Apple Bloom showed Spook Tree around Sweet Apple Acres. He was completely blown away by the sheer amount of apples in the farm. It seemed to go on forever, like an ocean. He wondered more about the world that he despised so much, wanting to see more of Ponyville.

“Okay! Let’s see if you can buck some apples!” Apple Bloom said with a hint of enthusiasm in her voice and a smile.

Spook Tree was a bit confused by what she meant.

“Buck… Apples? How do I do that?” he asked, tilting his head to the side a little in curiousity.

Apple Bloom’s eyes had widened by the question. She then looked at one of the apple trees and did her best to explain.

“Well, it’s pretty easy! My sister showed me. You just turn around against an apple tree like this and then you just…” she explained, turning around while doing so and bucking the apple tree lightly, disappointed a little that it wasn’t as effective as her sister’s.

“It uh… It looks very challenging. I would have expected an apple to fall from the tree.” Spook Tree assumed, looking up at it.

“Okay. Now it’s your turn to start buckin’.” She said, watching him slowly approach it with an expression of uncertainty. He turned around like she did and bucked as hard as he could. Surprisingly, he had succeeded in bucking the apple tree, making all the apples fall to the ground. Although, he was a minion of darkness and power, so it wasn’t all that surprising to him.

“Maybe I put too much into it. I should really suppress my strength to fit in more.” He suggested, showing a sign of embarrassment and backing up from the tree. Apple Bloom on the other hand, was impressed that he could do it, even though he was just a foal.

“That was amazing!” Apple Bloom said with surprise and awe. He blushed lightly at her comment and said “Well, I am a creature of evil.”

Apple Bloom nodded a bit in agreement before continuing the tour around Sweet Apple Acres.

----

Gadget went his own way after the event with Tartarus’ plan being stopped. Twilight told him that she would go to the Carousel Boutique and talk to Rarity about what had happened, just so she wouldn’t be heartbroken about Night Shade’s “sudden disappearance”.

He wondered what would have happened if Tartarus had succeeded with the gathering of the Elements of Harmony. His mind brought an image of a desolate land and ponies living in fear of his power. Gadget shook that image out of his head quickly and decided it was best to find something to keep him busy from that thought.

Gadget explored around Ponyville, but stopped at Sugarcube Corner.

“Hmm… I could go for something sweet right about now.” Gadget thought to himself, slowly clopping into Sugarcube Corner and peeking inside.

He saw Pinkie Pie on the steps in the front of the store, looking at her cupcakes, visibly sad about how Tartarus left after tasting one cupcake and hating it.

“U-Uh… Pinkie Pie? A-Are you okay?” Gadget asked, moving inside more and approaching her carefully and slowly.

Pinkie Pie looked at Gadget before looking back at her cupcakes, thinking about what she did wrong.

“Were those cupcakes for Night Shade?” he asked her, which she nodded slowly.

“He didn’t like them.” She muttered quietly. Gadget sat down on the stairs next her and tried to think of something nice to say. He wasn’t used to this type of stuff.

“W-Well, I don’t think they’re that bad. In fact, I’d like to taste one. Let a pony with a sweet tooth try it out.” He suggested with a big smile, in an attempt to make her feel better.

She perked up instantly, glad that somepony would taste her cupcakes.

“Here! Try one!” Pinkie said with happiness in her voice again, giving Gadget a cupcake. He stared at it closely and slowly bit into it. He began to chew it and not surprisingly, it was very good. He then gobbled the rest of the cupcake down and swallowed it with a big smile on his face.

“Wow! These are really great! Can I have another one? I-I mean, please?” Gadget asked with desire for the sweets she had.

Of course, Pinkie smiled and handed him another.

“We’ll share!” She suggested, eating a cupcake with him as they laughed together.

----

Spook Tree looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse and was pretty surprised that it looked so bright and well-constructed.

“I am impressed by the work! You did this in one attempt?” Spook Tree assumed, climbing up the stairs to the clubhouse slowly, admiring the colours.

Suddenly, he was pulled back by Apple Bloom and she gave him a stern look. He looked confused why she was looking at him that way.

“You can’t just walk in the clubhouse! You ain’t a member yet!” Apple Bloom stated, making Spook Tree understand what she meant.

“Oh… I’m sorry. How do I become a member?” he asked out of curiosity. Apple Bloom thought for a moment and thought of a perfect idea for how to prove himself.

“I’ll have to get the other members first, so we can see if you got what it takes!” She said, galloping to get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Spook Tree just looked at her leave and then slowly sat down at the end of the stairs.

“This is such an amazing world. I don’t know why I even wanted to cause trouble. Well, actually that was because of my master’s bidding, but now… This place looks too beautiful and wondrous to destroy.” Spook Tree thought to himself, smiling and looking at all the apple trees.

Then it occurred to him. He hadn’t seen the rest of Ponyville. This made him even more curious and excited about what he would discover there. He looked to the left, then the right, seeing that Apple Bloom hadn’t come back yet.

He continued to wait for a few more minutes, but she hadn’t returned. Spook Tree then slowly stood up on his own hooves and decided it was time for him to check the rest of Ponyville out. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

----

Gadget walked out of Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie after they had finished eating the cupcakes. They were both in such a good mood.

“H-Hey Pinkie Pie, do you uh… W-Well, I have this flying machine that Twilight says looks exactly like yours. Would you like to check it out? We could fly both of our contraptions together.” Gadget asked, a bit nervous about asking a pony other than Twilight to look at his creation.

She smiled big and hopped in excitement over what he made.

“Okay! I want to see!” Pinkie agreed, which made Gadget smile as well and they both trotted (Rather, Pinkie hopped alongside him) to Gadget’s workshop.

----

Spook Tree clopped out of Sweet Apple Acres, but he didn’t leave through the entrance. He just wandered past the clubhouse and went to a random direction to reach Ponyville, only to come face-to-face with a river.

He looked at the water flowing by and smiled at the noise it was making. Slowly, Spook Tree looked at his reflection in the water, but quickly backed away because he thought it was some other pony under water.

He looked again and tilted his head a little, realizing it actually was just his reflection. Spook Tree then dipped his front hoof into the gentle stream, feeling the cold, refreshing water. At first, he flinched at the feeling, but he adapted to it.

“Wow… It feels so nice. I wonder if…” He muttered, putting his other front hoof into the water and enjoying it immensely. He carefully approached the river closely and put his face into the water to see what it looked like, but the temperature of the water made him pull his head out and shake his head to dry his mane.

“I should really do that. I might fall and the consequences could be dire.” He reminded himself, taking his hooves out and backing away from the river. Suddenly, he heard Apple Bloom’s voice from behind him and he quickly galloped back to the clubhouse.

When he reached the clubhouse, he saw Scootlaoo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle there, all looking at him with perplexed faces.

“Where did you go Spook?” Apple Bloom asked, to which he tried to lie, but looking at them, he knew he couldn’t.

“I… was playing around in the water. I was curious about Ponyville and I wanted to see, but I couldn’t make it across and I suppose maybe that I’m stuck here.” Spook Tree explained, looking a little guilty.

Sweetie Belle smiled and suggested “Why don’t we take you Ponyville? We can show you all around! You have a lot to see about this place!”

Spook Tree gave a big grin at the idea and said “Really? Then please, lead the way! If this place is as great as Apple Bloom said, I can’t wait to see Ponyville!”

The four fillies then happily clopped to Ponyville, laughing and talking while Spook Tree just listened. Strangely, he enjoyed spending time with them. Almost as if he belonged.

Next Chapter: Chapter 13: Departure Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes