Southern Comfort

by chief maximus

First published 17th of July, 2012

A dying home reveals feelings thought long suppressed for a certain pony.

After running Trixie out of town for being all talk, one last act of spite threatens to turn Twilight's life upside down. She calls upon the only pony she knows may be able to help restore her faith in pony-kind and her faith in herself.
A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, as Applejack and Twilight begin a trek to rescind Trixie's revenge, and save Twilight's Ponyville home.

The Devious and Spiteful Trixie

"Who does she think she is?" Trixie fumed, once she had safely made it outside of Ponyville.

"How dare she humiliate the great and powerful Trixie!"

The azure unicorn took reprieve against an old tree in the middle of a field, glaring out towards the sleepy town under the starlight.

She growled to herself, "Twilight Sparkle, you've made a powerful enemy tonight!"

Her gypsy home smashed, her reputation (in Ponyville anyway) ruined, Trixie had only one thing on her mind.

Sweet, sweet revenge.

A sly grin crept across the great and powerful unicorn's lips. "Destroy my home will you?" the star studded hat she wore levitated off her head and rested in front of her. She reached into her hat, nearly falling into the infinite storage device before retrieving a small vial filled with a dark green liquid.

All she was trying to do was make a living, and Ponyville was simply the next stop on her tour. Sure, she may have overindulged her ego a bit in the town square, but that was no reason to have everything she owned in this world destroyed! On top of that, they were heckling her! Did they not expect her to defend her reputation? It would take her weeks of street performing like a common earth pony to save up enough bits for a new cart. That, however, was a plan for later.

Though she couldn't strike back against every pony she felt responsible for her misfortune, she could at least hit the one who showed her up.

Trixie gently rested her hat back onto her perfectly brushed mane, the vial floating in front of her where her hat had been.

The emerald liquid shone brilliantly in the moonlight, her devious smile not daring to fade. She began her slow trek back toward the town after an hour or so, waiting to make sure she wouldn't be seen.

The moon heralded her arrival as she stealthily crept from alleyway to darkened corner, though the square and indeed the whole town was fast asleep.

The tree Twilight called home appeared at the end of the street, all lights out for the night.

Trixie looked both ways before dashing towards the stately library, her cape fluttering behind her.

"Let's see how you like being homeless!" she whispered to herself, retrieving the vial and trying to uncork it.

She pulled and pulled, but the stopper wouldn't budge. Not even her magic could remove the stubborn lid from its small glass home. Growing frustrated, Trixie simply smashed the vial against the roots of the tree.

A satisfied smile graced her features as she admired her work, the green liquid being quickly absorbed into the root system.

A satisfied huff, and Trixie set off into the night, on to the next town she would no doubt amaze with her incredible powers... as soon as she found a new cart.

"Good morning, great and powerful Twilight!"

The mare in question's eyelids fluttered open, greeted by Spike holding a tray of her favorite breakfast food. Haycakes with extra butter and apple dumplings.

"Ugh, Spike, don't start with the great and powerful stuff... I've had enough Trixie for one lifetime."

"What?" the baby dragon asked innocuously, withdrawing the tray. "Are you saying you aren't worthy of this delicious and amazing breakfast, great and powerful Twilight?"

She rolled her eyes and set the breakfast in bed over her lap. "What's the occasion?"

Spike scoffed at her question "Gee, I dunno, saving the town from an angry ursa minor sound familiar?"

All in a day's work. she thought smugly. Maybe a little too smugly.

"Well somepony had to," Twilight answered modestly, taking a bite of her piping hot food.

"Beshides," she began with her mouth full, "If it hadn't been for Trickshie, I wouldn't have had to save tha town in the firsht playsh."

Twilight swallowed before attacking the apple dumplings. Applejack had always given her a discount on apples whenever she sent Spike to go grocery shopping. She assumed she did it for the rest of her friends as well, but something about the apples she gave Spike seemed perfect for cooking. The flavor was always balanced, the sweetness playing against the tart, the texture complimenting the juiciness... if better apples existed, Twilight certainly hadn't tasted them.

Spike hopped off her bed and laid back onto his own, producing a few gems from under his pillow to snack on.

"So what are we doing today, Twilight?"

Her magic opened the end table near her bed as she removed a little black daily planner. A red bookmark held her place as she opened it to today's date. Her eyes scanned the entries as she came upon her first appointment.

"Looks like we'll be helping the Apples plant new saplings!" she chirped happily. Something about the wide open spaces of the apple orchards spoke to her in a way the concrete jungles of Canterlot simply couldn't. Spike's eyes brightened up at the prospect of spending time at Sweet Apple Acres.

"Cool, I bet Apple Bloom and her friends have some fun stuff planned today!" he exclaimed, hopping out of his basket and stuffing the rest of his gems in his mouth. Twilight made short work of her breakfast and sent her dirty dishes hovering into the kitchen sink as they made their way downstairs. A knock at the door drew Twilight away from washing the dishes.

Upon opening it, she noticed Ditzy struggling on her doorstep with a heavy box on her back, her grey legs wobbling under its weight.

"H-hi Twilight... I've got... a... package... for you."

"Thanks Ditzy, these must be the Encyclopedia Equannica set I ordered!" Twilight quickly took the box in her magic and relieved the mailmare of her burden. "You know, you should really get a back brace for heavy boxes."

Ditzy panted heavily as she rooted around in her mail bag for the form Twilight needed to sign. Producing a quill and clipboard, Twilight added her flourished signature and asked Ditzy if she would wait there for a second.

"Thanks for lugging it all this way," she chimed, grabbing a basket filled with an assortment of muffins she had made a day or so earlier and placing it in front of Ditzy. Twilight was expecting the hefty package sooner or later, and had made her mailmare her favorite tip accordingly.

"Banana nut!" she gasped, "You remembered my favorite flavor!" she immediately took a bite of one and savored it before hoisting her satchel back onto her shoulders. "Thanks Twilight!"

Twilight blushed, taking her heavy box of books in her magic and moving them into the library. "It's not a problem, I know how much you enjoy them after a heavy delivery."

After the mailmare had departed with her tip, she noticed Spike looking at the box forlornly. She could guess why.

"Looks like I'll be here while you're helping plant trees," the young dragon groaned, opening the box and removing the first of sixty or so thick, hardcover books.

Twilight knew Spike didn't get out much, or have much fun with anypony his age, so she decided to make a deal with him. "Tell you what, Spike. If you get all these books organized by the time I get back, I'll take you to Sugarcube Corner for one of Pinkie's special gemstone cupcakes." His eyes lit a bright green.

"Really?" he asked excitedly.

"Really. See ya later!"

"Bye Twilight!"

The morning dew still clung to the grass as she trotted toward Sweet Apple acres. Her delicious breakfast powering her hooves, Twilight drank in the fresh spring breeze. The flowers were only beginning to bloom, but the pollen already hung heavily in the air. She stopped at the city limits, feeling the tickle in her sinuses of an oncoming sneeze. Her nose wrinkled as she expelled the offending pollen in a torrent of feminine wind gusts.

"Geez, three in a row!" she remarked to nopony in particular. Wiping her nose with her hoof, she continued on her way. Before long, she arrived at Applejack's farm, finding the orange earth pony waiting on her porch while her brother pulled a cart full of apple tree saplings out to the fields.

"Howdy Twilight!" she greeted happily, stepping off her porch. "Thanks for comin' out ta help me and my brother with the new trees!"

"No problem Applejack, am I the first one here?"

"Yep, all we got ta do now is wait for Rarity and Rainbow Dash ta show up, and we can get ta plantin'."

Twilight was more than a bit surprised to hear Rarity's name in that sentence. "How in Equestria did you get Rarity to agree to this?"

"Easy," AJ beamed pridefully, "Ah told her it was a garden party."

"But, isn't that lying?"

"'Course not silly filly!" she laughed, shaking her mane, "It's always a party when y'all are around, and we will be gardening."

Twilight chuckled, she couldn't help but be somewhat impressed by AJ's inventiveness. Even though Macintosh may have been the brains of the operation, that didn't mean his sister was without her own moments of brilliance. That kind of depth had always intrigued Twilight. On the surface, just an earth pony whose work was her life, and she took pride in both. Deeper still, was the underlying willingness to stop at nothing to help her friends, or achieve whatever lofty goal she had set for herself.

Twilight remembered when Applejack thought she could help everypony in town, disregarding her need for rest. It was that kind of pride—whether foolishly stubborn or heroically steadfast— that always endeared her to the studious unicorn. Nopony else (with the exception of Rainbow Dash) would have taken not being able to help everypony so hard.

"Let's head to the barn, there's some apple juice Ah just pressed this mornin' we can drink while we wait for the others ta show up."

They trotted into the barn where a glass jar sat in a tub of ice, with two identical jars on a bench beside it. "Twilight, you mind pourin' it for me, since you got magic and all?"

Twilight grinned. It wasn't every day she was able to do something easier than Ponyville's most valuable pony. Applejack had learned her friendship lessons well, no longer afraid to ask for help when it came to most things. "Sure, AJ."

She took the chilled jug and poured them both a glass. After taking a sip, Twilight sighed. It was as though the juice was pressed using apples from Celestia's royal garden. The flavor was sweet and refreshing, with just a bit of tart to suggest there had maybe been a granny smith apple or two mixed into the bunch during the making. If Applejack's cutie mark wasn't three apples, it could have certainly been a jug of apple juice or a cider press.

"Applejack this is great! I wish I'd have brought some bits, I'd love to buy some!"

"Don't worry bout bits, sugarcube. You go on and take this on the house, Ah've got more than Ah could probably sell."

"Wow, thanks!" Twilight teleported the delicious drink back to her treehouse, hoping she didn't send it on top of Spike while he was organizing the new books.

AJ downed the rest of juice with Twilight as a gust of dust announced Rainbow Dash landing outside the barn.

"Hey guys!" she called, kicking up more than her fair share of dirt in her usual hover. "We planting trees today or what?"

"As soon as—"

"I'm here!" Rarity sang, trotting gracefully around the house to where her friends were waiting; wearing an elegant dress and fancy hat. "I must congratulate you, Applejack on your first social event. I've been saying for years how lovely a—" Rarity stopped herself mid sentence as she realized she was the only one wearing clothes. "This isn't a garden party," she glared at Applejack for having been misled, "Is it?"

"Sure it is! Ah've got three of my five best friends here, which makes it a party, and we're gonna do some gardening," she smiled smugly as Rarity removed her dress and laid it neatly on the porch before reporting back to Applejack.

"Well why aren't Fluttershy and Pinkie here?" Rarity whined.

"Pinkie couldn't miss another shift, and Fluttershy said she volunteered ta help clean up the mess that ursa minor made. Don't fret Rarity, you'll be helpin' my brother load the saplings into his cart," she grinned, watching Rarity's eyes brighten a bit at the prospect of spending some time with Ponyville's most eligible bachelor.

"Well, I suppose there are worse jobs!" she mused, heading off to find Big Macintosh.

Placing her empty glass on a hay bale, AJ recalled with some disdain the reason Fluttershy wasn't able to join them. "Can you believe the nerve of that Trixie?" she asked, "Just comin' into town like she owns th' place, and tryin' ta say she's better than us at everything? And then she don't even have the guts ta stand by her lie!"

Twilight was certainly tired of hearing that name, but she supposed she'd hear it a few more times before the day was through. After all, it was only a few hours ago that she had sent the ursa minor back to its den. In fact, most repair ponies were up with the sun fixing the damage it had caused. "Yeah well, nopony likes a braggart."

"Ain't that the truth, but you flat sure handled that ursa minor when we found out she was a fraud," AJ beamed proudly, as if she'd accomplished it herself.

Twilight blushed. "Ah... it was nothing anypony else wouldn't have done."

"Don't be so modest Twi. Ah don't think anypony else could have done it. You're the element of magic, and it sure took a bunch to move that milk tower!"

Before she could respond, AJ shifted into work mode.

"Twi, RD, you're with me. We'll be plantin' those saplings in five hoof intervals till the field is full," she instructed, stepping into the warm morning sunlight.

Rainbow saluted, as did Twilight, though not without chuckling.

"Yes ma'am!"

Once in the far fields, the trio gathered around the few unplanted trees Mac had already unloaded. "Alright, Rainbow, if you dig the holes, Twilight and I will follow behind ya plantin' the trees. We'll have this done in no time."

Applejack's ability to lead was widely known around town, something Twilight often wished she was more prone to. Having no friends in Canterlot didn't really give her a lot of opportunities to put her leadership theories into practice.

The day went by fairly quickly until lunch time, when Applebloom and Granny Smith brought out a hefty plate of garden fresh veggies for the work crew to snack on. Everypony (with the exception of Rarity) was sweaty and pretty beat by the time they arrived at the picnic table set up in the shade of an adjacent orchard.

"Good goin' everypony, we'll be done before sundown, Ah can feel it," Applejack said happily, taking a bite of a rather large carrot. Twilight found herself tracing a bead of sweat running down her friends soft jawline. She was a working stallion's mare, if ever there was one. "Somethin' the matter Twi?" she asked, catching her stare.

Startled, Twilight looked into the eyes of her earth pony pal. A radiant green, as usual. "Oh! Uhm, no, you're just kinda sweaty is all," she mentioned honestly.

"You're one ta talk," she teased, Twilight realizing she must have looked just as bad with her mane clinging to her face from the half day's labor. She stuffed a few carrot slices in her mouth to avoid any more awkward slips.

"You know what might help you sweat less Twilight?" Rainbow asked, finishing up her fourth radish.

"What?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"A hat!" Rainbow shouted, snatching AJ's signature piece of clothing and hovering just out of reach.

"Why you snake in th' grass!" AJ snapped, half in amusement, and half in annoyance. Try as she might, Applejack was just too short to reach the hat now perched atop the prismatic mane of her chief competitor. Mac's half lidded eyes followed the two away from the table as Applejack tried to chase down Equestria's fastest.

"They'll be at it for hours if she don't get tired," he commented. Rarity took immediate interest in the Mac's brief thought, though Twilight could guess why. She wasn't exactly subtle. Ignoring the one-sided conversation to her left, she watched Applejack wrestle Rainbow to the ground, pinning her beneath her sturdy, labor hardened frame as she reclaimed her hat.

For a brief moment, Twilight was jealous of how close the two of them had become since she pulled them all together via the Elements of Harmony. A blush fell over her cheeks as she imagined what it would be like to be in place of Rainbow, Applejack standing over having retrieved her hat she'd had the courage to pluck from her elegant blond mane. She felt as though she'd never be that bold.

A pointy claw to her flank startled her from her trance, as Spike had been calling her name for the past few minutes.

"Equestria to Twilight!"

"Oh! Sorry Spike. I guess you got the books organized?" she asked, regaining her wits.

"Yep, you know what that means!" he said expectantly, "You guys sure know how to hide! I wandered around the orchard for an hour trying to find you."

Twilight nodded, "You go have fun with Apple Bloom, and I'll come get you when we're done."

Spike nodded happily, dashing off to find out what adventures the Cutie Mark Crusaders had planned for the day. Twilight watched him go, almost jealous of how seemingly easy her number one assistant's life must be.

Sleep most of the time, organize books, write letters, and eat. Can't say I'm not jealous. she thought as Applejack returned to the table, her hat a little dusty, but back onto its rightful owner's head.

"Well, everypony had their fill?" she asked as Rainbow hovered above them, ready to get back to work. "Then let's finish up!"

The work was certainly exhausting, but by day's end, every tree was planted evenly and everypony was tuckered out. They reconvened back at the farm house for a well earned dinner, before Twilight and Spike felt it was time to make their way back home. The young dragon hopped on her back and was asleep halfway down the road back to the library. Careful not to lose her unsecured cargo, Twilight walked slowly. She figured his promised trip to Sugarcube Corner would have to wait until tomorrow.

The sun was casting long rays onto the ground as her treehouse home came into view. Though the light was dim, she noticed a few of the leaves near the bottom branches had turned a delightful shade of yellow. She was no dendrologist, but she knew leaves weren't supposed to change in the spring!

Every tree has its own genetic quirks! she reasoned, brushing off the matter as she trotted inside to put Spike to bed and begin her evening reading session.

Tree Trouble

Twilight awoke to a set of small claws nudging her shoulder. She rebuffed them with swat of her hooves, pulling the blanket over her head.

"Ugh... Spike... why?" she moaned.

"You owe me some Sugarcube Corner is why!" he insisted as his surrogate sister rolled away from him.

"In a few minutes..."

The young dragon folded his arms, growing tired of her stalling tactics but acutely aware of the morning's role reversal.

"You know I can make you get out of that bed," he threatened.

Twilight grinned, but held her ground. If it was a fight he wanted, it was a fight he'd get.

After a minute or two waiting for her to answer, he figured she had made her decision. "Okay Twilight, just remember you asked for this."

With that, Spike leapt from the ground and onto Twilight's side, his claws busily tickling her ribs as she began to flail. To try and tickle him back would be an exercise in futility, as hooves wouldn't exactly penetrate scales. He had her and she knew it. An eruption of giggles from the bed let Spike know his plan was working. He had become quite adept at this, knowing when to dodge a stray hoof as Twilight kicked and struggled against his mighty opposable digits.

"Okay... I'll... I'll get up... I swear!" Twilight gasped between fits of laughter. "Let me just get my planner..."

Feeling his mission accomplished, he hopped off her bed, leaving a unicorn on her back with a bedraggled mane and messy covers gasping for breath. Twilight's magic opened the small drawer to her nightstand and removed the tiny black book.

"Can't we just go?" Spike complained.

"Yes, as soon as I add this in," she chirped, her quill scribbling quickly before being stowed back in the nightstand. "After this, I've got to reorganize the encyclopedias we got yesterday," she mused.

"But I already organized them!" he protested.

"Spike, you can never have too much organization,"

He began making his way down the steps, "You can never have too much, that's for sure," he mumbled.

"Spike, do you know what would happen if I didn't keep a schedule?" she cautioned. Like it or not, Spike knew he was about to hear the answer. "If I didn't have a set schedule, I could end up spending more time with one pony than another, then the other pony might get jealous, and start resenting me behind my back! Then she could write a letter to Princess Celestia about how I've been neglecting my friendship studies, which would undoubtably result in my getting sent back to Canterlot or worse, magic kindergarten!" she finished, taking a deep breath. "Is that what you want Spike? For me to go back to magic kindergarten?"

Twilight's mental gymnastics had always amused him, but this early in the morning they were just a bit tiring. "No, just hurry up and get ready," he groaned, continuing downstairs after stopping to hear Twilight's rant. "Didn't she already tell you she wasn't going to send you away?" he hollered from the living room.

"She only said that because my friends were there! She sent her own sister to the moon for a thousand years! Imagine what she'd do to me!"

"She did that because–" Spike stopped himself. He knew a losing argument when he heard one. "Just hurry up, please!"

Quickly jumping out of bed, Twilight ran a brush through her mane and tail. She set out down the steps in time to see a picture of herself and Spike when they were much younger fall to the floor, the nail it was hanging on still embedded in the a chunk of wood.

"Spike, have you seen the hammer?" she called, wanting to reaffix the photo to the wall before they left.

"I'm hungry!" Spike replied from downstairs, "And you know what happens when you try and fix things!"

He certainly had a point there. The last time she'd tried some D-I-Y repairs unsupervised, she had nearly demolished Fluttershy's chicken coop, which wasn't even the item she was attempting to repair in the first place.

"Alright, we'll fix it later," she huffed, setting it on the floor and following Spike outside.

Twilight had managed to catch up on her rest, finally getting a full eight hours of sleep with no town crises to deal with. Trotting to Sugarcube Corner with Spike riding his usual mount, she took in the progress the repair ponies had been making with the damages. It hadn't been too much, a bitten roof here, a smashed porch there. Then there was also the milk storage tower she had used to soothe the beast back to sleep.

Twilight had always questioned how keeping milk in a metal tower at room temperature or worse was even remotely sanitary, but the mayor was usually quite evasive when she brought it up. Perhaps it was built for just such an emergency.

She neither knew nor cared as she arrived at Sugarcube Corner.

"Hiya Twilight!" Pinkie greeted, busy kneading a blob of dough behind the counter as the Cakes were busy behind her stuffing all sorts of pastries into boxes and loading them onto the back of a truck parked out back.

"Hey Pinkie," she greeted, noticing the action going on behind her friend. "Do the cakes have a big party planned?"

Spike hopped off her back and approached the counter. Ponies Twilight had never seen before swarmed the kitchen, baking and preparing more pastries than she'd ever witnessed come out of the small town bakery at once.

"Yeah, we're actually closed today!" she replied happily, "Didn't ya see the sign?"

Twilight blushed as she looked back toward the door she had just entered. The large red letters hadn't even phased her as she walked in. "Oops, I guess I wasn't paying attention," she admitted as Spike set a few bits on the counter. "Why close up shop on a Tuesday? And who are all these ponies?"

"We had a big fancy pants order from a fashion designer in Canterlot come in last night, paid in advance and everything. We're catering his super duper exciting fashion show!" she added, still kneading away at the dough in front of her. "We had to hire extra help, so we found some cooking exchange students from Neighppon to help us in exchange for college credit!"

Twilight nodded slowly, "Pinkie, is that something you can even give them?"

"I dunno, Mr. cake took care of the bargaining, I just translated for him," she said as Spike spoke up.

"Any chance I could get one of your special gem cupcakes, Pinkie?" Spike asked, laying out a few bits in front of her.

"Sure Spike, I had one ready for you yesterday, but you never came in!" she answered, putting her hooves on her hips and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I was pretty tired yester— wait, how did you know I wanted to come in yesterday?"

"Pinkie sense never lies!" she grinned, setting his cupcake on the counter. Spike eagerly devoured it as she turned her brief attention span back to Twilight.

"So I guess that's why you couldn't help us out yesterday at Sweet Apple Acres? And you speak Neighpponese?"

"That's right!" she chirped. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake are really nice about me working weird hours and leaving during the middle of the day for all my wheelings and dealings, but they know I'm always there when they need me!" she saluted.

"Pinkie! We're still short fifty muffins!" Mr. Cake called from the back.

"Gotta go Twilight, thanks for stopping by!" she bid, turning back toward the kitchen before shouting something in the culinary students native tongue.

Heading back outside, after Spike had finished his cupcake, Twilight's stomach rumbled loudly. Having just spent money getting Spike his promised confection, she decided breakfast at home would taste pretty good right now.

Spike mounted up, and they trotted back to the library, only to discover something terribly wrong with the tree she called home. Instead of just a few leaves, now half of them had become a brilliant shade of yellow, while the ones that had been yellow the night before had nearly died.

"Twilight, does the tree look different to you?" Spike asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Yeah, I don't think leaves are supposed to be that color," she answered, panic rising in her voice.

Stepping to the door, Twilight pushed it open and it promptly fell from its hinges. Her eyes flicked toward the living room, where anything relying on the wood from the tree for support began to collapse. The shelves inside were fallen, or in the process of falling out of the walls, and only the lightest of pictures still managed to cling to the peeling layers of wood to which their nails held them.

Something is very wrong here! she thought, darting up the stairs with Spike flailing wildly behind her, hanging onto her tail with a single claw. The steps broke beneath her hooves as she ran, barely making it to her loft before the floorboards began to warp beneath her. It was as though and earthquake were shaking her house apart, but the ground remained still. Using her magic, she opened her the drawer to her nightstand and retrieved the most important items in her home.

Twilight stuffed her planner, diary and spell book into a saddlebag and quickly threw it on before teleporting out of the house and into the street in front of it.

The sounds of still collapsing shelves and books falling helplessly to the floor could be heard street-side, driving her to take quick action to save her home.

"Is it termites?"

"No, we'd have seen them!" Twilight snapped, levitating her book of spells into Spike's claws and ordering him to flip to page 76.

Showing her the open page, she used a copy spell to throw a six pointed star with the appropriate runes for a time stopping spell in the dirt before them. Twilight stepped into the power circle, and cast her magic. A neon blue aura covered her house, causing the cacophony of noise from within to suddenly halt.

Their home held this faint blue glow, as Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Spike, however, felt the need to ask the obvious question.

"So... why is our house falling apart?"

They both stood outside it, staring with detached fascination at the beautiful colors of the leaves combined with the contrast of the bright blue aura keeping them frozen in time.

"I don't know, but I can't keep it frozen like this forever," she explained, putting a hoof to her forehead in concentration. "Is there anything in there you need?"

"No, my gems are buried in the backyard."

Twilight sighed, releasing the spell and hearing the rest of her belongings, and her beloved books finish crashing to the floor.

"Now what?" Spike asked, "Do we just go clean up?"

"No Spike, I think the tree is sick," she muttered, still in a bit of shock that her home could be healthy one minute, then too weak to hold a eight by eleven on the wall the next. "C'mon, we're going to Applejack's."

Applejack sat on her porch, staring idly out at the newly planted saplings in the far fields. Such downtime was quite a luxury on their farm, especially since she and her brother were the only ponies able to do much of the work. She worked hard, but not simply for hard works sake, or because she had something to prove. Her reason was much simpler, and a bit more heartfelt.

This was the farm her grandmother had grown up on, and trusted to the care of her parents. Once they were gone, it was entrusted to Macintosh and herself. Her parents tried their damnedest to ensure this farm would live on, as a place all Apples could return to, a rooting point where the Apple family tree would always hold ground.

Applejack would be damned if it would wither away on her watch. She and her brother knew more about the care and upkeep of trees and vegetables than anyone else in town. When the Tops were having trouble with weevils in their garden, AJ and Big Mac devised a simple yet elegant solution and saved their crop. This was but one example for which their gardening prowess was known.

Taking a content breath of air, she loosened a floorboard. Beneath this board was where she kept a jug of apple whisky she and her brother would nip at after a hard day's labor on the rare occasion they'd both finish up work early and even feel like partaking in any libations.

Usually, she'd wait until Macintosh got here, but she had no idea when he'd be back, so she took a hearty swig. Something about the kick of those fermented grains relaxed her tired muscles like nothing else could. More than one, however, and she knew she'd be off to the races, so she replaced the bottle where it belonged. Sitting with her back against a pole on her porch, she tipped her hat down over her eyes.

A flash of purple light startled Applejack off of her porch and into the dirt.

"What the hay!" she snapped, lips curling into a snarl before she recognized who had intruded.

Applejack's glare softened, "Twilight, ain't you ever heard of walkin'?" she fumed. She shook the dust from her mane and tail, brushing off her hat before setting it back on her head.

Twilight blushed, she honestly thought her friend would still be out in the fields. "I didn't mean to scare you, but I need your help!" she shouted, even though Applejack was less than three feet away.

Taking a deep breath, AJ managed to keep calm, recalling her unicorn friends propensity for overreaction.

"Twilight, you know the princess don't care if you don't send a friendship report every week," she explained.

"It's not that—"

"Something's wrong with our house!" Spike interjected from on her back, his panic replacing Twilight's.

"Spike, go play with Applebloom while we figure this out," Twilight requested,

"But what if—"

"Spike."

He knew that tone well. He hated when she used it, but he knew it meant she wasn't in the mood to argue. He may have only been a baby dragon, but he knew his track record as far as arguments with Twilight were concerned.

"Fine..." he mumbled, hopping off her back and heading towards the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse.

"Now, what's the problem?" Applejack asked, climbing back onto her porch. Twilight glanced at her hooves nervously, still in shock about how suddenly her home had begun to fall apart.

"It's my tree," she began, "it's sick or something, the leaves are changing, the wood inside can't even hold up photographs anymore!"

Applejack's concern was etched across her features. "Uh huh," she replied thoughtfully, "When did that start?"

"Yesterday I noticed some of the leaves weren't their usual color, and I came back home around noon to find the whole house falling down around me!" Twilight explained.

"Sounds serious, but Ah won't know what we're dealing with until Ah see it for myself," she added, straightening up her hat and retying her mane in her signature red rubber band. "Why don't we go over there and have a look?"

Twilight nodded in agreement and took to the dusty road back into town. As they walked Twilight debated questioning Applejack's knowledge of larger trees. "Any idea what the problem is?" she asked nervously.

She was as patient as she was honest, "Not without seein' it first, Twi."

Applejack understood her concern. If something were threatening her home, she'd certainly want to find out what it was and fix it as soon as possible. Though Twilight was a brilliant unicorn, there were some common sense skills she seemed to lack. Applejack figured it was simply because she'd spent most of her life with her nose in a book instead of making friends and playing with other ponies her age, but she had to admit she did have what her buddy Rainbow liked to call a 'dork-ish charm' about her.

She remembered her first encounter with Twilight, who just so happened to stop by when a goodly portion of her extended family was in town. Applejack chuckled to herself, remembering how her family pretty much force fed the poor unicorn apple related treats until she could hardly walk.

"Something funny?" Twilight asked, not in an accusatory tone, but with a genuine interest.

"Ah was just thinkin' about the day you came ta Ponyville, and my family wouldn't let you leave 'till you ate all them apple pastries," she recalled, giggling a bit.

"Yeah, would you believe I thought most of you guys were nuts the first time I met all of you?" she laughed.

"I could see how ya might think Pinkie's a bit off kilter, but the rest of us are perfectly normal thank ya very much," she replied with false indignation.

"Right, the apple farmers with a thousand relatives who seemed to only eat apple related foods," Twilight snickered, "That's normal all right." Even though her house was in shambles, Applejack seemed to have a disarming personality, such that even after realizing her house could be dying, Twilight was still content to shoot the breeze with her, and enjoy her company. Her no nonsense attitude also made her a reliable source for advice on most non-scientific subjects.

The distance from town to Sweet Apple Acres flew by as the two mares came upon the weathered looking oak that used to be Twilight's home.

"Hm... this is bad." Applejack stated rather obviously.

"I've got some books on dendrology if you need them," Twilight offered, only to be dismissed by a hoof.

"Ah won't be needin' it," she insisted, trotting towards the outside of the tree. Twilight kept her distance as she watched Applejack work. She certainly wasn't scientific in her approach, but if she was sure of one thing, it was that Applejack's earthy wisdom sometimes trumped even the most well controlled scientific methods.

Applejack placed her ear next to the trunk of the tree, and knocked with a hoof. She did it once more, a few inches to the left, then to the right. After listening intently to what appeared to be the tree itself, she came back to an anxious Twilight.

"Well?"

"It's worse than Ah thought," she sighed, "It looks like Bayou Dendrius, but Ah've never seen it act this fast before."

"What's Bayou Dendrius?" Twilight asked, certain if it was of the fungi genous, she'd have heard of it. She'd read every book on biology in the Canterlot library!

"It's native to the swamps of south Lusitano, near Norleans. My cousins down there had some trouble with it a few month's back," she explained, "I went ta help 'em get rid of it. It drives all th' moisture out of the bark and wood, killin' the tree of thirst. Though how it ended up all the way in Ponyville—and in your tree—Ah haven't the slightest."

Twilight's eyes brightened. "So you've dealt with it before?"

"Eeyup."

"Then how do we fix it?"

Applejack chuckled, "We go ta Norleans and look up my relatives, that's how. We've got about a week before it'll be too late."

Twilight had heard of the city of Norleans, a place where anything goes, and anypony can be whomever they want to be. It was the setting for quite of few of the romance novels that had become somewhat of a guilty pleasure of hers. She had always wanted to visit the city, but never really had a reason to go. Although she certainly wished it were under happier circumstances, she jumped on the opportunity to see one of Equestria's oldest cities with one of her best friends.

"How long will it take to get there?" Twilight asked, glancing towards her home with worry clear across her face.

"'Bout a day and a half by train. Ah've got relatives we can stay with, so ya ain't got ta worry about havin' money for a hotel, all we need ta pay for is our train ticket."

Twilight thought back, trying to recall how much money she had left from her monthly stipend from the princess.

"Looks like I'll have to leave Spike at Rarity's," she sighed, remembering her financial situation.

"Ah'm sure he wouldn't mind," Applejack teased, earning a smile from Twilight.

"You're right," she giggled, "When are we leaving?"

"Ah'll meet ya at the train station tomorrow morning at six in th' afternoon, Ah'm gonna send a telegram to let my cousins know we're comin'."

"Okay, sounds good, if you could let Spike know it's time to come back home, I'd—"

"Now hold on a second partner," Applejack interjected, "What kind of friend would Ah be if Ah let you sleep in a dyin' house?"

"Uhm..." Twilight wasn't quite sure if that question was rhetorical or not. She often had a hard time telling with Applejack.

"That's right, a bad one," she completed, "C'mon now, you and Spike can stay the night back at the farm. Mac and Granny'll look after him while we're gone."

Twilight's lips curled softly into a smile. Applejack could have certainly passed as the element of generosity.

"Thanks Applejack."

AJ returned her grin, always glad to help out a friend. "C'mon, lets get you set up at th' house."

An uneventful walk back to Sweet Apple Acres led to a candid discussion of the events of the coming days.

"Have you ever been?" Twilight posed, having built up a certain image of the old city in her head after years of simply reading about it and seeing pictures.

"Ta where, Norleans?" Applejack asked, glancing over. "Yeah, once when Ah was Apple Bloom's age. Ah don't remember much, but Ah had a good time." she recalled.

"What was it like?"

Applejack paused in thought, trying to remember any detail she could about the vibrant and colorful city. "Ah remember we were there for a big party," her eyes cast toward the sky in thought, she recalled the name of the city wide carnival "Maredi Gras! That's what it was called!" she added happily, "Anyway, it was real fun, it was like one big party in the streets! Pinkie Pie would have felt right at home. Anyway, the buildin's are real old, and the streets are pretty narrow, and there's parts a town ya don't want ta find yourself in at night, but overall, Ah liked it."

In no time at all, they'd arrived back at the farm, where Rainbow Dash was waiting for them.

"'Bout time AJ, my moves aren't going to judge themselves!" she complained from her usual hover.

"Sorry sugarcube, Twilight had a bit of an emergency," Applejack explained, taking a seat on her haunches on the porch. "Twilight, you can get settled inside, supper'll be ready in a hour or two. Ah'm gonna watch featherbrain's moves out in the southern fields for a spell," she teased, getting an immediate rise out of Rainbow.

"You just wish you could keep your eyes off this," Dash shot back, scooping up Applejack underneath her forelegs and taking to the skies, despite AJ's shouts of protest.

As they left, Twilight sighed. It seemed all her friends had a friend they had been growing closer to, except for her.

Maybe Spike was right. Maybe I do need to quit trying to plan every second of every day... she thought. Clearly trying to spend equal amounts of time with everypony was simply not giving her time to try and connect with her friends on a deeper level, so maybe she should just try to take things as they come?

The very idea of a totally and completely unplanned day chilled her to the bone.

Then again, Spike's just a baby anyway.