By Readthestory

Chapter 2: Earthaven

The Royal Guard Pegasus poked his head out from behind the Everfree pine, narrowing his eyes at the path ahead, before giving the all clear sign by crossing one hoof. Behind him, the long line of Earth Ponies shambled along in his wake, making sure to not veer from the established path. Everypony knew the dangers of getting lost in Everfree. Still, many of the Earth Ponies were being held up by the Pegasi leading them, being so exhausted from their past labor.

"Let me go, Big Macintosh! Ah can walk on mah own!" Applejack protested weakly as her brother struggled onwards.

"Nope." He said simply, refusing to let her down.

The siblings were suddenly standing in shadow as a cyan Pegasus soared over them, returning to fly parallel to their path.

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack cried. "Oh sugar cube… it's so good to see you!"

"Uh… yeah, OK." Rainbow muttered, trying (unsuccessfully) to hide her elation. "I couldn't exactly let Ponyville's second strongest Pony just work her hooves raw, now could I?"

Applejack grinned weakly. "Yeah… second strongest… you keep… telling yourself that."

The stubborn Earth Pony finally gave into her tiredness and collapsed on Big Mac's back into a deep sleep.

"Big Mac, it's good to see you to…" Dash added.

"Eeyup." He agreed.

"I can carry her, you know, you really need to save your strength."

The large red stallion hesitated for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. Rainbow Dash swept down and lifted Applejack into the air, before flying up to the front of the line.

"Not much farther to go now!" Soarin called from the head of the line. "Watch your hooves; there are some Poison Joke patches around here…"

"Uh Oh…" said the grey Pegasus who had smacked the tree earlier. "This isn't good…" She had flown straight into a square of Poison Joke.

The Earth Ponies made a visible effort to avoid the annoying blue flower before continuing their shambling walk. High above the Everfree canopy, the weak sun was beginning to descend over the horizon. The line stopped in front of a rickety old hut with some odd masks attached to the front. A Royal Guard strode up to the front door, rapping the wood with one hoof in a combination of taps.

Rainbow Dash uneasily looked behind her, straining her eyes for any signs of Griffon pursuers. Although she knew they avoided the Everfree Forest when they could, she wouldn't put it past Talondash to force his troops into the undergrowth.

After about five minutes of standing in front of the hut, the door was cautiously opened, and a Zebra poked her head outside. After confirming the signal, she smiled wildly.

"The mission, a success I see! Now come Ponies, follow me!" Zecora said in her typical accent, beckoning the Ponies to follow her to the yard behind her house.

The Earth Ponies looked at each other uncertainly, wondering what could possibly be going on, but they still followed the Zebra and Pegasi around the hut. Applejack began to stir in Dash's legs, mumbling something about cider and "crazy contraptions".

The eighty or so Ponies gathered in the large back garden of Zecora's home, now more confused than ever. It seemed a garden like any other, if containing a few alchemic plants in addition to edible ones. Zecora smiled and walked over to a crystalloid formation of stones and tapped one of the rocks three times, causing a faint chink sound each time. Then, without warning…

"Password?" came an extremely muffled, gruff voice from an indiscernible location.

"Equestrian Ponies need to go inside! Loyal brave ones need a safe place to hide!" Zecora announced, her head still pointed at the rock.

To the utter shock of the Earth Ponies, a single furry paw burst from the ground, soon accompanied by several others. The sounds roused Applejack from her sleep, and she cracked open her eyes. Soon, the digging paws formed a Pony-sized hole in the ground, and a furry animal poked his head out of it.

"Are those… Diamond Dogs?" Applejack said in disbelief, quickly becoming alert.

"Heh… that they are!" Rainbow answered, chuckling at the expression on her friend's face.

One of the Dogs clambered out of the hole, quickly glancing at the assembled group, before calling back to his companions, "No horned Ponies here."

From within the hole, a general synchrony of groaning and whimpering was heard.

"Well… come on Ponies, inside hole, slide down, then follow!" The first one grunted, before leaping back into the earth.

"Uh… really?" said a blue-grey stallion as he unenthusiastically glanced at the rough patch of earth. "We have to go down there?"

"Above the ground you're allowed to stay, but you won't live to see another day." Zecora said simply. "Down the hole, to join your friends, while I stay here, to guide and send."

"Alright alright…" the stallion said, before hopping into the hole.

Instead of the thump they were expecting, they heard a lot of wild squealing that quickly grew faint.

"Don't worry, it's quite safe." Fleetfoot the Pegasus said, before jumping into the hole herself.

A single file line was formed up and one by one, the Ponies clambered into the ground, disappearing from sight. Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash after a few minutes in line.

"Rainbow… is Apple Bloom OK? We saw Sweetie Belle's signal before, what in the name of all things cinnamon was that barely grown filly doing in New Ponyville? Was Apple Bloom with her? Why are we working with Diamond Dogs? Where are we being taken? How did you-"

"Ah! Stop it AJ! You're giving me a headache! Not even Scootaloo asks me this many questions! I'll explain everything later, but yes, Apple Bloom is fine; we've all been taking care of her. She should be waiting for us down there."

A mental weight seemed to physically lift from Applejack's shoulders at the words, and her face flooded with relief.

"Did you hear that, Big Mac? Apple Bloom is OK!" she called to her brother, who was standing a few feet away.

The stallion looked just as relieved as his sister, and he nodded in acknowledgement. Soon, it was time for Rainbow and Applejack to descend.

"Ah can walk, RD, thanks. Ah'm feeling better" Applejack said quickly as they neared the hole.

The Pegasus lifted one eyebrow but put Applejack down anyway. The tan Earth Pony carefully strode to the edge of the hole, and squinted down into the darkness. After a few seconds, a Dog poked his head up to look at her.

"C'mon Pony! Don't have all day! Move!" he barked.

"Alright, alright! Ah'm going!" Applejack responded, then leapt past the dog and down into the blackness.

Instead of falling straight down, the tunnel quickly turned into a dirt slide, very similar to the one they had travelled on when they had gone to rescue Rarity. Applejack could vaguely make out passages going in each and every direction, sloping or straight, leading who knows where. At one point, Applejack could've sworn she went off a ramp and went airborne for a few seconds. The tunnels speeding past on her journey quickly made her feel nauseous and she shut her eyes, wishing for it to stop when…

Thump

The Pony found herself face down on a soft pile of dirt clearly placed to halt their movement. Before she could look around, a Diamond Dog pulled her away from the pile as Rainbow Dash zoomed in and hit the dirt where AJ had been, seconds before.

"Ha! I love doing that!" the Pegasus said as she quickly made way for the next Pony.

They were standing in a big octagonal cave with several passages leading away from it, and almost every Earth Pony was lying down in the cool earth, relishing in the chance to finally rest. Before too long, everypony had gathered together. The lead Dog, after concluding that everypony had arrived, stood on the dirt pile to address them.

"OK! You, Ponies, follow! Stay close, if you get lost, hard to find! Understand?" He barked, in a grating voice.

The Ponies nodded in a general acknowledgement, groaning slightly about having to get back up, before following the Dog into one of the passages. After about 5 minutes of travelling straight, the Dog switched to another tunnel, the Ponies trailing behind.

"Alright RD, now you have to tell me everythin'" Applejack said. "You can start by telling me where we're goin'… and why them Dogs are leadin' us there."

Rainbow Dash smiled and shook her head. "We're heading to Earthaven, where the rebellion is based. Back when we found out that the Princess… that we weren't going to win the war, Rarity struck a deal with the Diamond Dogs…"

The canine guide switched to another tunnel and the group marched on.

"To dig a gigantic cavern, big enough for the headquarters of a resistance group made of the free Ponies of the Cloudsdale/Ponyville/Canterlot area. Of course, not everypony down there fights the battles; Earthaven is also a refuge, a sanctuary to everypony that manages to make it out here. "

"You mean to tell me there's a cavern big enough to hold that many ponies, right below the Everfree Forest?" Applejack asked, amazed.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "That's right. Zecora and the Dog up there, Fido, change the code every so often to get a hole dug for anypony who makes it out there. I think they use something called Horse Code or whatever. Of course, Zecora also supplies for the Griffons, so they'll leave her house alone. But most of the potions she gives them have no effect and sometimes hurt them, Ha!" she paused for a breath. "We've been leading raids on the work gangs, sabotaging Griffon supplies, and general making hell for those bucking animals ever since they took over! And we're living right below their feet!"

"But how in tarnation did you get these greedy gem diggers to go along with this scheme of Rarity's?"

"It was a work of beauty, really. Rarity started teaching as many Unicorns as she could how to use that gem tracking spell of hers, and now the Diamond Dogs accommodate us as long as we keep finding gems for them. They may be greedy, stupid, ugly, and smell like wet fur, but you should see their paw-work!"

Applejack shook her mane, still processing the unbelievable information. Of course, she didn't deny that it was true; she could always spot a lie. Being the Element of Honesty had its benefits. The mare looked around her and was surprised to see that many other Ponies had been listening in on the conversation, and were now whispering amongst themselves. Fido once again veered to a different passageway, this one slanting upwards slightly.

"Dash, how did Sweetie and Scootaloo and sis get out of that spot in New Ponyville?"

"Also an awesome thing. Sweetie Belle learned that spell you guys used when you visited Cloudsdale to make them lighter, and Scootaloo carried them out of there. Operation went off without a hitch!"

"But then… why did they need to bring Apple Bloom with them?"

"Gee… I don't know… maybe because she missed you and Big Macintosh? Unlike a lot of Ponies, she had a chance to save her family…"

The group sunk into an uncomfortable silence, and for a little while they walked along quietly.

"One last thing, Rainbow Dash." Applejack muttered.

The Pegasus threw up her hooves in mock exasperation, before nodding to let her continue.

"How many of our friends are… OK…?"

Rainbow Dash's face fell at the words. "You'll see…" she said simply.

Applejack's chest shrank in apprehension, but just before she was about to ask what her friend meant, Soarin called out from a few rows up.

"General! We have some Earth foals up here that need someone to help them, and our hooves are kind of full here…"

"Got it." She said, and sped off without a word.

Over the next hour, Fido led the group along so many different passages sloping in every direction imaginable. Applejack could only wonder how such a seemingly dumb creature could possibly navigate a system that would have confounded anypony, but she had learned over the years to expect the unexpected. Just as it felt like her legs were about to give out again, Fido came to a halt in front of a giant wooden door built into the rock.

"Earthaven, Ponies!" He said simply, and pushed open the door.

Applejack was just crossing the boundary and about to take in the incredible sight when something warm and sweet smelling smashed into her at top speed.

"APPLEJACK, APPLEJACK! Oh Oh! You're here, I mean, I knew you would be fine because my back has been itchy all day and that means everything would go well but I didn't know for sure and then ear-flop and eye flutter and knee twitch and I just KNEW somepony was coming inside and-"

"Pinkie! I can't breathe!" Applejack gasped, but unable to keep the gigantic grin off her face.

"Oops! My bad!" the pink Pony hopped off the farm Pony and simply stood there with an adorable smile.

"It's good to see you Pi-"Applejack began…

"GOTTA DANCE!" the party pony shrieked, and began bouncing up and down in circles around the bewildered Applejack.

"Sweet Celestia…" Applejack gasped as she finally looked at Earthaven in front of her.

They were standing on a hill over a massive construct. The cavern was a Canterlot palace sized opening, with artisan crafted smooth walls, and even fancy engravings. At the center of the room, two waterfalls poured into a shiny pool of clear water from small openings at the top of the walls. All across the walls, as well, were carved out trails which clung to the rock, which allowed access to holes in the wall which she guessed were residences for the Ponies.

Far away on the opposite side of the room, she could make out tiny pinpricks of light which indicated Unicorn magic, as well as the sound of frantic digging. She could just make out covered wagons stuffed to the brim with precious gemstones being lugged across the room… enough gems to make a full grown dragon lie down and beg. But easily the most awe inspiring sight was at the ceiling, hundreds of feet above them. A gigantic ball of light was suspended there, bathing the cavern in light and warmth that Applejack hadn't felt since Celestia had been killed three years ago.

It's… a miniature sun! She realized.

And so it was, because lining the reflecting pool were giant fields of green, crops, and grazing animals. Earthaven had food, water, safety and security… it was truly a sanctuary.

Applejack was just beginning to gaze at the Apple orchards (while tuning out Pinkie Pie's singing) when she heard the beating of powerful wings. Instinctively, she flinched, used to the sound being tied to a Griffon overseer. Instead, she felt a reassuring hoof being put on her shoulder. She was vaguely aware that around her, the other Ponies were bending to the ground and whispering in awe.

"Applejack… Element of Honesty. And all of thou brave subjects!" Princess Luna boomed. "Welcome to Earthaven!"

/**/

"Finally made it, huh?" Sweetie Belle said, out of breath.

"Yeah… that wasn't fun. Even with your magic you guys weigh so much!" Scootaloo complained as they kicked open the door to Earthaven, ignoring their Dog guide.

"Ouch!" came a startled voice from behind the door, and they realized they had flattened a mare with the door.

"I warned you! I warned you! Ear-flop eye flutter knee twitch always means…"

"APPLEJACK, BIG MAC!" Apple Bloom cried, throwing herself into their embrace.

"I missed you guys so much… I…I…" Apple Bloom sobbed, crying with relief.

"I missed you too…" Applejack said into her mane.

"Eeyup…" Big Macintosh softly agreed, blinking away tears.

Princess Luna smiled as she watched the heartfelt Apple reunion, her starry mane flowing softly. Pinkie Pie cried with emotion for a few seconds before effortlessly breaking back into a grin, while a few feet away, Rainbow Dash struggled to contain her empathy as well. Soon hoards of Earth Ponies began to gallop up the hill to embrace lost family members (scout reports had confirmed everypony in the work gang beforehand). For a few minutes, everything was forgotten as families joyously reunited.

Silently, a regiment of ninety or so strong Pegasi descended towards the group on the hill and landed behind the Princess. The family members quickly whispered promises to meet up again later before returning to the field.

"The journey has doubtless been an endeavor, but thine torturous life of enslavement has reached its end!" she declared. "There is much to be done, but for now I say unto you, go, eat and rest!"

The crowd broke into appreciative cheering and the Pegasi quickly swooped down to carry the exhausted Earth Ponies off to the cliff walls for a quick meal before they slept. Applejack finally allowed herself to simply be carried off without a word, still clinging to Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom as tears ran down her face.

Back on the hill, only the Princess, two of her guards, Fido, Pinkie Pie and the Pegasi who had lead the raid remained.

"You know what this calls for?" Pinkie Pie asked, excitedly. "A-"

"…party?" The princess asked, already used to the Pony's antics.

"Yes! Wow… you can read minds? Well, I'm off to start planning; oh we'll need balloons, and streamers, and fairy lights and pinwheels and piñatas and pincushions and pin the tail on the pony and sweets! I'm going to go talk to the Cakes, bye Nightmare Moon!" she squealed and bounded away.

"Please do not call Us Night- ah what's the use…" Luna said, shaking her head. "General Dash, report."

"Operation Apples Jack was a complete success ma'am!" she bellowed, saluting. "We had nine Pegasi casualties, and lost no Earth Ponies."

"Excellent work, Rainbow Dash, report back to Supreme Air General Spitfire with your report. We are off to go check on the status of the party… if you'll excuse Us…"

Luna and her two personal guards (usually referred to as Shade Guards, who were on par with the old Royal Guards) soared off, with Rainbow Dash and the other Pegasi close behind, veering slightly away from them.

"Ah… at last Ponies get out of my face… off to count more gems!" Fido barked.

/**/

A/N: Many thanks to my trackers and the reviews, I really enjoy criticism as a want-to-be writer some day.

If anypony is wondering, I really enjoyed this weekend's new episode (The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000), plenty of Applejack aim, a line from Big Mac that was more than two syllables, and the references! Not to mention that hilarious letter at the end, well done to Hasbro and all that.

Next Time: What is next for the Ponies of Earthaven? Who exactly is still alive and kicking? Where are Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Fluttershy? All these answers, and more, on the next chapter of The Storm Alicorn.

-Readthestory

PS: It's a nightmare to go back and read over these chapters three times because I have to change all the accidental "everypony" "anypony" and "nopony" to "everypony" and "anypony" and "nopony". Ugh.

Additional Edit: 1/30/12- Only now do I remember the Search and Replace command. FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU….! Next Chapter: Nightmares of Two Different Kinds Estimated time remaining: 27 Minutes