This is inspired by the awesome YouTube video of the same name(which I didn't make...) I suck at writing action, but read on.
The moon shone down on the land below, the only source of light left in a world of eternal darkness. Long ago, the now barren wasteland had been a fruitful, populous area, teeming with life of all sizes and species. A large lake had nourished those that lived beside it and had provided rich farmland for the pony village to flourish. But now, with the sun gone and evil running rampant throughout the land, both the lake and town were gone, emptied many years ago for an unknown purpose. Now all that remained was a lifeless chasm, empty of all sentient beings.
...Empty, but for one lone pony, walking along the bottom of the canyon. Her yellow-orange hide appeared darker in the moonlight, her cutie mark of apples completely hidden in the dimness. Her hair was tied back in a long, frayed ponytail, covered by a large, brown Stetson hat that showed many signs of wear and tear. Her eyes were tired and weary, a sign of her long journey across this unforgiving land. She trotted slowly but determinedly across the rocky ground, the bottoms of her hooves calloused from the miles and miles of rough ground she had so far walked on her journey. If it had been months later, she would have given thought to her appearance and made an effort to fix the way she looked. No longer. There were other things on her mind, the current thought of which was that she must reach the other end of the canyon at all costs. She had entered the low ground more than a day ago, or whatever a "day" was in the land of eternal night, and she still had not reached the other side. The length of the path stretched further than the eye could see, and she wondered just how long she would have to walk before her goal was reached. Any other pony would have given up, turned around, and tried to find another way long ago. Not this pony. Her stomach rumbled unhappily, begging for a meal. But the pony had nothing to give it. The grass-and-reed-woven saddlebag on her back was empty. She had not eaten in days and she was starving. If not for the fact that she would probably never find suitable enough plants to make another, she would eat the bag. And yet, the pony continued across the ground, a determined expression on her face, for that was one of the few things she had left. Determination... and faith. Faith that, at the end of this long walk, she would find the solution to her problem. True that her faith had started to wean after many failures, but still she continued, stepping over the rocks she noticed and stumbling over the rocks she didn't, for there was nothing else to do.
After many hours, she stopped in her tracks, exhausted. Since entering the canyon, she had been trotting at a steady pace, stopping for nothing. Now, it seemed her own body had become the reason to stop. Her hooves throbbed from the rough, rocky ground, a stream of fluid erupting from a crack on the bottom of her right hoof. Her lungs pumped and her heart beat heavily as they tried to restore energy to the fatigued pony. Her stomach growled again, with an intensity that sent a wave of nausea through her. ...She couldn't continue. Despite her lack of supplies, she had to rest and gain her strength back. She turned her head in every direction she could, searching for a suitable resting place. ...There. Underneath a rock jutting out from the canyon wall. That would provide a safe, shadowy place to rest for a while. She walked underneath the rock and sat on her back haunches. Slowly and cautiously, she laid down, making sure that her entire body was covered in darkness. She had had too many unpleasant experiences with savage lifeforms to risk any light, no matter how dim, revealing her hiding place. When she was confident she was covered, she undid the leather strap from around her chin that held her hat in place. If not for the strap, she would have lost her precious Stetson long ago, the only thing she had left of her past life. She took off her hat, placed it on the ground, laid her head on top of the crown, and closed her eyes, unaware that she was being watched...
Sleep evaded the tired pony, for the minute she ceased moving, a question entered into her mind, as it had many times in many months: "How did you make such a foolish mistake?" Attached to the questions were the memories leading up to her current situation. She groaned sleepily as the memories penetrated her mind once again.
She and 5 other ponies had finally reached the castle ruins in the Everfree Forest, in a quest to find the 6 Elements of Harmony. According to one, a unicorn, she had long forgotten her name, they were the only way to defeat Nightmare Moon, the source of the eternal darkness that had, even then, covered the land. When they entered the castle, they found 5 orbs perched on a pedestal in the center of the room, which that same unicorn identified as the elements. But when she attempted to use her magic to create the sixth element, Nightmare Moon somehow found them and teleported the unicorn and the elements to the other side of the ruins. The yellow-orange pony couldn't remember ever running faster than she had at that moment, but, even running at full gallop, they were unable to stop Nightmare Moon from smashing the elemental orbs. The only thing that could stop the evil princess... That's when she made the foolish mistake. Enraged at what Nightmare Moon had done, the pony charged at Nightmare Moon and lept at the dark horse. She had intended to deliver a powerful back-hoof kick, hopefully stunning her long enough for them to escape and find another way to stop her. ...But instead, she found herself halted and suspended in the air, directly in front of the princess.
"Well, well." Nightmare Moon had said, smiling an evil smile as the pony attempted to move. "And here I thought none of these ponies could get any stupider. Did you REALLY think a lowly Earth Pony like yourself could ever hope to stand up to the MOST POWERFUL WINGED UNICORN IN THE WORLD? And your new queen even! ...Well, it seems I need to set an example for anyone else who decides to attack me."
As she strained against the force holding her in the air, the pony's friends protested and begged Nightmare Moon to let her go.
"Oh no. She has committed treason in my realm and she must be punished! But what shall I do? ...Oh, I know. If you think you can rise up against me when I have just taken control, let's see how you fare in a time when I have COMPLETE CONTROL!"
Before the pony could understand what had been said, she had heard a strange tearing sound behind her, sounding like a combination of paper ripped in half and electricity crackling. The forces from that direction tugged on her like she would tug on stubborn apples and she moved slowly through the air. The last thing she saw and heard were her friends screaming and crying as Nightmare Moon cackled, before her world was enveloped in a swirling black-and-white vortex. It only lasted a few seconds, but when it was over, she was deposited in a strange, dark land.
The land she was now trapped in...
On her travels, she discovered she was in the future of Equestria, hundreds, even thousands of years after she faced Nightmare Moon. Having banished the sun and Princess Celestia, the dark horse now ruled the land with an iron hoof, backing her reign with fear and confusion. Many species of plant and animal were either extinct or changed beyond recognition. Griffons, chickens, cows, all gone. Ponies still existed, but the paradise they had once lived in was gone, crushed under the influence of their wicked queen. Nearly the entire population was herded into large cities, larger even than the Manehattan of her time, full of crime, corruption, and disease. Here, the ponies lived their lives in eternal night, their purpose only to serve and worship she who had caused all their suffering. Many other forms of life lived on this now-alien world, many of which had come from other worlds by Nightmare Moon's involvement, but the lives of the ponies were made the most miserable and pointless by Nightmare Moon's powers. This was the world the pony had been sent to. A world where Nightmare Moon's evil was law. And this was the world that she wished to escape.
Since first arriving, she had searched for a way back to her time, a time before Nightmare Moon banished her to this chaotic planet. She had traveled far and wide, through many strange lands, meeting the most bizzare of creatures, to find something, anything, that could get her back home. There had been several promises of return in the form of magic, machinery, technology, and ancient artifacts, but each one had failed for various reasons. Any other pony would have given up long ago. And yet, this pony marched on, facing danger after danger, hazard after hazard, for she knew that she had to find the way home and stop this nightmare before it began... She was the only hope of the world...
The pony tossed and turned, trying to rest, but while her body was wracked with exhaustion, her mind remained active. It made her think back to her meeting with the other ponies. It made her ask herself "Why them? Why me?" Why had they been chosen to face off against Nightmare Moon? What made them so special? She thought about each of them.
...Well, she didn't need to wonder about herself. She already knew she was the strongest, fastest, hardiest pony in all of Equestria. The townfolk constantly reminded her of her position as the best athlete in the land and she had no shortage of opportunities to prove it.
Her best friend/rival, the Pegasus Rainbow Dash, was also a given. While the pony was the fastest runner, Dash was the fastest flier in all Equestria. Her speed, her unbreakable spirit, and her determination to be the best all made her another perfect pony to destroy Nightmare Moon. ...But the others chosen...
There was Pinkie Pie. She was an incredible baker and she threw the greatest parties for Ponyville... but she could never take anything seriously. In fact, the pony wondered if Pinkie had a sane bone in her body, always zipping around town aimlessly, talking her mouth off and coming up with the craziest ideas any pony could think. What would she do to Nightmare Moon? Chatterbox her to death? Nah. Pinkie would end up like the pony even faster than the pony had...
And Fluttershy, the Pegasus that sometimes came around to help with the farm's cows and chickens, she had no chance either. The whisper-quiet animal-lover was scared of her shadow. The pony was surprised Fluttershy didn't need to be dragged by her tail through the Everfree Forest. But she did tame that Manticore... Nah. Nightmare Moon was a hundred times scarier than anything any of them had seen. Fluttershy would do her "fainting goat" routine and Nightmare would finish her off in a heartbeat.
Fluttershy's best friend Rarity? ...Eh, she didn't know much about her besides the fact she ran a fancy "boo-teek". She was a fancy-pants-type pony. Nightmare Moon would probably spare her if she made a thousand dresses a day for her, which she'd probably be glad to do.
...But what about that newcomer? The purple unicorn from Canterlot who came to check on the Summer Sun Celebration preparations? ...Well, she was smart. Heck, she was Miss Smarty-Pants herself. She knew quite a bit of magic even... but Nightmare Moon knew a lot more, the pony was sure. But still... Before the pony made her foolish move, the unicorn looked like she had a plan. Like she knew what to do to stop the evil princess... Maybe she did have an idea. That was why she had to get back to the past. If the unicorn knew what to do to get rid of Nightmare Moon, then the pony had to return so she could stop herself from ruining it. And hopefully, at the end of this canyon, there would be the answer to her-
*crunch*
The pony jolted upright, her thoughts interrupted. She had heard something... But what else could be here in this lifeless wasteland besides her? She grabbed her hat, placed it back on her head, and tied the strap, her eyes darting around the barren landscape. At least when Nightmare Moon placed the moon in the sky permanently, she placed it full and high in the sky to shine as much light on the ground as possible. Even so, she had to squint to see anything in the dim light. ...She saw a lot of gravel and canyon, but nothing dangerous. Still, she had had too many of these situations to just disregard it. She convinced her tired, aching hooves to stand and started to walk through the canyon again. "Just a short walk to throw whatever it is off, then back to sleep." were her thoughts. She trotted slowly across the canyon floor, watching for anything that could prove dangerous. But after several minutes of nothing, she stopped. "It was jus the wind." her thoughts said. "This world's made ya too jumpy..." "Yeah, yer right." she replied to herself. Calming down, she looked around her area again, this time, looking for a new place to-
*crunch*
There it was again! The pony adopted an alert stance. There was no denying it. It was the sound of a foot on gravel. Now... who did the foot belong to? "Who's there?" she called out, her voice echoing off the canyon walls. ...No answer. "Show yerself!" ...Still nothing... The pony looked around, suspicious. "...Someone's here..." she mumbled. "And I'm gonna find it if I hafta-"
Before she could finish, it found her. With the sound of swooping air followed by the crunch of feet meeting gravel, the pony was suddenly surrounded by four shadowy figures. They were all upright dog-like in profile, some large and some small. The pony didn't need to see the mechanical arms and glassy red eyes to know what they were.
Diamond Dogs...
Once upon a time, back in her Equestria, Diamond Dogs had been relatively harmless creatures, living far away from ponies in gem-filled lands where they spent their days mining the precious stones. But now, thanks to Nightmare Moon's powers, the Diamond Dogs of this time were horrible cyborg-mutants, ruthless, mindless, and their greed multiplied dozens of times, the perfect foot soldiers for Nightmare Moon's army. The pony had encountered them several times before, but how they managed to find her here, she didn't know, nor did she have time to think about it. "Ponyssss." one of them said in its ear-raping electronic lisp voice. "You are guilty of treassson againssst our exhaulted leadersss, the high and mighty Nightmare Moonsss, Queen of Equessstria and Ruler of the Nightsss."
"I reckon I am." the pony replied, sarcastically.
"Under ordersss from our exhaulted leadersss, the high and mighty Nightmare Moonsss, Queen of Equessstria and Ruler of the Nightsss, you will come with ussss to ssstand before our rulersss and-"
The Diamond Dog was silenced by two back hooves meeting his face. He fell on his back, one of his glass eyes cracked.
"Blah blah blah." the pony mocked. She had heard the programmed message enough to make her puke. If she had to meet action, she wanted to get to it as soon as she could.
She didn't have to wait long. "Sssubject refusssesss to cooperate." the lead Diamond Dog said, leaping off the ground. "Dessstroy!" On command, the Diamond Dogs rushed her, their metal claws shining menacingly in the moonlight.
The pony didn't have to think long about what to do next. Spotting an opening, she ran and ducked through before the Diamond Dogs piled on her. The dogs almost immedietly noticed and spun around to face the pony, but not fast enough to dodge a flying kick to one of the dog's stomachs. Even though he had been made mostly machine by Nightmare Moon, several parts, including his stomach area, were still organic and the dog doubled over. Another dog slashed at the pony with his razor-sharp claws, but she dodged just in time and delivered an uppercut to the dog's chin. Two of the other Diamond Dogs charged at her, but she ducked just in time to allow the dogs to crash into the one in front of her. "These guys need some more brains, not muscle..." the pony thought, smiling at the pile of dogs. She then spun around to punch out the Diamond Dog who thought he had snuck up on her.
...Unfortunately, she hit the metal part. The impact rattled her nerves, and her arm exploded in pain. Her mind temporarily numbed by the pain, she didn't see the metal hand swoop at her until too late. "AAAAHHHH!" she screamed as the claws raked her back, digging through her skin. The Diamond Dog laughed in its tinny electronic voice devoid of emotion and readied another blow. But this time, the pony was ready. Her back and front hoof throbbing in pain, she spun around and struck the oncoming metal with both back hooves. There was a loud zapping noise as the arm detatched from its socket and flew away, leaving the Diamond Dog staring stunned at his arm stump, which was sparking and bleeding fluids. The pony's back legs joined in the chorus of pain from the impact. She knew that she wouldn't last very long at this rate.
"THAT'S IT!" she shouted. "NO MORE MISS NICE PONY!" By this time, the three other dogs had righted themselves from their awkward position and all three charged at the pony. She stood her ground, her eyes on the leader in the middle. When they were barely three feet from her, she made her move. She lept into the air and sailed straight at the leader's cracked face, where she delivered another blow that sent him falling to the ground. The other dogs skidded to a stop and charged at the pony, who was sitting right next to the fallen dog. Right before they delivered blows that would have finished her off, she placed her two back hooves underneath the dog's head and sent him sailing upwards, where he met both claws of the soldiers. Zapping noises and sparks filled the air as the claws dug into his circuitry, cutting through vital systems. The red glow in his eyes dimmed. Realizing what they had just done, the other dogs tried to set him down, but found their claws stuck in his midsection. The pony wasted no time in rushing over to the place where the severed arm fell and picking it up. She swung the claws at the left dog's unguarded back. Wires and organic substances flew everywhere as the dog fell, his lights also going out. The remaining dog tried once more to pull his claw out, then inserted his other clawed arm in the dead dog's other side and ripped him in half, finally freeing the claw he used to block the pony's swing at him. The impact nearly ripped the arm out of the pony's arm, but she kept a firm grip on it. Gritting her teeth from her pain, she delivered another high blow to the dog, which was also blocked. Then she had an idea. She raised the arm as if to deliver another hit and the dog adopted a defensive position. She swung the arm forward, but as it flew through the air, she quickly turned it so it swept across his unprotected stomach and ripped open his flesh. The dog fell, but its lights remained on as he tried to right himself. She raised the arm for a final blow, but felt it ripped out of her hooves by a force behind her. The one-armed Diamond Dog growled as he held his arm in his remaining paw. The pony barely avoided the swing that followed and it clipped her Stetson, leaving three small tears on the outside of her brim. Panting, she stared up at the new addition to her headgear... and her eyes filled with rage.
"OH...NO...YOU...DIDN'T!" she screamed and launched herself at the dog. He was caught off-guard and was knocked down, dropping the arm. The pony jumped off the dog and, in one movement, picked up the arm and sent it flying at the dog's face. The claws buried themselves in his eyes and mouth, a satisfying *zapping* emenating. The dog fell, dead. She spun around, ready to take on the final dog... but the injured dog had died from its wounds, the lights in his eyes having faded minutes ago. The battle was over.
For a few minutes, the pony stood over the corpses of the four Diamond Dogs... then fell on her back haunches, breathing heavily. It was a quick battle, but it had taken its toll on the already exhausted pony. Her heart felt like it was going to pop out of her chest at any moment and her limbs burned with fire. That...was...too...close. If she had decided to go back to sleep... She noticed a stinging pain coming from her back. ...Oh yeah. She'd been injured. She reached a hoof to her wound and lightly touched it. It was still bleeding. She needed to take care of that, and fast. She walked over to the dog she had buried the arm in, tugged it out, and used the claws to cut the fabric around its organic midsection, the only one that had not been shredded during the battle. When she had a strap large enough, she placed it on her back and, wincing, tied it onto the wound. It wasn't much, but it would serve its purpose until she could get some actual supplies... whenever that might be. She continued to stare at the bodies. ...How did they know she was here? She was far from any city, away from the strongest areas of Nightmare Moon's influence. What were her soldiers doing out in the middle of nowhere? ...She knew... How did she know? The pony looked around her area, then took off galloping. If Nightmare Moon knew she was here, it was now more important than ever to get to the end of this canyon! She could only hope to whatever higher power had helped her so far that the end of her journey would be in the same place. While she thought about that in her mind, she glaced up at the moon, its cruel, pale glance meeting hers. She snarled and shouted to the night sky:
"Nightmare Moon, my name is Applejack... and NOTHING, not you, not Diamond Dogs, not anyone or anything is going to stop me! I WILL find my way out of this world. I WILL return home! And then... You...Will...Pay!"
A/N: I know it sounds like I'm setting up a storyline here, and I probably am... but I'm going to need to be bored before I write an actual "Samurai Applejack" story.
