Howdy. Y'all probably already know me, I’m the honest, mild mannered filly with a gift for tendin to orchards; but in recent times I done got sick of my simple earth pony life style. Sure y'all are probably like “why in tarnation would a pony with an apple shaped cutie mark ever turn to the crazy stuff I done?” Well shoot, I reckon it all began some time ago.
I guess it all starts with somethin they taught me at Ponyville Tech: the dilemma of pony nature. I attended college to get myself a degree in business management a few years back along with a minor in agronomy. It was boring as shit, but I digress. In a class about theories and origin of Equestrian life, I learned about this dilemma, the idea that somehow ponies are all supposed to be equal when we are really quite outmatched by superiors among us.
The foundation of our society is that ponies like my friend Pinkie Pie and myself are the workers. Yep, you already know where this is going, but we really have nothing special about ourselves. We, the earth ponies, have been, and always will be, confined to a very limited range of skills. I have one friend who can fly at speeds upwards of mach 5 and creates a sonic boom every time she flies over head. Another friend of mine can warp the very fabric of reality with minimal consequence. We’re talkin puncture holes in space-time, turn almost anything into almost anything else, and lift objects probably a hundred thousand times her size. She even transcended her normal form and sprouted wings. Ridiculous if ya ask me. I don’t know why I took physics in high school if they’re gonna just defy every commonly accepted theory every time I hang out with them.
So I never understood, earth ponies are supposed to be the fastest, but we can’t run along the ground at speeds anywhere near what even the weakest pegasi can travel in the air. We are supposed to be the strongest and most versatile, but unicorns have magic, and even the weak ones can lift objects far heavier than themselves. So the dilemma is that so long as we’re mere earth ponies, the only thing we can ever achieve is a strong ability for doing all of the stuff the rest of Equestria doesn’t want to do. Well, I wanted to change this.
A zebra named Zecora had made her objective clear from the day my friends had met her, she wanted to show us her ways. After a bunch of horrible things happened because of some magical poisonous plant, I believe it was called ioco venenumus or something like that, this zebra used herbal remedies to heal everyone. I was, at the time, somewhat stubborn and set in my ways, but something about a pony with no powers of their own drawin magic from nature completely blew my mind.
I had to learn more, so while my friends were sleeping one night, I went back to Zecora’s house in the woods to see what she knew. “Howdy friend,” I greeted the groggy zebra.
“How dare you come to my abode so late, if I did this to you it would aggravate,” she snapped at me.
“I understand that this might not be the best time to ask, but I would be willing to pay you if you could show me your magic.” I tried not to intrude too much, but I knew she had very little income from making different brews, and I only wanted to help.
She shook her head. “Money is of no use to me, what is the point of currency? Being consumed by monetary desire leads to eternity in a pit of fire.”
“So you believe in the same stuff ponies believe?” she had sparked my interest with such a brash remark about greed.
Zecora seemed to still be a mite perturbed at my intrusion. “Look, it’s a lot more complicated than that, but you ponies really don’t understand the universe around you. If you really want to discuss this further we can meet tomorrow at a more reasonable hour.” And with that, I discovered that zebras don’t actually have to rhyme every time they speak. Also we set up a time for another meeting.
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The very next day, as soon as I was done with farm chores, I went to see the zebra. She was waiting outside in a meditative state, striving for what seemed to me to be some kind of higher intelligence. “Howdy there Zecora!” I shouted at the zebra, awakening her from her transcendental state.
She looked at me with disdain, but got past the minor annoyance really quickly. “Applejack, you are a little bit earlier than you said.” She got up and walked toward me, gently touching her hoof to my forehead. “Intellect and inner strength can be found within you, far more than many ponies. You will be easy to teach, but first allow me to explain your connection to nature.”
“Well shucks, couldn’t Fluttershy do that?” I asked only to receive a dirty look from the striped enchantress.
Zecora immediately knew where to begin. “I know it would seem that way, but you have a connection to the earth itself and to the plants she grows.” She told me to lay down and visualize myself before she could continue. I did what she said without a second of hesitation. “Every being in our world has the ability to use their inner powers to unlock abilities they never knew existed. You, as an earth pony, have a form very similar to that of a zebra. You can more than likely be trained to sense auras and become closer to Jah than the rest of these ponies.”
“What in tarnation is Jah?” I asked.
“The creator of our universe and all of its many wonderful planets and stars. Jah is an infinite source of good, creative energy, the heavenly guardian of sacred life. I will teach you to channel Jah’s inner light and use your abilities to gradually accomplish things your unicorn friends could only dream of.” She made me close my eyes and focus on my breathing, telling me to focus on something simple and pure to me. I thought about the ponies I love the most. It felt like I was using the positive energy from these thoughts to fill my body with happiness.
I awoke some thirty minutes later to see my sensei drinking some green tea. “I see you have taken to the meditation quite well, I assume you feel stronger than any kind of spell?”
“I feel like I’m one with Jah,” I now understood what she meant, and tried very hard to contain my excitement.
“Now I want you to try and sense my energy. Go ahead and stare at the center of my forehead for about a minute and try to place me in front of a white background. Any pony can do this with training, but I have a feeling that for you this will be easy.” Zecora sat patient and still while I tried to clear my mind and concentrate on her.
“I see lots of blue… and green… with some puffy purple clouds and yellow streaks.” I stared at her for a moment, touching one hoof to her forehead and receiving an extremely comforting feeling. “You’re very spiritual, balanced, and calm. You are a free spirit with a natural gift for healing and leadership abilities. The colors were so bright and gorgeous. And somehow after one touch to your forehead I feel like I can trust you more than almost anyone else.”
“You are a fast learner indeed.” Zecora seemed more quizzical than usual as she examined me very closely. “I honestly couldn’t believe how well you read me, I noticed the same colors when I looked in the mirror earlier. The brighter the colors the more pure the pony’s heart, the calmer the colors look the more balanced and healthy they are. And you mastered the trust touch before I could even tell you what it was.”
I smiled. “Well shucks, I am the Element of Honesty.”
She returned my grin. “Tomorrow you must come back and we can learn more. Your training has only just begun.”
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The rest of that day, I began to realize what the colors meant. Rarity had a lot of red, a sign that she truly loved her material possessions, but her colors were bright and very stable. Spike seemed to have similar colors, but he wasn’t quite so uniformed. I reckon it had somethin to do with the cold he had just gotten over.
Pinkie Pie was the brightest of all of our friends with darn near every color in the spectrum, but I did notice a few grey streaks in there. She was also kinda disproportioned from all that sugar she eats, but she seemed happy enough. Fluttershy had so much blue and green, but her lack of confidence could be seen in how her colors weren’t very bright. Dash surprised me the most, I had expected her to be more vain and self-centered, but her main aura was yellow with even more purple than Zecora had. I touched her forehead and instantly knew why she was the element of loyalty.
Twilight was less complex than I would have thought. She was mostly yellow and orange with some brown mixed in. I realized that even though she was bright, even, and vigorous, the most magical unicorn I ever had the pleasure of talkin to was actually quite uninterested in understandin things of a spiritual matter. For such a smart filly, Twilight was (at the time) actually pretty close minded when it came to spiritual stuff.
I decided to go home and look at mine. Bloom and her friends were up in the treehouse, but I could see they were all bright and cheerful. Big Macintosh had lots of Blue, Granny Smith was all turquoise and green. It comforted me to know that my family was happy, healthy, and well adjusted.
Now it was finally my turn, I stared in the mirror and I was delighted by the sight. Orange, Turquoise, Green, and Yellow, with bright purple flames; I looked so perfect. I felt so happy and knew that I was truly blessed, only to watch as the yellow became a ring and the purple grew stronger. Jah be praised.
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“How good it is to see you again, your aura is the brightest it’s ever been!” Zecora was pleased and still very balanced as I saw her in front of her home once more. “I have something special in store for you, meditate and I will teach you of herbal brews.”
So once again she led me into meditation, although this time it was easy to use the happiness I had already begun to deeply understand. I lasted a full hour, completely undisturbed by anything around me. Zecora awoke me with the smell of tea being poured. “Oh goodness, how long was I out?”
“Long enough to make your aura even brighter.” She was pleased as she took her first sip, motioning for me to join her at the table where a cup had been set out for me. “I’m sure you are already familiar with the properties of green tea?”
“Well, Twilight told me it is good for your blood stream and your head.”
“And Twilight was right, it is a very good cleansing agent and a mild stimulant.” Zecora poured me a cup, allowing me to drink of the mild beverage before continuing. “Tea is not magical, just good.” I chuckled at her for the clarification.
“Yuh know when my relatives come into town we need to make the tea sweeter than honey just to get them to drink it.” I watched the sour expression on her face.
“That completely defeats the purpose of tea, but to each their own I suppose.” She got up and picked a leaf off of a plant not far from the river. “Tell me what this is.”
“Spearmint.”
“Very good, now what can we use mint for?”
“It’s to make hard candies and toothpaste.” I really thought that was all.
“They also produce a volatile oil which I use in my brews. The oil is good for your skin and heart.” She walked off and picked up a different leaf. “What is this one?”
“Sassafras.” I grinned, “and the leaf is completely useless but the roots of that tree are good for my granny’s arthritis and of course root beer.”
“Yes, but did you also know that it is useful for your kidneys, lungs, and blood stream?” She smiled as she showed me yet another herb, finally succeeding in stumping me.
“That’s alfafa, and all I know is it’s good eatin.”
“Oh yes it is, but for so many reasons. It is extremely high in protein but still lowers cholesterol. It eases us females through our pregnancies and even relieves nausea.” She finally showed me a leafy green she had rolled up inside of a mostly dry tobacco leaf. “But as far as relieving nausea is concerned, this might just be my favorite.”
“Oh no, don’t tell me you smoke that crap too.” I was more than displeased when she showed me the blunt and proceeded to light it, “my brother grows that crap in our barn.”
“I know, where do you think I got it?”
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The relaxing and wonderful lessons Zecora taught me proved increasingly useful. I was growin in so many ways. I learned of each chackra and how to keep them unblocked. My brother Big Macintosh broke his ribs and I learned how to make a brew that made his recovery fast and darn near pain free. Pinkie Pie tried to have too many parties on the same week, and I baked her a cake that calmed her down just enough to enjoy her own birthday. Needless to say she aint havin any issues with glaucoma any time soon either.
Discord came and went; I still remember his bright white aura; oddly uniform for the God of Chaos. I gave Twilight different stress reducers when she had her mini freak-out. I helped my friends as Zecora helped me, making things complete. Zecora gave me access to every one of her cookbooks and most of her knowledge, but there was still something I could tell she was holding back.
After saving the crystal empire from an evil force and installing Twilight’s sister-in-law as the empress, I felt that I just needed to know the truth. I confronted Zecora as soon as I got back to Ponyville. “You aint told me everything,” I stated bluntly.
“No Applejack, come in and take a seat.” She seemed hesitant but knew she could trust me. “You have begun to develop into quite a powerful being; what I hid from you I did out of friendship. But since you insist that you must know the whole truth, there are two kinds of magic in this world.”
“Go on.”
She sighed deeply. “There is the creative energy which you have harnessed so well. The ability to use Jah’s gifts of herbs to create healing brews, to see the truth about a pony’s inner conscious mind from their aura and gentle touch, and to harness the inner strength to help yourself and anyone else overcome any obstacle. You were good to start with, and now you are stronger in these fields than any unicorn could ever dream of.
“I feel Jah’s light inside of me at all times.”
She lit up a blunt, the first one she had sparked in some time, and I knew she wasn’t ready to tell me the rest. “The other energy is destructive and much worse for your soul. In using it you are using the true evil of Tartarus to accomplish impossible things.”
“Really?” I was clearly intrigued and this frightened Zecora.
She hesitated once more, taking a nice long hit. “Through ceremonial rituals, magic amulets, and blood sacrifice demons will do your bidding for you, possessing your body and making your aura dull and grey. I have seen one zebra use these magicks to get her way, and the very next day she had lost her true light and began to wither away. She condemned her own soul to Tartarus by exacting revenge.”
“Do you have anything I can read or…” Zecora interrupted me before I could finish my question.
“NO! I will not allow you to destroy your soul, for the way of Jah is your only goal!” She seemed to notice my aura, which probably reflected my curiosity and need to explore the matter further. “Stay away from the evil magic, the end result will only be tragic.”
The rhymes made it hard for me to take her seriously, but I can’t make excuses for the things I did.
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The very next day, after Zecora had warned me not to, I went and got a book of occult magical spells from Twilight’s library. Even though she never really seemed to care about anything apart from science and pushing her own physical limits with practical magic, she was actually worried about my fascination with the book.
“You know I wouldn’t be so uneasy if my future self hadn’t told me that something terrible was going to happen in a week.” Twilight was very nervous.
“Did you say what was gonna happen?”
“No I spoke too much and cut myself off before I could say,” the stress was really getting to her. “Do you have any remedies that can help me calm down and think of a solution?”
“Well yeah I reckon you can just use that stress relief brew I done made up a couple months ago when you had that breakdown. I gave you enough to last this long if you kept it in the fridge.”
“Yeah, I guess that will have to do, I was just hoping that you might have something with a little more kick.”
“You can just see my brother fer that,” I laughed at her as she slowly realized that I had suggested smoking as an actual solution. So we said our goodbyes and I went on my way back home with some new literature in tow.
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The five pointed star was painted in the blood of a sick chicken I had to put out of its misery earlier that day. Six candles burned brightly in my barn as I tried to say the spell written in some old language. “Exsurge, et custos inferno protegas quos cara.” I stated, unsure if it would have any result.
The barn shook and the animals began to panic. Even Winona, my trusty border collie, fled from the area as the lights flickered and suddenly went out. I could feel a presence I had never felt before as it began to drain all of the love out of the room. Then it seemed that nothing happened.
“What a rip-off,” I shouted at whoever would hear me. The spell to conjure a guardian for the farm had failed. I went inside angry, and went to bed with a feeling of total chaos inside of me. I thought it had all been for nothing… until the following morning.
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"What is that thing!?" Spike screamed.
“That's Cerberus, and he's supposed to be guarding the gates of Tartarus.” Twilight Sparkle was the only pony calm or sane enough to handle the situation. “But if he's here than all of the ancient evil in that place can escape and destroy Equestria.”
"Destroy Equestria?" Spike was still very upset.
"Yeah, but he's just a cute wittle three headed puppy who got out of his yard." Fluttershy rubbed the hell hound's stomach, proving that she shared Twilight's attitude on the matter.
The rest of the Ponyville ponies finally began to calm down while Twilight led the beast back to its hellish domain. No one else realized the true implications of this. I knew that my guardian spell had worked; I was now in control of forces beyond anything my friends could ever comprehend. It felt horrible, but at the same time something sinister began to bubble up inside me.
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I never used to believe that nonsense Zecora spouted about demons even though I had used evil magic once. I just ignored my gut and went on doin what I was doin. Spells and incantations in the book were fascinating, and with the help of a few more chickens, I was able to triple the apple harvest and make my family more money than we had ever made in a single season. I didn’t see Zecora for quite some time, I’m still not sure if she noticed I was becoming evil or not. I began to become obsessed with personal gain, not caring as my aura became more and more red and faded duller and duller each day.
I had achieved something that most farmers could only dream of, financial security. My barn and house were both renovated, my animals and plants were the healthiest they had ever been, and yet some part of me still wanted more.
I completely gave up on Jah’s love and meditation, letting myself turn over to the side of evil right under my friends’ noses, but soon the demons possessing me had decided that chicken blood wasn’t enough to satiate them. It was unfortunate and horrible in more ways than you will ever know.
The first victim was not really one I had ever cared for to begin with. Trixie was loud and obnoxious; a showboat if there ever was one. She came into town and declared a duel, only to allow her own evil forces to overtake her and the town itself. When Twilight defeated her, it displeased the demons she had allowed into herself, and the demons still inside of me wanted to change that.
I walked up to the unicorn as she began to allow her bearings to set straight. I was gonna to say something to her, but as soon as she turned around the demons inside of me took hold. I don’t remember much of it, she was screaming and a voice that wasn’t my own mumbled an incantation. I remember the word, incendium, because after I said that the blue pony burst into flames.
I fully awoke from the state to see a burning Trixie completely engulfed in fire. She was screaming and crying and begging for forgiveness, but it was just too late. She never stood a chance. The flames consumed her before anyone could do anything, and I doubt she went to a better place.
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I was thoroughly scared by this point. I had just condemned a young, stupid unicorn to the depths of Tartarus without even realizing it was happening. I didn’t know what to do, and Zecora was still avoiding me. I tried to pursue a normal life, but the image of Trixie being burned to death was still in my thoughts, and the demons were still using my body as a tool for their amusement. I stopped asking for more stuff and tried to meditate, but they were still there.
Then it happened, Discord came to town with the help of Celestia. He began to try his usual shenanigans, but no one had time to deal with it except for Fluttershy. My pegasus friend, Jah bless her soul, managed to change him from a heartless villain into a good, caring, but still chaotic friend. We all agreed that good can come from occasional chaos, and Celestia rewarded everyone for our patience.
That night I once again felt something take hold inside of me. It was unnatural and wrong, but somehow I know I flew. I flew all the way to Canterlot. I know that the self-proclaimed God of Chaos was eating sweets and drinking chocolate milk with the princesses when he felt my presence. He excused himself and stepped outside. “You don’t look so good Applejack,” he muttered as he tried to reach out a paw and help me, “the evil forces have taken over you like they did me.”
The same sinister voice came out from inside of me. “AND NOW WE HAVE COME TO RECLAIM WHAT’S RIGHTFULLY OURS.” Once again they muttered something in the dead language as Discord just floated there and accepted his fate. I am not sure why he didn’t resist, maybe he had finally become concerned about beings other than himself. But it was too little too late for the beast. The word the voice used was fervo. He slowly boiled away with a horrifying cry, begging for forgiveness to whoever would listen.
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I awoke in my bed covered in sweat, at first believing the whole thing was just a dream. I took a deep breath and began to walk outside, noticing that something was wrong before I could even begin my chores. Twilight Sparkle stood outside waiting for me with tears streaming down her face. “Oh Applejack, I didn’t know who else to turn to, but all of that spiritual mumbo jumbo was right this whole time.”
“What’s wrong Twi?” I asked even though I already knew the answer.
“They just found Trixie’s body this morning and the autopsy revealed that she was burned by hellfire. It literally consumed everything but the bones, and even though she’s been gone for a month the bones were still hot. Then there’s Discord, we all thought he was so strong, but apparently there’s something out there stronger than him. He’s melted into goo. Do you know anything about this?”
I shook my head and let out a deep sigh. “Twi it’s demons. They done let their souls be corrupted by black magic and when they tried to save others from the evil those demons had it out for 'em.”
“I need you to find that book you rented and get it back to me as soon as possible. I need to figure out if we can save them.” Twilight began to panic.
“Now calm down, I’m sure it’s around here somewhere.” That’s when I saw it, in my sister’s mouth. I felt my heart sink deep into my chest as she and her friends came out of their tree house after a sleepover. “Applebloom! Did y’all mess with that book?” I tried to hide my concern.
“Yeah, I performed a dancing fire spell!” Scootaloo smiled a happy, toothy grin, “It’s was totally AWESOME!”
Twilight and I looked at each other in horror, nothing could save Scoots from what would come next.
My how I wish I could take that night back. I vaguely remember entering that state again, being controlled by the demons was a terrible feeling. The worst part is this one was even clearer. Scootaloo was riding home on her scooter when I swooped down from above. I kicked her off of the scooter with an ungodly force, more than I could ever truly muster on my own. She smacked a tree hard enough for a branch to break and all of the teeth to fall out of her mouth.
I flew over to where she lay sobbing with her gums bleeding and multiple broken bones, and beat her mercilessly. The filly tried to fly away, but the demons inside me felt the need to break her useless little wings. I saw myself kick her over and over again, hearing a cracking noise after each kick. It was unnecessarily brutal for such a minor offense, but these devils cannot be reasoned with. I tried with all of my being to stop them, but as soon as the abuse stopped the word praestrangulo came out of my mouth, and the filly could no longer breathe.
I watched her suffocate, unsure of what to do as an inner rage built up inside of me. I finally snapped, screaming at the top of my lungs with my own voice. With all of my inner strength, I harnessed Jah’s creative energy and love, and used it to rip the demons out from inside of me. It was too late for my other victims, but not for this defenceless filly. In their effort to kill me, the demons spared Scootaloo. I felt them try to tear apart my internal organs and felt only pain. The inner light finally triumphed, but only after I felt the pain of all of my victims a thousand times over. I would not wish the agony on even the worst of beings. I’m not entirely sure how I survived, but I maintain that it is all by the glory of Jah.
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Somehow even with twelve broken bones, massive amounts of dental work, and a weeklong coma, the filly pulled through. I saw her after it was all said and done, my aura had returned to normal and I was once again filled with Jah’s positive energy. I made her a special brew, one which would help her get back out of the hospital and on her hooves quicker. Not long after she decided that she would spend her life learning how to heal others, and finally received her healing cutie mark.
I finally met up with Zecora the other day right as she was preparing her afternoon tea. She saw that I was back to being full of positive energy and became confused. “You look as though you are born anew, what on earth has happened to you?”
“Well, I have something special about me after all, I am more powerful than I have ever thought possible. Dilemma of pony nature be damned.” I sat down and poured myself some tea.
“What are your plans now my pupil?” She stared at my aura quizzically.
“Well now that Twilight Sparkle’s an alicorn, and I am pure and enlightened, we have decided that we must journey into Tartarus and save the souls of those who have been tricked by evil forces.”
She was stunned, unsure of what to say for a moment as she sipped on her tea. “I believe that if anyone can do it, it is you Applejack.”
So we had one last afternoon together. I tried to talk Twilight out of the journey, but she wouldn't let me go alone. Ever since she has become an alicorn, Twi has really let her aura become more complex, especially in the purple and yellow areas. She says that no matter how powerful I am, I will need the help of another pony. Now that she’s as powerful as I am, this will be a little bit easier. But since I know what I am up against, and since I am the only being in Equestrian history to expel evil forces from my own body, I know that it is up to me to save as many as I can from the grip of evil. So as I set off on my journey to Tartarus, I just want y’all to know that good will always triumph in the end. Jah be praised.
Author's Note
I'm thinking of a sequel called AJ's Inferno, based on the Dante's Divine Comedy, except with ponies and less horrible torture.
Any thoughts?
