> Everfree
>  by J3sterking
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Start of It
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Timber Spruce pacing nervously was not a usual sight.  

Sunset slipped out the passenger door, calling out, "We came as fast as we could."

"Great," Timber said, rushing over. "I'm not normally prone to big, epic freak-outs, but, uh, this kind of has me, you know, somewhat concerned."

Twilight stepped out from the driver's seat, pulling out a small mechanical device. "I wouldn't worry too much," she said.

Sunset patted Timber on the shoulder, saying, "Relax. I'm pretty sure this is nothing to worry about."  

Twilight's device began humming, and she said, "Can you show me where the unnatural occurrence happened?"

Timber nodded, leading the way to the woods at the edge of the main campground.

"Where's Gloriosa?" Sunset asked.  

"Business at the bank," Timber said. "Thanks to the money you guys raised, we're not going to have to worry about Filthy Rich taking this place, but there are still some things to take care of."

"And you were here...alone...when strange things started happening?" Sunset asked.

Timber shook his head. "She was here, too, but the bank business needed to be taken care of, and we didn't both need to be here just to show you guys the same two things."

He pointed to a tree, separate from the rest of the woods, with a massive blackberry bush around its base. "That tree wasn't there yesterday."

"Blackberry brambles," Twilight commented. She held up her device, checking the readings she was getting. "Hmm...the tree itself doesn't seem to be magic, but I'm definitely picking it up."

"Same," Sunset said, rubbing her geode between her fingers. She stepped over, touching the blackberry bush carefully. "Yeah, nothing I didn't expect, really."

"What?" Timber asked.

"You said two things happened," Sunset said, ignoring his question.

"The other was at the dock," Timber said, pointing.

Sunset immediately snapped her head to look at it, then let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I thought it had been broken again," she said, moving over to it.

"Quite the opposite, actually," Timber said. He pointed to the base, saying, "Look at that."

Sunset stooped, examining the posts underwater. The posts seemed to have been reinforced with a mass of vines, coiled around them thickly. They'd also grown around the overhanging arch above the dock.

Sunset grabbed the nearest vine and gave a tug. It didn't budge.

"Same readings as the blackberry bush," Twilight offered.

"Yeah, I figured," Sunset said slowly. "The dock looks fine, though, and unless the tree is in an awkward placement, it'll be fine."

"And what if it is in an awkward placement?" Timber asked.

Sunset shrugged. "Cut it down."

"Will that be fine? I mean...we saw...dang it, we saw trails of gem dust between the tree and the dock," Timber said, finally losing his cool.

"Don't worry about it, we have it under control," Sunset said.

"What?"

Twilight put a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "It's fine, we got this," she said. "We mostly only came here to confirm, but yeah, everything's fine."

"Confirm what?" Timber asked.

"We'll tell you later, but I'm not sure she wants to be fully in the open about this," Sunset said, partly to herself. "It'd be best not to tell everyone until she says I can."

"She?" Timber asked.

Sunset smiled. "Yeah, yeah, take your guess," she said.  

"Gaea Everfree?" Timber asked hesitantly. As he did, a chill wind blew through, rattling the branches of every tree. A vibrant, pink gem dust that had been scattered throughout the campground blew past them, into the lake.

"I think," Sunset said. "But, uh, we got this. Why not you two take the opportunity to hang out?"

Twilight frowned. "Don't we have another friend to go talk to?"

"That can wait. Besides, I'll be doing that by myself, so you don't worry about it." Sunset smiled. "Just enjoy yourself for a little while.





Twilight and Timber were oddly competitive with each other, but Sunset could hardly pay attention  to them. After an hour, they decided to head back—it was a several hour drive home, after all.

Sunset bid a polite farewell first to Timber, then to Twilight as she stepped out of the car after the drive.

"Are you sure you don't want me coming?" Twilight asked. "We should do this together, right?"

Sunset shook her head. "I don't know why she hasn't brought it up herself yet, but I have a hunch," she said. "I don't want to pressure her by bringing everyone. Let them know I'm talking to her. We've all seen how weird she's been acting lately, so...I'm certain everyone will be happier if they know me and her are talking it out." She gave Twilight a reassuring smile. "Relax. I've got this."

Her Gloriosa voice did its job well, and Twilight chuckled. "Alright. Call me if you need a ride home."

"I can probably get a ride from her, or just sleep over," Sunset replied. "Relax. Let me handle this."

She stepped back as Twilight pulled the car out. She'd always wanted to get a car, but her limited funds, and questionable citizenship, had always prevented her.

Sunset sighed, then turned and walked past the fence, and onto Sweet Apple Acres.  

Truth be told, she didn't like apples at the best of times. She tried to avoid complaining too much, but her friend's obsession with the shiny red fruit often left Sunset bringing her own food to their meetups. Not that there was anything besides pizza that all seven of them truly loved.

Sunset stopped, looking up at the nearest tree. The apples in it were a dull, almost reflective gray, but her geode told another story. The tree was charged to the brim with Equestrian magic.  

She didn't need the trail of gem dust trailing away from the tree to tell her what that was about.

Sunset waved to Big Macintosh as she neared the barn. "Hey, Big Mac!" she called out.

Big Mac turned to her, chewing on a piece of straw. "Let me guess," he said slowly, "Applejack?"

Sunset nodded. "Is she, uh, here?"

Big Mac thumbed over to the barn.

"Thanks."  

Sunset walked past him, then stepped around the open barn doors. She stepped along a trail of pink gem dust, looking to where her friend sat, staring at an apple.

Applejack looked up from it, and Sunset hesitated. "Um, what big eyes you have," she said.

Applejack stared at her, blinking two glowing golden eyes. The 'white' part was actually black, and as Sunset stared, she realized it was even fully liquid, swirling around the golden pupils slowly. "Uh, yeah, I ain't doin' that," Applejack chuckled. She blinked, and her normal green eyes stared back. "Hey, uh...so."

"Me and Twi were just at Camp Everfree," Sunset interrupted. "Timber called. He was kinda freaked out about some weird things going on up there."

"Uh...yeah. Sorry, I'm...I..."

"Stop," Sunset said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You're not obligated to share absolutely everything with us, so we're not mad that you don't want to share this. But we've all noticed that something is going on with you, and I also noticed how much Equestrian magic you've been carrying around. Even when you're not wearing your geode."

Applejack closed her hand right in front of her bare throat, then sighed. "I'm not...tryin' to hide anything," she said slowly. "I just...wanted to get my thoughts in order."

"That's fine, too," Sunset said. "We're not mad, Applejack, but most of them are a little spooked."

"And you?"

"Uh, if I'm right, and I believe I am and the gem dust isn't a prank--" Sunset grinned at Applejack's sheepish expression. "—Then you're Gaea Everfree."

"Uh, yeah," Applejack said. "That's...that's the long and the short of it, I guess."

Sunset let out a long slow breath. "I have so many questions," she said, "but, uh, most of them can wait, I guess. Do you want to talk to our friends, or...do you just want me to tell them that you're fine and just not quite ready?"

"We can talk tomorrow," Applejack said. "I owe you gals that. I'm sorry for scaring ya'll, too, I'm just...I didn't have all my memories to start with." She shrugged. "They all...came back slowly, so I wanted to sort things out before I brought it up to you gals."

"That's fine," Sunset said. "But, uh...one question now?"

Applejack sighed. "Shoot," she said.

"Are you Equestrian?"

She nodded. "Eeyup."

Sunset let out a short squeal. "This is so exciting," she said. "I--"

Applejack put a finger to her lips. "Tomorrow, with all you girls there," she said. 

"'Kay," Sunset said. "See you then."

"You need a ride home?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, that would be for the--"

Vines grew out of the ground in a circle around her and Applejack, forming a dome over them. Sunset let out a startled cry, shielding her head with her hands, as the dome rapidly shrank around them.

The vines shrank away into the floor, disappearing. Sunset slowly uncovered her head, looking around her house in confusion. Then she looked up to a sheepish Applejack, rubbing the back of her head while blushing.

"Sorry, sugarcube," she said. "I, uh, didn't think that through."

Sunset laughed. "No worries, just, uh, warn me next time." She stood up, then blinked in surprise as a fine pink gem dust fell out of her hair.

"Oops," Applejack said. "My bad."

"No worries," Sunset repeated back.  

Applejack disappeared into a twist of vines, which collapsed into a fine pink powder.  

Sunset sighed, then stepped over to where she kept her broom. "Yeah, AJ, no worries," she muttered. But she quickly got over her annoyance. After all, the ponying up and the geodes were their own things, but this was something else entirely!

Gaea Everfree. She'd heard Twilight mention the spirit of chaos, Discord, and had wanted to meet him, but Discord, potentially on purpose, never seemed to be around when she was.

Was she responsible for the Everfree Forest in Equestria? Why were her memories sealed? How much could she do?

I should make a list of all my questions, she thought to herself.





Applejack sighed. Night had fallen some time ago, but sleep eluded her. Too many thoughts, worries, and returned memories plagued her mind like vermin in the kitchen. Perhaps worse were her expanded senses. If she let her mind wander, she'd be seeing through the trees around the barn and from the owls as they hunted, before she snapped her attention back to Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack looked behind her, seeing a massive ring of sparkling gem dust where she'd been pacing.

Shoot, she thought. At least it disappeared after a while, so it wouldn't get everywhere. That said, maybe cleaning it up would help her think? But it seemed inevitably pointless when she'd just leave more in the next five minutes, and sweeping dust off the dirt was not a viable pastime.

"Applejack...?"

Applejack looked up, to see Applebloom wearily rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Watcha doin' out here at night?" Applejack asked. "Sorry, sugarcube, did I wake you?"

"Kinda," Applebloom said. She stepped over to her big sister, sitting on an old, fallen log. "Something botherin' you?"

"Every damn thing is," Applejack groaned. Then she slapped her forehead. "Darn," she clarified. 

Applebloom stared at her. "It must be really bad if yer cussin' about it."

Applejack sat down next to her, sighing. "Yeah," she said. "I'm just frettin', don't you worry none."

"Well, would it help if you told me yer problems?"

Applejack thought it over. "I told Sunset that I'd talk to the girls tomorrow about...well..." She gestured to the ring of gem dust. "You know."

"The, uh, magic thing," Applebloom said. "It's really cool, huh?"

Applejack let out a frustrated growl. "Yeah, it's cool, but how to explain this to 'em? Where do I even start?"

"Who says you have to start anywhere?" Applebloom asked.

Applejack stared at her. "Um, pardon?"

Applebloom shrugged. "I think they'll ask 'bout whatever they're curious about, and ya can explain th' rest afterwards, right?"

"Ah...suppose," Applejack said slowly. "Hey. You must be curious and all, too, right?"

"Well, uh, yeah...a bit," Applebloom said.  

"Heh. We'll talk over here, and you can sit with us. You and Big Mac both, right?"

"Yeah! We can make some fritters and all just sit around havin' a good ol' time!" Applebloom said ecstatically.

"Guess we should both go get some rest, then, huh?" Applejack said.

"Prob'ly," Applebloom said.  

Applejack plucked an apple from the nearest tree, taking a bite. "C'mon. Let's head in."

Applebloom stared at her, then looked over to the tree. "Uh, AJ? Did you just...grow an apple tree?"

Applejack choked, coughed, and turned towards the tree that had grown up out of the middle of the road. "Oh, Applesauce," she muttered. "I'll deal with it tomorrow. Tonight, we should get some rest, a'right?"

"A'right!" Applebloom rushed back into the mouse, letting the door swing wildly as she passed.

Applejack sighed, turning to the small apple tree. I really need to manage my powers better, she thought. She reached over, touching the top of the small tree. Then, she walked back inside, intent on finally getting some rest.
> A Round of Questions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack pulled a large, fresh smelling pie out of the oven just as she heard a car pull up. "Applebloom, how're the drinks comin'?" she called out.

"Apple cider, tea, and grape juice for Sunset," Applebloom said, dropping several bottles of the former on the table.

Applejack laughed. "Just make sure to keep it away from Rarity," she said. She set the pie on the counter to cool, then strode out to the door, waving to her friends. "Howdy, girls!" she shouted out.

Several enthusiastic shouts rang out, as Applejack held the door open.

"Thanks for hosting us," Sunset said as she passed.  

"No problem! Any time I can invite friends over is a good time!"  

"Pie!" Pinkie shouted, rushing past.  

"Yes, apple cider!" Rainbow cheered, zooming past as a blur to start drinking a thing of apple cider.

"You okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Fit as a fiddle! Just been a little distracted here lately," Applejack replied. "Sorry for worrying you gals, anyhoo. I was just trying to get my thoughts in order before I talked about all this."

"I can imagine," Twilight said. "Sorting out my research notes before presenting them is difficult enough."

Applejack shrugged. "I wouldn't know about that, so I'll take yer word for it." She turned to Rarity, who stood just beyond the door frame, staring intently at Applejack.

"You look different," Rarity said.  

"How so?"

"I don't know," Rarity said. "Something about your eyes."

There was a moment's silence, before Rarity shrugged. "Eh. It'll come to me later, I suppose." She walked past, strolling to the living room table at a leisurely pace.

Pleasant chatter was made as Applejack passed out plates, serving everyone food. Given the wildly different diets of all her friends, serving food to them all always provided a challenge, but she'd managed it like she always did: by plowing through and relying on her stubborn determination. Which was also the way she planned on getting through the next task.

"A'right, so," she said, once the chatter had died down somewhat. "I reckon ya'll have some questions."

There were murmured agreements amongst the other friends.

Applejack sighed. "Okay. Ya'll all know that I'm Applejack, but...I'm also...ah, shoot." She rubbed her forehead. "Once upon a time, I was known as Gaea Everfree."

There was a long moment's silence as her friends processed this.

"So, wait," Rainbow said, "I'd thought you just...like, gained powers or something. You've...always been...Gaea?"

"Er...kinda? I only remembered it all recently, after our time at the camp." She took off her hat, and began dusting it off. "For the past thousand years--"

"Because of course it's one thousand years," Sunset chuckled. When everyone looked at her, she cleared her throat. "Sorry, continue."

"For the past thousand years," Applejack repeated, "I've been reincarnating. Bein' born as different people in different places. While I'm...well..." She gestured at herself. "Like this, I don't remember myself. Or at least, I didn't. I suppose our time at Camp Everfree made me remember."

"It must have been the geodes," Sunset said, clapping her hands together. "Elements of Harmony, right?"

"Er, prob'ly not," Applejack said slowly.  

Everyone turned to her.

"The Elements, uh, are kinda why I was reincarnatin'," Applejack said, blushing. "I'm not exactly proud to say this, but I wasn't the best of critters to get along with."

"You're a reformed villain," Sunset said slowly. Then she chuckled. "Not a big deal. So am I!"

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, only I was a mite worse than you got." She took off her hat, holding it over her chest, and added, "A...a lot worse, Sunset."

"It's okay. You're better now, and that's all we care about," Sunset said. She stepped over, and hugged Applejack.  

Applejack chuckled. "Thanks, Sunset. If...if it's all the same to you gals, I'd rather not talk about it all." She paused. "You can ask Princess Celestia 'bout it, if you're curious. She probably remembers it all."

"You met Princess Celestia?" Sunset burst out.

"Yeah, though it wasn't the happy kind of meeting," Applejack replied. "More of the 'crazy-plant-witch wants to destroy Equestria' meeting."

Sunset returned to her own seat. "I'll probably ask, but if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, okay?"

Applejack nodded. "Too many painful memories, too many regrets," she said. "Not right now. Possibly, not ever." She shuddered. "Anyway, anyone else have questions?"

"Can you do whole gems?" Rarity asked.

"Pardon?"

"I-I mean, you do leave the gem dust trails, right? That's not just some random myth?"

"Yeah...?"

"Can you make whole gems?" Rarity asked. She chuckled nervously. "Let's pretend I'm asking for a friend."

"Um...I dunno?" Applejack shrugged. "I ain't never tried. The dust disappears after a little while, so you probably wouldn't have any luck with it."

"Darn," Rarity muttered.  

Applejack tapped the arm of her chair, and a small, white flower with violet petals grew out of it. She plucked it, then handed it to Rarity. "That make it better?"

Rarity gasped. "Yes! Absolutely! It's beautiful!" She took it gingerly, examining the small flower from every angle.

Applejack chuckled...before shoe flew out of nowhere and hit her in the head. "Stop growin' plants outta our chairs!" Granny Smith shouted from the next room.

"Heh! Sorry, Granny!" Applejack called back. "Darn it, how long does it take a girl to remember to stop creating plants on a whim?" She tapped the empty flower stalk, which immediately evaporated into a fine gray dust.

Sunset blinked, opened her mouth, then closed it. "Did you just vaporise that plant?"

"Um..." Applejack hesitated, looking to the surprised looks of her friends. "Yes?"

"Awesome!" Rainbow shouted.

Applejack ran a hand through her hair as Twilight stepped over, examining the gray powder. "Did it rot, or was it actually disintegrated?" she asked.

"Um...I dunno?" Applejack shrugged. "I've never thought about my powers before."

"Really?" Twilight asked. "Haven't you wondered where they came from?"

"Nope. I'm a Spirit of the Wild, sugarcube. I ain't never had to worry about it, so...I didn't."

"But we could learn so much if we studied it!" Twilight said.

Applejack shrugged again. "I don't need to," she said.

"Hey..." Applebloom cut in.

Applejack turned to her, seeing Applebloom stare to the side with a sad expression. "If you're...Gaea Everfree, then...are you not Applejack?" She paused, then continued, "Are...are you still my sister?"

Applejack got up, and walked over to her. She dropped to one knee, stretching out her hand, and put it on Applebloom's shoulder. "Applebloom," she said, "of course I am." She gave a smile.

"Are...are you, though?"

"Eeyup. Just because I had a different name once upon a time don't mean I ain't yer sister," Applejack said. "I grew up here, with you, and was there with you throughout your childhood. We cared for each other, we were there for each other. As far as I'm concerned, I'm as much your sister as if I wasn't ever Gaea. And I don't consider myself the same Gaea that was around a thousand years ago, Sugarcube." She pulled Applebloom into a hug, patting her on the back.

Apple Bloom brightened up considerably. "Oh. Eh...sorry. I kinda killed the mood, didn't I?"

"Don't apologize, ya needed to ask," Applejack said, kissing the top of her head. "I may be called 'Gaea', but to you gals, I'm still Applejack. I'm the same rowdy farm girl you've always known, just with a little extra, okay?"

There were a couple of mutters amongst her friends.

"Well, duh," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. "Even if you're not named Applejack, you're still the girl we've known all this time!" She leaned over, punching Applejack's shoulder, then ruffled Apple Bloom's hair. "Don't sweat it! This is still AJ we're talking about!"

"Leave it to Rainbow Dash to defuse the existential crisis," Sunset chuckled.

"That said, I do have a question," Rainbow said. "How awesome are your powers, anyway?"

"Eh...I guess it depends," Applejack said. "I'm connected to this world now, so, if I leave, I'll be weaker. Further away I am from the wilds, the weaker it gets, too."

"Wait," Sunset said. "Does that mean you can't do things like hang out in town?"

"Ya don't need to worry 'bout that, sugarcube," Applejack replied. "This close to Everfree, I'll be fine in town, and even otherwise, it'd take a day or so for me to start feelin' it."

"What about when school starts up again?" Sunset asked.

Applejack hesitated. "I'll be fine," she said. "I can manage it, girls."

"Question," Twilight said.

"Go for it, sugarcube."

"Can I have a blood sample?"

"Pardon?"





After that point, no one asked any of the questions Applejack was most worried about. It was all more mundane aspects about her powers, and a polite refusal to be Twilight's lab rat.  

After an extended hang-out session, the other girls were getting ready to leave, and Sunset came over to Applejack. "Hey."

"What's up?" Applejack asked. Something about the way Sunset looked at her implied trouble.

"I have a concern," Sunset said. "What about the original Applejack?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"You're an Equestrian, banished to this world for misbehavior, right?"

Applejack nodded. "A light way of puttin' it, but yeah."

"And you incarnated repeatedly?"

"Eeyup."

"Did you take Applejack's place? I only think I sense one soul from you, but...I can't be fully certain," Sunset said. "Is it Applejack and Gaea in there? And if not, then what about the original Applejack?"

"There wasn't one," Applejack said with a shrug.

"What do you mean?"

"There's plenty of people who aren't ponies, and plenty of ponies who aren't people," Applejack explained. "As best I can tell, there just wasn't an Applejack, and so I filled in that spot."

"Isn't that...I dunno, kinda horrifying? What does that say about you?"

"Absolutely nothin'," Applejack said. "I lived before then, and I will live long after any other Applejack in any other world. I've seen empires become as dust, and their false gods burned to ashes by yet more false gods. I ain't particularly concerned about where this body came from, y'know? I'm still Applejack; just as you're 'Sunset' and 'Shimmer'; they're both yer name."

Sunset stared at her for a long moment. "Your eyes are doing the, uh, tar thing again."

Applejack sighed. "Yeah, I figured."

"How old are you?"

"I don't know. Never bothered to count."

"You...wouldn't mind if I hopped over to Equestria and asked about you? Even if you don't want to talk about that all?"

"Yeah, I said that already," Applejack said.

"Just double checking," Sunset said. "I'm going to have to take you up on that."

"Sorry, sugarcube," Applejack said. "They're all just...a li'l fresh in my mind right now."

"I get it," Sunset said. "If any of you had asked about Equestria just after the Fall Formal, it would not have gone over well. But, if you ever do want to talk about those things..." She reached over, patting Applejack's shoulder. "We're all right here."

Applejack smiled. "Thanks. It means somethin' to have all you girls so understanding about all of this, y'know?"

"I've been there," Sunset said with a chuckle. She leaned over, pulling Applejack into a half-hug. "I'll be there if you need me, okay?"

Applejack chuckled, too. "Thanks a bunch, sugar. Now, you should head on home now. Don't want to be out after dark, right?"

"Alright. See you soon!" Sunset walked off towards the rest of her friends, waving goodbye.

Applejack kept waving until the two cars they'd arrived in, Fluttershy's mini-van and Pinkie's unnecessarily large 'Partymobile', pulled out, watching her friends wave from the windows.  

The moment they were gone, Applejack let out a long, slow breath, then collapsed into a rocking chair.

Apple Bloom stepped onto their porch, handing her a fizzy apple cider.

"Thanks," Applejack said, popping the cap without hesitation.  

"You alright?"

"Heh...fit as a fiddle. I think." She shrugged. "Hard to say. I'm just a little worn out right now, though. Gimee some time."

"Okay," Applebloom said. "Love you, sis." She reached over, hugging Applejack.

Applejack smiled. "Love you, too."
> The Legend of Everfree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aside from one specific incident, when she met Starlight, Sunset had never had trouble moving between the pony and human worlds. She always adjusted on the quicker side.

She climbed to her hooves, dusting herself off. "Hey, Princess. Thanks for letting me come over and talk. Something absolutely huge happened."

"No problem! We should be able to wrap this up quickly, especially if it isn't...um..." Twilight paused, eyeing Sunset's mane. "...Important."

"Yeah, I didn't comb it out thoroughly this morning," Sunset said. "Not that big a deal."

"What's with the flower?" Spike asked.

"Flower?" Sunset reached up, pulling a small, off-white flower out of her hair. Even though her geode didn't manifest on this side of the portal, for reasons she still hadn't worked out, she did still have some access to its power.  

Just enough to feel an ancient, Equestrian magic lingering around the flower. "Oh, uh...nothing, I guess," Sunset said. She put it back in her hair, choosing to think about it later. "So, did you find any books on Gaea Everfree?"

"Scattered mentions," Twilight replied. "Most really old. The only other option I can think of is Princess Celestia, but--"

"I don't think that'll be the best idea just yet," Sunset said for what felt like the millionth time. "I know, I know, you say she would welcome me back. I'd prefer not to test that just yet."

"I mean," Starlight said, shoving an ancient tome to the side, "shouldn't you just say hi?"

Sunset turned, seeing Starlight Glimmer seated with an Earth Pony she swore she knew the name of...

"Juniper?" she asked.

"Eeyup!" Juniper said, attempting to turn the page in her book.  

"Oh. I forgot you'd come over to hang out with Starlight. I'm not intruding, am I?"

"Not at all," Juniper said, hoof slamming into her book. "Gah! How do you people manage without fingers?"

"I've always asked that, too," Spike muttered. "Here you go, Sunset! The only book we found with anything extensive on Gaea Everfree."

"Trouble?" Starlight asked. Juniper looked up as well, straightening her glasses with one hoof.

"If there was, it was a thousand years ago," Sunset said, "but no, there isn't, really. I'm just here to brush up on an old friend."

"What?" Twilight said, confused.

"Eh, it's a bit of a story. Let me sit down, I'll explain."





Once upon a time, in the early days of Equestria, the ponies stumbled upon a strange forest. The forest seemingly grew on its own, constantly expanding, and the animals inside were wild, violent, and completely uncontrollable. Few ponies ventured in, and fewer came out. 

Those that did spoke of a witch in the woods. A creature of enormous size, with hair of roots and branches, and clothing made of vines. She had massive claws, and golden eyes in pools of tar. Wherever she left, a thick trail of gem dust lay scattered behind her. She named herself Gaea Everfree, and bestowed blessings on those with the courage, and fortitude, to brave her forest.

The Princesses of the new land foresaw trouble, and called upon Starswirl the Bearded to halt the Everfree Forest's growth. The sorcerer braved the woods, time and again, to cull its growth...yet he never saw the fabled Wood-Witch. 

Time passed. Even after Starswirl was gone, the forest grew no further, yet ponies still received the blessing from Gaea. Until, one day, she left her woods. Without warning, the Wood-Witch struck the nearest town, in a fit of terrible wrath. The ground quaked, and the trees themselves assaulted the ponies.

The Princesses arrived, and, using the Elements of Harmony, banished Gaea from the world forevermore. Ponies thereafter never saw the Wood-Witch again, but every once in a while, they would find the special flowers of her blessing.





Sunset closed the book, letting out a slow breath. "Okay, that answers one or two of my questions, but gives me so many more."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around Applejack," Twilight said. "She turned into Gaea Everfree?"

"No, she's apparently always been that. Same old AJ."

"I need to have a talk with my world's Applejack," Twilight muttered.

Sunset laughed. "Probably not. Gaea's from this side, after all—she is your Gaea, so what would Applejack be instead?"

"Good point," Twilight said. "She's probably just an above-average work pony."

"Back to the point," Sunset said, "Gaea fought the Princess, and was banished...but why was she so mad? Did you read the stories before the one about Gaea?"

"Several times, throughout the years," Twilight said. "The Gaea one I normally skipped because the lack of data in it bugged me."

Sunset raised an eyebrow.

"What? It skips over half the story! An incredibly angry nature spirit just wanders into Equestria? Why was she angry? What made her try and level a country that wasn't even a hundred years old?"

She said...'crazy plant witch trying to destroy Equestria'. Geez, was she not joking?

Sunset sighed.

"Are you sure you have to find out?" Twilight asked. "Maybe you could just wait until she's ready to talk..."

"She's obviously feeling bad about it," Sunset said. "I want to help her feel better, but how can I do that if I don't even know what she did?" She flopped forward, letting her hooves drape across the table. "It's so frustrating," she muttered into the crystal surface.

"Well," Twilight said slowly. "I do have one idea."

"I don't want to bother Princess Celestia about this," Sunset said firmly.

"No, I had somepony else in mind..."





Sweet Apple Acres looked the same in any world, Sunset decided.  

The only differences were clear concessions to the difference between humans and ponies, such as shorter doorframes and the differing levels of technology.

Sunset trotted up the walkway with Twilight, saying, "I still don't think she'll know anything, Twilight."

"We're not necessarily asking Applejack," Twilight said. "I have a few ideas, after the library failed. Number one: Granny Smith!"

"Granny Smith," Sunset repeated. "She's not that old, Princess Twilight."

"Yes, but she's lived close to Everfree longer than anypony else!" Twilight said. "And besides, Princess Celestia personally gave them this land to use! I'm certain she'd have told them anything important about Gaea Everfree!"

"Eh..." Sunset ran a hoof through her hair. "Yes, it would have made sense, but she does a lot of things that no pony else can make sense of either."

"Well, since you still don't want to talk to Princess Celestia--"

"For good reason," Sunset said. "I like my limbs being attached to my main body, Princess Twilight."

"She would never," Twilight said firmly. "But, in any case, outside of her and Luna, we have Granny Smith, and Zecora. Zecora lives in Everfree, and while I'm normally willing to trek through there, I don't know how much time you have."

"Eh...probably hours yet, barring temporal complications across two worlds," Sunset said. "That said, the same reason with Princess Celestia follows here."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Then do you have an option other than Granny Smith?"

"Point taken," Sunset said with a sigh. She looked up, seeing apples fall from a tree into buckets at the base of it. In front of the tree was a pony that was somehow distinctly recognizable.

"Hey, Applejack!" Twilight called out, waving a hoof.

"Howdy, Twi!" Applejack said, stepping over to the next tree. "Who's yer friend?" She bucked it, letting all the apples fall into the buckets.

"This is Sunset Shimmer, from the human world," Twilight introduced.  

"Good to see you. Uh, meet?" Sunset shrugged with one hoof. "Other worlds. I know you, yet I don't."

Applejack chuckled. "Must get a might confusin, huh?"

"Eh, it rarely comes up," Sunset said. "You'd think two Twilights in one room gets confusing, but we all just call her 'Princess'."

"Huh. Guess that makes that easy." Applejack bucked another tree, adding, "Well, just comin' to visit, or ya have something in mind?"

"Well, uh, as much as I'd like to say I didn't only stop by because something happened..." Sunset chuckled awkwardly.

"I know that feelin'," Applejack muttered. "Don't fret none about it, y'hear?"

"Gotcha. In any case, I was doing some research on an Equestrian creature that showed up in our world." Sunset paused, considering her 'abridged' version of the story.

Applejack grunted, bucking another tree. "Well, don't Twilight know what it is?"

"Eh, not really," Sunset said. "Nothing more than what I already knew."

"So am I supposed to know more about it?" Applejack asked, standing up and frowning. "I don't see how."

"Well, you or Granny Smith," Sunset said. "Have you heard of someone called 'Gaea Everfree'?"

Applejack stared at her, then shrugged. "Nope," she said. "Doesn't ring any bells."

"I see," Sunset said. "I didn't expect you to, really."

"Maybe we'll have better luck with Granny Smith," Twilight suggested.

"I doubt it," Applejack said, bucking the next tree. "Any story about those woods she knows, she made sure to tell us. They can be mighty dangerous, and she wanted to make sure we knew."

"Huh," Twilight said. "I guess Princess Celestia didn't mention it to them. Well, if she thought Gaea was destroyed, then she may not have thought she needed to."

"Regardless, I'm out of options that don't involve risk of dismemberment," Sunset said. "So, I'mma head home now, okay?"

"Princess Celestia wouldn't do that," Twilight said.

"Regardless, I'm not going to have my only time returning to see her when I just happen to be looking for something else, too," Sunset said firmly. "If I have to, I'll say hi some other time. Just not now."

"Alright," Twilight said. "Well, if you still have time, maybe we could hang out around Ponyville?"

"I could give ya the Apple Family tour," Applejack said.  

"One question," Sunset asked. She pointed to the nearest tree, saying, "How are you doing that?"





By the time they returned that evening, Sunset felt slightly better about her lack of luck—although she hadn't quite figured out how to buck apples from trees, either.

"I wouldn't worry about doing any more digging," Sunset told Twilight, as they climbed up the doors to her castle. "I'm pretty sure that Princess Celestia is the only one who really knows about Gaea Everfree anymore. Since we have a story of her, then we can assume that there aren't other stories because there was nothing else to record. I guess AJ thought that she was recorded better."

"I think she probably assumed you were going to go talk to Princess Celestia," Twilight put in.

"Or that," Sunset admitted. "She did mention her by name, but...dang it, I'll go talk to her some other time."

Twilight pursed her lips, pushing the doors open. "I really think you ought to reconnect with her."

Sunset let out an aggravated sigh. "I don't think she wants anything to do with me, Princess Twilight. Why else would she have given you the journal?"

Twilight didn't answer.

"See? She doesn't want anything to do with me, Princess." Sunset pushed upon the door to the portal room, only to be immediately wrapped in massive white wings. She blinked in surprise, seeing a familiar tri-color mane flow around her.

"Thank goodness you're alright," Celestia said.

Sunset sputtered, blinking in shock.

"Hi, Princess Celestia," Twilight said casually. "What are you doing here?"

"I came as soon as I got Starlight's letter," Celestia said. "The Wood Witch has returned, right?"

"Um," Starlight said. Sunset looked around Celestia, eyeing the shame-faced unicorn, and Juniper looking somewhat shocked behind her. "I've been trying to say that, uh, it's fine and that Gaea was reformed."

Celestia stared at her.

Luna, off to one side, lowered a halberd. "Couldn't you have said that in your letter?"

"Stop, stop, stop," Sunset said, breaking free from Celestia. She glared at Starlight. "You sent her a letter?"

Starlight chuckled. "Well, you, uh, were all off on your 'I'm so bad and she won't want to talk to me' thing, so I just...sent her a letter asking about Gaea, so...you wouldn't have to!" She gave a nervous smile.  

Sunset glared at her.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!" Starlight said defensively.

"I'll make some tea," Twilight said, trotting past.

Sunset looked to Celestia, then said, "I will...go help he--" Her muzzle ran right into a violet barrier. She blinked, rubbing her nose as she stared at the scowling Twilight.  

"She came all this way to check up on you," Twilight. "Talk to her."

Sunset gulped, then looked back to Celestia.

"I...thought you might want some space," they both said.

"Yes, that is all well and good, but I do believe we have something seriously pressing at the moment," Luna said. "I would very much like somepony to explain what is with Gaea right this second."

"Luna—" Celestia began.

"No, Tia, this is important," Luna stressed. "You said she is reformed? How? When? Should we evacuate Ponyville in case she decides to come out?"

"No, everything's fine," Sunset said. "It's a bit of a story..."

"We have time," Luna said simply.

"Luna," Celestia said chidingly.

"Please, we all know that all you two were going to say was how you missed each other, you're both sorry, and that you should have reunited sooner," Luna said. "Touching, really, but I'd rather this not end on a sour note thanks to the Wood Witch. Start from the beginning."

"I...suppose I would like to hear about your adventures anyway," Celestia admitted.

Sunset met her gaze, then nodded. "Well, here goes."





'At the beginning' turned out to be a little further than she had thought.  

To properly explain Applejack's returning memories, she had to go back to the Camp Everfree visit. It took quite a bit of time, but she did eventually explain everything to an extent that Luna was satisfied with.

"Well, it sounds like everything is well in hoof," Celestia said.  

"Indeed," Luna said. "We are afraid that we do not know much about Gaea, either, dear Miss Shimmer."

"Then why were you so concerned?" Sunset asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"Because she's been around for a while, and she is a wild, violent thing," Luna said. "She stayed in the Everfree, for the most part. That flower in your mane was often a gift to those who successfully braved the Everfree. They were supposed to bring good luck."

Sunset pulled the flower from her mane, holding it in her magic. Her telepathy was numbed, but she could still feel Applejack through the flower. "I don't know if she even thought about it. She didn't mention that she was giving me it."

"Gaea was not a spirit of trickery," Luna said. "Even at her most violent, she simply wouldn't give the flowers."

"How...how violent are we talking here?"

"You've heard the expression...'nature is red in tooth and claw'?" Luna asked simply. "Gaea would feel no remorse whoever, or how many, died in the Everfree. She crafted it from the roots to the leaves. It was a wild place of wrath."

"And why did she leave?" Sunset asked. She gestured to the storybook, still sitting at the table. "Why did she suddenly decide to attack?"

"We never learned," Luna said.

"Yes, it was...a distressing matter," Celestia said. "We were already dealing with innumerable threats after Starswirl's disappearance. King Sombra, Discord, and Merry Gold...and Gaea, something that had previously never left her forest...thankfully, we stopped her before anypony died."

"She almost killed ponies?"

"Verily," Luna said. "Though, this one might be better to show than tell." Her horn lit up, and suddenly the scenery changed.

Sunset found herself standing in an old-fashioned Equestrian village, with a few ponies trotting about.

She looked down at her hoof, seeing the ground through it. "Oh, this is interesting," she said.

"Luna, she doesn't need to see this," Celestia said. "Her friend has changed since we knew her."

"She needs to know, and this gets the point very well across," Luna said firmly.

"Princess Luna's right," Sunset told her mentor. "I want to know. How else could I help her deal with it?"

Celestia drew her mouth to a fine line.

"I'd want my friends to know, too, if I were in Gaea's position," Luna said.

The ground rumbled. Sunset wobbled, unsteady, and looked around. A great crack split the air as the ponies devolved into panic, running about as a massive chasm opened up across the ground. Vines burst from the ground, reaching out towards the closest ponies and ensnaring them. As they tried to run away, their flesh and fur turned to wood and leaves, leaving them frozen in horrified positions.

Then Gaea rose from the chasm, face alight with fury. Sunset had been imagining Applejack, but saw something that belonged in Timber's campground story. She screamed in blind fury, swinging her hands around, toppling buildings with powerful earth-quakes.

Gaea snapped her head up, looking at a bright light that suddenly appeared. She screamed in fury as Celestia and Luna—neither looking any younger—descended, Elements of Harmony in tow.

And all of a sudden, everything stopped.

"This is the Gaea Everfree I remember," Luna said casually, trotting around the angry nature spirit. "We rarely ventured into the forest in those days. I, personally, had only seen her before once. After this day, however, we moved our castle into the forest, to better prepare in case she returned."

"She never did," Celestia said. "I eventually moved the capital to Canterlot. Everfree was too violent to expect most ponies to travel to."

"Why?" Sunset asked. "Why was she so angry?"

Gaea's face was frozen into an open-mouthed scream of fury. Sunset walked through a mess of blackberry brambles, phasing through them, as she looked up at Gaea.

"You shall have to ask her," Luna said. Her horn lit up, and a familiar rainbow blast struck Gaea. A bone-chilling scream pounded in Sunset's ears, and she flinched back instinctively, as the nature spirit simply...disappeared. No turning to stone, or simply fading out. In the space between blinks, she was gone, and only a few measely scraps of black ash floated away.

After a second, the scenery faded, and they stood in Twilight's castle once more.

"The petrified ponies did return to normal afterwards," Luna said. "In fact, you could say that no permanent harm was done, really."

"Perhaps," Celestia said stiffly. "I do not know what drove her to anger. Nor did I ever know what happened to her. I thought she'd simply been destroyed." Celestia paused. "Let her know that I forgive her, please, and that if she should ever like to visit...my door is open."

"I...I will," Sunset answered.

"I'm certain such a visit would be interesting," Luna said idly.

"Luna, it's about evening now. Would you mind heading back and lowering the sun for me?"

"What?" Luna asked. "Art thou not returning just yet?"

Celestia reached over one wing, and pulled Sunset closer to her.

"Ah. I see. Well then, let me not disrupt your family bonding," Luna said, wings flaring. She gave them both a smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Sunset. Do visit again sometime." She flew out the window, soaring off into the sky.

"So," Sunset said slowly. "That...wasn't the only adventure I've had."

"I'd love to hear more," Celestia said with a smile.
> The Weight of Grief
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset stepped out of the portal, wobbling on her feet. She smiled to herself. She hadn't expected to reunite with Celestia, but it had gone extremely well.  

She straightened her backpack, full of a few gifts from her former mentor-slash-adoptive mother, and a second journal, then turned around. Let's see, next stop, Sweet Apple Ac--

"LOOK OUT!"

Sunset never would have been able to move in time if Rainbow had been about to hit her anyway, but the familiar rainbow blur shot past her, colliding into the school and leaving a comical imprint of herself in the wall.

Not believing that she lived in a cartoon, Sunset charged over as Rainbow fell back into the grass. "Are you alright?" Sunset asked.

"Never better!" Rainbow cheered, jumping to her feet so fast she wobbled unsteadily. A fine pinkish dust scattered around her as she moved.

Sunset stared at her. "Dash...?"

"Look at that!" Rainbow said, gesturing to the crater. "Look! That deep, and not a bruise on me!" She held her arms to the side, grinning broadly.

"What did you make Applejack do?" Sunset groaned.

"She let it slip that she thought she could supercharge the gems," Rainbow chuckled. "Awesome, right? It's a little...too fast, actually, but I'll get the hang of it before it wears off!"

"Maybe you should...slow down?" Sunset looked back to the school.

"Nah! I've only got another hour with this! I wanna make the most of it!" Rainbow grinned back at her imprint.

Sunset sighed. "Just be careful. I was kind of wanting to talk to AJ, actually. You know where she--"

Sunset had ridden along with Rainbow's super-speed runs before. She'd only ever been comfortable with her doing that because she trusted Rainbow, but this was officially too fast.  

Her ears popped a fraction of a second into the run, and then she realized they were at Sweet Apple Acres. She realized a second later that she'd stopped moving.  

Then Sunset realized that she'd let go of Rainbow Dash before she stopped moving. She looked up, slowly rising from the grass, seeing a dizzy, spiral-eyed Rainbow Dash lying face first in the dirt almost twenty feet behind her.

Twenty feet behind Rainbow, a bewildered Applejack sat, leaning against a tree with a book in her arms.

"Hey, Ayy-Jaaaay," Sunset slurred breathlessly. "Niiiiice to seeeee you." She fell forward, lying face-down in the grass.  

"That's the last time I do this for ya, Dash," Applejack groaned. She got up, tucking her book under one arm. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah," Rainbow groaned. "I do feel a little bruised from this one."

"I feel fine," Sunset said, sitting up fully. "Just winded. Give me...a moment." She rubbed her jaw, wincing.

"So yer back from Equestria?" Applejack asked, helping Rainbow sit up. "How was it?"

"Great. It was, uh, productive, though a little different than I thought it'd be." She crossed her legs beneath her, not wanting to try standing up immediately.  

Applejack met her gaze, then sighed. "If ya have any questions--"

"I do have a few," Sunset said. She gave a slight smile. "Though Princess Celestia said that you're welcome to come over for tea sometime."

Applejack blinked in surprise, then smiled. "We'll see."

"Hey, wasn't Fluttershy with you?" Rainbow interrupted. "She had something she wanted to ask."

Applejack gave a light smile. "Yeah, she's here."

Rainbow looked one way, then the other. "Where?"

Applejack marched to the tree she'd been leaning against, which felt...weird to Sunset, now that her attention was drawn to it. "Come on, girl," Applejack muttered, touching the tree. In a burst of gem dust, the tree was gone, and Fluttershy, covered in dirt, leaves, and with a tree branch in her hair, stood.  

"Well? Was it all you'd hoped it would be?" Applejack asked with a chuckle.

Fluttershy grinned. "IT WAS AMAZING!" she screamed, throwing her arms around Applejack. "Thank you thank you thankyou--!"

"Whoa—settle down, girl!" Applejack laughed, hugging her friend back. "Glad you liked it!"

"Um," Rainbow said. "What?"

"I asked her if I could be a tree for a little while," Fluttershy explained. She grinned. "It felt so nice to just...forget everything for a little while. Relax." She shuddered, shoulders relaxing. "Thanks! It was just as good as a spa day!"

"Glad you liked it," Applejack laughed, her gaze passing over to Sunset. Her smile faltered, seeing Sunset's face, and she sighed. "So, you had questions?"

"Oh, uh, sorry...I just..." Sunset shook herself out of her shock, and then said, "The Princesses used magic to actually show me what happened, and, uh...the petrified ponies kinda stuck in my mind."

Fluttershy looked to Applejack, confused. "Petrified ponies?"

"Ah, shoot," Applejack muttered. "Sorry. I wasn't so nice back then."

"Relax, AJ, if anyone could understand--" Sunset gestured to herself. "It's me. As well as several other people, too. Besides, the Princess said that no one even died!"

"That time, sugarcube," Applejack said, taking her hat and holding it over her chest. "Times b'fore then, I would--" She hesitated, then looked to the flower in Sunset's hair. "Hm."

"Oh, yeah, thanks for this," Sunset said, pulling it out. "It's pretty."

"Yeah, I, uh—I didn't do it on purpose," Applejack muttered.  

"That's not like any flower I've seen before," Fluttershy asked, moving closer.

"Well, yeah," Applejack replied. "It's a little piece of the wild. I can reach through it. Back in the old days, I'd give 'em to ponies who braved my forest. I'd use 'em to give those ponies good luck." She smiled. "I guess I must have thought you needed luck."

"Or a friend," Sunset chuckled to herself. She tucked it back in her hair, saying, "Thanks, AJ." She reached over, grabbing the branch in Fluttershy's hair, and tugged. The branch stayed. Sunset frowned, tugging again, and only succeeded in pulling Fluttershy closer.

"Ummm," Fluttershy drawled. "Applejack?"

"Ah, shoot," Applejack muttered. She took the branch, then let it crumble away into gem dust. "Le'me know if it starts growing back," she said.

"Uh...okay," Fluttershy said slowly. She rubbed her forehead. "I should probably, uh, go wash off." She left, walking past Rainbow on her way.

"So," Sunset asked. "Why were you so angry, back then?"

"Hmm? Oh." Applejack looked away, dusting off her hat. She didn't reply.

"Applejack?"

Applejack didn't put her hat back on, and spent another moment dusting it off before answering. "I'd lost my dear little brother."

Sunset blinked. "You...had a brother?"

Applejack nodded. "There were three of us, once upon a time." A vine sprouted nearby, beginning to slowly grow upwards. "Three spirits. I was first, and he, second, and then...her third." Her face clouded with anger as the vines spread into a twisting, curving form, with short, stubby limbs, and a long, horse-like face. Two tiny, ineffectual wings grew from the vine-statue's back, and two horns of wildly different shapes...

"Discord?" Sunset gasped. "Your 'little brother' was Discord?"

Applejack nodded. "Chaos and the Wild. Siblings, true and true. Until--"

"He's still alive, AJ! He's one of Princess Twilight's friends!" Sunset put a hand to her head.  

The statue exploded into a burst of gem dust and a multitude of flowers as Applejack spun to look at her. "What?"

"He's still alive!" Sunset repeated.
"B-but--he was turned to stone! I thought—there's--" Applejack took a step back, then put her hat on her head. "Have you met him?"

Sunset grimaced. "No. I think he knows I want to meet him, so he avoids me when I'm over there."

"He...he..." Applejack stepped back, hat falling to the grass. "How?"  

"They reformed him," Sunset said. "Did...you think the Elements of Harmony killed him?"

"Yes!" Applejack cried. "He's...really still alive? And nice, to boot?"

"Yes!" Sunset said. "Is...this why you haven't been wearing your Geode?"

Applejack's hand snatched up, closing around the empty space in front of her throat. "Um, no," she said quickly. After a moment's hesitation, she relented. "Yes."

"Yikes," Sunset said slowly. "I...kinda get it, y'know? I did get rain-blasted myself."

Applejack's mouth drew to a fine line, and she looked away.

"Applejack," Sunset said, looking to Rainbow Dash. The dizzy athlete didn't seem to be paying them much attention, yet even so, Sunset leaned very closely in to Applejack. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Fit as a fiddle!" She gave an awkward chuckle.

Sunset stared at her, then reached out. "Look, AJ--"

Applejack twisted, letting Sunset's hand fall just short of her shoulder. Sunset stepped back, blinking in surprise, as she met Applejack's gaze.

"S-sorry," Applejack said, eyes looking away.

"Applejack," Sunset said firmly. "I get that I've never had the strictest rules about using it, but I do have some." She folded her arms over her chest. "I wouldn't just hack into your brain just to see if you're okay."

"I'm sorry, sugarcube, it's...I don't like those things."  

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "They're instruments of harmony."

"What is Harmony?" Applejack asked.

Sunset blinked. "Come again?"

"You don't know where they came from," Applejack said. "You don't know who defined 'harmony'. You don't even know what I know. How can you possibly trust those things?"

"They've saved our lives! Several times!" Sunset argued.

Applejack snorted. "Harmony is a traitor, Sunset. She's a rotten apple. She petrified Discord, and hurtled me to this world, settin' me in that...cycle...for a thousand years."
"It really sounds like you're just choosing to be angry," Sunset replied. "Look, maybe just take a deep breath--"

"Do you know how many of those lives were good?" Applejack shouted.

Sunset stepped back as the earth rumbled. "Some of 'em were, and it's those ones that hurt the most." Applejack reached down, picking up her hat and dusting it off. "I learned to care for them, and ev'ry time...they...they..."  

The ground rumbled faintly, but it slowed down quickly.

"Why would she do that?" Applejack asked. "Why would she hurt me like that?"

Sunset hugged her. "She wasn't trying to hurt you," Sunset said. "She must have been just trying to help, Applejack. Were you truly happy back then?"

"That wasn't the problem," Applejack muttered. "We both know it, Sunset." She turned, breaking free of the hug and walking away.  

"Where are you going?" Sunset demanded.

"I need to clear my head," Applejack said.  

"We're talking about--" Applejack stepped down, disappearing into a blackberry bush that rapidly grew in place. "—Something important," Sunset muttered.

"Yikes," Rainbow said, stepping very slowly by Sunset's side. "That went poorly."

"Yeah," Sunset said. "Here I was thinking I understood enough...darn it."

"I think she just needs a little time," Rainbow said.  

"It's been a thousand years, Rainbow," Sunset said.

"Well, I mean, if she's just now remembering it, then it's been what? A couple days?" Rainbow shrugged. "Think about how awkward it was right after the Fall Formal."

Sunset winced.

"See? Look at it now! You're doing great!" Rainbow punched Sunset's shoulder. "We're all doing great. I think she'll be right and ready to apologize tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sunset murmured. "Though I don't normally expect you to be the one giving friendship advice."

"Hey, spend enough time around eggheads, and you're bound to pick something up." Rainbow grinned. "Relax. AJ's gonna be fine."

"You're probably right," Sunset said, leaning into the hug. "You need help getting home, or is your speed normal now?"

"It's not normal yet," Rainbow admitted, "so, uh, think you can...um..."

"I'll drive you both home," Fluttershy said as she came out of the farmhouse behind them. She gestured to her minivan, parked in the driveway.

Sunset and Rainbow both breathed out in relief. "You're the best," Sunset said, helping Rainbow into the backseat. She sat in the passenger side, buckling in while Fluttershy strapped herself to the driver's seat.

"Hey, Sunset?" she asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You were talking to Applejack about...a vision you had in Equestria?" Fluttershy tapped her hands on the steering wheel, confused. "What was that about?"

"It's, uh, complicated." Sunset grimaced, then smiled at the memories she'd made with Celestia. "Well, my search for Applejack's past was, uh, fruitless, until the Princesses got involved." Gotta remember to thank Starlight for her head-first approach. "In any case, Princess Luna decided the best thing would be to show me her memories of...Gaea Everfree's attack."

"And she...petrified ponies?" Rainbow asked. "Which means what?"

"She turned them to wood," Sunset said slowly. "The Elements of Harmony returned them to normal, though, so none of them died."

"Goodness," Fluttershy said. "Why?"

"I suppose because of a misunderstanding," Sunset mused. She held up her Geode, staring at it. She tapped into her magic, trying to feel the Geode out, but...

There was a brief pulse of emotion from it, but 'Harmony', whomever that was, did nothing further.

Sunset sighed, putting the Geode back down as Fluttershy pulled to a stop.  

"Sounds like she's going through a lot," Fluttershy said.

"I'd say," Sunset agreed. "She's...a little agitated right now."

"She'll chill out in a day or so," Rainbow said, opening her door. "Thanks for the ride, Shy!"

"Don't run--!" Sunset called, but it was already too late.

The rainbow blur shot down the sidewalk and burst through her door, and Sunset heard a loud crashing coming from inside. After a slight delay, there came a startled shriek from Rainbow's parents.

"We should go in and help her explain," Sunset said with a sigh.

"Yeah," Fluttershy agreed.
> Nature's Wrath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack had never had trouble with her powers previously.  

Of course, she had simply sprung into existence one day, fully formed, fully aware...or, mostly fully aware, as she had 'matured' over time. But her powers had been a part of her, as natural as flicking her wrist or snapping her fingers.

Now, however, her rampant emotional state was slipping out, and kept causing earthquakes. Thankfully, she had kept them small so far, but if she didn't get a hold of herself soon, then something bad was going to happen.

She forced her will outwards, stopping the miniature earthquake before it really started, then resumed her pacing.

And to make matters worse, she really felt bad about how she'd handled her conversation with Sunset. The hurt in the telepath's eyes when she'd pulled away stuck with Applejack, and wouldn't leave her mind.  

But Applejack couldn't bring herself to apologize because she meant what she'd said. She despised the Spirit of Harmony. Applejack had once called her a sibling. The three of them had been close.

But it was all in the past now. She didn't know what Discord was doing—or where he even was—and had no desire to interact with Harmony whatsoever.

She was trying to protect the little ponies, Applejack thought. But she shook her head. No, regardless of her intentions, that was the kind of thing one didn't simply 'get over'.

Especially with how cruel it had been. Sure, she could have protected the ponies any way, even though Harmony hadn't quite been as powerful as Applejack had been. In the early days of Equestria, Chaos and Wildness ruled, and Harmony had simply persisted. Then Starswirl had planted that tree. Applejack hadn't thought to much of it, at the time—after all, ponies had always tried to claim the wild, to tame it. Using an instrument of Harmony had been interesting, and Applejack had chosen to leave it.

Yet, that anchor, that piece of Harmony on the inside of her power, had pierced her very being. The Elements had struck her...and...

She stopped abruptly, feeling fresh tears down her face. And they're all dead, she thought. All those I knew in all those lives...they're dead. Nothing but dust and bones now, til the Earth claims even that...

Rage and grief swirled inside her, boiling, demanding release. She thrust her face to the sky, and belted out a scream of pain and anguish, power flowing outwards. The trees around her withered, the grass turned gray, as she screamed and cried.





Fluttershy woke with a start. She sat up, yawning, listening to the animals in her house. Since she'd gotten her Geode, there were a lot more animals in her house. Some, like the wolves, she hadn't been able to keep around long-term because they'd eat the smaller ones. But with her Geode, she'd made them all behave while they were at her house.

She listened to the cries of a dozen different species, and jumped up in alarm. She bolted down the steps, staring as they all ran amok.

"Goodness! E-everyone calm down!" she cried. "Oh no...what's wrong?"

Dozens of yowls, howls, and whines answered her. She winced, holding out her hands placatingly. "Don't worry, everything's alright," she said. "Everyone calm down, okay?"

Slowly, the chorus of cries stopped.

"Alright, someone say what's wrong," Fluttershy said.  

Angel Bunny hopped over, beginning to chitter worriedly. She still heard the same chittering sounds her friends would hear, but with her Geode, she understood what the animals meant.

That said, no matter how much she loved them, she had to admit that they weren't people. They simply weren't as smart as humans were, and piecing together what the problem was was generally quite the ordeal.

"I...I don't understand," she told Angel. "Who's crying? Is someone hurt?"

The ground shook. It was a light rumble at first, but it escalated, causing her to dive under the table in alarm.  

Animals, she knew, often detected earthquakes before people did. But something was...she didn't know how to put it, other than wrong. The shaking didn't feel natural—more like someone had started shaking her chair while she was on it. She could almost pin-point the direction of that someone.

And then, she heard it—a fierce, anguished cry of something primordial. Her heart almost skipped a beat, and her breath seized up, as the shaking died down.  

Angel Bunny hopped down in front of her, ears drooping. Fluttershy picked him up, snuggling him tightly. "Don't worry," she said, sounding more confident than she felt. "I'll get my friends, and we'll fix this, okay?"

I hope....





The midnight meetings of the Rainbooms had, thankfully, been mostly entirely fun sleepovers.

This time they gathered in Pinkie's house...with one notable exception.

"I just called Granny Smith, she said Applejack hasn't been home since I was there with Fluttershy and Sunset," Rainbow said.

"Applejack is missing, we have a weird earthquake, and all the animals are frightened," Sunset muttered. "She stormed off in a huff yesterday, so..."

"I think Applejack might be the cause of the earthquake," Rainbow said clearly.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy said.

"Well, maybe we can cheer her up?" Pinkie said. "This sounds like an easy fix, actually. We probably don't even have to shoot anyone with rainbow lasers!"

Sunset's phone chimed, and she winced, checking it again. "Anyone have any clue on how to find her?" she asked. "Before my inbox is filled with people wondering about the angry scream of fury, following an unexplained earthquake?"

"Um," Fluttershy said, raising her hand. "I thought I could tell which way it was coming from...and the animals could definitely tell."

"Well, that's good news," Sunset said, wiping her brow. "Come on! Let's go give our friend some help."

They rushed out to pile into Fluttershy's minivan, with Sunset in the shotgun seat.

Fluttershy sat behind the wheel, tapping her fingers nervously. "Sunset," she said hesitantly, "do you think this is about..."

"An extremely stubborn nature spirit with an a-thousand year old grudge?" Sunset smiled bitterly. "I mean, I can't think what else it might be."

"I mean..." Fluttershy bit her lip. "I'd be kind of mad, too."

Sunset blinked, staring at her in confusion.

"I understand...why Harmony did what she did," Fluttershy said. "Making her reincarnate, so she could eventually reform...it makes sense. But I know what it's like...to lose things you care about." Her fingers clenched, ever so tightly on the steering wheel. "Every once in a while, we...lose injured animals at the shelter. And...after a thousand years of that, if I hadn't cared before, I'd be...kind of cranky, too."

Sunset nodded. "I understand," she agreed. "But this is beginning to be...you know, problematic." She clasped her hands together, thinking. "What do we even do here? If we could activate the Elements without Applejack, it wouldn't remotely fix the problem. You know how stubborn she can be, too."

"Here, here," Rarity said, "but a concentrated effort from all of us will surely get the point across."

"Eh," Rainbow said slowly. "I've known her longer than I've known any of you except Fluttershy. If she wants to be mad, I'm not sure we can change her mind."

"Doesn't mean we're not going to try," Fluttershy said. "We have to."

"Well, duh," Rainbow agreed. "I'm just...not sure how to go about this."

"Paaaaaaarty?" Pinkie said, holding up a cake.

Sunset couldn't resist a chuckle. "Sorry, but I don't think this kind of thing is something that can be laughed off."

"Got it," Pinkie said, stowing the cake in her hair.  

Sunset looked out the window, watching trees fly past as they neared the woods. A steady, rhythmic pulse was coming from outside, and she thought she finally understood how much power Applejack had. The entire forest was permeated with it, top to bottom. The trees swayed in a non-existent wind, to the same rhythmic pulse that Sunset identified with Applejack's magic.

"We're close," Sunset said.

"Yes," Fluttershy agreed. "The animals are gone."

"They're...gone?" Rainbow asked.

"They were scared, and ran away," Fluttershy said.  

Rarity gave an awkward chuckle. "She must be in quite the temper, then."

"Um, is anyone else's Geodes heating up?" Twilight asked, rubbing hers.

Sunset tuned her friends' agreements out, closing her eyes. Her sense shot outwards and away, much farther than she could normally detect.  

A pair of golden eyes appeared before, seated in black pools of tar, on a face of pale, white skin.

Sunset opened her eyes. "She knows we're here," she said.

"Well, I should hope so!" Pinkie said. "We're not trying to surprise her, after all!"

Sunset nodded to Flufttershy. "Stop the car."

Fluttershy pulled the car to a stop, giving Sunset a quizzical look.

"She's very close, and we're not going to be able to get the car closer than this and bring it back in one piece," Sunset said, nodding to a coiling, writhing mass of thorny thicket.  

Her friends piled out of the car, pausing before the thornbushes.

"Did it have to be blackberry brambles?" Twilight sighed. She reached out, only for the brambles to coil away before she could touch them. A path spread out before them, the bushes twisting to the sides.

"Well, she certainly gets points for style!" Rarity said. "The red carpet treatment is definitely appreciated."

Sunset lead the way, looking to the forest around her. The trees stood tall, swaying to that rhythmic tune. They had also grown up in a massive circle, almost sixty feet across, with one entrance, with a line of blackberry brambles on either side.

The earth rumbled, just slightly.

"If she caused any lasting damage to the continental crust with those quakes," Twilight said slowly, "I'm going to make her put it back."

"That's tomorrow's problem," Sunset replied, stepping into the clearing.

Thorns and vines twisted across the forest floor, all reaching around a small dome of thorns and roots, like a canopied bed. Seated inside was, Sunset presumed, Applejack.

Though, perhaps, 'Gaea Everfree' was more accurate this time.

Applejack's skin had turned pale white, her eyes a fierce gold, glowing ever so faintly, and the 'whites' were pools of tar. Her hair was long, free from its ponytail, and twisted branches and leaves were growing out of it. Her clothing was wraps of leaves and branches, twisting, tight around her skin, down to a skirt that came half-way down her thighs. She looked less like an athletic farm girl and more like a nature goddess from folklore of old.  

Her eyes turned to face her friends, and she sighed. "I reckon that I didn't do a good job keeping my anger contained, huh?"

"Sorry, but no," Sunset admitted. "People felt the earthquake, and you kind of scared all the animals from here to Fluttershy's cottage."

Applejack blew out a breath, leaning back on her...bed? Was that supposed to be a bed? "Dammit," she cursed.  

"Hey. We get it," Sunset said, stepping closer. "We've all been angry before—even Fluttershy. Anger is natural. But...it's not meant to be held onto. Accept it, let it go."

"It ain't that easy. Not over somethin' like this," Applejack said. "Ya'll...ya'll know. What Harmony did."

The earth rumbled again.

"I know that," Sunset said, stepping right up to her. She went down onto one knee, ducking beneath the edge of the canopy. The thorns retracted inwards, just before she touched them. "You girls know I have more temper issues than most. It's hard to just let things go."

The only response was another rumble of the earth.

Sunset sat on the edge of the bed, her friends scooting closer. "Applejack," she said, "have you talked to Harmony, since you came back?"

"No," Applejack muttered.

"You should," Sunset asked. "If nothing else, wouldn't it make you feel better? Knowing you tried?"

"I don't want to try. I don't want anything to do with her!" Applejack snapped. "She's--"

"For crying out loud, how is she a traitor?" Rainbow Dash snapped. "I heard the whole story, AJ. She stopped Discord from destroying Equestria, and then she stopped you from doing the same." Rainbow leaned forward. "We'd do the same, right, girls?"

The ground shook, hard enough to make them wobble. "I should damn well hope not," Applejack snarled.

"Applejack," Twilight said slowly, "let's look at this logically for a moment. If you—or any of us—started attacking random people, what would the rest of us do?"

"Talk the other friend down?"

"What if they don't listen?" Twilight asked. "Just...hypothetically."

"Gettin' rough, I understand, but she petrified Discord!" Applejack said. "And what she did to me is inexcusable!"

The ground near Sunset cracked. We're getting nowhere like this, she thought.

"Applejack," Fluttershy said. "We get that you're mad..."

"Mad? MAD? MAD DON'T CUT IT!" The canopy disappeared in a burst of gem dust, leaving Applejack free to pace. "Ya'll don't get it. When I was blasted, I was still grieving because I'd thought I'd lost Discord. Then, she makes me live as a human over and over again for a thousand years. And every time, it's the same!"

Steam burst from the crack in front of Sunset. Her Geode now felt hot to the touch, and she could feel the fury rising from Applejack in waves. Sunset knelt down, putting her fingers over the crack, which was slowly growing in length.

The air above it was hot.

"I'd grow up, I'd care for folks around me, and they'd always leave! Afterwards, I'd always be alone!" She spun, tears slowly falling down her face, and took off her hat. "You gals are all gonna die, and I'm still gonna be here. Why'd I have to learn to care?"

More cracks spread along the ground. "Uh, guys?" Sunset said.

"Oh, pfft! Come on, darling!" Rarity put her arm around Applejack. "Would that be preferable?"

"If yer Ma died, how would you feel?" Applejack asked.

"Well, of course I'd be upset," Rarity answered. "Anyone would be."

"And that's just one person," Applejack said quietly, looking into Rarity's eyes. "One simple human life, to be snuffed out in an instant, never heard no more. Think, then, of all the times over a thousand years...a dozen lives. A dozen families. Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Almost a hundred people returned to dust. And here I am, still persisting. Still kickin' like an old mule. Empires will rise and fall and become as dust, and I'll still be here, watching as new ones are made on the ashes of the old, and maybe, just maybe, it ain't worth it to carry the pain for all that time, huh?"

The crack split wide open, leaving an all-to-familiar red glow to shine.

Sunset strode towards Applejack, quickly and determinedly, and slapped the farm-girl mid-sentence.

Applejack stumbled, eyes going wide, as she and all of her friends fell silent.

"What...what the hay was that for?" Applejack demanded.

Sunset pointed towards the cracks. "You said that you'd understand if I got rough," she said.

Applejack blinked in surprise.

"Applejack. Some things you need to work out at your own pace, but right now, you need to calm yourself down before you create a volcano and wipe Canterlot off the face of the earth," Sunset said calmly. "Please."

Applejack stepped over to the crack, looking down into it. Then, she knelt, placing one hand on the ground. The cracks, one by one, sealed themselves, the dirt and stone melding perfectly until not even the faintest signs remained.

And still she sat there, eyes closed in concentration. Then, finally, she opened her eyes, and sighed.

Green eyes looked up into Sunset's. "I'm sorry, gals," she said. "I...I lost my temper."

"We forgive you," Pinkie said, kneeling besides her. "Applejack...I was sad, when Granny Pie died. I shut down, for a bit. Stopped doing anything new. Got up, did my chores, and then went back to bed. But Maude...Maude told me that that wasn't how Granny wanted me to live." She put her arm on Applejack's shoulder. "People die. But I realized that it was better to know her while she lived, then to have never known her at all. Everything should be enjoyed while it lasts, but those we care about wouldn't want to see us throwing our lives away just so we could feel bad for them."

Applejack sniffed. "I...I..." She wiped her eyes, watching the tears fall from her sleeve. "Ah, dammit. Yer right...of course you are." She threw herself against Pinkie, weeping.

She kept crying as each of her friends, in turn, came over, and hugged her, too. She sobbed, as dark clouds formed overhead, and rain began to pour.
> The End of It
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep into the night, Applejack dug in her nightstand, pulling out the small, orange Geode. It felt so light in her hands, yet so heavy as she put it  around her neck. By the time she looked up, there was another figure, sitting at the edge of her bed. Partly translucent, the figure glowed with an etheral light, small sparkles floating away from her.

"I'd forgotten you did that," Applejack muttered. 

Harmony, bearing Sunset's face, met Applejack's gaze. "Does it bother you?" she asked.

"Nope," Applejack said, sitting down on the bedside. It creaked—unlike Harmony, she actually had weight.

At least, unless she chose otherwise.

They sat in silence for a minute. Harmony didn't move—even her hair was still.

"I'll go first," Applejack said. "I know why you did what you did. You knew me, nor Discord, would listen to ya if you asked us not to attack the ponies. So you had to go to extremes. I was...dammit to hell." She ran a hand through her hair. "I was as stubborn back then as I am now. Once you petrified Discord, I'd never have listend to you. And without you, I'd have stayed holed up in Everfree, killin' most anything that came by. I needed...to know. The value of life."

Harmony stayed silent a moment, before answering. "I'm sorry that I choose to do what I did. I should have found some other way to handle it, or let you know in advance, before the Princesses petrified Discord. And I'm sorry that you suffered like you did."

"Why..."

Harmony opened her mouth...but paused, letting Applejack finish her question.

"Why do they die so fast?"

Harmony looked away. "That's not the right way to think of it."

Applejack blinked, staring at her.

"They live their lives. We live ours. Immortal lives." She clasped her hands in front of her chest. "We don't die. They do. But we can meet them...over and over again, we can meet the best and the greatest. The kindest and the wisest. We can get to know them all. That is the proper way to think about it."

"Hmm."

"Is that all you have to say?"

Applejack shrugged. "I dunno. I'm kinda locked in place for right now. It'll take some time before I can move too far away from Everfree and Sweet Apple Acres, but...maybe you have a point. It's not about how many of them die. It's about how many of them...we can befriend."

"That's...how I've always thought of it, anyway."

"Have you ever found it funny," Applejack began, "that Discord almost always takes the same form, but you almost never take the same one twice?"

"Harmony and Chaos are not opposite," she said. "Take Pinkie Pie. She is a wonderful, harmonious pony. Few can get along with as many people as her. Yet, she is chaotic and spontaneous, as well."

Applejack's mouth quirked up. "Yeah, that's right. 'Cept, of course, that she's not a pony here."

Harmony stiffened, then smiled. "Yes, I...suppose I haven't spent much time over here."

"You're..." Applejack cleared her throat. "You're welcome to spend time whenever you like."

Harmony stared at her, then smiled. "Thank you. Sisters?" She extended her arms.

Applejack threw her arms around her, squeezing her tightly. "Sisters," she agreed.





The doors to Sugarcube Corner opened. The Rainbooms looked up, from their pastries, as Applejack walked into the diner.

The store was closed today, leaving Applejack plenty of privacy to talk to her friends.

"I'm mighty sorry about the way I acted," she said, nearing the table. "I was angry, and sad, and lashing out. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

All her friends began talking at once, moving over to hug her.

"Cake time!" Pinkie shouted, dropping a massive platter from...somewhere...on the table.

"Have you had that in your hair since last night?" Sunset asked.

Applejack sat down at the table, hands clasped together. "I'm...gonna be out of town for a bit," she admitted.

Silence fell. 

"I thought you couldn't get too far away," Rainbow said. 

"Yes and no. I'm more or less bound to Everfree and Sweet Apple Acres, but either Everfree works," she said. "And...if nearly drownin' all my friends in lava taught me anything, it's that I should get a hold of this. It's been a long time since I used these powers, and...I don't want to hurt anyone. So, I'll be practicing out of town."

"Oh," Fluttershy said. "That's okay. Whatever's best for you, we'll all do our best to help you."

The rest of the Rainbooms nodded.

Applejack smiled. "Thanks bunches, girls."

"How long are you gonna be gone?" Rainbow asked. "You'll be back in time for band practice, right?"

"I'll stop by for that, but I was gonna be gone for a week or two. Maybe more." She shrugged. "I don't want to hurt you. You're my friends, so...I want to make sure I'm at my best with this."

"It's alright, darling," Rarity said soothingly. "Fluttershy's right. We're willing to do whatever it takes to help you." 

"Thanks, girls." She opened up her arms, bracing herself the for the group hug. Her friends piled on top of her, squeezing tightly, as they said various kind words and encouragements.

"When were you leaving?" Sunset asked as they broke apart.

"Today," Applejack replied. "If you need me, ask Harmony." She tapped her Geode. "She can relay anythin' back to me."

"Um, can she hear us through these things?" Rainbow asked cautiously, holding up hers.

"More or less. She's not omniscient, though, so she'll only hear ya if you're calling her," Applejack said. "Don't worry, she wouldn't invade privacy like that."

Sunset gave her an elbow to the ribs, and a sly smile.

"Ha ha," Applejack muttered. "Yeah, I already said I was sorry, Sunset. Several times, if I recall." 

Sunset laughed. "It's alright, I just couldn't resist. Anyway, if you're going to be gone a while, why not we have just a little more fun?" She pointed at Pinkie's cake. "Enjoy it while it lasts?"

Applejack smiled. "Absolutely."