Spike awoke with a sharp gasp, quickly sitting up from where he lay on the ground.

He coughed a few times before letting out a groan and grasping his head. For a minute the only thing the drakeling could do was clench his eyes shut and ride out the dull throbbing pain of what felt like an oncoming migraine.

Thankfully the pain subsided as quickly as it had come, and within few more moments the migraine had faded to mostly manageable headache. The pain didn't completely disappear, but Spike could at least think a bit more clearly now.

"Ugh... what..." he blinked a few times before raising his head and squinting slightly from the bright glare of the sun overhead. He lowered his gaze back down and swept it across his surroundings, his expression one of befuddlement, "where in the..."

The diminutive dragon found himself sitting near the bottom of a large grassy knoll. The hills around him seemed to stretch quite a ways out before flattening out into a wide open prairie. Further away he could just make out the treeline of some woods, but not much more than that from where he was. He frowned and rose to his feet before brushing himself off.

He tried to take a step forward, but stumbled slightly as an intense bout of vertigo overtook him. It didn't last long and he was able to catch himself before he tumbled further down the hill, twisting around as he did so.

It was then that he spotted the very out-of-place piece of furniture behind him. His brows shot up, then furrowed in confusion as his eyes fell on the large table sitting slightly lopsided near the top of the grassy hill in the middle of nowhere.

"How did this get here?" the dragon muttered to himself as he made his way over to it. He frowned thoughtfully as he walked around it, "why is it even here? Actually..." he paused and looked around once more, "where even is here?"

After a minute he turned back to the table. It was wide and appeared to be made of some kind of somewhat reflective crystal, but other than that, it was rather unremarkable.

Spike raised an eyebrow and edged closer to the table before leaning forward and giving one of the sides a tentative lick. Regret washed over him as he tried to spit out the oddly bitter taste, glaring at the offending piece of furniture a second later.

He went to say something, only to snap his mouth shut as he realized he was about to complain to something that had no way of responding to him. With a huff he turned away and began making his way further up the knoll and over to the other side.

"Stupid random table," he grumbled, shaking his head in disappointment, "what kind of crystal is that, anyway? Didn't taste edible at all. Tasted like some kind of... whoa..."

He slowed to a stop just over the hill, blinking in surprise as he spotted a settlement in the distance. From where he stood he had a perfect view of the entire town, as well as the massive forest that lay next to it, and the tall mountain that stood even further behind it.

It was an odd sight to say the least, mostly due to the juxtaposition of the warm, inviting atmosphere the town evoked even from this distance, and the incredibly ominous vibe of the forest opposite said town.

A strange mist seemed to settle over the dark greenery of the forest, and just looking at the expanse of trees was enough to make the baby dragon shiver. He looked from the forest to the town, noting the many thatched roof cottages and how close together they were.

The settlement also seemed to be surrounded by another forest of trees, though these were more sparsely placed, making him think they were more woodland than forest.

With one last glance back at the displaced crystal table, Spike made his decision. He raced down the hill as fast as his stubby legs would carry him, his momentum aided by gravity as he moved down the slope.

By the time Spike reached his destination, he was well and truly out of breath. He hadn't run the whole way, but he was now all too aware of just how far away the town had actually been from where he had awakened.

He panted heavily as he trudged on ahead, stopping every now and then to catch his breath. Leaning over, claws on his knees, he took a deep breath and let it out before straightening back up and casting his eyes skyward.

The sun hadn't moved an inch since he began his long trek, and he was almost certain he'd been traveling for at least two or three hours. He silently thanked the fact that he was a dragon or the constant heat beating down on him would've made this journey much more difficult.

Thankfully he could handle a little sun.

He turned his attention back to the town a moment later and saw that he'd reached the large field of trees that framed the town. With an audible sigh of relief, he continued forward, eager to rest after the long walk.

As he made his way through the wide open field, he took a moment to observe the trees around him. Now that he was here, he could see that the trees in this area didn't make up another expanse of woods, but rather, a very large orchard.

An orchard of apple trees.

A great many of the trees looked slightly withered, but what caught and held his attention were the gleaming apples hanging from each and every one. He eyed them with a hunger he'd almost forgotten about while he had made his way over here.

Without giving any thought to who might be around, the ravenous drake hurried over to one of the trees and began to climb. It was a clumsy effort, but the claws helped a great deal in getting the leverage he needed to make it up the tree.

Eventually he settled down onto one of the thicker branches and with a bit more effort, he managed to pluck a nearby apple from where it hung. He eyed it for a moment, noting that, like the tree itself, the apple was slightly withered in a few spots, though it was most definitely edible.

With a small shrug, Spike bit into the fruit, humming in delight at the taste. It may not have been the healthiest looking apple he'd seen, but that didn't detract from the flavor in the slightest. The drakeling proceeded to gorge himself on as many apples as he could reach, clearing out a good portion of the tree he sat in.

It had been a good fifteen minutes or so when he finally ran out of apples to eat, the rest simply too far for him to grab without falling out of the tree. Leaning back against the trunk, Spike closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. He went to open them, but found he didn't want to, and saw no reason to.

There'd be plenty of time to find out where he was after a quick nap.

With a mental shrug he settled deeper into the tree, getting into a comfortable position before letting out a jaw stretching yawn. Within minutes the baby dragon was out like a light, one claw resting on his stomach and the other hanging by his side.

The last few years hadn't been kind to Sweet Apple Acres, but Big McIntosh and the rest of the Apple Family had somehow been able to make it work. Sure, the 'rest of the Apple Family' only consisted of his littlest sister Apple Bloom and Granny Smith, but that was only here near Ponyville.

The Apple's extended family was widespread, and could be considered one of the largest earth pony families in Equestria. In fact they were historically documented as such, and with the kind of numbers they had, there was no shortage of help to be had.

Still, all the help in the world wasn't enough to get their crop of apples growing any healthier—not with how long the days lasted. Big Mac found it rather odd that their trees were having so much trouble adjusting when the other flora around the area were getting along just fine.

Whatever the case might've been, that didn't stop the large red earth pony from doing what needed to be done. The longer days just meant more work tending the fields, and if Big Mac was being completely honest, he didn't mind. Apple Bloom may have complained, but her older brother was content to while away the hours bucking trees and collecting apples.

It was peaceful, it was quiet, it was familiar... it was what he knew. Perhaps most important of all, it kept his mind preoccupied and away from more troubling thoughts. Thoughts like where Equestria was headed under the Queen's reign.

Thoughts about how much longer their farm was going to last, thoughts on whether or not a war would break out between Equestria and the Crystal Empire, thoughts about the sister who'd left her home to live the high society life in Manehattan so many years ago.

She hadn't visited even once since then.

But that was all in the past, and dwelling on it wouldn't get the apples harvested any faster. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, Big Mac continued onward to the next tree.

He grunted softly as he pulled a large cart laden with several wooden baskets full of apples. He'd left Red Delicious and Apple Bumpkin to take care of the eastern fields while he himself finished harvesting the crops over in the western part of the massive orchard.

Both Red Delicious and Apple Bumpkin had been kind enough to take a train out from Dodge Junction to help with the crops this season, and had been staying with Big Mac, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith for the time being.

It was somewhat inconvenient for the siblings from Dodge, but Apples stuck together when times were tough, and right now times were certainly tough for the small family of three. Apple Bloom was still too young to take on much of the more demanding jobs, and Granny Smith was too old, so a lot of it fell to Big Mac to get the tougher jobs done, and there were plenty of those to do.

All the same, the quiet stallion didn't complain. Just like dwelling on the past, complaining didn't get the work finished any faster. Big Mac continued to keep this in mind as he came to a stop before one of the few remaining trees left to buck in the western field.

He unlatched himself from the cart and wiped the accumulated sweat from his brow, before pulling out one of the empty baskets. He placed it atop his back and made his way over to the tree.

Removing the basket from his back, he placed it beneath the shade of the tree with a practiced hoof and got into position. Nodding in satisfaction, the large earth pony turned and lifted a back hoof to strike the tree when a sudden sound stopped him in his tracks.

He furrowed his brow in bemusement, ear flickering as the sound came again. His first thought was that something was growling nearby, but as the sound came again, he realized it wasn't a growl, but a snore... and it was coming from somewhere above him.

He looked up, squinting slightly as a few rays of sunlight hit his eyes from between the leaves. The first thing he noticed was a distinct lack of apples hanging from the tree. This observation was quickly followed by another as he saw some kind of purple shape between some of the higher branches.

He couldn't quite make out what the shape was, but it was clear it had been the source of the snoring. Putting two and two together, it was also safe to assume whatever was in the tree had also partaken of more than a few of the Apple Family apples.

Apples meant to be sold to paying customers in the marketplace.

Big Mac narrowed his eyes and snorted in irritation before turning back around and slamming a back hoof into the trunk. The snoring was replaced by a startled yelp as the purple colored thing was thrown off balance.

A moment later, Big Mac stepped back as the creature, along with several of the remaining apples, dropped out of the tree and landed right in the large basket with a heavy thud. A pained groan escaped the creature's lips and Big Mac couldn't help but wince slightly at the result of his actions.

He moved closer to get a better look, and his eyes widened in shock as the creature stirred. Out of all the things Big McIntosh could've expected to be napping in one of his family's apple trees, a baby dragon was most certainly not one of them.

The drakeling pulled himself up to a sitting position and shook his head before looking up at the much larger pony before him. Their eyes met, the dragon's eyes widening in alarm. Big Mac in turn, raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Uh... hey there," Spike tried with a half-hearted wave and a nervous smile, "I take it this is... your tree then?"

Big Mac blinked.

"...Eeyup."

"And those apples were uh..." Spike looked down and noticed the basket he was currently sitting in, then looked up at the tree, then back to Big Mac a moment later, "...supposed to go in here?"

Big Mac's eyes narrowed.

"...Eeyup."

"Ah... I see," Spike swallowed and gave the pony his most innocent smile, "I don't suppose I could just apologize and we leave it at that... could I?"

"Nope."

Spike hung his head and sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, didn't think so," he rubbed the back of his head and looked back up at the stallion with an unhappy frown, "alright, what do you want me to do?"

"How 'bout ya get outta mah basket fer starters?" Big Mac replied, his tone stern, "ah ain't done harvestin' yet, so if ya wanna make it up ta me, a bit o' help would be mighty appreciated."

"Right, help, yeah... I can do that," Spike replied as he scrambled out of the basket. Once he was out he stretched, popping a few joints before returning his attention to Big Mac, "name's Spike by the way, and uh, yeah... sorry about the apples, really."

"Big McIntosh," the stallion replied as he grabbed the basket and deftly launched it up and onto his back, "ya'll can just call me Big Mac, an' we can call it square once the chores are done."

"That's... fair, I guess," Spike replied, following after Big Mac as he returned the basket to the cart, "hey, can I ask you a question though?"

Big Mac didn't answer for a moment as he latched himself back onto the front of the cart. It wasn't until he'd made a few adjustments and gotten comfortable with the weight that he finally responded.

"Go on," he grunted as he began pulling the cart forward.

"Where exactly am I?" Spike asked, waddling after the cart, "I kind of just... woke up on a hill outside of this town and I don't really know what's going on, so I just came here. Guess I was sort of hoping for some answers."

"Oh?" Big Mac replied, pausing as he turned to raise an eyebrow at the little dragon, "an' ah suppose ya were expectin' ta find 'em nappin' up in that tree, were ya?"

"Well, no," Spike answered, chuckling sheepishly, "I was... really hungry and kind of tired, and I sort of got distracted," his sheepish smile gave way to a bemused frown a moment later, "actually, now that I think about it, I'm not really sure what I was doing on that hill to begin with... or how I got there."

Big Mac watched Spike with some concern as he furrowed his brow. The drake seemed to be lost in thought, and it wasn't long before his eyes widened in shock.

"Big Mac, I... I can't remember anything from before I woke up on that hill."

Big Mac opened his mouth to respond, but had no words to give. He snapped it shut and gave the dragon a troubled grimace. This was the first time he'd ever seen a dragon, and out of nowhere, one drops out of his tree, with amnesia no less.

It was turning out to be a very strange day for the large stallion indeed.

This isn't the first time I've done the amnesia thing, but I figured I could have some fun with this...