Wake Up, Applejack!by Comet BurstChaptersThe CrashSense of SelfSense of ApprehensionSense of RememberanceThe Crash"All aboard!" the conductor shouted over the roar of the steam engines. The day was bright and beautiful, a cloudless sky with the glowing sun hanging overhead. It was a good day to travel. On the platform, an orange earth pony with a blonde mane and sparkling green eyes trotted up to the doorway to the car. Her ticket stuck out of the side of her mouth in a cute fashion as she tried to not get any spit on it. Atop her straw blonde mane sat a worn stetson, beaten with use and sunlight. The conductor, a stern looking gray earth pony, snorted a bit as he took her ticket and punched it. "Business or pleasure, Ms..." "Applejack," the orange mare replied confidently, "An' business, sir. Mah cousin in Appleloosa needs mah help with som' orchards." The conductor nodded slightly, only retaining her name. "Well, welcome aboard, Ms. Applejack." Applejack sighed happily as the world outside flew past her. The peaceful and idyllic forests and hills of Ponyville had long since past, becoming the rugged and dry desert Appleloosa was in. The heat was intense, but the wind kept the orange pony cool. The ground was dusty and flat, stretching on into the horizon where it met the empty blue sky. Every so often, the horizon line would be broken by a cactus or two. Applejack often wondered about those plants. They grew in the harshest environment known to ponies, outside of frozen tundras covered year round with snow. They always were bright green, suggesting that they were not only surviving, but thriving. Applejack sighed as she felt a yawn approach. The heat always made her tired when she sat around. As she lazily watched the world fly by, Applejack felt her eyelids get heavy. She always woke before dawn every day to tend to Sweet Apple Acres with her brother, but when she wasn't working, Applejack was usually napping. Leaning a little bit out the window, Applejack tried to see if Appleloosa was in the distance. The silhouette of the frontier town was nowhere in sight and Applejack pulled her head back in the window. "Well, might as well take a lil' nap," she mumbled to herself as she nestled into the seat. Her tail was difficult to position comfortably, but eventually she managed to find a comfortable way to sit. Applejack yawned again and rubbed her right eye with a hoof. "My, I must be really tuckered out," she mused. Resting her head against the back of the seat, Applejack reached up and pulled her stetson over her eyes. "Jus' a lil' nap," she murmured again before closing her eyes. It didn't take her long to drift off to sleep. "ALL PASSENGERS, HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Came an abnormally loud shout from across the car. Applejack woke with a start and sat upright, pulling her stetson back from off her eyes. As soon as the shout ended, a harsh screeching came from outside. The sound of metal grinding on metal told Applejack something bad was about to happen. Spinning her head to see what was happening, time seemed to slow as a loud collision echoed from the front of the train. As she spun her head, Applejack noticed a mother screaming and trying to grab a little foal while a stallion tried to run to the back of the car. The orange mare blinked once and turned to face the front of the car as yet another collision echoed back, this one louder than the last. She barely had time to react as the front of the car buckled. The steel walls of the train car crumpled like tin foil as the car bucked upwards, forcing Applejack into her seat. Applejack tried to scream as she felt herself leave the ground and try to fly. Trains weren't supposed to go airborne. The vertigo was the next thing she registered. The weightless sensation of hanging in the air terrified her as she felt herself hover away from the seat. The only thing she knew was she was still going forward, and so was the car. The mother was still screaming as she collided with the seat in front of her, clutching the foal with all her might. Windows around the car began to shatter and glass floated with the ponies. Then, as quickly as it came, the vertigo left and they fell. The fall was by far more terrifying than the launch. Applejack let loose a wordless scream as she saw herself near the crumpled end of the car. It was all so slow, like time had broken. Applejack could see everything as she flailed about in the air, but her movements were just as slow as the world around her. She feebly tried to grab something, but she was almost to the roof of the car where it was smooth and flat. At the corner of Applejack's vision, she saw the outside world. The flat ground was rushing up to meet the roof of the car. Applejack saw the roof crumple like the front of the car before the world went dark. Braeburn fidgeted with his hooves as he waited. There was a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach as he stood there, hoping the worst hadn't happened. He had nearly passed out when he saw the wreck and now was suppressing an urge to throw up. The train, if that's what the remains could be called, were scattered about the desert and along the rock formation known as Shady's Cliff. Apparently, a rock at the top of the cliff had fallen from the top as the train approached. It was hard for Braeburn to believe this was real. He had heard about train wrecks, but this was his first time seeing one. The engine was literally gone. All that was left of it was a pile of smashed metal against a red rock split in half. There was no word if the engineer had gotten out in time, but the lack of anything relating to him gave a chilling 'No'. Passengers aboard the train were being removed with the greatest care as they were carefully removed from the destroyed cars. Thankfully, all those recovered so far were alive but had serious injuries. Braeburn was told it wasn't uncommon for ponies to be missing limbs or losing gratuitous amounts of blood after a crash like this, but that only served to expand his worrying. His dear cousin Applejack was on board this train. Without knowing which passenger was in which car, Braeburn had to wait patiently for the rescue workers to find her. Every second that ticked by felt like an hour, and each minute that passed was a lifetime. He chastised himself for asking her to come to Appleloosa. He wanted her help with something he should've handled by himself and now he wasn't sure if she could even return to Ponyville. So what if his orchard had a bark disease? It wasn't worth his cousin's life. As he bit back tears, a loud shout echoed around the wreckage. Ponies of all sorts not immediately aiding other survivors turned and ran to a car a little farther off from the main crash site. The car was upside down and looked like a tin can that got stepped on, utterly smashed as flat as it could go. Braeburn watched the other ponies run and heard a shout. "It looks like an apple!" a random pony called. Without even registering what it could mean, Braeburn broke away and started running to the car. As he ran, several shouts rose up behind him, telling him to get back, but he kept running. 'It looks like an apple!' kept running through his head. Despite knowing what it might mean, Braeburn approached the car as ponies crowded around the wrecked car. Without saying a word, Braeburn began pushing past other ponies up to the car. There was a large tear in the side of the car, made by the unicorns who were in the process of rescuing the survivors, and the crowd's gaze was focused there. Giving a grunt and a final push, Braeburn forced himself to the hole and gazed inside, preparing for the worst. Inside, the car was even worse than outside. Seats hung by single screws from the roof, walls had jutted inwards like large knives and there was shattered glass everywhere. Everywhere except one place. Several ponies were laying on the broken metal and two were awake, one nursing his left rear leg and the other clutching a bundle of blankets with a broken foreleg. Rescue ponies were tending to them, but even they were amazed at where they were. Despite the ruined train car around them, the ponies were in a space that seemed to bend around them. The jagged edges of the car walls were flattened and smooth, like they had impacted something far harder. The seats above the survivors were pushed to the sides and the floor was perfectly flat, like it had been steamrolled. As Braeburn looked at it, he found the ponies were right. It was in the shape of an apple. As the rescue worker moved the pony clutching the bundle of blankets, Braeburn heard the bundle begin to cry. His stomach churned as he realized a newborn foal was on board. He, along with the the other ponies, moved aside wordlessly as the mare was helped out by the rescue ponies. When Braeburn looked back, he saw a mass of orange and straw colored hair. "Applejack!" he shouted. Sense of SelfApplejack was quite the deep sleeper, or so Braeburn had heard. However, lying in a hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around a scarred part of her temple, he was almost sure she was dead.Her eyes were shut in a finite way and her breathing was slow and deep, sounding like she was struggling to remember how. Seeing her like this left a very uncomfortable feeling deep in his chest, what he assumed was similar to a rotting cavity where his heart should be. Word about the crash had already spread as far as Canterlot. The worst hit place was Applejack's hometown, Ponyville. Already, the other Elements of Harmony, along with Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh, were on their way to Appleloosa. With the wreckage still being cleared, the train line was out of commission, meaning they had to take the long way here. Deep down, Braeburn wasn't sure if they would make it on time to see her. The best doctors in Appleloosa and a few from the neighboring cities were pouring over the wounded, but their true focus was Applejack. The fact an Element of Harmony was in a coma was a reason for all ponies to fear. Without all six, the Elements were almost useless. If Discord broke out or Nightmare Moon attacked again, Equestria would be without its most powerful force to stop them. Souring at the thought, Braeburn pulled his own stetson down onto his forehead as his eyes began to mist. If Applejack didn't pull through this, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. 'Not cuz she's one ah dem Elements,' he thought bitterly, 'Cuz she mah cousin and the closes' ah have to ah sister.' Applejack wasn't sure what had happened. Her body ached terribly, more so than after the Apple Buck season she did by herself. Her head pounded like the rhythm from the steam engine she was travelling with. All she knew was she didn't want to move, and that was that. As she lay there, her eyes remained shut. She was so tired and wanted to do nothing but sleep, but her mind kept prodding her to get up despite her body's protests. "Fer cryin' out loud," she mumbled to herself. She had never been so tired and achy, but had never wanted so badly to get up and move. She was already moving, heading towards... Without warning, Applejack's eyes bolted open. Her sparkling emerald eyes glistened with fear as she scanned her surroundings. Now she remembered why she felt so tired. The train was crashing! Flicking her eyes around, Applejack saw nothing but an empty black space stretching out in front of her. Forcing her tired body to lift her head, she swiveled it around, hoping to see anything. The total darkness around her made no noise, had no silhouettes in the distance or anything. It was just empty. "Hello?" Applejack called out. She silenced herself as her voice disappeared into the darkness too, not echoing off anything. Tentatively, she tried again and found the same result. Confused, Applejack shook her head slowly, partly to clear the fog swirling about her tired mind. She also hoped that closing her eyes would have the same effect it did when Sweet Apple Acres was pitch black in the night, adjusting her vision to make out objects. Upon opening them, though, she felt her stomach plummet. There was nothing to see. Remembering she was in a train crash yet again, Applejack feared what had happened to her physically. Scared but determined, she spun around to examine herself and saw... well, nothing. Her body was completely unscathed and her joints worked fine. In fact, it looked like she had just emerged from a bath since her coat was shimmering and her tail was a brilliant pale yellow. Sighing happily and smiling to herself, she turned to stand up and froze as she got her rear legs up. There was no visible light source here, so how could she see herself? Immediately, her forehead spiked in pain, causing her to gasp sharply and squeeze her eyes shut. She raised her forehooves to her temples and tried to ease the pain in her skull. She had headaches and had been hit in the head before, but this was different. It was as if her brain itself had been cut by something. Despite the pain, Applejack steadied herself and continued to rub her temples. Eventually, the pain subsided and she opened her left eye. She was tearing from the pain, but it wasn't as bad as other injuries she had gotten over her lifetime. Deciding it was best to make sure she didn't have any more unseen injuries, Applejack rechecked herself for bruises or internal bleeding. She had never personally experienced the latter, but she had to learn how to detect it should her or her family suffer an injury on the farm. Her neck was okay and so was her chest, back and front hooves, but upon checking her flank, she paused and stared at it. Right there, on the upper part of her rear leg, was nothing, just a shiny patch of orange. No three red apples that distinguished who she was. "What in tarnation?" she spoke out loud, trying to wrap her head around what she was seeing. Her cutie mark had disappeared, leaving her with a blank flank. Frantically, Applejack spun over to her other side to check if that one was there too. To her horror, it wasn't. "What the hay is goin' on?" she asked to herself. As her voice disappeared into the darkness, her ear twitched. A sound, so very faint that if it wasn't for the stillness of where she was it would be lost, echoed back. Upon registering the faint sound, she froze. It could have just been her imagination, but she waited and hoped it would be made again. After a few minutes, she heard it again. Despite the low volume, Applejack knew that sound. It was the sound of the wind rustling through the apple tree leaves in Sweet Apple Acres. Standing up and forgetting about her new blank flank, Applejack strained her ears to find the sound again. The slight rustle echoed once more and the orange mare took a few steps forward, trying to follow the sound. The yawning darkness scared her, but Applejack grit her teeth and started trotting. As she did, the darkness seemed to stretch on in all directions, filling her with a sense of dread. What if her mind was making her hear the wind so she wouldn't panic? As she continued trotting, she began to become sure she was right. "You'll never find your way out that way," a phantom voice spoke, cutting the silence like an explosion. Applejack yelped in surprise and fell to the ground, if that's what it could be called, and covered her head. She shivered as she waited for something to attack her, but as the seconds passed, she became aware nopony was there. Opening one eye, she asked a question in a timid voice. "Are you a ghost?" After a slight pause, the voice responded. "Yes and no, my dear Applejack." "Wha' does that mean?" She called out. "It means I am neither living nor dead, and therefore cannot harm you. But there is no reason to suspect that, for I want to help you." Applejack raised her head a bit, but kept her body on the ground. "Help me with what?" "To escape, my dear." Applejack tilted her head as se looked around, hoping to find the source of the voice. "What am ah escapin' from?" The voice chuckled a bit before it spoke again. "From your mind, Applejack." "What do ya mean by that?" came a raised voice. "I'm sorry, but I cannot elaborate any further at this time," a stern voice answered. A hoof stomp later, a very tall and stone faced doctor trotted out of the room and approached a nurse pony. "Make sure she has a steady IV line and her head is elevated, nurse." The white mare nodded and walked over to the room as the doctor sighed. "Why would ah wanna escape from mah mind?" Applejack asked the darkness. "Ah, I should be more clear," the voice answered, "I want to help you recover." "What are yah talkin' about?" the orange mare shouted in frustration, stomping her hoof, "Ah don't know what yer sayin'!" The voice didn't respond this time. Feeling a little ashamed at her outburst, Applejack looked down at her hooves, still upset but still a little ashamed. When the voice did respond a couple seconds later, Applejack listened intently. "Perhaps it's best if you see it for yourself..." Against the blackness, a small part began to shimmer. A perfect circle just big enough for a pony to walk through wiggled like the air on a hot day, changing to a very dark gray before changing to lighter shades. Applejack backed up a bit in fear, but gulped and held her ground after losing a few feet. She had seen scarier and no matter what walked towards her, she would be ready for it. However, her breath was sucked out of her as a familiar pony walked through. He was slightly taller than Applejack with an orange mane and tail. His coat was a vibrant yellow, contrasting sharply with his emerald eyes. Upon his head sat a dark brown stetson, much darker than her own, matching his dark brown vest he wore as well. His smile was all she needed to confirm who it was. "Braeburn?" she asked in awe. Braeburn gave her a smile, but said nothing. Instead, Applejack plied him with a question. "Wait, how're you doin' this?" she queried. "Doing what?" he replied. "How're yah makin' that there fancy portal appear? Yer not a unicorn as far as ah know." Braeburn's smile turned weak as he watched Applejack and he began to talk in a voice that didn't belong to him. "You think this is the real world, don't you?" Applejack tilted her head to the side and replied, "It's a strange place, but where else would ah be?" Braeburn locked eyes with Applejack and deadpanned. "Applejack, this isn't the real world." "Whadda ya mean by that?" Applejack asked in return, suddenly feeling a sense of dread fill her. Being the Element of Honesty, she could tell when ponies were lying. Braeburn had the most serious look on his face Applejack had ever seen, meaning he wasn't lying to her. "Applejack," he said, "This is your mind. You're in a coma in the real world." Sense of Apprehension"Whaddya mean I'm in ah coma?!" Applejack shouted to Braeburn. The yellow stallion smiled nervously as Applejack yelled at him. She was making far too much noise for the empty room to soak up. "What happened ta me?!" she continued to shout, "If this is mah mind, why is it so empty?! I'm not a genius, but ahm smarter than this! And why ain't you talkin' like yourself?!" "Applejack, please..." Braeburn tried to say before she cut him off. "Who are ya?! Where are mah friends?!" "Applejack, you really shoudn't..." "Where am I? Some sorta secret hiding place fer ya to keep me for ransom?!" "Applejack, please..." "And what's with yer fancy portal there?! Are you King Sombra tryin' to--" Applejack never got to finish her thought. A loud cry echoed around the two ponies and Applejack stopped mid sentence. As the orange mare looked around, Braeburn pulled his stetson lower and moaned. "Oh, dear. Your shouting woke them up," he stated sadly. Applejack, bewildered by the sound, spun around to face Braeburn and asked, "I did what?" Braeburn lifted his stetson and looked her dead in the eyes before speaking again. "You woke them up." Applejack paled slightly at his tone. "Who's them?" Braeburn didn't answer her this time. Instead, he spun around and headed back to the portal still glowing behind him. As he walked, Applejack stayed rooted in her spot, too afraid to move, and yelled out "Where are ya goin'?!" Braeburn slowed at her speaking and replied, "Back where I can help the most. Your escorts are almost here." The cry echoed again and Applejack felt her knees begin to shake. The cry was absolutely horrible to hear, reminding her of herself, her friends and Applebloom, her little sister, crying in unison. The sounds of Timberwolves dragging their claws across the shale rocks on the edge of the Everfree Forest was less terrifying than the otherworldly cries drifting around her. "Wait!" she shouted as she started running to Braeburn, "Ahm comin' with ya!" Braeburn, who was already halfway through the portal, replied, "No, you need to stay here." He was almost all the way through when Applejack bit onto his tail and tried to stop him from leaving. Either she was going with him to wherever the portal went or he was staying with her and dealing with the monster, and remaining here was not the ideal choice for her. "Ah can't stay here!" she shouted through her clenched teeth, "There's somethin' big an' scary in here!" Braeburn chuckled to himself gently just before he evaporated into thin air. Applejack felt her teeth crunch together as the portal disappeared in a wink of light. Upon realizing her only way out had just closed, the orange mare reared up and desperately tried to find where the portal had come from. Sadly, her hooves just waved about in the empty air as the cry rang out again. Applejack wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but the excruciating cries seemed to be getting louder. Applejack, now fearful for her life, felt a couple tears streak down her cheeks as she flailed about, looking for an exit. "Braeburn!" she shouted into the darkness, "Help me please!" Braeburn leaned in closer to Applejack's unconscious form. Not even two seconds ago, he swore he heard a syllable escape her lips. It sounded like her breathing at first, but there was an unmistakable sound laced within her breath. Braeburn's eyes widened as he heard it again, even more fainter than the first. She was whispering his name. "DOCTOR!" Braeburn yelled at the top of his lungs, darting out of the room. Back inside, Applejack's vocalization became even fainter and, soon enough, faded away. "Braeburn!" Applejack shouted again to the blackness. The lack of his voice made the room feel terrifying again. The braying from some monstrous creature came to her again and Applejack buried her head in her hooves. The cries were unbearable to hear once, let alone the many times Applejack had heard it. Whatever it was, it sounded sad, angry and tortured, like a wild animal caught in a snare. Regardless of her pride as an Apple, monsters in the dark still caused her to quiver uncontrollably and whimper to herself. As suddenly as the cries did, the sound of hoofbeats began to echo around her. Instantly, Applejack picked her head up and whipped it around, hoping to see Braeburn again. Instead, what she saw made her freeze in a mixture of fear and curiosity. Standing in front of her was the most bizarre thing she had ever seen. A gigantic red apple, much like the ones she harvested from Sweet Apple Acres, sat where the head should be. If that wasn't weird enough, the pony was standing on its hind legs with its forelegs crossed. It wore a very sophisticated suit of all black with grey pinstripes accented by a rather large green bowtie. On top of the apple sat a short, black hat, like those ponies wore when they went to the races, complete with a red ribbon. The creature, whatever it was, was extremely tall and thin, looking nothing like a pony. Whatever this thing was, it slowly walked over to Applejack even as she protested. "No! Go away! Leave me alone!" she shrieked as the creature approached her. She had no idea if this was the monster she kept hearing, but didn't want to find out. Applejack curled into a ball and bit onto her tail as the thing came to her. She was more terrified than she ever had been in her life, even more than when she had to face the Timberwolves, Discord or Pinkie when she had broken a promise. She shut her eyes, tears streaming from them, and bit harder. She didn't know what this thing would do to her, but she imagined it wouldn't be pleasant. Braeburn held onto Applejack's hoof as the doctor examined her readings. He was absolutely sure he had heard her try to talk, but she hadn't made a noise since the doctor came. The pony was skeptical, but he had noticed a slight increase in her mental activity. It could be she was trying to talk, either aware of what was around her or repeating the last thing she had said before falling into the coma. As Braeburn watched her, he could hear her breath quicken slightly. He rubbed his hoof on hers and tried to work up the courage to talk to her. He already had when he knew she wasn't conscious, but the idea she might be able to hear him made it a lot harder. "Applejack," he mumbled, "Please wake up." Applejack waited for some excruciating pain to overtake her as the creature attacked, but instead she felt herself get lifted into the air. Her eyes flew open as she looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. The weird apple headed thing had her in his forelegs, cradling her like she was a foal. "Hey!" Applejack shouted as she uncurled, stretching her legs and trying to work her way out of the creatures' grasp, "Put me down!" The apple thing didn't respond in any way, but kept walking on his hind legs. Applejack tried to struggle out of his grip, but his forelegs were incredibly strong. As she flailed, she noticed another one approaching them out of the corner of her eye. "No!" she shouted, "Ahm telling you, put me down now!" The apple thing still didn't answer as the second one approached. Once it was five feet away, the crying of some terrible monster echoed again and the apple things stopped. They seemed to stare at each other, bewildering an already confused and still struggling Applejack, and nodded to each other, as if agreeing on something. As soon as they did, the second one reached out with his forelegs and seemed to grab something in the darkness. With a powerful pull, the apple head yanked away the black, blinding Applejack with harsh bright light. The orange pony wailed and covered her eyes, trying to ease the sudden pain in her eyes. Without her being ready, the apple head carrying her proceeded to walk forwards into the light. Applejack tried to protest, but it was more weakly shaking one leg instead of flailing. As her eyesight slowly adjusted, Applejack managed to catch a glimpse of something big and red. It wasn't an apple, though. It was the barn from Sweet Apple Acres, and it was floating above her. Without being able to see it for very long before her eyes whited out again, Applejack felt herself get dropped onto something hard. It felt like wood and she swore a gate closed behind her. Before she could react to what was happening, her mind spiked with pain like before. Applejack wailed as it stabbed at her skull, feeling as if a knife was wedged inside the dome of her cranium. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hooves to her temples, rubbing them vigorously as the pain hurt worse. Around her, the apple head thing lowered itself and gently prodded Applejack's shoulder, trying to see if she was okay. She wailed louder and the apple head thing reacted immediately. It reached out and pressed a foreleg to her head. Instantly, Applejack felt an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion wash over her and felt herself become drowsy. Her head still hurt, but not as much as it had before the tiredness overtook her. As she began to drift off to sleep, Braeburn's voice echoed in her head. "Don't worry, Applejack," he spoke in a soothing tone, "We're all here to help you." After his words faded into nothing in Applejack's subconscious, the mare's vision slipped from white to black as her eyelids closed. The comforting feeling of sleep wrapped around her and Applejack's mind drifted away. Sense of RememberanceApplejack wasn't sure how long she was asleep, but it was evidently too long. She woke with a start, her emerald eyes flashing in the bright light around her. The light clouded a lot of her already blurry vision, but she thought she saw something made of wood. She groaned, rubbing her eyes and chastising herself for napping on the job. She had apples to buck on Sweet Apple Acres and chores that needed to be done. She had just yawned loudly when a large gust of wind nearly pushed her over. Applejack's eyes shot open and she spun her forehooves rapidly, trying to maintain her balance. With her vision coming back, she noticed the distinct lack of trees in front of her. Instead, a vast expanse of white stretched out to where she assumed the horizon was. It was hard to tell, mostly because there didn't seem to be one. As Applejack's eyes widened in shock, she yelped as a massive spire of black passed by like a ship on the sea. The thing was huge, much bigger than the mountains she had seen on the way to Canterlot, and looked twice as menacing as the outcroppings in Ghastly Gorge. Applejack tried to back away as fast as she could from the imposing rock, but her rump hit something. Spinning around, she realized there was another wall behind her, just like the one that she woke up to. That was when the horrible realization came upon her that she was nowhere near Sweet Apple Acres, but was in a basket. While her mind began to work out how and why she didn't realize that earlier, a hauntingly familiar voice called out from the white space. "Applejack! Were you reading a bedtime story to... An apple tree?" Her ears stood straight up and her body went rigid. She knew that voice anywhere. "Rarity?!" she shouted as she spun around. Much to Applejack's surprise, the looming black spire that was passing her basket wasn't so dark anymore. Instead, a massive facade of Ponyville's resident fashionista, her friend Rarity, looked down at her. She was gigantic, almost too big for the spire to show. The image was cloudy, as if it was being projected onto the rocks. "Heh... Uh... Well, ya know, being replanted in a whole new place is very upsettin' for a tree... An' Bloomberg here is one of my favorites." Applejack heard herself speak, but she hadn't moved her mouth. Her skull, however, began to twinge as she recalled Bloomberg, Rarity and the scene. She hissed slightly and pressed a hoof to her temple as the projected Rarity spoke again. "No fair, Applejack! You've got a luxurious, private sleeper car for a tree, while I am crowded and cramped in the same car with all the other ponies. How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep?" Without meaning to, she began to mouth her reply as her phantom voice rang out again. "But Bloomberg's the whole reason we're makin' this trip. He needs his rest so we can give him as a gift to my relatives in Appleloosa." "But Bloomberg's the whole reason we're makin' this trip. He needs his rest so we can give him as a gift to my relatives in Appleloosa." Her mind spiked with pain again, causing her to gasp sharply and fall to her belly. Closing her eyes and clenching her teeth, the pain seemed to grow worse as the spire sailed by, the scene fading from the facade. As she rubbed her temple more vigorously, she could faintly hear a set of hooves land on the basket. Opening one eye, Applejack saw the familiar figure of the monster she encountered earlier. He was still abnormally tall and slender, standing on his rear hooves with a large red apple for a head. It seemed to watch her for a split second before reaching out its foreleg. It took a single stride and Applejack yelped again. Ignoring the pain in her head, she scurried away from it, right into the corner of the basket. She spun, fear filling her chest, and looked over the side for something to jump onto. She had to get away from these things soon. Much her her utter shock, though, there was nothing below the basket. The same blank white that had stretched far into where she assumed the horizon was wrapped around underneath where she was, looking like a thick layer of clouds. Picking her head up, Applejack's jaw dropped as she saw more black rock formations approaching. There were hundreds of them, each as imposing as the last. Some were narrow and tall spires, looking more like knives than rocks, and others were wide and craggy, like boulders the size of mountains. As Applejack stared, her mouth hanging open, she noticed several of them had something moving on their facades. Voices drifted over to her, all of them eerie and familiar. "Have you ever had a cherry changa? Ooh! Sorry, that was a question." came Pinkie Pie's voice. "Hey, Applejack. How'd you like to be *immortalized* as my friend? " Rainbow Dash asked. "Biting off more than you can chew is just what I'm afraid of." her older brother spoke. Applejack pressed her hooves over her ears as the voices became louder and more numerous. Every single one of them was talking to her at once. Years of memories caught up to her at once, causing her to wail when a particularly nasty spike of pain stabbed at her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately to block them out. One moment she was bucking an apple tree while an unfamiliar lavender unicorn watched on, the next she was trotting into her little sister's room only to discover her covered in cutie marks. The voices only continued to grow louder as she whimpered in pain. They were no longer talking to her from the spires, but were inside her head now. Everything began to blur together rapidly as the memories switched. She was a foal asking for more apple fritters only to become a full grown mare glaring at a certain draconiquus in his throne and then a filly who had just seen her granny and older brother after coming home from Manehatten. With so many memories swirling around in her mind, Applejack didn't notice the creature behind her had stopped moving. His foreleg was still outstretched, but the apple seemed to be gazing at the spires instead of her. They all were active now, each one displaying a scene from her memories. What was different, however, was that they were starting to glow. "Easy there," came a voice, "She is just in shock." The apple headed being spun around to see Braeburn standing behind it in the basket, a soft smile on his face. He slowly trotted past it over to Applejack. "I would check on your friend up on the balloon," Braeburn spoke unconcernedly, "She needs to be with someone she recognizes right now." The apple being nodded sharply at that before grabbing onto one of the ropes holding onto the basket. It swiftly climbed up to the balloon overhead, a perfect replica of the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. Braeburn smiled as he watched the being climb before turning to Applejack. She was in a pretty bad condition, but he knew what to do. Taking his forehoof, he placed it on her shoulder and rubbed it gently. With a sudden jolt, Applejack got back up, a deranged look etched on her face. She was jumpy and stared with tiny pupils out at the spires, her teeth locked together. "Easy there," Braeburn spoke, "It's alright." She spun to him, her mane flailing about. "Alright?!" she yelled at him, "I am not alright! I'm losin' mah mind!" "Yes," he replied calmly, "Just take a couple deep breaths and count to ten slowly." Applejack was reluctant, but did as he suggested. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, feeling her rapidly beating heart start to slow. Her nerves were harder to calm, but at least her mind was slowing down. After the count of ten, she opened her eyes and glared at Braeburn. "How the hay did ya get up here?" He chuckled for a second and said, "I have my ways." She continued to glare at him before he turned to the spires. "Beautiful, aren't they?" he asked smoothly. "Two things: what are those and why should I not buck you in the face for leaving me earlier?" Applejack asked harshly. "Your second question should be obvious. I am helping you, and bucking a friend in the face is not generally a good idea. Still, I do owe you an explanation for what is going on. I didn't have much time when we first met, but now you're safe, so we can talk." Braeburn took a deep breath as Applejack still glared at him. She so badly wanted to buck him for leaving her like he did, but she did want to know what the buck was going on. "This is what we call Memory Lane," he began, "It's a part of your subconscious that stores all of your memories throughout your life. Each spire is a fragment of you, a piece that contains all the emotions, sights, smells and feelings you experienced then." "So ya still expect me to believe that I'm trapped in my mind?" she asked in an unimpressed tone. Braeburn turned to her, a slightly shocked expression on his face. "Would I lie to you?" "I dunno, but I've seen some pretty weird things in my life. This seems like one of those moments." Braeburn smiled wryly at that before speaking again. "How is she, doc?" The doctor pony examined a piece of paper, his brow furrowed in concentration. It was being fed out a machine that was hooked up to Applejack's head, something that made Braeburn feel queasy. The whole room was full of instruments and scary looking contraptions, each that seemed to be interested in Applejack's head. There was barely enough room for him to sit next to the bed. "Her mental activity is functioning at quite an unusual level. Almost as if she's dreaming about something."
The Crash"All aboard!" the conductor shouted over the roar of the steam engines. The day was bright and beautiful, a cloudless sky with the glowing sun hanging overhead. It was a good day to travel. On the platform, an orange earth pony with a blonde mane and sparkling green eyes trotted up to the doorway to the car. Her ticket stuck out of the side of her mouth in a cute fashion as she tried to not get any spit on it. Atop her straw blonde mane sat a worn stetson, beaten with use and sunlight. The conductor, a stern looking gray earth pony, snorted a bit as he took her ticket and punched it. "Business or pleasure, Ms..." "Applejack," the orange mare replied confidently, "An' business, sir. Mah cousin in Appleloosa needs mah help with som' orchards." The conductor nodded slightly, only retaining her name. "Well, welcome aboard, Ms. Applejack." Applejack sighed happily as the world outside flew past her. The peaceful and idyllic forests and hills of Ponyville had long since past, becoming the rugged and dry desert Appleloosa was in. The heat was intense, but the wind kept the orange pony cool. The ground was dusty and flat, stretching on into the horizon where it met the empty blue sky. Every so often, the horizon line would be broken by a cactus or two. Applejack often wondered about those plants. They grew in the harshest environment known to ponies, outside of frozen tundras covered year round with snow. They always were bright green, suggesting that they were not only surviving, but thriving. Applejack sighed as she felt a yawn approach. The heat always made her tired when she sat around. As she lazily watched the world fly by, Applejack felt her eyelids get heavy. She always woke before dawn every day to tend to Sweet Apple Acres with her brother, but when she wasn't working, Applejack was usually napping. Leaning a little bit out the window, Applejack tried to see if Appleloosa was in the distance. The silhouette of the frontier town was nowhere in sight and Applejack pulled her head back in the window. "Well, might as well take a lil' nap," she mumbled to herself as she nestled into the seat. Her tail was difficult to position comfortably, but eventually she managed to find a comfortable way to sit. Applejack yawned again and rubbed her right eye with a hoof. "My, I must be really tuckered out," she mused. Resting her head against the back of the seat, Applejack reached up and pulled her stetson over her eyes. "Jus' a lil' nap," she murmured again before closing her eyes. It didn't take her long to drift off to sleep. "ALL PASSENGERS, HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Came an abnormally loud shout from across the car. Applejack woke with a start and sat upright, pulling her stetson back from off her eyes. As soon as the shout ended, a harsh screeching came from outside. The sound of metal grinding on metal told Applejack something bad was about to happen. Spinning her head to see what was happening, time seemed to slow as a loud collision echoed from the front of the train. As she spun her head, Applejack noticed a mother screaming and trying to grab a little foal while a stallion tried to run to the back of the car. The orange mare blinked once and turned to face the front of the car as yet another collision echoed back, this one louder than the last. She barely had time to react as the front of the car buckled. The steel walls of the train car crumpled like tin foil as the car bucked upwards, forcing Applejack into her seat. Applejack tried to scream as she felt herself leave the ground and try to fly. Trains weren't supposed to go airborne. The vertigo was the next thing she registered. The weightless sensation of hanging in the air terrified her as she felt herself hover away from the seat. The only thing she knew was she was still going forward, and so was the car. The mother was still screaming as she collided with the seat in front of her, clutching the foal with all her might. Windows around the car began to shatter and glass floated with the ponies. Then, as quickly as it came, the vertigo left and they fell. The fall was by far more terrifying than the launch. Applejack let loose a wordless scream as she saw herself near the crumpled end of the car. It was all so slow, like time had broken. Applejack could see everything as she flailed about in the air, but her movements were just as slow as the world around her. She feebly tried to grab something, but she was almost to the roof of the car where it was smooth and flat. At the corner of Applejack's vision, she saw the outside world. The flat ground was rushing up to meet the roof of the car. Applejack saw the roof crumple like the front of the car before the world went dark. Braeburn fidgeted with his hooves as he waited. There was a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach as he stood there, hoping the worst hadn't happened. He had nearly passed out when he saw the wreck and now was suppressing an urge to throw up. The train, if that's what the remains could be called, were scattered about the desert and along the rock formation known as Shady's Cliff. Apparently, a rock at the top of the cliff had fallen from the top as the train approached. It was hard for Braeburn to believe this was real. He had heard about train wrecks, but this was his first time seeing one. The engine was literally gone. All that was left of it was a pile of smashed metal against a red rock split in half. There was no word if the engineer had gotten out in time, but the lack of anything relating to him gave a chilling 'No'. Passengers aboard the train were being removed with the greatest care as they were carefully removed from the destroyed cars. Thankfully, all those recovered so far were alive but had serious injuries. Braeburn was told it wasn't uncommon for ponies to be missing limbs or losing gratuitous amounts of blood after a crash like this, but that only served to expand his worrying. His dear cousin Applejack was on board this train. Without knowing which passenger was in which car, Braeburn had to wait patiently for the rescue workers to find her. Every second that ticked by felt like an hour, and each minute that passed was a lifetime. He chastised himself for asking her to come to Appleloosa. He wanted her help with something he should've handled by himself and now he wasn't sure if she could even return to Ponyville. So what if his orchard had a bark disease? It wasn't worth his cousin's life. As he bit back tears, a loud shout echoed around the wreckage. Ponies of all sorts not immediately aiding other survivors turned and ran to a car a little farther off from the main crash site. The car was upside down and looked like a tin can that got stepped on, utterly smashed as flat as it could go. Braeburn watched the other ponies run and heard a shout. "It looks like an apple!" a random pony called. Without even registering what it could mean, Braeburn broke away and started running to the car. As he ran, several shouts rose up behind him, telling him to get back, but he kept running. 'It looks like an apple!' kept running through his head. Despite knowing what it might mean, Braeburn approached the car as ponies crowded around the wrecked car. Without saying a word, Braeburn began pushing past other ponies up to the car. There was a large tear in the side of the car, made by the unicorns who were in the process of rescuing the survivors, and the crowd's gaze was focused there. Giving a grunt and a final push, Braeburn forced himself to the hole and gazed inside, preparing for the worst. Inside, the car was even worse than outside. Seats hung by single screws from the roof, walls had jutted inwards like large knives and there was shattered glass everywhere. Everywhere except one place. Several ponies were laying on the broken metal and two were awake, one nursing his left rear leg and the other clutching a bundle of blankets with a broken foreleg. Rescue ponies were tending to them, but even they were amazed at where they were. Despite the ruined train car around them, the ponies were in a space that seemed to bend around them. The jagged edges of the car walls were flattened and smooth, like they had impacted something far harder. The seats above the survivors were pushed to the sides and the floor was perfectly flat, like it had been steamrolled. As Braeburn looked at it, he found the ponies were right. It was in the shape of an apple. As the rescue worker moved the pony clutching the bundle of blankets, Braeburn heard the bundle begin to cry. His stomach churned as he realized a newborn foal was on board. He, along with the the other ponies, moved aside wordlessly as the mare was helped out by the rescue ponies. When Braeburn looked back, he saw a mass of orange and straw colored hair. "Applejack!" he shouted.
Sense of SelfApplejack was quite the deep sleeper, or so Braeburn had heard. However, lying in a hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around a scarred part of her temple, he was almost sure she was dead.Her eyes were shut in a finite way and her breathing was slow and deep, sounding like she was struggling to remember how. Seeing her like this left a very uncomfortable feeling deep in his chest, what he assumed was similar to a rotting cavity where his heart should be. Word about the crash had already spread as far as Canterlot. The worst hit place was Applejack's hometown, Ponyville. Already, the other Elements of Harmony, along with Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh, were on their way to Appleloosa. With the wreckage still being cleared, the train line was out of commission, meaning they had to take the long way here. Deep down, Braeburn wasn't sure if they would make it on time to see her. The best doctors in Appleloosa and a few from the neighboring cities were pouring over the wounded, but their true focus was Applejack. The fact an Element of Harmony was in a coma was a reason for all ponies to fear. Without all six, the Elements were almost useless. If Discord broke out or Nightmare Moon attacked again, Equestria would be without its most powerful force to stop them. Souring at the thought, Braeburn pulled his own stetson down onto his forehead as his eyes began to mist. If Applejack didn't pull through this, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. 'Not cuz she's one ah dem Elements,' he thought bitterly, 'Cuz she mah cousin and the closes' ah have to ah sister.' Applejack wasn't sure what had happened. Her body ached terribly, more so than after the Apple Buck season she did by herself. Her head pounded like the rhythm from the steam engine she was travelling with. All she knew was she didn't want to move, and that was that. As she lay there, her eyes remained shut. She was so tired and wanted to do nothing but sleep, but her mind kept prodding her to get up despite her body's protests. "Fer cryin' out loud," she mumbled to herself. She had never been so tired and achy, but had never wanted so badly to get up and move. She was already moving, heading towards... Without warning, Applejack's eyes bolted open. Her sparkling emerald eyes glistened with fear as she scanned her surroundings. Now she remembered why she felt so tired. The train was crashing! Flicking her eyes around, Applejack saw nothing but an empty black space stretching out in front of her. Forcing her tired body to lift her head, she swiveled it around, hoping to see anything. The total darkness around her made no noise, had no silhouettes in the distance or anything. It was just empty. "Hello?" Applejack called out. She silenced herself as her voice disappeared into the darkness too, not echoing off anything. Tentatively, she tried again and found the same result. Confused, Applejack shook her head slowly, partly to clear the fog swirling about her tired mind. She also hoped that closing her eyes would have the same effect it did when Sweet Apple Acres was pitch black in the night, adjusting her vision to make out objects. Upon opening them, though, she felt her stomach plummet. There was nothing to see. Remembering she was in a train crash yet again, Applejack feared what had happened to her physically. Scared but determined, she spun around to examine herself and saw... well, nothing. Her body was completely unscathed and her joints worked fine. In fact, it looked like she had just emerged from a bath since her coat was shimmering and her tail was a brilliant pale yellow. Sighing happily and smiling to herself, she turned to stand up and froze as she got her rear legs up. There was no visible light source here, so how could she see herself? Immediately, her forehead spiked in pain, causing her to gasp sharply and squeeze her eyes shut. She raised her forehooves to her temples and tried to ease the pain in her skull. She had headaches and had been hit in the head before, but this was different. It was as if her brain itself had been cut by something. Despite the pain, Applejack steadied herself and continued to rub her temples. Eventually, the pain subsided and she opened her left eye. She was tearing from the pain, but it wasn't as bad as other injuries she had gotten over her lifetime. Deciding it was best to make sure she didn't have any more unseen injuries, Applejack rechecked herself for bruises or internal bleeding. She had never personally experienced the latter, but she had to learn how to detect it should her or her family suffer an injury on the farm. Her neck was okay and so was her chest, back and front hooves, but upon checking her flank, she paused and stared at it. Right there, on the upper part of her rear leg, was nothing, just a shiny patch of orange. No three red apples that distinguished who she was. "What in tarnation?" she spoke out loud, trying to wrap her head around what she was seeing. Her cutie mark had disappeared, leaving her with a blank flank. Frantically, Applejack spun over to her other side to check if that one was there too. To her horror, it wasn't. "What the hay is goin' on?" she asked to herself. As her voice disappeared into the darkness, her ear twitched. A sound, so very faint that if it wasn't for the stillness of where she was it would be lost, echoed back. Upon registering the faint sound, she froze. It could have just been her imagination, but she waited and hoped it would be made again. After a few minutes, she heard it again. Despite the low volume, Applejack knew that sound. It was the sound of the wind rustling through the apple tree leaves in Sweet Apple Acres. Standing up and forgetting about her new blank flank, Applejack strained her ears to find the sound again. The slight rustle echoed once more and the orange mare took a few steps forward, trying to follow the sound. The yawning darkness scared her, but Applejack grit her teeth and started trotting. As she did, the darkness seemed to stretch on in all directions, filling her with a sense of dread. What if her mind was making her hear the wind so she wouldn't panic? As she continued trotting, she began to become sure she was right. "You'll never find your way out that way," a phantom voice spoke, cutting the silence like an explosion. Applejack yelped in surprise and fell to the ground, if that's what it could be called, and covered her head. She shivered as she waited for something to attack her, but as the seconds passed, she became aware nopony was there. Opening one eye, she asked a question in a timid voice. "Are you a ghost?" After a slight pause, the voice responded. "Yes and no, my dear Applejack." "Wha' does that mean?" She called out. "It means I am neither living nor dead, and therefore cannot harm you. But there is no reason to suspect that, for I want to help you." Applejack raised her head a bit, but kept her body on the ground. "Help me with what?" "To escape, my dear." Applejack tilted her head as se looked around, hoping to find the source of the voice. "What am ah escapin' from?" The voice chuckled a bit before it spoke again. "From your mind, Applejack." "What do ya mean by that?" came a raised voice. "I'm sorry, but I cannot elaborate any further at this time," a stern voice answered. A hoof stomp later, a very tall and stone faced doctor trotted out of the room and approached a nurse pony. "Make sure she has a steady IV line and her head is elevated, nurse." The white mare nodded and walked over to the room as the doctor sighed. "Why would ah wanna escape from mah mind?" Applejack asked the darkness. "Ah, I should be more clear," the voice answered, "I want to help you recover." "What are yah talkin' about?" the orange mare shouted in frustration, stomping her hoof, "Ah don't know what yer sayin'!" The voice didn't respond this time. Feeling a little ashamed at her outburst, Applejack looked down at her hooves, still upset but still a little ashamed. When the voice did respond a couple seconds later, Applejack listened intently. "Perhaps it's best if you see it for yourself..." Against the blackness, a small part began to shimmer. A perfect circle just big enough for a pony to walk through wiggled like the air on a hot day, changing to a very dark gray before changing to lighter shades. Applejack backed up a bit in fear, but gulped and held her ground after losing a few feet. She had seen scarier and no matter what walked towards her, she would be ready for it. However, her breath was sucked out of her as a familiar pony walked through. He was slightly taller than Applejack with an orange mane and tail. His coat was a vibrant yellow, contrasting sharply with his emerald eyes. Upon his head sat a dark brown stetson, much darker than her own, matching his dark brown vest he wore as well. His smile was all she needed to confirm who it was. "Braeburn?" she asked in awe. Braeburn gave her a smile, but said nothing. Instead, Applejack plied him with a question. "Wait, how're you doin' this?" she queried. "Doing what?" he replied. "How're yah makin' that there fancy portal appear? Yer not a unicorn as far as ah know." Braeburn's smile turned weak as he watched Applejack and he began to talk in a voice that didn't belong to him. "You think this is the real world, don't you?" Applejack tilted her head to the side and replied, "It's a strange place, but where else would ah be?" Braeburn locked eyes with Applejack and deadpanned. "Applejack, this isn't the real world." "Whadda ya mean by that?" Applejack asked in return, suddenly feeling a sense of dread fill her. Being the Element of Honesty, she could tell when ponies were lying. Braeburn had the most serious look on his face Applejack had ever seen, meaning he wasn't lying to her. "Applejack," he said, "This is your mind. You're in a coma in the real world."
Sense of Apprehension"Whaddya mean I'm in ah coma?!" Applejack shouted to Braeburn. The yellow stallion smiled nervously as Applejack yelled at him. She was making far too much noise for the empty room to soak up. "What happened ta me?!" she continued to shout, "If this is mah mind, why is it so empty?! I'm not a genius, but ahm smarter than this! And why ain't you talkin' like yourself?!" "Applejack, please..." Braeburn tried to say before she cut him off. "Who are ya?! Where are mah friends?!" "Applejack, you really shoudn't..." "Where am I? Some sorta secret hiding place fer ya to keep me for ransom?!" "Applejack, please..." "And what's with yer fancy portal there?! Are you King Sombra tryin' to--" Applejack never got to finish her thought. A loud cry echoed around the two ponies and Applejack stopped mid sentence. As the orange mare looked around, Braeburn pulled his stetson lower and moaned. "Oh, dear. Your shouting woke them up," he stated sadly. Applejack, bewildered by the sound, spun around to face Braeburn and asked, "I did what?" Braeburn lifted his stetson and looked her dead in the eyes before speaking again. "You woke them up." Applejack paled slightly at his tone. "Who's them?" Braeburn didn't answer her this time. Instead, he spun around and headed back to the portal still glowing behind him. As he walked, Applejack stayed rooted in her spot, too afraid to move, and yelled out "Where are ya goin'?!" Braeburn slowed at her speaking and replied, "Back where I can help the most. Your escorts are almost here." The cry echoed again and Applejack felt her knees begin to shake. The cry was absolutely horrible to hear, reminding her of herself, her friends and Applebloom, her little sister, crying in unison. The sounds of Timberwolves dragging their claws across the shale rocks on the edge of the Everfree Forest was less terrifying than the otherworldly cries drifting around her. "Wait!" she shouted as she started running to Braeburn, "Ahm comin' with ya!" Braeburn, who was already halfway through the portal, replied, "No, you need to stay here." He was almost all the way through when Applejack bit onto his tail and tried to stop him from leaving. Either she was going with him to wherever the portal went or he was staying with her and dealing with the monster, and remaining here was not the ideal choice for her. "Ah can't stay here!" she shouted through her clenched teeth, "There's somethin' big an' scary in here!" Braeburn chuckled to himself gently just before he evaporated into thin air. Applejack felt her teeth crunch together as the portal disappeared in a wink of light. Upon realizing her only way out had just closed, the orange mare reared up and desperately tried to find where the portal had come from. Sadly, her hooves just waved about in the empty air as the cry rang out again. Applejack wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but the excruciating cries seemed to be getting louder. Applejack, now fearful for her life, felt a couple tears streak down her cheeks as she flailed about, looking for an exit. "Braeburn!" she shouted into the darkness, "Help me please!" Braeburn leaned in closer to Applejack's unconscious form. Not even two seconds ago, he swore he heard a syllable escape her lips. It sounded like her breathing at first, but there was an unmistakable sound laced within her breath. Braeburn's eyes widened as he heard it again, even more fainter than the first. She was whispering his name. "DOCTOR!" Braeburn yelled at the top of his lungs, darting out of the room. Back inside, Applejack's vocalization became even fainter and, soon enough, faded away. "Braeburn!" Applejack shouted again to the blackness. The lack of his voice made the room feel terrifying again. The braying from some monstrous creature came to her again and Applejack buried her head in her hooves. The cries were unbearable to hear once, let alone the many times Applejack had heard it. Whatever it was, it sounded sad, angry and tortured, like a wild animal caught in a snare. Regardless of her pride as an Apple, monsters in the dark still caused her to quiver uncontrollably and whimper to herself. As suddenly as the cries did, the sound of hoofbeats began to echo around her. Instantly, Applejack picked her head up and whipped it around, hoping to see Braeburn again. Instead, what she saw made her freeze in a mixture of fear and curiosity. Standing in front of her was the most bizarre thing she had ever seen. A gigantic red apple, much like the ones she harvested from Sweet Apple Acres, sat where the head should be. If that wasn't weird enough, the pony was standing on its hind legs with its forelegs crossed. It wore a very sophisticated suit of all black with grey pinstripes accented by a rather large green bowtie. On top of the apple sat a short, black hat, like those ponies wore when they went to the races, complete with a red ribbon. The creature, whatever it was, was extremely tall and thin, looking nothing like a pony. Whatever this thing was, it slowly walked over to Applejack even as she protested. "No! Go away! Leave me alone!" she shrieked as the creature approached her. She had no idea if this was the monster she kept hearing, but didn't want to find out. Applejack curled into a ball and bit onto her tail as the thing came to her. She was more terrified than she ever had been in her life, even more than when she had to face the Timberwolves, Discord or Pinkie when she had broken a promise. She shut her eyes, tears streaming from them, and bit harder. She didn't know what this thing would do to her, but she imagined it wouldn't be pleasant. Braeburn held onto Applejack's hoof as the doctor examined her readings. He was absolutely sure he had heard her try to talk, but she hadn't made a noise since the doctor came. The pony was skeptical, but he had noticed a slight increase in her mental activity. It could be she was trying to talk, either aware of what was around her or repeating the last thing she had said before falling into the coma. As Braeburn watched her, he could hear her breath quicken slightly. He rubbed his hoof on hers and tried to work up the courage to talk to her. He already had when he knew she wasn't conscious, but the idea she might be able to hear him made it a lot harder. "Applejack," he mumbled, "Please wake up." Applejack waited for some excruciating pain to overtake her as the creature attacked, but instead she felt herself get lifted into the air. Her eyes flew open as she looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. The weird apple headed thing had her in his forelegs, cradling her like she was a foal. "Hey!" Applejack shouted as she uncurled, stretching her legs and trying to work her way out of the creatures' grasp, "Put me down!" The apple thing didn't respond in any way, but kept walking on his hind legs. Applejack tried to struggle out of his grip, but his forelegs were incredibly strong. As she flailed, she noticed another one approaching them out of the corner of her eye. "No!" she shouted, "Ahm telling you, put me down now!" The apple thing still didn't answer as the second one approached. Once it was five feet away, the crying of some terrible monster echoed again and the apple things stopped. They seemed to stare at each other, bewildering an already confused and still struggling Applejack, and nodded to each other, as if agreeing on something. As soon as they did, the second one reached out with his forelegs and seemed to grab something in the darkness. With a powerful pull, the apple head yanked away the black, blinding Applejack with harsh bright light. The orange pony wailed and covered her eyes, trying to ease the sudden pain in her eyes. Without her being ready, the apple head carrying her proceeded to walk forwards into the light. Applejack tried to protest, but it was more weakly shaking one leg instead of flailing. As her eyesight slowly adjusted, Applejack managed to catch a glimpse of something big and red. It wasn't an apple, though. It was the barn from Sweet Apple Acres, and it was floating above her. Without being able to see it for very long before her eyes whited out again, Applejack felt herself get dropped onto something hard. It felt like wood and she swore a gate closed behind her. Before she could react to what was happening, her mind spiked with pain like before. Applejack wailed as it stabbed at her skull, feeling as if a knife was wedged inside the dome of her cranium. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hooves to her temples, rubbing them vigorously as the pain hurt worse. Around her, the apple head thing lowered itself and gently prodded Applejack's shoulder, trying to see if she was okay. She wailed louder and the apple head thing reacted immediately. It reached out and pressed a foreleg to her head. Instantly, Applejack felt an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion wash over her and felt herself become drowsy. Her head still hurt, but not as much as it had before the tiredness overtook her. As she began to drift off to sleep, Braeburn's voice echoed in her head. "Don't worry, Applejack," he spoke in a soothing tone, "We're all here to help you." After his words faded into nothing in Applejack's subconscious, the mare's vision slipped from white to black as her eyelids closed. The comforting feeling of sleep wrapped around her and Applejack's mind drifted away.
Sense of RememberanceApplejack wasn't sure how long she was asleep, but it was evidently too long. She woke with a start, her emerald eyes flashing in the bright light around her. The light clouded a lot of her already blurry vision, but she thought she saw something made of wood. She groaned, rubbing her eyes and chastising herself for napping on the job. She had apples to buck on Sweet Apple Acres and chores that needed to be done. She had just yawned loudly when a large gust of wind nearly pushed her over. Applejack's eyes shot open and she spun her forehooves rapidly, trying to maintain her balance. With her vision coming back, she noticed the distinct lack of trees in front of her. Instead, a vast expanse of white stretched out to where she assumed the horizon was. It was hard to tell, mostly because there didn't seem to be one. As Applejack's eyes widened in shock, she yelped as a massive spire of black passed by like a ship on the sea. The thing was huge, much bigger than the mountains she had seen on the way to Canterlot, and looked twice as menacing as the outcroppings in Ghastly Gorge. Applejack tried to back away as fast as she could from the imposing rock, but her rump hit something. Spinning around, she realized there was another wall behind her, just like the one that she woke up to. That was when the horrible realization came upon her that she was nowhere near Sweet Apple Acres, but was in a basket. While her mind began to work out how and why she didn't realize that earlier, a hauntingly familiar voice called out from the white space. "Applejack! Were you reading a bedtime story to... An apple tree?" Her ears stood straight up and her body went rigid. She knew that voice anywhere. "Rarity?!" she shouted as she spun around. Much to Applejack's surprise, the looming black spire that was passing her basket wasn't so dark anymore. Instead, a massive facade of Ponyville's resident fashionista, her friend Rarity, looked down at her. She was gigantic, almost too big for the spire to show. The image was cloudy, as if it was being projected onto the rocks. "Heh... Uh... Well, ya know, being replanted in a whole new place is very upsettin' for a tree... An' Bloomberg here is one of my favorites." Applejack heard herself speak, but she hadn't moved her mouth. Her skull, however, began to twinge as she recalled Bloomberg, Rarity and the scene. She hissed slightly and pressed a hoof to her temple as the projected Rarity spoke again. "No fair, Applejack! You've got a luxurious, private sleeper car for a tree, while I am crowded and cramped in the same car with all the other ponies. How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep?" Without meaning to, she began to mouth her reply as her phantom voice rang out again. "But Bloomberg's the whole reason we're makin' this trip. He needs his rest so we can give him as a gift to my relatives in Appleloosa." "But Bloomberg's the whole reason we're makin' this trip. He needs his rest so we can give him as a gift to my relatives in Appleloosa." Her mind spiked with pain again, causing her to gasp sharply and fall to her belly. Closing her eyes and clenching her teeth, the pain seemed to grow worse as the spire sailed by, the scene fading from the facade. As she rubbed her temple more vigorously, she could faintly hear a set of hooves land on the basket. Opening one eye, Applejack saw the familiar figure of the monster she encountered earlier. He was still abnormally tall and slender, standing on his rear hooves with a large red apple for a head. It seemed to watch her for a split second before reaching out its foreleg. It took a single stride and Applejack yelped again. Ignoring the pain in her head, she scurried away from it, right into the corner of the basket. She spun, fear filling her chest, and looked over the side for something to jump onto. She had to get away from these things soon. Much her her utter shock, though, there was nothing below the basket. The same blank white that had stretched far into where she assumed the horizon was wrapped around underneath where she was, looking like a thick layer of clouds. Picking her head up, Applejack's jaw dropped as she saw more black rock formations approaching. There were hundreds of them, each as imposing as the last. Some were narrow and tall spires, looking more like knives than rocks, and others were wide and craggy, like boulders the size of mountains. As Applejack stared, her mouth hanging open, she noticed several of them had something moving on their facades. Voices drifted over to her, all of them eerie and familiar. "Have you ever had a cherry changa? Ooh! Sorry, that was a question." came Pinkie Pie's voice. "Hey, Applejack. How'd you like to be *immortalized* as my friend? " Rainbow Dash asked. "Biting off more than you can chew is just what I'm afraid of." her older brother spoke. Applejack pressed her hooves over her ears as the voices became louder and more numerous. Every single one of them was talking to her at once. Years of memories caught up to her at once, causing her to wail when a particularly nasty spike of pain stabbed at her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately to block them out. One moment she was bucking an apple tree while an unfamiliar lavender unicorn watched on, the next she was trotting into her little sister's room only to discover her covered in cutie marks. The voices only continued to grow louder as she whimpered in pain. They were no longer talking to her from the spires, but were inside her head now. Everything began to blur together rapidly as the memories switched. She was a foal asking for more apple fritters only to become a full grown mare glaring at a certain draconiquus in his throne and then a filly who had just seen her granny and older brother after coming home from Manehatten. With so many memories swirling around in her mind, Applejack didn't notice the creature behind her had stopped moving. His foreleg was still outstretched, but the apple seemed to be gazing at the spires instead of her. They all were active now, each one displaying a scene from her memories. What was different, however, was that they were starting to glow. "Easy there," came a voice, "She is just in shock." The apple headed being spun around to see Braeburn standing behind it in the basket, a soft smile on his face. He slowly trotted past it over to Applejack. "I would check on your friend up on the balloon," Braeburn spoke unconcernedly, "She needs to be with someone she recognizes right now." The apple being nodded sharply at that before grabbing onto one of the ropes holding onto the basket. It swiftly climbed up to the balloon overhead, a perfect replica of the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. Braeburn smiled as he watched the being climb before turning to Applejack. She was in a pretty bad condition, but he knew what to do. Taking his forehoof, he placed it on her shoulder and rubbed it gently. With a sudden jolt, Applejack got back up, a deranged look etched on her face. She was jumpy and stared with tiny pupils out at the spires, her teeth locked together. "Easy there," Braeburn spoke, "It's alright." She spun to him, her mane flailing about. "Alright?!" she yelled at him, "I am not alright! I'm losin' mah mind!" "Yes," he replied calmly, "Just take a couple deep breaths and count to ten slowly." Applejack was reluctant, but did as he suggested. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, feeling her rapidly beating heart start to slow. Her nerves were harder to calm, but at least her mind was slowing down. After the count of ten, she opened her eyes and glared at Braeburn. "How the hay did ya get up here?" He chuckled for a second and said, "I have my ways." She continued to glare at him before he turned to the spires. "Beautiful, aren't they?" he asked smoothly. "Two things: what are those and why should I not buck you in the face for leaving me earlier?" Applejack asked harshly. "Your second question should be obvious. I am helping you, and bucking a friend in the face is not generally a good idea. Still, I do owe you an explanation for what is going on. I didn't have much time when we first met, but now you're safe, so we can talk." Braeburn took a deep breath as Applejack still glared at him. She so badly wanted to buck him for leaving her like he did, but she did want to know what the buck was going on. "This is what we call Memory Lane," he began, "It's a part of your subconscious that stores all of your memories throughout your life. Each spire is a fragment of you, a piece that contains all the emotions, sights, smells and feelings you experienced then." "So ya still expect me to believe that I'm trapped in my mind?" she asked in an unimpressed tone. Braeburn turned to her, a slightly shocked expression on his face. "Would I lie to you?" "I dunno, but I've seen some pretty weird things in my life. This seems like one of those moments." Braeburn smiled wryly at that before speaking again. "How is she, doc?" The doctor pony examined a piece of paper, his brow furrowed in concentration. It was being fed out a machine that was hooked up to Applejack's head, something that made Braeburn feel queasy. The whole room was full of instruments and scary looking contraptions, each that seemed to be interested in Applejack's head. There was barely enough room for him to sit next to the bed. "Her mental activity is functioning at quite an unusual level. Almost as if she's dreaming about something."
