Part Six: Home Is Where Your Friends Are

“Just a little farther!”

        “Dash, are you sure we’re going the right way?”

        “Yes!  Just trust me!  Keep going!”

        Twilight sighed, but continued along, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy slightly behind her.

        “You’ll love this!”  Dash shouted down from her aerial position.  She was out of sight above the leaves of the thick trees, but her voice was loud and clear.

        “Oh, I do hope our surprise is the end of this awful forest,” Rarity groaned.  “That or a jacuzzi.  I’m not sure which I want more or which is more likely.”

        Pinkie Pie giggled.  “I hope it’s the jacuzzi!”

        Applejack nudged Fluttershy.   “Why don’t you just fly up there and tell us what Dash’s talkin’ about?  This ‘surprise’ is just silly.”

        “Oh, I don’t know... I’m fine down here.”  She smiled.  “And besides, if Rainbow Dash says it’s a surprise, we should probably keep it that way.  Let’s just see what happens.”

        Ahead, Twilight shouted up to Dash.  “Are we almost—oh my!”

        “Twilight?” Fluttershy gasped.  “What is it?”

        “Everypony come over here and see!” Twilight yelled excitedly.

        The other four rushed up to her.  As they grew closer, Applejack realized she could start to see beyond the trees, and then realized that if she could see beyond the trees, that must mean...

        “Look, everypony!”  Twilight gleefully declared.  “The end of the forest!”  The other ponies finally reached her position, where the trees cut off sharply, opening into a field.  The wide open expanse continued until slight hills in the distance made it impossible to see farther.  Patches of sunflowers were spattered here and there, but otherwise the field was nothing more than short green grass and rolling hills.

        “Oh, thank goodness!” Rarity exclaimed.

        Applejack smiled.  “Good find, Dash.  If ’tweren’t for you, we might have kept going deeper and deeper into those darned woods.”

        “So... no jacuzzi?”  Pinkie sighed.

        “I told you you’d like it!”  Dash said proudly, hovering several yards in the air.  She gestured to the ground below her.  “And look at this!  A road!”

        Twilight noticed for the first time the dirt road that extended through the field and beyond the hills at the edge of vision.  “Hmm,” she thought out loud, “it seems like this road hasn’t been used in a long time; there are no hoofmarks at all.  And isn’t it odd that it starts here, at the edge of this forest?  Or it ends here at the edge of this forest...”

        “Who cares?”  Rainbow Dash landed on the dirt road.  “We’ve been wandering through that horrible forest for days, and we were in a swamp before that.  Let’s just let the road guide us for awhile.”

        Rarity stepped between Dash and Twilight.  “Let’s not forget we’re supposed to be lost, remember?  Are we really lost if we’re following a road?”

        “Ah sure think so,” Applejack commented.  “We’re who-knows-where and we aren’t sure where we’re goin’ and we have no clue how to get back.  Ah think we’re just as lost as ever following this here road.  So why not?”

        Twilight thought, face scrunched in concentration.  “Well... I guess you’re right, Applejack.  It’s settled, then.  Let’s go.”

        “Um, guys?”  Pinkie smiled nervously while her friends curiously turned to her.  “It’s been a long time... do you think we could stop and... I dunno...”

        Applejack grinned.  “Pinkie, do you wanna stay here a bit and have a picnic of sorts?”

        Pinkie nodded eagerly.  “I think it’d be nice, in this field and all.  And we picked fresh berries and apples from the forest, so we should have plenty to go around.  Can-we-can-we-can-we?”  She hopped up and down excitedly.

        “Well...” Twilight considered.

Applejack put a hoof around her shoulders.  “Aww, come on, Twilight.  We’ve got time.  Who knows when we’ll be in such a nice place again?”

        Twilight sighed but smiled.  Her horn glowed as the pack of food around Applejack’s back lifted itself off and settled gently on the ground atop a blanket.

        “Oh, how nice!”  Pinkie clapped her hooves with joy.  “Now this is a picnic!”  She plopped down upon the soft blanket and pulled an apple from the pack.  “C’mon, Fluttershy!”

        Fluttershy grinned.  “Well... I don’t see why not.”  She sat down next to Pinkie, whose head was stuffed in the food pack—when she came back out, there was an apple in her mouth, and one in each hoof.

        “Here ya go!”  She handed the fruit to Fluttershy, who took a small bite.  “And one for you, Rarity!”  She tossed it to the white unicorn; just before it hit the ground it was enveloped in a light blue aura as it floated back up to its target.

        “Careful when you throw those things, Pinkie!” She took a bite.  “Mmmm... I’ve never favored apples—unless they’re cooked into something nice by Applejack, of course—but this is a very refreshing treat.”  She took another bite, and her next words were muffled as she chewed.  “And it’s vewy nife here in thif bootifuh fieldph!”

        Dash, who was eating now herself, patted Rarity on the back.  “Talking with food in your mouth?  That’s not like you at all, Rarity.”  She dropped down into a sprinter’s running-line pose, giggling.  “Next you’re gonna tell me you wanna race!”

        “Well,” Rarity haughtily exclaimed, swallowing her apple, “we’re not in Ponyville anymore, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t be allowed to live a little.”

        Pinkie giggled around a mouthful of berries.  “Thafph’s the sphiwit!”

        Twilight smiled to herself, but a worrying thought wouldn’t leave her alone.  Her smile faded, and she frowned slightly as the nagging fear returned once more.  Enjoy this while you can, it said.  You know what must happen.  Enjoy this while you can.

        In the field beside the path they enjoyed each other’s company, joking, laughing, inseparable.

***

        As the group trod down the dirt path, Pinkie Pie groaned.  “Ugh... I ate too many apples...”

        Applejack laughed, patting her pink friend on the back.  “Plenty more where that came from!  We got so many apples we could have five more picnics like that one.”

        “Don’t get any ideas,” Twilight warned, her smile warm but her voice serious.  “We won’t have time to do that again.  From here on out our priority is finding the Spring.”

        “At least we’re on an actual road,” Rarity opined.  “This flat ground is wonderful after that horrible uneven forest floor.”

        They walked on in silence for a few moments.  The path they took cut through the hilly field like ribbon around an unevenly-wrapped present.  The treeline from which they had emerged hours ago was now a distant line on the horizon behind them.

        Twilight glanced at the sun.  Midday.  Plenty of time to walk before finding shelter for the night.  And how nice it would be to sleep beneath the familiar stars, instead of the monotonous leaves and tree branches of the forest.

        Pinkie Pie began humming.  It was an old familiar tune, and soon Fluttershy was humming softly along as well, shaking her head to the upbeat tempo.  Twilight, smiling, picked it up, too.  Rarity was surprised to find herself joining in.  Applejack and Dash entered together as their friends began a new phrase.

        With everypony humming along, Pinkie began singing the words, her voice as light and perfect as the noon air.

        “Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up!

         Let’s finish our holiday cheer!

 Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up!

 Cause tomorrow Spring is here!

 Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up...”

        Everypony else joined in for the chorus:

        “Cause tomorrow Spring is here!

          Cause tomorrow Spring is here!”

        “One more time!” Pinkie shouted.

        Dash glanced down the road to the horizon and, a curious look upon her face, lifted off from the ground, hovering ten yards above her singing friends.

        “Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up!”

        “Hey, everypony, I think I see—”

        “Let’s finish our holday cheer!”

        “Wait, hold on, look over—”

        “Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up!”

        “I’m pretty sure I see—”

        “Cause tomorrow Spring is here!

         Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up!”

         Cause tomorrow Spring is here,

         Cause tomorrow Spring is—”

        “HEY, EVERYPONY!”  The singing stopped as her five ground-bound friends turned up to where she hovered indignantly in the sky.  “You’ll never guess what—”

        “Dashie, what was that for?  We were singing!”  Pinkie glared irritably up at her friend.

        Dash pulled at her face in frustration.  “Pinkie, I’m telling you why I interrupted!  Up ahead is an ocean!”

        Fluttershy gasped and flew like a shot to Rainbow Dash’s height.  She shielded her her eyes from the sun with a hoof and peered into the distance.  “Ohmygosh it is an ocean!”  She clapped her hooves in delight.  “Oh I’ve always wanted to see an ocean!  I’ve seen lakes and swamps and bogs and rivers and fish tanks and ponds but I’ve never seen an honest-to-goodness ocean!  I’ll bet there are all kinds of fish and birds and little turtles and oh Twilight can we go there please?”  Suddenly she was out of the air and directly in front of Twilight, pleading with her eyes.

        Twilight giggled.  “Of course!  If it’s straight ahead, this road should take us straight to it, right, Dash?”  Dash nodded, landing beside Fluttershy.  “I’ve never seen a true ocean, either.  This should be an experience for all of us.”

        “A big pond?”  Applejack asked, unconvinced.  “Ah don’t see what’s the big deal with this ocean.  Just a whole lotta water, right?  Why go out of our way?”

        Rarity grinned.  “It’s not out of our way, Applejack.  We’re just as lost as ever, right?  And don’t you see how excited Fluttershy is?  I’m sure it will be nice.  Have you ever seen an ocean before?”

        “Pffft!  Ocean smocean!  It’s all water to me.  But if y’all are excited for it, Ah guess Ah am, too.”

        Fluttershy hopped around her friends in a ring, prancing with joy.  “Tonight we can sleep in the soft sand and listen to the tide and see the stars!”

        “Calm down, Fluttershy,” Twilight giggled; it was a rare sight to see Fluttershy so animated, and whenever it happened Twilight couldn’t help but share her joy.  “We still have to get there.  Dash, can you tell how far it is?  Can we make it by sundown?”

        Dash, still hovering in the air, rubbed her chin in consideration.  “Well, it’s hard to tell with all this flat ground... but I think we should be able to make it there before sunset.  Of course, yours truly could fly there and back a hundred times by the time you slowpokes got there.  Should I go check it out and come back?”

        Pinkie Pie shook her head frantically, her hair flinging about in an explosive blur.  “No way, Dash!  We can’t separate.  Remember when we lost Applejack?  We can’t have anypony go off on her own.”

        Twilight nodded.  “Pinkie’s right.  We go together.  But perhaps we should pick up the pace a bit if we’re going to get there before sunset.  Just in case.”

        They carried on at a brisker pace, trotting quickly down the dirt road.  There were several minutes of silence; the only sounds were Dash’s gently flapping wings and the soft chatter of hooves pushing hastily against the road.  Then Pinkie Pie spoke.

        “Hey... guys?  Does anypony know what day of the week it is?”

        Dash peered at her curiously.  “Um, Monday, I think.  Why does it matter?”

        “Oh, it doesn’t.  It’s nothing.”

        Silence for several seconds.

        “Actually, it is something.  Thursdays are the days I take Gummy for a walk.  But I can’t do that today because I’m here.”

        Applejack rolled her eyes and moved so that she was trotting alongside Pinkie.  “Pinkie, ain’t Lyra walking Gummy for you?”

        “Well, yes, but I don’t think she knows how to walk Gummy the way he likes it.  He only likes when we walk leading off with the front-right leg.  I don’t think I told that to Lyra.  And he’s afraid of trampolines, and I never told Lyra to keep him away from trampolines.  The bouncing gives him a headache.  And—”

        Dash landed in a puff of dust beside Pinkie.  “Hey, didn’t you say he gets walked on Thursday?  I told you today is Monday.”

        “Well, it feels like a Thursday.  If it was a Monday my knees wouldn't be so achy.  That only happens on Thursdays.  And if Gummy doesn’t get a proper walk, who knows what’ll happen!”

        Twilight sighed.  “Pinkie, he’ll be fine.  Besides, Lyra’s a good friend.  She’ll take good care of him.”

        Pinkie considered, then smiled.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.  Gummy can be picky sometimes, but usually—”

        Fluttershy gasped and stopped in her tracks.  In less than two seconds, Applejack collided with her, sending them both sprawling into a pile, which Dash then tripped on, adding herself to the heap.

        Fluttershy was instantly back on her hooves, apologizing and babbling giddily at the same time.  “Oh gosh I’m sorry—do you guys hear that?—oh goodness let me help you up—I can hear it!—next time I’ll be more careful when I—listen!  I can hear it!  The ocean!”

        Dash shakily got to her hooves, rubbing a bump on her forhead.  She grabbed hold of the heap of Applejack on the ground, pulling her up with a grunt of effort.  

        “Thanks, Dash.”  She glanced at Fluttershy, who was hovering just above the ground, performing a jubilant dance in the air.  “Ya know, Ah can’t think of a time Ah’ve seen her so happy before.  And for an ocean?  Ah just don’t get it.”

        Rarity, who had been smiling and watching Fluttershy’s dance, turned to Applejack and Dash.  “Oh, just let her be happy.  Besides, I too have always wished to see an ocean.  Blue is my favorite color.”

        Fluttershy landed gently on the ground.  “I think we should be able to see it just beyond this hill!  It sounds so close!”  She began jogging to the hill, slowing down as she began climbing the sloped side.  “Oh I hope it’s as beautiful as they—”  She broke off as she reached the peak.  There she stood, stock still and silent.

        “Well?” prompted Applejack, who began making her way up the hill.  “What’s it like?”  She reached the top and stood beside Fluttershy.

        “Great Johnny’s appleseeds,” she exclaimed in wonder.  In the distance, either ten miles away or fifty yards away (it was impossible to tell), was blue.  The horizon, from end to end, start to finish, was an azule so vast the sky itself seemed tiny and bland.  Along it amazing patterns of white swirled  aimlessly but in tandem, painting a portrait that changed from one moment to the next, always more incredible than the last.  The sound of the crash and fall of the waves was a constant hum that could be felt more as a presence than as a pitch.  The entire body seemed to sigh contentedly, a wise eternal being confident in the balance of life and nature.

        Twilight, Dash, Pinkie, and Rarity reached Applejack and Fluttershy’s vantage, and were engulfed by the same wonder and awe.

        For an uncertain amount of time they stood in silence.  Then Twilight blinked and turned to Fluttershy.  “Come on,” she said, breathing the words more than saying them.  “It’s getting darker.  We’ll set up for the night along the beach... however far away it is.”

        They began moving down the hill towards the magnificent body before them.

***

        Fluttershy pushed her hooves gently into the wet sand, which was somehow warm and cold at the same time.

        The distance to the shore, which was impossible to determine from the hill, turned out to be about two miles, which they made quickly and with ease.  They now stood before the advancing and retreating water as the sun painted the sky and the ocean horizon every shade of red and yellow and orange and purple.

        “Fluttershy, Ah changed my mind; you were right.  The ocean is quite a sight.”

        “The sunset makes it look like cotton candy!” Pinkie exclaimed.

        “It’s marvelous,” Rarity said.

        Dash stepped closer until the waves washed around her hooves with every swell of the tide.

        “Right here,” Fluttershy said.  “We should set up for the night right here.  I want to be as close as possible, if that’s ok with you all.”

        Dash returned from the water’s edge.  “Won’t that be dangerous, though?  Like, what if there are... I don’t know... sharks?”

        “I don’t think so,” Twilight said.  “We haven’t seen a single creature since exiting the forest, and somehow I doubt sharks will evolve to climb out of the water overnight, Dash.”  She yawned and suddenly realized how tired she was.  “I don’t know about you all, but I could use some sleep.  Where’s Rarity?  She was in charge of bringing the blankets, right?”  Twilight glanced around.

        Applejack smiled.  “Um, Twi’?  She’s way ahead of you.”

        Rarity and Pinkie were curled up against each other in the sand, both snoring.  Next to them was Rarity’s bag, still full of blankets.

        Dash laughed.  “Aww, I wish I had a camera.”

        “Well,” grinned Twilight, “they seem perfectly comfortable sleeping on the sand, so I guess we don’t need the blankets, either.”  She lay down atop the smooth grains, which she discovered was more comfortable than any bed she’d ever used.  The pliable soft sand shifted to match her body perfectly.  “Goodnight, everypony.”

        “Wow, this sand is as soft as a cloud!” Dash marveled as she, Applejack, and Fluttershy followed suit.  Soon they all lay in a line of snoring bodies just outside the reach of the ocean tide.

        For a few minutes the only sounds were snores, an occasional shift or murmur, and the soothing sighs of the waves across the sand.  Then a hushed whisper called out.

        “Twi’?  You awake?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” she whispered back, sitting up, careful to avoid shoving Rainbow Dash, whose wings were fluttering gently in her sleep.  “What’s on your mind?”

        Applejack sat up as well.  “Ah was thinkin’... about when I happened upon the Spring.”

        This is it, Twilight thought sadly. She must know, too.  She got slowly to her hooves.  “Here, let’s go somewhere else so we can talk in private and not disturb anypony.”

        Applejack stood up and together they walked slowly along the shore.  She stared at her hooves, watched as they made their imprints in the sand, right alongside Twilight’s.  “Remember what you told us, Twi’?  About how... how only ‘lost ponies’ find the Spring?”

        Twilight nodded.  She already understood, she realized shortly after Applejack returned from her episode with the Spring, but she wanted to hear Applejack’s own conclusion.

        “Well... Ah was thinking about how we’ve been lost for days but we haven’t seen hide nor tail of the Spring.  But then Ah got lost for twenty minutes, and... suddenly there Ah was.”

        Here it is, thought Twilight.  “Go on,” she said.

        “Ah guess what Ah’m tryin’ to say is...”  Applejack struggled to find the right words.  Twilight realized sadly that she had never seen her friend so upset and conflicted—Applejack was normally as sure and confident as they come.  She finally found the words she was looking for.  “Granny Smith has a saying: ‘home is where your friends are.’  And, Twi’, the truth of the matter is, when we’re together, we’re... home.  When we’re together, we can’t ever be lost.  Even a million miles from Ponyville, even if we travel through another endless forest for months, we’re still together.  Ah only found the Spring because Ah was truly lost... Ah was separated from y’all.  Ah was separated from my friends.”  She sniffed, suddenly aware she was crying.  “Don’t you see, Twilight?  Together we’re never lost.  We can’t find the Spring together.  We can’t stay together.”

        Twilight sighed, then pulled Applejack close in an embrace.  “I know,” she said, speaking softly into her friend’s shoulder.  “I knew from the moment you told us you found the Spring.  Perhaps even before that.  I just couldn’t... I couldn’t tell anypony.  How do I explain that to Fluttershy?  Or Rainbow Dash, the most loyal pony I’ve ever met?  Could she willingly see us separate?  Applejack, I may have been the leader throughout all of this, but I don’t know what to do anymore.  I don’t think I can handle it.”

        Together they stood, embracing, along the shore of the ocean.

        “Twilight, don’t you ever think for second you’ve done anything other than an excellent job.  We’d never have made it this far without you.  If it wasn’t for your flares I never would have found my way back to y’all when Ah was lost.  Ah’m sure we’ll get through this together... even if it means separating for a little bit.”  She smiled morosely.  “Besides... Ah’ve actually done some of the work for you.  Ah think Ah know a way we can get through this.  It won’t be easy, but if our friendship is as strong as Ah know it is, we can do it.”

        Twilight stared at her, sadness giving way to curiosity.  “Really?  What’s your plan?”

        Applejack told her, and at the end they embraced once more.

        “Applejack, that’s wonderful idea.  You’re right—I think we can do it.  It will be the hardest thing we’ve ever done... but we can do it.”

        The shore was lit by the pure white glow of two moons, one that hung in the sky and the other that floated upon the water.  One of the two was a reflection, a clone, but the ocean surface was so clear it was impossible to determine which was which.  In the glow of these moons the two friends began walking back to their sleeping companions.

        “Twi’, do you think we should wake them and tell them?”

        “No,” Twilight yawned, “let them sleep.  Tomorrow will be hard on all of us.  We’d best approach it well rested.”

        Twilight’s infectious yawn spread to her friend.  “Your right,” Applejack said.  She looked at her friends, napping comfortably next to each other in the sand.  She would have thought it impossible that sleeping only on sand could be comfortable, but somehow it was; Rarity, Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie looked as peaceful as the ocean expanse that nearly reached their sleeping bodies. Would this be their last night together?  Could they really separate, if only for a short time?  Applejack pushed the thoughts out of her head.  “G’night, Twilight.”

        “Goodnight.”

        They settled back down amongst their friends, and soon the entire group was sleeping and dreaming in the soft ocean sand.  The two moons became one as they merged at the horizon, and soon the east was glowing warmly with the first messengers of the new day.

***

“Oh, I don’t want to have to choose,” Pinkie sniffed.  “Are we sure we really have to do this?  What do you mean we’re not really lost?  We’re a million bajillion miles from Ponyville!  Of course we’re lost!”  She punched the ground in frustration.

“It’s not for very long,” Applejack said calmly, hoping to sooth Pinkie’s fears.  “When Ah got lost it took me not even twenty minutes ’till Ah was there.  Just follow your Rose.  It helped me, and it’ll help you, too.  We’ll see each other again in no time.”

“Well,” Pinkie grumbled reluctantly, “I’ll take you, then, Applejack.”

“Sure thing, Pinkie.  How about you, Rarity?”  She turned to the white unicorn, who was pacing back and forth anxiously.

“I don’t like this business one bit.  Are you sure about this, Applejack?  Are you really, absolutely sure?”

Applejack nodded.  Rarity saw the solemnity in that nod, and was finally convinced.  Perhaps she was dreaming... but the sand felt much to real beneath her hooves for this to be a dream.  She sighed.  “I’ll take Twilight.”

The sun was approaching high noon, and the cool ocean breeze was refreshing in the hot air.

Applejack nodded.  “Dash, that leaves you and Fluttershy.”

“Oh, this is just dumb!” Dash flew over to Applejack and hovered before her, their faces inches apart.  “Why do we have to split up?  This is a horrible idea.  You remember what Luna said!  We have to find the Spring together!  How is it ‘together’ if we split up?  And why in pairs of two?  How is that supposed to make it any better?”

“Well,” Applejack began calmly, “we already explained it.  We each have to find the Spring alone, just like Ah did.  And we’re splitting off into groups of two because it’ll be easier to go off alone if we do it together.  Ah know that sounds silly, but it’s true.  We do everything together... even breaking up for a little bit.  We’ll go off with the pony we chose, and then from there we’ll go on alone.  It’s the only way.”

“It’s still a horrible idea!  If we—” she broke off as she felt a hoof on her hovering shoulder.

“I know it’ll be hard,” Fluttershy said, “but Applejack is right.  Come on, Dash.”

Dash sighed, defeated.  She dropped to the ground.  “Well,” she said, “this must be goodbye, then.”

For a moment they stared at each other, the only sound the rise and fall of the ocean tide.  Twilight and Rarity.  Applejack and Pinkie Pie.  Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.  The lines drawn, the groups formed.

“It won’t take long,” Applejack said weakly.  “We’ll be together soon.  Ya’ll will see.”

        They stared at each other a moment longer.  Then:

        “See you... see you soon,”  Rarity said, turning to Twilight.  “Well?  Shall we?”  Her voice quivered slightly.  Twilight nodded, and they turned and began walking up the shore.  The others watched as they departed, watched until the two were no more than a speck in the distance.  Then they turned back to each other.

        “You said it doesn’t take long, didn’t you, Applejack?”  Pinkie asked.  Applejack noted with pride how her fellow earth pony maintained a degree of calmness and control.  She had been afraid that the other side of Pinkie would show itself, forced into the open by the pain of the separation.  Her mind was fragile, delicate, and would invent for itself pretend situations in which her friends would abandon her.  And now, in a way, they were abandoning her... for a short time.  But she remained strong, and Applejack felt a tear come to her eye from her friend’s unexpected resolve.

        “No, sugar, it doesn’t take long at all.”  She dropped her knees in a curtsy, inviting Pinkie to lead the way.  Pinkie turned back to Fluttershy and Dash, who watched sadly; Dash flashed them a meek smile.  Then she was off, Applejack just behind her, heading away, in any direction, for in that direction lay the Spring—when it chooses to be found.

***

        Thade smiled humorlessly as the light escaped from the penultimate Pillar.  It cracked, the lines of hundreds of fractures ran across it, and through these fissures red light flowed like water, fleeing the collapsing structure like mice flee a sinking ship.  The previous two fell faster than those before it—Thade imagined that as each one fell, the extra weight caused even more stress on those remaining.  Not that he bothered to think about it.  They were falling, that was all that mattered.  And as they fell... oh, as they fell...

        He could feel it.  He could feel it in the cold stone floor.  He could feel it in the very air.

        He thought back to the fable of the first pony who found the Spring.  That foolish moron.  Did she really think she’d somehow be able to channel its full power?  Even he, Thade, surely one of the most powerful unicorns to ever live, wouldn’t dare try.  No, he had no desire to own the Spring.  He simply wanted to borrow from it.  The Pillars will fall, and the worlds, the worlds of Life and Death, usually connected only by a one-way path, will merge for a moment.  A moment is all he would need; at that moment, he would control a portion of the Spring’s magic, using it to accomplish what so many have called impossible.  She’ll return to him, and then the moment will end, the chain will be broken, the magic will fade... but she’ll still be there.  He’ll have her once more, he’ll be forgiven for ever letting her go, balance will be restored, and he can be at peace.

        In an explosion of red light, the Pillar shattered.  Up shot the red beam, as had happened with the previous four.  Thade suspected it was some kind of signal, a plea for help, perhaps.  But the Spring wouldn’t be getting any help.  The Rose disappeared ages ago; nopony knew what happened to it after it was given to the field pegasus in the old fable; nopony was able to prove its existence.  As for the “disastrous consequences” that old alicorn warned about?  Absurd.  Thade didn’t know what would happen if something went wrong, but he never thought about it because he knew nothing would go wrong.  He had absolute faith in his abilities, which had never failed him before.

        “Oh, they haven’t?”  The voice startled Thade out of his thoughts.  He turned furiously to Celestia, who remained captured upon the altar.

        “SHUT UP!  You know nothing of me or my power!”  Her words frightened him... not their meaning, but the fact that she had somehow penetrated his thoughts.

        “The Spring speaks, Thade.  You may not hear it, but it speaks as clearly as I am speaking to you now.  Perhaps I hear it because I am an alicorn, and therefore closely bound with it and its magic.  Or perhaps I hear it simply because I know how to listen, while you foolishly ignore those who are trying to save you from your quest of futility.  It spoke and told me.  It told me of you, of Laska, of—”

        “I said SHUT UP!”  Tendrils of black light spilled from his horn and wound themselves around Celestia’s body all the way up to her head, where they clamped her mouth shut.  “You think you are some omnipotent goddess?  Some all-powerful being?  THEN WHY ARE YOU THE ONE ON THE ALTAR WHILE I AM HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE SPRING?”  The tendrils pulled tighter with each word, though Celestia showed no sign of pain.  “I could end you right now if I wished!  I keep you because only a living Immortal’s blood can reach the dead!”  He grinned.  “Ah, that’s a funny term, isn’t it?  ‘Immortal?’  I’ve always wondered if it truly meant unkillable.  I don’t think it does.  Perhaps after all this we will find out?”

        “It’s not too late to turn back now, Thade.”  Thade stepped back in surprise, alarmed; he had not anticipated this.  Her voice, Celestia’s voice, echoed throughout the chamber, though her mouth was still bound by the black magic.

“There is still time.  The final Pillar remains, and with its support the other five may be rebuilt.”  He tried to identify the source of her voice but could not.  “Your conscience is weighted with guilt, Thade.  The Spring has told me.  Your first mistake was to blame yourself.  You seek redemption.  But you will find none here.  You think you will somehow bring her back, but you will only reopen the wounds of the past.  Ask yourself this, Thade: if she could see you now, would she take you back?  Would she love the monster you’ve become the same way she loved the defenseless foal in the schoolyard?”

“ENOUGH!”  He unsheathed his poisoned dagger and held it up before her.  “Perhaps somehow you are connected to the Spring, but your body must still follow the natural rules of this world!”  He pricked her side with the dagger’s tip, then turned to look into her eyes.  He wanted to see fear in those eyes, fear as she passed out from the paralyzing toxins.  But all that stared back at him was a pitying sadness.  After a moment, though, the poison took effect, and she slumped back down across the altar.

Alone in the cavern, Thade stood still, trying not to think of what she had said.  Who is she to say Laska wouldn’t love him again?  She knew nothing of the connection they once shared!  When the final Pillar falls, when the worlds join for that brief moment, when she crosses back to him, where she belongs, everything will be as it was that fateful day in Sonselo.  Everything will be perfect, because they will have each other, and nothing else will matter.

His mind turned to her once more, to the one he loved, and all doubts slipped away.  This is what she would want.  Surely, this is what she would want.

***

“This is probably far enough.”

Twilight looked around.  They had walked along the shore for some unknown amount of time.  Then they had headed through a short field of daffodils, which was now a tiny line on the horizon.  Around them now was green grass and an occasional tree—almost, but not quite, dense enough to be considered a forest.

“You’re right,” Twilight sighed.

Rarity paused, realizing there was something that needed to be said, but not sure how to say it.  “Twilight, thank you.  For what you’ve done.”

Twilight tilted her head, confused.  “Oh, it’s nothing.  I’m sure Applejack could have been just as good a leader; she’s so confident, and—”

Rarity shook her head.  “No, Twilight, not for that.  Well, I suppose for that, too, but what I mean is... thank you for bringing us together.  Do you know what my life was like before you came to Ponyville?  I was the local seamstress, talented but hardly successful, and, for the most part... alone.  The day you showed up my life changed, and I know four other ponies who could tell you the same thing.  We’d never have met if it wasn’t for you, this friendship of ours never would have existed.”

“Oh,” Twilight blushed, “well, it was fate, really; Dash’s Sonic Rainboom meant we had a connection even before we met, and—”

“Oh, hush.  It may have been fate, but you sealed that fate, Twilight.  Where would we be if you never came to town?  I’d just be the local boutique-owner.  Applejack would be the apple farmer.  I’m not certain where Pinkie would be—probably just the goofy pony at Sugarcube Corner.  Dash would be the Wonderbolt-wanna-be, and Fluttershy would be the quiet pony who lives just outside town.  Sure, we’d all be happy.  But we’d all know something was missing, and we’d never understand what.  I’m sure we’d know each other, maybe Fluttershy would even stop by the boutique for an outfit now or then, but we wouldn’t have this—this friendship you gave us.  That is a favor we could never return.”

Twilight grabbed her in an embrace.  “Oh, but you have.  You all have.  Where do you think I would have been?  Alone, studying, in some empty room in an empty wing of the castle in Canterlot.  You can’t thank me for giving you friendship, because you can’t just give friendship, you can only share it.  And you were all there to share it with me.  We all created this friendship, and well all share it, and we’ll still share it even when we’re on our own.”

They held their embrace in silence.  Then, Twilight spoke.

 “We’ll see each other soon.  I promise.”

Rarity squeezed her friend even tighter.  “If there’s any problem at all, send up a flare and I’ll do my best to find you.”  She was crying but made no attempt to hide it.

“Same goes for you,” Twilight sniffed.

Rarity tried smiling.  “‘Not even twenty minutes,’ that’s what Applejack said.”

Twilight nodded.  “Well,” she said weakly.  “See you soon.”

“Soon,” Rarity solemnly replied.

Twilight took the first step, turning away from her friend and towards the horizon behind her.  She set off, knowing each step was taking her farther from her friends, but at the same time bringing them closer to meeting again.  She wanted desperately to turn back, to run back and hug her friend once more, but knew that if she did, she’d never be able to leave.

Rarity, too, began her journey alone.  For about five minutes she walked, fighting every urge to look back, telling herself with ever step that she was getting closer to her friends.  Finally, after an intense tug-of-war with will, she lost, and looked back.

Behind her was the field, the trees, but nothing more.  Not even a hint of her friend.

She sighed, trying her best not to cry.

She carried on, wandering as aimlessly as she could.

***

“Be strong, Pinkie.  It won’t be long.”

Pinkie sniffed, blinking back tears.  “Are you sure?”

Applejack smiled, trying her best to seem calm and confident.  “Of course!  Why, when Ah was lost in the woods, it didn’t take even twenty apple-pickin’ minutes afore the Rose was pullin’ me to the Spring!”

“I just can’t!” Pinkie sobbed, grasping her friend’s shoulder.

Applejack was only able to hold back her own tears by reminding herself she must remain strong for Pinkie’s sake.  “Pinkie, Ah know what’ll make this easier,” she said, wrapping a foreleg around her friend, pulling her close.  “Ah want you to tell me a story.”

Pinkie wiped at her eyes.  “A story?”

“Yep,” Applejack smiled.  “Remember Gummy’s after-birthday party?  I want to hear that story again.”

“Oh, I remember it, alright,” Pinkie said, shuddering at the memory.

“Ah want you to tell it anyway.  But Ah want you to close your eyes tight and remember it as clear as possible.”  She released Pinkie from their embrace and sat across from her in the clearing.  They had walked for about twenty minutes when they discovered the forest; unlike the nightmare of a jungle they had all fought through days ago, this forest looked peaceful, inviting.  The trees, though they bore no fruit, reminded Applejack of apple trees.  Naturally, she and Pinkie choose this spot for their farewells.

Pinkie stared at Applejack curiously, the sadness melting away from her face in the wake of this new game.  “Ok,” she said, unsure of Applejack’s purpose.  She closed her eyes tightly and began.  “We all had so much fun at Gummy’s very first birthday party that I thought we could have even more fun at an after-birthday party, so I invited all my friends the next day.  But none of them could go.”

“Why was that?”  Applejack asked.

“Well, Twilight said she had to study.  Rarity had to wash her hair.  You had to pick apples.  Fluttershy and Dash had to house-sit for a vacationing bear.  It was all very strange.  And then Twilight started sneaking around behind my back...  all my friends were avoiding me because they didn’t like me and they didn’t want to go to my parties and they didn’t want to be my friends anymore.”

“But was that really true?”

“No,” Pinkie smiled, her eyes still shut tight as she began to remember the day with such clarity that it was like living through it once more.  “I thought you had all abandoned me.  I thought we’d never be friends again, and that we’d never see each other again, and that you all hated me.  But you didn’t.  Rainbow Dash fought me tooth and wing to get me to go to your barn... I thought it was for my going away party.  I thought you were going to send me off for good.  But it wasn’t a going away party.  It was a surprise for me.  For my birthday.  Because you didn’t really hate me or want me gone or never wanted to see me again.  You all just avoided me because you wanted to keep it a surprise, and the whole time I thought we’d never be friends again... but we were, because even though you had to avoid me for a while, in the end we were still best friends, all of us.”  She smiled at the memory, opening her eyes.

Applejack was gone.  On the ground where she stood minutes ago was an apple.  The ground around it was pattered with faint teardrops.

Somewhere, deep inside, Pinkie had known all along.  She didn’t cry.  Instead, she smiled sadly and picked up the apple.  She stared at it for a few moments, then sighed and began walking.

Thanks, Applejack, she thought to herself.  She understood now why she picked her—Applejack always knew exactly what to do and how to do it, and their parting in the clearing was no exception.  Pinkie realized she never would have been able to say goodbye... and so Applejack left her, but she didn’t abandon her.  No, Applejack left her fondly remembering a time when she realized her friends would always be there for her, even if they needed to separate for a time.

Alone but somewhat encouraged, Pinkie wandered the forest, longing for the moment when she’d see her friends once more.

***

“I think this is probably far enough.”

Fluttershy just nodded.  The gentle ocean breeze felt refreshing across her mane—under other circumstances, she would have closed her eyes, facing the ocean, letting the cool air wash over her.  The sea was, in many ways, like every friendly animal she had ever met: a thinking, living being with feelings and stories to tell.  If she could, she would sit and listen for hours, hear its tales, drink from its ancient wisdom.  But today she could not.

“Do you think we should have left the shore?  I’ll bet that’s what everypony else did,” Dash remarked.

“No,” Fluttershy said.  “It’s nice here.  This is a good place.”  She opened her eyes and turned to her friend.  “Rainbow Dash...”  Words failed her, and she began to cry.

Dash wrapped a foreleg around her.  “Fluttershy, I know it won’t be easy.  But we’ll see each other again soon.  By the end of the day, probably.  It won’t be long.”

“I know,” Fluttershy sniffed.  “I know it’s true, but I still can’t convince myself it’s true.  What if it doesn’t work, or what if the last Pillar falls before we meet again?  Will we all just be stranded out here, separated, alone?”

Dash held her friend in front of her so that they looked directly into each other’s eyes.  “Fluttershy, do you remember what your father told you?  When you heard his voice?”

Her face lightened a bit.  “‘Your friends won’t let you down.’”

“Exactly!”  Dash smiled.  “Don’t ever forget that.  This isn’t goodbye, not at all.  Maybe twenty minutes, if it happens the same way it did with Applejack.  We’ve gone longer without seeing each other back in Ponyville.  It’s no big deal.  And I would never leave you if I wasn’t sure we’d see each other again in no time.”

Fluttershy returned the smile, though the tears still flowed.  “Thanks, Rainbow Dash.  You really are the best.  Remember when I first told you about my mother’s Rose?  Back before I knew what it really was?  It seems like so long ago, now.”  She pulled Dash close in a hug.  “Goodbye,” she whispered.  “See you soon.”

“Yeah, see you soon.”  Dash had proven strong during all this, had shown nothing but her famous self-confidence and determination.  Now it became a struggle to hold up that demeanor, as she realized soon she’d be alone... but even worse than that, Fluttershy would be alone as well.  The thought of her meek friend wandering by herself miles and miles from home was so sad it was sickening.  But she knew if she failed now, if she showed weakness or uncertainty, they’d never be able to separate.  She desperately fought back the tears.

        The embrace ended.

        Dash flashed Fluttershy a faint smile, one that said Funny how things end up, isn’t it?  Then she turned away.

Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria, began walking slowly up the ocean shore, her hoofprints in the sand trailing back to where her friend stood alone.

Fluttershy watched as she grew smaller, smaller... gone.  She began crying again, gently at first, but soon began weeping as she stood alone in the sand, the sun setting quietly beyond the water.

I’m so sorry for laying this burden on you...

She wiped her eyes and noticed the sun disappearing beyond the ocean’s edge, refracting a kaleidoscope of colors across the sky.

        You have wonderful friends, dear...

        What now?  Where was there to go?

        They won’t let you down...

        Oh, this was such an awful idea!  She considered running down the shore after Rainbow Dash, following her footsteps until they were together again.

        Always remember how much I love you...

        Then she broke down once more, realizing it was too late, she was alone, for the first time in her life she was alone, even when she was by herself in her cottage her friends were always nearby, but this time she was completely and truly alone.  She sobbed into her hooves.

        Always remember...

        She jumped in pain.  Something had bitten her wing, something with very sharp teeth.  In a panic she jumped aside, hiding under her hooves, rubbing the injured zone.  After several moments she peeked up cautiously, hoping to spot her tormentor.  They way it felt, probably a snake, but she’d never been bitten by a snake before because normally they were so nice to her, and why—

        She gasped.  On the ground where she had stood seconds before was her fragment of the Rose.  It was pulsing wildly with reddest light, wobbling crazily on a jagged corner.  Her sorrows forgotten, she approached it, poking it gingerly with a hoof, then rushing the hoof to her mouth, sucking on the burn.  She must have forgotten it was tucked away in her wing-folds, and it must have grown hot somehow, and—

        Suddenly it began sliding along the ground, parting the sand before it like a snowplow during Winter Wrap Up.  The trail it left was a perfect line in the sand... but it was no longer sand.  Shining glass lay in the wake of the Rose, which was so hot that the grains fused into a path glittering with every color imaginable and several others.

        For a moment Fluttershy could only watch as the tiny immaculate gem made its way across the shore.  Then she began following it, walking along the glass carpet it laid out for her in the sand.

         Next Chapter: Part Seven: Alone Together Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 2 Minutes