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Green Eyes

By Writefag_Roulette
Created: 2021-07-16 21:31:33
Updated: 2021-01-20 14:36:52
Expiry: Never

applejack spike /pone/8chan

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https://web.archive.org/save/https://8kun.top/pone/res/328244.html#328373
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Green Eyes
4.
5.
>your name is Spike
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>you are a dragon
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>at thirteen years old, you are still considered a "baby" dragon
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>why precisely you've woken up in the woods just now is beyond your understanding
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>on the bright side, it looks like you didn't come alone
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>you tap her on the shoulder to wake her up
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"Applejack. Applejack, wake up."
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>Applejack groans
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>rolls over
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>and her eyes crack open
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>then she scrambles to her hooves
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<"Who-wha-wher-wh-!"
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>then she looks at you
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<"Spike? Why are we about three days deep in the Everfree Forest?"
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>you shrug
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"I dunno. I couldn't even tell it was the Everfree til you said so just now."
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<"Well I think it's the Everfree, at any rate. The trees don't get this thick in the Whitetail."
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>Applejack looks up
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<"Besides, I think I've been this way before."
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>then she looks down
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<"Eh, maybe."
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>and back up
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<"Probably?"
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>you kick the dirt
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"How can you tell? There's no trails here."
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>she shrugs
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<"Sometimes big ponies gotta head off the beaten path. You'll understand when you're older."
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"Uh huh."
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<"And anyway, I like to think I'm something of a woodsmare."
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"So which way back to Ponyville?"
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<"Eh, good question."
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>Applejack licks her hoof and sticks it up in the air
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>then she gestures in a seemingly random direction with her head
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<"That way, I reckon."
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"Pure woodsmare's instinct?"
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>she shrugs
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<"More or less."
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>then she starts walking
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<"Coming?"
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>three days alone in the woods with Applejack?
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>well
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>it could be worse
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>you could have gotten Fluttershy
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>night time
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>the first night
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>Applejack offered to stand watch the entire night
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>however, you've just been woken up by the sound of her snores
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>so you guess it's your turn to stand watch
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>she's a weirdly loud snorer
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>you sit up
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>it's dark
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>you've read that dragons have excellent night vision
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>you've also read that they don't develop this til their adolescence
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>so, you know, their thirties at the soonest
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>it's really dark
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>it's funny, almost
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>it's hard to imagine anything more frightening than a dragon in the dark
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>in a way, you're the scariest thing out here
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>you might be a little on the young side, but you're no creme puff
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>you've got a thick hide
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>sharp claws
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>relatively big teeth
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>in the distance, something rustles
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>you flinch violently
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>okay, so you're a little bit scared
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>because what you don't have is night vision
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>it's really, really dark
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>so dark
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>no matter how long you stare into it, your eyes just won't adjust
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>you're sweating a little
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>it wouldn't hurt to have a little light, would it?
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>you let out a small stream of fire from your mouth
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>for an instant, the clearing is bathed in emerald light
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>it's long enough for you to spot a decent stick nearby
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>you smile as you grab it
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>firey breath is one thing you've got that probably no other monster in the Everfree's got
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>no, wait, scratch that
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>there are dragons living here
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>big dragons
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>real dragons
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>didn't Twilight tell you that you're not a real dragon just the other day?
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>okay, no, not thinking about that now
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>in the distance, a pair of eyes opens
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>just as green as your flame, and just as bright
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>quickly, you light the end of your stick on fire
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>in the light of your makeshift torch, the eyes vanish
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>and Applejack goes on snoring
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>you sigh
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>it's gonna be a long night
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>day two
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>it was a long night
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<"Who-wha-wher-wh-!"
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>no sooner than she's awake, Applejack snaps to a mortified attention
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"Morning, sleepyhead."
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>she groans
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<"I take it I didn't stand the watch all night."
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"It's fine. I woke up."
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<"You stayed up?"
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"Yeah."
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>she looks down
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<"I don't like that?"
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"Hm?"
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<"Young folks oughtta get their rest."
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"I'm old enough."
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<"Besides, there's thing in these parts of the woods..."
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"Applejack?"
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<"Hm?"
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"It was fine. Really."
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>she blinks
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<"All right. I trust you, Spike."
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"I don't see why you wouldn't."
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<"You're right. Forget about it."
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>Applejack glances around the forest canopy, frowning
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<"All right, then. Right this way."
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>the day is surprisingly uneventful
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>no monsters
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>no gorges
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>no rivers
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>not even any big rocks, really
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>you wonder if Applejack might have been wrong
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>maybe this is just the Whitetail Woods
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>but if she was wrong about the forest, couldn't she have been wrong about how deep you are in it?
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>that's not something you want to believe right now
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>besides, what about those eyes from last night?
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>probably a timber wolf, right?
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>and timber wolves don't live in the Whitetail
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>right?
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<"Hold on now, Spike."
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"Hm?"
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<"We'll break here for lunch."
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"Uh, where's lunch at?"
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<"Right here."
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>Applejack plucks a hoofful of dandelions from the ground and munches on them
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"What do I eat?"
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<"Don't you eat rocks?"
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"I eat gems."
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<"Same thing."
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>is it?
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>you scour the ground for a rock of some kind
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>finally, you find one about the size of a bit
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>and proceed to nearly chip a tooth on it
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"No. It is not."
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>Applejack tosses you a clump from her growing pile of Everfree salad
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>not your favorite
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>but it should be edible
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"Thanks."
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>you eat your grass in silence for a while
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<"Say, Spike."
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"Hm?"
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<"Does it seem like..."
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"What?"
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<"Does it seem like we ain't going anywhere?"
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>you glance up
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>and shrug
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"I dunno. All these trees look the same to me."
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<"But doesn't this look sort of like the spot we woke up in?"
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"I don't... think so?"
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>Applejack smiles
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<"You're right, you're right. It's fine. Probably."
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"Okay?"
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>Applejack frowns
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<"But what were you doing before you woke up here?"
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"Uh..."
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>fighting with Twilight
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"Talking with Twilight?"
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<"Friendly-like talking?"
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"Uh... No?"
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<"Okay. Okay. Well, I reckon we've stayed long enough. Let's get a move on."
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"Applejack?"
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<"Hm?"
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"Do you know something?"
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<"No, no. I don't know anything. Not really, anyway."
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"Applejack."
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<"What?"
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"You're a terrible liar."
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<"So what? Let's go."
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>night two
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>true to her word, Applejack nudges you awake in the dark forest
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>her voice comes from somewhere nearby in the sea of pitch black
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<"All right, that was most of the night. You shouldn't have to be up too long now."
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"Thanks."
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<"Now if you see anything weird, you come let me know, you hear?"
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>you sit up
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"I thought I saw a timber wolf last night. Does that count?"
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<"A timber wolf?"
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"Yeah."
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<"You saw it? As in, you really saw it?"
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"I saw its eyes. You know, all shiny and green."
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>a pause
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<"I don't think there are timber wolves in this part of the woods."
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"Why not?"
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>another pause
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<"Never mind that. Let me know if you see any more... timber wolves, you hear?"
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"Applejack."
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<"Hm?"
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"What is it you're not telling me?"
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>a silence
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"You said you trusted me."
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>a sigh
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<"I know. I do. And you got a right to know. It's just... I don't know how to say it."
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"Say what?"
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<"I just need some time to get my thoughts together. We can talk about it tomorrow."
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>silence
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>absolute, utter silence
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>it's strange, when you think about it
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>a forest, even a weird forest like the Everfree, should be full of sound at night
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>bugs
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>birds
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>wind
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>but tonight, there's just nothing
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>a weird thought comes into your mind
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>no sound
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>no sight
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>maybe this is sort of what it's like to not exist
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>you told Twilight you wished that she didn't exist just the other day
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>you sigh
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"It's weird how a fight over chores can get so nasty."
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<"It's not too weird. Happens to me all the time on the farm."
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>you start
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"You're still awake?"
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<"Not for too much longer, I hope."
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"You should get some sleep."
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<"So you had a fight with Twilight?"
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"I don't wanna talk about it."
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>a pause
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<"You're right. I don't wanna talk about it either."
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>a yawn
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<"It's just... I think something like this has happened to me before..."
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"What?"
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>and in the dark, silent forest
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>the silence is broken by Applejack's snores
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>you sigh
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>and start looking for a stick to set on fire
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>day 3
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>when the lighting in the campsite is more gray than green, you put out the fire
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>Applejack rolls over and sits up not long after
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>for a while she doesn't say anything
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>just looks down and frowns
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>then she nods
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<"All right. I said this sort of thing had happened to me before already, right?
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"Yeah."
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<"You got into a fight the other day?"
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"Uh huh."
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<"Probably went to bed that night feeling real bad?"
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>you blink
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"Well, sure."
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<"Not like sorry, but just mad?"
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"What are you getting at?"
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<"You did, didn't you?"
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"Okay, sure, fine, I did. So what?"
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<"So did I. The other day, and when I was about your age."
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"And you woke up here?"
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>she nods
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<"I got out all right, but it was the scariest thing I'd ever done."
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"Pure woodsmare's instinct."
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>she smiles
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<"Ain't no such thing, sugarcube. But it is a... feeling of some sort."
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"What kind of feeling?"
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<"The kind of feeling where you're so scared and you miss your family so bad that you walk through a dark forest for three days and three nights without stopping."
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"That kind of feeling?"
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<"Well, I'm not so scared this time around, but it still feels like I'm moving toward what I want more than anything else in the whole world. It's that kind of feeling."
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"And you think that kind of feeling is enough to get us home?"
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<"I thought so, but there's one thing that's worrying me."
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"What?"
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<"This is the same clearing we woke up in yesterday. And the day before that."
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"You're sure?"
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<"I'm sure."
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"Maybe we're just going in circles?"
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<"I don't think so. I think it's some kind of magic."
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"Magic?"
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<"Spike, the thing I saw when I was little, the thing that scared me so bad I kept moving for three days straight... It had bright green eyes, but it wasn't a timber wolf."
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>something tenses in your chest
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"I don't think I want to know what it was."
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<"It was something that looked like my own big brother..."
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>you swallow
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<"... Who I'd fought with just the day before."
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>you try to chuckle
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"Oh, come on. You're just trying to scare me."
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<"I am trying to scare you. Because I think you're the reason we ain't going nowhere."
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>you cough
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"Well... what makes you say that?"
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<"Spike. Do you miss Twilight?"
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>night 3
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>for the umpteenth time, you roll over in the dark
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>do you miss Twilight?
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>should you?
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>so soon after the fight, it's easy to lie here and think about all the bad times you've had with her
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>but there were good times too
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>weren't there?
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>it's harder to think of those
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>how long have you been awake like this?
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>it's obvious you're not going to get any sleep
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>you sit up
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"Hey Applejack."
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>she doesn't respond
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>but you figure she's looking at you now
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"Why don't you go to sleep now? I'll get the rest of the night."
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>but in the darkness
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>there is silence
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"Applejack?"
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>you let loose a quick jet of flame
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>you didn't spot her, but you did notice a nice stick
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>you pick it up and light it
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"Applejack?"
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>but the clearing
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>is empty
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>dragons have an excellent sense of smell, don't they?
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>you take a deep breath
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>but if you ever knew Applejack's scent, you don't smell anything like it now
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>as you wander about the clearing, you spot something shining in the dirt
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>you poke it with a claw and sniff it
321.
>it's water
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>it's kind of salty, but it doesn't smell bad like sweat
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>a tear, maybe?
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>maybe that whole 'excellent sense of smell' thing is just for grown-up dragons
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>like the night vision
326.
>and Twilight's respect
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>you shake your head
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>and in the eerie glow of the green torch
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>you are alone
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>alone
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>alone in the woods
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>how long have you been alone here for?
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>your stick is almost burnt out, and the flames are licking your claws
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>it doesn't hurt
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>but this never happened on any of the other nights
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>shouldn't the Sun have come up by now?
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>why is it still dark out?
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>the flame begins to sputter
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>there's no more wood for it to burn beyond what's in your grasp
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>you drop the stick
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>it hits the dirt, burnt end first
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>the clearing goes dark
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>perfect
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>no nobody can see what happens next
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>nobody sees you when you take a seat on the ground
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>or when you flop down onto your back
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>or when, for some reason, your face gets wet
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>only baby dragons cry
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>a real dragon could have flown away by now
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>a real dragon could have burned down the whole forest on his way out
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>only a baby dragon would sit here like this
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>only a baby could feel so helpless
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/"Spike?"
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>you sit up
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>that was HER voice
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>and there in the woods
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>is a pair of bright green eyes
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>no, it's not a timber wolf
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>it never was
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>you can see that now
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>those eyes are too big
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>too close together
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>only a pony has eyes like that
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>only a pony's eyes don't glow
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>''"Spike?"''
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>you leap to your feet
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>turn around
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>and run in a straight line
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>you stumble over roots
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>smack into branches
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>get caught in thick brush
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>but it doesn't matter
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>because you know you're running straight toward the thing you want most right now
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>and you want, more than anything, to be home again
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>in the darkness, you stumble and fall
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>crashing through thick brush of some kind, you close your eyes
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>and when you open them, it is no longer dark
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>you're looking at a wood floor in a brightly-lit room
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/"Spike! You're home!"
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>you look up
383.
>the door to the library hangs open behind you
384.
>Twilight and Applejack stand smiling before you
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>was all that some kind of weird dream then?
386.
>Applejack winks at you
387.
>no, probably not a dream then
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"Yeah, I... guess I am."
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>you stand up
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/"I'm sorry, Spike. I should have gone after you when you stormed out an hour ago and tried to apologize, but I was too mad."
391.
"An hour ago?"
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>Applejack shrugs
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/"Spike, I'm sorry for saying those things to you."
394.
"I'm sorry too, Twilight."
395.
>you walk over to her
396.
>and wrap your claws around one of her legs
397.
"I'm just glad I got to see you again."