Quest for the Mystic Blue – Chapter 1

Ashmead,

I know it's been some time since the last request. I trust your leg is feeling better?

First off, I apologize for pairing you up with that rock star scoundrel.

If you are still willing to make a difference, I have sent an agent towards your location. She should be arriving around sun-down. If you are interested in continuing your assistance with us, let her in and she'll share the details. If not, then kindly send her on her way.

~Eight Star

It had been a long time since Ashmead saw the 8-pointed star insignia. Actually, after the incident with the broken leg, the spilled carrots, and the fan-induced riot, he was pretty sure the Order was a little bit upset. Since recovering, he's just been diligently working on some anti-rabbit sprays to keep the varmints away from his cousin's carrot fields. When the cross-eyed mail pegasus delivered this letter, it would be an understatement to say that Ashmead was a little surprised.

"Well, Ah'll be!" Ashmead exclaimed out-loud as he adjusted his hat. "Looks like Ah've been given a second chance." He glanced out the window of his home just outside of Dodge Junction and noted the position of the sun. "Ah must'a let the time get away from me. Ah guess all that's left to do is play the Waitin' Game. In the meantime..." Ashmead sprayed some of his anti-rabbit spray on a loose carrot and took a bite. "Blech!" It still had the slight taste of fox urine. Oh the things he suffered for his science, alchemy.

They yellow colt Ashmead was a member of the wide-spread Apple Family. He had a fairly long hair style for a colt, colored a saturated blue. However, much unlike the colts who preferred physical labor, he was far more interested in knowledge. His knowledge was so wide-spread that he knew just what to do when an infestation of parasprites ended up in Dodge Junction. It was shortly after driving the creatures from the city that he earned his cutie mark – a stencil of an Ashmead's Kernel blossom.

As promised, a pony's silhouette appeared on the horizon as the sun set, trotting up the road to Ashmead's home. As she got closer, he could make out a dark red coat, and a straight blue mane that all fell off to one side, hiding half of her face. The pony approached his door and turned her head, pulling a black card from her saddlebag with her teeth. With a look of disinterest, she knocked on the door, holding the card so that the order's insignia faced outwards.

Ashmead answered the door with a gusto that was typical of the Apple Family. "Howdy there!" With a warm smile and a step to the side of the door, he chanced a glance at the card with his blue eyes. "Ah'm guessin' you're the one the Boss sent. Come in! You'll uh… hafta 'scuse the mess. Ah was workin' on a project 'fore you came."

He noticed that she had a menagerie of facial piercings on her, and a few darkening lowlights in her hair. She definitely reminded him of some kind of city pony runaway. She sucked the card into her mouth and chewed on it for a bit before coming in, and almost immediately curling her nose. "Oof, smells kinda like piss, dude."

Ashmead was almost tempted to tell the mare that she had somethin' on her face, and was even more tempted as soon as she mentioned the smell of his residence… but that was his fault, really.

She slid her saddle bag onto an open table space and sighed. "Yup, that's me…" she spoke in a fairly deadpan voice, "messenger girl… joined pretty recently. So far it's been a lotta galloping around, but not that interestin'." She picked through her bag and pulled out a parchment, holding it open with one hoof as she cleared her throat and read over it. "Uhh, so yeah… did you wanna hear this now, or what?" Her cyan eyes tried to avoid contact with his as she went over the parchment while gently chewing on one of her lip piercings. With her pack off, Ashmead could see her cutie mark; a black heart-shaped wreath of thorns.

Ashmead trotted over to the table and stood close by her. "Alright. Lay it on me." He was also tempted to mention that she reminded him of somepony, but he let it go for now. He did catch himself glancing at her eyes, which he noticed kept shifting away from him to stare at the parchment.

"Right… well, the first thing it says here is Thank You, so uh… thanks for choosing to stay with us." She rolled her eyes and coughed. "Shoot, knew I should've brought some water. You got any water?" She chanced a momentary glance at him before looking back. "Anyway, he says that your mission really could only be accomplished by you, so he's glad you decided to go for it. Ahem..."

She paused for a moment and readjusted, getting both hooves on the paper and staring at it intently as she went into a deep dramatic voice! "Sources have told me that the location of the Mirror Lake was revealed! However, before I could get my hooves wet, the entrance to the cavern was sealed with unicorn magic! Now, I'm not so much interested in the lake itself, but rather the plants which grow around the lake! The blue mirror leaf blossoms are highly magical, and could do a world of good for my alchemy. The properties in the flowers, once matured, also allow for some halluc… hallucino… genic…" she paused, "stuff." She coughed a few times and cleared her throat again. "Damn."

"Y'all don't sound so good. Lemme get ya that water now." Ashmead headed to the faucet to get some water for her, making sure to open one of his windows a crack along the way to let some of the smell out. "Th' trail's a bit dusty comin' here, so Ah can see why ya might be a little parched." He set the container of water down by the mare, who immediately took it and began to swallow it down.

Thinking aloud, Ashmead commented, "Hallucinogenic properties, huh? Sounds like it's right up my alley!" He quickly realized that what he said could be misinterpreted, and quickly recanted his statement. "Ah… what Ah mean is, Ah study plants an' such, and Ah can't say Ah hearda' this Blue Mirror Leaf plant."

As the mare finished off the glass, he chanced a question. "Say, ya got a name 'r somethin'? Ah'm sure y'all already know that mine's Ashmead, but Ah don' know yers."

She set the empty glass down with a small smile and a sigh of relief. "That was needed. Thanks." Then she sniffed and licked at one of her piercings. "Oh yeah, call me Darkmod. 'Least until I come up with somethin' better." She fluttered her lips with an exhale and shook her head. "Anything's better than Bumble Wig, what a stupid name." As soon as she could, her eyes were back to the parchment.

"Alright. Darkmod it is." He confirmed, nodding his head. "I never been too good at comin' up with names, mahself."

"Anyway, yeah, hallucinogenic… the fun stuff. He goes on to say that he wants you to bring back some of the plants, and to gather some of their seeds. The main obstacle that stands before you is the rock in the tunnel, but that's why it's gotta be you. The seal was designed by Twilight Sparkle in Ponyville… who's good friends with Applejack… and since it trails off there, I assume you know what he's getting at."

Ashmead thought for a moment. "Ah think Ah know what he's getting' at. Ya see, AJ's one a' mah cousins, an' Ah'm guessin' the Boss wants me ta talk AJ inta' getting' Twilight Sparkle ta take that seal offa' that rock. At least… for the time bein'."

Darkmod didn't seem to be listening, as she mumbled and moved the sheet aside, digging into her pack and laying down a small pouch. "200 bits for any supplies you may or may not suddenly need, and there's a seeking stone in there that'll lead you to the sanctum, where you're supposed to personally deliver the seeds in good condition. If you can't figure out the stone, ask Agent Doo. You can find her at the post office during business hours." She held a distant look and a curl in her lip that showed a bit of jealousy.

Ashmead glanced out the window, noting that the sun had already set. "Hmm… if Ah know AJ, she'll be up bright and early ta get ta workin' the orchard, so Ah think we should get goin' now… and even if ya ain't supposed ta do this mission with me, Ah ain't gonna let ya go by yerself. It'd be right ungentlecoltly of me."

"What? So you want me to come with you to Ponyville?" She seemed bothered at first, but it wore off quickly. "Actually, it'd be better than borin' messenger mare work. I'm up for it." A spark of personality showed up on her face, contrasting her previous anti-emotional appearance. She gathered her saddle bag onto her back after stuffing the parchment into it. "Some real agent work! If I help you on this, it'll show the Boss that I'm good for more than just runnin' errands and letters! Yeah!" She grinned, but Ashmead couldn't help but feel a little creeped out by it.

Actually, her enthusiasm was a little unsettling, but as his word was his bond, he wasn't going to go back on it. He began to pack his own saddlebags, making sure to take the bits and the stone, as well as a few scrolls, parchments, quills, and water.

"So on the way we can think of some kinda… cover. For why I'm travelin' with you." She presented her thoughts out-loud to him while he got ready. "Also, I guess a good reason for wantin' the flowers. Or how you heard about 'em. Somethin' like that."

Ashmead, of course picked out the first reason to come to his mind. "Yer mah filly-friend from Fillydelphia. Ah heard about the flowers from some book Ah found durin' mah travels, and thought that they would complement yer eyes. So, Ah decided to take ya with me so Ah could see the look on yer face when ya finally see 'em." He stifled a snicker and continued. "You don't know any o' that, 'course, y'all jus' think we're on… uh… how do the Fancy Folks call it? Hol-a-day!"

He let out a chuckle. "Ah'm kiddin' a 'course! That'd be some story, huh? Yer absolutely right. We'll definitely need some kinda cover. Also… AJ don' know that Ah'm in th'Order, and she's a terrible liar. We're gonna hafta give her a line she'll believe."

As Ashmead opened the door to leave, Darkmod followed him out with a smirk. "What, you don't think she'd believe you have a filly-friend from Fillydelphia, or you don't think she'd believe that it'd be me?" She chuckled once. It was a dry and cold sound that lacked any discernible emotion.

He shortly replied with; "Mostly that Ah'd have a filly-friend at all. Well, Ponyville ain't far. We can make it there by sun-up. We'll talk more about our cover on the way."

She rolled her eyes and went on as they walked down the path. "Just say you read about it in some… alchemy book… or whatever it is that you do." She slowed down a little to expressively twirl a hoof in the air as she spoke. "Say it mentioned the cavern of the Mirror Lake, and that when word hit you that it was near Ponyville, you figured it was a good time to visit your cousins." Then she shrugged and went back to her normal pace. "I guess you could tell her I'm an apprentice… but I really don't know anythin' about mixin' stuff. I'm just a really good liar, that's about it."

"Yeah, Alchemy is mostly mah thing, so's Ah got ta need ta know about plants an' such. Horticulture an' Bot'ny an' such." He proudly said, slowing a bit and looking back so she could catch up. "Ah like yer story. We could say Ah jus' took ya on as mah 'Prentice, so ya don't know so much yet."

As she caught up, she looked either way with a wary eye as the sun's last light began to fade. "Let's be careful, either way. I heard some spooky tales about… aggressive rocks."

Ash's smile turned into a scowl as he grumbled. "No good, rotten, sons-a-varmints." Just as quickly as the bad mood came on, his good mood came back. "Ah dealt with 'em b'fore. They ain't too much trouble, but they're quicker than yer average rock."

Along the way, he continued to try and make small talk. "So, did the Boss' note say anything about where the Mirror Lake was located, or what these plants actually look like?"

"Well, with a name like blue mirror leaf blossoms, I imagine they're blue and reflective. At least a little." She looked up in an attempt to recall. "Uhh, mostly that it's near Ponyville. I guess without convincin' Twilight to remove the seal temporarily, it won't matter too much where it is, exactly. We can always… ask around town."

"Ah figured as much. If they grow aroun' the Mirror Lake, then maybe somethin' in the lake makes 'em… mirror-like." Ashmead theorized with her, thinking out-loud. "Ah'm also supposin' that Agent Doo isn't th' only one… like us… in town. If we can find 'em, they might know more about the Mirror Lake."

She blew on her mane a little and got it out of her eyes. "I wonder what the Mirror Lake does. Sounds a lot more interestin' than a bunch of plants, especially if it had to be sealed away by magic." Then she huffed in disdain. "You'd think… with how old the Boss is, he could just wait until Twilight's too aged to fight back, and force the unsealin' from her."

Ashmead wasn't quite sure how to respond to Darkmod's rather morbid theory of having the Boss wait until Twilight was too aged to fight back. He had honestly never even had such a thought, so he tried to think of a justification. "Maybe whatever he needs has an expiration date, and he can't wait aroun' that long… Ah'm supposin' that if Twilight had to seal it, then she thinks it's bad news, whatever it is that's back 'ere."

"Yeah, I guess it's dangerous… but if there were any more like us in town… how would we know?" She pondered.

As they continued their journey, Ashmead was often surprised that somepony so depressing could talk so much. Just the sheer frequency of her morbid thoughts was enough to drive anypony crazy. He wondered if her personality was really just a mask she put on, and he had almost stopped paying attention to her when she began to complain about how tired she was of walking.

Then, the sun began to crest the horizon, and he could see the Apple Family Windmill of Sweet Apple Acres silhouetted by the morning's rays, and closing in with each step they took.

He stopped for a moment and tipped his country hat with one hoof. "Well, Ah'll be! There it is, Darkmod: Sweet Apple Acres!" He continued towards the orchard proper and began singing the praises in an indoctrination-like process with a tour guide's fervor. "This here is the home a' the finest Apples this side a'Questria! An' Ah ain't jus' talking 'bout mah cousins, Applejack, Big McIntosh and sweet Lil' Applebloom. No ma'am! This here orchard supplies apples ta not jus' Ponyville, but all a' th' surroundin' areas! Why they even got seeds and even a whole tree from Sweet Apple Acres when they were replenishin' Appleloosa from th' great buffalo stampedes of… well, last year! They got all kinds a' apples there: Rambo, Mushu, Ashmead's Kernel, Limbertwig, Yella' Delicious, Jonagold, Red Delicious…" and his list went on right up until the point that they reached the orchard proper.

Along the way, Darkmod began mouthing his words as he spoke, looking at the building as she did so. She paused a moment when he said Mushu - she thought she recognized that name - but shook it off.

The sun had been up for at least ten minutes when they reached the gate, and that was long enough for Big Mac to be out and gathering up the empty buckets for the usual work-load. Big McIntosh was a muscular red halflinger who wore a work yoke around his neck, and had a large sliced open apple for a cutie mark. It was nearing the end of harvest season, so there were only a few sections of the orchard left to cover. The sun had caused the roosters to crow, and there was the sound of cows mooing and pigs grunting at one another.

Darkmod leaned in and tried to ask quietly; "So uh, who's the handsome stallion there?" She grinned slyly with her question.

Ashmead got the impression she hadn't been listening to much of what he'd said, but he chuckled in his usual good-natured manner. "That there is Big McIntosh. He's a real chatterbox." With that, he raised his hoof and started trotting towards the larger stallion. "Howdy, Big Mac! 'S Ashmead from down Dodge Junction way."

Big Mac held a sturdy stature and smiled, chewing on a single stick of dried wheat from the feed fields. "Howdy!" He replied in a slow and strong voice.

"How ya doin'?" Ashmead jerked his head towards Darkmod. "This here's Darkmod. We're jus' stopping in fer a visit whilst we investigate a plant we heard about that grows near here. Y'all seen AJ anywhere? Ah can't come ta' Sweet Apple Acres an' not say Howdy ta' all mah favorite cousins!"

Big Mac just smiled when Ashmead asked how he was, switching the strand of wheat to the other corner of his mouth. He bobbed his head in greetings to Darkmod. He lifted up his hoof and pointed it off towards the cow barn. "Doin' mornin' feedin's." After speaking, he let his eyes break contact with Ashmead to drift over and look at the barn.

Darkmod was shocked, and her mouth was slightly agape. This was not what she expected to come out of this stallion. Ashmead on the other hand was not surprised at all. "Right to the point. Good ol' Big Mac!" He tipped his hat to the draft stallion. "Thanks!"

The pair trotted off towards the barn, but Ashmead had to comment on Darkmod's expression. "Honestly, Ah was bein' a little sarcastic when Ah said that Big Mac's a chatterbox, but he said more ta' us back there than he's ever said ta me 'fore now. Ee'yup!" He slowly nodded his head for emphasis. "Now, AJ on th'other hoof… she's a might more talkative." As he neared the barn, he called out. "AJ! Hey, AJ, y'all out here?"

Then he cast a sly glance towards Darkmod. "'S Been awhile since Ah seen AJ. Ah wonder if she'll rec'nize me." Darkmod's response was to tip her head and roll her eyes off to the side.

A hooting sound came from the barn, which was followed by Applejack's country drawl. "Yes I am! Hold on a sec!" Soon, the orange mare came out of the barn doors and examined Ashmead as she trotted over. It was only moments before she started up. "Hoo-whee! How ya'll been, cousin?" She quickly threw a hoof around Ash, hugging him close and knocking both of their hats off. She quickly caught hers and stuffed his back on his head. "Why you ain't tell me ya'll be comin' up 'ere? How's Dodge these days?"

Suddenly she looked at Darkmod and smiled, giving Ash no time to respond before going on. "Well hey now, did'ja find yerself a special somepony?"

Ash turned almost as read as the apples in the trees at the thought. Darkmod laughed and shook her hoof in denial, responding without missing a beat. "Who, me? Oh, no, no, no!" She sighed quickly. "I'm just his apprentice! Taking Special Alchemy, we're supposed to follow under somepony who's practiced in it!"

"Ah…" Applejack looked a little disappointed and turned back to Ashmead. "So what brings ya'll out 'ere? Why, I ain't seen ya since that chemical spill." She laughed a moment, then leered at him. "Ya didn't bring any of them chemicals wit'cha'di'ja? Granny Smith's probably still a little jumpy 'bout 'em."

Finally given a chance to speak, Ashmead took it. "Dodge is jus' swell, AJ! Ma and Pa and mah brothers send their best wishes an' all. 'S too bad we missed ya the last time ya visited." The truth was that he hadn't been by to visit his folks in quite some time. Her mention of the chemical spill made him remember it all again. The screams of the foals (and Granny Smith) were still fresh in his mind. It really wasn't such a terrible thing about chemicals spilling, as they hadn't actually caused any damage to the orchard, but they gave off a horrendous odor that lasted for weeks, (or so they told him.)

Needless to say, Applebloom and her friends did not get their Chemistry Cutie Marks that day… and Ashmead just about lost his.

He coughed lightly. "Well, Ah was reading a Bot'ny book, as Ah'm wont to do, an' Ah saw somethin' about this "Mirror Leaf" plant or some such a thing, and mah curiosity bein' piqued an' all, Ah decided to take mah 'Prentice an' check it out. Now, word is that there's a right bushel growing right here, near Ponyville! Ain't that somethin'?" Of course, he stopped himself there. He didn't want to let her in on any more of the information he knew, so he decided playing dumb, rather than being dumb, was his best bet for the time.

"Mirror Leaf plant?" Applejack repeated in question. "I ain't heard'a nothin' like that." She stood a moment and tried to think back to see if there was anything she could recollect, but she shook her head. "Nope, but yer welcome ta take up our guest bedroom while ya'll are stayin' in Ponyville. C'mon, I'll take ya there." As she trotted past, she suggested. "Maybe ya'll should check at the Library. Twi's always researchin' interestin' stuff."

"That's right kinda' ya, AJ. Thanks!" Ash followed Applejack to the farm house, but he noticed Darkmod drooping a bit. The over-night walk was definitely not wearing well on the city pony. Her hooves were dragging a bit as she followed behind Ashmead.

The guest room was exactly like anypony would expect. A chest of drawers with a fresh candle on top of it. A hook near the door with a lantern hanging from it, and a well-made bed with one of those warm show-off quilts. As they reached the guest room he lowered his head and voice. "Say, y'all don't look so good. Why don' you take a nap here 'r somethin' while Ah go inta town and give Twilight a visit? Ah didn' even think about how ya'd already been walkin' ta mah place, then I drug you all the way out here. Take a load off. Maybe say howdy ta Granny Smith an' Applebloom if they're aroun'."

In response to him, Darkmod mumbled something… but all anypony could catch of it was that she was complaining about how much her job sucked. She trudged over to the bed and crawled into it with little hesitation, rolling over and putting her back to the door.

Applejack chuckled and lowered her voice. "Why, she looks plum tuckered. Well, I oughta get back ta workin'." She nudged Ash playfully. "Don' hesitate ta lemme know if'n ya need anythin' else." She turned and was about to leave, but stopped and mentioned, "Jus' came ta me. Daisy's a bit ova bot-a-nist, sells flow'rs in town."

"Thanks, AJ!" Then, with a short farewell, Ashmead was out and back on the path towards Ponyville proper.