When it came to preparing for trips and getting ready for any kind of journey, I wasn't much of one for patience. Applejack insisted, however, that we might need some supplies on our way to find Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike. I stubbornly accepted, and was now waiting in her room, watching her quickly putting items together to go into her saddle sack. After a few more moments, I sighed heavily, trying my hardest to show her my impatience. She noticed.

"Oh, Rainbow, calm down. It's not like he's already been rulin' for twenty years." Applejack said, tauntingly.

I rolled my eyes, and stood, helping her to pack everything she'd piled onto her bed into her sack. Once it was filled, I began making my way to her doorway.

"Alright, you're all packed, so let's go!"

I could hear Applejack snort behind me. I turned my head around to look at her.

"What's so funny?"

"Ah, nothin'," Applejack replied, still holding back laughter, "It's just that you haven't changed much since I seen you last."

I smiled slightly and shook my head, continuing out of her room, and down the stairs of her barn house. As I didn't look back to see if she'd followed me, I took notice of how little Noctrule's reign had changed her home. It was still as I remembered it.

My observation was interrupted as I felt Applejack pass me, and stand by her front door. She stopped and looked at me expectantly.

"Well, come on, then. I know a secret passage we can take to get us into Shroudlane."

"Secret passage?" I asked, amazed there would be anything like that out here.

"Yeah," Applejack continued as we made our way outside, "It was built by a small resistance faction in the beginning."

This fact surprised me. I hadn't known that there were any attempts at resistance. I was suddenly extremely curious of this group and if they still existed.

"Wait, a resistance group?" I asked, the surprise evident in my voice.

As we began to enter the main part of the apple acres farm, Applejack and I both heard the familiar sound of flapping wings that stopped us both dead in our tracks. I knew it couldn't have been my wings, for they were folded, and Applejack never had wings to begin with. Suddenly Applejack looked up to the gray sky, and without warning, she knocked me into a nearby tree.

Through dazed and ringing ears, I heard her hurriedly whisper, "Climb, Dash! Hurry!"

My brain processed her words as fast as it could before allowing my large wings to spread, and push me off the ground and into the tree's brush above me. I didn't dare to look outside of its green leaves. Instead, I listened as carefully as I could, the ringing finally subsiding.

I could hear the hooves of Applejack take a few steps before stopping and coming to a rest. The flapping of the wings became louder and louder, until I felt the wind being pushed from their wings to the tree's leaves, making them sway. Moments later, the flapping of wings stopped, and was followed by the tell-tale sound of several hooves hitting the ground.

"Well, houdy, gentlecolts. How may I-" Applejack greeted.

"Where are you going?" A darkly grizzled voice cut in, obviously demanding the right kind of answers.

"Oh, I, uh, was just goin' into town. I figured we're gettin' mighty low on supplies, and it was high time I went into town."

I could hear the tension in Applejack's voice as she told those lies. I knew how she hated to lie. But it was her life on the line. Not to mention mine.

A second deep voice, different than the first but still just as intimidating, spoke up, "You are not authorized to leave this farm."

This statement worried me a little. I could feel my wings beginning to tense themselves up, as I knew I was sub-consciously preparing my body for a speedy take off. If they tried to take down Applejack, I'd kill them before they could ever get the chance. It would give me away, but I'd sure as hell enjoy tearing them apart.

Applejack laughed, mixing the atmosphere into a confused one somewhere in-between heavy and light. She continued seamlessly, "Oh, pardon my rudeness, but our Lord, Noctrule allowed for me to be able to get supplies from time to time if it meant takin' care of the farm."

Silence ensued for a moment before the first colt spoke up, "We will have to check this with Lord Noctrule. Wait here, we will be back."

In a heartbeat, I could already hear their wings flapping away, until I could hear them no more. I breathed a sigh of relief, happy to know that we were safe for the moment.

"Come on, Rainbow!" Applejack hissed, "We hafta get to that entrance before they get back!"

I jumped down from my hiding spot, allowing my wings to hover my body in front of Applejack. I nodded at her, knowing there was no time for words, and followed her on wings as she sprinted closer toward the blur of trees.

"How much farther?!" I asked, dodging around a tree just before I impacted into its wide trunk.

"Just a lil' farther!"

We continued our fast pace for what felt like hours, but was merely just minutes. We came to a clearing of trees, where Applejack suddenly stopped. It took me a moment to realize that she was no longer running, but instead digging at the ground in the center of the clearing. I flew up to her side, being careful that my wings didn't hit her.

"What're you doing, AJ?! We need to get to-"

"The secret passage!" Applejack finished, uncovering a layer of grass and dirt to reveal what looked like the entrance to an underground cellar.

"Woah," I marveled as Applejack opened the metal doors, "nicely hidden."

I folded my wings, landing on the ground in front of the underground entrance. It was unsurprisingly dark, and no other features could be made out of the pitch black emptiness.

"How can we see where we're going?"

Applejack seemed to be reminded of something as she walked forward into the darkness. I reluctantly began following her, trusting she knew what she was doing. With both of us inside the total darkness, I began to have second thoughts about where this would lead. Whether it was out of doubt of Applejack’s ability to lead in this tunnel, or just the darkness itself, I couldn’t be sure. Suddenly, I heard a click followed by a loud bang behind us.

I felt myself jump, my body tensing at the sudden and loud noise. The door had closed behind us, leaving us in nothing but pitch darkness. It was so dark around me, that I had a hard time differentiating between having my eyelids open or shut. 4

“A-Applejack?!”

“Oh, these darn lights. C’mon!” Applejack said, her tone nonchalant.

Next I heard Applejack’s hooves hit the wall, consequently making small lights appear along the stoned path before us. I finally got a clear look at the tunnel. It was entirely lined by stone, save for the cracks on the floor that let the light source stream in, and continued past what my field of vision could comprehend.

“There we are! Nothin’ to fear, Rainbow. Just some faulty wirin’.”

I could hear a slight uplift in Applejack’s voice as she began to make her way down the seemingly infinitesimal stone hall. I followed her, my previous apprehensions gone. It was now clear that my doubt came from the overwhelming amount of darkness that surrounded us just moments ago. I somewhat mentally kicked myself for ever doubting my trust in Applejack. I then remembered my surroundings, opening my mouth to question what was on my mind. However, Applejack seemed to predict what I was going to ask.

“The resistance faction built this here tunnel to get to and fro without bein’ noticed.” Applejack’s voice echoed off the narrow walls.

“Why did it start in a random clearing in your farm?”

“Secluded, highly unwatched. And it wasn’t the entrance, it was an exit.”

“But,” I paused, gathering my thoughts, “an exit to… Where?”

Applejack shook her head, looking back at me, her caramel eyes just barely visible beneath her hat.

“Now that, I wasn’t sure of.”

“So, you weren’t part of them?”

Applejack just kept her head forward, remaining silent. Only the sound of our hooves were proof that we were still making progress. Suddenly, the tunnel made a sharp right turn, which only lead us to another long hallway of stone.

“Why didn’t you join them?”

I continued to receive only silence.

“Applejack…?”

I could feel her reluctance to answer my questions, but I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me. I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Applejack,” I picked up my pace to match her growing one, “what aren’t you telling me?”

I finally got a good look at her face for a moment before she sped up again, continuing to ignore my questions. Her face was distressed, just like what I’d seen earlier when I brought up her younger sister. I matched her speed once more, now at a jogging pace.

“Why won’t you at least say something?”

It was then that she broke into a full sprint, following the narrow walls that made more turns and curves. I would have naturally flown up to her, keeping up with her on wing instead of hooves, however the walls in this tunnel were far too narrow for my large wings.

“Applejack! Just… Stop running, and talk to me!”

Suddenly, Applejack came to a halt, my body nearly colliding into hers. I had to dig my hooves into the concrete, barley stopping the momentum that carried me forward. She had tears welled up within her gaze, her caramel eyes now flowing with water.

“SHE’S DEAD, YA HEAR ME?! DEAD!” Applejack’s voice echoed off the walls, carrying her tone of anger, hatred, and sadness right back to our ears over and over until they finally subsided. Seeming to hear herself, I could see something crack within Applejack. Her expression went dumbfounded as her whole body went limp into a stupor as she sat.

“Dead?! Who’s dead?!” I asked her, putting my hooves on her shoulders, “Who do you mean, Apple-“

Rumbling… I could feel it beneath my body, to the left and right, and more importantly… Above my head. I looked all about, feeling the narrow walls shake and rumble as if it were a living creature and we were in its bosom. It was followed by a distant, yet surreally loud crashing that only came closer. I spotted cracks beginning to form along the walls of concrete, causing the only source of light we had to flicker.

Oh, God… I thought to myself. It’s caving in…!

I looked back to Applejack, my mind only set on getting us out of here alive. The crashing thuds seemed to haunt me as they drew closer. Applejack was still in her emotional stupor, not even realizing how real and imminent the danger was. Next thing I knew, my body moved on instinct.

Although Applejack was the same size as I was, I was somehow granted an extra bit of strength to lift her up onto my back, and begin running faster than I’d ever run in my life. I could feel my wings trying to spread, looking for leverage that it just couldn’t find. My mind zoned into the path ahead of me. I had to keep ahead of the cracks that seemed to be in a neck and neck race with me. My lungs screamed for more air, my hooves pounded the ground, leaving my ears ringing from their clatter as the inanimate monster came closer.

I could hear cracking from above my head, as I looked up to see through the light that continued to barely survive that the stone ceiling was beginning to collapse right above me. I narrowly dodged a few chunks of rubble, looking back for just a moment to see if Applejack was still on my back. Her eyes were now closed, either her mind shutting down due to the happenings around us, or her emotional crack only moments ago.

I could feel the cave-in closing in on us, the crashing and rumbling growing to numbing levels of clatter. Suddenly, the lights cut out, bringing back the complete darkness that I hoped to never see again. I could feel tears sting the back of my eyes, my mind racing to figure out how to deal with the sudden darkness.

I didn’t have time to think it over, as I could feel the rubble closing in, my tail just barely escaping its clutches. It was then I had a break in reality. In a split second, I realized what was at stake. Not only would I let Applejack down, I’d let Shroudlane… No, Ponyville, Cloudsdale, Equestria, Princess Celestia, and all my friends down. I couldn’t let that happen. I was stronger than the circumstance demanded.

I can… DO THIS!

I suddenly felt a burst of adrenaline, energy flowing through my veins more than ever. I was so sure of myself now. I was going to beat this monster! This would not be my fate!

My eyes were then blinded by a bright light, coming from several horizontal cracks that lay before me. I could feel the walls on each side of my body widen, granting my wings the room they demanded. I took to the air, careful to not let Applejack fall by flying too high. With my wings out, the rubble behind me seemed to know that I was going to beat it. It suddenly began collapsing on every possible angle around me and before me.

“COME… ON----!”

I yelled at the top of my lungs, giving one final push with my wings. I greeted the light with my body, crashing through the obstructions that poorly closed up the entrance – my exit – to the tunnel.

I could feel my body being sent through the air and finally landing on a hard surface. I fell to the floor, feeling pain flare up once again on my neck. I swore to myself, suddenly my body feeling extremely heavy. I could feel my lungs grabbing for any kind of air it could, and my eyes were blinded by the same brightness that guided me moments before, only it was ten times brighter.

I opened my eyes to a fuzziness that greeted me, the blinding light I finally began to recognize as an aura of flowing purple magic. I blinked several times, trying to adjust to the light. I followed its flow back to its source. Through the almost silky aura, I spotted a body in the midst of it all. A body that was colored a darker purple than what was all around me. The body of a unicorn with a deep violent sparkle on her flank.

“T… Twilight… Is that you?”