled herself Twilight, though with a kiss on her forehead to reassure her she appreciated it. “But what’s got ya’ll so excited?”

“I just found this really interesting book about a legend I haven’t read before, though I’m almost finished now,” Applejack trotted in, the door magically swinging shut behind her, perhaps with a bit more force than necessary. “It’s about this place called ‘The Wishing Cave’. I mean, the name is ridiculous -they should’ve called it the ‘Cave of Fulfillment’, or something- but the actual place seems pretty cool.” She levitated a slim volume off the table.

It was a simple brown color, the title written out in bold letters across the top, followed by an illustrated picture of an eerie blue cave, fixed with stalagmites and a smooth, round hole at the top letting the light of the night sky filter down to shine on a blemishless white sphere, rested on natural stone altar. Twilight jabbed a hoof at the picture. “That’s the Wishing Stone. That’s where you make your wish, though I’m not sure how.”

“The Wishin’ Stone?” she mused, gazing at the picture. “It grants ya’ll anything ya wish for?”

“Yeah, it’s fascinating, isn’t it?” she rifled through the pages. “It even shows you how to get there, and how to make a wish. There’s a map and everything.”

“Is there?” She watched as the book paused, open on a very detailed map showing the way to what seemed to be a cave, circled roughly.

“Apparently, you have to be in full contact with the stone, and say your wish aloud so that the magic will hear and responde” Twilight said, grinning from ear to ear.

She grinned, lightly kissing the alicorn on the tip of her ear. “Ya’ll are cute when ya get excited ‘bout somethin’,” her words were followed by a chorus of embarrassed giggles, music to her ears. As they died down, she gazed across at the book still floating across from them. “Say, Twi’... ya’ll wouldn’t mind if I borrowed this, would ya?”

~~~~~~~~

Applejack moved as quickly as she could, rushing to return home and begin reading the book carefully gripped between her teeth. It was awful nice of Twi’ to lemme borrow this, what with her still readin’ it and all. I’ll have to pay her back somehow.

In what seemed like no time at all, she was once again trotting along the dusty trail between the rows of apple trees to the brightly painted red barn she called home. Smiling at the simple happiness of returning home from a short trip out, she pushed open the worn wooden door. 

Big McIntosh and Applebloom were nowhere to be seen, presumably attending their own business. Granny Smith had returned to her rocking chair, head tipped back as she softly snored, someplace far away inside her dreams. Placing her hooves lightly so as not to cause a loud noise, she scurried upstairs.

Applejack dropped the book onto her bed, eagerly following it with a thump. An anticipated grin etched across her features, she lifted the cover, prepared to dig into a good book for what seemed like the first time in ages.

~~~~~~~~~~

The sun had climbed high into the sky and descended lower again by the time Applejack finished The Wishing Cave. Her reading session had been interrupted by things such as meals and toilet breaks, but finally she’d got it done with and her head was brimming with the new information. Placing it on her bedside table, she rolled onto her back to stare up at the ceiling.

I could really do it now, Applejack thought, turning the idea around in her head. I could be up there with Dash and Twi flyin’, then I’d never be stuck on mah own again. I would be with ‘em. 

Imagining it filled with an undeniable energy. But reading all day had successfully worn her out, and she was ready to hit the hay. Just as she was getting up to prepare herself for bed, a loud knocking brought her attention to her small window, where she could see an excited Rainbow Dash tapping her hoof furiously against the glass.

“Hold yer horses, I’m a’comin’,” she grumbled, though there was no way she would be heard through the window. She pulled the window up with a single, smooth yank, shivering as a blast of cold night air tugged at her coat, so difference from the warmth of the bedroom. But Applejack didn’t comment on it, instead fixing Dash with an irritated look. “Rainbow! What are ya’ll doin’ here so late?”

“Uh, fun times, remember?” Without waiting for her answer, she swooped in through the window, leaving Applejack to shut it, and landed neatly on the course rug.

“Oh shoot, I forgot!” She smacked her forehead with her hoof, gritting her teeth in annoyance. Ya such a scatterbrain, AJ!

“Oh,” her wings drooped by her sides, her high spirits seeming to fall. “So we’re not having fun times?”

Guilt stabbed her in the chest as she took in her disappointment, clearly misunderstanding her words. “‘Course we are, ya crazy Pegasus,” she playfully ruffled her bright mane. “Jus’ a little surprise is all, but that ain’t mean I don’t wanna do it no more.” She darted forwards, stealing her lips in a slow kiss.

Rainbow Dash broke away, her daring grin firmly back in place. “You know you’re awesome and I totally love you, right?”

“‘Course I do,” she smirked. “Ya’ll tell me all the time.”

“That’s because it’s true.” Rainbow nuzzled her happily.

“Well, I love ya too.” She smiled softly, leaning back in for another kiss.
> Chapter Four: Big Decisions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Big Decisions 


Applejack awoke to the feelings of many small, slender feathers brushing along her belly to the response of a tingly feelings that made a sleepy laugh draw itself up from her throat. She tried to ignore it, but the feathers didn’t stop, picking up the pace as they attacked her mercilessly. Before long, she was laughing loudly, muffling her shrieks into her pillows.

“Stop! Sto-op!” Applejack cried out, her eyes flying open as it grew to be too much for her. She was greeted by the sight of Rainbow Dash curled up atop her bed, effortlessly stretching out one wing to tickle her. “Ra-rainbo-ow!” 

In a desperate attempt to escape her wings, she rolled over, ending up tumbling off the edge of her bed in a heap of blankets. After a brief struggle, she poked her head out angrily, trying again to scold her mischevious marefriend. “Rainbow! What the hay are ya’ll doin’?”

“Tickling you, duh,” Rainbow snorted, looking down on her with a glint in her eyes. “I can’t help it if I wake up and you’re lying there, looking all peaceful and vulnerable.”

“Would it really hurt to jus’ lemme sleep a bit longer?” Applejack grumbled, finally pulling herself free of the treacherous duvet that had trapped her.

“Of course. That would be wasting a perfect opportunity,” she leapt off the edge of the bed, kissing the tip of her nose. “And it’s super adorable when you’re mad.”

She let out an irritated huff, giving Dash a glare that soon dissolved into a carefree smile. “Alright, ya got me. But I’ll have my revenge on ya’ll, I swear it.”

“Of course you will,” Rainbow Dash said sweetly, mockingly. “But it’s going to be hard to beat me.”

A challenge, eh? Applejack smirked. “We’ll see ‘bout that, then.”

She pounced upon her marefriend, knocking her to the floor in one swift blow, putting in just enough force to push her down, but not enough to hurt her. Happy that she was securely held down, Applejack moved her front hooves down from Rainbow’s shoulder, brushing them across her belly, using only the edges.

Rainbow Dash let out a helpless giggle, which turned into a chuckle as she drew swirls and patterns swiftly. But it wasn’t enough. With a predatory look, she grabbed Rainbow’s foreleg, tickling it slowly. Soon enough, her laughter began to increase. “A-AJ, stop it,” she broke off momentarily before collecting herself again. “That’s not… ahah! That’s not fair!”

“All’s fair in love an’ war, sugarcube,” Applejack quoted loftily, attacking her partner with everything she had. It wasn’t long before Rainbow was thrashing on the floor, squealing out loudly, unable to free herself. Successfully having conquered her, she stepped back off her to let her catch her breath. “What was that ‘bout me not bein’ able ta beatcha?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, still wheezing. “Okay, okay… you win.”

“Haha!” Triumphantly, she pumped her hoof into the air. “Rainbow Dash admits I’m better than ‘er!”

“Don’t get a big head, AJ,” she smirked back at her. “Then I’ll have to start calling you a lazy bum.”

“Lazy? Ya’ll lookin’ at th’ wrong mare, sugar,” she lowered her eyelids seductively, drawing closer until they were muzzle-to-muzzle, Dash’s suddenly quick breath against her lips. “We both know I do most of th’ work in bed.”

The blue from her face completely vanished, turning beet red. “I… uh. Dammit, AJ, stop being so sexy!”

Applejack couldn’t hold back a laugh at that, imitating her boisterous marefriend. “It ain’t my fault I’m so awesome.”

A sudden weight came upon her and she found herself pressed against the floor, Dash leering down at her. “Come on, you know you couldn’t beat the real thing. You’re not fast enough to beat me?”

“What are ya’ll sayin’?” Applejack raised an eyebrow, though she knew exactly what was being implied.

“I’m saying, I’ll always beat you in race.” She grinned down at her, just daring her to speak up.

“Why don’t we put that to th’ test?” she sat up, resting her hooves around the other mare’s shoulders. “If ya’ll think ya have a shot.”

“Just you watch.”

Before she knew it, Dash had hugged her close to her lean, athletic chest, unfurled her wings and leaped out of the window. Her surprise scream was cut short as the Pegasus levelled out, gliding swiftly over the farm. Her breath was snatched from throat, leaving her to stare at the beautiful blue feathers fluttering above her.

Rainbow Dash glided down to the ground, landing on her back legs to gingerly set Applejack down on the ground. For a few moments longer she lay swung around her neck, before realizing she was supposed to be moving. She let go quickly, scrambling for a grip on the dirt, her heart racing wildly in her chest. Darnit, Rainbow sure does have an effect on me.

Before either of them to make a most likely embarrassing attempt to break the silence, a familiar voice came within earshot, followed by the sight of a purple Alicorn. “Hey! Applejack! Rainbow!”

She smiled warmly. “Howdy, Twilight. It’s great to see ya’ll.”

As she drew closer, Applejack crossed the distance, standing up and gripping the side of Twilight’s face lightly, leaning in for a loving kiss. Her face was flushed was flushed as she parted, melting into a hug. “You too.”

“Hey, lemme in on this!” Dash flew down from above, wrapping them both into a hug.

“I was coming here to talk to you about that book, AJ,” Twilight said, everypony taking a step back to maintain their personal space. “You probably got it for a reason, and I-”

“Who’s up for a run?” Applejack interrupted her.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow took to the air, beating her wings fiercely. “I’m so ready for a workout. Catch me if you can!” With that she shot of, although seemingly slower than her normally break-neck pace so that the other two could catch up.

“I’m mighty sorry ‘bout that, Twi’,” Applejack apologized as soon as Rainbow left. “I jus’ don’t really wanna talk ‘bout it right now, an’ not with Rainbow ‘ere. I wanna keep it for as little ears as possible, ya know?”

Twilight gently kissed. “Of course. Don’t worry, I’m here for you if anything’s wrong,” she also took flight, hovering expectantly. “Shall we go? Rainbow’ll be waiting for us.”

“‘Course,” as they set of, Applejack took the time to admire Twilight’s easily beating wings, and the bright shape of an impatiently waiting Dash in the distance. Right there and then, she knew exactly what she was going to do. “I’m ready.”

> Chapter Five: Setting Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Setting Out


Most ponies probably assumed Applejack was the type of mare who relished waking up at the crack of dawn, watching the sun rise and chase away the sense of chilliness that hung in the air. While that wasn’t entirely false, it wasn’t entirely true either. No, she appreciated the sight of even that great, beautiful sun that Princess Celestia so tirely rose had to come down, dipping below the horizon in a breath-taking display of colors, until it was finally gone. Then, it was night and she could gaze upon the pale moon and the mysterious darkness of Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack smiled softly as the last orange rays shrunk until they were no more, and the sun had gone, along with all the sunlight. Still, Princess Luna’s stars shone brightly, and that would be plenty enough for her when she finally set off.

If she listened carefully, Applejack could hear the familiar sounds of Big McIntosh’s heavy hoofsteps against the wooden floors, followed by the creak of his bedsprings as he lay down to rest. Applebloom would be secretly reading some magazine under her bedcovers, imagining nopony heard her terrible hidden giggles, until all off a sudden she dropped off. Granny Smith, being the elderly mare she was, would already be asleep, snoring contently under the family quilt.

She sighed, her eyes watering slightly. Her role would be simple. Lye down, and have a good night’s rest. But tonight was going to be different.

Applejack took her time, waiting until they would all surely be asleep. Then she began. She got down low so her belly brushed the planks, reaching under her bed to tug out a large pair of saddlebags, fit for a long journey. The first thing she packed was the book, tenderly placing it in and wrapping it in a large, soft blanket (Twilight would freak if she damaged a book). 

Quietly, she packed the rest of her bags with care, and a few sneaky trips downstairs. She slipped them onto her bag, testing the weight. They were good ‘n heavy, showing all the good supplies packed, but not too much it would be a bother.

“I’m ready,” she said aloud, despite all her efforts to be completely silent. The words were important, more to reassure herself than anything. Applejack breathed deeply, repeated the phrase. “I’m ready. I’m ready.”

She let out the breath, finishing with a grin. This is rather excitin’, now that I think ‘bout it. A real adventure! I ain’t been on one in long time.

Applejack twisted the doorknob, slipping past the door and closing it gently behind her. With great care, she began to tip-toe down the corridor, past the other members of her familys’ room. Reaching the stairs, she trotted down them briskly, more confident in her security. Apparently that was mistakes, as in her rush she had forgotten about the bottom step. It let out a deafening creak, clearly alerting her presence,

Applejack winced, moving her hoof backwards onto the past step. She held completely still, her heart racing, beads of sweat forming on her clammy skin. For how long she stood there, frozen with fear, she didn’t know. But nopony came demanding what the hay she was doing up at such a late hour, and with her travelling saddlebags too. So she moved on.

Applejack moved quickly from then on, despite the quiet clacks of her hooves. She had no time to be dithering around, making sure every step was performed to perfection. That was Twilight’s job.

Twilight, she stopped in her tracks, a sudden pain hitting her chest. Hard. She’s gon’ be wonderin’ why I snuck off with th’ book she was so generous to lend me. I can’t leave her and Dash, not like this, she squeezed her eyes tight shut, recollecting her thoughts. No, no… this is fer them, remember? Ya’ll are holdin’ ‘em back, what with not bein’ able ta fly and all. I ain’t gonna do that ta them, and mahself.

Resolute once more in her decision, Applejack made to move forwards once more. That was when she heard the sound of hoofsteps.

Fear striking her, she darted under the table, brutishly banging the chair legs in her process, but managing to hunker down in her middle, quivering slightly.

The hoofsteps revealed themselves as belonging to Applebloom, stomping sleepily down the stairs with little. Applebloom? What’s that silly little filly still doin’ up? Darnit, I didn’t wait long enough!  She rubbed her eyes, giving a little yawn, before stretching up to grab a glass, filling with water from the sink.

The loud gulps of Applebloom consuming her drink only served to aggravate Applejack even more. Finally, she finished, placing her glass carelessly on the draining board and stumbling away again. Only until at least five minutes at least had past, did she dare move.

Applejack wriggled out from under the table, scowling at the stairs ‘Bloom had recently trod. She ain’t never stayed up this late before. I sure hope she ain’t got a dirty magazine from under Mac’s bed. Though, I don’t if he actually does have those sorta things, but Rarity says all stallions have ‘em, she chuckled to herself briefly, the sound breaking the tense silence easily. ‘Course he doesn’t! Mac got all embarrassed when Rainbow’s stretches revealed jus’ a little too much. Hmm, that was a good view. Maybe I can get ‘er to come workout over here again, after all this is over.

Submerged in her wandering thoughts, Applejack continued to move through the room, quickly opening the door. The blast of cold air was a shock, but she had no time to hang around in the warmth, so she stepped outside.

The entire farm was covered in lengthy shadows, the short grass beneath her hooves dark, and the shiny apples hard to make out. Above her head, the sky was dark, the velvet surface of it dotted by many bright stars and the large, glorious white surface of the moon. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply of the fresh air.

She let her breath out, watching it fog in front of her. Beaming, she set off firmly down the dusty path. “Alright! Let’s get this show on th’ road!”

A jump in her steps, Applejack began to hum. It was a simple tune, from the lullabye her Ma used to sing to her. Before she knew it, her quiet little humming had slipped into singing as she turned off the path that led to Sweet Apple Acres, instead following a grassy meadow, as the book’s map predicted.

“Hush now, quiet now,
It’s time to lay your sleepy head,
Hush now, quiet now,
It’s time to go to bed,”

The simple action of singing warmed Applejack up in a way nothing else even came close to. Except for her friends, and her two Very Special Someponies. Often, she would find herself away at it while she heard at work. There was nothing wrong with it, of course, and if anypony told her otherwise she’d have a thing or two to say to them.

Soon, she was passing under a very familiar cloud building that was obviously the home of a Pegasus, fixed with liquid rainbow flowing down the sides. She dropped her voice so Dash wouldn’t hear her.

As she plodded along, time seemed to fly by. The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes turned to hours. Or at least, one or two hours. It felt like that anyway. She could see no civilization, no anything, for that matter. Just the endless rows of long, dark grass waving in the wind.

Applejack groaned, hunching forwards. Her hooves were aching badly from the long walk. Desperately, she lifted her head, trying to find what she desired. Her eyes lit up like two miniature suns when she took in a few natural slabs of rocks leaning against each other, providing a cave-like structure.

She wasted no time, dashing into the dark hollow and collapsing with a sigh. For a while she lay there, until a rumble from her stomach reminded her of a bad cause of hunger that infected her recently. Clumsily undoing her saddlebags, Applejack tugged out the big red-checkered blanket, The Wishing Cave tumbling onto the floor in the process. Cursing, she brought the book over to inspect it. Thankfully, it had sustained no damage.

Ya’ll should be more careful, Applejack! What if it got broken?, she mentally scolded herself, before giving chuckle. Ya’ll should also stop talking to yerself.

Applejack retrieved the blanket, wrapping it around her sides snuggly. Her ears drooped as she remembered it previously being used to serve food to her winged marefriends. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she opened up her other saddlebag, taking out one of the many apples inside.

Crunching down on her tasty snack, Applejack flipped through the book to the page she was looking for. Locating the farm on the map, she traced her path, pleased to see she was going in the right direction. Happily, she tucked the book away again with care. 

Once she finished her apple, she chucked the core away, maybe to someday grow up into it’s own little tree in the meadow, which could then become an orchard. Smiling, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, her last thoughts of Twilight and Rainbow, beaming at her as she joined them in the sky.
> Chapter Six: Morning Surprise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Morning Surprise


Applejack woke to the comfortable warmth of a heavy blanket atop her, and two ponies nuzzled up against. She sighed in contentment as one of the gentle brushed her muzzle along the length of her ear, a lock of hair tickling her chin. She chuckled good-humouredly at the fizzing feeling it sent through her, gazing up into the sparkling eyes of Rainbow Dash, before looking down lovingly at Twilight’s peaceful sleeping face. Wait a second…

“What the hay are ya’ll doin’ here?!”

Twilight visible flinched from her outburst, Dash also leaning back, ears flattened against her head, an unamused scowl etched clearly onto her features. “Calm down! Sheesh, this is how you treat a nice surprise? Remind me never to serve you breakfast in bed on your birthday.”

Applejack ground her teeth together in annoyance, feeling the initial shock leave her. But the passion was still there, causing her to stand up abruptly, Twilight cowering as the two began to argue. “A nice surprise? This is what ya’ll call ah nice surprise, sneakin’ into my bed an’ scarin’ the livin’ daylights out of me? Oh yeah, very nice.”

Rainbow snorted in annoyance, pounding her hoof against the floor. “Really? Well, maybe I’ll just leave and you can sit here all alone, crying into your little book about how your dream will never come true.”

“My dream?” she faltered, glancing over her shoulder to see the book, discarded on the ground carelessly. “Ya’ll… ya’ll looked in my saddlebags?”

“Yeah, we were worried, okay?” she growled, eyes glinting with anger, before she let out a sigh, dropping her head. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s obviously important to you.”

“Applejack,” Twilight said softly, coming up beside her. “You seem to have a wish, but why didn’t you tell us? We could’ve come with you. You just… left.”

Applejack sighed, glancing down at her orange hooves, unconsciously beginning to scuff the ground beneath her. “I know,” I cain’t tell ‘em why. What’ll I do? “How’d ya find me?”

“Twilight was chilling at my place,” Rainbow told her. “We just outside, and we saw you. You were singing something.”

“Oh yeah. That.” 

“But that doesn’t matter,” the Pegasus grinned. “Now we can all go on an adventure together!” she sprang nimbly into the air, doing an excited loop before landing, beaming brightly. “It’s going to be so awesome.”

Twilight giggled, pulling first Dash closer, then extending her other wing to bring AJ to her side. “I think Rainbow’s right. This could be a great experience for the three of us,” she smiled, and this time it was only for her. “And we’ll fulfill your wish at the same time.”

Rainbow Dash frowned slightly. “What is it, anyway?”

“Uh…” her mind raced to pull up an excuse. What’ll they think, if I tell ‘em? I gotta get there, for them. “That ain’t important. We shouldn’t be standin’ ‘round here like a bunch ‘a worms in an apples.”

“Worms in an apples?” Dash wrinkled her nose disapprovingly. “How does that even make sense?”

“It jus’ does.” she pulled herself lightly free from Twilight’s grip, who was giving her a suspicious look. “Now, let’s get a-goin’.”

“Okey-dokey,” Rainbow smiled. “Which way, Captain?”

“Hmm,” she picked up the book from where it had previously lain. “Well, we need to cross this here meadow, then there’s a forest, an’ a cave.The Wishin’ Stone should be roundabout there.”

Applejack returned the book to it’s rightful place in her saddlebag, wrapped in the blanket. The trio then proceeded to to step out into the bright glare of morning sunlight, not a cloud to be seen in the clear blue sky. The heat hit her immediately, burning into her coat furiously.

“Phew!” she took her hat off, fanning herself with the wave of cool air coming off it. “Well, I’ll be. Ain’t this gotta be the hottest day in a long time.”

“This could be bad,” Twilight frowned at her. “If we get too hot, we’ll slow down. Too much exposure to strong heat could weaken us by a large degree, and we won’t be able to make steady rates of process.”

Silence hung in the air, both ponies waiting for the expected scratch sound of a voice making a rude comment. Applejack frowned, speaking what was on both their minds. “Now is ‘bout when Rainbow should be callin’ ya an ‘egghead’ or somethin’ like that,” she glanced around furtively, realizing she wasn’t by her side. Then, she looked upwards, catching sight of a bright speck in the distance. 

“Rainbow!” she shrieked in annoyance. “Get yer feathered rear down ‘ere with us right this instance!”

Slowly, Rainbow Dash fluttered back down to join them, and irritated look on her face. “What? There’s no need to yell at me.”

“Ya’ll wouldn’t ‘ave heard me otherwise,” Applejack retorted with a snort, raising her eyebrow sceptically.

“We need to stay together, Rainbow,” Twilight insisted, stepping forwards. “If one of us were to get separated we might not find you again.”

“Alright, alright already,” she said sharply. “I just wanted to get some fresh air. It’s darn hot down here.”

“So we’d better get a-goin’ before we burn our manes off,” Applejack said, taking the lead in firmly trotting ahead.

“How far is it?” Dash floated lazily above her head, wings beating slowly.

“If we keep this pace, we should be there in about two days.” Twilight said.

“Well, that’s not too bad.”

“No, I mean we’ll get to the end of this meadow in two days.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash cried out. “That’s not fair!”

“Life ain’t fair, sugarcube,” Applejack sighed, shaking her head. “It’ll take a while, but we’ll get there. Jus’ gotta make sure we ain’t gonna tire ourselves out.”

“Fine,” Rainbow groaned, her head drooping. “But it’d better not get any hotter than this, or we’ll be boiled.”

Applejack couldn’t help a chuckle from bubbling up out of her throat at Rainbow’s complaints. She undid the buckle of one of her saddlebags, digging around inside to grip the tip of her water bottle in her mouth. With a flip of her head, she tossed it to Rainbow, who caught it with ease. “Drink up, if yer that hot.”

“Awesome,” Dash tipped her head back, guzzling greedily.

“No!” Twilight wrenched the bottle from Rainbow’s grip with a burst of magic, tugging it down to place back in Applejack’s bag. “We have to save the water. You can’t just gulp it like that.”

I sure how we ain’t gonna run low on supplies, Applejack thought with worry, a frown creasing her brow. After all, I only packed enough for one lil’ pony to get by. Ain’t supposed to last the three o’ us.


~~~~~~~~~~ 


“Are you absolutely sure I can have some?” Twilight said uncertainly, hovering between taking a sip from bottle she currently floated in front of her. “Because we’ve already drunk a quarter of it, and I’d hate to waste any. I could get by, I mean, I’m extremely thirsty, but you two are more important.”

“Go ahead, ya’ll,” Applejack gave her an encouraging smile. “Ain’t no reason to be ashamed ‘bout wantin’ a lil’ drink. Jus’ as long as there’s enough to last, I’m as happy as pickled-pear.”

“Thank you,” at last, she broke down, raising the lips and swallowing, before passing it back to her. “Really, I won’t have any more.”

“Oh, chill out,” Dash complained from above, still opting to fly rather than walk though an hour had passed since they had first set off. “You don’t need to fuss so much over a little water, there’s plenty.”

“We’re all very thirsty in this weather, Rainbow,” Twilight replied. “We can’t afford anypony having more than their fair share.”

Applejack held back a groan. It seemed the temperature had only increased as the day dragged on, the bright sun steadily rising higher into the sky. Back at home, eveypony would be wondering why she up and left like she did. She wiped beads of sweat of her forehead, wrinkling her nose at the slight waft of the rank smell she could make out from it.

“Twi’, do ya’ll know any weather spells, by any chance?” Applejack took a shot in the dark, pleading with the magical mare. 

Unfortunately, she was met with the shake of a head. “No, I’m sorry. Weather is normally managed by the Pegasus ponies. I have a few books on it back at the Library, but I don’t have them with me now.”

“Well, don’t fret it none,” she put on a fake smile. “I can handle a bit of heat plenty fine.”


~~~~~~~~~~


Applejack was certain her throat had never been so dry before as it had been at that moment. Even the small action of breathing made it feel like somepony had stuffed a cactus inside of her, and it was scratching her all up. Her tongue was sandpaper, scraping against the roof of her mouth as she searched for moisture.

Rainbow Dash’s wings had slowly grown weaker over the past couple of hours, gradually losing strength and drifting lower. At that point, her hooves were brushing against the long tendrils of grass, stumbling as she hit the dirt, succumbing to a simple weary trot.

Twilight looked a mess, her mane clinging to the sides of her face, her forehead shining brightly with the rivets of sweat. Her breath came in shallow gasps, loud in the silence not one of them dared to break. She was slumped over, her wings limply stretched out by her sides.

Applejack probably didn’t look any better. She was focused on moving her hooves in front of one another, not thinking about what kind of state she was in. Her thirst, however, was more important. With a great deal of fumbling, she wriggled out the water bottle, drinking from it, rapidly consuming the last bit. She placed back in her saddlebags.

“Welp,” Applejack said. “That’s all the water gone.”

“What?”  Twilight and Dash both cried out at the same time, looks of utter shock plastered over both their faces.

“Well, it was gonna happen sometime!” her voice cracked in the middle of her shout. “It jus’ so happened to be me who finished it.”

“I’m not blaming you, Applejack,” Twilight said seriously, her shoulders tense. “But we’ll die of thirst if we don’t get a drink.”

“Aw, man,” Rainbow moaned. “I don’t wanna die in such a lame way!”

“Calm down,” the bookworm said sternly. “Although we may be thirsty now, it’ll take a lot longer for it to start taking effect on us. But lack of water in these conditions could be very dangerous to our survival.”

“So we’ll die, and it’ll be totally lame!”

Applejack tuned out their loud, distressed conversation, studying the blades of grass beneath her hooves. Her thought were elsewhere, churning with worry. Was this really the best idea? I mean, it tweren’t supposed to be all three o’ us, but they came along, an’ now I’ve gone an’ got ‘em in danger. If they do die, it’ll be all mah fault. Pain hit her hard in her chest, and for a moment she thought she was going to collapse. But no, she was still okay. Darnit, AJ! Stop thinkin’ ‘bout that. Ya’ll have to stay on track if ya wanna get yerself and them through all o’ this. Fer them. Jus’ remember that, and ya’ll be okay. Fer them.

“Fer them,” she said aloud under her breath.

“What?” she jumped as Twilight spoke. “You said something, didn’t you? I couldn’t hear.”

“O-oh, er, nothin’ important,” she hurriedly excused herself, forcing a big grin.

“If you say so,” her voice was laced with suspicion. “But if anything’s up, tell me.”

I wish I could, Twi. But I cain’t let ya stop me. It’ll all be better I’m a Pegasus too, then I won’t hold ya’ll down anymore.


~~~~~~~~~~


Yet again the terrible thirst was clawing at Applejack’s throat, but she refused to voice her complaints. Sooner or later, they were bound to come upon some water. Sooner than she thought, apparently, as Dash let out a joyous cry, springing up into the air, wings buzzing into action for the first time in about an hour. “Water!”

Applejack squinted in the direction Rainbow was pointing, making out a glimmering wet surface surrounded by stunted trees and bushes. “She’s right. There sure is some water over there.”

Rainbow Dash prepared to shoot off to the cool resting spot, a look of pure excitement over her face. Narrowing her eyes, Applejack leaned forwards to firmly clamp the bright tail hairs between her teeth. “Whoa there, nelly! Ya’ll ain’t goin’ of without us.”

“Aw, c’mon,” she smacked her lips together. “I need a drink so bad!”

“Why not?” she blinked in surprise at Twilight’s smirk. “I say we should get there as quickly as possible, even if that means a race.”

“A race? You’re so on,” Rainbow dropped to the ground. “Look, I won’t even use wings.”

Applejack chuckled. “Bring it one.”

They lined up, shoulder-to-shoulder, flashing glances at each. Twilight counted down from three in a loud, authoritative voice. And then they ran.
> Chapter Seven: Splash in the Cold
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Splash in The Cold


The pool was within reach, it’s tempting wet surface glistening at Applejack as she drew closer, tempting her to touch the cold water. And she was hardly resisting, running as fast as possible could to reach it. Twilight was rapidly falling behind until she could no longer see her, but Rainbow Dash still galloped along her side.

At the last centimeter, the Pegasus flapped her wings, launching herself into the air, only to plunge into the water. The force of her drop caused a huge splash to rise from the water, soaking Applejack from head-to-toe.

She wiped her sopping wet hair from her eyes so Rainbow could see her irritated scowl. “Hey! Ya’ll cheated!”

“I don’t care,” she replied, turning onto her back to swim backwards across the water.

“Hehe,” she grinned, lowering her body into a predatory position. “I’m gonna get ya, Rainbow.”

With that said, she discarded her saddlebags on the dry grass to charge into the water, feeling it wash up against her hooves as she crossed the shallow stretch. She was almost there, at her target, the arrogant mare, when she felt the ground disappear. A strangled yelp escaped her lips before plunged down into the dark depths.

The water surrounded her, swooshing in her ears and tugging the bubbles of air out of her mouth. She thrashed her forelegs wildly, eventually making contact with a furry blue chest. Relieved, she slung her arms around Dash’s neck, pulling herself up and leaning over her shoulder, spluttering madly.

“Woah, pony girl!” laughter spilled out of Rainbow Dash’s lips, gripping Applejack’s shivering body as she did so. “Can’t you swim?”

“‘Course I can!” she scowled. “I jus’ didn’t expect th’ water to suddenly go all deep an’ all.”

Rainbow’s mouth twisted up into a smirk, her eyes half covered by a curtain of wet, shimmering hair. “Sure.”

Before Applejack could continue her protests, the sound of heavy breathing and hoofsteps could be made out. She turned to see Twilight standing at the bank, an indignant look plastered behind on her face. “How could you... just leave me… behind like th-that?”

“Whoop, hehe,” she forced a bit of laughter sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Well, it was a race,” Rainbow interjected, before Applejack silenced her with a look.

“Wh-whatever,” stumbling slightly from her weary lack of balance, Twilight began to trot slowly over to them, liquid washing around her purple hooves.

“Wait, Twi’-” she suddenly remember the drop in depth, but her warning came too late. The mare disappeared beneath the surface screaming, bubbles rising up as her words were lost. Instant fear for her marefriend took an icy hold grip on her heart before Twilight reappeared, coughing up fluids.

“Ya’ll okay, sugarcube?” Applejack fretted, slipping her forelegs around Twilight’s slick shoulder and paddling her over to where Rainbow was waiting. “I’m sorry I didn’t getcha warn ya in time.”

“I’m okay,” the soaked pony said softly, gently kissing Applejack’s cheek with damp lips.

“Ugh, cut it out with the mushy stuff already!” Rainbow made fake gagging motions, before realizing the looks Applejack and Twilight were both giving her. “What?”

She shared a glance with the alicorn, seeing a grin that matched her own one spreading across her face. They both turned to face Rainbow, who was beginning to show signs of nervousness. “Guys…?” the squeak of her voice was cut off as they both pounced on her, replaced with a shocked yelp. “Hey!”

Applejack leaned down to slowly bring Dash into a kiss, slining her forelegs around her leg to hold her upwards, while Twilight snuggled against her side and peppering her with small kisses. She broke off, leaving the blue mare breathless. “Ya’ll ain’t a fan o’ mushy stuff, huh?”

She joined Twilight in snuggling and caressing Rainbow Dash, who floated upwards onto her back. “Okay… this is nice.”

Both mares laughed at that, soon joined by Rainbow.

“You know, this is a really good resting point,” Twilight gestured towards a ring of broad-leaved trees surrounding the pool they currently rested on. “We can cool off and fill the water bottle again, maybe even have a bite to eat.”

“Oh yeah!” Rainbow flipped over suddenly so she was facing Applejack, who drew back in surprise. “You got any grub?”

“Uh, I got a few apples in mah bags over there.”

As soon as she had spoken those affirmative words, Dash had leaped out the water, droplets slipping of her waxy feathers. The Pegasus shot towards the bank where her saddlebags lay, eagerly tearing them open. Applejack rolled her eyes as Rainbow found her stash of apples, taking a big bite out of one.

“Ya’ll wanna ‘ave an apple, if Rainbow hasn’t eaten them all,” Applejack smiled kindly at Twilight, Rainbow Dash sheepishly drawing back her hoof before she took another delicious red fruit. 

The Alicorn giggled, nodding as she unfolded her wings, taking to the skies as Rainbow had done. Feeling the jealousy once again biting at her chest, she sighed and trudged through the water after them. 

“Heads up, pony girl!” Just in time, AJ sprung into action, deftly catching the apple thrown at her between her teeth. She dropped to the floor, taking a large bite of it as she did.

“Haha, awesome!”

Twilight took a small bite out of her own apple floating close to her lips, chewing it up quickly. “Only one each, though. It doesn’t matter how hungry we are, we have to make this last. We still have several days left in our journey.”

Applejack’s brow wrinkled with worry. “‘Bout that. We ain’t really been goin’ fer too long from Ponyville. Ya’ll would think that somepony woulda come up ‘ere before an’ found th’ wishin’ cave.”

The studious mare glanced away, a sigh escaping her lips. “Yes. Yes, they would,” she seemed to hesitate, reluctant to tell Applejack whatever information she was withholding. With a fierce look, Twilight broke down. “The forest, which is about a day’s journey from here, is said to be inhabited by some ponies of the more hostile type. Apparently they’re still in the tribal stage, but we know little about them. Most ponies are too scared to even go near their forests, and the ones that do come running back in terror.”

Fear gripped her chest, her heart beating slightly faster as she tried to come up with a response to such news. I cain’t be set back by such a beast! Before she could, however, Rainbow chimed in. “Ah, we can have handle a few little ponies. It’ll be fine.”

Twilight scowled. “Don’t brush off danger like that. Any one of us could get seriously hurt.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, drawing closer with a shake of her head. “But worrying about it isn’t going to do no good. We’ll just keep thinking something bad will happen, and then because of that, something bad is going to happen. We just have to keep our heads up, and we’ll be okay.”

Applejack blinked softly. “Oh. Alright then.”

Rainbow dropped the calm manner, springing into the air again. “Now who wants to play?”

With a chorus of cheers, the few marefriends charged back towards the clear, blue water, laughter among them. Whatever came next they would face with a smile.          
> Chapter Eight: The Rain Will Fall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Rain Will Fall


Applejack rubbed her cheeks against her partner’s soft, scruffy mane. She mumbled sleepily, pressing her face between the hairs, feathers brushing against the slope of her back. After a while she was drawn to by the cold bite of air, but she ignored it, preferring to snuggle closer. Finally, she cracked open her eyelids to the sight of a grey, grassy landscape. The shadow from trees above cast a shadow over her and who she could now see was Rainbow Dash. The surface of the pool shimmered in the pale light, her view of it partially blocked by a purple Alicorn.

Applejack yawned, carefully ducking out from under Rainbow’s protective wing. She stretched her forelegs out in front of her, waiting for the satisfactory pop of weary bones. Gently pressing her lips against Dash’s mane, she stepped away from her marefriend, trotting over to the the pool.

Applejack sat next to Twilight, curiously observing the distant gaze in her purple eyes, as if she was seeing something that Applejack was blind to. Deciding not to bother her about it, she turned to look at the dark clouds rolling across the pale grey sky. 

“It’s going to rain,” she jumped slightly at the quiet sound of Twilight’s voice. “Look. You can tell.”

“Ya’ll alright, sugarcube?” Applejack reached out gingerly to place a hoof on Twilight’s tense shoulder. “Ya’ll cain’t no fer sure it’s gonna rain. Jus’ a lil’ cloudy is all.”

“No, I cast a spell,” Twilight shook her head. “It is going to rain, and soon.”

“Oh,” she said simply. “Well shucks, we’d better get a-goin’ then, don’t we?”

She stood up to go wake the still snoring Rainbow Dash when she felt her foreleg gripped tightly, Twilight’s voice rising to high a pitch of desperation. “Applejack! It’s hard to travel in extreme weather, we could be in danger.”

It’s th’ stress gettin’ to her, Applejack reasoned calmly with herself in her mind. All I gotta do is calm her down and we’ll be a-okay again. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, Twi’. A lil’ rain never hurt nopony. Heck, it’d be a welcome change from the darn heat.”

“But what if it’s a storm?” Twilight’s eyes were wide with terror. “We’re completely isolated out here. If one of us was to be struck by lightning, there would be no one to help us.”

Applejack’s skin crawled, and she bit her lip. “Calm it, Twi’. There ain’t gonna be no storm, I say. An’ if there is, we’ll jus’ find someplace to wait it out.”

“What if we don’t find a place to wait it out?”

“We will.”

“How do you that?”

“I jus’ do,” she said firmly, stomping her hoof on the ground. “Now, stop frettin’ already. We’re gonna be okay.”

“Alright, alright,” Twilight got to her hooves shakily, leaning on AJ for support. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just worrying.”

She smiled softly, lovingly, down at her partner. There ya go. She’s okay. “‘Course, sugarcube. We’re all a lil’ bit worried ‘bout this journey.”

“I’m not.”

Applejack jumped in surprise, spinning round with a yell to spot Rainbow Dash casually sitting behind them, her hooves folded over one another and a cocky smirk splayed across her face. “Danger’s my middle name, you know. I can handle anything Life throws at me. Heck, Life’s going to be cowering with her tail between her legs by the time this whole thing is over.”

“Darnit, Rainbow!” Applejack scowled at her angrily, causing Dash to grin sheepishly. “Now ain’t the time ta scare the life out o’ us an’ then start spoutin’ ‘bout how great ya are.”

“But I am great,” Rainbow whined, her bottom lips tugging downwards. As Applejack further narrowed her eyes she sighed, pulling herself from her curled position on the grass. “Fine. Just for you I’ll shut up.”

Applejack chuckled, ducking in for a quick kiss. “S’alright. I like hearing ya yap on. It’s cute.”

“I’m not cute.” Rainbow protested, pulling away with a glare.

“Actually, you are rather cute,” Twilight chimed in, brushing against the blue mare’s side.

“Ugh!” Dash groaned. “Why does everyone always gang up on me?”

Applejack suppressed another bout of laughter at Rainbow Dash’s expense, preferring to briskly trot in the other direction. She paused, winking at the two. “Ya’ll comin’, mah cuties?”

Rainbow mumbled something else about not being cute before following Twilight’s cheery bound towards her. The trio stepped out from the leafy cover of the trees, exposing themselves to the full force of the swirling wind outside.

Applejack shivered as the cold breeze tugged at her coat. She paid it no mind, crushing the soft green stalks beneath her hooves. It wasn’t long, however, before the first drops of rain began to fall. She felt the first one landing on the tip of her ear, absentmindedly flicked off, not to be worried about. Then, a couple more fell on her back. Before she knew it, a light spray of rain had soaked her as they continued their walk.

“This is stupid,” Rainbow muttered rebelliously over the slight hissing of the rain as it fell. “I hate the rain.”

“That’s strange,” Applejack teased her, swatting her wet blonde tail against her flank. “I always thought ya’ll were an ‘extreme weather’ type o’ gal, as ya’ll say.”

“Well, yeah, when flying,” she complained. “This is just getting wet. I don’t like it.”

“I don’t like it either, Rainbow,” Twilight her mane, heavy with the extra weight. “But all we can do is hope it doesn’t get worse.”

As if those words were the trigger it had been waiting for, the rain suddenly lashed down with a roaring intensity. The three ponies all yelled and moaned their complaints, trying to be heard above the pouring rain. Eventually they decided to find a place as quickly as they could.

Applejack scowled at the wet ground beneath her, squishing beneath her tiring hooves. Time had flown as they had run, for once not for fun of it. Hours must have past, only succeeding to make them all wet, cranky and likely to catch a cold as Twilight constantly yelled out.

“Look!” Rainbow Dash’s shrill, excited cry caused Applejack to jerk her head up expectantly.

There, just on the horizon, was the dark smudge of a border or dry, welcoming trees. She pushed as much strength as possible into her legs, closing that final stretch out of the rain. Finally, she reached the shade and felt the spray lighten up, hitting her only from holes in the branches above.

Applejack doubled over, her chest heaving as she tried to fill her lungs with the necessary amounts of air. Rainbow landed next to her, her wings fluttering weakly. She gulped, turning to give the Pegasus a shaky smile. “H-hey… Rainbow.”

“Yo…” Dash gulped, collapsing onto the leaves. After a moment’s pause, AJ joined her.

They lay there in silence, the only sounds being their ragged breaths. Rainbow turned to her, eyes wide. “A...AJ. Where’s… Twilight?”

She froze. “Tw-twilight? She… ain’t ‘ere?”

“N-nope.”

Panicking, Applejack jerked upwards just in time for a purple blur to crash into her. The wind shot out of her chest and she fell downwards, Twilight clinging on top of her.

“Su-sugacube…” she wheeze, struggling under the weight. “Ya’ll mind… gettin’ offa me?”

“S-sorry!” The Alicorn flailed, falling backwards.

“Okay,” Rainbow exhaled. “Okay.”

“So…” Twilight said. “Where… are we going to sleep?”

> Chapter Nine: The Beast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Beast


She broke past the apple’s skin with her teeth, easily breaking off a large chunk to chomp up in her jaws. The farmpony ate angrily, her stomach craving more than she could give.

Twilight nibbled on her own fruit cautiously. “We need to find some more food. This won’t last us.”

“Darn tootin’ it ain’t,” Applejack growled, glaring at her namesake. “I’m hungrier than a timberwolf on th’ prowl.”

“I know, right?” Rainbow Dash rubbed her stomach, tossing her already stripped applecore behind her. “I’m going to need a thousand apples to fill this hole.”

Applejack sighed, looking out of the opening of the hollowed out tree trunk they lay in, admiring the bright beams of sunlight dappling the ground. She could catch glimpses of the sky through the gaps, where she could picture herself flying with Twilight and Rainbow. I cain’t forget why we’re doin’ this in th’ first place. I gotta make ‘em happy.

She took another, slower, bite from the apple. “When are we headin’ out again? I’m gettin’ all funny from sittin’ ‘ere so long.”

“As soon as we’re done with breakfast,” Twilight said calmly.

“Then I’m done,” she tore the flesh off her apple rapidly, tossing the core to the same corner as Rainbow’s had previously flown. She shrugged on saddlebags, looking down at Twilight. “Ya’ll ready?”

“Oh, right,” Twilight hurried to finish her apple.

The sunlight warmed Applejack up from a cold, cramped night in damp darkness, loosening up her limbs for the day. Filled with a sudden energy, she bounded ahead, saddlebags shaking on her back. “Come on, ya slowpokes! Time’s a-wastin’!”

She heard their laughter behind her as both mares chased after Applejack. She wasn’t worried, though. Having a head start and being basically the fastest runner, there was no way they could beat her. She’d forgotten about the wings.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash soared over her head, beaming at each other as they spun along the air currents. Rainbow paused to stick her tongue out jokingly at Applejack, before buzzing away after Twilight.

Instead of pressing herself to catch them, Applejack felt herself slowing down until she came to a complete stop, her breath the only sound aside from the pair’s loud shrieks of happiness in the distance. Her breath hitched alarmingly and she ducked her head, hoping they wouldn’t see the moisture gathering in her eyes.

Doncha dare cry, AJ, Applejack swallowed hard through her sore throat shaking her head. Ya’ll gonna be with them soon, it’s jus’ a matter o’ time.

Taking a deep, shaky breath she raised her head and firmly set off after her two marefriends, who had just stopped to wait for her. It was then that she felt them, thrumming vibration beneath her hooves. She paused, peering down at the dusty dirt for any signs of cracks. Her head snapped up at a sudden float, the bushes rustling wildly before they were torn to pieces by the terrifying appearance of a mantecore, drool dripping from its sharp fangs.

Applejack screamed in shock, scrambling back a few paces to observe the beast. Its eyes were glowing with an undeniably fury, scraping the ground with its feat. The mantecore snarled, spreading its jaws wide to let out another ear-splitting roar.

The force of the warm air rushing out of the mighty jaws swept the sturdy mare of her feet, leaving her to fall flat on her face. Applejack groaned, her eyes ringing tirelessly. D-darnit. 

Shaking it off brusquely, she lifted her head to press her snout against a big black nose, angry streams of hot air blowing out of it, those dark eyes burning into her own with an intent gaze. She yelped, scuffling backwards to get away from it. The rough feeling of bark greeted her as she bashed against a tree.

The mantecore drew closer, a sly grin pulling at the corners of its wet grip as it realized how easy its prey was. Applejack narrowed her eyes. I ain’t goin’ down that easy, ya big lub.

She waited until she was engulfed by its shadow as it lent over, preparing to swing her back legs into its jaw and teach it not to mess with an apple.

“Hold it right there!”

Two heads, one of a small orange pony, and one of a wild manticore, spun around. Rainbow Dash hovered into the air next to Twilight, scowling angrily at the beast. “Get away from her before we beat you to a pulp.”

The mantecore hissed, drawing away from Applejack to focus on the new flying pieces of prey. Dread settled in her stomach like led as it crawled towards them. No, no! 

Taking it back turned as an opportunity, she galloped the short distance to where it was standing, pivoting on her front legs to launch a mighty kick against its rear.

It froze, a pained expression overcoming its face. Applejack smirked indulgently at her success, a feeling that soon disappeared as it turned to face her with a fresh wave of angry.

She didn’t even see it coming. The huge paw hit her chest squarely, flinging her swiftly through the air. A single, strangled scream tore itself from her lips before she hit the tree.

Applejack dropped like a sack of apples to the ground, all her senses overloaded with the sudden, burning pain. In the distance, screams and shouts rang out, with an echo, but none of that registered. The last thing she saw was Twilight and Rainbow Dash swooping around the beast, trying desperately to bring it down. Then all went black.
> Chapter Ten: Freeze
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Freeze


Applejack woke in a cold sweat, tossing and turning fitfully. She shivered fearfully, a low moan escaping her lips. Her entire body burned with a consistent, pounding pain. The gentle sensation of a hoof stroking her clammy and the quiet hushing sounds eventually calmed her thrashing, and she curled panting against a warm body.

A moment later, she felt something cold being pressed against her lips. Applejack twisted her head away from it, but the hard plastic followed, pushing into her mouth. Reluctantly, she took it in her teeth, rewarded by a splash of liquid on a throat she previously hadn’t known was past. Filled with a sudden craving, Applejack gripped the slender shape with shaky hooves to gulp down the water pouring from it. With her thirst satisfied, she dropped it onto the ground, followed by a sloshing sound.

It was then that she became aware of a distant voice mumbling something to her. Frowning, she flicked her ears as she attempted to make out the words. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that the voice sounded familiar, then that it was Twilight’s voice.

“Rainbow...drink… more water.” She drifted in and out of being able to hear what she was saying. Growling in frustration, Applejack forced her heavy eyelids open.

She was greeted by a blurry smudge of purple, and one with many colors all mixing together. Squinting, the lines slowly grew more defined until she could see her marefriends clearly.

Rainbow Dash’s wings spread, zooming forwards so quickly Applejack lost sight of her until she was right in front of her face, pressing their muzzles together bluntly. The kiss took her by surprise, her eyes widening in shock as Rainbow twisted her forelegs around her neck, pulling them ever closer. Applejack moaned slightly against her mouth, her eyes fluttering shut once again.

“Rainbow!” With a harsh tug, they were pulled apart. Applejack looked over to see Twilight yanking Rainbow away with a magical shimmer around her tail. She dropped her onto the floor, fixing her with a glare. “Applejack’s injured. Don’t go kissing her all of sudden, you might make it worse.”

“Injured?” The sound that grated through Applejack’s throat was far too hoarse to be her own, cracking with a high-pitched noise halfway through the one, simple little word.

“Don’t worry about it, Applejack,” Twilight was immediately by her side, cooing in what meant to be soothing but reach Applejack’s ears as patronizing. Scowling, she moved her muzzle out of the way when her water bottle was nudged encouragingly along the stubborn lines of her lips. “Come on. You have to drink, or else you won’t get better.”

Applejack refused to acknowledge what she said, giving her marefriend a harsh look. “I ain’t doin’ no nothin’ ya’ll say ‘till ya tell me what’s wrong,” her voice was hoarse, craving more of the drink Twilight offered, but she wouldn’t give in. She remembered the manticore landing a hard blow on her, then all turning black. “Wha’d that beast go an’ do to me?”

“It’s not so bad,” Rainbow chimed in. “Just a few scrapes and bruises. Or, a lot of scrapes and bruises. But you know, it’s totally fine.”

Apprehensively, Applejack examined her body. Rainbow’s words were nothing but truth. She was certain she was more bashed up than she had ever been before in her life, every body part scattered with a few dark, tender bruises and sore, stinging cuts. Her stomach was by far the worse, though, the entire slightly pudgy expanse turned a dark shade, broken occasionally with cuts and lighter patches. Biting her lip, she wriggled a hoof round to tap against her belly, letting out a hiss at the sharp jolt of pain that followed, gritting her teeth together. She dreaded to think what here back would look like.

“That manticore sure did do a number on me,” Applejack chuckled with a fake grin, stowing away her throbbing fear of the pain. “Ain’t nothin’ I cain’t handle, though. I’ll be back on mah hooves in no time. But I think ready for that drink now, Twi’. I’m as thirsty as a dry ol’ tree after a drought.”

Applejack swallowed hungrily at the drink, barely paying attention to Twilight’s fretting. “I don’t know. That bruise doesn’t look so good to me.”

“Yeah…” she paused in her guzzling as Rainbow, to her surprise, sided with the Alicorn. “I wouldn’t be cool with letting you hurt yourself. Because you’re all important to me and stuff.”

Applejack snorted defiantly, stamping her hoof on the ground, only to wince as she hit a weak spot, soon brushing it aside. “Ya’ll are frettin’ over nothin’. This is Applejack, remember?  We all been through much worst times than this, and I ain’t gonna wait around for somethin’ else to come and snap us up. Th’ quicker we get there, th’ better, in mah books.”

Twilight heaved a heavy sigh. “I don’t want you to, you’re just too weak right now,” Applejack opened her to voice an indignant protest, but she left no room for arguments, plowing on with decision. “But Applejack is right. This place is dangerous, the manticore showed us that. I personally don’t want to put our lives in jeopardy by not continuing towards our eventual goal. We should pack up and leave. If we keep a brisk pace, we might reach the cave by the end of the day.”

“Fine, whatever,” Dash shook out her wings, the strong, beautiful feathers sending a jolt of envy through the Earth pony. “Sitting around it boring anyway.”

“Rainbow, would you carry the bags?” Twilight fluttered her lashes sweetly, hovering the glowing purple saddlebags in front of her. With a groan, she ducked under them, shifting to accommodate the new weight.

“Aw shoot, ya’ll don’t have ta carry mah bags. I ain’t that weak,” Applejack made to stand up and relieve Rainbow of her luggage. Or at least, that was the plan. As soon as she got to her hooves, a sharp pain stabbed her in the side and she crumpled to the ground with a groan.

“Woah, AJ. You okay?” Dash landed in front of her, a look of intense worry overcoming her features.

“I- I’m okay. Jus’ a lil worm in the apple,” she responded, putting on her brightest, and most fake, smile.

Through a sturdy wall of pain and worrying remarks from her marefriends, Applejack was once again upright. Awkwardly, she made her way out from the shelter of a bush they’d been resting under, bare branches tugging at her coat. Twilight and Rainbow Dash soon followed, hovering overhead as they trained their gazes on Applejack. She could feel the stares burning into her skin.

“Would ya’ll two quite buzzin’ around like a pair o’ bothersome bees and get down ‘ere already?” Applejack snapped, the stress from their travels and growing need for her own pair of wings breaking past her tough exsterior.

Sheepishly, the pair hovered down by the limping mare’s side. She could see that Rainbow was about to make a smart remark, but with one smouldering look she turned her head away, her tail flicking with discomfort.

A soft sigh escaped her lips, which only brought a few sting of pain. Now look at ya’ve gone and done. Ya’ll better make it up to ‘em somehow, an’ hopefully this big ol’ bruise’ll fade away soon. Ain’t no fun bein’ in pain.

It was then that a deep, thick voice sliced through her line of thoughts, bringing her to a complete stop. “Freeze.”
> Chapter Eleven: Tribal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Tribal


Applejack wasn’t the type of pony to get scared. But that voice terrified her, leaving her standing in a cold sweat. In front of her, Twilight and Rainbow Dash nervously turned their heads, eyes widening at whatever sight they saw. Swallowing hard, Applejack, shuffled around on her hooves, the pain from her side fading into the background.

It was a pony. Or at least, he resembled a pony. For one thing he was far too tall, easily another mare atop Applejack. His legs, in proportion to the rest of his body, were short but stocky, his whole body ripe with lean muscles. His jaw was heavy-set, a pair of beady black eyes sinking into his face. The mane and tail were short as well, a rusty coloured spike of hair twitching at his rear, a dark scruff atop of his head. Black marks were smeared in intricate patterns, swirling around his face and torso. 

More of the big ponies emerged from the bushes, burly stallions and slightly shorter, leaner mares. All of them gripped long sticks of polished wood, topped of with metal sharpened to a point. Applejack’s head whipped around in panic, seeing more of them coming from all directions, brandishing their spears threateningly.

“Twi-Twilight…” Applejack whimpered. Before she could ask a worried question, she felt the sharp point of a spear prodding at her rear. “Hey!”

The stallion who had first appeared, and the biggest of them all, leaned forwards until his snout was pressing against her face, growling threateningly. He spoke in a thick, gruff accent, but the words were definitely Equestrian. “Hush.”

Applejack gulped, stumbling forwards to bring herself closer to her marefriends, wary of her aching sides. Twilight and Rainbow both shuffled in closer, as if to protect her from the tribal ponies.

Another few sharp prods sent the message that they were supposed to move. Herded carefully along, they travelled through the forest, hostility radiating of them all.

Leaning close to Twilight with hope that she wouldn’t be heard, she whispered briskly in her ear. “Twi, what are we gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered wearily. “But we’ve got to escape somehow.”


~~~~~~~~~~


The sun was high in the sky by the time they stopped walking. The stallion made some gruff sound and two mares scurried forwards, pushing away large leaves and branches. Once again they were prodded into moving through the entrance waiting for them.

Applejack’s bruised stomach was really starting to hurt, pain shooting through her at every step. It didn’t help that her rear was beginning to hurt from the constant prodding either.

There was no need to duck through the big entrance designed for ones not as small as them by comparison. Applejack narrowed her eyes at the sudden glare of sunshine without the trees as a shield. Before her was an exposed clearing of compact dirt, stretching far out on each corner. It was covered in huts and buildings that seemed to be suspiciously fur-like. Tribal ponies trotted around, talking amiably one another or hard at work, whether it be minding children the size of Applejack or sharpening spear tips.

“A tribe,” Twilight breathed in awe. “I’ve never seen a real one before.”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t think this is the the time to be admiring the ponies who are going to eat us,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “At least they aren’t stabbing our buts anymore.”

“They sure do seem a great deal more friendly,” Applejack noted. The locals were watching them curiously, beady eyes sparkling with interest.

“Hey,” Twilight said. “None of them have wings or horns. They’re like big Earth ponies!”

The mention of such parts brought a sharp reminder of why they were going on the journey to Applejack. This is all mah fault, she realized. If I didn’t go on this foolhardy mission, we’d all be safe at home right now. But we cain’t, because I want to keep Twi an’ Rainbow close to me. Who am I to say they cain’t leave me? Ain’t like I’m in control them.

Applejack moved sadly the rest of the way, not even bothering a single protest when they shoved her into a bare, unoccupied tent, followed by Twilight and Rainbow.

“Brutes!” Rainbow called out after them, but she found no reply.

Applejack sighed heavily, lying down on her back so as to not put pressure on her stomach. Ain’t gonna do no good now. We’re stuck ‘ere, and Celestia knows what they’ll do ta us, she could feel herself giving in, slipping away from her firm, determined stand. No! We gone this far, we cain’t stop now. We’re gonna get out o’ here, an’ we’ll make it to th’ Wishin’ Cave!

“Alright!” Applejack sat up suddenly, although she regretted it as her stomach throbbed painfully. She smirked at Twilight and Rainbow, who were giving her some confused looks. “Let’s get outta ‘ere.” 

“But how?” Dash protested. “We don’t even know where we are!”

“We’d better find out what they want,” Twilight pointed out. “Who knows, maybe they’re friendly?”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “If that’s true, I’ll kiss your but!”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Wait, what?”

Ignoring the two’s playful banter, Applejack slipped over to the slightly open flap of the tent, cautiously peering out. Two guards stood stoically still, like Celestia’s royal bodyguards Dash liked to provoke so much. “Uh, excuse me?”

Their heads whipped around, staring darkly at the small, impudent mare. A bead of sweat blossomed on Applejack’s forehead as she chuckled nervously. “Howdy there, fellas. Ya’ll wanna let us out of here?”

They narrowed their eyes, staring at her for a moment longer. Finally, one of them spoke in the thick accent she’d heard before. “No. You talk to leader not now. Later.”

Wrinkling her nose, Applejack stepped back into the tent. “They say we ain’t allowed to go on off an’ we have to meet this leader pony.”

“Good,” Twilight nodded. “I’d like to meet him. Or her. If we explain to them that we mean no harm, I’m certain they’ll let us go.”

“As if,” Rainbow grumbled. “I don’t like this. They’re trouble.”

“Reminds me of a certain filly I know,” Applejack teased her, lightly nudging Rainbow’s shoulder. “She can be a real strope sometimes but she’s awful cute.”

“Oh, shut up.”

At that moment the flap rustled and in came one of the tribal ponies, even bigger than all the others. He stared down at the shocked Equestrians for a moment before speaking. “Hello. I am leader of tribe.”
> Chapter Twelve: Formal Conversations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Formal Conversations


Applejack dipped her head slightly along with Twilight, who forced Rainbow’s down as well when she refused to make the respective movements. Twilight spoke in simple, clear tones, though the excitement was tangible in her tone. “Hello there. It is a pleasure to meet you, leader.”

He grunted in response, moving heavily past them to sit down with a thump, cautiously eyeing them. Applejack shivered slightly, wishing they could get going already. “You ponies are Equestrian?”

“Yes, we are. We come from a little town called Ponyville,” Twilight continued happily. Applejack and Rainbow Dash made eye contact, deciding to step back and let her do the talking.

“Hmm,” he growled, holding his head high. “Equestrian ponies, why are you here?”

“Oh, well,” Twilight chuckled nervously. Applejack bit her lip. Don’t anger him, Twi. We gotta get outta o’ here in one piece. “We’re looking for a place called The Wishing Cave. There should be a different cave around here somewhere that will lead us to it. Do you know where it is?”

“Yes,” the hope that began to flitter in Applejack’s belly was quickly shot down. “Equestrian ponies are not allowed to go there.”

“Aw, c’mon! Why not?” Dash moaned. A steely glare from the leader made her quiet down.

“The cave Equestrian ponies look for is a sacred tribe place,” he rumbled. “Equestrian ponies come often, look for the cave. We say no. Not allowed.”

“Um,” Applejack hesitated slightly as he turned to look at her. “Beg pardon, but would ya mind tellin’ us why it’s so sacred?”

“Sacred.”

“That ain’t answerin’ mah question.”

“Sacred!”

“Alright, alright,” she sighed, deciding to let it go. “Yer cave is super sacred, fine.”

“Please, sir,” Twilight begged. “It’s very important to us that we go there. Just let us go.”

“Equestrian ponies leave in morning,” he glared at them. “Do not go in cave, go home.”

“Go home?” the words hit Applejack like a brick wall. “We cain’t go home! Not after all we’ve done. We ain’t stoppin’ here.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow cheered, stomping her hoof firmly on the ground. “You can’t stop us, mister. We’ll find that cave, and then we’ll find The Wishing Cave.”

“No!” he rose up onto his hooves, his entire height towering over them. “Go home. Or die.”

He strode out the tent firmly, the flaps waving wildly in his absence. Once they had finally calmed down, the three ponies inside were still sitting shocked, their mouths slightly opened. Twilight was the first to speak, her voice trembling slightly. “Did… did he just say they’re going to k-kill us if we don’t leave?”

Applejack nodded numbly. “I think so, sugarcube.”

“Well, we’re not going to let them, are we?” Rainbow’s declaration made both Applejack and Twilight jump. “We need to escape.”

“We should wait until it’s dark,” Twilight added. “Then they won’t see us.”

“But what ‘bout the guards?” Applejack whispered. “We gotta get past ‘em first.”

“Leave that to me,” Rainbow winked. “Getting out of here’ll be easy. Before long, we’ll be out of this scary forest and at The Wishing Cave.”

Applejack smiled softly. “Ya’ll know I love ya both, right?”

“Oh geez, don’t be a sap, AJ,” she quickly took back her words at the glares directed at her. “Okay, okay, I love you too! Am I in the clear now?”

Twilight giggled. “Good luck, everypony. I know that together we can do anything.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The final streams of light faded to darkness and Celestia set the sun far away in Canterlot for Luna to begin her job at raising the moon. Applejack suppressed a yawn, turning to nod at Dash. “Ya ready, girl?”

“I was born ready,” Rainbow smirked. 

The Pegasus strutted out of the tent, her head high and a wide grin on her face. Even from there relaxed positions inside, Applejack and Twilight could hear the conversation that had started up immediately.

“Equestrian,” one of the guard’s muffled words reached them, firmly scolding Rainbow Dash. “You are not allowed outside. Stay inside.”

“Aw, c’mon,” Rainbow whined. “I just wanted to get some fresh air. It’s real stuffy in there, y’know?”

Another grunted. “Be quick.”

“Yeah, yeah, in a minute,” Applejack grinned at Twilight, who’s expression matched her own. Soon. “I feel like… stretching my wings.”

There was an expected whoosh of air, followed by the guard’s shocked, angry cries. “Equestrian, come back!”

Apparently Dash paid there words no heed, whooping high up from wherever. The clamor only grew, more and more of tribe stampeding over to catch the lithe Pegasus. That was their cue.

“Ya ready, Twi?” Applejack nodded to her marefriend, who replied by planting on a soft kiss on her lips.

“Let’s go.” She nodded. 

Applejack poked her head out of the tent, greeted by the absence of their guards. Shifting her stomach, she gestured to Twilight and both of them slipped away.

The cold night air bit Applejack with a chilly bite that made her sigh slightly in relief. She was always more of an outdoors sort of pony, so being cramped up in some poor animal’s strung-up skin wasn’t her idea of a good time. Luckily, the tribe was too busy trying to capture Rainbow Dash as she darted about, letting the leap up close to her before flapping an inch too high for them to reach. It was working.

Applejack, with the reassuring sound of Twilight’s nervously hitched breath behind her, hurried to the next building, a hut made of wooden logs, scraped off their lumpy bark. Suddenly, a hush fell over everything. Her heart beating a worried rhythm against her chest as she watched the leader they had spoken with earlier that day come lumbering forwards.

“Chief, the Equestrian pony is getting away!” A mare cried out in panic, galloping to the leader and pointing at Rainbow flitting above.

“Nah, I’m not going anywhere,” Rainbow assured, dodging yet another leap of faith for her. “Aren’t I allowed to fly around a little bit?”

“No,” the leader’s deep voice rumbled with anger. “You will go back to your tent.”

“Nope!”

“Come on, Applejack,” Twilight whispered, her breath tickling Applejack’s ear and sending a shiver down her spine. “We’ve got to get to a safe place. The longer we wait, the more chance Rainbow will be caught. We can’t let that happen.”

“Don’t you worry none, Twi,” Applejack smiled, turning to trot along the side of the building. “We can do it, I jus’ know it. Now let’s get a-goin’!” she whispered fiercely.

They wasted no time making their way around the rest of the obstacles, thankfully avoiding the sights of most ponies. Although at one point they bumped into a wailing mare, she was quickly silenced by a sharp blow from Applejack’s hind legs. Despite the painful tug on her stomach, they were okay.

Finally they reached the outfrings of the tribal camp, running into the cool shade of the trees with relieved gasps. Applejack fell onto a soft bed of wet leaves behind Twilight, hidden from sight by a hollowed tree. 

“I’ll make the signal,” Twilight’s horn lit up, blaring out the impression of an owl’s hoot. With that, Dash whirled around, disappearing from the confused tribal ponies’ sights.

“Phew! Was that awesome, or what?” Rainbow landed behind them with a loud thud.

Applejack laughed with relief at the sight of her marefriend, unharmed and safe. “Sure was, sugarcube. I ain’t never gonna understand how ya jus’, ‘poof’, like that.”

“Yeah, it is pretty cool,” Rainbow smirked.

“You know, I’d love to have a nice little chat about this, but shouldn’t we be worrying about getting away from here?” Twilight pointed out with a scowl. “If we don’t hurry they’re going to-”

At that moment the bushes rustled wildly, announcing the appearance of huge, angry ponies, snorting and pawing at the ground. The leader stepped forwards, his eyes burning with cold fury.

“-find us,” Twilight squeaked.
> Chapter Thirteen: Magical Forces
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Magical Forces


Applejack gulped, her heart racing wildly at the sight of their former captors glowering down on them. They moved with slow, menacing steps, drawing their ring tighter and closer together around the three, soft growls rising from their throats.The leader wriggled back a bit before throwing himself forwards, charging at them with no restraint. A single yell tore itself from Applejack’s throat before she squeeze her eyes shut, awaiting the expect impact.

It didn’t come.

Slowly, she cracked open her eyelids to see the huge stallion pressed against some sort of invisible barrier, his face smushed up painfully. As he moved himself away, a purple shimmer spread across the barrier’s surface, resonating from a certain Alicorn’s horn.

“Way to go, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence with an excited whoop.

“Alright,” Twilight set her hooves firmly into the ground, her horn pulsing with waves of magic. “This is the strongest force field I can conjure up. Nopony is getting past it.”

The leader stumbled backwards in a daze, caught by two members of his tribe as he began to topple over. He shook his head, resting against a handy tree. Air huffed out of his flared nostrils as he turned to face them again. “What sorcery is this?”

“A force field,” Twilight replied promptly. A glow of warmth lit up Applejack’s belly at the sight of her, standing bravely in front of them as she gave her curt response. She glanced over at Rainbow, pleased to see she too had a goofy grin splayed across her face. “No matter how you attack it, it won’t break.”

“We will see about that,” he turned, roaring out orders to the tribe. “Go! It is nothing but a trick, get them.”

Shrieking battle cries at the top of their lungs, they charged the short distance towards them. Applejack automatically flinched, cringing into her raised foreleg. Bodies slammed heavily against Twilight’s defence, sliding down to land in a pile, before stumbling away to try again.

“Are they stupid?” Rainbow Dash growled as another round tried their luck in breaking past to them. They did not succeed. 

Applejack sighted. “Twi, we should stop ‘em before they start ta get through. I ain’t gonna let ya get caught by them brutes.”

“I can’t get any more spells,” her voice reached a high-pitch note of desperation. “I’m putting everything into keeping this up.”

“C’mon, you gotta try,” Dash begged, placing her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. Applejack copied the motions, massaging the Alicorn between her shoulder blades. “We don’t have a horn, so it’s up to you.”

“Okay,” Twilight took a deep breath. “I’ll try.”

The shimmering purple light surrounded her horn grew in size, throbbing with waves of powerful magic surging through her. Fear registered on the tribal ponies’ faces before Twilight released the pent up energy, shooting a bright beam right through the force field and into the leader’s chest. He cried out in shock as he was thrown roughly into the tree, moaning loudly.

It wasn’t long before the rest realized the implications of what would happen to them if they stayed. Screaming, they began to flee from the site back to their home.

“Wait!” Twilight called out. Applejack looked at her in confusion. Has that filly got worms in her head? We want ‘em gone!

“Can you lead us to The Wishing Cave?” Twilight pleaded. The cogs in Applejack’s mind clicked together. “We don’t know where it, and we need your help.”

The leader, bent double and clutching his chest, shot them a glare. “We don’t help.”

“Well, you better!” Twilight shouted after them. “O-or else I’ll use my magic on you again!”

“Go Twilight! Woohoo!”

“Shut up, Rainbow,” Applejack snapped.

The ponies whimpered with worry. “Very well,” the leader wheezed, his eyes burning with hatred. “We will take you.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The huge, gaping mouth of the cave stretched before them, a solid wall of uninviting black. The thick stone was dark and grey, smoothed by millions of years. Trees which had shaded them from the burning sun overhead had ended, leaving them in a small, exposed clearing.

“We have brought you Equestrian ponies to The Wishing Cave, most sacred to tribe,” the leader huffed, shooting them a furious look. “The tribe will not forget who you have hurt us. When you return, you will be no more.”

“Woah, scary,” Rainbow Dash laughed, rolling her eyes. “Good luck with that.”

Snarling, the tribal ponies slinked away, melting into the natural foliage as they disappeared. Soon, the three mares were left all alone, staring at the foreboding entrance to the long sought-after  Wishing Cave.

Twilight gasped, letting her maintained force field collapses, her head sagging. Applejack placed a hoof comfortingly on her shoulder. “Ya’ll a’ight, sugarcube?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” Twilight smiled sweetly up at her. “Just took a bit out of me is all.”

“I guess that fancy magic stuff does look pretty hard,” Rainbow admitted, lowering herself to the ground. “Want a break, princess?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” she smiled reassuringly, straightening up. “I think it’s time we finally went reached our target,” all three of their heads turned around to stare at the cave. “The Wishing Cave.”
> Chapter Fourteen: The Wishing Cave
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Wishing Cave


The smooth rock of the cave’s floor has hard beneath Applejack’s hoof, a stark contrast to the springy grass under the sunshine that was swiftly blotted out as they entered. She shivered as the shade fell over her, bringing with it an undeniable chill. The ceiling was tall, so much so that the highest reaches were hidden by dark shadow. Smalls rocks and pebbles were scattered around, just waiting to poke her hoof.

Applejack felt a shudder not due to the temperature run through. “Darn tootin, this place sure is creepy.”

“You’re not scared, are you?” Rainbow Dash’s breath ruffled the fur on the tips of her ears, her smirk obvious though Applejack couldn’t see her face.

“Course not,” she snapped, striding forwards. “Ain’t no cave gonna get the best of Applejack.”

“You sure?” Rainbow’s forelegs curled around her neck, rubbing her cheek along Applejack’s mane. “I could protect you.”

“Rainbow, be serious,” Twilight reprimanded her. “We have to be focused.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, floating away from Applejack. “Fine, fine.”

It wasn’t long before they turned a corner and the cave’s entrance was swallowed from sight, shutting out their main source of light. Applejack squinted through the dimness, trying to make out where she was going.

“Hold on, I’ve got it.”

An aura of purple light surrounded the three of them, coming fromt Twilight’s glowing horn. The area was soon lit up, just in time for Applejack to dodge a large rock sticking up from the ground.

“So how long until we find this Wishing Stone thingy?” Rainbow Dash asks. “Because I think it’s about time we got this over with.”

“The Wishing Cave isn’t so big,” Twilight answered. “It should only take us a few hours to get to the entrance to The Wishing Stone.”

“A few hours?” Rainbow moaned.

Applejack’s chest tensed slightly, her throat suddenly dry. After the long journey, she was finally going to make it. She was going to become a Pegasus. An' we’ll all fly together.

She began to wonder what it would be like once she had feathery wings of her own on her back. It would be awkward breaking the news that she changed species to her family and friends, but it would all be worth it. When Twilight and Dash spun off into the air together, she would spring up to join them and she would be with them both. She wouldn’t be alone.

“Applejack, watch out!”

Rainbow’s cry reached the Earth pony’s ears too late. Loose chunks of rocks broke off from the jagged edge, tumbling down into a dark split in the cave floor. Her hoof slipped over the rim, desperately searching for more floor but finding none. She tumbled forwards with a yell, the darkness gaping before like an open wound in the earth.

“Hold on, I got you.” Her fall was brought to a sudden, jerky stop as teeth fastened themselves in her tail. She gulped, dangling in mid air above the crack. To her horror she felt herself easing down again.

“R-rainbow, I’m fallin’!,” she shrieked, wildly shaking herself. “Put me down!”

Applejack thrashing through Rainbow Dash off and the soft strands of her tail slid through her teeth, freeing her band as she did so. “A- AJ, I’m gonna-”

With that, the last of her tail pulled free and she plummeted down.


~~~~~~~~~~


“Where am I?” Applejack asked groggily, her head spinning.

“I’m not sure,” the familiar sound of Twilight’s voice greeted her and she forced her eyes open. “You were passed out when Rainbow caught you, so we decided to stay down here for a bit.”

“I passed out?” she sat up slowly, looking around herself to see a flat grey floor shining with a bright purple light emanating from Twilight’s horn. Rainbow Dash lay curled close by, her head buried in her wing.

“Yeah,” Rainbow lifted her head, shaking her wing out and placing it back by her side, pausing to examine it with a critical eye. “Good thing somepony as awesome as me was here to save.”

“Heh, sorry ‘bout that sugarcube,” her face burned with the embarrassment of fainting, something she would have suspected as an act Rarity would be more likely inclined to do than herself. “It was… I was jus’ a lil’ bit scared is all.”

A soft rustling filled the air as Rainbow flapped over, squeezing herself between Applejack and Twilight, draping her wing over the small of her back. “Hey, no need to wonder. I’ll always be here to catch you, even if it totally messes up all my feathers.”

Applejack smiled, nuzzling the nape of her marefriend’s neck. “Aw, that’s sweet of ya’ll, sugarcube. I like when yer a sappy little filly.”

Rainbow’s cheeks flushed a shade darker. “Yeah, well, only ‘cause I’m so great at it.”

“Hey, let me in on this,” Twilight said teasingly, wriggling against Rainbow Dash’s other side. The Pegasus grinned, snapping open her other wing swiftly to yank her against her side, a soft eep making its way out of her mouth.

“So, what next, egghead?” 

Applejack peered curiously past Rainbow at Twilight, eager to hear the answer. The sooner she flew with them, the better.

“Well,” Twilight pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I suppose we need to find The Wishing Stone. I would say we fly back up, but we could have a look around while we’re down here. There may be a hidden entrance somewhere.”

Applejack’s heart pounded in her chest. She was so close… but she wasn’t sure she was ready. She shifted slightly in place, her mouth dry. “Why don’t we… take a break. I almost died, but I think ya’ll could do with a lil’ rest as well.”

“I’m not tired,” Rainbow protested. Applejack didn’t miss the sharp look Twilight threw her she probably wasn’t meant to see. “But, uh, a break sounds totally cool.”

“I’’m going to take a nap,” Twilight said, lying down on the floor. “Join me.”

“If you wish,” Rainbow Dash flopped backwards, toppling across Twilight’s back. She let out an indignant squawk, though made no move to stop her. 

Applejack left her two marefriends to their rest, staring at the wall a short distance away. Funny. I never thought it’d come to this, yet I’m here, an’ I’m gonna be a Pegasus. A Pegasus. That’ll be different fer sure, but at least I get ta fly with Twi’ an’ Rainbow again. I wonder, will I still be strong if I ain’t an Earth Pony? Suppose that’s an apple I’ll bite when I get to it.

Soon enough, Dash’s soft snores penetrated the silence of the air before the purple light winked out as Twilight’s slow breathing joined her, leaving Applejack in the darkness. She swallowed quietly, wondering if she should join them sleeping. But her mind was ticking and her legs were twitching. She had to do something.

Blindly, Applejack got to her hooves and began to take hesitant steps forwards, mindful of little pebbles waiting to trip her up and walls ready to smash her face. It wasn’t long before she found one such wall, although thankfully without walking into it. With no light to see, she felt the hard, uneven surface covered in bumps and ridges. Curiously, Applejack began to trace her hoof over the random patterns, wanting to see where it went.

Her little exploration of the wall’s texture didn’t last long, as she suddenly toppled over slightly when her hoof found no more wall to lean again. The more intrigued side of her personality continued its steady overtaking of her mind, causing her to feel around, discovering a naturally formed archway that to be the beginning of some sort of tunnel. A sly grin pulled at her lips as she headed down.

The tapping of her hooves as they made contact with the stone echoed in her ears, the sound magnified in the enclosed space. She could hear her own breath loudly, hitched in excitement. Her eyes were strained in the impenetrable black and were quick to pick up the slightest hint of light. The shade slowly turned lighter until she was certain she could see a glimmer of white just around the corner. Unconsciously, her pace began to quicken so that by the time she grew close she was galloping at all speed.

Applejack burst in at run from the small tunnel, screeching to a stop. The room was such a stark contrast to the previous conditions she couldn’t stop her jaw from promptly dropping open.

It had a high ceiling, even more so than the entrance cave, with sloping walls that were impossibly smooth for what was supposed to be a naturally formed cave. The floor beneath her was completely flat, devoid of even the smallest pebble shaken off. But the perfect accommodations was not even a seed to an apple tree compared to what lay in the centre of the room.

Exactly in the middle, a spike of solid stone grew out of the ground, with a thick sturdy base and a tip no bigger than a hayseed. Grey claws snaked their way upwards, barely seen by the glow of what they held. With no multiple faces and an otherworldly shine the entire room was lit by that one large stone. But it wasn’t any ordinary stone.

“Th’ Wishin’ Stone,” Applejack whispered, frozen to the ground in awe.

She could barely breath, so nervous her mind wouldn’t function properly. The Wishin’ Stone! I’ve found, I found it! By Celestia, is that thing shiny.

Should I make my wish?

The answer was clear. She had waited long enough to make those wings hers, and make her marefriends hers again. Applejack took her first shaky step towards The Wishing Stone, tugging her hat down slightly to cover her face. After covering a short distance, she was right in front of it. She lifted her forelegs, hating the clearly noticeable tremble that ran along them. Then she placed her hooves onto the stone of legends.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Applejack leaned forwards, closing her eyes, so that the tip of her snout pressed against the cold stone. She stood there for a few moments longer, gathering all her courage before she told The Wishing Stone what she desired.

“Howdy, Wishin’ Stone,” she began slowly, trying to make her friendly greeting not betray the chaotic whirling inside her mind. “I’d like ta ask something of ya’ll, if ya wouldn’t terribly mind. See, I ain’t nopony special, I’m jus’ an ol’ Earth pony. But I need to change. I ain’t gonna be an Earth pony no more. So I need yer help. I want… I wish to become a Pegasus.” A soft tingle crept up her spine, beginning to spread snaky tendrils around her body.

“No!”

Applejack’s eyes flew open at the course stream, just in time to make out rainbow blur before it slammed heavily into her, throwing to the ground with a loud thud. Blinking tears from her eyes at the rough landing, she looked up with blurred vision to a burning magenta gaze. “R-rainbow Dash?”

“Applejack!” Twilight cried, spinning to a halt besides her. Rainbow fluttered her wings, floating backwards so Applejack could sit up. “What are you doing? Why’d you say you want to become a Pegasus?”

The quick beat of her heart thrummed in Applejack’s ear. “Wh-what are ya’ll doin’ here?”

“We followed you, dummy,” Rainbow snapped. “And we saw you trying to change who you are. What the hay?”

Her breath hitched catching in her throat. She turned her head, silently willing herself not cry, but it was beginning to look like she was fighting a losing battle. 

“Hey, hey,” she felt soft feathers brushing against her shoulder, curling around her side to pull her closer. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a jerk about it. But why, AJ?”

Twilight pressed in on her other side, wrapping a wing around her and nuzzling her neck to offer silent encouragement.

“I- I,” she swallowed, forcing herself with every inch of her body no to cry. “I want to fly.”

“What about being proud of who you are and all that stuff?” Rainbow prodded her chest. “You’re the one who always says that there’s no way you’d rather be anypony but yourself. And Applejack isn’t a Pegasus.”

“I know,” she bit her lip. Oh, what do I say? “I’m just Applejack, that borin’ ol’ farmer. I ain’t nothin’ special like ya’ll. Ya always flyin’ off, so perfect together, an’ I’m just stuck on the ground. I don’t want to be left behind.”

“You are special,” Twilight said softly, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “You’re Applejack, and we love you for being you. If you grow wings… in the end, if you make a big decision we’ll stick with you, but that’s not you.”

“A-and we’re sorry if we upset you with our flying,” Rainbow added sheepishly. “Though if you just said something, we could have sorted this out earlier. We’d do anything for you. Seriously.”

Applejack sniffled, wiping the threatening wetness gathering in her eyes. “Ya’ll… ya’ll mean it?”

“Of course we do,” Twilight insisted. “We love you.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added. “Nopony else is like you.”

They pulled her into a tight hug and that time, she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. But no sadness tainted her mind, only pure happiness.