If their earlier statement hadn't been evidence enough, then now, things were confirmed; they had finally left the Everfree Forest in earnest. And yet, in spite of that, trees remained their constant companions on this journey, as step after step brought them nothing but those very plants, each one laden with fresh and tasty-looking apples. The group, while still shaken from their earlier conflict, had managed to regain their footing, and were now being escorted through this seemingly-endless orchard around them. Their latest acquaintance, Applejack, was at the head of the group, marching forward with her huge sword resting upon her shoulder as she walked. Most in the group were, understandably, rather wary of this woman, none more so than Rainbow, who, as she walked, moved closer to Twilight, whispering in her ear.

"I don't like this, Twilight. Should we really be following her?"

The young mage turned to her, her expression a fairly neutral one, before answering.

"I'm not sure, but right now, it's our only option. It is her land after all."

To that, Rainbow frowned.

"Maybe...but call me old-fashioned, but I still don't like the idea of following someone who just came out of nowhere and attacked us like that."

This time, it was the turn of Spike, who was walking close by, to lend his voice to things, looking to Rainbow with a raised eyebrow.

"Says the pot calling the kettle black?"

Naturally, Rainbow turned to him with a frown, which he promptly responded to with a smirk. As for Twilight, she rubbed her temples at all of this, but, when she was done, kept her eyes on Applejack up ahead. At this point, the trees around them had started to thin out a bit, and as a result, the group started looking around a bit more. They stayed on the path, never straying from the course Applejack had set, but now, they began to see that they were not alone out here. Other men and women could be seen from afar, tending to the trees, collecting apples, as well as performing a number of other farming duties. Many of them bore similar garb to Applejack, but, unlike her, were unarmed, at least, for now. And speaking of Applejack, the woman finally stopped, turning to her travelling companions and wearing a broad smile.

"Welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres!"

With a single hand, she gestured up ahead, and the group, all together, took on a look of clear surprise. There, beyond where the trees finally stopped, there was a clearing, and right in the centre of it, there was, without question, a keep. Not one of stone and mortar, like so many others in their lands, but one of timber. Doubtless, it had been forged from the many fallen apple trees that they had accumulated over the years, but regardless, it looked no less impressive, rising at least three storeys, and wide enough to give the impression that it could support quite a few residents. Though again, this size could not match other castles of their nation, making it look rather humble by comparison. Surrounding it were several other such constructions, but none as large or as imposing. And throughout them all, there were other people, all setting about their work. Stepping forward, Twilight squinted her eyes a little.

"Wait a minute..."

She looked around, observing not only the keep, but the apple trees and even Applejack herself. Slowly, her eyes widened.

"You're House Apple!"

Looking to her, Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Gee, what tipped you off? The apples, perhaps?"

Twilight, ignoring her friend, stepped forward, giving a deep bow before her host.

"My Lady."

To this, Applejack took on a look of embarrassment, scratching the back of her head in a nervous manner.

"Aw shoot, girl! Y'all don't need ta be so formal. We're all just simple apple farmers out here."

Stepping forward, Rainbow folded her arms.

"Yeah. Simple apple farmers...who go about trying to cut people's heads off?"

Looking to the ranger, Applejack frowned.

"In case y'all forgot, ya tried stealin mah family's apples, Missy! That don't sit too kindly with us!"

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at this.

"Oh yeah? Then why'd you stop?"

While still maintaining a stern look to her, Applejack's face soon softened slightly, turning to look upon Twilight, who had now risen again.

"When most bandits an thieves come lookin fer stuff ta steal, they usually sell one another out. Cowardly stuff, the usual."

Raising a hand, the farmer gestured to the lavender girl before her.

"But you? Y'all risked yer life fer one of yer own. Most wouldn't do that."

Twilight, understandably, looked a little taken aback by such words, but stayed silent as their host looked to Rainbow once more.

"Ah knew, just from that, that y'all are good folk. And that's all there is to it."

Rainbow, while still somewhat unconvinced, nevertheless allowed her demeanour to soften, if only a little. She said nothing, simply choosing to stubbornly look away from Applejack. As for the latter, she continued to walk ahead, straight for her family home. There was a pause amongst the group for a time, but, after letting out a deep sigh, Twilight started to follow the farmer. Her companions followed shortly afterwards, and, together, they made their way to the homely-looking wooden keep at the end of the path. As they journeyed forth, they continued to see more of the Apple family here and there, and as they drew closer to the keep, they spotted one man in particular. He was a true giant, standing a full head above the tallest of them, bristling with muscles, with a mop of slight orange hair. At this present moment, he was busying himself with chopping blocks of wood nearby.

Rainbow, upon seeing him, took on a sly smile, stroking her chin before looking him over from a distance.

"Hmmm...not bad."

Hearing that, Applejack's head snapped in Rainbow's direction, and her face bore a distinct scowl of disapproval.

"Hey! Mah brother's eyes are up there!"

Turning to her Rainbow kept up her smirk.

"Yeah...but his abs are down there."

As one would expect, such a remark earned a fair few varied reactions from her companions, from a fierce blush on the face of Fluttershy, to a simple look of exasperation on Twilight's face. As for Applejack though, she started to march towards the ranger, looking more than a little irritated. Fortunately for all of them, this potential confrontation was soon halted by the sudden arrival of a frail-sounding voice.

"Jacqueline?"

Applejack stopped, spinning around and looking upon the one who had spoken, as did everybody else. It was an old woman, with bright green skin and grey hair tied up in a bun. She walked by way of an ancient-looking cane, and was clad in simple cloth, giving the typical mental image of a kindly grandmother. It was an image further enhanced by the welcoming smile she gave.

"Aren't y'all gonna introduce us to yer guests?"

Clearing her throat, Applejack turned to the group, gesturing to them with one hand.

"Granny, this ere is Twilight an company. They came out of the Everfree a short while ago."

Upon hearing that, the old woman took on a look of surprise, but it was short-lived, as she soon broke into another smile, taking a few moments to step forward, reaching out with one hand.

"It's so nice to have some new faces here. Welcome, young'uns. Most round these parts call me Granny Smith."

Smiling back, Twilight walked towards her, graciously accepting her hand and giving a slight bow of her head.

"It's nice to meet you too, Miss."

Turning, Twilight gestured to the rest of her party.

"And these are my friends. Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Spike."

Each one, upon hearing their name called out, gave waves or bows in greeting to the matriarch of the Apple family, and she, in turn, graciously returned the gesture with all of them. However, when it came time to do so with Spike, she paused. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked the boy over from head to toe, stroking her chin in a display of curiosity. Naturally, the young Prince looked left and right in a sign of uncertainty, fumbling his words a little before finally speaking up.

"Um...is there...is there something wrong, Miss?"

The elder woman took a step forward, looking him right in the eye.

"Y'all look dressed pretty fancy fer travellin folk, boy."

Spike coughed nervously at that, continuing to try and avoid her gaze. But Granny, continuing to stare at him, was soon drawn to looking at a particular feature of Spike's garb. The noticeable emblem of the sun, there upon his chest for all to see. Wheels could be seen turning in the older woman's head, and as Spike continued to avoid looking at her, the former soon widened her eyes, taking a step backwards and looking, for lack f a better word, awed.

"By...by mah stars! Y'all are...the Prince!"

Immediately, every Apple within earshot had their heads snap in the direction of Granny, and then, to Spike. They stared at him, causing no end of embarrassment for the youth, but, before he could say or do anything, he found, to his shock, that Granny then fell to one knee, bowing her head down to the ground.

"Mah Lord!"

Her family, Applejack included, did the same, showing great reverence for the boy before them. As for the rest of Spike's group, they looked to him with both intrigue and amusement, Twilight especially so, as she tried her best to stifle a giggle that threatened to emerge from her. Spike, for his part, let out an exasperated sigh at the treatment he was being given, before looking to his mage friend, his expression almost one of pleading.

"Um...help?"

Author's Notes:

Okay, before I get on with the next chapter, there's something I'd like to test the water on. You see, I have a lot of ideas in my head regarding the backstories and histories of this world and the characters within it, but, I know from experience that having them just stop in the middle of a story to spout it out just comes off as needless exposition.

So, instead, I was considering a different approach. Instead of having the characters say all those things, I was thinking that I would instead devote a few occasional chapters to present a kind of faux-history text, showcasing the backgrounds of the lore and history of this world.

I was inspired largely by the similar "History and Lore of Westeros" videos of the Game of Thrones show, and would basically talk about the noble houses, monsters, etc in a similar way.

However, I will only go ahead with such writings if I have approval of my readers. After all, the last thing I want to do with this is make people feel like they're wasting their time reading chapters like that. So, if it's alright with you lot, I wouldn't like to hear your views on this. If you feel fine with me going ahead and doing those kinds of history-like chapters, please say so in the comments below. If not, then I'll just stick to the story chapters as normal.