The One Free Apple

Chapters

Part 1: Chapter 01
Part 1: Chapter 02
Part 1: Chapter 03
Part 1: Chapter 04
Part 1: Chapter 05
Part 1: Chapter 06

Part 1: Chapter 01

I'm sorry, Applejack. I'm so, so, *so** sorry. I couldn't let you return to civilization. At least not yet. Equestria is not the same and only you can set things right. The right place at the wrong time can be a deadly trap, but the right mare in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. Wake up, Applejack. Your time has come, Equestria needs you.*

Applejack suddenly opened her eyes and looked around; she was inside a train; that would be empty if it wasn't for two stallions who were looking at her.

"I didn't see you coming in." one of them said.

"Where... Where am Ah?" she asked.

"You hop in a train without even knowing the destination?" the second stallion asked.

"No, it's not that. Ah can't remember how Ah got in here!"

"So, lost your memories, eh?" the first stallion said "I don't blame you, though. You weren't the first one and I doubt you will be the last."

"I told you, it's the water! They're putting something in the water we drink to make us forget."

"Anyway, let me summarize it for you, miss: you're in a train that is going to City 17."

"What is City 17?"

"You don't know what's City 17? Then you must be brain damaged, miss! City 17, the lair of the Combine, Celestia's home, the shadow of the Citadel."

Applejack just nodded. She had no idea what they were talking about. The train stopped and the door opened.

"End of the line. I don't know how much you remember, but here's an advice: do as you're told, don't ask questions, mind your own business! Otherwise they'll punish you. And you don't want to be punished by the CPs."

"It means 'Civil Protection'!" the other stallion said. "Just in case."

The stallions stepped out of the train. A few moments later Applejack did too. The first thing she saw was a bright flash. When the temporary blindness faded out, she noticed what was the source of the flash: a floating metal ball.

"What in tarnation?"

The ball floated away. Applejack shook her head and looked around; the train station had a few posters of Celestia's face, all of them above speakers, all of them transmitting Celestia's voice. it was clear it was a pre-recorded message, since at some point it started repeating itself.

"Welcome, my loyal subjects. Welcome to City 17."

But she was too busy trying to figure out what she was going to do next to listen to the message. She then walked toward a gate which only way through was a turnstile. The station was crowded with ponies (most of them unicorns and pegasi), a few of them wearing some kind of armor and a gas mask (there were no earth ponies among those).

"Move along." they would say, their voices distorted by the mask, making them sound like machines.

"Keep moving."

"Don't stop."

She didn't knew that place, but she did knew the name in the platform she was moving toward: Canterlot (she ignored the New that came before Canterlot). Everything was going just fine, until a camera pointed at her and a buzzer rang.

"Don't move." one of the ponies (she presumed those were the CPs) said. A door opened to her right.

"You." the pegasus CP said. "Come with me."

She followed him down a corridor without complaining. That same corridor was full of doors, one of them half open.

"There must be some kind of mistake! I got a relocation ticket just like everypony else." the pony in the room, sitting at a chair, said to the unicorn CP, who magically slammed the door upon noticing Applejack's presence.

"Get in the room." the CP escorting her said, pointing at an open door. Applejack walked in, meeting another CP.

"Need some help with this one?" the other, an unicorn CP, asked.

"No, I'm good." the first said.

The second left the room and the first locked the door, then pressed a few buttons on a panel.

"I'm going to need some privacy with this one." he said, deactivating the camera in the room.

Applejack was now sweating, growing more and more nervous. There was a reason ponies feared the CPs, and she was probably about to discover why. Those were her thoughts until he-- Well, she removed her mask.

"About that cider you owe me!" Rainbow Dash said, placing the mask on the panel.

"Rainbow!" she said, her nervousness suddenly vanishing.

"Sorry about the scare, but I can't risk to blow my cover. They don't know I'm not one of them."

"What's goin' on, Rainbow?"

"I'd love to just sit with you and explain the whole story, but we don't have time right now."

She pressed a few buttons on the panel again, then the face of a purple unicorn mare appeared in the screen.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash, what is it? I'm in the middle of--"

"Yeah, sorry for interrupting study time, egghead, but look who I found!"

Rainbow Dash stepped out of the way. Twilight gasped. "By Luna's Cutie Mark! Applejack! It's been so long. We thought you were dead."

"Yeah, but she's very alive. And she was on her way to New Canterlot. I'm sending her to you now."

"Yes, I really to hear about how things went in Aperture."

"Wait, ya know Ah was there?"

"Yes, it was your mission. But I didn't thought you'd take so long to return to us. But again, it was hard enough to go in, obviously it would be even harder to go out!"

"Ah kinda forgot everythin', so Ah hope ya explain everythin' to me too."

"Oh, I will. Every single detail."

"Hurry up, Applejack. They'll be here soon to see why I'm taking so long."

"Right. It's good to see y'all."

"It's good to see you too, Applejack." the screen turned off the exact moment they heard a knock on the door.

"Damn, they're here." Rainbow Dash put her mask on and opened the back door. "Escape through the window over there and go straight to Twi's lab. I'll catch up with you later."

Rainbow Dash pushed her through the door and closed it. Applejack climbed a ladder and jumped through the window, ending up in some kind of alley with only a few trash cans and a door in it. She walked through that door, which led back to the station. There was a big wooden door in it with a CP standing in front of it. She gulped and approached it. The CP looked at the trash can near him, which had a soda can on top of it, and knocked the can onto the floor.

"Pick up that can." he said.

Applejack was about to complain, but the words on the stallion in the train echoed in her mind:

"Do as you're told, don't ask questions, mind your own business!"

She sighed and picked up the can with her teeth;

"Now put it in the trash can."

She did as he told her to. He stepped out of the way, chuckling.

"Civil *Protection** my flank."* she thought as she opened the door.

Outside the train station was a new world, full of machines and gadgets she had never seen before. At least, not in the Equestria she once knew.

"What the horsepples is goin' on?"

Applejack just walked aimlessly, admiring the city she'd never seen before. There were CPs everywhere, but as long as she didn't do anything wrong, she was safe. She just walked, until she stumbled upon two stallions staring at a building with two CPs at the door.

"That's how it always starts." the first stallion said. "First, a building. Then, the whole block."

"They don't have a reason to come to our place." the second said.

"Don't worry, they'll find one!"

Applejack looked around and noticed an open door that led to the same building the CPs were in.

"Well..." she thought. "The only place I can go that there's no big gate blocking." she walked through the door and upstairs. CPs were banging at a door in one of the floors. Applejack just ignored it and resumed her ascension. "If I tried to intervene, I'd just be punished as well. I must not draw attention."

"You!" one of the CPs called. "Halt!"

"Oh, horseapples!" Applejack ran upstairs as fast as she could, two of the Civil Protectors following her. When she reached the last floor, she did the only thing she could: "Through the window!"

Fortunately the buildings were really close to each other, so when Applejack jumped through the window she went through the window of another building. She ran downstairs, but was met by two CPs. Applejack tried going back up, but the other CPs were already there. The last thing she saw before falling on the wooden floor was the unicorn CP shooting a spell at her.

"Over here!" a voice called. It was the voice of a mare. "Shame on you, picking on somepony unarmed and outnumbered!"

Applejack slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the mask of a CP, whose owner was lying in front of her, apparently unconscious. The second thing she saw was the hoof of a white mare with a curly pink and purple mane. "Long time no see, Applejack."

Applejack grabbed the mare's hoof, and she helped her up. She wasn't sure who the mare was until she looked in her green eyes.

"Sweetie Belle?"

"Yup! That's me!"

"Holy Celestia! Look at ya, all grown up, almost as tall as me."

Sweetie Belle sighed. "Don't say that name. It's not 'holy' anymore."

"What do ya mean?"

"Follow me, I'll explain on our way there."

"Where's 'there'?"

"Twilight's laboratory, of course. Rainbow Dash forgot to give you a map, so I came here to escort you before you got into trouble." she looked around, at the four unconscious CPs. "I'm kinda late. Sorry!"

"It's ok. At least yer here. Now, let's go to Twi's, so you can explain what the hay happened with Equestria while Ah was away!"

Part 1: Chapter 02

"Ah remember now!" Applejack said as Sweetie Belle opened a secret door behind one of Celestia's posters that led to a big corridor. "There was that magical experiment in Canterlot, then suddenly weird varmints started poppin' all over the city, then all over Equestria!"

"Yes. A few years after you were gone, the Combine, or 'Our Benefactors', as Celestia likes to call them, appeared. Since that day, everything went wrong."

"Whaddya mean?"

"First, there was the Seven Hours War."

"There was a war?!"

"Well, everypony likes to call it a war to make it sound like we did something, but it was just a carnage. First the Combine appeared, then they erradicated everything and everypony that tried to stop them. In seven hours, we were finished. Celestia negotiated a surrender, even though we were already defeated."

"Then why is Celestia in charge now?"

"In charge? It's not the time for jokes, Applejack! She's just a puppet of the Combine, to keep appearances. After we were defeated, they practically enslaved us. We're forced to live in Cities, because 'it's safe since the Invaders can't get in, because the Combine protect us'. They also forbid us of having foals, can you believe it? Celestia says it's to control the overpopulation problem, but there's no overpopulation! They killed almost half of ponykind!"

"But ponies can always 'mate secretly'." Applejack chuckled.

"It's no use. There's a field around the city called Suppression Field that keeps certain protein chains important to the process of embryonic development from working properly. Summarizing, it keeps the stallions infertile."

"Why are they doin' that?"

"To kill what's left of us in a non-violent way. The Seven Hour War is over, but they still want our species dead. The 'fittest', though, are spared and given the opportunity, a.k.a. forced to join the Overwatch, their military force."

"Ya mean, the CPs?"

"The Civil Protection is just a branch of the Overwatch forces, designed to 'keep ponies in line'. If you screw things up pretty bad, then the Overwatch Soldiers step in. There is also the Overwatch Elite, designed to protect the Citadel, that damn big building out there. A there's also the Synths. Some say they used to be living creatures enslaved by the Combine that were turned into machines."

"Freaky! But why would they say that?"

"You will understand once you meet one of them."

"Ah still can't believe Ah was away when everythin' happened. Ah could've been of some use 'round here."

"Believe me, it was better for you to be away. Many ponies died in that war, but most of them were Earth Ponies since they couldn't fly away or magically protect themselves."

"Does... Does that mean Apple Bloom, Big Mac an' Granny Smith...?"

Sweetie Belle smiled. "I was wondering when would you ask about them. They managed to survive and are fine. We've been secretly helping ponies escape the City on hoof, and they are no exception. We are giving priority to Earth Ponies, since you're now practically an endangered species. We send them straight to my sister's lab through the old canals."

"Yer sister? Rarity?"

"Yes! She may be all prissy, but she can rival Twilight's IQ when she is really focused! She is one of the leaders of the Resistance, alongside Twilight, Luna and Lyra."

"So, Princess Luna is not on Princess Celestia's side?"

"Nope. And she doesn't like when we call her 'Princess'. According to herself, she is our equal. Anyway, today we're finally on the verge of having a better way to help ponies out."

"And that means...?"

"You will see." Sweetie Belle suddenly stopped in front of a soda vending machine. "Here, let me buy you a drink!"

Sweetie Belle inserted a bit into the machine and pressed a few buttons. Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Aren't we supposed to be on our way to Twi's lab?"

Sweetie Belle chuckled, then kicked the machine, making it open; the vending machine was actually the secret entrance of Twilight's laboratory.

"Owlowiscious?" Applejack heard a voice calling. "Where are you hiding now?"

"Twi!" Applejack said, running toward her old friend. The unicorn mare turned around and only had time to brace herself for Applejack's hug.

"It's so much better to see you in front of me than through a screen." Twulight said, hugging her back.

"What happened to Equestria, Twi? Everythin' is so... Crazy!"

"I know. Ever since the so called 'Our Benefectors' appeared, things only went south. But we still have hope. Did you found it?"

"Found what?"

"Borealis!"

"What's that?"

Twilight sighed. "You really forgot, didn't you?" she let go of her friend. "The Borealis is the whole reason we sent you to Aperture Science. It's filled with advanced technology that could really help us!"

"Still doesn't ring any bells."

"The ship!" she almost shouted. "Did you found the ship?"

Applejack blinked. She couldn't remember any ship in that facility, but she could remember four words:

"The ship was stolen."

"What? Why? How?"

"Ah dunno. Ah was at the docks, and there was that suspicious stallion. The docks were empty and the stallion told me the ship was stolen. Talkin' about him, Ah'd like to meet him again! He knocked me out cold and Ah don't even know how, but there will be retaliation!"

"Stolen, huh? Well, I'm glad I have a plan B in case we couldn't locate or use what's inside the Borealis."

"So, on our way here, I told her about the 'better way'. Let's show her!" Sweetie Belle said, bouncing in excitement.

"Alright, Sweetie Belle. In a minute! I'm just waiting for Rainbow Dash to arrive."

Something on the corner of Applejack's eyes caught her attention. She turned her head and noticed a few screens showing the images of cameras near the surroundings of the laboratory. Her eyes widened when she saw a familiar pony in one of them, looking at the camera. Almost as if he was looking directly at her.

"It's him!" Applejack turned around to see if her friends heard her. "It's him! The stallion from Aperture!"

Twilight and Sweetie Belle approached the screen.

"Who?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"It's--" Applejack turned around again and looked at the screen again; there was nopony there. "He... He was there, Ah swear!"

Another thing caught their attentions; the door opening again and Rainbow Dash walking in. She was still wearing the Civil Protection uniform, but without the mask.

"Is she here?" the pegasus mare asked. "Oh, there you are, Applejack. Couldn't you at least try to be a little sneaky? Half of the CP radio frequencies are talking about you."

"Sorry 'bout that, Rainbow."

"It's ok. What matters now is that you're safe and back with us."

"Since we're not in a dangerous place anymore, Ah want to ask a few questions."

"Go on!" Twilight said, magically pulling four chairs; they sat in a square formation.

"First, where are the others? Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie."

"Rarity is at New Ponyville; it's the name we gave the abandoned facility we reformed and are now using as one of the main bases of our operations." Sweetie Belle explained.

"We sent Fluttershy to New Appleloosa, since it's both a safe (let's agree that Fluttershy can do many things, but fight a war is not one of them) and strategically well located." Rainbow Dash said.

"Strategically well located?" Applejack asked, tilting her head. "Sorry if Ah'm askin' too many things or that sound too stupid, but Ah just arrived, Ah need to know."

"It's ok, AJ! Well, New Appleloosa is a small coastal city located not too far away from New Canterlot, which makes it a perfect for spying on what's going on there."

"What's New Canterlot and why there are so many 'News' 'round here?"

"New Canterlot used to be a prison to where Celestia sent us Rebels." Sweetie Belle said. "It's something much worse now. And about the 'News'... Well, not many cities were left after the Seven Hour War."

"What about Ponyville? Did it fell too?"

"No, Ponyville stood. For a while." Twilight said, looking down. "And that leads to what happened to Pinkie Pie."

"Is... Is she...?"

"We're not sure." Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Ponyville was bombarded with Headcrab Shells. We left in a hurry. Many didn't make it. When we checked the survivors, Pinkie was not among them."

Applejack took a deep breath to calm herself. Those were hard news, but compared to what they've been through, she had been in a summer trip. She had no right to cry!

"Any more questions?" Twilight asked. Applejack simply shook her head. "Good. Follow me!"

Twilight walked toward a gate, but it was soon stopped by Rainbow Dash.

"Wait a second, Egghead. I guess we should give her the Suit BEFORE sending her to Rarity's!"

"Oh, I almost forgot! Silly me. I'll give you the honor!"

Rainbow Dash saluted her and flew toward a metal door, followed by Applejack.

"You're gonna love this, AJ!"

But as soon as she opened the door, a big spider-like creature jumped on her face. She screamed!

"Rainbow Dash is bein' attacked!" Applejack shouted.

Rainbow Dash grabbed the creature with her forelegs and threw it on the ground. Applejack stood on her hind legs, about to stomp on the vile creature, but Twilight froze her with her magic.

"NO!" the unicorn said. "Don't hurt Owlowiscious!"

"Owlowiscious? My mind may be a little confused, but Ah remember Owlowiscious bein' an owl not a... What's that, anyway?"

"That's a Headcrab." explained Sweetie Belle while petting Owlowiscious. "One of the creatures that invaded our planet. But don't be deceived, Owlowiscious is one of his kind; Twilight trained him and removed his parts used for biting pony heads and controlling their bodies."

"The worst he can do is try to... Couple with your head." said Twilight. "Fruitlessly!"

Owlowiscious jumped on top of Twilight's head, snuggling. She giggled.

"Still gives me the shivers." Rainbow Dash said as she returned to the small room and turned the lights on. In the middle of the room was standing an orange and black suit that looked more like an armor. Applejack wasted no time and wore it. A little tricky, since she had to dismount the parts and wear them individually, but soon she was done.

"Ah feel... Different, but still the same. Does that make sense? What's that, anyway?"

"This, Applejack, is the Hazardous Evirontment Suit, or HEV Suit." explained Twilight. "It's like a second skin, it will protect you from a certain amount of damage and it comes with a Geiger counter! It has a lantern located on the chest panel and--"

"Hurry up, Egghead!" interrupted Rainbow Dash. "I can hear the sirens!"

"Oh, yes, right. Follow me, Applejack!"

They walked toward the gate again. Twilight inserted her horn in a hole on the panel next to it and the gate opened.

"Are you sure this is gonna work this time?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Because that image of Opal is still fresh in my mind."

"What? Opal?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh, forget about that, Sweetie Belle." Twilight said, pushing her toward the big machine in the center of the room. Sweetie Belle entered it, but still with a raised eyebrow. Twilight closed the door.

"But seriously, what happened with Opal in this machine?" her muffled voice asked from within the machine.

"What in tarnation is that?" Applejack asked.

"This is a Megaport Chamber." the unicorn explained. "It multiplies the power of a teleport spell in hundreds of times. I could send Sweetie Belle to the other side of the world without breaking a sweat."

"But for now, let's just stick to sending me to my sister's lab."

"Yes, right."

Twilight pressed a button on a panel and a screen lit up, revealing Rarity's face. Her face was missing all the usual makeup, but she was still as pretty as always.

"Rarity?" Twilight called. Rarity finally noticed the other unicorn and smiled.

"Oh, darling!" the white unicorn said. "It's good to see you! Loved the new hat!"

Twilight chuckled and levitated Owlowiscious, placing him on the floor. "You know who else is good to see?"

Twilight stepped out of the way, revealing the orange coated Earth Pony with a blond mane. She waved her hoof.

"Howdy, Rarity!"

"Applejack!" Rarity nearly screamed. "Oh my stars, I can't believe it's really you. We all thought you were dead! Well, except for the Apples, they always had the feeling that--"

"Yes, let's leave the reunion for later, Rare!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "But we're kind of running out of time here. And I need to get back to my shift as soon as I can!"

"Rainbow Dash is right. I'll send your sister first and Applejack right after her!"

"Gotcha! Our end of the Megaport Chamber is running and ready to go!"

"Rarity, when I get here, I want you to explain everything about Opal and this machine." Sweetie shouted. The white unicorn mare gave her a crooked smile.

"Get ready, Sweetie Belle." Twilight announced before inserting her horn in a hole on the machine. In just a few seconds, Sweetie Belle was gone in a flash of purple light.

"Did it worked?" she asked, removing her horn from the machine.

"See for yourself, darling!"

Rarity took a few steps away, giving room for Sweetie Belle to appear, smile and wave her hoof.

"Hi, Twi! Hi, RD! Hi, AJ!"

"Whoa, what a relief!" Twilight said.

"Congrats, Egghead!" praised Rainbow. "You managed to send her in one piece."

"And Applejack is next."

The former-farmmare opened the door and entered the machine. Rainbow Dash saluted her.

"If you get there in one piece too, you don't need to worry about that cider anymore."

"Uh... Twi?" Applejack called. "Ah'm not sure if Ah want to go anymore. Rainbow wouldn't pass a chance of free cider like that!"

"Just ignore her and you'll be fine!" Twilight inserted her horn in the machine, but just when she started to charge it with magic Owlowiscious jumped on her head, breaking her concentration. After a show of lights, Applejack opened her eyes and found herself staring at none other than Princess Celestia herself. She was sitting at a table, reading documents. She then noticed the intruder in her office.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked. "WHo are you and how did you get in--" she gasped. "Apple--"

Before the ditactor could finish her sentence, the scenario around her changed again: now she was facing Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Princess Luna.

"What's happening, Luna?" Rarity asked.

"I'm not sure." the former ruler said, turning her attention to the screens next to her. "It seems to be some kind of interference."

Another change of scenario; she was now staring back at Twilight and Dash, but this time from another angle. Twilight was lying on the floor, panting, and Rainbow Dash was holding her head with her forelegs. Owlowiscious slowly approached them.

"GET AWAY!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "You caused enough trouble already."

"Where... Where is Applejack?" Twilight asked, her voice sounding really weak.

"Behind you." Rarity said, looking at Applejack from the screen.

Rainbow Dash turned her head toward the window Applejack was stading behind. She quickly turned off the main switch of the Megaport Chamber, making the purple glow around . "How did you got-- Nevermind! Follow down the path, I'll meet you at the gate."

Applejack nodded and climbed down some stairs and followed the dirt path that led to a broken and boarded small gate. She heard the sound of a door being opened and looked around; Rainbow Dash was standing on the other side of a fence.

"There you are, you gave us such as scare. Get out of City 17 as fast as you can, the Citadel is at full alert. Go through the sewers, it's a pretty straight path from here to Rare's. It's pretty dangerous, but it's our only plan B! I'd come with you, but Twilight's condition is pretty serious and she needs me right now." Applejack nodded and walked toward the boarded gate. "Oh! Wait, wait, wait. Before I forget!" Rainbow Dash quickly flew inside the bulding and came back with a small cardboard box. "You dropped this back in Ponyville!" she threw the box over the fence and Applejack grabbed it.

Applejack opened the box and smiled; her old Stetson was in there. And in good conditions too! She placed it on her head. "Thanks, RD!"

"You're welcome. Be careful and good luck; you'll need it!"

Part 1: Chapter 03

Applejack proceeded through the almost dry canals Sweetie Belle told her about, until she reached a part blocked by wreckage of a fallen bridge, and the only other way was back or through a nearby building; she chose the obvious answer. The moment she opened the door, Applejack heard a mare shouting:

"Leave us in peace! We did nothing wrong!"

She pressed herself against the wall and peeked at the corner. She saw a brown pegasus stallion fainted on the floor and two CP unicorns cornering a white unicorn mare, each levitating a baton glowing with electricity.

"Help!!" she shouted.

The CPs levitated their batons and were about to hit the mare, when a couple of orange hindlegs threw the armored ponies against a wall.

"Whooooweee!" Applejack cheered. "Looks like Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee aren't as rusty as I thought they were!"

"Th-Th-Thank you..." the mare said, crawling toward the fainted stallion. "But you need to get out of here. They will be after you now!"

Applejack nodded, then noticed the metal gadget lying on the floor near the CPs. She picked it up with her teeth.

"What's this?" she asked.

"You really don't know?" the mare asked. "This is a pistol, CPs use it to hurt and kill ponies! You can use it against them."

Applejack dropped the weapon. "Bu-But I don't want to kill anypony!"

"They aren't ponies, they lost their equinity long ago. Inside those uniforms there are only carcasses. It's either kill or be killed now!"

Applejack sighed. "And how do you use it?"

The mare levitated the pistol close to Applejack's face. "See this small lever here? It's called 'trigger'. You pull it and BANG!" she pointed the pistol at the wall and pulled the trigger. A small magical projectile got out of the pistol and opened a small hole on the wall. "Those new models have magical ammunition, so you don't need to worry about having to reload!" she offered the weapon back to Applejack, who grabbed it with her teeth. There was a support conveniently located on the left foreleg of the HEV Suit, which the gun could fit perfectly. She placed the pistol on it.

"Will ya be alright?" she asked.

The mare levitated another pistol from the belt of the other CP. "I know how to shoot a gun, I'll be ok!"

Applejack nodded and went upstairs. When she reached the roof of the building, there was nowhere to run; that's it, until a train stopped right beside it. She smiled and jumped on it, proceeding then to the other side of the gap where the trail was located. CPs blocked the path she was following, and they started shooting at her. The Suit was too powerful for the magical projectiles to penetrate it, but she still received some impact damage. There was nowhere to run, so she crawled through a pipe that lead her back to the sewers. When she left the pipe, she was in a chamber with a fire in the middle of it. Near it there was a blue earth pony stallion and a weird creature: its body was ponylike, but it had no fur, only a green, wrinkly skin. There was a big, red eye in the middle of its face with a smaller one on its forehead. Four pointy teeth were coming out of its mouth and there was some kind of skin tube on each cheek. An extra limb with two claws was coming out of its chest. There were no Cutie Marks on its flanks. She simply froze, not daring to move.

"Hey, are you Applejack?" the stallion asked. She nodded. "Good. We were expecting you to come through here!"

"We must not delay the Apple Mare." the creature said with a raspy voice. "She is a vital part of the project and must arrive in New Ponyville as soon as possible."

"Pardon me, but..." she said. "Who... WHAT are you?"

"He is a Vortigaunt." the stallion said, wrapping a foreleg around him/it. "They appeared here years ago, during the incident. I don't know about the details, since I was a foal when everything happened, but I know that they learned how to speak our language and our species formed an alliance against the Combine!"

"Oh, right. So, yer good guys too?"

"This statement is correct." he/it said. "Now you must go, your quest has just begun, Apple Mare."

The stallion walked toward a boarded tunnel and bucked the wooden planks, shattering them. "Follow this path, it will take you to Station 12. My friends there can help you more than we can. Good luck, Applejack!"

"Be safe, you two!" she said before dashing through the tunnel.

After a few minutes of walking in the sewers, Applejack reached another chamber, this one with provisions, a few simple furniture and a radio.

"Station 12, can you hear me?" came a female voice from the radio. "Station 12, do you read?"

"Uh, howdy?" Applejack said to the microphone near the radio.

"Oh, good, somepony is still alive! Evacuate immediately, we have confirmed reports of Manhacks! Repeat, they are filling the underground with Manhacks!"

"And what the hay are Manhacks?"

"You... Are a member of the Resistance, right?"

"Ah guess so. On mah way to New Ponyville!"

"Wait! That accent... Are-Are you Applejack?"

"Darn tootin'!"

"Oh, my! I'm so sorry, miss Applejack! Doctor Rarity told us about you and asked us to help you in any way that we can."

"Doctor* Rarity?"* Applejack thought. "It's ok."

"How can we help you?"

"Well, y'all could tell me how to go to New Ponyville!"

"Oh, right. Just follow the canals, you will reach us in less than an hour. Once you arrive, I will send you straight to New Ponyville through a shortcut! But I warn you, it's not an easy route."

"I get ya. Ah'm on mah way! Over!"

"Be careful."

"Ah will!"

Applejack followed the pipes and returned to the canals, except that those ones were flooded.

"Hope this suit isn't too heavy!" she thought, then jumped in the water. As she hoped, the suit wasn't heavy. In fact, it was even more helpful in the water, since a magical bubble appeared around her head, allowing her to breath underwater. Suddenly a message appeared on the magical bubble, right in front of her eyes.

OXYGEN LEVELS: 90%

The message suddenly changed.

OXYGEN LEVELS: 80%

Then it changed again.

OXYGEN LEVELS: 70%

The percentage continued to drop, until it reached 10%. She took a deep breath and held it. When the oxygen levels reached 0%, the bubble popped, allowing the water to touch her face and mane.

When she surfaced and took a deep breath, another message appeared in front of her face, this time floating in the middle of the air:

FILLING OXYGEN TANKS

Then it disappeared. Assuming this meant that the tanks were once again full, she dived.

OXYGEN LEVELS: 40%

"Guess they weren't full yet, but I think that's good enough." she thought. Upon reaching the other side of the canals, she was ambushed by three unicorn CPs, all of them pointing their guns at her.

"It's either kill or be killed now!" the voice of the unicorn mare from before echoed in her head. She grabbed the pistol with her teeth and pointed it at the one in the middle. She pondered if she should shoot or not, but it took her less than a second to decide:

"I need to see my family!" she thought, then pulled the trigger with her tongue. The recoil of the pistol knocked Applejack a few steps backward, but she managed to stand on her four hooves. The projectile penetrated the CP's mask and traspassed its skull. A loud and long beep could be heard and soon faded, indicating that no life signs could be detected coming from the host of the uniform.

The two other CPs completely ignored that and started shooting at the eart pony mare. Fortunately they weren't aiming for her head and the shots either missed or hit her suit. She shot back and soon the CPs fell, dead.

"Ah don't feel good about it..." she said, placing the pistol back in the support and again started running.

She heard a loud sound coming from the sky and looked up; there was a big metal thing with propellers spinning at a high speed flying toward her. Inside it, there was a CP pointing a very big gun at her.

The first thing that came to her mind was "WHAT IN TARNATION IS THAT?" and the second was "RUN, APPLEJACK! RUN!"

She ran as fast as she could, the CP inside the "flying carriage" shooting at her. She finally found a shelter: another pipe. She jumped in there; it was a safe place, since the bullets couldn't reach where she was hiding. Crawling through the pipe, she ended up in another canal, this one completely dry and filled with wreckage. She heard gunshots!

"Headcrabs!!" shouted a stallion. Applejack ran as fast as she could. She remembered Sweetie Belle saying they were dangerous. Upon arriving where the stallion was, she saw the bodies of two creatures that looked exactly like Owlowiscious and an unicorn stallion levitating a weapon very different from the pistol, it was bigger and it had a hoof support; apparently it was too big and heavy to be held with a mouth.

"Hey, you're Applejack, right?" asked the stallion. "We were waiting for you. Welcome to Station 6! Skyla is waiting for you at the port. Grab a weapon and--"

"Incoming!" shouted a mare from not too far away from there.

"They're shelling us!" shouted another stallion.

Suddenly they heard an impact and the ground shook lightly. A cloud of dust rose.

"Shit! More of them!" the stallion said and ran toward the cloud of dust.

Applejack looked at the weapon that looked exactly like the one the stallionwas firing lying on top of a crate. It was labelled "SMG". She lifted it, but it was too heavy to hold it with a single hoof; she needed two hooves to hold it. She tried standing on her rear legs and after finally balancing herself, she held the gun with both forehooves. Since there were no supports for this weapon on her suit, she balanced it on her back and followed the other stallion, only to find him lying on the ground with a headcrab attached to his head. She kicked it away from the stallion, but it was too late and he was already dead. She then was surrounded by headcrabs, who were coming out of a small, black rocket, probably one of the Headcrab Shells her friends told her about and the same thing that made the ground shake a few moments ago.

She balanced herself on her hindlegs, pointed the SMG at the headcrabs and pulled the trigger. One by one they fell to the ground. One jumped at her, but she manage to dodge.

"They only aim for one place, and it's the only part of mah body that is not protected." she said, shooting the headcrab dead. "Ah need a helmet!" after the last headcrab was dead, she noticed her Geiger counter had started to click. She then noticed she was standing on a wooden platform above a green, slimy liquid that spread all over the area, save for a few "islands" and more platforms. "Ah'm not touchin' that!"

More impacts: three Headcrab Shells fell on the area.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap!" Applejack said as she tried to run on her hindlegs toward the port while shooting the new headcrabs while avoiding the toxic water. She then finally managed to reach the port. There she found a cyan pegasus mare with a red mane. Her Cutie Mark was a blue wing. She was filling an airboat with fuel.

"Oh, you made it!" she said, placing the fuel tank on the floor. "I was wondering when you would show up. Hurry, we don't have much time! Follow the river and you will be in New Ponyville in no time. Look out for the Civil Protection, they probably know you're going through that way."

Applejack nodded, dropped the SMG in the airboat and climbed on it.

"And before I forget, I received a transmission from Station 7 a few minutes ago. They want you to stop by there, they have information they'd like to share with you. They are in the big, red barn a less than a mile from here. Don't worry, you won't need to get out of your path from here to New Ponyville, it's just a quick stop.

"I get ya!"

"Good luck out there, Applejack.'

"So many ponies wished me luck already that Ah must be luckiest than a pony with a whole bouquet of four-leaf clovers."

Skyla giggled as she turned the handwheel, lowering the gates.

"And don't worry about the poisonous water, it's only like this around here! They can't afford to poison the whole canal, they need water too."

"Ok! Well, time to leave. You watch out for those nasty headcrabs! They're fallin' from the sky, literally."

"Yes, I already know. I'll be taking shelter in the base, wait for the Overwatch to assume everypony here is already dead and stop shelling us!"

Applejack nodded and accelerated the airboat, leaving Station 6. Next stop, Station 7!

Part 1: Chapter 04

Applejack stopped in the port right under the red barn Skyla mentioned, but something seemed strange about it.

"It's too quiet..." Applejack thought.

She cautiously left the airboat and climbed the ladder that led to Station 7. Upon arriving there, she saw what was wrong: there was a Headcrab Shell in there and three corpses on the ground, two of them with a headcrab attached to their heads.

"Station 7, come in." Applejack looked at the radio where Skyla's voice was coming from. "I already sent Applejack to you, she will be arriving any minute now. Station 7, do you read?" She ran toward it.

"Skyla, it's me!"

"Oh, Applejack! Thank goodness, you made it safely. What happened, why isn't anypony answering me?"

"They're... They're dead!"

"Dead?!"

"A Shell hit the place. Headcrabs got two o' them. The other must've died when the Shell hit the buildin'!"

"Oh, goodness... Dead... This... This can't be happening!" there was a brief moment of silence, then Skyla said again: "Wait, you said that the Headcrabs got two of them, right?"

"Yup!"

"Did you killed them?"

"What?"

Applejack heard a groan coming from behind her. She slowly turned around and saw the two ponies with headcrabs on their heads getting up, while groaning and moaning.

"Your answer is 'no'. No, Ah didn't killed 'em!" She grabbed her pistol and pointed at the headcrab on the head of one of the ponies and shot a few times and soon it dropped dead. The other "zombie" threw a nearby barrel at Applejack. She managed to dodge it, but it hit the microphone of the radio, smashing it.

"Applejack!" Skyla called. "Applejack, are you ok?"

The former farm pony shot the other headcrab zombie and grabbed the broken microphone. "Skyla, can ya hear me?"

"Please, answer me, Applejack! Are you ok?"

"Ah'm ok! Ya hear me? Ah'm ok! Skyla?"

"Please be ok, please be ok, please be ok..." Applejack heard the faint sound similar to the one of flying carriage from before coming from the radio. "Shit! Applejack, if you're ok and you can hear me, run! There's a Chopper going after you! Run!"

Applejack dropped the broken microphone on the ground and ran back to the airboat. "Sorry for leaving ya worried, Skyla, but Ah can't come back now! Ah'll send ya word when Ah arrive in New Ponyville!" she then accelerated the airboat.

The Chopper Skyla was talking about surpassed Applejack; it was indeed the same thing from before. Apparently it didn't noticed her, because it didn't stopped or started shooting at her.

Right after the Chopper was another flying machine, but this one was different, almost like a living creature. One of the Sylphs Sweetie Belle told her about, maybe? But this one didn't disappeared in the horizon like the Chopper; it landed not too far away from her and the container it was carrying opened; several CPs got out of it.

"Oh, horseapples!"

Applejack accelerated as much as the vehicle could, lowering her head to give the CPs less chance to hit her only unprotected area. After avoiding many bullets, dodging piles of wreckage and taking dangerous turns, she came across a closed floodgate.

"Oh, for the love of Luna..." she looked around and saw one single building connected to the floodgate. "Well, Ah don't have many choices here!"

She parked near the bulding and climbed the ladder leading to it. When she opened the door, she was greeted with two things: the first was bullets from three CPs and the second was Celestia's face in a big screen. Apparently she couldn't see Applejack, because even after she stepped in, she kept talking, probably to many:

"We now have direct confirmation of a disruptor in our midst, one who has acquired an almost messianic reputation in the minds of certain citizens. "

"Wow, do they really consider me that much?" Applejack thought while shooting back at the CPs.

"Her figure is synonymous with the darkest urges of instinct, ignorance and decay. Some of the worst excesses of the Old Canterlot Incident have been laid directly at her feet."

"Hey, Ah take offense to that!" she yelled at the screen. After killing the CPs she approached the screen, curious to listen to what her former ruler had to say about her.

"And yet unsophisticated minds continue to imbue her with romantic power, giving her such dangerous poetic labels as the One Free Apple, the Mare of Freedom. Let me remind all citizens of the dangers of deification. We have scarcely begun to climb from the dark pit of our species' evolution. Let us not slide backward into oblivion, just as we have finally begun to see the light. If you see this so-called 'Free Apple', report her. Civic deeds do not go unrewarded. And contrariwise, complicity with his cause will not go unpunished. Be wise. Be safe. Be aware."

The image faded to black. Applejack sighed. "Good, now Ah have a bounty on mah head! Well, screw ya too, Celestia!" she grabbed her SMG and resumed her quest for the handwheel that would open her way.

After passing (and killing) through a couple more of guards, she found it. With some effort, she managed to turn the handwheel and open the floodgate.

"Now, back to--" an alarm rang. "Oh, ponyfeathers! What now?"

She ran as fast as she could, but the place was already overrun by CPs.

"Ah can't fight that many!" she thought, then looked around for another route. That's when she saw a footlocker labelled "explosives". She grinned!

"Any signs of her?" one of the CPs asked the other.

"Negative!" was the answer.

"Hey! Masked dude!" Applejack called. All the CPs pointed their guns at her. "Fetch!"

A small metal cylinder with a red light flew toward her and landed gracefullly in the middle of them. Applejack took cover.

"Grenade!" one of the CPs shouted, but it was too late and it exploded.

"Those are pretty useful. Ah'll take some!" Applejack said, wrapping a belt with five grenades around her waist. She then went back to the airboat, this time reaching it. She accelerated and went through the now open gates. There were many more CPs shooting at her now, and even two tanks on a bridge shooting rockets at her, one missing her for mere inches!

"Y'all give me a break, already!!" she shouted, but they ignored her, never stopping their offensive. The explosions of the rockets were causing waves on the calm river, making the airboat harder to keep steady. Finally she managed to get out of their shooting range, but that didn't meant she was safe. She heard the sound of propellers; the Chopper was back.

"Well, if it isn't mah ol' friend!"

The flying machine was shooting at her and dropping explosives on her, but now that she was swimming in calmer waters, it was easier to handle the airboat. After dodging a few strikes she took shelter in a tunnel. There, she stopped the airboat near a patch of dirt, got out of it, sat on the ground and took a deep breath.

"This is way harder than Ah thought it was goin' to be..."

She noticed a crate near her. She would have ignored it, wasn't for the three apples drawn on it. She carefully opened it and found in there the thing she wanted the most, but that she less expected: an apple. A red, round, firm and juicy apple. Her stomach growled in hunger and excitement. She failed to notice the hourglass drawn in the bottom of the wooden box.

After a few more minutes catching her breath and enjoying the only food she had in a good while, she returned to the airboat and accelerated it.

"Ready for round two?!" she shouted as she saw the Chopper hovering on the sky, waiting for her to leave the tunnel. Apparently the CP controlling the Chopper was, for it started dropping explosives as soon as Applejack was spotted.

Applejack crossed a good portion of the rivers crossing City 17, going through plants, abandoned factories, empty ships, warehouses and even a couple of ghost towns, all while being chased by the chopper.

Everything was going just fine, until Applejack failed to notice an explosive right in front of her. The explosion sent both her and the airboat flying and she hit the ground. Hard. It didn't took long for her to lose her senses.

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she expected to be either on the same place she fell on or ir prison, but she was actually in a comfortable bed.

"She's waking up!" said a mare.

"Oh, finally! Is she ok?" asked a stallion.

"I guess so. I mean, she opened her eyes!"

"Where... Where am Ah?" she asked, getting up with a terrible pain on the side of her head. The ground was harder than she thought.

"Station 9!" the unicorn stallion said. "But soon it will be just another empty hole in the riverside. We're pulling out! It's too dangerous."

"The airboat. Is it ok?"

"Yes, don't worry about it. The Vortigaunt is working on... A few things!" the unicorn mare said, helping Applejack to stand. "Can you walk?"

"Ah... Ah guess so!"

"Bring her here, Snowfall." the stallion said.

Snowfall nodded and, even with Applejack insisting in telling her that she could walk just fine, she kept Applejack's hoof wrapped around her neck, helping her walk.

"Here, take a look at this." the stallion said, standing near a map of the southeast of City 17, where they currently were. He pointed at an specific area on it, which had a red circle around it. "This here is the dam, it's just up ahead!" he then pointed at another area on the map, which had a tack on it. "And this here is New Ponyville, Rarity's hideout. It's practically just around the corner, but it's next to impossible to arrive there with that Chopper on your tail. Besides, we wouldn't want you to take the enemy straight to one of the main bases of the Resistance. Good news is, the Vortigaunt is working his magic on your airboat, so you'll have a little more firepower going forward. And I think he is nearly done. Go on, now!"

Applejack nodded and left the room. Her airboat was right outside, practically unscratched, but with a new feature: a mounted gun.

"Greetings to the One Free Apple." the Vortigaunt said with his raspy voice, apparently a characteristic of the species.

"There we are!" the stallion said. "That gun came from the same kind of Hunter-Chopper you're up against, so it will do a hay of a damage to the flying bastard. Take that Chopper down and you should be able to go to New Ponyville safe and sound!"

"The One Free Apple will accept this weapon, or suffer greatly on the road ahead!" the Vortigaunt said.

"Yes, what he said!" Snowfall agreed. "Now go, miss Applejack. Your friends and family are waiting for you!"

"Alright!" Applejack said, jumping on the airboat. "Thank y'all for savin' mah life. Hope Ah see y'all again soon!"

"No, we're the one to say 'thank you', Applejack." the stallion said. "The Vortigaunts predicted that you will play a major role in saving us all."

Applejack chuckled. "Ah didn't know Ah was that important!"

She tightened her grip on the handles of the airboat. Snowfall lowered the gates and and she accelerated it.

"Farewell, miss Applejack!" Snowfall shouted, waving her hoof.

"For freedom!" shouted the Vortigaunt.

"Show 'em what we're really made of!" shouted the pegasus stallion.

"Don't worry, you guys." Applejack thought. "I won't let you down!"

When she left the tunnel, the first thing she saw was the Chopper, waiting for her again.

After sailing through the hazardous waters near yet another abandoned factory, full of CPs and headcrab zombies, she arrived at the dam. Upon arriving there, she met once again her oldest nemesis, the Chopper.

"An' we meet again, big boy!" she said, aiming her mounted gun. "But this time is the last. Say goodbye!"

Applejack shot the Chopper as it shot back while dropping bombs, which she skillfully dodged this time, not missing a single one. After a couple of minutes shooting at each other, Applejack shot a vital piece of the Chopper, making several parts of it explode and its propellers to fly each in a different direction.

"How d'ya like them apples?!" she shouted.

But her moment of glee didn't last long, for the destroyed Chopper was now falling toward her. Applejack's eyes widened. She turned the airboat around and accelerated, but she didn't go far before the dead Chopper hit the water, causing a wave. It wasn't a very big one, but it was big enough to make Applejack lose control of the airboat and go through one of the open gates of the dam, falling down the damn waterfall of the damn dam.

Part 1: Chapter 05

Applejack surfaced, gasping for air, since she was forced to rely on her lungs after breathing all the oxygen stored in the tanks of her Hazard Suit. She looked around, but her airboat was nowhere to be found.

"Dagnabit..." she muttered before swimming toward an abandoned factory nearby. "Now how am Ah gonna get to New Ponyville? Guess Ah could swim all the way there, but the CPs would easily spot me, and Ah can't swim fast enough to escape!" she looked around one more time and noticed an open gate. "Well, who knows? Ah might find some supplies in there, maybe a radio..."

She walked toward the open gate, which closed behind her right after that, almost holding her tail in the process. There was another closed gate in front of her, so she turned around and proceeded to knock on the big metal door. "Hey, this ain't funny! Open the gate!"

"We've got something in the airlock." said a female and familiar voice coming from speakers. Suddenly two cameras came down from the ceiling, pointing at her. "Oh, it's a pony. Hello?"

"Howdy!" Applejack said, waving at the camera. "Please, let me out of here!"

"Don't worry, you're safe here." the voice said. A metal shield was lowered, revealing a window. Behind that window was a dark blue winged unicorn with a flowing mane looking at her. Applejack couldn't keep her jaw in place. "Please, forgive us for locking you like that, but we can't take any chances." the former co-ruler of Equestria said, apparently not recognizing the mare she was looking at. But then she blinked a couple of times. "Fair Applejack? Is... Is that really you? You have no idea how relieved we are now that you're here!"

"Prin-- Ah mean, Luna! Ah'm really in New Ponyville already? Well, those are good news, considerin' Ah just lost the airboat. Sorry 'bout that!"

"Fret not, fair Applejack. You're here, safe and sound and, for now, it's all that matters." she pressed a button on a panel Applejack couldn't see from her position and the second gate opened. "Welcome to New Ponyville!"

Applejack walked with caution, fearing this time the door would not fail in grabbing her tail. A few seconds after that, Luna joined her. She was a little taller than she remembered.

"Please, come with me! Dr. Rarity would be upset if I kept you waiting."

Applejack nodded and silently followed former Princess Luna down a corridor that led to an elevator. Once they were in the elevator, it started to go down. It was a very slow one, so it took around a minute to go to the wanted floor.

When the doors opened, Applejack was tackle-hugged by a white unicorn mare with curly, purple mane.

"Applejack, darling!" she said, nuzzling the earth pony. "We missed you sooooo much! And look at you, you haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you! The years weren't as gentle with me." she said, chuckling while caressing the few, but noticeable wrinkles under her eyes.

"Howdy, Rarity. It's good to see ya again!"

"Last time we saw you was when we sent you to the Aperture Laboratories to find something to help us fight the Combine. I never tought it would take this long for you to get back to us!"

"Sorry 'bout that, I ran into some... Complications!"

"Oh, you have to tell what sort of experiences you had in there once we have some free time."

"You bet Ah will!"

"Welcome to New Ponyville, anyway. Not as big or cozy as the old one, but it's one of the few places we can still call 'home' during these terrible times."

Applejack got up and helped her old friend up. The three ponies got out of the elevator and into the room where Rarity came from. It wasn't a very big one, but almost every inch of it was covered with machines or wires.

"Ah see you changed your line of work."

Rarity chuckled before levitating a small gadget and connecting it to a big machine. "Yes, we need to adapt. And since only unicorns can operate those machines with ease, most of us "turned into scientists". I didn't knew much when I started, but practice makes perfect, right? Since when ponies started calling me Doctor Rarity, even though I never went to college."

A door opened and Sweetie Belle walked in. "Applejack, you're already here? How did you managed to get here so fast? Even Spike and I aren't that fast!"

"Spike? Oh, so the lil' fella is here too? That's good, Ah was kind of gettin' worried, since Ah haven't heard news about him since Ah arrived!" Rarity and Sweetie Belle exchanged worried glances. Applejack noticed that. "Why are y'all lookin' at each other like that? Did somethin' happened to the lil' guy?"

"We... We'll explain that in due time." Rarity said. "But first, Sweetie Belle, can you take Applejack and show her the Gravity Gun? I'm pretty sure it will be very useful information."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Let's go have some fun, Applejack."

"Be careful with the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, young Belle." Luna said. "It is not a toy, therefore it shouldn't be treated like one!"

"Alright, alright, I got it! I'm sorry, Luna." Sweetie Belle said, frowning and sighing. "Let's go, Applejack."

Sweetie Belle left the room, soon followed by Applejack.

"Ya don't seem to have the best fo relationships with Prin-- Luna." Applejack said.

"It's just..." she sighed again. "I was still a small filly when the Combine invaded, so I never had the chance of living my foalhood properly. All the foals were forced to mature before time. I just want to do as a mare the only thing I haven't had the chance to do during my last years as a filly: have fun! But when Luna is nearby, fun is not allowed! 'You're a grown mare so, please, act like one' she always says."

"Ah understand!" Applejack said. "Mah folks died when Ah was really young, so Ah had to start working on the farm very early. Never had the chance of going to town to meet ponies of mah age and have an afternoon of fun! This is why Ah always gave Apple Bloom the smaller chores, so she could be what Ah never was: a true foal."

Sweetie Belle smiled. "You're a good pony, Applejack."

"Thanks, Sweetie Belle!"

Applejack heard a distant moan coming from the tunnel to their right. She stopped and looked at it.

"What in tarnation was that?"

"Don't think about it." Sweetie Belle said, not stopping like Applejack did. "That's the old passage to Old Ponyville. We don't go there anymore!"

After a minute or so of walking through the hallways of New Ponyville, Applejack and Sweetie Belle arrived in a room full of... Trash! She looked up and noticed that this area had no ceiling. It was already getting dark, but there were no stars on the sky yet.

"Question!" Applejack said. "Is Luna still in charge of moving the moon?"

"Unfortunately, no. And fortunately, neither is Celestia. The Combine created some sort of machine that makes the sun and the moon move on their own around the world."

Applejack just nodded, still looking at the dark sky. Suddenly some sort of metal glove with a peculiar orange glow floated in front of her eyes.

"This is the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, but most of us call it just Gravity Gun. It was designed by my big sis, it allows earth ponies and pegasi to do a very limited amount of magic only unicorns can perform!"

"Really? That's a very convenient equipment." Applejack said, sticking her right foreleg in it. "It fits me... Like a glove!" to Applejack's relief, Sweetie Belle giggled at her terrible joke.

"Anyway, it allows you to perform two kinds of magic: levitation and a not very powerful magic beam. But you can combine both and use the Gravity Gun as a powerful projectile thrower!"

"Ah'll keep that in mind."

"Now pick up some stuff and toss it! You need to practice if you want to master it."

Applejack pointed the Gravity Gun at a nearby crate. The glow of the magic glove got a little brighter and the same orange glow enveloped the crate, which got off the ground.

"Impressive!" Sweetie Belle said, looking at the floating wooden box. "You did it on your first try! Even the pony who handles it more easily took a few days before levitating it a single inch.

"And who is the pony who handles it more easily?"

"Apple Bloom!"

The crate fell to the ground the moment Applejack heard that name. "A-Ah almost forgot mah family is here! Where are they? Please, take me to them!"

"Of course, I'll--" she stopped talking when the ground started shaking lightly. Sweetie Belle smiled. "Here he comes!"

"Who's comin'?"

In the distance, Applejack could see a large metal creature approaching. It was a large, purple and green robot pony with the metal forelegs much bigger than the hind ones. It had a dark sphere on its chest area and the head looked like a flower with three metallic petals with a big green "eye" in the middle "Paint it yellow and it's exactly like... Her eye!" Applejack thought, remembering her time spent in the Aperture Laboratories.

"Applejack, do you remember our old buddy, Spike?"

"That's Spike?!" she shouted, surprised.

"Yup!" she looked at the dark sphere in his chest with a concerned smile, then pressed a button near it. The dark sphere turned around, revealing a small baby dragon curled up inside it, floating in a green liquid. She proceeded to pet the glass ball.

"What... What happened to him?"

"The Combine recognized dragons as a threat, so they released some sort of gas in the atmosphere. It's harmless to most of the creatures but, to dragons, it's a powerful poison. It can kill even the biggest one in a matter of minutes. We were all desperate when he started to cough blood. Twilight put him into induced comatose inside this sphere, then Rarity and her built this robot that can be controlled by his brain." she hugged the glass sphere and pressed the button again, hiding the baby dragon once again. "Don't worry, pal." she whispered nuzzling and rubbing the dark side of the sphere. "Soon we'll be able to get you out of there."

Spike looked up and a whimper came from deep within the machine.

"What's wrong, Spike?" she looked up too and gasped. "Dropships! We've been discovered!"

"Luna damn it!" Applejack cursed. "Did they followed me?"

"I don't know, but we need to get back to laboratory!"

Sweetie Belle and Applejack returned to the gate and into the airlock, Spike right behind them. Sweetie Belle pressed a few buttons and the gate was closed. She pressed another button and Rarity's face appeared on a screen.

"Sis, they found us!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. We need to clear the area! You take Applejack and get out of here. I will--" suddenly the ground shook again and the image and audio were replaced by static and interference.

"Sis? SIS! RARITY!" she shouted, then sighed and pressed more buttons. The other gate opened and they ran back through the hallways. The ground shook again and part of the ceiling fell apart, blocking the path and keeping Applejack and Sweetie Belle apart.

"Applejack, are you ok?" she asked.

"Yes! Spike is too! What do Ah do?"

"You find a way out of here. I can't leave my sister! Spike, please, help her!"

"Ah'll see ya later, then!"

"Be careful, Applejack!"

"You too!"

Spike turned around and dashed toward the tunnel that led to Old Ponyville. Applejack followed him.

"Are ya sure it's safe to go that way, sugarcube?" the robot controlled by Spike shook his head. Applejack chuckled. "Of course. Ah can never have the easy route!"

Spike lifted the metal gate but since he couldn't lift it entirely, only Applejack was able to crawl through the opening. "Be careful now, sugarcube. Ah can see that Sweetie Belle really cares about ya, so don't go and get yerself killed."

The robot nodded and let go of the gate, closing it. Applejack ran down the corridor.

"I'm sorry, family." she thought. "Sadly our reunion was delayed, but I promise we'll meet again really soon!"

Part 1: Chapter 06

Applejack used the Gravity Gun to move aside a few crates blocking her path and opened the door hidden behind them. She found herself in a basement, not sure where that basement was. It was filled with broken machines, torn books and scattered pages, a few of them stained with blood.

"What in tarnation happened here?"

She climbed the nearby stairs, which led to another wooden door. When she opened it, Applejack immediately recognized the place.

"It's Twi's library. Golden Oak!"

More books scattered all over the place. She even saw the corpse of a pony rotting underneath a pile of them, lit by moonlight coming from a window with torn curtains. She briefly took off her hat as a sign of respect to the dead. She placed it on top of her head again, walked toward the main door and opened it. The dark outside made her cringe; the small town was completely abandoned with a few collapsed buildings. In the distance she could still see her old home, Sweet Apple Acres.

"Ah'm back..." she muttered to herself.

She could hear moans and groans of headcrab zombies coming from alleys and abandoned buildings, so she proceeded cautiously and silently. The street had a few open Headcrab Shells on the ground, exactly as Rainbow Dash told her. She imagined ponies running, chaos taking over her hometown as rockets carrying mind-controlling mosters fell from the skies, killing many of them.

She stumbled across a tree, which had something that almost made her puke: the torso of a pony hanging hanging from a rope on his neck. She couldn't recognize him or her because the face was severely damaged and the lower half was missing, so she couldn't try to recognize the Cutie Mark either.

"Ah can guess why ya ended yer life here, pardner." she said before resuming her walk toward... Somewhere!

Many streets were blocked due to the amount of wreckage on the streets so, in order to proceed, she had to go through the abandoned houses. The first house she went through had the body of a pony with a dead headcrab attached to his head. She shivered.

"Back in Aperture Ah wanted nothin' but to go back home, but now..." she sighed. "Maybe Aperture wasn't that bad compared to mah hometown... Well, maybe not the test chambers, but the corridors outside the test chambers were indeed much safer!"

She froze in place when she heard a groan coming from behind her. Applejack turned around and saw a zombie headcrab slowly walking toward her. But this one was different from the others she met before in Station 7; the infection was in a much advanced stage, so the pony had a cavity on its chest, showing all the organs in there - none of them working. The exposed ribs had mutated as well and now resembled sharp teeth. Applejack placed a hoof on her mouth to prevent the only meal she had hours ago to escape.

"Now Ah've seen everythin'!" she grabbed the pistol with her teeth pointed it at the headcrab on the pony's head and shot a few times. Bad decision! The zombie headcrab fell to the ground with a whimper, but the sound of the shots attracted more of them. They came from upstairs, the front door and the main door. Soon Applejack was surrounded. She dropped the pistol on the floor.

"Damn zombies went and got me mad." she said, standing on her rear legs and grabbing her SMG. She started firing at the zombies, not caring where the bullets hit. A few of the headcrabs jumped from the head of their hosts and toward their attacker, but Applejack simply dodged and stomped on them. She kept firing, but the wave of zombies was never over. Suddenly the weapon stopped firing.

"What the hay?"

Her Hazard Suit displayed a message in front of her face:

OVERHEATED WEAPON

WAIT FOR IT TO COOL DOWN

"Aw, shucks..."

She dropped the submachine gun on the ground too. After looking around she saw a plank lying not too far away from her. She pointed her Gravity Gun at it, levitating it. She started waving her hoof around as hard as she could, making the plank hit all the headcrabs on the parasitized ponies' heads. Suddenly the zombies stopped entering the house.

"Apparently the sound of mah guns was attracting 'em." she looked at her gauntlet with the faint orange glow on her right foreleg. "Guess it's only you and me now!"

She got out of the house and followed the dirt path that led to the main square of Ponyville. She could still remember the layout of her hometown, so she knew exactly where to go next. She then stopped from a second; she could have sworn she heard whispers coming from a nearby house but, when she pressed her ear against the wooden wall, she couldn't hear anything, so she just shrugged and proceeded.

Everything looked the same, but at the same time so different. As she walked toward her destination, she looked around, recognizing places and remembering how they used to be; the school that now had no teacher or students, the marketplace with either empty stands or stands covered in rotten food, Sugar Cube Corner with no line of clients waiting to buy the pastries baked by the Cakes and Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie...

"Ah wonder what happened to her..."

She heard more whispers. They seemed a little louder right now, but she still couldn't understand what he, she or they were saying. After a few more minutes of walk, silently avoiding all the zombie headcrabs, she arrived at the main square, right in front of the town hall, which was the very definition of Tartarus: many metal stakes were pinned on the ground, all of them with trespassed and burning parasitized bodies hanging from them. There was a pile of hay and other materials burning below the bodies and stakes.

"What in tarnation is that?!" she shouted. Nearby zombies heard her and started to walk toward her. Unfortunately there were no nearby wreckage, so she would have to deal with them using nothing but her brute force.

Suddenly one fell to the ground. And other, and other, and other until all of them were dead. Applejack heard a manic laughter coming from above and looked up. Her eyes widened.

Standing on a open window of the town hall was a dark pink earth pony with a darker pink straight mane. She was holding a crossbow and pointing it at where the zombies where. She was still laughing.

"Don't worry, my dear ponies." she said. "Auntie Pinkie will make the pain go away!"

"P-Pinkie Pie!" Applejack called.

"Oh, hello there, little one!" she said, looking at Applejack with her blue eyes with widened pupils. "Sorry for the mess, I wasn't expecting guests!" she giggled while reloading her crossbow with apparently homemade wooden arrows. "Make yourself at home. Though I'm pretty sure you will want to leave soon!"

"Ah can't believe yer alive!"

"As alive as a damned pony in a damned city can be."

"Do... Do ya remember me?"

"I never forget my friends!" Applejack smiled. "Or, at least, I used to say that back when I had them." the smile turned into a corncerned look. "I'm all alone is this Celestia's tailhole! Your face is somewhat familiar, but... I'm sorry!"

"It's... It's okay, Pinkie! You've been through some hard times, Ah can't blame ya! But why don't you leave? Ah mean, there are better places to be than here."

"I can't leave!" Pinkie Pie said, looking at the dead bodies. "Not until I free all my old friends from this torment! I can hear them all the time, screaming, moaning in pain. When I'm awake, when I'm asleep, outside my head, inside my head... I need to save them! All of them!"

"Ah-Ah understand..."

Pinkie Pie shot another arrow, killing a zombie headcrab that was approaching Applejack from behind. "I need to get you out of here." she pointed her foreleg to a street to the left of Applejack. "Follow this road, it will take you to Sweet Apple Acres. I'll meet you there! Be careful and don't forget: if you want them dead, aim for the head!"

"Ah'll remember that!" Pinkie Pie closed the windows and Applejack ran down the path Pinkie Pie pointed at her. She smiled. "At least she is alive and that's all that matters for now..." she thought.

She heard another moan. But it was louder and lasted longer, almost sounding like a howl. Then she saw another one of them running toward her. And this scared her; they usually walked at a slow pace, they never ran. Then she noticed that this one was literally only flesh and bones; most of its body was already gone and all that was left were the bones and a certain amount of muscles; probably the less weight was what allowed it to run faster. The bones of the hooves had mutated and now resembled sharp talons. Applejack pointed was about to grab her pistol, but then she remembered she dropped it a while ago!

"Ah, hay!" she turned around and ran until she found a house with an open door; she jumped in there and closed it. The mutated zombie pony started slamming its body against the door while Applejack pressed hers against it too keep it from being opened. After a few more slams the zombie gave up. Applejack sat on the wooden floor and sighed in relief. She looked around and widened her eyes in excitement: lying on a table was another pistol, which she grabbed with her teeth. This one was a little heavier and had a longer barrel. There was a letter under the weapon:

"My dearest Roseluck

Sorry for leaving without telling you in person, but I just couldn't wake you up. You look so peaceful. Anyway, they need all the help they can in the battlefield. I don't know when I will return or if I will return, but I will keep you in mind all the time. Hope you do the same for me. This is my favorite weapon, I want you to keep it. Use it to protect yourself from the monsters and the bad ponies who want to send us all to jail. I hope to see you soon."

"Ah'm sorry for takin' the gun this pony gave ya, Roseluck!" she returned to the door and slowly opened it. The creature was nowhere to be found. "Guess it's safe!" but she said that too soon. The moment she stepped out of the house the crature, which was waiting on top of the house, pounced on her. It started to claw her, but the HEV Suit was resistant enough, so Applejack received no damage. Suddenly it fell on the ground, an arrow trespassing the headcrab on its head.

"There is no rest here in Ponyville." Pinkie said from the balcony she was standing on. "Always keep your eyes open in every direction!"

Applejack nodded and got up. Pinkie Pie disappeared within the building and Applejack resumed her run. Following the dirt path she soon reached her old home. It looked exaclty like the last time she saw, except the wood was a little worn out and pieces of the ceiling were missing. She looked around.

"Guess Pinkie hasn't arrived yet." she thought, then walked toward the old barn. She slowly nudged the big door open. It was pitch black, but she could still recognize everything. Well, almost everything. She turned on the flashlight of her suit to take a better look at what was that silhouette in the middle of the barn and gasped.

Standing in front of her was another of the ponies dominated by a headcrab, but this one was different; the headcrab on its head was black and it had three more attached to its body. When it noticed Applejack's presence, one of the black headcrabs deattached from the pony's hide and jumped toward Applejack, who dodged it. She shoot it then proceeded to shoot the pony, who fell to the ground, dead. What suprised her was the fact that the other headcrabs deattached themselves from the pony too. This moment of distraction was all the headcrabs needed to attack her.

One of them jumped toward her and was about to attach itself to her head when an arrow hit it and pinned it against a wall of the barn. Two other arrows pinned the remaining black headcrabs to the ground.

"Careful with those ones." Pinkie said, reloading her crossbow again. "The darker ones are poisonous! In order to survive I had to use the whole stock of antidotes from Ponyville Hospital just because a scratch from one of them."

Now that Pinkie Pie was closer to her, Applejack could see how life in Ponyville was; her body was covered in scratches and scars, she had spots of missing fur all over her and dried blood in many places. The concerned look returned to Applejack's face.

"Come with me!" she said. "I'll take you to the secret tunnels."

Pinkie Pie turned around and walked toward the orchard of dead apple trees. The sight of all her loved trees dead made her sniffle.

There were more empty Headcrab Shells all over the orchard, as well as a few zombie headcrabs. Pinkie pointed and shot an arrow to its headcrab head.

"Goodbye, Berry Dreams. You're free!" she whispered, then shot another one. "Goodbye, Shoeshine. You're free!" then another. "Goodbye..." Applejack heard her sniffle. "Mrs. Cake. You're free..." then another. "Goodbye... Mr. Cake... You're... Free..." she wiped the tears that appeared on the corners of her eyes and resumed her walk. Soon they arrived in a shack with a metal door that didn't existed last time Applejack visited that part of her orchard. "Here it is! We were working with the Diamond Dogs to build tunnels that would connect all of the hideouts of the Resistance, but the Overwatch discovered it and filled the tunnels with both poison gas and headcrabs. Nopony has ever seen a single Diamond Dog ever since. Down there is not safer than Ponyville. In fact, it's much worse, but it's the only viable option considering that anything walking in open field is a moving target for the Overwatch. Not counting the many races of aliens that are living here now too!" with some difficulty Pinkie Pie turned a handwheel, lifting the gate. After the gate was open, she held the handwheel in place. "Now go! Save yourself!"

"Will ya be fine?"

"Heh, I have been taking care of myself for a good while now, it's not just because you came here and stirred up the whole hive that I'll be in trouble! I've been in worse situations." she said with a smile. Applejack smiled back and went through the open gate. All there was in there was a hole with a ladder in it. "You're reckless, did you know that?"

Applejack chuckled. "Ah try my best to be careful, but those varmints simply won't let me!"

"Try not to get yourself killed. Many ponies out there need you, Applejack!"

Applejack's eyes widened when she hear Pinkie say her name. Pinkie smiled at her and let go of the handwheel, making the metal gate fall again.