One Peaceful Night

Ponyville is a quiet and peaceful place at night.

Despite being home of many eccentric ponies, it was nothing if not peaceful. The kind of quiet that allows one a sense of spiritual peace of mind, forgetting the darkness that might otherwise threaten to consume their lives. Why, it is even said that Twilight Sparkle (now crowned Princess of Ponyville) has found herself more at-ease than she had been living in the duty-driven society of Canterlot.

The calm oftentimes masked what happened behind closed doors. At this hour, many ponies were putting their foals to bed, telling stories to their young to lull them to sleep. Others were sharing special moments, expressions of love, of caring, of passion.

And yet others were simply having fun.

That was what was going on in the barn this night on Sweet Apple Acres.

"Fold."

"Again? Third time you folded at the start of a hoof! What are you playing at, Mac?"

Three stallions and two mares sat around a table, each with a series of cards in their hooves, eyeing them intently. The pony in question, one Big McIntosh, stared half-lidded at his cards as he sat them down, as if he had no interest in them whatsoever. He grunted as his only response.

"Right" said the mare, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and a dealer's visor who stared at her cards, her expression hard; she seemed as if she were concentrating on her cards, focusing so hard as if she might will them to win by staring at them.

"Fine," said Caramel, "I don't mind. I'm feeling pretty good about my cards anyway." He grinned, staring at his cards.

"Oh that does it!" Said Rainbow with a grin. "I'm going to raise!"

Caramel quirked a brow. "What? You raise because I'm so confident?"

"Of course she is," said Lyra, who was right next to Caramel, staring blankly at her cards. "We told you before, everytime you announce your confidence, you always seem to have a losing deck. I'm starting to think you just speak before you think. Raise."

Caramel balked. "What!? I do not!"

"YEEEEEEEEAH!" shouted the fifth, a large, white-coated pegasus that dwarfed even Big Mac. "... You do! Check."

Caramel rolled his eyes. "Pfft, you're all full of it."

Silence seemed to fall on the group again as the table went around in checks and raises. Eventually, Snowflake sighed. "I fold."

Lyra grinned. "What's wrong, big guy? All that muscle can't save you here?"

Snowflake shrugged. "My powerful pecks can do ANYTHING! I just think I should cut my losses tonight."

Big Mac grinned. "Chicken?"

Snowflake shrugged at the comment. "I made back a decent lot of what I lost, but a winning streak can't last forever. I'd rather come back with just a little less money than I came in with, than come out of it broke."

Big Mac nodded, conceding to his wisdom. Immediately, however, Rainbow Dash grinned. "Hah! Well, I'm an all-or-nothing mare! If I'm not gonna win, I'm gonna lose honestly!"

Snowflake waved a hoof. "Says the captain of the weather team. I don't get paid as much as you, and my membership at the gym costs money!"

Caramel snorted. "You really need it? I mean, your house practically has it's OWN gym. Can't you use your own equipment?"

"YEAH!" shouted Snowflake, causing everypony to cringe. "But what's the point if nopony can watch you work out!?"

Big Mac shrugged. "Want a job?"

Snowflake laughed. "I need a REAL workout, Small-Fry! Your little 'honest day's work' training regiment is adorable, but I gotta feel the BURN!" Big Mac scowled a bit. Rather than offer any form of rebuttal, he snorted and shook his head as everypony lay their cards down.

"Caramel, you lose." said Rainbow, matter-of-factly.

"Aww DANGIT!"

"Lyra... aw crud you beat me..."

Lyra grinned as she reached forward and raked the bits on the table towards herself. "Come to mama you sexy little things!" She giggled giddily and clopped her hooves together joyously. "I've got such good luck tonight!"

Rainbow sighed and looked out the window. "Well, it IS getting kinda late. Think we should call it a night, guys?"

"'Yup," replied Big Mac, stretching his fore hooves out. "Work tomorrow... and camping trip."

Rainbow Dash quirked a brow. "Yeah, what's that all about? I mean, we can carry our things just fine."

Big Mac nodded. "Miss Rarity's comin'."

Rainbow winced at the reminder of her trip with her friends and the Crusaders. "Oh yeah... right..." She huffed up. "Well, why doesn't she pull it herself then?"

Big Mac quirked a brow, smirking. "Don't want me to come?"

Rainbow immediately balked. "What!? I wasn't saying THAT, big guy! I was just trying to figure it out! Nothing's wrong with Applejack, is there?" Big Mac chuckled. He knew that Rainbow cared about Applejack - to what extent he wasn't sure, but until she proved otherwise, he would just assume it was sisterly. After all, nothing good ever came from wild assumptions.

"Nnope."

Rainbow tapped a hoof to her chin. She still wasn't sure she bought it - although she did imagine that maybe they'd take turns. She shrugged, deciding that for now it was best to accept whatever story was being given her and keep an eye on her friends to make sure nothing seemed amiss. "Alright. Well, I guess I'll go on home and get to sleep. You take care of yourself, Mac!"

With that, she bolted out the door. Big Mac turned to his friends and nodded. "Well, y'all better git on home if'n ya don' want a sore day t'morrow." One by one, the ponies began to file out of the barn, Big Mac waving each of them off. Once they were on their way, he let out a long, tired sigh and turned to pull a pocket watch from his saddlebag (which also stored his winnings for the night.)

It was 12:46

He snorted in surprise. He hadn't expected it to be so late! He thought it was closer to 10:30 or something! He'd be lucky if he got enough sleep to work properly the following day; and that's assuming he didn't wake anypony on his way inside. He half considered sleeping in the barn for the night, but decided against it - Applejack would think something was wrong and she'd do a full investigation of all his card-buddies. No, he'd have to go back inside, and he'd have to be sneaky about it.

A short hike led Big Mac to the porch, and just across that, to the door that marked the front entrance into his home. Big Mac winced as he pushed, hearing that high-pitched squeal of the metal hinges as the door creaked open. Carefully, he peaked around and perked his ear - he couldn't hear anypony moving around. Taking that as the 'coast is clear' sign, he began to gently tip-hoof his way into the house.

Just as he turned a corner to the living room, something overtook his vision, which lit up before being replaced with blackness.

Pain.

The first thing Big Mac registered as he regained consciousness was pain. He let out a hiss as he put a hoof to his face.

"Careful Mac! Ah got ya pretty good, yer bleedin' a bit..."

Big Mac slowly opened his eyes, trying to bring them into focus. Before him was Applejack, holding his head up in her hooves and holding some tissue paper to his nose. "Ah thought you was a thief sneakin' inta our home! Ah didn't mean t' hurt ya!"

Big Mac would have smiled if he wasn't so worried about having a broken snout. Applejack peeled the tissue away. "Yer bleedin' pretty good... we might have t' take ya to the hospital..."

Big Mac shook his head. "Dope... I'b fide..."

Applejack scowled. "Yer talkin' funny. Sorry, but we're takin' ya to th' hospital. Y'all just hold that tissue to yer snout and use me fer balance if you got trouble walkin'."

Big Mac didn't want to comply, but he knew that her mind was set, and in this instance, she absolutely would not take 'nope' as an answer. Sighing in resignation, he stood up to his hooves, a bit wobbly, and took a clean bunch of tissue and placed it against his snout. The two made their way out of the house, their destination set towards Ponyville Hospital.

Doctor Stable looked over the X-Rays and smiled. "Good news, Mister McIntosh. There was some damage, but I see no serious breaks, and you should heal up just fine, although you may have a bit of swelling for a little while." Big Mac sat on a nearby table, Applejack holding a hoof against his own. His snout had already begun to turn purple and swell - as well as his left eye (she had hit him with a vase, and he got caught at just the right part of the curve).

"Well... Ah guess that's a relief..." said Applejack. "Is there anythin' ya can do for 'em t' help? Maybe help 'em heal faster?"

Doctor Stable shook his head. "Healing magic can only do so much. The most I can do is prescribe you pain pills in case you're suffering any."

Big Mac shook his head - it DID hurt, but he felt he could manage it. "Nnope."

The doctor nodded. "Alright then. Just sign with the nurse on your way back out, and be careful in the future, alright?"

"Ah'm SO sorry again, Big Mac..."

Applejack stayed close to her older brother, who now sported a bandage over the top of his snout and was pressing a bag of ice against his eye, occasionally switching between it and said snout. "Ah mean, Ah thought you was a burglar, an' with Granny Smith bein' so old, n' Applebloom so young, n' Ah thought you was in yer room sleepin'--"

Big Mac blinked. "Didn't Ah say Ah was playing a card game...?"

Applejack blinked and bit her lip. "Uh... m-maybe... ya mighta said something about it?"

"Rainbow didn't say'?"

Applejack gulped. "Well, uh, Ah was workin' a lot t'day so when she came over Ah mighta not paid much mind..."

"Ah asked you to join..."

"Alright! Ah wasn't listenin'!" shouted Applejack, silencing Big Mac. "Ah was so busy workin' n' plannin' fer th' campin' trip t'morrow that Ah wasn't payin' attention t' anything else, alright!?" The silence seemed to hang in the air. Applejack blushed realizing she had probably just woke up half the neighborhood. "Sorry... Ah've just been kinda stressed, n' I--" Before she could even finish the sentence, Big Mac had pulled her into a hug. She was some what caught off guard, but did not resist, and returned the hug. "Ah'm so sorry Big Mac... Ah was so busy, Ah don't think I was payin' attention t' any of mah friends or family..."

Big Mac smiled. "Eeyup."

Applejack sighed. "This is just one of the few times Ah get t' spend with all mah friends, unhindered by work, or bills... Ah wanted t' be sure everything was right."

Big Mac nodded. He could understand the idea behind that. "Well... you make the stew at the trip. We'll be even."

Applejack sighed. "Big Mac, y'all don' have t' go. Th' least Ah could do is let ya off yer burden for repentance an' carry Rarity's stuff m'self."

Big Mac shook his head. "Nnope."

Applejack sighed. "What? Ya just wanna go campin' with a buncha pretty mares? An' Rainbow Dash?"

Big Mac smirked. "Nnope." He looked up at the sky. "Bondin' time with mah sister."

Applejack hummed. She didn't know how much they could possibly bond if she were so busy with her friends, but she supposed he had his plans. "Alright. But Ah'll find another way t' make this up t'ya. Mark mah words."

Big Mac shook his head, rolling his eye some as he held the ice over his other. "Alrighty then."

A-Camping We Will Go

"Ugh. Another month, another Topaz..."

Spike put tape on the corners of a sheet of paper and slapped it against the lamp post. The paper itself was a poster, depicting a ragged, stuffed doll and a little unicorn filly. The poster read as thus:

"Oh, what is that, Spike?"

Spike turned around to see Applejack staring at the poster, tilting her head a bit. "Oh, hi Applejack," greeted the dragon, "Twilight's been looking for Miss Smartypants for a year now. Every month she takes a day to give concentrated effort into finding her, but nothing has turned up yet."

Applejack hummed. "Strange. Ah swear that doll looks familiar..." She pondered on this a few moments before shaking her head. "Speakin' of Twilight, she gonna be able t' make th' camping trip t'day? Ah know she said she would but Ah figured Ah'd make sure somethin' didn't come up."

Spike smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah! She's been planning for that too. It's not very often that she gets to go camping, and she wants to experience the great outdoors!" He looked up at the poster. "She said that much as she cares for Smartypants, if she's still in Ponyville now, she probably won't be anywhere else for a while."

Applejack nodded. "Right... what's so important about that doll anyway?"

Spike sighed, rubbing his forehead. "What isn't? Mom made it for her when she was a little baby, and Twilight has had her ever since. She had forgotten all about her after that 'Want it, Need it' situation for a while, until she was going through her trunk a little over a year ago and found she was missing and remembered the last time she had seen her she was being thrown about by various crazy spell-bound ponies."

Applejack nodded. "Ah see...." She placed a hoof up on the top of her head, scratching a bit. "Well, Ah'll be sure t' tell y'all if'n Ah see anything, Ah s'pose."

Spike smiled a bit thankfully. "Thanks Applejack. It'd be really good if somepony found her... Twilight gets really frustrated when she looks for her and depressed when nothing comes up... it's temporary but still, I hate to see her so upset at the end of the day."

Applejack gave a small nod. "Anywho... out of curiosity, does Twilight know anythin' about healin' magic?" Applejack looked aside a bit, shame taking over her featurs. "Big Mac sorta had a bit of an accident an' broke 'is nose a bit. Doc says it shouldn't disfigure 'em any, but he's still feelin' some discomfort an' Ah was hopin' she might help?"

Spike blinked. "Oh, you mean from when you hit him in the head with a vase?"

The farm pony balked a bit. "Hu-wha... how did you know!?"

Spike chuckled. "Eh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders came by the Library today to find out that very same thing. They figured they might get a cutie mark in medicine if they could at LEAST help somepony get better... not sure how that works or if Cutie-Marks can form by the act of trying alone, but yeah."

"And?"

Spike shrugged. "Twilight said that she could read up on it, but she can't promise she could help very much. Said healing took a lot of effort and energy."

Applejack let out a sigh, hanging her head. "Well, thanks anyway Ah guess."

The dragonling nodded. "She DID, however, write Celestia and ask if she knew anything. We haven't received a response yet, so don't get your hopes up."

The farm pony seemed to ponder this before giving a small nod to the dragon. "Alright, Spike. Ah guess that's more than Ah have any right t' ask fer. Thanks a billion."

"Ah, don't worry about it," responded Spike with a dismissive wave of his claw. "Twilight loves helping her friends. As the local Princess, she feels it's more her duty now than ever before!"

"A cure for a damaged snout? What, Applebloom, is this about?"

Three fillies stood at the threshold of a home built in a tree, staring at the zebra who lived therein. "Applejack hit mah brother in th' face an' busted his snout. He's kinda hurtin', an' Ah was hopin' ya might know how t' fix it?"

Zecora tapped a hoof to her chin. "Oh my, that sounds quit bad. How often does she get so mad?"

Applebloom shook her head. "Oh, no, she wadn't mad!" said Applebloom in defense, understanding what Zecora was thinking. "Mah sister aint abusive! She jus' thought he was a burglar cause he was out playin' poker late and tried to sneak inta th' house last night!"

Zecora nodded in understanding, a look of relief crossing her features. "I see, that's good! No need for consern. Such a home one should not return." The Zebra turned to look into her hut. "Many brews have I to help and heal... but a unicorn could do more, I feel."

"Aww! What!" shouted the buttery yellow filly. "Ah thought you had miracle salves an' stuff! Like th' potion that fixed mah tooth!"

The older Zebra smiled. "Yes, that is true young filly, but listen up and do not be silly. That mixture was taken shortly after the break - fresher damage to heal in a hoof shake. If your brother was injured last night, then it had been too long by morning light. The most, I fear, I can do is this..." She reached into a nearby shelf and pulled out a small poultice. "To ease his pain; a little bliss."

The three fillies stared at the gift of the Zebra, before Sweetie Belle spoke up. "It aint drugs, is it? Miss Cheerilee said never to take drugs..."

The Zebra could not help but laugh, shaking her head. "Wise you are, you fillies three! But this is a salve made from a tree! If one rubs it on their aches, be it wounds or bone breaks, it calms the pain and cools the fire, quenching ones' physical ire."

The three fillies looked to each other a bit and sighed. "Well..." started Applebloom, "... The docs already gave Mac some painkillers, but Ah guess long as mixin' this with them isn't bad..."

The Zebra shook her head. "Heavens no, one should not ingest this balm of which I invest! Rub it on the wound, don't eat! It's a balm, not a treat!"

"What?" said Applebloom. "So... what happens if'n ya eat it?"

Zecora sighed. "Important to know, some of the ingrediants are powerful chemicals and active inebriants. It may also have Hallucinigenic qualities as well, but they're relatively rare, so that much is swell."

The fillies nodded as if to understand - they didn't. "Well, Ah guess that makes sense... well, thanks a bunch, Zecora! We'll go give this to 'em right away!"

The Zebra gave a gentle smile. "It is no problem, young Crusader. Do take care, and see you later!"

"Oh Angel, I don't know if I should go or not!"

The small rabbit stared at his owner (well, more like servant in his eyes, but that depends on who's asking) as she sat on her haunches. "I love my friends, and I want to go camping, b-but I'm afraid of the wilderness. What if something bad happens?"

Angel began to chitter and wave his forepaws around.

"Oh, I know I'm friends with almost all the animals in the woods, and that I can befriend any new animal I met with ease. It's not the animals I'm afraid of. It's just... well... what if a hunter sees one of us and thinks we're an animal? What if we stumble onto Diamond Dog territory? What if we..." Fluttershy gasped and retreated into her own body. "What if we wake a sleeping dragon?" She spoke barely above a whisper.

Angel responded with yet more chittering.

"What?" said Fluttershy, looking at her pet. "Do you really think I'm over thinking all of this?"

More chittering, arm flailing, and hopping.

"I... I guess that kind of makes sense... after all, we are sort of heroes, and Twilight Sparkle is one of the most powerful magicians in Equestria..."

More chittering from Angel, this time eliciting a gasp from Fluttershy.

"Angel! Watch your language!" The rabbit crossed his arms and stared almost defiantly up at her. She returned with a glare. The rabbit's will seemed to slowly break as he leaned back some before relenting and nodding apologetically, earning a smile from Fluttershy. "That's better... but... I suppose you do have a point. This might help me make new woodland critter friends."

The rabbit smiled and nodded, hopping up and down.

"Well..." said the butter yellow tree wannabe, "I guess that settles it then! Just... I'll need somepony to watch you while I'm away."

Angel scowled.

"Oh Angel, I know you feel you can be trusted home alone, but after that fire you started trying to cook your own dinner, mama doesn't trust you" she cooed gently. "It's not that I don't love you, I just don't think I'd return to a cottage."

"Hmm... what to bring what to bring..."

Sweetie Belle watched as her elder sister rummaged through various odds and ends. "Oh dear! I want to be fashionable and make sure I have all of the basic necessities... but the question is, what is absolutely required?"

"Well..." chimed Sweetie Belle, "Why not just bring a tent, some food, a canteen of water, and basic toiletries? It's camping, there's really no need to bring all your brushes, combs, perfumes, makeups, shampoos, conditioners, moisturisers, hoof polishes, curlers, and so on... is there?"

"No ne- No NEED!?" shouted Rarity at her sister. "Dear sister, I am shocked! What sort of travesty is it that I would EVER go ANYWHERE without everything I need to look my absolute best!?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged and decided Rarity knew best, and went back to her alphabet soup. She stared in it for a few moments as she read the letters that were left.

R-A-R-I-T-Y-S-T-A-R-T-S-A-F-I-R-E

"Well, they ARE going camping..." said Sweetie Belle, shrugging as she finished her lunch.

************************

"Ugh..."

Rainbow Dash looked around her home for a moment. "Another tough day at work... good thing I got done early, and a good thing the rain is scheduled to stay around Ponyville and away from our trip." She trotted towards her room and was greeted by a small tortoise on a propeller that drifted to her and nuzzled her nose. "Oh, hi Tank! How are you, buddy?"

The tortoise responded with silence.

"So, I think everypony's getting ready. I'm gonna leave you with Snowflake while we're away. Can you be a good boy?"

The tortoise replied with a long lick of her cheek.

"Good! I just gotta pack up and we can take off!" She leaned forward to give her favorite reptile a nuzzle - something she'd try to keep short in public but enjoyed in her home. "Who's a good boy? Hoosh a good boy!?"

The reptile responded with a slow, happy smile.

"Right! Best grab my tent, sleeping bag, canteen, and a box of crackers or something!"

************************

Big Mac stared around his room for a bit.

Before him lay a simple tent-building kit, a simple fire-making kit, a canteen, a bag of food supplies, and a sleeping bag. Something was missing, however. He looked around quickly, and trotted towards his closet, opening it. Reaching in, he pulled from it a ragged, stuffed pony doll. A smile crossed his face as he stuck the doll in his saddlebag, next to his pain killers.

"Oh, hey Big Mac!"

The red stallion jump-turned around, quick to close the bag, eyes wide, to behold his youngest sister. "Oh, uh, h-howdy..."

Applebloom quirked a brow. "You okay Big Mac? Ya look awful scared..."

Big Mac looked around. "Eeyup..."

The filly seemed to buy it - maybe she thought he was jumpy because of his injury? Best not to question it. "Well, alrighty then!" said Applebloom. "Before y'all went on yer trip, Ah wanted t' give you this! Zecora gave it to me this mornin', and Ah wanted to be sure you got it. She said it'd make yer nose feel better." She reached behind herself and pulled from her back a small poultice and presented it to him. Big Mac gently held his hooves out to take it from her, staring at it a second to analyze it. The red stallion then smiled to his sister and reached out to pat her head.

"Thanks, Applebloom."

"Yer welcome!" shouted the filly, who beamed at the praise given by her brother. She turned and trotted out of the room to return to whatever she had going otherwise. Big Mac once more turned to look at the poultice, scratching his mane. He shrugged, and placed it into his saddlebag with Smartypants and his pain killers.

Twilight sighed, staring at the empty chest before her. She didn't even acknowledge the sound of the front door opening and shutting. "Twilight!" shouted Spike, "I'm home! I've put posters all over town and everything... uhh... so... you packed up for your camping trip?"

Twilight nodded. "I have everything. Sleeping bag, supplies, how-to guides on camping and wilderness survival, first-aid kit... Rarity's bringing a big tent so we won't need to bring one..." Twilight sighed as she relented, shutting the chest. "Alright... well, no point worrying now. I got a trip to enjoy." Twilight's horn glowed a soft magenta color, and her saddlebags and a camping bag levitated towards her and landed atop her back. "Spike, you remember the rules, right?"

"No staying up past 10 PM, no midnight snacks, no Crusaders?"

"Aaand?"

Spike sighed. "No ice cream unless I've eaten dinner."

Twilight smiled. "Good. Now, you be good, and I'll buy you a nice, juicy ruby when I come home!" With that, the lavender mare trotted towards the door and opened it and stepped outside.

**************************

"Okay... 'Snowflake!' Yes, he sounds like a nice pony!" said Fluttershy as she knocked on the door. It opened up, and standing within the doorway was a massive, white-coated pegasus stallion with red eyes and a short-cut mane.

Fluttershy's eyes narrowed to pinpricks and she huddled down into herself and trembled as Angel let out a small whistle of amazement.

"M-my name is F... ffffluttershy... I-I-I was t-t-t-told yyyyyou c-c-c-"

"Watch your pets? Like Rainbow Dash's turtle?"

"t-t-t-t-"

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

Fluttershy simply stared up in intimidation. The stallion quirked a brow. "You gonna be okay?"

The little rabbit next to her rolled his eye and kicked her in the hoof, waking her from her stupor. "I-I-I'm fffine... yyyyyyou'll b-be good to him, right? He likes... salad... and carrots..."

Snowflake shrugged. "Yeah, I'm good with rabbits. Aunt owned a pet store."

Fluttershy sighed a bit and stood a bit taller, though she was still very nervous and distant. "O-okay... uh... well... he can be a bit cranky if he doesn't get his way... fair warning..."

The pegasus grinned down at the little rabbit. "I think me and he are going to get along famously."

Angel's ears folded back and he hugged onto Fluttershy's hoof.

"I'll miss you too, Sweety, but mama's gotta go now." Fluttershy peeled the rabbit from her leg and nuzzled him, placing him in the hooves of the massive stallion slowly. "I'll be back tomorrow, so be a good bunny until then."

Fluttershy waved goodbye and trotted on down the street. Snowflake brought the rabbit into his house and shut the door. "So, little rabbit... how about I show you my gym and we do some POWER LIFTING!"

Angel let out a tiny scream of terror.

****************************

"Well, everypony here an' accounted for?"

Six mares stood next to a large cart full of what was likely Rarity's supplies (who, unlike the others, was not wearing a camp-carrying bag, just her saddlebags and a massive hat). "Not yet" said Applejack, "Big Mac's gonna be here any second."

As if on queue, the group was greeted by the sight of the red stallion, who waved at them and smiled. "Howdy." It caught everypony's attention that he had a bandage on the bridge of his snout and a dark tint to his left eye. Everypony kept quiet, save one.

"Whoa, big guy! What happened to ya!?" shouted Rainbow Dash. "Where did you get that shiner!?"

"That's kinda mah fault... " admitted Applejack. "Kinda... thought... he was a burglar last night... an'... yeah..."

Rainbow stared at Mac a few seconds before turning to Applejack. "What did you hit him with? A frying pan!?"

"A vase, actually..." said Applejack. "One that Ah kinda broke on 'is head. Granny ain't too happy with me right now."

"Eeyup."

"Well!" said Pinkie Pie. "I guess we're all ready for our little trip then?"

The ponies exchanged glances, then nodded. Big Mac trotted towards the large cart and set his harness to it, and then the ponies began to make their trek from the acres, and out of Ponyville itself.

Road Trip

Seven ponies trotted down the dirt path into the woods. Well, six ponites trotted - one hovered a few feet above the ground.

Big Mac looked up at the sky for a minute and sighed a little sigh of thanks - it was not spectacularly warm today, so he would not need to waste any precious water trying to keep hydrated pulling the cart that carried Rarity's various belongings. A soft ache had begun to worm it's way into his nose; a fact that made him wince a bit. "Applejack, could y'all-" He stopped. He had forgotten that he had put Miss Smartypants right with his pain killers. Close call, really. He sighed, trying to think up a way to get his medication without potentially exposing his beloved doll. Biting his lip, he decided at that moment to just bare it.

"What was that, Big Mac?" asked Applejack, trotting up to catch up to him.

He thought quick.

"Ah'm a mite thirsty."

Applejack quirked a brow. "What? Aint it a bit early t' be drinkin' hard cider?" Just then, her glare intensified. "And if Ah recall, y'all aint s'posed t' drink alcoholic beverages an' couple 'em with meds!" She had him there. So much for nulling the pain with booze. He sighed internally in resigning to suffering just a bit longer.

"Ah. Well, could you gimme mah canteen then?"

Applejack gave him an analytic gaze. "It aint filled with booze too, is it?"

"Nope."

Applejack stared at her brother. "Fine, but Ah'ma give it a sniff t' be sure. Ah'd hate t' have t' explain t' Granny that y'all became an alcoholic durin' our trip." She leaned down to grab the canteen that was tied to his saddlebag. She untied it with her teeth and plucked it free, stopping just a moment to twist it open and take a sniff. Certain it was, indeed, water, she caught back up to her brother. "Alright, here ya go, Big Mac." She placed it to his mouth, and poured just a little water into his muzzle. Pulling back, she watched as he gulped it down and smiled.

"Thanks, Applejack."

She returned the smile, putting the cap back on and (much to the bewilderment of physicists everywhere) used her hooves to tie the canteen back onto his bags.

And so, the group continued their journey. As time passed by, Big Mac felt the pain in his snout grow slowly, but certainly. What had started off as just some discomfort had grown into a dull pain, and he knew it wouldn't be too long before it would be too much to bear. Already he could feel the itch of fire in the damage.

'Oh Applejack...' he thought to himself, 'You've hurt me in more ways than you realize.'

Then it hit him. The perfect, absolute perfect plan.

"A.J. Ah gotta use th' restroom."

Applejack blinked. "What? Really? Ah thought you went b'fore we left?"

Big Mac shook his head. "Nope."

Applejack shrugged. "Well... if ya gotta go..."

Big Mac cheered on the inside. He unhitched himself from his harness and nodded. "Be right back." With that, he turned and trotted towards some nearby bushes, behind them, out of sight, and out of mind. He sat on his haunches and pulled his saddlebag from his back, and began to rummage through it. Grabbing onto his pain meds, he pried them from the bag and popped the bottle open. He took his canteen from his back, wishing he didn't have to waste water earlier, and put a pill in his mouth, following with a swig to wash the thing down.

He stared at his bags momentarily, before taking and placing his pain medication in the opposite bag of the doll. He could easily keep Applejack away from her now. Standing up, he placed the saddlebags on his back again. If he actually ended up having to use the restroom TOO soon, Applejack might grow suspicious. After all, he did possess a notoriously strong bladder.

Stepping back from the bushes, Big Mac returned to the mares and hitched himself up. Rarity looked at him with a look of slight distaste. "Please tell me you washed your hooves?"

Big Mac turned to quirk a brow. "With what?"

Rarity's horn lit up and levitated from her various baggage a box of moist towelettes. She levitated them to Big Mac, who simply shrugged and took them in his hooves and swabbed them - he wasn't sure how important it was to clean hooves when he wasn't cooking anything at the moment and, likewise, was walking in dirt that had probably been used as a toilet for generations, but she was a mare, and he was nothing if not gentlecoltly. Once done, he stared at them, uncertain what to do.

"Oh, just cast them aside." said Rarity. "They're biodegradable, so they won't leave any lasting marks." Big Mac hummed, shrugged, and tossed the little towelette to the ground. With that, he hitched himself back to his harness and the party resumed their trot.

With his meds in his system and Miss Smartypants segregated from them, he felt both his pain and his anxiety slowly wash away.

"Oh BOY have we been walking a long time! Not that I'm complaining, because I love walking with my friends, and seeing the outdoors, so I'm just curious, but how much further 'til we reach the campsite?" said Pinkie Pie, who did not understand that she was not, indeed, walking with her friends, but instead bouncing along the path like her hooves were made of rubber.

"Not much further." said Twilight as she levitated a map up and looked it over. "According to this map, we should be there in about thirty minutes..."

Rainbow hovered just over Twilight and looked the map over. "Huh, about time! I'm half tempted to go on ahead and secure the place before the rest of you!"

Applejack smirked. "Yeah, but then y'all'd have t' wait fer us t' catch up. You an' waitin' don't exactly get along, last Ah checked.

Rainbow wanted to rebuttal - but A.J. had a point. Much as she hated moving slowly, she hated waiting even more. It was like her own personal hell, really. She sighed and shrugged. "Can't we move a bit faster? If we went at a jogging pace, we'd be there in like... fifteen minutes!"

Twilight gave Rainbow a side-glance. "Didn't you learn anything by me beating you at the Running of the Leaves? A pony has to pace herself. You, Applejack, and Pinkie might be able to make that distance, but the rest of us would likely tire out faster."

"Especially you, huh, Egghead?"

Twilight stopped and turned to face Rainbow. "Okay, forgive me if I'm being irrational, but that sounded somewhat mean-spirited."

Rainbow shook her head and waved hooves defensively. "Oh no! I didn't mean anything by it, I swear! It's just..." she rubbed a hoof behind her head. "You know... you don't exactly work out a lot."

Twilight hummed and shrugged. "You have me there. Still, try to phrase it better next time, alright Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash gave a nod. "Right. Sorry, Twilight."

"Apology accepted" said the purple alicorn with a smile.

Big Mac silently listened in to the mares' conversations. Strange, these fillies.

"We're HERE!"

Everypony gazed about at the area before them. It had taken an hour or so of walking, but they had finally reached their destination. Before them lay a vast clearing overlooking a large, beautiful lake, several trees that seemed to have various birds and squirrels running about, doing their everyday routine of gathering and foraging. The sun reflected off of the lake water, sparkling wonderfully.

"It's gorgeous..." said Twilight.

"It's wonderful..." said Fluttershy.

"It's amazing!" said Pinkie with a hop.

"Eeyup." said Applejack and Big Mac in unison.

"Y'see," said Applejack, holding up the map. "Granny found this here place when our daddy was still a foal. She took 'em here every year until he started a family of his own." The orange mare stared out, her eyes seeming to gaze into the distant past. "We came here once every year. That was until.... until........."

Everypony turned to see as Applejack suddenly became solemn. Big Mac frowned and, still hitched up, trotted towards his sister and gave her a hug. Applejack sighed and shook her head. "But yeah... when our folks passed, we didn' have th' heart t' come 'ere no more. Mah Granny did it for our pa, an' he showed it to us. It didn' seem right t' come here without 'em. That was until we found th' map in our attic, an' Granny said that daddy'd want us t' share it with our friends."

Big Mac unhitched himself and looked to Rarity. She stared back. "... What? Is there something on my face, dear?" Her expression panicked. "It's not a bug is it!?"

Big Mac quirked a brow. "Y'all gonna unpack?"

Rarity giggled and waved a hoof. "Oh, maybe, but it'd be nice if a nice, strong stallion would do it for me?" She batted her eyelashes at Big Mac. He gave a sigh - he knew what she wanted, and much as he wanted to say no, or pretend to not understand, he knew it might reflect poorly on his sister. So, he got to work and began to unpack her various things.

Twilight sat on her haunches and stared out at the lake, at the sun. "It's amazing, Applejack. Did Granny really find this place for your father?"

Applejack trotted and sat next to her. "Well, sorta." She hummed and looked around. "Originally, she an' th' family found it durin' their travels, before settlin' in Ponyville. They half considered settlin' here, but decided against it. Granny never was specific on why - everytime she told the story, there'd be a different reason. Poisonous snakes, timberwolves, manticores, an' one time even said there was a dragon that lived here." Applejack gave a little laugh, shaking her head. "Ah swear, Ah dunno if she was jus' foolin' with us or if she jus' can't remember."

Twilight giggled a bit. "Right... so.... uh... are we sure those things AREN'T around?"

Applejack shrugged. "Well, not really. But if they are, they aint bugged mah Granny or Pa or us since we started comin' 'ere."

The alicorn sighed in relief. "Thank goodness..."

Big Mac sighed, wiping a hoof across his brow as he stared at his work. He had finally finished setting up Rarity's tent - it was a big thing, almost like a small house. He had just finished furnishing the tent, almost hoping that Rarity had a desire to make this her new home so he would not have to take it all back out and go through the trouble of taking the dang thing down again.

"Oh thank you, Big Mac!" said Rarity as she trotted up to the stallion and gave him a hug. "You are such a gentlecolt!"

"Eeyup." he said with a blush.

With that, Rarity trotted into the tent and out of the outdoors. Big Mac sighed, wondering if she had any intention of actually ENJOYING this experience or not. Turning, he trotted towards his own belongings and began to unravel the parts for his own tent. Rarity peeked back outside at him.

"What are you doing?"

Big Mac looked at her. "Uh... settin' up mah tent?"

Rarity pursed her lips. "But... I brought one big enough for everypony."

Big Mac shrugged. "That's awful kind of ya, miss Rarity, but Ah figure you girls'd like yer privacy t' do mare stuff."

The fashionista smirked at the colt, quirking her brow. "And what exactly do you think we mares do on a camping trip?"

Big Mac hummed. He had never actually thought of that before. What did Applejack do? "Sing camp songs n' tell silly stories?"

Rarity giggled. "Well, those certainly seem like fun ideas, but I don't see why you can't sleep in this tent with us."

Big Mac had a few reasons. First off, while he was comfortable with Applejack's friends, he didn't know how he felt about sharing sleeping space with them. Secondly, if his bags were with theirs, there were chances one of them might find Smartypants - he began to rue even bringing her with him. Thirdly, Rarity might try to pretty him up. He liked how he looked.

"Thanks, but Ah'd rather sleep in mah own tent."

Rarity sighed and seemed almost disappointed. "Alright, McIntosh, but just remember, the offer is on the table if you change your mind. We'll keep a space available for you and everything." She smiled at him before retreating once more into the tent. Big Mac sighed a bit and shook his head, returning to the task at hoof.

Fluttershy stared at all the little animals as they went about their business, her eyes wide with wonder. "Oh my! Look at them! All of them! So sweet, so innocent, so cute!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, wanna help us out here, Flutters?"

Fluttershy turned to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who were sitting there as if waiting; Rainbow somewhat irritated, Pinkie smiling and bouncing in place. "Oh, so sorry Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow smiled. "Right! Now, I wanna show you girls some of my new stunts, and I was hoping you could cheer for me and tell me how awesome I am!"

Pinkie stopped. "Wait, Dashie, don't we do that normally?"

"What?" said Rainbow, confused.

"Yeah!" shouted Pinkie. "I mean, we're on a camping trip! Shouldn't we do something fun and outdoorsy? Like, look for treasure? OH! Maybe we'll find a mansion that's abandoned, but it's not REALLY abandoned because it's full of zombies! And then, we'll have to fight our way through a buncha them and get into the basement, where we'll find a top-secret facility that makes the zombies, and then Twilight will turn out to be the bad guy and then she'll get stabbed by a super-zombie, but she's not really dead and gets superpowers! Oh, and then we'll escape and there'll be a big explosion!"

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stared at the pink mare.

"Uhh... Pinkie?" said Rainbow.

"Yes?"

"... As cool as that sounds, I don't think we'll have to worry about ANY of that coming true."

Fluttershy whimpered. "I-I-I don't want Twilight to be a bad guy..."

Pinkie hummed and shrugged. "Well, we can just go exploring then, right?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Well, I guess... but if we find any treasure, I call dibs."

Big Mac stepped away from his tent, having finally finished it, and looked out at the scene. It was as beautiful as he remembered it as a foal. Unchanged by pony hooves, unaltered by time... the very sight of perfection. That's when he noticed something to the corner of his vision.

Applejack standing in front of a stone.

Big Mac sighed and trotted towards his little sister, looking down at the stone. On it were a few, simple words.

'Clementine Apple'

Big Mac frowned a bit. Applejack turned to look to him, her eyes sad, though looked as if any tears they might shed had dried up long ago. "... It's funny... we was plannin' for one of these trips when we lost 'er..."

Big Mac sighed and put a hoof on his sister's withers. "Eeyup..."

Applejack looked at the stone again, that frown as strong as ever. "... Ah remember... Ah remember that fer a while... I was angry at Applebloom... Ah remember tellin' daddy 'if it wasn't fer her, we'd still have ma'.... an' everytime Ah remember that... Ah hate m'self..."

The older stallion brought his sister in for another hug. "Don' talk like that. You was jus' a foal an' didn' know how t' cope with somethin' so terrible. No filly deserves t' lose their mother..."

Applejack sighed. "Ah know... but still..."

Big Mac smiled. "An', if Ah remember right, it was yer idea t' put this stone here. That way she'd always be here with us when we returned."

Applejack smiled a bit. She looked up to her older brother, and then her eyes began to wet a little as she let her frown come back. "Do... do ya think ma and pa'd be proud of me, brother?"

Big Mac tightened his hug on her. 'Eeyup' just didn't seem like the right thing to say. "Ah think they'd be more than proud. Their lil' filly is a full grown mare, responsible and honest as they raised 'er t' be. Strong an' diligent as they wanted her t' be. An' braver an' more heroic than they ever could have asked her t' be."

Applejack returned the hug, choking a little.

"Thanks, Big Mac..." she said softly.

He smiled.

"Eeyup."

Then Things Went Downhill

Fluttershy wandered about, twirling around to take in the scenery.

This was her element. The wilderness. The trees. The little woodland critters, unhindered and unchanged by pony society. She had once said if she could be a tree, she would be; after all, trees are at one with nature, perhaps the very core of nature itself. Any creature could alter nature, even if some did so through the most basic of manners; only trees remained a constant.

The various animals gathered about her, curious to see this strange pony dancing and twirling like a ballerina. Fluttershy turned to a nearby bush with a little bird on it and held a hoof out; the bird responding by hopping onto her hoof. Fluttershy sang a few notes, an act the bird responded with singing of it's own in small, beautiful--

"HEY FLUTTERSHY!"

Suddenly, all the animals scattered, the bird flying from Fluttershy's hoof. "No, wait!" she yelled, as loud as Fluttershy might typically do what might be considered at least an honest attempt at yelling.

Rainbow Dash hovered into the clearing. "Oh, there you are. What's up? You kind of wandered off."

Fluttershy sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry Rainbow Dash. I was just exploring and trying to make friends."

Rainbow hummed. She looked around to see the various animals scurrying in the trees and bushes and gave a nervous grin, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that... heheh..."

Fluttershy smiled at her longest time friend. "Oh, it's okay Rainbow Dash. What did you want anyway?"

Rainbow nodded. "Oh! Yeah, uh, Pinkie and I found this really cool cave! We was gonna go in and explore it. Wanna come with?"

Fluttershy drew circles in the dirt with a hoof. "Oh, I don't know Rainbow Dash. That sounds awefully dangerous, I mean, what if a bear lives there?"

The cyan mare threw her hooves to the air. "Well, duh! That's why we want you to come along! You're the animal whisperer! If there's any dangerous animals in there, you can... I don't know... talk to 'em or stare at 'em or whatever it is you do to make them like you!"

Fluttershy winced. "Oh, I don't stare at them to make them like me. The stare is--"

"Yeah yeah, that's interesting Fluttershy, so are you in or not?"

The butter pegasus looked at her hooves. "Well, I guess that makes sense, but I-"

"Excellent!" Rainbow Dash wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy's withers. "Let's go, Flutters ol' pal! Adventure awaits!" Without another word, Rainbow Dash took off. Fluttershy let loose but a single sigh of defeat and took to following her friend at a casual pace. It took several minutes of travel, walking past branches and trees that crowded and winded, and nearly slipping off a ledge down a hill (of yet more trees), and catching up with the overly enthusiastic Rainbow Dash, but eventually, they reached it.

"Here it is!"

Three mares stood at the entrance of the cave, staring in. Pinkie hopped in place, Rainbow holding her hooves up to display her amazing discovery, and Fluttershy smiling softly. "Oh, it's a very wonderful cave, Rainbow Dash. I bet there's some bears around here that would just love-"

"Yeah, but first, let's explore it and see if there's buried treasure!" interrupted Rainbow.

Fluttershy frowned a tad. "Uhm... isn't buried treasure usually buried?"

"Yeah! And there might be treasure buried in this cave!"

"Then how would we find it?" Added Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow hummed. "Hm... OH! I bet Applejack's map would know! Maps ALWAYS lead to treasure, right?"

Fluttershy raised a hoof. "Actually, her map was made to lead to-"

"Exactly! So, let's go get her to give us that map!"

"What!? OH MY GOODNESS THAT'S AN AMAZING IDEA!" Pinkie shouted, in all caps. "I bet we'll find dabloons, or thrones, or pony bones! GOLDEN pony bones! The kind that rich ponies have because they're so rich, they get their bones laced in GOLD!"

Fluttershy's ears folded back. "I-I don't really think that's possi-"

"Possible to do without leaving a big heaping chest of gold? I agree, Fluttershy!" interrupted Dash for not the first time in the past several minutes. "Let's go bug A.J for her treasure map!"

With that, Rainbow and Pinkie turned tail and took off for camp. Fluttershy shook her head in utter defeat as she followed her friends back.

"I just wanted to make some woodland friends..."

"Cannonball!"

Applejack lept off a tall rock and landed in the lake with a splash. Big Mac held a hoof over his face to avoid getting splashed, Twilight similarly raising a bubble to avoid letting the book she was reading get wet. Rarity, meanwhile, remained several feet away from the fun, laying on a towel and soaking up the sun. He quirked a brow at the sight. 'She's not going to get much luck sun bathing in a place with so many trees' he thought to himself. Big Mac trotted towards her and poked her in the side.

"Sun bathin'?"

Rarity waved a hoof at him. "I'm not sunbathing, McIntosh, why I'm basking! A mare as myself is far too beautiful to let her perfect skin be damaged by excessive sunlight. I'm just allowing the warmth to soothe me and give me the vital energy that only the sun can offer. The fact we're not at a beach where the heat would likely be even more intense is all the better."

Big Mac scratched his head a bit, then pointed his hoof out at the water. "Wanna go swimmin'?"

The marshmallow mare let out a soft giggle and turned to face Big Mac. "You'd have a mare such as myself splash around in water that has played both toilet and drinking fountain to various creatures?"

Big Mac pondered it over and shrugged. "Eeyup?"

Rarity let out a little laugh and turned about, patting Big Mac's cheek. "Oh you are so cute a stallion, Big Mac. How you remain single eludes me."

Big Mac blushed, fairly certain he just received a backhanded (backhoofed?) compliment, but he let his expression remain neutral just in case. "Eeyup."

Rarity nodded and rolled back onto her stomach. "If you've anymore wisdom to share, please do. I want to enjoy this camping trip to the fullest!" Big Mac just let another shrug roll across his shoulders and about-faced, trotting back towards the lake and towards Twilight Sparkle.

'Reading? On a camping trip? I know she's a princess, but I figure if you're going to go to the great out doors, you'd want to do more' he thought to himself.

"Readin'?" he said. "Why not swim?"

Twilight shrugged, not taking her eyes off her book. "Oh, thanks but no thanks. It's not that I'm against it, I just... uh... I've got a really interesting book here. I was reading it when I left home."

Big Mac hummed, then waved his hoof around. "You sure?"

Twilight sighed. "Yes, I'm sure." Twilight looked aside to see Big Mac staring at her. She blushed, feeling suddenly she might have seemed a bit rude, and gave an assuring smile. "Thanks for asking though. It's very kind of you." Big Mac just shrugged once more and trotted a distance away. He watched as Applejack swam about in the water, enjoying herself. He couldn't help but feel it odd that she said she and her friends came to enjoy a little time together, and yet none of them seemed to be actually doing anything together. Well, not these three anyway. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy kind of disappeared. Still, he felt that for a camping trip, it seemed only Applejack was trying to do anything she didn't normally do. Not that she didn't occasionally take a dip in the pond on their farm. Still, it's not as fun to do as it is when you're camping.

His mind made up, Big Mac snorted and trotted towards the tallest tree he could find. Working nimbly with hooves tempered by years of hard labor, he climbed up the branches to the very top branch (or at least the highest one he knew could support his weight) and looked down at the lake below. He took in a deep breath.

Applejack looked to her brother and scrunched her nose. "Big Mac?"

Twilight looked up and her eyes widened. Her horn sparked with magical power as a bubble formed around her.

Rarity did nothing being totally oblivious.

Just as Big Mac was about to jump, the branch he had believed to be strong enough to hold his weight broke, and he plummeted. Funny, it was able to hold his weight the last time he was here and--- was about two thirds of his current weight. Well dang. Luckily, he didn't hit any branches on the way down, instead belly-flopping into a deeper end of the water with a loud slapping sound. Everypony present winced, save for Rarity who suddenly averted her gaze, curious as to what had just happened.

Only one word could come to him. Okay, so he usually stuck to one or two, occasionally three words if he had to, but still, It was one word that was filled with poetry and meaning, filled with all of his heart and soul at this point and time, and it climbed out in a tired, ached voice.

"Ow..."

Slowly, Big Mac pedaled his hooves to drag himself towards land, and trudged onto the grass. He fell down on his side, his belly pink enough it could be seen through his coat. Applejack followed, and her look of concern was instantly replaced with an attempt not to laugh. Big Mac just looked at her with a scowl. "S-sorry Big Mac... *snort*... Ah... Ah just... *chortle*.... Ah just... aw shucks, that was funny!"

Big Mac snorted and lay his head on the grass, looking straight into the distance. "Nope..."

"Oh! Hey, there you are!"

Everypony turned their attention to the arrival of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash was grinning madly. "Applejack! Big Mac! Can we borrow that map of yours?"

Applejack looked to Big Mac with concerned curiosity; a gesture he returned, before the two looked to the rainbow mare. "What ya need it fer?" said Applejack, inquisitively.

Pinkie nearly jumped out of her fur. "Oh! We found--"

Immediately, a hoof was jammed in her mouth by Rainbow Dash. "Uh, no reason! We just found some stuff and we was wondering if it was on the map was all."

Applejack looked at her friends carefully. She eyed Rainbow, whose face was dressed with the biggest, most suspicious grin she had ever seen. Meanwhile, Pinkie's own face was stuffed with Rainbow Dash's hoof. Fluttershy seemed rather neutral at the moment; her expression played aas one in which she was just along for the ride. Applejack pondered it over for a second.

"Well... Ah s'pose y'all can... but be careful with it."

Applejack stepped away from her big brother, who began to pick himself up as the pain on his tender underside began to fade. The farm mare plucked open her saddlebags and began to rummage, finally pulling out a rolled up piece of paper, and trotted back to Rainbow Dash, handing it to her.

"Dash, Ah mean it. Y'all have t' be careful with this. Ah don't want us gettin' lost, ya hear?"

With a hoofwave and a raspberry, Rainbow seemed to disregard the wisdom. "Please, we won't get lost. It's not so big, I can remember my way back!"

"Now that aint what I--"

Rainbow, however, immediately dashed off, Pinkie in tow. Applejack turned to Fluttershy who returned her gaze with one of apology. Applejack smiled. "Flutters, watch over 'em. We need that map t' get outta here. If we lose it, we're good as lost ourselves."

Fluttershy smiled. "Don't worry, Applejack. I'll try my best." This worked for Applejack, who nodded trustingly to her friend. Certain she had her friend's blessing, Fluttershy began to trot after her friends, who had already made their way into the deeper part of the woods.

Applejack sighed.

"You DO know she's probably going to lose that map, right dear?" said Rarity, with a look of worry adorning her features.

"Oh Ah know..." said Applejack. "That's why Ah got a spare. Granny made a second copy of th' durn thing in case any of us got lost. A third too, but that one always stays home." Applejack grinned in obvious pride at this situation, as did her brother. "We Apples aint nothin' if not prepared."

Twilight blinked. "W... wait... did Applejack just lie? You can't do that!"

Applejack huffed. "Who says I can't? Ah lied t' Pinkie like a pro up until she started gettin' nutty on her birthday a couple years back!" Twilight wanted to respond, but found herself at a loss for words. She didn't know if Applejack's fibbing potential was 'pro' status or not, but she certainly can't say she's better at it herself. She decided to let her friend have that one.

Big Mac sighed. "Gettin' late..."

Everypony present looked to one another. It was, in fact, getting quite late, and they had yet to eat anything. Rainbow Dash, though loyal, was prone to seeking out adventure and glory. Pinkie Pie was just easily distracted. And Fluttershy? Well, while she normally would return as soon as possible, she was also, by their own admittance, a bit of a door mat.

They wouldn't likely be back anytime soon.

"Dashie, where is it?"

"I'm trying to find it Pinkie! I think it's this way! Or.... was it this way?"

"Are we lost?"

"Oh no, I know where the camp is!... Or... uh..."

The three ponies stood in a totally unfamiliar surrounding, Fluttershy wilting a bit. "Rainbow Dash, I think we traveled a bit further than the cave was... it took us twice as long to get here as it took us to reach that cave, and that was considering the time it took for you to find me..."

Rainbow waved a hoof. "Yeah yeah, that's... uh..."

Pinkie and Fluttershy stared at Rainbow Dash.

In a rare moment of bravery, Fluttershy asked the question on everypony's mind.

"Rainbow Dash...? Can you read maps?"

Rainbow Dash looked at her friends for a minute. She sighed and wilted a bit herself. "Uh... I... kinda can... when I see big formations... and stuff that there isn't a lot of?"

Silence hung in the air.

"So... we're lost...?"

Rainbow Dash blushed, placing a hoof on the back of her head. "Uh... well, not lost, per se... just kinda... not... one hundred percent certain of where we are..."

Silence once more.

Fluttershy sighed and hung her head. Rainbow Dash, however, retook her confident pose. "Fear not, friends! I can get a bird's eye view of the landscape and figure out exactly where we are!" With that, Rainbow Dash took flight into the sky and held her hoof out, looking about. She hummed, unable to see the lake; the telltale mark of where they were. She supposed they really HAD gone a bit further than intended. With that, she flew even higher, and higher, and higher, deciding to make things interesting by doing a twisting turn, until she could see the curve of the land, and looked down.

There, a little spot in her vision, marked their camp.

"Aha!"

With that, Rainbow Dash bolted back downwards, and landed triumphantly. "Well girls, I found our way.... back...."

It was then she realized neither Pinkie nor Fluttershy were present.

In fact, she didn't remember the rocks either.

Or a lot of the trees.

So she might have... miscalculated where she landed a tad. No big deal! Certainly her friends were nearby! Unless she flew in an arch. Did she fly in an arch? Well, only one way to be certain.

"Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie!"

Silence returned to her.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. "Uh... well, maybe they'll learn to read the map..."

She blinked for a moment, dread filling her heart as she reached into her saddle bag and pulled something from it.

The map.

She stared at it for a few seconds, her brain processing what she might have just done.

"... Oh boy... this is bad..."

She looked around, panic filling her. "Alright, uh, let's see... I-I-I could go to my friends! Find Twilight, she'll be able to find them! Or Applejack! Maybe even Big Mac! Yeah!" She stopped and shook her head. "No! No, because then they'd know I messed up, and they'd think I'm a total loser! I'm too cool to leave friends behind! And what if the girls get in trouble? They'll need somepony to get to them fast!"

She bit her lip and tried weighing her options.

"Uh... I... I guess I can look for them for a little while... if I don't find them, I can always fly back to camp and get the others! Who knows, maybe they're already on their way back, and we can have a big laugh about this later! Haha... ha..."

"She.... she left us?"

Pinkie stared up, somewhat surprised. "Why would Dashie do that? She just flew up, spun around some, and then landed somewhere else!"

Fluttershy bit her lip. "Oh no... I-I-I think she forgot where to land..." It was a little known fact that Fluttershy knew that Rainbow Dash was not very good at remembering landscapes unless they really stood out - such as a particularly phallic looking rock on the Apple Farm that she laughs at a lot and makes lude jokes. Applejack eventually got so annoyed she had the thing broken down and the pebbles thrown into the pond.

Fluttershy and Pinkie looked to each other. Pinkie smiled. "Well, it's a good thing I know how to read maps, huh?" Pinkie reached into her saddlebag, rummaged about, and pulled out a piece of paper. She unrolled it and looked it over inquisitively.

"Hmm... this formation looks familiar... but I don't think I see it around here..."

The butter yellow pegasus felt curiosity overtake her, and she peaked over her friend's shoulder. The map she held was, in fact, a map of Equestria, not just the woods. It was too big a scale to have any idea where they were in the relatively small woodland area.

"P-Pinkie Pie... that's the wrong map..."

Pinkie shrugged. "Oh! Lemme try again!" she reached into her saddlebag, and pulled out nothing. Literally, her hoof grasped as if it was holding the nothing. She hummed, and jammed her hoof into her mane. All she managed to pull from it was a squeaky mallet, a triangle, and her invite to the Gala.

"Wow! I guess Dashie still has the map!"

Fluttershy was very still for a moment.

Then she shivered.

Then shook.

Then quaked.

And she let out a sad, pathetic whimper as her eyes filled with tears.

Lost

Fluttershy was hyperventilating.

It's true, she was not the most calm of ponies. Truth be told, she might even be among the most anxiety prone, with her slight case of xenophobia, however she was not prone to hyperventilation. She turned to her friend, trembling. "P-Pinkie, c-c-could you find our way b-back to camp? D-d-do you know how to do that?"

Pinkie hummed, tapping her hoof to her chin. "Well, I do know that moss always grows on the north side of trees..." Fluttershy's expression grew hopeful. "But we have no idea if Camp is North, South, East, or West! Or up or down! Well, we do know that, but I thought it'd be funnier to add it in!"

Fluttershy instantly wilted. "P-Pinkie, we're lost in the woods! C-can't you be serious?"

Pinkie shrugged. "Well, why don't you fly silly?"

Fluttershy blinked.

"Yeah! Rainbow Dash flew up there! Why not fly up there and look for her? Or look for the camp? I bet if we find camp we'll find her eventually!"

Fluttershy stared at her friend with a neutral expression. How had she forgotten she was a pegasus? Oh, right, crippling fear. Fluttershy was not particularly fond of flying high and made a point of only doing so when a situation absolutely called for it - now seemed to count, however. She nodded and began to gently flap her wings, slowly lifting herself up from the ground.

Within moments, she was above the treeline, and looked out. Sure enough, she could see Rainbow Dash - however, the pegasus was moving around erratically, and at a distance - Fluttershy could only see her because she was moving around too much to possibly miss. She took in a deep breath, ready to call to her friend.

"Uhh, Rainbow Dash? Over here!"

Of course, she only spoke slightly louder than she would have had Rainbow Dash been right next to her.

"Oh... oh my...."

Fluttershy simply drifted there for a minute, hoping to catch Rainbow Dash's attention. She sat for a few minutes before she saw Dash dive below the treeline. Her ears folded back and she looked down to Pinkie Pie to see empty space.

Wait, where was Pinkie?

Fluttershy gasped and dove beneath the tree line and immediately began to look frantically for her friend. "P-Pinkie!? Pinkie Pie! C-come out! Please!"

"What is it, Flutters?"

Fluttershy nearly jumped out of her skin, turning to face her friend, panting. "Where d-did you go!?"

Fluttershy smiled brightly. "I went under the tree cause I saw a really cute froggy! I wanted to tell him that I had a friend who was also a reptile, but then I remembered that froggies are amphibians! Silly Pinkie Pie! Anyway, I still wanted to say hi to him, but then he hopped away, so I started hopping with him, and then I saw you! Did you find Dashie?"

Fluttershy bit her lip. "W-well yes... but... she was moving around so fast, and she was so far away I couldn't call to her... then she went under the trees... "

The party pony shrugged. "So? Why not go after her?"

Fluttershy bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't know Pinkie... I'm not familiar with this place, and I don't want to risk accidentally losing track of you..." She didn't have the heart to add that she was afraid Pinkie might also become distracted and lose herself. "If I go after Rainbow Dash, you could end up lost, and nopony should be lost without a friend..."

Pinkie stared at Fluttershy for several seconds. Then her lip trembled. And her eyes watered. And she pulled Fluttershy into a hug. What would otherwise have been a touching moment seemed somewhat ruined when Pinkie bawled. "That is so beautiful Fluttershy! I'm so glad we're friends! Waaaaaaaaaaah!"

The butter yellow pegasus gasped for air. "P-Pinkie... can't.... breathe..."

Pinkie let go of Fluttershy, and just like that, her tears were gone. "Oopsies! So, what should we do, Flutters?"

Fluttershy tried to regain her breath a moment before looking up to the sky. She let her mind race with ideas, trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly, it came to her. "Let's see if we can't find a cave or something to take shelter first... maybe a point to return to, so I can go looking for the camp..."

Pinkie grinned. "That's a great idea, Fluttershy! Alright, let's look for us a cave!"

"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh"

Rainbow Dash had just dove beneath the treeline and was frantically flying about looking for her friends. She had lost Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, and couldn't even find them! Poor Fluttershy was probably so scared she had forgotten how to fly! Pinkie Pie is probably... well, she's probably okay, but she's probably not helping poor Fluttershy's anxiety at all! Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt-in-training, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, and she lost her friends in the woods, likely filled with all kinds of dangerous animals and environmental hazards.

Her mind betrayed her by making her imagine just how many ways they might get hurt without her being there to help them, and with each new creative injury and/or death, her panick only increased. She landed, taking a few quick breaths to try to think.

"Okay Rainbow Dash, yo lost your friends in the woods. They're probably alone, scared, and terrified. You have the map, and they likely have no idea how to get back to camp. You had walked for a least forty five minutes, so you know that the odds of them finding their way back to camp themselves are maybe... 25%? And that's assuming they tried to walk backwards from where they were."

Rainbow bit her lip trying to find a way to calm herself.

"But! Fluttershy's a pegasus! I'm sure she'll eventually calm down and fly back to camp to get Twilight and everypony else! Yeah! And then they'll go back to find Pinkie Pie who... might... get lost to? No! Fluttershy would not leave Pinkie behind, not without a way to find her..."

Rainbow sat silent before slumping on the ground, placing her hooves over her head. "Ohhhh no, I've screwed up REALLY bad this time!"

Applejack stared out at the lake, concern etched into her face. The sun was beginning to set, and Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and Fluttershy had yet to return. The farm mare turned and trotted back towards the camp - over the campfire, on a four-legged grate with a pan on it, with a vegetarian stir-fry in that. "Supper's about done an' none of 'em have come back yet..."

Big Mac stepped from his tent. "Somethin' wrong?"

Applejack turned to her brother, her expression becoming somewhat deadpan. "Ah just said that it's about supper an' none of 'em have come back yet!" She saw the stoic expression on Big Mac's face - one of understanding. She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, Ah guess Ah'm a lil' worried. They been gone a few hours now..."

Rarity stepped from her tent, wearing a pair of sunglasses. "Well, I do believe I saw Rainbow Dash earlier. She was zipping around the sky erratically, and then she fell below the treeline..." Rarity let out a gasp. "You don't suppose she's injured do you? Or one of the other girls?"

The apple siblings exchanged glances. Applejack had really not considered that before. She looked to Big Mac and sighed. "Ah'ma go look for them."

Big Mac nodded. "Ah'll come."

Applejack shook her head. "Oh no, someone's gotta watch that stir fry n' make sure it don' overcook!"

Big Mac bit his lip. "Ya sure?" Truth be told, Big Mac simply didn't want to be stuck alone with Applejack's friends. It's not that he had a problem with them; they seemed like nice enough mares. It's just that Big Mac was an admittedly shy pony; he needed familiarity otherwise he was a very awkward pony to be around.

"Yeah Ah'm sure."

"Then I shall go with you, dear!" Rarity stepped forward, nose sticking into the air. "It would be simply rude of me to allow a dear friend to go into the wilderness alone!" She looked aside. "Besides, those girls might get their manes all messy and dirty and in need of emergency hair care."

Applejack grimaced at the hair care concept, but smiled thinking about her friend's generosity. "Of course, Rarity. Let's get on then."

Big Mac blinked. "Twilight?"

Applejack shook her head. "She's kinda preoccupied, Ah think. Not that she wouldn't help, but Ah'd hate t' bother 'er if we ended up findin' out they was okay an' jus' playin' around. Besides, Ah'd hate t' leave ya all alone."

Big Mac wanted to tell her he'd prefer to be alone, but not with Rarity present. How would that make him look?

"Alright..."

The orange mare smiled. "Good! We'll be back with two shakes of a cricket's leg. Don't let that stir fry overcook, an' don't let any critters get into it, alright?" Big Mac replied with a gentle nod. With that, Applejack looked to Rarity, and then the two began to trot in the direction they had seen the others wander off into. Big Mac looked back at the large tent; at least Twilight was so enraptured with whatever she was reading that she was not likely to bother him.

"Alright... now... let's see if I can try this again..."

Twilight held up an old piece of cloth in her levitation field. She focused her magic into it, and then a ring expanded from said cloth. She groaned. "Ugh. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong! The spell keeps telling me that Smartypants is here!" She looked down at her book. "Maybe this spell is meant to find ponies who the objects belong to instead of the objects themselves...?"

Twilight closed the book and shook her head. "Well, I tried. I should really get back to enjoying camping..."

With that, she levitated the book into her saddlebag, and pulled another in it's stead, setting it before her and opening it. On the cover was the title 'Camping for Eggheads.'

Pinkie and Fluttershy wandered somewhat aimlessly into the woods. They had, admittedly, tried to wander in favor of re-finding the camp, however no such luck had found them yet. Pinkie Pie had taken to humming tunes; something that, Fluttershy had to admit, was actually calming her nerves a great deal. Eventually, Pinkie pointed and jumped. "LOOK!"

Fluttershy gasped. "What, is it Rainbow Dash?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Nope! Next best thing!"

The wannabe tree looked to where her friend was pointing; and sure enough, there was a cave. "Oh my! A cave!"

Pinkie clopped her hooves together and bounced in place. "Yay! Alrighty, Fluttershy! I think I'm gonna go gather some berries and stuff to eat! I'm STARVED!"

Fluttershy winced at the mention of food, her stomach growling. "Okay Pinkie, but be careful about--"

The pink mare simply waved her hoof. "Fluttershy, come on! I take foals camping a lot! I know what kinda stuff is good and what kinda stuff is poisonous, and if I'm not familiar with it, I don't eat it! Gimme some credit here!"

The mares stared at each other, before Fluttershy relented and nodded. "Alright... if you say so. I'm going to fly above the treeline and see if I can't find Rainbow Dash..." Pinkie nodded her head enthusiastically; Fluttershy could swear she heard rattling as she did. Spreading her wings, the butter yellow pegasus began her ascent over the tree line to look around for their friends.

She could see no sign of Rainbow Dash or the camp. Fluttershy let loose a sigh of frustration and slowly drifted back down to the ground, and turned to find Pinkie with a skillet, a campfire, and on the skillet were several mushrooms. ".... Pinkie... where did..."

Pinkie reached into her mane and produced a salt shaker, putting some on the mushrooms. "Hm? Did you say something, Flutters?"

Fluttershy stared at her friend and decided it was probably best not to actually think about how Pinkie did what she did. "No, it's alright."

Big Mac stared at the stir fry that lay in the pan. Applejack had been gone for quite a while, and the food was already nearly finished. This camping trip seemed to be going downhill - Applejack was barely getting to have any fun with her friends, some of them were lost, and now she was wandering the woods looking for them. He cared a lot for his sister; it broke his heart to see her spending what was supposed to be a good time as frustrated as ever - maybe moreso.

Big Mac felt a dull pain invade his snout; it had been there for a bit, but it was still a bit soon to take his medication. Given it was not a really bad pain, it was still enough to be a nuisance. He turned to look at his modest tent and remembered something; the poultice that Applebloom had given him.

Big Mac trotted towards his tent and peeled it open, stepping inside. He placed a hoof in his saddlebag and pulled the small jar from it, staring at it analytically. Whatever was inside was a slush-like substance; not quite solid, not quite liquid. He popped the top off of it and leaned his nose over it, taking a sniff - it was strong, that much he knew. He reeled a bit from the stench, sticking his tongue out. He considered just putting it back and forgetting it, but then a mix of the dull pain in his snout and the image of his sister pleading him to try it out made him decide that he had to use it.

He gave a light shrug. ".. Bottoms up..."

He put the poultice to his lips and let the sludge slide down his throat. He sputtered a bit at the foul taste, shaking his head and putting the top back on. He stared at it, sticking his tongue out of his mouth as if it might keep the horrid taste at bay. He gently placed it in his saddlebag and sighed.

Though, on the plus side, the pain was starting to go away.

As a matter of fact, he was feeling pretty darn relaxed.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SLEEPOVER! YAY!"

The three fillies giggled as they stared at several bags of chips, cookies, and other snacks, as well as a stack of boardgames. "This is gonna be the best camping trip ever!" shouted Applebloom.

"Not really a camping trip..." replied Scootaloo, "We're just in the clubhouse on your farm. It's not like we're in the woods."

"Well, we're KIND of in woods... just... tame woods?" replied Sweetie Belle.

"What matters is that we're not in our homes!" shouted Applebloom, waving her hooves around. "We're not in our homes, we're in a place that's outside of said homes, an' no adults t' tell us what we can an' can't do!"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "She has a point."

Scootaloo waved a hoof. "Alright, I guess that's true..."

Applebloom smiled and hummed. "Ya know... Ah can't help but feel there's somethin' Ah forgot t' do t'day... somethin' important..."

Scattered

Twilight could be a very distracted reader.

It has been said by Rainbow Dash that if you ever wanted to sneak something past Twilight or catch her by surprise, it was to do whatever you were doing while she was reading; she would not leave her little world of learning and education for anything short of disaster, it seemed. Indeed, she stared at her book for who knew how long, eyes scanning each and every word, taking in the information - she was not one to skim if it could be helped. She truly, deeply loved books.

She also liked food, as her growling stomach's protests might reveal.

Twilight looked to her own stomach and giggled, blushing. "Oh my, I guess I have been reading a while! I almost forgot that Applejack was making dinner!" She looked toward the entrance-flap of the tent. "Huh. I wonder how long it's been? Have Applejack and the others returned yet?" Twilight stood and trotted towards the flap, pushing her head past it to look outside.

Indeed, the sun was already setting, much of the sky brilliant colors of darker blues, purples, and pinks. She had heard no return, no talk, nothing, so she could only assume her friends were still away. "Huh... oh well... I guess I better check and see if the food--"

Twilight would have screamed had she not been so paralyzed with fear.

Standing at the campfire was nothing other than a massive bear; rather, it was next to the camp fire. The skillet that had been placed there had been knocked off, with it's contents scattered along the floor, the bear making to eat as much as it could. Several bags of materials that were nearby (spares in case anypony wanted seconds) had also been ransacked. The bear sloppily chewed up it's meal, before stopping to look up at Twilight.

They stared at each other.

Twilight barely let out an audible 'eep' before she disappeared in a burst of light.

The bear stared at the spot where the alicorn had been for a moment before returning to it's meal.

Twilight popped back into existence a distance away, sitting high atop a tree, staring down at the campsite. The bear likely would not notice her hear, which was good, because she was panting pretty hard, having nearly had a heart attack. She could only watch as the bear finished it's meal then moved on to the various bags of food it had already rummaged, apparently having favored the cooked meal first before wanting to finish the raw materials.

"Wow... a bear... I didn't even know bears lived in these woods..." said Twilight under her breath, hoof still on her chest. "I guess it likes Applejack's... cook... ing...."

The mention of her friend's name reminded her of something.

"Wait... wh... where's Big Mac?"

Twilight looked towards the camp with intent focus, wishing she could see through solid surfaces. "... Big Mac wouldn't have... simply run away from the camp would he? No, Apples don't do that... no matter how terrified they are..." she reasoned with herself. "Then... then that means..."

She stared at the tiny tent that Big Mac had set up for himself, and her eyes shrank to pinpricks as she glanced between it and the bear. She gulped nervously; she REALLY didn't want to go back, but she definitely could not risk leaving Applejack's brother to get eaten by a bear. She whimpered as her horn began to light, and with another pop, she was gone...

... and appeared in Big Mac's tent.

It was, by no means, a big tent, but it was big enough for at least two ponies and some supplies, which was good because that's just what was in there. Twilight turned to see Big Mac laying on his back, staring upward. She tried to whisper loud enough for him to hear. "Big Mac! There... is a bear outside! We have to get out of here!" Big Mac slowly lifted his head up to look at Twilight. His eyes blinked unevenly. And then he smiled. Twilight somewhat flinched at him as he slowly pulled himself up, that smile, a big, dopey smile, plastered to his face.

"Oh... hi Twilight... how are ya? Ah'm fine, thanks fer askin'. So is mah nose too. Mah nose also says 'thanks fer askin'.' But Ah was sayin' it er it. Cause it can't talk."

Twilight stared, dumbfounded, at the stallion before her. The slow, lumbering movements. The unsteadiness. The relaxed, somewhat lazy stare. The added strangeness being that Big Mac rarely said more than three words to anypony who wasn't family. "M... McIntosh... are.... are you high...?"

Big Mac shook his head. "Eeemaybe? ... Ah dunno. Are we on a mountain?"

Twilight almost groaned had she not remembered the bear not a few feet away from his tent. "Big Mac! We've got to get out of here! I'll remind Applejack to scold you later for taking drugs!"

Big Mac nodded. "Nnope. Not drugs. Ah jus' took this medicine Applebloom gave me..." He reached into his saddlebag and produced the poultice. Twilight levitated it to herself, popped it open, and sniffed it. She immediately blanched.

"Wha... this... this is a herbal salve... what kind is it?" She shook her head. "Oh never mind... it doesn't matter. I'm pretty certain you're supposed to rub this on the injury, not eat it! Ohh..." Twilight quickly levitated the poultice back into Big Mac's saddlebag, and then placed that (somewhat roughly) onto his back. "Come on, you, we have to get out of here before-"

Suddenly, the tent was swatted away, flipping over and bouncing a few feet as it fell apart. Twilight saw Big Mac's expression suddenly drift from calm and relaxed to somewhat anxious. She didn't even look back as a loud roar blew her mane past her face.

"GOTTAGOBYE!"

With another pop, both Twilight and Big Mac disappeared.

Once more, Twilight appeared in a new place, though this one a bit more distant from the camp.

In fact, she might not really know where she had sent herself and Big McIntosh.

Twilight slumped onto her belly and panted a bit, hearing a thud as Big Mac fell over. She slowly turned to look at him, to see that he had simply fallen onto his stomach, eyes wide and pupils the size of pinpricks.

"B... Big Mac... are.... are you okay?" she said between breaths.

"Eenope..." said the large horse, his voice trembling as his body began to visibly do.

"Wh... are you hurt?"

He shook his head.

"Are you sick?"

He shrugged.

"What's the matter?"

He gulped. "Th' trees're lookin' at us funny..."

Twilight quirked a brow and turned her head to look about. The trees were not looking at them funny and, in fact, did not possess faces. The alicorn turned her attention back to the stallion, sighing as she put her hoof to her face. "Ugh... that salve Applebloom gave you must have had a hallucinogenic in it... no telling when you'll return to normalcy..." Big Mac slowly curled into a ball, whimpering. Twilight wanted to scream, wanted to yell, but did not want to disturb McIntosh while he was tripping, and REALLY didn't want to draw the attention of more wild animals. Instead, she slumped to the ground once more in defeat.

"We'd best find somewhere safe before anything else finds us..."

Fluttershy smiled as she took the last bite of mushroom on her plate.

"Thank you so much, Pinkie Pie. You were right, a little meal did make me feel a lot better."

Pinkie Pie, wearing a chef's hat and apron, and wielding a spatula, smiled brightly at her buttery yellow friend. "No problem, Flutters! I told you a nice, safe-to-munch mushroom meal would brighten your day!"

Fluttershy gave a gentle nod. "You know," she began, "I think I might just do it. I'm going to fly higher than I'd normally feel comfortable. Because we're lost and I want to fix that! Rainbow Dash is sure to come back to camp eventually!"

Pinkie hopped about, clopping her hooves joyfully. "You go, Flutters! Go up there and tell us where to go!"

Fluttershy smiled a rare, confident smile, and began to flap her wings, gently ascending. Despite her bravado, she still did things at her own pace - after all, she was not Rainbow Dash. Slowly, she ascended over the treecover. Slowly, beyond that. Eventually, and with a little nervousness and anxiety, she was high enough she could take in nearly the entire forest. She stared down upon it, taking in the sight; the sunset enveloping the world, preparing it for night, the trees, everything...

It was beautiful.

She almost lost track of her mission, before reaffirming it and looking more diligently. She looked around for several minutes, before something finally snapped. The tiny lake (more like a big pond, maybe?) that her earlier flying height had hidden from her. It was near the camp. At least, you could see it FROM the camp...

Fluttershy gently let herself descend, falling to join her friend and almost seeming ready to shout - as much as Fluttershy might, anyway. "I think I found it, Pinkie Pie! I think I found the camp site!"

Ever the party pony, Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy's hooves and danced with her. "Woo! Way to go Flutters! You did it, you did it, you did it!"

Fluttershy blushed, smiling more. "I... I d-did didn't I?"

"Yep!"

The two mares broke into a fit of giggles, Pinkie snorting as she did. Eventually, they stopped, and Fluttershy nodded. "Well, let's go. It should be this way. I'll stay with you so you don't get lost, and rize above the treetops every once in a while to make sure we're going the right way."

Rainbow Dash soared through the trees at a frantic pace.

Night was coming, and she STILL hadn't found her friends.

Her fear and worry mounting, the images of ways they could be hurt had grown to the gruesome and even highly unlikely (such as being attacked by pirates and eaten by eldritch horrors). She was losing focus, her eyes darting left and right as she called out their names.

"Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie! Where are you!"

"Fluttershy! Pinkie P-"

There was a flash. Not a flash like having your picture taken - the kind of flash that comes from hitting your head really hard. The sense knocked out of her, Rainbow Dash felt the sensation of the world spinning around her. Hitting a few more things - a few loud cracks and snaps, one of which was particularly discomforting - and eventually, hitting what she could only assume was the ground and rolling, slowly reaching a stop.

A few minutes later, she felt her senses return to her. She was staring across several trees and bushes, laying sideways in the dirt. She felt numb at first, but slowly, feeling began to take over. A harsh, horrible pain on one side. She couldn't quite pinpoint where it was though.

Eventually, it hit her full force, and she let out a whimper as she felt her body laying on top of what she knew to be a damaged wing.

As much as it hurt, she was reluctant to get up; for fear she might hurt it more, or be stuck to something. Still, she had to choose between getting up and hurting a bit, or laying here and being easy prey. She would be as difficult as possible if she had to be eaten.

So, she put a hoof to the ground; the movement eliciting a slight pain.

Slowly, she used her other leg to push herself up.

That drew out a horrible, stabbing pain across her wing AND foreleg, causing her to yelp.

Okay, so it wasn't just her wing; she may have broken a leg as well. This was bad. Here she was, who knows where in the woods, a broken wing, a busted leg, all alone.

The show had to go on.

Slowly, she tried again. She pit her lip and screamed into her own teeth as she forced herself up on the damaged leg and off the busted wing, eventually getting to her hooves. She immediately almost fell over the other way - not so bad considering at least that half of her felt more bruised and bloodied than broken. Still, she steadied herself, and began to favor the injured foreleg. She looked back at her wing to find several feathers having been broken and twisted; she wouldn't be able to fly for a while.

Her panic would grow had she not already felt so defeated.

Not only had she lost her friends, but she had probably doomed herself.

That was it. No more. She would have to return to camp - if she could - and tell her friends what happened. Hopefully, somepony would find her.

Before something else did.

So, she began to limp through the woods, looking for something - anything - that might tell her where to go next.

And as luck would have it, she found a cave.

It had taken what felt like hours (but had actually been about fifteen minutes) but she had found a cave. She limped towards it, her body sore, aching, demanding rest and medical attention. As she entered the cave, she looked to the ground, inviting and peaceful, and let herself fall to her side - the least damaged one - with a grunt.

She stared out of the cave, sighing sadly and looking at her leg. She was afraid. She was worried.

Most of all...

She was alone.

... in a cave that smelled like roasted mushrooms?

"Well... Ah gotta be honest with ya Rarity... Ah think we're licked."

Applejack and Rarity looked about several trees, both very tired and in different levels of stress. "Oh you're telling me, Applejack... I don't believe I can see them anywhere. I do so hope that they're alright..." This elicited a nod from the farm mare, who pushed a hoof under her hat and scratched her head.

"Well... Ah s'pose we should head back t' th' camp n' see if they aint come back yet. If not, we'll have t' see if Twilight can help us find 'em..." Applejack shook her head and reached her head back to her saddlebags, pushing her mouth into it and pulling out a piece of paper.

One that had a recipe for a vegetarian stir-fry.

"Oops... wrong paper. That aint the map!" Giggled Applejack, shaking her head as she shoved her muzzle back into the bag. She felt bandaging, a joke book, and an emergency apple, but nothing else. She turned to search the other bag, rummaging through it. She then pulled her head up slowly, staring at Rarity with a neutral expression. Rarity stared at her, worry growing into her expression.

"Please tell me you brought the map..."

Applejack winced. "... Ah brought the map."

"... You didn't bring the map?"

"Ah didn't bring th' map..."

Rarity stared at her friend for several minutes. "How... how did you-"

"Ah think Ah mmmmighta left it at home... Ah musta thought Ah grabbed it an'... an'..."

"We're lost."

"Now hold on a minute, we aint lost!" said Applejack, stomping a hoof. "We can get back. Ah've been in these woods hundreds-a times. Ah just gotta get mah bearings..."

The fashionista sighed. "Please do it soon... I really don't want to be out here when night falls..." Rarity turned her gaze skyward - indeed, the stars had already begun to appear. She did not even want to imagine what sort of creatures wandered these woods at night.

She was going to find out.

Wake up...

"... Who... wha..?"

Wake up...

"Who are you?"

Wake up...

"Ah'm awake...."

Then get to your hooves right now...

"Right now... ?"

Suddenly, reality came to Big Mac. He opened his eyes tiredly, and stared up at a familiar face, looking down at him with an expression of annoyance. Twilight Sparkle was mad at somepony...

Broken Pieces

Twilight was angry.

Big Mac gulped, staring up at the mare, wondering what she might possibly be upset about. She gave him a gentle nudge with her hoof, and suddenly, her sour expression shifted towards something kinder, more relieved. "About time you woke up. I was worried I'd have to watch you all night..."

The stallion quirked a brow. "What...?"

It was just then he realized they were in the woods, and the camp site was nowhere to be seen; not that he could see much, as it was dark and the area was illuminated by naught but a hastily constructed pile of firewood. He looked about and slowly pulled himself to his hooves. "Where are we?" Big Mac did not like saying more than needed to be said; at the same time, he felt so much needed to be asked.

"Well..." began Twilight, her expression growing somewhat guilty. "I uh... sorta don't know... the camp was raided by a bear, and you were kinda doped up on herbal medicine, so I teleported us away..." she rubbed a hoof against the back of her head. "I may have... sort of... got a bit carried away and teleported us as far away as I possibly could..."

Big Mac scrunched his face at this and glanced around a bit. Indeed, he had never dared to wander more than fifteen minutes away from camp - even that was pushing it, really. However, he was certain that with a little Earth Pony ingenuity and Twilight's brilliance and courage, they would--

"SNAKE!"

"Hm?"

Big Mac saw Twilight flapping her wings uselessly, hooves digging to try to climb a tree. Behind her was naught but a little garden snake; it's patterns betrayed it as harmless, probably not even having teeth worth biting with. Big Mac rolled his eyes internally, but dared not do so outwardly. He stepped forward and picked the tiny snake up with his teeth - gently - and tossed it several feet away. Twilight let out a breath of relief.

"Oh, thank you Big Mac... I..." she blushed and looked anywhere but at him. "Kind of... have a fear of snakes..."

Big Mac stared at her, his expression neutral. He wanted to be sarcastic, to say 'Really? I hadn't noticed...' or 'you don't say?' But he didn't like saying more than needed to be said... plus, it might offend the poor mare. "Eeyup." As Twilight composed herself, Big Mac suddenly backpedaled to earlier. "You said Ah was doped up on herbal medicine?"

Twilight nodded. "Oh yeah. You said Applebloom gave it to you..." Twilight glanced at his saddlebags. "It smelled familiar, and I recently remembered it might be the same stuff Zecora gave me a while back when I sprained my ankle. She said it soothes and has minor healing traits; nothing miraculous, but it accelerates the process somewhat." Big Mac hummed. He removed his saddlebag and gently pushed his hooves in; trying to avoid letting Twilight see his secret shame, and pulling the poultice from it. He popped it open again and considered things. He took his hoof and poured some of the sludge on it, pressing it to his nose; it hurt, as the area was still sensitive and healing, causing him to pull back with a wince.

"Oh!" Twilight shouted. "Here, let me do it. With that break and the bruised bone, you'll need to be careful." She poured some of the sludge onto her hoof and placed it over the injury, gently rubbing the stuff into it. It didn't hurt nearly as much as when Big Mac did it, though he was still grimacing a bit at the slight ache. Eventually, Twilight stopped, and brushed what was left of the stuff on the ground, smiling. "There. It should keep your nose from hurting for a short while."

Big Mac hummed and wiggled his nose some. It wasn't having the same profound effect of his pain medication, but it was keeping the pain at a tolerable level; little more than an irritation. It would at least allow him to economize his medication until they could find everypony else and return home.

Everypony else...

"Applejack!"

Twilight nearly fell back with the exclamation. Big Mac looked about frantically, panic clear in his expression. "Applejack!?"

Twilight scrunched her nose some at his sudden uneasyness. "Uhh... she's not here... Nopony else was in our tent, and you were alone in yours." She looked about, racking her brain for ideas. "It's possible they came back, saw the bear, and kept their distance, although if they did that I might have noticed them..." Well, might have was a strong word. Truth be told, she almost left Big Mac there.

Big Mac sighed, placing a hoof to his forehead and rubbing it, staring at the dirt. "Alright..." He began to let his head move around as he thought of the situation and pieced it all together. He pointed his hoof towards her and himself. "We're lost?"

Twilight bit her lip. "Uh... that's... kinda the gist of it, yes..."

Big Mac looked up to stare at her for a moment. The wheels began to turn in his mind and he pointed at her with a questioning look. "Wings..."

The alicorn blinked, confused. "Uhh... yeah?"

"Can ya fly?"

Twilight blushed a bit, drawing small circles in the dirt with a hoof. "Uh... yeah, I... kinda... sorta... can't fly..." Once more, she was finding everything in the world accept anything in Big Mac's particular direction fascinating. "Rainbow Dash says I don't time my wing flaps right, and that I push them too hard..." A grimace crossed her features. "Uhh... I also don't think I preen them right. Really, it never bothered me; I never saw much use for flying, so I just make sure they look presentable." Well, that idea went down the toilet awful fast. Once more, Big Mac pulled into his brain, trying to think if they had anymore options. He grimaced and shook his head; there was only one thing left to do.

"Teleport home?" He nodded. "Get help."

The alicorn's expression soured. "Do you think if I could do that we'd have walked for an hour?" Big Mac turned to face Twilight. It made sense, really. "It took everything I had to get just the two of us this far, and we're probably only thirty minutes away from where the camp sight is. I had to rest while you took your own little nap, and even now, I don't know if I could get just myself back to the camp."

Just how long was he out for? Judging by the lack of light, his immediate guess was perhaps two or three hours. Another sigh escaped the stallion; just what could they do? "Well... " Once again, he pondered. He let out a sigh of defeat. "Let's find shelter..."

"I have a suggestion..." Big Mac turned to the alicorn, nodding to signal he was all ears. "I can use my magic to tear down a few trees or branches, and construct a basic shelter for us."

"Nnope." It was a stern sort of response; one that said he would not change his mind.

Twilight balked. "What? Why not?"

He looked up at the trees and frowned. He stood and trotted towards a tree and put a hoof on it, giving it a few shoves, then looked to Twilight with a defensive expression. "Hurts the ecosystem..."

Despite his wisdom, Twilight stared at him as if he made no sense. "What? But what about us? We need shelter and food!"

He nodded. "Short term."

Twilight processed this. "Wait... are you saying that because it's a short term solution that it'd be wrong?" He gave a nod as his only response. Though she hated to admit it, Twilight knew he was right. She let a frustrated sigh pass her lips and shook her head. "Alright... well... what do you suggest then?"

Once more, the stallion was analyzing the area that surrounded them with interest. "It's dark..." he said. "... Take turns sleepin'."

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "What? You want to take turns? Like... sleep every few hours and wake the other up for their turn?" Big Mac nodded sagely. She grimaced at this. She really didn't like the idea, but if they were to preserve the ecosystem, and if they were to avoid getting even MORE lost, it might be their only option. "Okay... but I'm not happy about it..."

"Nnope..." replied Big McIntosh.

"I could make us a shelter..."

Big Mac fixed her with a firm stare and stood tall in front of her. He had that expression on his face that said it clear as day. 'If you're going to, you're going to go through me.' Twilight considered this for a moment. Physically, he was stronger than her by a great deal, but she was fairly certain he was no match for her magic. She could, in fact, work through him without having to even threaten him, and she was certain he wouldn't retaliate - after all, Big Mac didn't strike Twilight as the type to hit a mare.

But still. The look on his face, the words he spoke... well... kind of...

"Alright, I get it..."

Big Mac's stern gaze shifted to a gentle smile. "Thanks."

Twilight waved a hoof at him. "Don't mention it..."

"Well... this sucks!"

Pinkie and Fluttershy gazed about the destroyed remains of the camp. One tent had been torn to shreds, all of the food had been eaten, and nopony was anywhere to be found.

"Wh... where are they?" said Fluttershy with a tremble. "M... maybe in the tent?"

They did not find a pony in the tent.

Pinkie almost screamed, stopped only by Fluttershy shoving a hoof into her mouth. Laying there, sleeping, was a bear, it's body seeming to grow and shrink with each breath. Fluttershy gently trotted towards the beast, and gave it a soft poke in the side. It stirred, before turning to face her.

"Uhm, excuse me, Mister Bear? My friends and I were camping here, and you kind of came here and ate all our food. We know this is your home and we're guests here, but we weren't going to stay long. If you could be a dear, could you kindly let us have our camping space - at least the tent, back?"

The bear stared at Fluttershy for several long seconds.

Then it let out a ferocious roar, the yellow pony squeezing her eyes shut as her mane waved about in the force of the creature's voice.

Suddenly, her expression hardened into a glare.

"Look here, Mister," she began, "We're not causing you any trouble. We're not stealing food from you. Your den is probably far enough that you had to go out of your way to get here. Now you be nice and if you see my friends, you leave them alone, you hear me?"

The bear and Fluttershy stared silently at each other for a long time.

Slowly, however, the bear began to withdraw, growling at the pony whose gaze only hardened. Eventually, it let out a defeated grunt and trotted past Fluttershy, an utterly baffled Pinkie Pie, and out of the tent. Fluttershy turned to her friend and smiled sadly. "I didn't want to scold him, but he was being so rude... I'm sure he's a big softy when you get to know him better though..."

Pinkie Pie peeked out of the tent flap. "Eee... well, softy or not, he left a parting gift... and I'll tell you this, it ain't muffins..."

It was dark.

That was no surprise really.

Rainbow Dash sighed, realizing she had been fading in and out of consciousness. She didn't know if it was boredom, if her injuries were worse than she knew, or what. All she knew was that she was still alone, still in pain, and still stranded.

"Hey, here it is!"

She was so lonely she could hear voices.

"Ugh... only because we're desperate... it's ONLY because we're desperate..."

And they sounded like her friends.

"Ah'll gather us some sticks n' make a camp fire. Ah got enough snacks t' at least hold us over fer the night..."

Wait a minute...

Suddenly, a light erupted at the end of the cave, stinging her eyes and blinding her momentarily.

"Ugh, it's so filthy in here! What creature would willing... ly... w.... what.... Rainbow? Rainbow Dash!? Oh my goodness, where have-- Oh my, what happened to you!?"

Rainbow smiled some and spoke with a raspy voice - one from a mix of crying earlier (something she intended to take to her grave) and not having anything to drink. "Had a bit of an accident... did Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie ever get back?"

Rarity stuck her head out of the cave. "Applejack! I found Rainbow Dash, and she's injured! Her wing and leg are bending wrong and she's covered in cuts and bruises!" The unicorn quickly trotted towards her friend, kneeling down. "Rainbow, where are they? What happened?"

The Pegasus grunted, shame etching onto her features. "I... sorta lost them in the woods... I couldn't read the map, so I tried to fly really high to see if I could find camp... but I lost track of them, went looking, hit some trees, and limped here..."

Rarity winced. "Oh my goodness, you WALKED here!? How far!? In your condition, I'm surprised you could even stand!"

Rainbow chuckled weakly. "It did hurt like noponies' business..."

"Oh mah stars, Rainbow! What happened, girl!?"

Just then, Applejack trotted into view, clearly very worried for the condition of her friend. Rainbow groaned and rolled her eyes; not only was she going to have to explain this again, she looked absolutely pathetic in front of her friendly rival. "Couldn't read map, flew real high, lost friends, crashed, and limped to this cave."

Applejack stepped closer, examining Rainbow thoroughly; enough to make the Pegasus uncharacteristically self-conscious. "Yer pretty banged up girl..." Applejack frowned, staring at her friend. "We can't leave yer limbs like this... Rainbow, we're gonna have t' put yer wing n' leg in a splint."

Rainbow quirked a brow. "Applejack, you're no medical professional..."

The farm mare shook her head. "Nope, but Big Mac n' Ah both know a little basic first aid, an' you do NOT leave broken bones at odd angles longer than ya need ta... Ah got what we need t' make the splints, so don't you worry."

Applejack turned to rummage through her bag, handing Rarity a first-aid kit, some stick-like things, and the pulling a larger stick that looked like she had found it on the ground from her bag, placing it before Rainbow Dash.

She gently put her hooves on Rainbow's leg; near where the bone had broken, causing the pegasus to wince as Applejack nodded to Rarity. Rarity grimaced, and her magic levitated the stick to Rainbow's face.

"Wh... what's this for..."

Applejack looked to her friend, guilt and pity clear in her face.

"For you to bite down on. This is prolly gonna be the single most painful thing you've ever felt in your life... until we get to yer wing..."

Rainbow Dash gulped and eyed the stick for a minute. "And... and what happens if I don't let you?"

Applejack shook her head. "The bones'll potentially heal wrong, and when we get ya to a doctor they'll have to break 'em again t' fix 'em up properly... it may even make it harder fer ya ta walk an' fly in th' long run... Ah ain't sure..."

As much as Rainbow Dash hated pain, she could not risk her flight. She could live with sub-par walking, but she had to be the best flier she could be. She grimaced, gulped, and opened her mouth, letting the stick slide broadside in between her teeth. Applejack looked to Rainbow Dash, a grimace on her features, then looked down to the leg.

"Ready?"

Rainbow Dash hesitated, but then gave a soft nod. Applejack then steeled herself; she wasn't going to like this anymore than her friend.

Quickly, she bent the bones back into place. Instantly, Rainbow Dash bit hard onto the stick, her eyes shot open, and she let out a blood curdling scream. Working gently, yet quickly, Applejack got to work setting the splint into place on her leg, wrapping it up nice and tight to assure it served it's function. She turned her gaze to Rainbow Dash, to see the mare's eyes filled with tears, whimpering, but not really crying.

"Y'alright, sugar cube?"

Rainbow Dash nodded a slow, pathetic nod.

Applejack gulped. "G-good... c-cause Ah gotta do yer wing now..."

Rainbow's eyes squeezed shut and she lay her head on the ground as if in defeat. The farm mare gently took the wing in her hooves, eliciting a soft whimper from Rainbow Dash; if only her friend knew how much it hurt her to see her like this. She could see it in Rarity's eyes as well; the unicorn mare's own eyes filled with tears, her hooves covering her mouth, not out of disguist, but to block her own emotional response best as she could.

"Ready?"

Rainbow whimpered again, but nodded.

Another swift motion, bending the bone into place, eliciting another scream from Rainbow Dash, tears streaking down her face. Rarity watched her friend as she stared at her, almost pleadingly.

She wanted to believe she was begging her to not tell anypony she saw her cry. But she was likely begging her to make the pain stop.

Eventually, Applejack got the wing splint into place, setting the bone. She sighed, wiping a hoof across her brow. "There ya go... that'll hold ya 'til we can get ya to a hospital... we got enough bandages in here t' take care of the smaller damage, but Ah'm afraid we'll be spent after that..."

Rainbow's whimper suddenly turned into relieved laughter; she was happy to have it over with. So happy. So happy to have her friends nearby.

"... Rainbow, are you still hurtin'? You've got a bit of waterworks goin'..."

"No. I'm fine, Applejack..."

In the Dark Of The Night

It was dark out.

That much was to be expected - miles from any pony settlement, in the middle of the woods, with only a meager campfire to speak of, the only illumination besides being the moon, it was understandable that there was a point in Big Mac's vision where everything turned pitch black. Still, he was pleased, for he had not had to chase off any animals, there were plenty of sticks around to throw into the firewood, and he had even improved upon Twilight's work (she had barely had enough rocks surrounding the fire to stop it from spreading if it managed to escape the confinement of the twigs).

He sighed, feeling the dull pain in his nose grow. He had been relying on the balm for the past three hours, and he was finally going mad. He had to erase the pain. Reaching into his saddlebag, he pried from it his bottle of medication and popped it open, tossing one of the pills into his mouth and washing it down with a sip from his canteen - he'd have to refill it once he had a chance.

Twilight Sparkle had wandered off to see if she could find suitable shelter. Admittedly, her need for a place to sleep reminded him so much of Rarity; at least she wasn't demanding particular accommodations. He sighed cuddling onto his prized possession; one Smartypants. He wasn't a cowardly stallion by any length of the word, but something about the simple little toy brought him comfort.

He snorted, wondering how long Twilight might be gone, and if he'd be forced to go hunting for her as well.

"Well, this will never do..."

Twilight stared at the mouth of the cave, staring at it silently. "There's bear leavings around... it'd be a bad idea to even step hoof in there, let alone try to sleep in it for a night..." A bit dejected, Twilight let out a sigh of frustration and turned about. "Fifteen minutes. I wandered for fifteen minutes to find a cave that I can't even use... " She looked about for a minute, threw her hooves up in defeat, and turned around. "Back to camp I go then."

She began to move with a brisk trot, wanting to find Big McIntosh as quick as she possibly could. The sooner she wasn't alone out in the wilderness, the better.

Then, she felt a sharp pain in her leg.

Twilight let out a loud yelp and threw her foreleg around, seeing something fall off; something she recognized as a spider. She watched as it scurried away into the darkness. She looked at her hoof to see that it had bits of web on it - she must have accidentally stepped on it's home. Looking her leg over, she saw a red lump on her leg; it wasn't so bad, it had hurt when it bit her, but now all it was was a light itch, as spider-bites were want to do.

She let out a groan. Could this day possibly get any worse? No, don't ask that question, that's how things get worse.

She continued her trot; thankfully, she had marked her path (one of the few things Big Mac DID allow) so that she could find her way back to him. He was definitely an irritating stallion; she could respect a value of nature, but to shoot down every idea she had because it might harm the ecosystem? She couldn't tear down trees, she couldn't trap and train animals, she couldn't start a smoke-signal fire. It's like the stallion was going out of his way to complicate things.

The sooner they left these stupid, infernal woods, the better.

Eventually, Twilight saw the glow of the campfire. Much as the stallion irritated her, it would be nice to have a familiar face around. "Big Mac! I'm back!" She saw him suddenly fall over and struggle with something, before sitting back up rather hurriedly. As she approached him, she could see a nervous look on his face. "Big Mac? Is everything fine?"

"Eeyup!"

"... Are you sure?"

"Eeyup!"

Twilight stared at him a few minutes. He was nervous about something; VERY much so. She looked at him, at his saddlebags nearby, then back to him. He was visibly sweating, and his eyes darting around. Suddenly, it made sense. She figured it out.

"Big Mac..."

"Eeyup?"

"... Were you going to eat more of the herbal paste?"

Big Mac stared at her silently. That's all she needed to hear. "Big Mac, you don't want to eat too much of that stuff. It's not much for being addictive, but if you ingest too much, it can make you lazy, lower coordination, and... uh..." She blushed a bit and leaned in, whispering into his ear. "Lower potency." Big Mac quirked a brow. "So yeah!" continued Twilight. "That little poultice isn't enough to cause problems like that, but ponies who eat a lot of that stuff do tend to show addictive tendencies, even if not physiological in nature."

Big Mac decided it was better she think he was being stupid than she think he was hiding a doll, and he decided to passively not confess to either one. "Okay."

Twilight nodded and sat on the ground, letting out a bit of a yawn. Big Mac quirked a brow. "Sleepy?"

She nodded. "Yeah, a little..." She turned to look at the stallion. "I sort of... didn't sleep much last night, and I figured I could get all the sleep I needed during the trip..."The stallion gave a slight disapproving shake of his head. "I'll be fine. I've pulled all nighters before" she said. "It's alright."

Big Mac shook his head. "Nnope. Get some sleep."

Twilight shook her head. "Oh, no, I couldn't... it wouldn't be right."

Big Mac looked at her with a gentle smile. "It's alright."

Twilight bit her lip, feeling guilt at how tempted it was to simply accept the offer. "You... you sure you'll be okay with it?"

Big Mac nodded. "Eeyup."

Twilight looked at him for a bit, and then smiled thankfully. "Thanks... but if you start getting tired, you wake me up, alright?" Big Mac nodded, eliciting one of understanding from Twilight herself. She lay down on her stomach, and curled somewhat, closing her eyes. It wasn't minutes before Big Mac could hear the soft breathing that signaled that the mare was sleeping. He let out a tired sigh of his own and continued to stare into the dark.

"They're not coming back are they?"

The question was on both of their minds, but only one of them had the courage to say it.

"Oh of course they are, silly! They have to!"

It wasn't the pony you'd have suspected.

Fluttershy looked outside of the tent. It had been hours, and it was currently past the point most ponies began heading to bed. She sighed, looking to Pinkie Pie, who wore a big grin. "Pinkie, I don't think so... I... I'm pretty sure by now they would have found shelter and hid themselves away..."

Pinkie snorted. "What!? This was supposed to be a fun camping trip for everypony to get along, have fun, discover new things about each other, and maybe tell some funny stories! Why WOULDN'T they come back?"

Fluttershy stared at Pinkie for a few seconds. Something about Pinkie seemed off; her smile seemed forced, her joy seemed unauthentic.

"You're worried they'll never come back at all, arent you?"

Pinkie gasped, turning to Fluttershy. "What! Of course not! I know they'll come back!"

Fluttershy nodded. "I agree."

It grew silent for a few seconds.

"Unless they get eaten by bears..."

"Pinkie..."

"O-Or Timberwolves..."

"Pinkie?"

"Or fall off a cliff..."

"Pinkie Pie!"

Both ponies gasped, Fluttershy throwing her hooves over her muzzle. Pinkie seemed particularly shocked. Fluttershy recomposed herself and cleared her throat. "I-I just... I think you're getting too worried. I mean, they're lost, but they're all resourceful, capable mares, and Big Mac is pretty resilient, so we'll see our friends again, I promise..."

Pinkie stared at Fluttershy for a few minutes.

"You promise?"

Fluttershy smiled. "I promise..."

"Pinkie Promise?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Cross my heart, hope to fly."

A bear wandered through the woods.

It had been wandering for hours, looking for food. It had been awoken so rudely from it's nap by the yellow pony, and now all it wanted was a meal. It was wondering if any other ponies were around that might have camping sites that had easy-to-achieve foods. Still, if they did, were they the yellow ponies' friends?

Staring into her eyes was as staring into the abyss.

Do not bother the yellow ponies' friends.

It's hunt had proved fruitless. Once more, it was tired. It wanted sleep. Sleep was good. Sleep was where it was before the yellow one disturbed it, disturbed it and then bore into its' very soul with her evil, hate-filled gaze, as if staring into the very pits of Tartarus itself.

Do not bother the yellow ponies' friends.

So, it began it's trek back towards it's cave. It had wandered so far, so far from home, so far from sanctuary. The bear did this a lot, but never for so extended a period of time; of course, it had been years since the bear had seen ponies. Why, it was perhaps but a cub when it last had seen a pony! When would it get a free meal again? One that didn't run, or sting, or jump, or move around a lot? When would it get a chance to try the various fruits and vegetables that ponies grew and harvested that were not native to it's home? It had to pounce on the chance when it got it, otherwise it might never get to savor the foods only ponies could make.

Sleep would come soon. It's cave was just in sight. It stopped momentarily, catching sight of a purple pony. She was leaving, which was good; that meant she would not use it's cave as a dwelling, and it would not have to worry about infuriating the yellow demoness with her horrible gaze. The bear's journey was near it's end. Blissful sleep was close at hand.

It saw three figures. One white, one blue, and one orange.

The white and orange ones were huddled together, while remaining close to the blue. Upon closer inspection, it realized there were in fact ponies; the blue looking as if it had been injured.

Do not bother the yellow ponies' friends.

The bear snorted. Even it's own lair had been invaded. Was this what ponies referred to as karma? Did the bear even know what karma was?

Or was all that encompassed it's memory right now the dreadful gaze of the yellow pony.

The bear turned tail and left it's den. It would find a new cave; there were plenty about. As long as it never saw the yellow pony again, as long as it never did anything to obtain her ire, all would be well.

Rarity clung tightly to Applejack, holding her breath as she watched the large bear leave. Why had it left? It was one bear against three ponies; one of which was particularly injured. By all means, it couldn't have lost. Still, it had decided to leave for reasons beyond her.

Suddenly, sleep overtook Rarity - more in the flavor of fainting than actually going to sleep, of course.

Big Mac stared at the night sky. Constantly, a fear found it's way into his mind; wondering what his sister was doing, if she had made it back to the campsite safely, or if the bear had ever left. He also felt himself worried about the others; they weren't really his friends, per se, but they were friendly acquaintances. He'd like to think everypony'd come back in one peace.

He turned to look at the mare currently accompanying him. Odd; she was a princess, and yet she didn't act like it. He'd known her long enough that even he really didn't feel he was in the presence of royalty. For all intents and purposes, she was like any other mare; just a bit more responsibility on her shoulders. As he watched her, he noticed that she was shivering; he did suppose it was kind of chilly, although he barely noticed. Of course, far as he was told, she was the type to stay indoors a lot, and did very little manual labor, so she probably wasn't as protected as he was from the harshness of the elements.

He sighed a bit before lifting himself up and trotting towards her, and laying down next to her, pressing his back to her. He could feel her shivering slow, and eventually stop. He smiled a bit, turning to look back up at the night sky.

At least he could do SOME good, for all it was worth.

Waking Up

Applejack opened her eyes to the sound of birdsong, faint but clear in what was, otherwise, silence. Sunlight poured through the mouth of their temporary shelter, thankfully drawing just short of her and her friends' faces, allowing them at least a little more time of peaceful rest. She let out a tired yawn and, used to her routine, pulled herself from her belly and stood on her hooves, stretching herself out. She turned to look at her companions. Rainbow Dash was, naturally, favoring her injuries and sleeping on her stronger side, while Rarity lay against her, keeping her warm. Applejack really hated to wake them, however the sooner they did what needed to be done, the sooner they could get Rainbow Dash some medical attention.

The farmer reached a foreleg out and placed her hoof on her white-coated friend, shaking her. "Rarity..." then, moving to the pegasus, shaking once more. "Rainbow Dash..." The two ponies stirred, slowly opening their eyes to look up at the stetson-wearing mare. "It's mornin' y'all. We mighta slept a bit long than woulda been ideal... we're gonna have t' get t' work soon as we can t' find th' camp..."

Rarity gave a curt nod and stood up herself, stretching in as lady-like a fashion as she could. Applejack rounded on the pegasus and placed her muzzle beneath her, helping her up. "Right... we'll have t' get back t' camp, n' tell everypony we're fine. After that, we gotta pack up quick as a bunny an' get back t' Ponyville n' get Rainbow Dash some help..."

Rarity held a hoof up. "I would like to have it known that if she needs to rest, I can always have my things arranged to make a flat surface for her as a makeshift bed..." Applejack smiled and nodded, looking back to Rainbow Dash, who returned with a tired smile of her own. "Right. Well gals, we gotta hop to it. Rainbow, where's yer bags?"

Rainbow Dash blinked. "My bags?'

Applejack nodded. "Yeah. You said you still had th' map, right?"

Silence seemed to rule over the scene all the sudden. Rainbow Dash looking up to Applejack with a sad, apologetic, tried expression. Applejack grimaced; she really wanted to be mad, to be infuriated, but she couldn't, not with Rainbow Dash in her current condition. "How'd ya lose 'em?"

"During the crash..."

A sigh escaped the orange pony's lips. Of course; she should have expected as much. "Do ya remember where ya crashed...? Maybe if we backtrack, we can find it..."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I think I have a good idea... I'm at least pretty certain I kept walking straight..." She looked down at her hooves in an uncharacteristically self-conscious, sombre manner. "But... I was spiraling pretty hard, I don't know where I lost the bags, how far I tumbled from them, or if I was even going straight or if I bounced around a bit..."

Applejack shook her head. "Well, it's gonna have t' do for now. We'll eat some breakfast, n' we'll get t' lookin' once we got some energy in us."

The first sounds she heard were the sounds of birds chirping.

This was not unusual for Fluttershy, of course; she did, after all, live far enough away from Ponyville that she needn't be disturbed by the hustle and bustle of it's usual activity. What was unusual, however, was the other sound she was hearing; the sound of a mare singing.

The yellow pegasus sat up to look towards the exit of the tent flap. Something sure did smell good. Slowly, she picked herself up and began a slow pace towards the exit. Pushing it open, she looked out to see Pinkie Pie, roasting mushrooms and standing next to a basket with a variety of berries in it.

"Oh my. You're up early!" said the pegasus.

Fluttershy turned to face her, then smiled. "Oh! Morning Fluttershy! Yeah, I get up really early every day to help the Cakes take care of the twins and open the bakery and bake the cakes but not like the CAKES the cakes I mean the pastries, because actually baking THE Cakes'd be cruel and I really don't think ponies would make good muffins, though at one time somepony DID spread a nasty rumor that I baked ponies into muffins because Rainbow Dash disappeared, but she had gone to a comic book convention that year, OH! Don't tell her I told you that! She went and cosplayed as Daring Doo. ANYWAY, I get up this early a lot!"

Fluttershy took a few seconds to allow her brain to piece together the various words Pinkie seemed to utter in a single breath. Once she had the gist of it, she smiled and gave a polite nod. "Well, thank you very much, Pinkie Pie. It was awful polite of you to make breakfast."

Pinkie waved her hoof. "Think nothing of it, silly! It's the least I could do after how you got that scary bear to leave the camp alone and how you talked to me last night!"

The pegasus blushed and giggled. "Oh, it was nothing. The bear was just cranky because he was woke up. He didn't mean to hurt anypony when he came here. And you're my friend; of course I'd want to help you."

A pair of pink hooves wrapped around Fluttershy tightly, pulling her close, eliciting an almost comical squeak from Fluttershy. Pinkie, however, sounded more serious than the pegasus thought she had ever heard her sound before. "It wasn't nothing... I don't tell many ponies this, but I'm not always as confident as I seem. I put on a mask a lot to try to keep everypony's spirits up, but once in a while, I get too weak, too tired of always smiling... it usually happens when I'm alone, and when something particularly stressful or scary happens, but I can get very sad and mopey..."

This was something profound. Fluttershy had never known the burden Pinkie Pie had bared for her friends. Always smiling, always bouncing... she always wondered how Pinkie Pie could stay so happy all the time.

Who knew she wasn't?

Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around her friend. "Pinkie Pie... I didn't know..."

Pinkie smiled and nuzzled into her friend. "Don't tell anypony please? If at all possible, I want them to continue seeing me this way. At least until they have to know the truth."

"You have my word, Pinkie Pie..."

Pinkie Pie broke the hug, smiling to her friend. "We should eat up, and then go looking for the others! I'm sure they'll all be starved by now!"

Sunlight.

Dreadful, horrible sunlight.

Where did all this sunlight come from?

Twilight momentarily wondered if she could ask Celestia to turn it off for just a few more minutes. That would be reckless, however, and Twilight wasn't the only pony in the world. She groaned and nuzzled into her pillow, burying her face into it fondly.

Wait.

Since when was her pillow breathing? Or fuzzy? Or muscular.

Or holding her back?

Her eyes popped open to take in red. A lot of red. Slowly, she looked up to see yet more red.

"What in the HAY ARE YOU DOING!?"

She pushed herself away, Big Mac snorting and pulling his head up, sloppily looking around, placing a hoof over his eyes and blinking the sleep out of them. "Hwha... what... where....?"

It was just then Twilight remembered where she was; lost in the woods with Applejack's older brother. This did not calm her fury as she stared at the stallion before her, wings flared, and face a deep red from both fury and embarrassment. "What did you think you were doing!? Why were you holding me in my sleep!?"

Big Mac's wits slowly returned to him and he rubbed his eyes. "Wh..Ah... huh!?" Suddenly, it seemed to hit him and he grimaced. "Ah fell asleep...?"

"I'll say you did! I woke up with your hooves around me!" She gasped and stared at him angrily. "You better not have tried something while I was asleep or so help me, I will tear you apart at the molecular level!"

Big Mac reeled and immediately threw his hooves up and waved them. "Nnope! Never!"

Twilight stomped her hoof. "Then why were you holding me!?"

Big Mac bit his lip. "Dunno... " He pointed to her. "Shiverin'..."

Twilight quirked her brow. "Shivering? What?"

The stallion nodded frantically and pantomimed a shivering motion. "Ah lay next to ya ta give ya warmth!"

Twilight blinked, some of the anger leaving her face. "I was shivering...? So you..." She shook her head and stomped her hoof. "B-but, then why were your forelegs around me!?"

Big Bac blushed and looked to the side, rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof. "Kinda... a cuddler..."

Twilight placed a hoof to the bridge of her nose. "Alright, alight... it's okay... you.... you were just trying to keep me warm, which is noble, and you accidentally fell asleep... it happens." She glared up to Big Mac and pointed a hoof at him. "But never tell anypony of this. It never happened."

Big Mac nodded. "Nnope."

The alicorn nodded. "Excellent..." Twilight cleared her throat and looked around. "Right. Well... now that that's been sorted out, we should probably check back into the camp and make sure that bear is gone."

"Eeyup."

They stood in silence for several seconds.

"Uhh... which way do we go?" Twilight pondered on her own question. "Well... we came into the woods from the north. My suggestion is we had north. Either we'll find the camp, or find the exit, and we can work from there."

Big Mac nodded. "Okay."

Fluttershy looked around, her eyes tracing the world for any detail they could find. Something not a lot of ponies knew was that Pegasai had far better eyesight than other ponies; all the more to aid when flying at their fastest. Really, she had wondered if the rumors of Rainbow Dash being partially blind might have held some substance; it was surprising the mare hadn't found either of them by now. Of course, she wasn't flying around either, which was strange. Fluttershy was confident in her friend, but she couldn't help but worry a little.

"So!" started Pinkie Pie. "When we get outta the woods, I think I'm gonna throw us a 'That Camping Trip Didn't Go Quite As Planned' party! Wanna come?"

Fluttershy giggled, shaking her head. "Of course, Pinkie Pie." She was thankful to have the pink mare's company; it kept her focused and dissuaded her fears from overtaking her. "And I'm sure everypony else will come as well."

Pinkie waved her hoof. "Well, duh!"

The two ponies turned and continued to walk (or bounce in Pinkie's case) in silence, both keeping their eyes peeled, shifting, reading everything.

"So, uhh, Fluttershy? Mind if I ask you a question?"

Fluttershy didn't look to her friend, focused on looking for her friends. "Of course, Pinkie Pie."

"Uhh, I know this pony, right? And she really likes somepony else; said she didn't have feelings for her before, but that after a particularly nice gesture, she kinda got butterflies in her tummy tum, and then she spent all night thinking about it, and realized she really kinda liked her friend, and not just like, but like like! I wanted to help her out, but it's not really something I've had experience with! She's really worried that if she says something, she'll get rejected and might ruin her friendship, but if she doesn't, she might never know! I figured since you talk to Rarity a lot, maybe you'd know?"

Fluttershy stopped to look to Pinkie Pie, whose expression was as it always was. She moved her mouth wordlessly as thoughts rushed through her mind. They stared at each other for the longest time, before Fluttershy cleared her throat and composed herself, blushing and trying to avoid hyperventilating. "W-Well... P-Pinkie..." she began, "I-I-I think... that it would be wise for your friend to tell her friend how she feels... if they're really friends, a-and I have no reason to believe they're not--Not that I have reason to believe they are! But, if they're really friends, then it will work out."

Pinkie grinned a large grin. "Oh! I guess that makes sense! Thanks, Fluttershy, that's been eating me up all day!"

The two ponies resumed their trot, Fluttershy's mind now clogged with conserns and questions, while Pinkie's was filled with joy and premature thoughts of wedding bells.

"Rainbow, ya sure ya don't need a shoulder to carry ya?"

Applejack turned to face Rainbow Dash, not bothering to hide any of the concern she felt for her pegasus pal. Rainbow Dash winced, shaking her head. "No, I'm fine. I maybe beaten, but I ain't beat..." The three were moving at a slow, leizurly pace, mostly so Rarity and Applejack allowing Rainbow Dash to keep pace. It hurt the pegasus greatly to feel so pitiful; the great Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria, a winner of the Young Flier's competition, Wonderbolt-in-training, and her two friends had to walk to let her keep up with them. Even worse, one was a rival.

"Well, if ya change yer mind, Ah'm sure either me or Rarity would be more than glad t' lend a hoof." Applejack smiled a sincere, if somewhat pitying smile at her friend. How Rainbow Dash hated to have her pity for even an instant.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine..."

Rarity sighed, looking down at her hooves and coat. "Ugh... the moment I get home, I am booking a spa reservation and getting the full package. All of this dirt, grime, and who knows what else is ruining my coat! Don't even get me started on my poor coiffure!"

Applejack groaned. "Rarity, far as Ah can see, ya look about th' same as ya did yesterday. Ya took several minutes of brushin' before we left, n' Ah'm fairly sure Ah saw ya use enough perfume t' be considered a war crime."

The fashionista huffed, sticking her nose in the air. "Well beg my pardon for wanting to look my absolute best."

"Yer excused." said Applejack, not even hiding the grin on her face.

"I didn't mean it literally!"

"Then ya shouldn'ta begged."

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash burst into laughter. Rarity was trying to hold onto a stern face, but it betrayed the slightest hint of amusement. "Wha... you.... well you... you're.... " Finally, even Rarity's composure broke - after all, she knew how to laugh at herself when she was beat. Eventually, Rainbow hissed and winced, gently pressing her hoof to her side, immediately turning her friends' attention to her.

"Y'alright, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Y-yeah... I think I've got a bruised rib though..."

Applejack grimaced. "Hopefully it's just bruised. Last night after y'all fell asleep Ah was worried ya mighta got a concussion and almost woke ya up."

Rainbow shook her head. "Nah... I hit my head pretty hard, but I don't think I hit it THAT hard."

Applejack sighed and turned her attention forward again. "Ah hope so. If'n y'all start t' feel anythin' off tho, tell us. If'n we gotta, we'll leave th' woods an' go back t' Ponyville without th' others. Ah'm sure they'd understand, an' truth be told, Ah'm considerin' it anyway."

Big Mac looked up and sighed to himself. Already, it was looking to be getting close to noon. He and Twilight had been wandering for an hour now and they had found nothing. Just how far had she teleported them? He had asked earlier if she could teleport them back to camp, but it seemed that was a no-go; if the bear was still there, she might not have the energy to get both of them away. It seemed everything that could go wrong had. The sooner they got back to camp, the sooner they could go home - assuming his sister had returned.

He absolutely refused to leave if she hadn't.

Eventually, Twilight stopped and grimaced about something, looking down at her hooves. She then looked in Big Mac's direction. "I kinda need to use the little filly's room... would you mind waiting here until I come back?"

Big Mac sighed. "Of course."

Twilight smiled and trotted in another direction. There were some bushes off in the distance he imagined she was going to use. He shrugged and sat on his haunches, looking about. After a few seconds, he felt a slight sting in his snout; it was just then he remembered he had forgotten to take his meds before he went to sleep. He took his saddlebags off and placed them on the ground, and pulled one open. He reached a hoof in, but didn't find what he was looking for. He let loose an irritated groan and turned to the other bag, prying it open and, much to his relief, retrieved the bottle. He popped it open, then turned it on it's side and poured a single pill from it. He tossed that pill into his mouth, and took up his canteen, taking a sip from it.

"I'm back. Okay, we can... continue..."

Big Mac was about to put the bottle back into his bag when he noticed Twilight staring down. He looked at his hooves, making sure he didn't have a spider on them, but in that glance, he saw what had drawn her attention.

He had forgot to close his bags.

And one of them just-so-happened to have a doll in it.

He blushed and gulped, looking up to Twilight, waiting to hear her reaction before he said anything, trying desperately to hide his fear of being judged with a mask of stoicism.

"... Y... you have Smartypants?"

Smartypants? What? Why did she call the doll that? He had always called her Orchard; it felt right. Looking at the doll and back up to her, he went to say something, but was cut off. "I... I have been looking for her forever. I was so worried, I... I lost something precious to me! And... and... h.... how long have you had her?"

Big Mac wanted to lie. But that wasn't what an Apple did. "A few years..."

The look on Twilight's face seemed to shift from confused, to questioning. Then, suddenly, to anger. "A few years? A few years!?"

She stomped a hoof forward. "I had been posting wanted posters all over town looking for her! Once every month, I would devote hours at a time searching for her! And you've had her the whole time!?" To be fair, he hadn't seen the posters. At least, he hadn't noticed them.

"Eeyup..."

She stomped again. "This whole time, I thought she was in some grass or in a bush or in some animal's dish... and then I considered, 'what if a little filly took her and befriended her?' I decided if that was the case, then I'd gladly let the filly keep her! But instead, I find that a... a.... grown stallion had abducted her and... and..... what did you want her for!?"

Big Mac seemed to wilt some. "T-tea parties... conversation..."

Twilight's wings flared. "You had tea parties with her!? And talked to her!? Do I need to emphasize the 'grown stallion' thing!?" She seemed to stomp in place, her head winding and turning with various thoughts. "You're a grown stallion, playing with a filly's play toy!? You... you..." She gritted her teeth, full to bursting with pent up fury. Big McIntosh could swear he could see steam coming from her ears.

"You have got to be the biggest... freak.... weirdo.... thief I have ever known, Big McIntosh Apple!"

After the words left her mouth, Big Mac winced as if he had been hurt, if only for an instant, and Twilight suddenly became aware that things had just gotten really quiet. All the rage, all the anger, all of it had boiled over. Suddenly, she wasn't feeling quite so angry anymore. Big Mac looked down to his bag for a minute, then back up to Twilight. He closed his eyes and nodded his head, leaning down towards the bag and taking the doll's scruff into his teeth; carefully, as if he were holding onto an actual foal. He lifted it up and trotted towards her, eliciting a confused look from the mare. He then set the doll on the ground in front of her hooves, and then lifted his head back up. He gave her one more nod and turned around, trotting back to his bags and closing them, lifting them up and setting them on his back.

Twilight looked at Smartypants for a few seconds, then back to him as he sat there, waiting patiently, his expression as stoic and hard-to-read as ever. But Twilight had dealt with such things before. She didn't know if it was giving up the doll, or if it was what she said, but she could see something in his eyes. Something that made her regret her particular choice of words.

Big McIntosh. Stoic. Strong. Proud.

And she had managed to hurt him quite deeply.

She let her mouth move a bit. "B-Big Mac... I'm... I'm sorry, I..."

He looked away, towards the woods. "Me too."

She wanted to apologize again. She wanted to take it back. But she couldn't. She had said what she had said, and while she hated for herself for it, she couldn't deny that she had meant it, had really thought it. After all, he WAS a grown stallion. But was it really so wrong? She levitated Smartypants towards her saddlebags, propped one side open, and gently pushed her inside, closing it back. She turned to look at Big Mac, and spoke in a calm, if somewhat apologetic manner.

"I'm ready to go..."