Winter's Bloom

by Bookworm S

Thank you for all your support in the story so far. This chapter introduces another familiar face, and also marks the debut of wonderful story art by my good friend Eveegirl. If you like it, you should follow her deviantArt account, and tell her I sent you!

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Apple Bloom led her through another set of low passageways, twisting and turning through the cold rock. Applejack tried to keep a map in her head, but it wasn't long before she gave up, hopelessly lost and grateful that she had a guide to take her through the maze of tunnels. Apple Bloom noticed her confusion and gave a short snort.

"We've been diggin' these tunnels for a long time. Ain't much to do down here durin' the day, so mostly we work on expandin' the tunnels. We've had luck so far, since the base was started in a natural cavern system anyway, that we usually don't have t' dig too far before findin' another natural cavern. And we've had some unicorns find a way t' use their magic to test the dirt for weak spots, so we have almost no cave-ins." Applejack listened to her sister, the sound of her voice taking an edge off the discomfort she felt in the dark, enclosed space.

"Where're we goin' again?" Apple Bloom tossed a glance over her shoulder, not slowing.

"You'll see." She winked. "I'm gonna have you brief a search party. They'll fly out first light."

Applejack was a bit confused by this statement, but didn't say anything, instead just trotted along behind Apple Bloom in silence as she continued to recount a brief history of the encampment. Applejack still couldn't get used to the salutes ponies would throw her little sister from time to time, but she noticed that it wasn't universally observed. She asked about that.

"Oh, that? Well, we ain't completely a military operation here. In fact, I never really asked to be called 'general.'" She sneered slightly at the last word, but Applejack still heard an undertone of respect in her voice.

"So why do you let 'em call you that?" Applebloom watched as a pair of unicorns were fiddling with one of the glass bulbs that provided light in the caverns, though this one was much dimmer than the ones she had seen so far. One of them was levitating it out of the bracket, while the other touched his horn to it, causing the glow to immediately brighten. After they finished their maintenance, they stood to attention and saluted as Apple Bloom walked by. Applejack again felt the discomfort at being in the center of attention, but Apple Bloom simply acknowledged their salutes with a slight nod and continued trotting down the corridor.

"Well, a few reasons. The first bein' that no matter how many times I told 'em to stop, they jus' kept on callin' me it anyway. And the second is, well, we rebels need somepony at the head, to make the tough decisions and to be somepony to look up to." Now, out of sight of any ponies other than Applejack, she allowed herself to lower her ears a bit in humility. "That's not to say I really see myself as much of a leader. I'll listen to anypony's suggestions and concerns, and half the time I just repeat the decisions that other ponies make." As they rounded another bend, a group of ponies chatting there caused Apple Bloom to straighten up again, and the matter was dropped.

After a few more minutes silence, Apple Bloom came to a heavy metal door with a bright orange warning triangle painted on it. "Here we are," she said simply, then placed her hoof to the center of the door, pressing a panel that caused the whole door to slide up into a recess in the ceiling.

Behind the door was another cavern, almost as large as the dining cavern. Only instead of trestle tables and a cooking fire, this one was filled with shiny steel counters, beakers and glassware, and devices with blinking lights and whirring gears whose purpose Applejack couldn't even begin to speculate. About eight or nine ponies, unicorns mostly, but with a few earth ponies and a lone pegasus hovering above a large, dangerous-looking wheeled machine, were milling about the cavern with serious looks on their faces. To a pony they were all clad in white lab coats of varying degrees of dirtiness, and many were levitating beakers or welding metal together, heavy brass goggles covering their faces.

While Applejack stood just inside the door, trying to take it all in, Apple Bloom calmy trotted to the center of the room, where a white unicorn was in the process of inspecting a complicated-looking brass and steel contraption that looked a bit like a dragonfly made of metal. Applejack only had time to notice that none of the ponies saluted Apple Bloom, nor even paid her much mind at all, instead all seemingly lost in their respective works, before the unicorn, whom Apple Bloom had tapped on the shoulder and whispered in her ear, dropped the screwdriver she had held in her mouth and let out an excited squeal. Applejack immediately flattened her ears to her scalp, the sound of the unicorn's voice suddenly sending her back to Ponyville, where she saw its owner standing next to her at the starting line for the Sisterhooves Social...

"Applejack, is it really you!" She barely had time to brace herself before the unicorn launched herself at her, taking to the air, hooves outstretched, before they wrapped themselves around her neck in a huge hug. "I'd heard rumours but..."

Struggling slightly for breath, Applejack had time to take in Sweetie Belle's grown up form. Her mane, once a slightly unruly tangle of curls, was pulled back in a tight bun. The brass and leather goggles she had over her eyes obscured much of her face, but she could still recognize the huge, slightly sideways grin. Her voice, almost an octave deeper than she remembered, still squeaked like a loose floorboard in a way that seemed almost incongruous to her current appearance. She was slightly taller even than Applejack now, and wore a necklace that looked like it was pieced together out of scraps of metal and machinery.

"Alright, Sweetie Belle, let the poor filly breathe." Applejack wasn't sure how she felt about her little sister calling her a filly, but was grateful to be able to breathe again.

"Is it true you travelled through time? Did you use a time machine, or was it more of a wormhole? Or did you freeze yourself cryogenically?" As Sweetie Belle peppered her with questions, she lifted the goggles from her eyes, letting them rest against her forehead. Her green eyes glinted in the light of the bunsen burners and glowing tubes, and she seemed to practically vibrate with excitement.

"Well, I, uh..." Applejack scratched the back of her head, not quite sure how to respond to Sweetie Belle's questions, but thankfully Apple Bloom intervened.

"We were kinda hopin' you could tell us, but that'll have to wait for later. We think that she might not be the only 'visitor' that might have suddenly reappeared. How's project Firefly comin' along?"

Sweetie Belle answered, but didn't take her eyes off Applejack in the process. "Oh, it'll work alright. The weapons aren't quite ready for it yet, they still need a bit of testing, but the platform itself will hold up alright." Applejack wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, and with the number of projects that seemed to be in progress in the lab, she didn't even venture a guess. Instead, she leaned slightly to the left to try and get a better look at the adult form of her sister's best friend. As she did so, Sweetie Belle unconsciously leaned to the right, matching her motion perfectly and obscuring her side and tail in the process. Applejack leaned to the right, and again Sweetie Belle followed suit, her eyes seemingly dancing over the pony from her past, trying to match every detail to her memory.

As Applejack stood there, Sweetie Belle took a few steps forward, moving to Applejack's side, looking her over the whole time. Applejack in turn watched her, taking a few steps forward and catching a muttered word or two from Sweetie Belle as she did so.

"...just like she did then.... no apparent signs of aging, though it's hard to tell.... perhaps Celestia? No, that doesn't make sense..." After circling one another a few more times, Sweetie Belle seemed satisfied. "Does she know if anypony else came forward?" She looked at Apple Bloom expectantly. Despite the strangeness of her surroundings, Applejack was a bit annoyed at this, but she kept her mouth shut. Thankfully, her sister seemed to pick up on this.

"You can ask her for the details, but she doesn't have any memory of anythin' past the day of the attack, an' we found her about fifty clicks from where Ponyville used to stand." Sweetie Belle nodded.

"So, temporal and spatial displacement, perhaps the arrival was off due to the Heisenbuck uncertainty principle..." Applejack was a bit put off by Sweetie Belle's manner. She wasn't used to her absent-minded rambling, but she supposed ponies could change quite a bit over fifteen years.

Apple Bloom waited patiently for her to reach her conclusions, then cleared her throat gently, getting both of their attentions. "So you're sayin' it'll fly." It was more of a statement then a question.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "It'll fly. I wouldn't want to take it out without a pegasus escort, just to be safe, but it'll fly." This seemed to satisfy Apple Bloom.

"Good." She nodded a Sweetie Belle. "Get it ready an' bring it to the hanger ASAP." Then se smiled, and winked at Sweetie Belle. "An' good job. I don't know where we'd be without y'all."

Sweetie Belle nodded, then looked back at Applejack, with a soulful look on her face. "You find my sister, you hear?" She pointed a hoof at Applejack. "If she's out there, you find her, and you bring her here."

Applejack looked into her eyes and nodded slowly. "I'll bring her back, I promise. An' if y'all can't trust the Element of Honesty, then who can y'all trust?" Sweetie Belle smiled at this, then motioned for her to follow Apple Bloom, who was even now turning to leave the research lab. She did so, casting one last glance over her shoulder as she left, but Sweetie Belle had replaced the goggles on her face and was already busy directing the ponies in the lab to get "Project Firefly," whatever that was, ready to go.