Chapter 2: Rushing Off

Luna was driving up to Sweet Apple Acres, extremely agitated. Bad enough that Applebloom's stupid dog kept ruining her garden and chasing her cat, but now she'd bitten her hind leg. She arrived at the driveway and got out as Applebloom's brother Big Macintosh was there.
"Big Macintosh." Luna said to get his attention.
"Mornin' Luna." Big Mac said calmly.
"I want to see you and your grandmother right away about Applebloom." Luna said in a businesslike way.
"Applebloom?" Big Mac asked. "What has she done?"
"What has she done?" Luna asked. "I'm all but lame for the bite on my hind leg."
"She bit ya?" Jonathan asked disbelievingly.
"No." Luna said. "Her dog."
"Oh, she bit her dog, eh?" Big Mac asked with a smirk.
"No." Luna huffed.

()()()()()

In the farm, Luna was talking to Big Mac and Granny Smith.
"That dog is a menace to the community." Luna said, stating her case. "I'm personally taking her to my sister to make sure she's destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Applebloom asked in shock. "Winona? Oh, ya can't. Ya just can't!"
Applebloom went pleadingly to her grandmother and brother.
"Granny, Big Mac, ya won't let her, will ya?" Applebloom said, confident of the answer.
"Nope." Big Mac said. "Will we, Granny?"
Applebloom then rushed to Granny.
"Please Granny!" Applebloom begged. "Winona didn't mean ta. She didn't know she was doin' anythin' wrong. I'm the one who oughta be punished. I let her go inta her garden. Ya can send me to bed without no supper-"
"If you don't hand over that dog, I'll just sue and take your whole farm!" Luna snapped. "There's a law protecting ponies against dogs that bite."
"If Applebloom keeps her tied up, she's really gentle." Granny said in the poor puppy's defense. "With gentle people that is."
"Well that's for the authorities to decide." Luna said as she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Granny. "Here's the order allowing me to take him, unless you want to go against the law."
Granny overlooked the paper and sighed sadly over the air tight order.
"Well, we can't go against the law, Applebloom." Granny said with a sad sigh. "I'm afraid poor Winona will have ta go."
"Now you're seeing reason." Luna said as she pulled out a pet carrier. "Here's what I'm taking her in so that she can't attack me again."
"No, no!" Applebloom said, clutching Winona like she was another sister. "I won't let ya take her! You go away, or I'll bite ya myself!"
"Applebloom!" Granny said sternly, snapping Applebloom to her senses but still refusing to give up Winona.
"You wicked old witch!" Applebloom went on before turning back to her family. "Big Mac, Granny, don't let her take Winona, please! Stop her!"
Unfortunately, there was nothing the Apples could do as Applebloom was forced to let Winona go as Big Mac picked her up.
"Put her into the carrier, Big Mac." Granny sighed.
"Eyup..." Big Mac sighed as he, reluctantly, put Winona into the carrier as Luna closed the metal door and turned the small lock.
Applebloom could only sob at the sight before rushing to her room. At that point, Granny had enough of this. She walked right up to Luna.
"Luna Gulch" Granny said angrily. "Just 'cause your family owns half of this county don't mean ya own the ponies in it! Ever since you moved here, I've been dyin' to tell ya what I think of you, and now... Well bein' in mixed company, I can't say it!"
Granny walked off with Big Mac.

()()()()()

Luna went off as Winona looked at the lock. What no one but the Apples knew was that Winona was actually a very intelligent dog, and she used her teeth to turn the lock of the carrier, having seen Luna turn it to lock him in. With the carrier opened, Winona climbed to the edge of the car and jumped out, landing on her feet and rushing all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres. Winona also heard Applebloom's cries and hopped through her opened window and licking her face as Applebloom turned, and her eyes snapped to her as she smiled and hugged Winona, who licked her.
"Winona, buddy!" Applebloom said exuberantly. "Oh, you're back! Ya came back! I'm so glad!"
Winona panted happily before she noticed Applebloom's face fall.
"She'll be comin' back for ya in a minute." Applebloom said thoughtfully as she grabbed a picnic basket she used for travel. She wasn't about to lose Winona twice! "We've gotta get away. We've gotta run away."
With that, Applebloom and Winona rushed off quickly and quietly.

()()()()()

On the road, a young unicorn mare with a white mane, a blue coat, and purple eyes named Trixie was cooking some food as she rested. She made her living as a traveling magician, having a banner that said, more for theatricality than actual reason that she traveled to the crowned heads of Equestria. Trixie was humming to herself when a yellow coated filly with a red mane and orange eyes arrived with a Border Collie puppy.
"Well hello there." Trixie said. "House guests, huh? And who might you be?"
"Oh no, no, no." Trixie said quickly. "Now don't tell Trixie. You're... You're uh... You're traveling in disguise. No wait, that's not right. Er... Uh... You're going on a visit. No wait, Trixie's wrong. Um..."
Trixie glanced at the basket in the filly's mouth and saw that while there was a moderate supply of food in there, there was no blanket or the like for a picnic, so she decided to take one more stab at the girl's intentions as well as seeing a little name tag on the edge of the basket that read Applebloom.
"You're... Running away." Trixie finished up.
"How did you guess?" Applebloom asked.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie never guesses." Trixie said with a chuckle. "She knows. Now why are you running away? No, no, no, don't tell Trixie. They don't understand you at home. They don't appreciate you. You wanna see other lands. Big cities, big mountains, big oceans."
"Why it's just like ya could read what was inside a'me." Applebloom said gaping.
Just then, Applebloom's dog began eating some of Trixie's food.
"Oh, Winona, that aint polite." Applebloom gently scolded the puppy. "We aint been asked yet."
"Oh, she's perfectly welcomed." Trixie said with a chuckle.
"Now let's see." Trixie wondered. "Where were we? Um..."
"Please Miss Trixie, why can't we go with ya and see all the crowned heads of Equestria?" Kara asked.
"You know any?" Trixie asked before he remembered his banner. "Oh, you mean that thing. Well Trixie uh... Never does anything without consulting my crystal first. Just come inside dear. We'll uh... Trixie will show you."
Trixie went to a tent she pitched for all her stops as it was filled with various tapestries from all over, giving the place a mystical feel, and on a table was a large crystal ball.
"That's right." Trixie said. "Here. Just sit right down, here. That's it. This is the same genuine magic crystal used by the unicorns in the days before the three tribes came together! In which, Princess Platinum first saw the approach of Chancellor Pudding Head, Commander Hurricane, and so on. Now, you better close your eyes dear, for a moment, to be better in tune with the infinite."
Applebloom did so as Trixie quickly went through the girl's belongings and found a picture of herself with a green, white haired mare, a red, dirty blonde haired stallion, and an orange blonde mare all standing in front of a decent sized farm house with a picket fence before quickly setting them back, and getting ready to use her skills to set the girl on the right track.
"We can't do these things without reaching out into the infinite." Trixie said as she put everything back the way it was and sat opposite Applebloom. "Alright, you can open them. You can open them. We'll gaze into the crystal."
Trixie looked at the crystal and quickly recalled that photo Applebloom had.
"What's this Trixie sees?" Trixie asked dramatically. "A house with a picket fence. With a red barn, cattle, and the like."
"That's our farm." Applebloom said as her eyes widened.
"There's an old mare." Trixie went on. "She has a white mane and has a green coat. Her face is careworn"
"That's my Granny Smith." Applebloom remarked.
"Yes, she's your father's mother, I presume." Trixie said.
"That's right." Applebloom said. "What's she doin'?"
"Well uh..." Trixie said, getting ready to give the performance of her life. "Trixie can't quite see. Why she's crying. Someone has hurt her. Someone has just about broken her heart."
"Me?" Applebloom said a look of worry and guilt in her eyes.
"Well it's someone she loves very much." Trixie explained. "Someone she's been very kind to. Someone she's taken care of in sickness."
"I had the measles once." Applebloom remarked sadly, but she stayed right by me every minute. "What's she doin' now?"
"Well she's..." Trixie said, deciding to drive the young filly back to the home she belonged to as quickly as possible. "What's this?! She's... She's putting her hand on her heart. She's dropping down on the bed. That's all. The crystal's gone dark."
"Oh, ya don't really suppose she's sick, do you?!" Applebloom asked urgently, which was just the response Trixie was hoping for. "Oh! Oh I've gotta go home right away!"
"What's this?" Trixie asked. "I thought you wanted to go with me?"
"Oh no, no!" Applebloom went on. "I have ta get to her right away! C'mon, Winona! C'mon!"
Applebloom rushed off with Winona as the wind began picking up, which for anyone who spent a good deal of time in Ponyville, meant that a storm was coming.
"Bye Miss Trixie, and thanks a lot!" Applebloom called back as she went on.
"I better find a place to head to myself." Trixie said to herself as the wind continued to pick up. "There's a regular whopper of a storm coming up."
She then looked where Applebloom was as she put her cart into a mobile position.
"Poor little kid, I hope she gets home alright." Trixie remarked as she pulled the tent into the cart haphazardly and drove off for the town of Ponyville.

---

Uh-oh. We all know what this means.