Chapters 8-16-1993
Dear Diary, Today is my 4th Birthday! I can’t Believe it! Mom and Dad promised me that I could go see my cousins from all over the country today! I can’t Believe I’m going to have a new cousin soon! They’re calling her Apple Bumpkin. That’s a silly name I think. So, right now we’re on the road. The Mini Apple Family reunion is coming around. Just the one that comes around for birthdays and such. I hope that mom and dad let me see my other cousin Big Macintosh. He’s my favorite cousin. I hang out with him all the time. I’m two years older than him today! I can’t wait to see him. We play under the Apple tree’s and play games. We’re arriving now! Eeep! I’m staying there for a few days. I’m not allowed to bring this. So, I might forget! Sorry! Well, we’re here. I guess I’ll write In a week or two.
11-20-1996
It’s now been three years since I’ve wrote anything. I guess I just forgot. I’m sorry. It’s been a while old friends. I’m uh… 7 years old now. I’m going to be eight soon. There’s a war against the ponies like me. Luckily, it hasn’t reached us yet. Daddy and Mommy are fighting in it. I’m living at home with my brother, Breburn. He’s only 9, but he’s the adult. I’ll see you later I guess….
[Voice Memo]
[Untitled 1]
Hello. This is Apple Cobbler. I Am eight years old. The date is 12-23-1997. Breburn, (my brother) and I are in a camp in the Everfree Forest. We’ve been here for a week or two. The war had moved to my home on the 20th. We luckily escaped early, before any harm could’ve been done to us. I don’t understand how it got like this. It’s unexplainable. This is Apple C, signing off.
I turned off my voice box, and looked around at the tents. Everyone was asleep, so I had my freedom. Me and my new friend would sneak out and eat candy in one of the tree holes. Her name was Honey Buzz. We would then finish the candy, talk, and around 2:30M every night, we’d head back to our tents and go to sleep. One night, we went so far out that we reached a half a mile away from camp!
“What do you mean, you don’t know how to get back?” Honey asked me, looking at me frightened, “We’re lost?”
I shook my head and looked at her, “We’re not lost. I just can’t seem to put my hoof on where the camp is from here, that’s all. Don’t worry, I’m right here to guide us.”
She rolled her eyes and looked at the ground, shook her head, and kept walking. She was right, I was totally lost. I heard something in the distance… It sounded kind of like… Breburn. He was yelling my name.
“Honey! Honey pay attention! I know how to get back!” I whispered.
That filly would never believe me on these things. She would panic and breakdown crying. What a foal. Except this time. She listened this time. She ran up to me, as I pointed into the direction the noise was coming from. We ran in the direction, and it lead us to Brea. He was there, with wide arms.
I ran up to him and leaped into his arms, “Brea…”
There were someponies that wouldn’t come back. Getting food and water wasn’t easy for earth ponies. We had to wear fake wings and horns that was made from the tree branches, and then painted them our coat colors. We’d normally use wings and just act shy so that nopony would question us on it. We’d get the food and water from ponyville. If any fillies my age went along, we’d wear horns and state we don’t know how to use magic yet.
Seeing a thing or two makes all ponies liars. But earthponies the most. We would lie about all sorts of things. One time, we lied about how we had enough food for a family of 4. We had 2 families of 4, 3 of 2, and 1 family of 6. They said we had 30 pieces of food each, but in reality, we only had 18. Breaburn and I didn’t eat anything that day, again. This happened a lot. You really get used to it.
“Cobbler…? C-Cobbler I’m right here.” Breaburn said to me.
I was crying over a bad dream again. This time, it was one of the worst dreams I was yet to ever have. It was awful. It was about a unicorn who was white… she had scars all across her body, and was carrying a knife. There was a stallion sitting in the corner was well. He had this really large hat and a robot hand, swirly eyes and sharp teeth.
She looked at me, and whispered, “You’ll understand sooner or later…” and licked the knife.
The other stallion walked up behind her and kissed her, gross. I was breathing heavy, as she looked into my eyes. I looked into hers for a moment, and saw a glance of somepony. She closed her eyes and laughed really loud, a witches laugh. They were closing in on me, but that’s when I woke up.
I continued to cry in Brea’s arms. Really quiet cries. He just smiled and held me in his arms. He stroked my mane, while I sobbed my eyes out. He was holding me close to his chest, so I could fell his protection and warmth. He was smiling, but I could see a tear falling down his face. What’s he crying about? I thought to myself. Maybe something bad happened to his friend or something. My sobs got quieter and eventually stopped. I let Breaburns heart beat lead me back to my peaceful slumber.
After 6 months of pretty much not a lot of food, bad conditions, a lot of crying, and death, Some of the troops found us. They stormed in one day, pulling us onto the floor, different groups, etc. I escaped luckily. But… Breaburn didn’t…. I was alone in the everfree forest, running from the army, the war. I ran until the end of the forest and found a cottage. It was boarded up, so I considered not going in it. But I heard some muffled talking in the distance.
“Name: Apple Cobbler, age: 8, location: unknown. Come on troops! Search the entire forest if you must! Find that filly!” An army pony blew his whistle, and I ran for my dear life.
That cottage got me a home. I would get water from a stream and grow my own food. No one knew I lived in the house. No one knew it was there. It was perfect. I lived there for about 3 years. Most of the time I would stay in the house, rarely going out. On the second year I was living there, I would hear rumors on how fast the war was moving. I was always prepaired. I would check the maps and radar every day, Packing my stuff in bags so that If it ever did come, I was ready to go. Well, those rumors were true. The war moved onto the west of the everfree, so I had to leave. I was 10 years old, wearing my fake horn. I made it out, and headed to Phillydelfia. On the way, I passed by an orphanage. There was a filly looking out the window, She looked at me for a moment, and I looked at her eyes. The glance happened again. I looked down, and kept walking.
I made it to Phillydelfia at 3am, day 6 on the road. I woke up really late every morning, and it really doesn’t work out when you’re running away from the army.
I woke up the next morning at 9:00am. I crashed in an abandoned hotel at the edge of the city. It was that really small one you couldn’t really do anything with, and as the world goes, life moves on. It was perfect. I ended up staying there longer than planned. Like, a lot longer than planned., Very much longer than planned. I stayed there until I was 13 surprisingly.
The first month or two fulfilled in me looking around for food, and ending up with two small meals a day, running through the halls, making horns, drawing, going on the elevators, swimming in an gross indoor hot tub, and just doing what I want. Yeah, really boring. After a year of doing that, I actually got the guts to go out in public. I put on my fake horn, and took a walk.
The outside was so strange after being indoors for such a long time. The birds were chirping, the air was warm, the fillies were playing, and since I was 12, I got my first job. What is it you wonder? Oh, like pinkie, I was a gypsy.
My income was small, but it would pay well. I got a little larger meal, and a new pillow! My life was sort of straightening out.I had to show up at the shop 3 days a week. I got payed 14 bits an hour which was enough for breakfast and dinner. I made 2 really good friends. One was named Rainbow… never told me his last name. Another was named Ditzy something, but I met her when I was 13. I only stayed In there when I was 13 for like a month though. We stayed with eachother for like a week. It was nice.
One night, the dream from when I was little happened again. Except, it was different. The first stallion was gone, and a new one was back. The mare looked normal, and the stallion had an hourglass cutiemark. He was brown, and looked normal. I was saying something…
It was kind of blurry, but I was saying, “The screaming… T-the screams are..”
They looked like they were my friends… they were looking at me worried, The stallion hugged me, and I woke up. Same room, Same everything except the ponies.
I could barely sleep because of those dreams. I would stay up all night. I would sleep for 1 hour every night. On the last night I stayed there, the same words kept repeating.
“I don’t know where I am.” Endlessly forever. I was falling. I was stuck. Oh my god, I needed help.
I took off for Manehatten the next day after the dream. I knew it, the dreams meant something. But what? What did the dreams mean? I was confused. So, very confused. I had to break the word to my friends… I would probably never see them again. Rainbow was out of town, so I had to just tell ditzy.
I took a deep breath and knocked on her door.
opened the door, and sighed, “You have to leave, don’t you?”
I nodded and looked down, How did she know? I thought to myself.
She smiled sadly and nodded, “I get it, you have to leave. I hope we meet again someday…”
I looked at her, and smiled, “We will, I promise.” Ditzy nodded and before she closed the door whispered, “You’ll understand sooner or later.”
On the road, I passed a house. The mare, she was young, and couting her money. I looked in her eyes. The glance happened again. I didn’t know what that was about. It was happening everywhere. A little flash of white, brown, and yellow brown. That’s all I saw. I had a feeling life was going to get a little more complicated now, considering I’m going to Manehatten, the city of opportunity. I knew there were going to be ponies like me there. I knew it. And you know? I had a feeling I’d be staying there for a lot longer than expected.
Manehatten. The lights were shining very very bright when I first arrived. I hadent realized it would’ve been so bright, at 5:00am in the morning. It was really busy! The world was so much better here, well besides the fact that no one really cared about each other. But that’s only on the surface. I wass’t going to spend much time up here, at least, not now. I remember my grandma, before she died, she said something along the lines of,
“Where ever you go, what ever happens to you. Smell the breath, count the shadows, and hear the beat. The beat of whats next to come.” And right now, I needed to hear the beat. Where though?
Suddenely, I heard it. I heard a beat. It was coming from underground. I looked around for an entry, but all I saw was big buildings. It was a wonderful beat. It reminded me of home, and I didn’t know why. The songs from the underground. I followed the beat until it led me to a sewer,
“What? The sewer? What could be down there…” I had no idea what was yet to come.
I climbed into the sewer pipe. I saw flashing lights ahead of me, multi-colored light. It seemed like there was a party going on.
I could hear the music, the ponies yelling, they were yelling something along the lines of, “home is where the music is.” I smiled at that moment. Home is where the music comes from. Hear your music, follow it. It’ll lead you to home.
I opened the door to the party. When I stepped in, everypony stared at me. I looked like a misfit. But then a pony walked up to me. He was a pegsus, different shades of blue throughout his coat and mane. His cutiemark was a star constellation. He looked down at me and I smiled.
He smiled back and asked, “Hey, who are you? Earth pony I see, Running from the- Wait…” He looked down at my cutiemark, “I know you… You’re a legend!”
I looked at him, confused, “What are you talking about? I’m just like any other pony.”
He shook his head, “No, you’re amazing. Captain Jack. Its an honor to meet you Miss Cobbler.” He shook my hoof and turned to face the crowd of ponies.
He smiled at me one last time and ran up to the boom box. I really regretted doing this. I wasn’t a legend! If I was, what would it be for? I mean, I haven’t ever really done anything that important, to be honest. I wondered what this was about.
He smiled and announced, “Everypony! We have a war escaped pony legend here tonight. Tonight, we are honored for this mare to come to this camp. This young mare is 13 years old, but has a vigorous past. Shes escaped 2 times after 6 years of being alone. Everyone is hoping she comes. But we got her. They pony every camp wants. This is her new home. Everypony, Apple Cobbler!” I walked up to Jack, and everyone cheered.
I looked over the crowd. I was a legend? Every camp wanted me? I’m the most wanted pony? WHAT? I don’t understand. I was being admired without even knowing it. Later that night, When everypony was still dancing to the music, I was sitting in the corner with another pony my age. -We’ve been discussing how this war will turn out.- When Jack walked over to me. The song switched to the song called, Ghosts n hoofs by Deadpon5. The pony smiled mischievously at me and turned away.
He sat down next to me, “So, Apple? Can I call you that?” I nodded and he continued, “Apple. Do you need me to explain to you why you’re a legend here in Manehatten?”
I shifted a little in my seat to face towards him, “Yeah. I don’t get it. I mean, I’ve seen ponies stare at me before, but not in victory. Am I a sign of hope or something?”
He glanced at me and smiled,” Clever mare. Yes, you’re a sign of hope. Because you’ve gotten away, so many times without even breaking a sweat. You seem like somepony who’s capeable of doing the impossible. You, Apple, are a hero.”
I felt myself blush a little after that. Me? A hero? I heard a small voice In the back of my head. It sounded like Brea, Mom and Pop would be proud of you.
Jack, and I talked for a little longer, just discussing anything that would be relevant to the conversation. After he had the 3rd apple cider, I was confused. I saw fillies a year or two younger than me drinking.
“Uh, Jack?” I asked, “Are some ponies here, underage drinking? Won’t the police find out?”
He shook his head, “Ya see, the police don’t know we’re here. It’s the magic of the unicorns. They put a barrier around this place. Speaking of that, how’d you get in anyway?”
I looked down. I really had no idea, “I don’t know. I didn’t even know there was a barrier. I just kinda saw a door and walked in. My grandma told me about this place. He said that you need to hear and follow the beat. I hear it and followed it. The music would bring me home. I really don’t know, but I was abandoned as you probably know. My grandma was in the war. She told me to come here In times of trouble.”
Jack looked at me for a second and turned back to his drink, “Who was your grandmother? What was her name?”
“Her name was Apple blossom. She was an amazing mare.” I replied.
And it was true, you know. She was an amazing mare. Before I knew it, I had tears in my eyes. I was crying without any control. I didn’t know why. And then it went black.
I was falling again. I fell into a chair, next to the orphan I saw when I was… what… 10?
She looked at me, with tears in her eyes, and asked, “Who are you? You’re not supposed to be here… Are you new?”
I shook my head. My head hurt so much, and I didn’t know why. She looked up at me, “Are you here to save me?”
smiled at her, “I wish I could, but I can’t. One day, I promise, You’ll be adopted. And you’ll have a happy life.”
She smiled at me, “Thank you miss.”
At that moment, I looked down at my wrist. There was a bracelet thing. It was round with a button. I pressed the button and I was awake. I was lying in a bed, jack sitting next to me. What just happened?
He had the bracelet on. Where was I? I looked around the room. There were about 10 other ponies in the room with me. We had really small beds, a table, and our own little place to stay. It was really nice.
Jack turned to me and said, "Vortex manipulator. It glitched on me, and then you disappeared. Where did you go anyway? Please don't tell me you saw-" I cut him off before he could say anything.
"It took me to an orphanage when I was about ten years old. That answer your question?" I replied.
Jack nodded his head and sat down on my cot. I smiled and sat up. Jack was staring at the ceiling for some reason. I poked him and he sat up quickly, hitting his head on the bar above the bed.
"Geez! Your real clumsy hm?" I asked him in between soft giggles.
I've heard from the other ponies Jack was a complete flirt, so I wanted to test how well he could take me. I slipped my hoof around his neck and pulled him close to me. He started blushing, but I could tell he didn't really mean it.
I put my head up to his and whispered, "Show me what your hiding from me." And lightly pecked his lips.
He grabbed my hoof and lifted me off of my cot and into a dark room.