Applejack was an amazing filly. The confidence and courage she portrayed immediately impressed Pinkie. She knew from the start that Applejack wouldn't just become another friend of hers; She would become her best friend.

Applejack invited Pinkie and Inkie to her home at Sweet Apple Acres, but the latter didn't want to come along, she was still all shook up from before. It was great to spend some time on a farm again. From Applejack, Pinkie learned everything about apple farming, which obviously was very different from strawberry farming. The biggest difference was, that while strawberries could easily be hoof-picked, apples were too high up in the tree. The tree had to be bucked to bring down the apples.

Pinkie tried applebucking a couple of times, but didn't manage more than to rustle a couple of leaves. Applejack tried to show her new found friend the proper way to buck apples, and brought down half a dozen at once. However, Pinkie was unable to copy the feat. After Applejack told her that her applebucking was nothing compared to what her brother and granny could do, Pinkie decided to simply give up, at least for now.

The rest of the day the two fillies spent with games of tag and hide and seek until the sun was down. When Pinkie was back home, she could not contain her excitement and talked without interruption about her wonderful day. The Cakes were visibly enthralled to see Pinkie happy again.

*  *  *

Clyde's curiosity had turned into obsession. He skipped work as often as he could, probably risking a dismissal, despite most days being rather slow and many workers being sent home early. Luckily without his children, he didn't have to earn as many bits as before.

In a number of self-conducted experiments, Clyde found out many things about the Parasprite, that he trapped under a washtub. At first, he was scared to feed the creature, for its multiplication could easily get out of hand, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to let the little thing starve to death.

He witnessed three multiplications first-hand. The Parasprites seemed to grow clones within their bodies, that were literally spat out once they had matured. After the initial reproduction they simply stopped. Clyde figured it was because he had stopped feeding them, and he would continue to starve them even if it was morally questionable. Having a horde of gluttonous monsters on the loose was something to be avoided at all cost.

The creatures were easily manipulated by the Pony Polka. Whenever it was played, the Parasprites would cease all activity and fly towards the gramophone, happily dancing to the music. Clyde experimented what he could do with them in this state. He tried picking up the Parasprites and placing them somewhere. They were completely meek and simply sat there, looking with wide, curious eyes back at Clyde. After a couple of minutes they would simply fly back to the gramophone.

Two days without food later, the effects became evident on the Parasprites. They simply went into hibernation to stay alive. After three more days, three of them had died, while the forth one woke up again. It started to chew on the washtub. It felt safe to feed the survivor, so Clyde did just that. He was far from done with his experiments.

All this time, Martha silently watched her husband disappear into the silo and coming out only late at night, denying her all access to the silo in the meantime. He missed many meals. Martha would have been worried about him, if her mind wasn't still occupied with the loss of her little girls.

*  *  *

Pinkie Pie and Applejack decided to have a sleepover at Applejack's house. Pinkie's sisters again didn't join her, but that wouldn't stop Pinkie. Despite never having slept over at anypony's house, she knew it would be fun.

The two fillies had just started to tell each other ghost stories.

Applejack was narrating: “... and when she opened the door, the ghost of the pony she had met that very day stood before 'er.”

“And she started to giggle at it,” Pinkie interrupted.

“Yeah, she... Wait! What?”

“That's what Granny Pie had always told me to laugh to make your fears disappear. So whenever you see anything ghostly, just giggle at it and it goes away. It really works!” Pinkie explained

“Pinkie, yer ruinin' mah story!” Applejack was visibly unhappy about the interruption.

“Oh! I'm sorry, AJ. Go on,” Pinkie offered with an apologetic smile.

“Nuh, the story wasn't that scary anyway. Ah know a much scarier story that happened on this very farm. It's called “the howl of the timber wolves”.”

Pinkie sat down and listened carefully.

Applejack continued: “Just a month ago, mah Granny Smith started ta hear weird noises from the forests around the farm. She decided ta ignore 'em, but they never stopped. Ev'ry night the noises grew louder and they were accompanied by ear-splittin' howls. One night mah granny swore she coulda heard a voice within, cryin' for help. So she decided to follow 'em 'til the edge of the Everfree Forest. The voice grew louder an' louder. Finally she found a small injured bird on the ground. Both of its wings were broken and showed huge toothmarks. When Granny looked down at the bird and tried ta help it, she heard the loudest, most blood-curling howl ever. She turned around and what she saw almost petrified 'er. She...”

Applejack's story was precipitously interrupted by a howl outside the window. Applejack winced. Pinkie Pie jumped up shouting: “It's the timber wolves! They've come to get us!”

“C-calm down Pinkie. Ah'm sure it's nuthin',” Applejack stuttered.

“But the timber wolves will eat us!”

Applejack had regained her cool. “Whatever happened ta “giggle at the ghostly”?”

Pinkie immediately calmed down and laughed at her own silly behavior. “You're right sorry.” Suddenly an idea came to Pinkie's mind and with a grin she added: “We should totally look for whatever made that howl.”

Applejack looked worried. “Ah dunno, that seems mighty dangerous.”

“Don't worry, I'll be there to protect you,” Pinkie snidely remarked, as she went out the door.

“If there's any protectin' ta be done, it's gonna be me!” Applejack shouted as she followed her friend.

As the two fillies wandered into the pitch-black night, they decided to hold hooves, in order not to lose each other. They heard a second howl.

“This really ain't such a good idea,” Applejack said.

Pinkie Pie, being struck by the spirit of adventure, dragged Applejack behind her. “Come on, there's no turning back now.”

“But what if it comes from inside the Everfree Forest? Granny Smith forbid me ta go anywhere near it.”

“Well in case we reach the Everfree Forest, we will turn back.”

Another howl followed, and another. The howls were continuously getting louder; It seemed  whatever the origin of the howls was, it was in great pain. The two fillies intuitively closed ranks. Finally they reached a bush. The source of noise had to be behind it.

Suddenly Pinkie's fear returned. “You go look, Applejack. I'll stay behind.”

Applejack wanted to protest, but didn't. With a simple “okay” she went through the bush.

“AJ? Are you okay?” Pinkie asked into the night.

“Ah'm okay,” Applejack responded.

“Did you find the source?”

“Yes, Ah did.”

“What is it?”

“It's a dog.” She stepped back out from behind the bush, carrying a brown Border Collie with a white underbelly, that wasn't much older than a pup.

“The poor thing is probably starvin',” Applejack told her friend.

“Well, then we better go feed it,” Pinkie replied.

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and their new friend went back towards the distant farm house.

*  *  *

After another short day of work, Clyde returned to the silo. He turned over the washtub, but there was nothing in it. In panic, he searched the entire silo, hoping that the Parasprites might still be around. They weren't, the creatures were long gone.

Clyde rushed to his wife. “Martha, honey, have you been to the silo?”

Martha replied coldheartedly: “Yes I have. And I also released those poor things you had trapped under the washtub.”

Clyde's eyes widened in shock. He grabbed Martha by the shoulders. “Honey, do you have any idea what you did?”

Martha backed off from Clyde to free herself from his grip. “No, I don't, and I don't care. I don't care about anything anymore. First I lose my girls, and then I lose you to whatever you were doing inside that silo. Finally I go in there and find those... things. The memories of my girls came back immediately and I just had to get rid of them. It just hurts too much. Its all too much for me.” Martha fell to the floor and started to silently sob.

The sudden realization struck Clyde like a bolt of lightning. At that moment he would have liked nothing more, than join his wife in her sadness on the ground, but he knew he couldn't allow himself to do so. There might be a catastrophe approaching and he would be the only one that could stop it.

He picked up his wife from the ground, kissed her on the forehead, and embraced her afterwards. He gently spoke to her: “I'm so sorry, Martha! I have been a terrible husband and a terrible father these past couple of weeks. I don't know if I can make it up to you, but I will try with all my heart. Unfortunately, there is something I have to do first. Just please, please don't be mad at me.”

Clyde let go of his wife, grabbed the gramophone, and went off towards Baltimare. Next Chapter: Chapter 8: The parting of ways Estimated time remaining: 11 Minutes