Applejack Through the Ages

by Paradise Oasis

Rating: teen
Tags: Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Slice of Life
Length: 58888

The lifetimes an immortal Applejack has led, as we see the ages of the pony world through her eyes.

When her daughter has to do a report on her family history for school, Applejack of Dream Valley recalls a long life and many adventures a humble little earth pony had lived though. From apple bucker to fashion designer, from saloon filly in Apploosa to picnic prepare in a very different Ponyville, this mare has done more in ten lifetimes than an Alicorn has done in one eternal one. Experience the history of the past thousand years of ponydom, from the mare who lived through it all! (covers MLP generations 1, Tales, 3, and 4!)

Published 2014-02-10 03:40:03 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-16 05:42:32 UTC

Let Me Tell You a Story...

Let Me Tell You a Story...

"Oh great B'zekre, what a mess that turned out to be!" The orange mare threw the door to her apartment open, stormed into the living room, and collapsed into her rocking chair. "I can't believe Buttons and Bow Tie would just.... urrgghhh!" Putting her hoof to her temples, she messaged her forehead to make the pain go away.

"Lightning, could you please bring me a cider from the fridge? I really need one right now." When no answer from her husband was forthcoming, AJ simply shook her head. "Ohhhh, that's right... Queen Majesty has you out on maneuvers this week, scouting out what the trolls are doing in the dark lands." The mare said aloud, talking to no one in particular in her current anger. "Guess I'll have to get up off my fat flank, an go get the juice myself!"

As she trotted through the hallway, Applejack passed several photos and old mementos lining the wall. On the top shelf sat a plaque reading "Manehatten fashion competition- second place.", along with a wrinkled and yellow newspaper clipping of the mare dressed as she was now . On the shelf below that sat a pair of old granny glasses, and a faded photograph of several smiling ponies at a picnic, white the message; "Thanks for all the wonderful parties, cousin- yours, Apple Spice" written on it. And on the bottom shelf sat a painted portrait of a beautiful mare in an saloon girl's dress, surrounded on all sides by cowpony stallions. She barely gave them a glance as she walked into the kitchen.

"Ahhh, here we go!" She smiled, pulling the decanter out of the fridge. "Here's the magic elixir that sets free the soul." AJ said aloud, quoting a coltfriend from a long time ago. "Huh, guess I shoulda been a poet in one of my lifetimes." Pouring a shot glass, she quickly downed the yellow liquid, and suddenly felt all warm inside. "Now that's just what the doctor ordered!"

With a sigh, she wandered back though the hallway again, pausing when she saw her own refection in the vanity hanging on the wall.

"Oy, I look like such a mess." The mare declared, blowing a loose strand of her still coiffed mane out of her face. Staring at herself for a moment, she reached up with her hooves to remove the jewel clip from her mane, and rustled her hair around so it looked tangled and dirty.

"Haow's this, Boah Tie? Naow will ya'll listen to the hahmony bearhrah?" AJ belted out, trying poorly to match her old accent in English. "Ah reckon ah'm moah the mare everypony is expectin naow!" For an instant, AJ thought she saw the reflection of another time staring back at her from the mirror.

"Good grief, I sound just like Truly!" She rasped out, coughing and gagging at trying to imitate a younger mare. After a few seconds, she reached up and brushed her mane back into place. Staring back into the mirror, the mare saw the same face she had gazed upon for the past millennium; ever young and ever beautiful. There were times she had wished that magical accident had never happened to her- but then she never would have had her loving family, now would she? Sliding the jeweled hair clip back into her mane, Applejack did the pouty thing with her lower lip that she had copied from Rarity.

"I do say, my good ponies! It would be so dreadfully delightful if you'd consider my idea for the Parade of Costumes my dear Buttons!" She elegantly trotted away from the mirror, her hips going 'squick-squeak squick-squeak' in the dress as she walked. Turning back, she gave a teasing look over her shoulder. "Surely anything I could come up with would be simply divine compared to what this cherry-loving ruffian could concoct!"

"Well, that's at least more me than that hillbilly- 'thang' everybody expects." AJ stared at herself again, and smiled. "I wonder what Rarity and the others would think of me now..."

The mare sat back down her her chair againand started to rock, just as the door in front of her opened up.

"Mama? Mama, you home?" The little filly who looked like a small version of her mother trotted in. "Oh hi, mama! There you are!"

"Hello, my little apple blossom." Mother greeted daughter, picking her up and nuzzling the filly tenderly. "Didn't expect you home from school so early. Where's your brother?"

"Apple Delight went over to spend the the night at Rocket's, remember?" The filly laughed, sitting down in the seat next to the rocker. "How did the Parade of Costumes thing go? Bow Tie and Buttons like your ideas?"

"Let's just say some... 'disagreements' let to things not going my way. "AJ replied with a nervous laugh. "I guess the ponies of Dream Castle still expect the legendary Applejack instead of little old me."

"Mama! Did you argue with Cherries Jubilee again?" The little earth filly sighed. "Daddy and I wish you two would just try ta get along!"

"Now you sound like the parent, sugar cube!" Her mother said with a soft laugh. "Sometimes wonder if you're more mature than I am, too."

The little filly just sat the for a moment, before replying. "Mama, an I ask you something?"

"Sure apple blossom." The mother replied, sitting back in the rocker. "What is it?"

"Can you tell me about your life?" She asked. "I mean, your whole life? Going all the way backwards to Equestria?"

"Well now, that's-that's quite a tall order there, sugar cube." The mother replied nervously. "Please do remember I've lived over a thousand years, thanks to that stupid anti-aging magic that Twilight wasn't able to get off me after Tambelon. You could be listening for quite awhile!"

"But miss Cheerilee assigned us a paper on our family history!" Baby Applejack pleaded. "Please, mama?"

"So Cheerilee's doing her 'family appreciation day' thing again, huh?" Old Applejack sighed, sitting back into the rocker. "All right, apple blossom. Let me tell you a little story..."

Why haven't you aged?

Why haven't you aged?

Applejack slammed her back hooves against the apple tree behind her, sending apples down into the basket beneath the tree. It was a ritual she had carried out several times before, and it was one that she would carry out a thousand times more. Pushing her Stetson back on her head, the earth mare wiped the sweat from her brow with her hoof. Looking up, she noticed the red stallion bucking on the other side of the orchard had already finished his section.

"Good work clearin out that field, Big Mac!" Applejack yelled over to him, pushing her hat back into place. "Now, I thank Apple Bloom could use yer hailp with plantin' the seedlings in the bottom forty!"

"Eeyup." The old stallion hoarsely whinnied out, slowly trotting his way towards his youngest sister. In truth, AJ had sent the old grey stallion down because she was worried about how much more strain his old muscles could take bucking those apples. At nearly seventy five years of age, AJ often worried about how his was doing more work than he could take on.

"After the two of you get done, make shore ta head home before seven!" Applejack yelled down to the old stallion, as he and Apple Bloom started work. "Your wife said she'd have yer supper vittles ready by six, an' ah don't wanna catch any more heck from 'ol Junebug than I have to!"

The mare sighed, trotting back towards the house. It had been hard running things on the farm since Granny Smith had passed so many years ago, and AJ was busy trying to groom Apple Bloom and her husband for taking over Sweet Apple acres, so she could get some time to relax. The orange mare may not look any older than she had in her younger days, but she certainly felt the terrible weight of years upon her old back, as the decades weighed heavily upon her.

"Hello?" An elderly but elegant voice called out, as a knock came at the door. "Anypony in there?"

"Heya, Rarity."  Applejack smiled, sitting down at a table in the kitchen. "Why don't y'all come in, an' sit here fer a spell?"

"Ah, Applejack, darling! So wonderful to see you!" The elderly unicorn trotted inside, having a seat beside an old friend. "You're  looking as lovely as ever, as always!"

Looking over her dear old friend, Applejack still couldn't believe how much Rarity had changed. A once long and beautiful mane was now a powdery grey. That once flawless face was now covered with the wrinkles and creases of old age, and what had once been a graceful and elegant trot had now become a shaky and stumbling series of steps. It amazed AJ that Rarity didn't need a walker, but she was very happy that her friend could still get around so very well.

"Glad ta see y'all visitin' again from Canterlot." AJ told her, as she brushed a stray strand of her mane out of her face. "So what's goin on with you city folk?"

Ever since their parting ways so many years ago- Twilight to rule her Rainbow Kingdom,  Rainbow Dash to lead the Wonder Bolts in Cloudsdale, and Pinkie to run a comedy club in Manehatten- it had only been her in Fluttershy left here in Ponyville. And since the animal caregiver had passed, AJ had only rarely seen any of her friends, until Rarity had started visiting from Canterlot regularly. The two were the only harmony bearers left, and had grown very close over these past few years.

"Oh, just the usual politics. All the commotion going on from Dream Valley's hostile takeover of the now leaderless Rainbow Kingdom, and all that." She waved a wrinkled hoof  dismissively. "But I'm not here to visit, Applejack. I've sold my fashion studio in Canterlot, and I'm moving back home to Ponyville."

"What?!? Rarity, have you gone plum loco?" AJ sputtered out in disbelief. "Livin in Canterlot an' bein a high falootin' fashionesita was always yer biggest dream!"

"Applejack, please be serious. I want to come home and spend my last years with my family and friends." Rarity snapped back, tapping her hoof on the table. "I don't want to go at some crazy party in manehatten like Pinkie did. Nor would I want to pass like Rainbow Dash, dying with her husband right in the middle of- of-"

"Ya'll gotta admit, Rarity, they went out with a whole lotta spunk!"  AJ replied with a laugh. "I hope when it's time fer my last roundup, I go out in half as entertainin' fashion!"

"That's just the thing, darling. I'm starting to wonder if you ever will go." Rarity responded, stifling a weak cough. "Not that I'm bitter, mind you. But haven't you noticed that you aren't even showing a wrinkle or gray hair in your older age?"

"Aw, it's just clean livin', an' that good ol' Apple family vigor!" AJ snorted. "Why, remember that Granny Smith lived ta be plum near two hundred when she passed. It's no surprise I'm still orney in mah older years!"

"I'm not so sure, darling." Rarity sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Applejack, you know there are rumors going around the capital, that the Reason Princess Twilight Sparkle died was because she transferred her youth to another pony? One whom, I might add, never seems to age a day?"

"So? Whut do I care what them city folk thank?" AJ asked indignantly. "You know as well as ah do, thait Twi died of a broken heart after her feller died."

"I am aware of that, Applejack. But there's talk among the Canterlot eliete..." Rarity placed a hoof on her friend's hoof. "Darling, there's talk of going behind Celestia and Luna's back, and investigating the ageless earth pony who may be tied to Twilight Sparkle's premature passing!"

"So they thank they're gonna come after me, huh?" The now angry earth pony snorted. "Well, if they thank ah'll just-"

"Applejack, think of your brother and sister! And think of the farm!" Rarity protested. "It would be better if Applejack quietly disappeared, and no one knew what had happened to her."

"B-but... this farm is mah home. A-and they're mah family." The mare replied, her ears drooping. "A-and y'all... y'all are the only friend ah got left."

"Applejack, listen to me. Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie... they'll always be your friends, and they'll always be in your heart." Rarity replied, tears starting to come down her cheeks. "That's what Twilight told me when she died, and that's what I'm telling you now."

"Ah-ah'm never goin' ta see y'all again, ahm ah?" Applejack squeezed her eyes shut, water slowly leaking out of them. "An I ain't gonna ever gonna see Apple Bloom an Big Mac, either."

"I shall keep an eye on Apple Bloom and the farm, whenever I can." The old unicorn sobbed. "And I shall greatly, greatly miss you."

The two mares hugged tightly, the bitter tears flowing from both of their eyes.  Neither of them had any words to say, that could express the adventures, laughs, sorrows, and memories that a friendship that had spanned decades entailed. It was hard for both for them to say this final goodbye, just as hard as it had been to say goodbye to all of the others. And so, after a final visit and sharing of the memories of happier times, they said the only things they really could say.

"See ya'll lter, ya prissy pony!" AJ replied, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Take care of yourself, ya heyah?"

"Good bye, you messy slob." Rarity told the tearful earth pony one last time  "If you really are immortal, make sure a future equestria remembers how fabulous we harmony bearers were!"

And as the two departed from the house that night- one with a small sack tied and slung over her hoof, the other headed back into town, they shot each other a final smile. While AJ would be back to check on her siblings and the ranch a few times, Applejack would never see her dear friend, the prissy fasionesta with whom she had been though so much with, again in this life.

Apple Back, Fashion Forward

Apple Back, Fashion Forward

Well, my little apple blossom, the truth is I don't remember how I actually said goodbye to my family and friends much, memory is a funny thing playing tricks on you like that. Anyway, after I left Ponyville I began wandering from place to place, buck apples whenever I could find work, kinda like I had after that whole Canterlot rodeo fiasco. I bucked apples in Tall Tale, I bucked apples in Fillydelphia, I bucked apples in Baltimare, and I bucked apples in Hollow Shades. It was always easy ta find a branch of the apple family to take you in for a time, and give ya work until you were ready to move on. They just accepted I was some distant cousin who looked liked their famous cousin, and they'd welcome ya as kin and not asked any questions.

So wait, that's all you did for a thousand years? Knocked apples off of trees?

No little one, but that's what I did for a really, really long time. Buck apples, hang around for a few years, not talk much, and move on. After about the first thirty years or so, I came to realize that 'great Celestia, ah ahm immortal!' but it was something I came around to admitting to myself slowly. It happened one day, when I was sitting and looking over a rain barrel at an an apple orchard in Trottingham. Looking at my own reflection in the water, I realized that I hadn't changed in over a century. Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom were all long gone, and here I was still trying to be a pony nobody outside of a museum or history class even cared about anymore. Being an apple bucker had been my life, but it was then and there I realized I had been doing it for my WHOLE life. And I began to wonder if there might be more to life than just that.

Y-you got tired of apple bucking? How could you get sick of your own special talent?

Apple blossom, you'll often find if you do one thing for far too long, boredom sets in.  My siblings' children and grandchildren had sold off the farm and moved into Ponyville, so why was I clinging to family pride, when my own family had thrown tradition away? My memory drifted back to my Uncle Mosely Orange and his wife, who had taught me all these fancy manners and proper ways to speak, and I decided it might be high time to put 'em to good use. Now as a filly, I had rejected that life and run home, but this time there was no home to run back to. The princesses obviously knew of my predicament, but were content to let me find my own way and make my own life, unless I had come to them with a problem and asked for help- which in, my foolish pride, I never did.  So, using some of the money I had earned from years of bucking, I decided to get myself all dolled up, and make my way back to Manehatten.

Ohhh, what did you do there?

Well, I hadn't been back there in over a hundred  years, so I decided to set about fining a job. Now mind you, I really wasn't looking to get into working in fashion or even doing anything glitzy, I just wanted a job to support myself and live amongst the sophistication of the great and glittering pony metropolis. See, there was this mare who ran a fashion shop I had heard about there, by the name of Glittery Heart. So one day I decided to pay her a little visit...

"Ahh, five o'clock, right on the nose!" The weary yellow earth mare with a pink mane declared, looking up at the clock with a smile. "Time to pack it up, and head for home!"

Glittery always loved this time of evening in Manehatten- the hour most of the small shops and businesses around the city closed up their doors for the day.  The cool spring breeze blowing through her door, was accompanied by the sound of several ponies outside trotting their way home from the bank or the diner or whatever place of employment.  It was the conclusion of another work day, and time for the city's equines to take a well earned good night's rest.

Putting a few dresses from her inventory that had been left in the fitting rooms back on the rack, the young mare could only reflect on the fact that she had only moved four dresses the day before the annual Manehatten Spring Fling. That was the best sales period of the season! But nopony knew about her Manehatten shop, seeing as she and her siblings had only moved here last year, and everypony still shopped at all the big stores here in the city. So she really needed to get exposure for her fine hoof stitched dresses.

"I really, really need to find a model for my dresses for fashion week!" The mare with the pink hearts cutie mark thought. "If I could get my designs out there on the runway, mares would surely take notice!"

Oh, who was she kidding? The honest truth was she couldn't stand up in front of all those ponies, and present the dresses herself. Glittery was far too shy of a mare to show off or model her own dresses. Heck, she couldn't even deal with other ponies knowing she made the dresses, with how they'd be all over her all the time to make gowns for them. If there was only somepony to act as the face for dress shop, a mare with the charisma and style to act as the model for all the wonderful gowns she loved creating, in only...

Ah, well... her brother would be here in about fifteen minutes to walk her home (she was too timid do go by herself after dark), so she had better finish getting everything put away. As she put the last of the hangers away, a knock came on the door of her shop.

"Coming, coming!" The unhappy dressmaker grumbled, trotting up to the door and opening it. "I'm really sorry, but we're already clo-"

Glittery's jaw nearly hit the floor, as a sleek, athletic young orange earth pony trotted  her way into the shop.  Looking around, the naive-looking pony with the apple cutie mark spoke to the dressmaker softly;

"Excuse me... Miss  Heart?" Applejack asked nervously. "I'm really sorry fer botherin' y'all, but ah heard ya was lookin for a pony ta help keep yer Dress shop clean, and ta keep things nice n' tidy. Ah don't know much about dressmakin none, but growin up on a farm ah know enough ta do simple chores and stichin, and ahm not afraid ta get mah hooves dirty...."

As the other mare spoke, the dressmaker could only stare in silence. Those hips, that mane... Glittery couldn’t believe it!  She was the perfect size and shape, not to mention those gorgeous looks, to model her creations on the runway! Oh, the accent could use some work, but their definitely some rough potential there. It was like a gift from Celestia, the perfect pony to do her modeling so she could sell her dresses ,while staying in the shadows!

"Ummm, excuse me... Miss Heart?" The orange mare waved a hoof in front of the dress, snapping her out of her daze. "Everything all raight?"

"Huh? Oh, yes!" Glittery blinked, quickly putting a smile on her face. Looking the newcomer over, the dressmaker bluntly asked. "My good mare, have you ever considered doing modeling work?"

"Me? A model?" The orange earth mare asked in surprise. "Uh, look, ah really appreciate yer offer an all, but ah really don't think ah could get all fru fru'ed up like thait, ahd trot around on stage."

"Hey, Glitter, you ready to go?" A pink stallion came in the shop's door, two pairs of roller blades slung over his back. "I'm ready head for home, and- oh, hello..."

This time, it was the orange mare's turn to stare. A flowing blue mane, a tight flank with a cloud cutie mark gracing it. The earth mare only gaped at Glittery heart's brother, who was studying the earth mare's luscious form himself.

“Who… who are y’all?” The mare asked, trying to keep the blush from creeping up her cheeks.

Hook, line, and sinker... The dressmaker thought with a smug smile. "Ah, I see you've met my big brother, Glittey Skater, this is my new assistant and model-" She looked at the orange mare in confusion, cocking an eyebrow. "Say miss, I never did catch your name?"

"Jewel." The mare finally blurted out, after thinking for a few seconds. She stared back at the handsome sports stallion standing near her. "My name is Apple Jewel."

The Shining Applejewel

The Shining Applejewel

And so, I got a job as Glittery Hart's assistant, fitting her dresses, and practicing and prepping for Manehatten's Fashion week. The plan was I would strut across the stage in Heart's finest gowns, and promote her dresses for all the stores in Canterlot. We had spent a whole month practicing and going over my routine and presentation, while her brother took me out to eat at the hay burger every night after we were finished. We talked, we laughed, and had a lot of fun. And I really enjoyed spending that much time with such a fun and friendly stallion, even if he was a 'skater colt'. And so for a month I lived in the spare apartment above Glitter heart's shop, until one particular day Skater had a surprise for me...

"All right, Jewel! Let's see you come down that runway!"  Heart  tapped her hoof against the floor. "Put some passion into your walk, let's see you work it, girl!"

The orange eath mare came strutting down the catwalk in the back of Glittery Heart's dress shop, the tight glimmering golden ball gown pulled tightly against her flank. Applejack put a firm determination in her trot, swaying her hips to and fro as she sauntered  down to where the dressmaker stood. It was a walk that came to her naturally, just as it had when she had been showing Rarity how foolish she was being all those decades ago. It was something she remembered from a fillyhood in Manehatten, a past she had rejected in order to be her own pony. But now,  it all seemed to be coming back to her very naturally.

"This dress was made bah Miss Glittery Heart, the fanciest dressmaker in all o' Manehatten!" The mare patted her mane with her hoof, winking at the crowd. "Y'all should buy her dresses, ta stock in yer shops!"

"Apple Jewel, sweetie...  your accent is very quaint and rustic. But if you go up on that runway and open your mouth like that, and everypony is going to laugh you off the stage as some country rube straight off the farm."  Heart rubbed her hooves against her temples. "Now, try and say it again, like we practiced."

"Oh, all raight." Apple Jewel groaned, rolling her eyes. Reaching back to what her aunt and uncle had taught her, Jewel spoke in a voice she had not used in a very long time.

"I say, ladies and gentlecolts, you simply must consider this rather stunning ensemble for your fine boutiques and establishments." The orange earth mare declared, batting her eyelashes. "And remember, this splendid gown is one of the many fine works in Miss Glittery Heart, whose extravagant fall lineup is available for your consideration."

"Wonderful, simply wonderful!"  Heart smiled, clapping her hooves together. "Why, I simply can't believe how well you're taking to your formal training, it's like you've done this all before!"

"Oh you have no idea."  Jewel rolled her eyes. "So do ya'll know- sorry, I meant do you know when your brother will be coming by the shop today?"

"Oh he's supposed to be stopping by any moment." The bell above the shop door rang, and a stallion walked in. "Speak of Tartarus, look who just trotted in the door!"

"Hey sis, wassup?" Skater trotted in, a smile on his face. "I'm just here to pick up Apple Jewel, and I'll be on my way."

"Give me a few minutes, Skater." Glittery replied, pulling out a camera, and began snapping several pictures of Apple Jewel. "All right, give me your hottest poses!"

Jewel struck a pose, with one hoof in front of the other.

*snap*

Jewel  put her hooves behind her head, standing upright and staring saucily into the camera.

*snap*

Jewel blew the camera a kiss, winking alluringly.

*snap*

"All right, Skater. That's all I need for the pictures I'm sending to the advertising ponies" Heart replied, putting the lens cap back on the camera. "She's all yours now."

"I hope you built up an appetite, Jewel." The stallion told her with a smile. "'Cause I have big plans for supper."

"Sure, I'll be happy to join you." AJ replied, trotting towards the back. "Just let me change out of this stuffy gown, and I'll be right with you."

"Oh no no, this is exactly how I want you for our date." Skater replied, extending hoof to her. "I'm taking you someplace nicer to the hay burger tonight."

"Oh?" A surprised Jewel cocked an eyebrow, wondering what the stallion was up to. "...this should be interesting."

...

The Black Beauty was one of the finest establishments in Manehatten, a small castle-like structure sitting across from horsehyde park. Brownstone walls and a roaring fireplace, it was the most romantic setting a stallion could take a mare to. The waiter had put the couple near the fish tank, and Apple Jewel  was staring at all of the exotic, multicolored fish swimming around.

"I must say, I never expected a professional roller blader to be able to get a reservation at a place like this."  AJ said with a smile. "Let alone how one could afford it."

"Eh, I have a friend at the stunt show I work at, who used to be one of the Wonderbolts. That kind of connection, can be a key to many high places."  The stallion frowned. "Say, you don't have to act all classy around me, you know. You can go ahead and talk in your accent."

"No, thank you, but..." Apple Jewel closed her eyes, then shook her head. "if I'm going to be a Manehattenite, I need to be able to act- and talk- the part."

"It's sounds like a part you've played before, dudette. The way you took to my sis's coaching and all." The stallion replied, as they waiter brought their glasses of water, and took their orders. "But I have a feeling it's not a part you like playing, at all."

"Well, it's not that, it's just..." Jewel sighed, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "You know how I said I grew up on a farm, Skater? Well, that's the life I knew in my earliest years, doing chores and bailing hay. It was the life my pappy- I mean, my father- taught me when I was little. H-he and my mom taught us to buck apples, take care of the animals, and look after the farm."

"But they died when you were very young, you told me." Skater put a hoof on her hoof, nodding understandingly. "It  must have been very hard, for you and your siblings."

"All I received from my father was his old hat- you know,  the one you saw in my saddle bag?" The mare looked up at Skater. "But when I was small, I wanted to get away from the farm, away from anything that reminded me of theire passing. My aunt and uncle took me in, here in Manehatten, and were really nice to me. B-but it seemed like they were trying to turn me into somepony else, and it felt like they were trying to make me forget my parents-"

"So you rebelled against them, and followed the rainbow home." The stallion nodded. "You made the right choice, Jewel, your special talent and your heart lie back on that farm." Skater shook his head. "I can recall the same thing myself, when my own mom tried  to stop me from rollerblading, I was miserable with the pony she wanted me to be. It's what's in my heart and mind- those daredevil stunts are a part of who I am."

"At least you were able to convince her not to be so overprotective, and were able to follow your dream." Apple Jewel frowned, and looked down. "But this fashion thing with your sister- with you- it's feels so right. I sometimes wonder if I ran so far and fast away from what my aunt and uncle were trying to give me, that I denied a part of who I was."

"You were afraid if you did anything 'fru fru', as you put it, that anytime you were the least bit girly, it was a betrayal of your parents." Skater replied understandingly. "If you actually let yourself enjoying anything feminine, then your family- your father- really would be gone."

Apple Jewel's shoulder's suddenly slumped, and she buried her face in her hooves in her face. The stallion leaned over the table, and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Jewel, listen to me... just because you are your own pony, doesn't mean you are forgetting who you are, or where you came from." She looked up into the stallions eyes, and saw his warm face smiling at her. "Your parents -your family- will always be in your heart, no matter what."

Staring back at the stallion, Apple Jewel suddenly leaned forward, and kissed him squarely on the lips. Suddenly pulling back, she noticed both of their faces had turned a deep red, and both of them were quiet for the rest of the meal.

Needless to say, things proceeded smoothly from there. Heart taught me stitching sewing, and all sorts of little fashoniesta tricks to trim up and work on dresses. She really reminded me of an old friend, and it made me sad that Rarity and I had never had the chance to bond like that because of my stubbornness.  But I was grateful I was getting the opportunity to live a whole new life, now with such a wonderful new friend. Why I was getting to try all sorts of new things, stuff I had never gotten the chance to do with my old friends!

So what happened after that?

Well, as the date of her dress presentation loomed,  we stepped up our game. I started staying over nights at the Glitter Twins place, in order to take more time with my training and rehearsal, both day and night. But on the morning before the fashion presentation, something really bad happened...

As the alarm clock went off, the orange mare lying in the bed stretched her hooves and yawned, before reaching over to turn the clock off.

"Uggh..." Apple Jewel groaned, throwing her covers off. "I need to lay off the late night apple snacks."

Blinking as the sunlight came into her eyes, she noticed vacant spot next to her with the covers already thrown off.

"Skater, where are you?" The mare said with a mischievous smile, calling out to the hallway. "It's still early, come back.."

When no response came, she trotted out to the kitchen. There, she saw Glittery Skater standing over his sister, who was laying on her couch and sneezing.

"Skater, what going on?" Apple Jewel asked, starting to worry. "What's wrong with Heart?"

"Bad news, AJ." The stallion looked up at her, a panicked look on his face. "My sis has come down with the flu, and there's no way she'll be able to go to the presentation today!"

"What?!?" Jewel suddenly went pale. "B-but I can't do the show all by myself!"

"I'm afraid, my dear Apple Jewel..." The mare coughed and gagged, putting a hankie up to her mouth. "That is exactly what you're going to have to do!"

Trot the Trot, talk the talk!

Trot the Trot, talk the talk!

Glittery Heart was scheduled to appear in the Manehatten fashion competition, where I would modell some of the finest pieces of her work for some the biggest ponies in the industry. But when she came down with that nasty sickness, I was left with showing off her finest work. Fortunately, her brother Skater and I did come up with a plan at the last minute...

Nearly a hundred ponies were gathered in the large auditorium, all talking and gossiping amongst themselves. Most looked bored and disinterested, as if they'd merely be presented with what they had seen a thousand time before. But one or two hopefuls among the industry's elite were scattered throughout the crowd, holding out a desperate hope that something new would impress them.

"Well, well, well, Berry Bright!" A mare declared, sitting down in a chair next to an orange pony with a golden mane. "Still coming to there events, hoping to find your line of clothing store's next big thing?"

"I'm here for the same reason Manehatten's trendiest and richest pony is." She told Ivy League, the aqua coated mare with the pink and purple mane. "That somewhere in this morass and boring collection of profit-driven and focus-group crafted drivel, there is still a  shred of creativity among these so-called 'fashionestas', and you'll see something original and exciting this year."

"What a shame we live in such times, Berry." Ivy replied with a sigh, lowering her sunglasses. "If only the real artists, like Coco Pommel and Rarity were still around. They'd show these horseshoe licking toadies a thing or two about fashion!"

The two mare's conversation was cut off, as the lights were lowered, and the fashion show began. Models came trotting up and down the runway, clad in the same old dime-a-dozen dresses that had decorated store shelves for decades. It seemed like it would be just another hum-drum show, when an orange earth pony suddenly stepped out on stage, her legs sqeaking beneath the fabric of her dress.

SQUIRK-SKWIK SQUIRK-SKWIK SQUIRK-SKWIK SQUIRK-SKWIK SQUIRK-SKWIK

"Hello, ladies and gentleponies!" The mare cooed provocatively, blowing the side of the room with the few males in the room a kiss. "As many of you know, life is a wonderful celebration! And we feel you should celebrate it with the Glittery heart line of dresses and garments!"

The mare then proceeded to promenade across the stage in one outfit or another. First a long purple evening gown with shimmering couture, then a soft green ball gown made of a transparent fabric. By the time the mare with the elegantly coifed mane had paraded out in a set of white slinky lingerie with ruffled bottoms and lacy leggings connected by straps, the two earth mares in the audience had sat up and taken notice.

Neither of them noticed the nervous mare constantly exchanging glances with a stallion in the audience, who kept giving her reassuring nods and glances as she carried out her little act. The outwardly calm and collected mare was unsure if she could have made it through the stressful experience without Skater's support, and words could not express how incredibly grateful she was for it.

"Hey, just who is that pony?" Berry asked in surprise. "I've never seen her at any of the fashion shows before!"

"Oh, that must be Applejewel, I've heard of her." Berry replied, not taking her eyes off the model. "She's the assistant of that new dressmaker  in town, Glittery Heart. Boy, she certainly can market those outfits!"

It wasn't so much the clothing, which while it was good, didn't stand out in any unique way from the show's other offerings. Instead, it was the way Applejewel presented the outfits, displaying a charisma and gusto that really made it seem she was excited about the outfits she was modeling. It was such a contagious energy, that it couldn't help but infect the two rich and influential mares sitting in the audience below.

"Oh excuse me, Miss Applejewel?" Ivy declared, trotting up to AJ after the show. "I'm truly sorry you didn't win the competition, but... I was wondering if I could commission you to make about a dozen or so custom dresses for some friends and I? We so do need some stunning new outfits for our cruise to the Griffin kingdoms!"

"Pardon me, Madame Jewel." Berry added, trotting up behind the rich pony. "But if it isn't too much trouble, I would like to discuss the possibility of featuring your employers' outfits in my chain of fashion boutiques. I can of course, make a very generous offer for your personal services in endorsing the line..."

"This is it, AJ! This is what we were hoping for!" Skater whispered in her ear, barely containing his smile. "You and my sister have both hit the big time!"

And he was right, we really had hit the big time! What followed for me was many different photo shoots and grand openings... it was such a flurry of activity and attention I really wasn't used to! But Skater and Glittery helped this poor little farm pony through the whole thing, and I was able to deal with all the stares and judging glares from some of the most important ponies in Manehatten. But I was unable too see the cracks already forming in plaster of my new life...

"I really can't thank you enough for coming to the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Berry's new store." Applejewel sighed as she sat in front of the vanity in her room, and brushing her mane as she stared at her reflection. "I don't know how I'd handle all this craziness without you and your sister around."

"Hey, you know I'll always be there for you babe, I'd never leave you hanging." He replied with a laugh, tying the laces on his skates together, and hanging them on the wall. "By the way, I was hoping you'd be able to come to my skating tryouts for the Equestria Games tomorrow. I know you've been busy with appearances and stuff, but you haven't been to one of my rollerblading events in months, and this is really important to me!"

"Of course I'll be there! You're always there for me when I need you!" AJ smiled, turning around to face him. "I did have a photo shoot scheduled for tomorrow, but I think I can cancel it for something this important to you."

"That's good, I'm really glad!" The stallion replied, trotting up behind her, and putting his hooves around her soft neck. "Because the royal princesses themselves are going to be at this year's tryouts to watch! Can you believe it?"

"The.. royal princesses? Celestia and Luna?" All the color suddenly drained from Applejewel's face, as she thought of the two mares she hadn't seen in many, many years. "Wow, that's... that's so incredible for you! Congratulations!"

"Not as wonderful as you are, Jewel!" He smiled, as AJ turned around to face him. "I'm so happy you came into my life."

Skater playfully tackled her, causing AJ to come down on the bed on her stomach, with Skater landing right on top of her. The stallion gently kissed the back of her neck, as Jewel's apprehensions about the possible alicorn reunion tomorrow slowly drifted out of her mind.

"Awww, Skater!" The orange mare giggled playfully, her flank going up, as he stood over her. "Ya'll always know how ta hit the mark!"

Breaking up is hard to do

Breaking up is hard to do

The crowd roared with thunderous hoof applause at Maneison Square Garden, with photographers lights flashing all over the arena, and the rabid fans screaming in the aisles. Standing at the top of the large ramp the stunt ponies had set up, he looked down at the obstacles below him; two large flaming hoops, with a hark tank between them, and the second ramp for him to land on the opposite side.

"Okay Skater, this is it... stay focused on the stunt." The stallion thought to himself, looking straight ahead, and trying to put everything else out of his mind. "One mistake , and you're shark food- well, if the unicorn emergency team doesn’t get you in a magic net, that is."

With a nervous sigh, the extreme sports pony's eyes scanned the crowd around him. In the royal box far above, the two Alicorn sister watched, flanked on either side by their royal guards. When that failed to take some of the pressure off of the stallion's mind, he looked down o the seats he had set aside in the front row, where his sister Glittery sat, cheering him on.

"Yaaaay Skater! Whoo hoo!" The mare called out, enthusiastically cheering him on. "You can do it!"

But when he looked at the empty seat next to her, he saw the other mare he's really hope would show up to cheer him on wasn't anywhere in sight.

"I-it's okay, she's probably just sleeping in late, that's all." He told himself, stifling the hurt and disappointment that was creeping up inside of him. "We were up horsing around really late last night, after all."

Taking a deep breath, the earth stallion pushed himself down the ramp, picking up speed before his forward momentum sent him flying off the edge. Soaring forward, Skater went deftly flying through the first hoop, gracefully soared over the shark tank, and shot through the second hoop with only a mild singe to his well-groomed coat. The crowd suddenly exploded into cheers the second he landed, and two nods of approval came from the two alicorns in the royal booth above him.

But no matter how great his success was, the stallion just couldn't get that empty seat out of his mind.

I had gone on to my photo shoot, nervously trying to avoid running into the two princesses I hadn't seen in over a century. What was I going to say to them? How would I explain where I'd been and what I'd been doing over the past century? But I was about to pay for my mistake dearly...

"Hey Skater, welcome back!" AJ called out to him from the shower, as she heard the door open and close. "How did your tryouts go? Did you qualify for the Equestria games?"

The only sound Jewel heard in response was his slamming his skates down on the table, and his hooves angrily stomping his way back to the bedroom. Turning the water off, the orange mare quickly dried herself, and came out to see what was the matter.

"Babe, what's wrong?" She asked, trotting over to nuzzle him. But the stallion only pulled away in anger, scowling at me with a betrayed look in his eyes. "Did something happen?"

"My sister told me she found out you went to the photo shoot." He snorted accusingly. "Even after you promised me you'd be there when I needed your support most, you weren't there for me!"

"Of course I wasn't there! I had my career to think about!" AJ lied, trying to cover her own apprehension. "I'm only tryng to help your sister with her dresses, that's the reason she hired me on in the first place, remember?"

"You've could have made some time for me, AJ!" He scowled, glaring at me with a look of betrayal and hurt. "I was always there for you when you needed me!"

He broke up with you, didn't he?

Yes, apple blossom, he did. Not right  then, of course, but that was kind of the beginning of the end right there. I continued my modeling career for several months with Glittery, having moved back into the apartment above her shop, but things were never the same. But it wasn't long before I received a visit from two old friends, ones that would be the killing blow to this first lifetime I had lived.

"All right, Apple Jewel... let's see you work it!" The photographer pony declared, snapping pictures of the mare. "Show of that pizzazz and style like only you can!"

AJ was sitting on a swing perched above a swimming pool, wearing a blue ruffled one piece bathing suit, and smiling for the camera. As the photographer finished his work and they went for a break, Berry Bright and Glittery Heart totted up to the mare, who was drinking some fluid out of her water bottle.

"Wonderful job as always, AJ!" Glittery congratulated her, giving her a hoof pat on the back. "This is just the thing we need to promote my new line of swimsuits to the public!"

"And it's simply marvelous that it'll be my stores that'll carry the new line exclusively!" Berry whinnied gleefully. Then, adding almost as an afterthought; "So sorry to hear about you and Skater though, I thought you two were such a cute couple!"

"Oh, don’t worry about him, my brother's already bouncing back from it." Glittery interrupted, before Jewel even had a chance to respond. "Why, he's set to perform in the Equestria games next week, and I'm sure he'll bring home a medal!" The dressmaker looked back towards AJ. "What our dear model here needs to concentrate on is making my newest creations look good, isn't that right?"

AJ could believe how distant Glittery heart had become since she had split up with the dressmaker's brother. It was as if they had never been friends, and the mare was simply a tool to promote her work. It saddened the former farm pony that a friendship had fractured so easily, and she was almost right back where she started when she had first come to Manehatten two years ago.

It was at that point, that a pale Ivy League came galloping into the shop, running up to AJ with wide eyes. The mare seemed overly exited, almost gasping for breath as she tried to talk to the pony model.

"Jewel! You're never going to believe who's come to town, just to meet you!" The earth mare gasped out, looking up at AJ. "They're big, big admirers of your work, and wanted to talk to you in person!"

"Seriously Ivy, it can't really be anypony that exciting!" Berry Bright sighed, shaking her mane. "I mean, Apple Jewel meets celebrities all the time! Who could possibly-!"

It was then that two tall, regal-looking alicorns in crowns came trotting into the room. Everypony present, even the two rich and influential mares, bowed to the two monarchs. Leaving only the stunned AJ still standing there in shock.

"Hello, fair Apple Jewel." A familiar voice called out, one that the earth mare had not heard in ages. "It hath been many years since we hath seenest thou last."

Princess Luna!

That's right, my little Apple Blossom. And it was right then that, as the humans say, I knew 'my goose was cooked'

Pony questions, Alicorn Answers

Pony questions, Alicorn Answers

“Why hello, my good princesses.” Apple Jewel said nervously, bowing two the two alicorns. “It is both a pleasure and an honor to meet two such esteemed personages such as yourselves.”

“No offense, Fair Applejack, but please cease with this insulting charade!”  Luna snorted indignantly, looking down at the nervous mare with scorn. “Mine sister and I doth both surmise who thou actually art. Thine false deception doth stand before us, revealed for all to see!”

The three ponies had gone back into a storage room to talk, and it didn't take long for the former apple bucker realized the jig was up. With a sigh, she guiltily raised her eyes to look at the two alicorn princesses.

"All right, your highnesses...yes, it's me." She admitted, bowing to them both. "I'm sorry that I tried to deceive the two of you."

"I will admit, my dear Applejack," Celestia replied, in the quiet yet humorous manner that AJ remembered. "it was a very creative and convincing disguise."

"But my fair Applejack,"  The Lunar Princess asked in shock, upon hearing the words coming out of the eath pony's mouth. "What hath happened to thine accent most rustic?"

"Oh, my voice? Well, I had to adjust to living in a sophisticated city like Manehatten, and-" The mare stopped, looking back at the two flowing maned princesses wide-eyed. "Wait, aren't you surprised to see me here alive? I mean, it's been over a hundred years since the last time I saw either of you!"

"Didst thou not think we were aware of thine survival?" Luna asked indignantly. "Hast thou forgotten who doth watch over thine dreams each night? Didst thou not think we wouldst notice thee not?"

"Besides, we have other connections throughout the kingdom." The white alicorn added, finishing her sister's thought. "We were more concerned about how you've been doing since the old days."

"But... if you knew where I was, why didn't you come after me?" A bewildered AJ inquired. "Why didn't you try to find me, or take me back to Canterlot?"

"We did believe it best to lettest thou live thy own life, free from our eternal influence." Luna replied knowingly. "It was best to let thine find thine own happiness, in a world that can be so unkind to our little ponies."

"But we were concerned about why you ran away from the event where your very special somepony needed you the most." Celestia added, flexing her graceful wings. "Wasn't Skater always there for you, when you needed his support the most?"

Applejack tried to speak, tried to justify her actions, but the words stuck in her throat. Closing her eyes tightly the little orange earth mare began to sob.

"I-I didn’t mean to hurt him... I did care about him, Celestia, I really did!" The mare fell to her knees. "I just got so caught up in the excitement of my life, a-and I was scared if you found me, it'd all be taken away!"

The mare continued to sob, her tears running down her face, and casing her eye liner and makeup to run. trotting over to her former student's friend, Celestia put a comforting wing around the distraught earth pony.

"Shhh, it's going to be all right, Applejack." The rainbow-maned alicorn said soothingly, holding the mare tightly. "It's going to be all right."

"Ah-ah miss em' so much, princess! Mah friends and family!" The mare wailed sadly, falling back into her old speech pattern. "Ah-ah wish ah haid never stumbled inta thait stupid force field in Tambelon!"

"I know, my child, I know. There is a reason that the gift of mortality is given to the majority of ponykind." Princess Celestia replied, her voice hinting at a personal pain deep within the alicorn that related to this very subject. "The path of the alicorn is not for all ponies... as my faithful student learned, when she used her magic to give up her own eternal youth."

The mare looked up at her princess hopefully. "Does thait mean... could-could y'all make me normal agahin?"

"Would that we could, fair Applejack. But the energies within thou doth resist even our power." Princess Luna shook her head. "It seems a power even beyond we alicorns hath a greater purpose for thee."

So they weren't mad at you for hiding and trying to avoid them?

That right, they were just worried about how I was doing, that's all. The Princesses were wonderful rulers, Sugar Cube, I really wish you had had the chance to get to know them.

Wow! So What's you do next?

Next, they made me realize that it was time to go..."

From a distance, the three mares watched Skater sign autographs and meet and greet his fans. Celestia's spell had made it so that the ponies present could not see the three of them, a fact for which AJ was glad.

"He has a wonderful future ahead of him, Applejack." Celestia assured the mare beside her. "His career will take him places, and he will have a wonderful life an family."

"Yes, I just wish it could've been with me." AJ sighed, as Ivy, the mare who had been a business partner to AJ and Glittery,  trotted  up and started to talk to the stallion. "And IM really, really going to miss him."

"Alas, my fair Applejack, I doth believe your condition hath left you unable to start a family of your own. A price of thine own personal type of immortality, I fear." Princess Luna sighed. "Hast thou made all the arrangement for thine departure?"

"Yeah, my bags are packed, and all my job responsibilities are terminated." AJ sighed, looking at the packed suitcases down by her hooves, and ignoring the painful implications of what the princess of the night had just told her. "I'm ready to move on, and go where ever the winds may take me."

"Are you sure you don't want to return and live at the castle with us, my little pony?" Celestia asked. "You'd be forever amongst friends."

"Thank you, your highness, I really appreciate it." AJ shook her head, "But like you said, I'm a pony who needs to find her own path in the world."

And as the mare saw Ivy nuzzle up to Skater, a single tear rolled down the old mare’s cheek. And then the three ageless ponies vanished in a flash of light, the orange earth mare putting yet another chapter of her long life behind her, forever.

Coming to Coltonville

Coming to Coltonville

You went without really saying goodbye? But-but that's so sad! You had to leave your first love like that!

I know that, Sugar Cube, but we both survived the experience. I even heard that later on, Skater and Ivy had the grandest wedding in the history of Manehatten! I was even tempted to go myself, but I didn't want to be recognized. Nope, it was better to have experienced first love like that, than to have never ever loved at all. And even though Skater, Glittery, and all my other Manehatten friends are long gone, they will always be here in my heart.

So where did you go next? Did you go to Baltimare? Or maybe to Tall Tale? Ohhh, it would've been so cool to go to Los Pegasus!

Well, I kind of went back to my wandering through Equestria, working as a migrant farmer and keeping a low profile, until I heard of the rise of a new pony nation far to the south. The old Equestrian colony of  Pioneer Point, had grown up into the Ponyland Republic, and there were lots of down on thier luck Equestrians emigrating to this new land of oppournity. Being that it was a nation made up entirely of earth ponies, I thought I might try my luck there.

Ohhh, neat! Did you become a model there, too? You seemed really good at it in Manehatten!

No, my little Apple Blossom, I had already had quite enought of that profession in my life time as Apple Jewel. I decided since I had lived a life like Rarity for my first outing, so I would try my hoof at something like Pinkie Pie would have done- baking, I mean, not parties. So over a century after my time as Apple Jewel, I took the long airship ride from Canterlot to Coltonville in the republic. I used some of the makeup and mane and coat dye tricks Glittery had taught me when I was a model, and set about finding myself a place to begin my third life...

The sun was rising over another morning in Coltonville and everpony was getting ready for a new day. Business ponies were opening up their stores and shops, and the sounds of cars and trucks moving about the streets with mares and stallions on their daily commute. More technologically advanced then their neighbors to the north in Equestria, life ws a little more fast paced here in the republic, And in a small, yellow baker's shop nestled among the downtown district, one Coltonville mare was feeling just that very time crunch.

Inside that very shop, the baker was going about kneading a pile of dough, when she heard the bell above the door to her shop ring. Looking up from her work, she noticed a blue mare with a green and purple mane come trotting into the bakery.

"Oh, hello! Welcome to the Magic Kitchen bakery!"  The lavender mare with a pink mane called out, looking up at the new arrival as she trotted into the shop. "I'm Sweet Berry, the proprietor. What can I help you with today?"

"Oh, hello Miss Sweetberry. It‘s really a pleasure to meet you. " The mare with the green apple cutie mark replied, inclining her head politely to the baker. "But I'm actually not here as a customer. My name is Apple Pie, and I'm here to respond to your ad you put in the paper."

"Oh, you're here for the baker's assistant's job, huh?"  The baker with the two red berry cutie mark asked, looking the new arrival over. "Do you have any experience with baking?"

"Well, I did quite a lot of baking cakes back in Equestria." The mare replied, looking around at the yellow kitchen with pink curtains. "And I can honestly say I know my way around a kitchen, if I do say so myself."

"Good, you're hired. You're the only half-competent looking pony who's responded to the ad." The mare said off handedly, looking up at the clock at the wall. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a delivery to make to Coltonville high. Honeyberry and Bon Bon can show you around the bakery. Anyway, see you later! Looking forward to working with you!" The mare quickly bolted out the door, leaving the bewildered mare before she could even say a word.

"That's great!, but..." Apple pie thought to herself, confused. ... who the hay is she talking about?"

It was at that point, that two fillies came tearing down the stairs above, galloping at top speed.

"Darn it Honeyberry, get back here!" The yellow teenage mare yelled, chasing the smaller pony. "We need that flour for the cake mix!"

"Not until ya can catch me!" The little pink mare with the smiley face cutie mark yelled back, running away from the other filly. " Nya nya!"

The two mares were running so fast, they plowed right into the surprise Apple Pie. The poor mare was sent flying, knocked straight back into the kitchen, and crashing into some pots and pans.

"AIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!" CRASH!

"Omygosh! Are you ok?" The yellow teen with the wrapped bonbon cutie mark said in shock, standing over the groggy mare lying on the floor. "Ohhh, Honeyberry, wait until your mother hears about this!"

" Me? This is all your fault, Bon Bon! Your days as my momma's apprentice are done!" The little filly with the pink mane looked down at the dizzy mare. "You ok, lady? You really don't look so well..."

And as she lay there trying to pull her wits together, Apple Pie realized that this lifetime was going to be quite an incredible adventure indeed.

And ohhh boy, I had no idea what kind of adventures were ahead of me, sugar cube. My time in Coltonville would turn out to be just as exciting as my time in Manehatten.

Huh? did you get another boyfriend there?

No, my little Sugarcube... but I did find what it's like to have a family again there...

Baking and Babysitting

Baking and Babysitting

So you went to work for Miss Sweetberry as a baker?

Yep, and it wasn't really hard to find a one room studio apartment with an attached bathroom nearby. See, the one thing I discovered about some of these Coltonville ponies was that you wave a few jangles in front of thier faces, and they won't ask you that many questions. So, with a new job and place to live, I spent the next week learning the ropes of my new employment...

"Apple! Mr. Barrington will be here to get his order in ten minutes!" Sweetberry yelled back into the kitchen. "Could you please get that cherry pie out of the oven?"

"Coming right up, Mrs. Berry!" Apple Pie yelled back. Pulling the over open with her mouth, the mare slipped the pair of oven mitts onto her hooves, and pulled the steaming hot baked good out of the oven. On the other side of the kitchen, Bon Bon was finishing up with the cookie sheet full of donuts she had been baking- and eating half on the merchandise as she had been making it.

"Wow, that's quite an appetite you have there, Miss Bon Bon." Apple Pie noted, thinking about how different this Bon Bon was from a pony she had known long ago. "I don't think I've ever seen one pony eat as much in one minute."

"You really think so? *mph* That's what Starlight and my friends all say." The yellow filly replied, crumbs falling out of her mouth as she talked. "My boyfriend says I should really stop stuffing my face, 'cause I want to be a model, after all."

"You? A Model?" The amused Apple thought to herself, looking at the mare who couldn't stop feeding her face. "Well, I certainly hope you learn to be a little less messy!"

They had just finished and bagged the order, that a white stallion with a rainbow-colored mane and spectacles came trotting into the bakery, a very 'business'-like serious look on his face. Sweetberry turned around, and smiled when she saw him.

"Ahhh, Mr. Barrington! So good to see you again!" The baker handed him the plastic bag with her hoof. "That'll be seventy-five jangles, please."

"Thank you, miss Berry, always a pleasure doing business with you." The stallion with the red automobile cutie mark replied, adjusting his spectacles. "By the way, we've got the new delivery van you ordered over at the dealership. You can come pick it up whenever you like."

"Ohhh, thank you so much!" Sweetberry smiled, smiling gratefully. "Would you mind if I caught a ride with you to your work, and picked it up? I have a really busy day ahead of me, and it's be a really big help."

"Okay, mom! Got my homework all done!" It was at that point, that Honeyberry came bounding down the steps, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm all ready to go to the park!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, dear." The mother frowned looking back at her little girl. "Mommy's got an errand to run, and we'll have to put the trip off until tomorrow."

"Oh, okay." The little filly's face drooped, as she looked away. "You've got stuff to do, I understand."

As Honeyberry sulked her way back up the steps, Apple Pie thought back to another little earth filly who  she had seen that disappointed look on the face of. Stepping forward, the bakery's newest employee quickly spoke up.

"Excuse me, me Sweetberry? I'd be happy to take her!" The blue mare interjected, putting a hoof on the little filly. "I've been meaning to get out and see more of Coltonville, anyway!"

"Really, that'd be great!" Honeyberry whinnied excitedly, hopping up can down. "Can I go with her mom, can I? Can I?"

"I don't know..." Sweetberry asked skeptically. "...are you sure it won't be too much trouble?"

"It's okay, Miss Sweetberry! I can go with them!" Bon Bon assured her, smiling as she downed another donut from her bag. "I'll help Apple keep an eye on her."

"Well, okay. Just be sure to get her back by nine!" Sweetberry replied, as she and Mr. Barrington quickly trotted out the door. "See the three of you later!"

It seems Sweetberry was busy with retrieving her new van, so I just thought I was doing her a favor by taking the filly to the park. And so Bon Bon and I took the little filly out to play, and I think that was first time the little filly had had a good time in ages...

"Wheeeee! This is fun!" The little filly exclaimed, as Apple pushed her on the swing with her hoof. "I wanna go higher! I wanna go higher!"

Bon Bon and Apple Pie played with Honeyberry all afternoon, from throwing and catching a ball with her out in the open field, to bouncing up and down with her on the teeter totter. But every time Apple Pie looked at the little filly, she saw another little pony with a red mane and hair ribbon who kept asking her big sister to play with her again and again. At the moment, Apple Pie was watching the little filly play on the monkey bars with the other foals, when Bon Bon's voice snapped her out of it.

"Miss Sweetberry wasn't always like this, you know. Honeyberry used to be her world." The teen filly sighed, looking up at the children playing. "But after her husband died, she's buried herself in her work."

"Wait, you mean she doesn't have any time for that little filly?" Apple Pie asked in shock. "I understand the importance of work, but family is really important, too."

"That's why she started working so hard, taking control of the bakery like that. She wanted to provide for Honeyberry." Bon Bon explained. "But as she got busy, the business kind of became more important that the reason for working it, and- well, you can figure it out."

"That's so sad." Apple replied sadly, as the little filly dropped down from the monkey bars. "Everypony... everybody... should have someone to care about them."

"Hey, girls! Some of the other girls wanna takes turns braiding each others manes!" Honeyberry motioned them over with her hoof, where several other fillies sat in a circle. "Wanna come join us?"

Apple Pie and Bon Bon looked at each other for  moment, and then shrugged.

"Aw, why the hay not?"  Apple Pie said with a laugh. "I haven't had my mane braided since I was a filly!"

"My little sister does it to me all the time!" Bon Bon giggled, as the two trotted their way over to the other ponies. "Maybe it'll be fun!"

Two things I learned that day, sugar cube. One, not all mommy ponies are always loving to their children, even if they don't mean to be like that.

What's the other?

Don't let a bunch of little fillies loose on your mane, unless you want it to end up looking like a tangled bush.

Strictly Business

Strictly Business

So you were a big help to Sweetberry at the bakery?

Yes child, but I was an even bigger help to her with that daughter of hers. With me playing babysitter for Honeyberry, her mother was freed up to work more on business matters, and she didn't have to waste time on frivolous things like playing with her daughter, or being a mother, or any nonsense like that. She could then use her valuable time to the all-important task of acquiring more profit...

Apple Pie was working in the kitchen, cutting apples and putting the soft crust on the pie,  when she heard the bell above the bakery’s door ring. Looking out into the store section, she saw a pink stallion and a white stallion, both with rainbow manes, trot into the bakery.

"Mr. Barrington! Mr. Meadowsweet! Welcome!" Sweetberry welcomed the two of them, stepping out from behind the counter. "Please, do come in! I'm really eager to get down to business!"

Apple Pie went back to work, but she couldn't help overhearing the conversation between the three ponies sitting in the other room, and drinking coffee and having donuts. Mr. Barrington she knew, the stallion who had been in here the other day to tell Sweetberry her new van was ready. But this other pink stallion, a farmer who owned a parcel of land just outside of Coltonville, he was knew to Apple Pie. As the mare put the pie she had been baking into the oven, she heard the three's conversation continue.

"So you see, Mr. Meadowsweet, if I could get the ingredients for my pies from your farm exclusively- at a discounted price, or course- and I'm sure that would help your business out extraordinarily!" Sweetberry offered. "And I'm sure we could find an extra shelf to sell your wife's homemade pies to our customers on!"

"That sounds like an excellent plan, Miss Sweetberry!" Mr. Meadowsweet replied, nodding his head in agreement. "Why my boy Corny can even help you loading up your van when you come next week!"

"Count my boy Logan in on helping, too!" Mr. Barrington agreed, taking a sip of his coffee. "He'll always drop whatever he's doing to make an extra dollar besides his allowance!"

"Thank you for bringing Mr. Meadowsweet here to my bakery, Mr. Barrington!" Sweetberry thanked him, bowing her head gratefully. "This could turn out to be very profitable for all of us."

"Oh yes, this could be quite profitable for all of us." Mr. Barrington agreed, rubbing his chin with his hoof thoughtfully. "Say I wonder if we could expand our business even further by contacting..."

As Apple Pie continued to listen, she could only think of how... obsessed these ponies were with profit, with the gathering of material wealth, more than any kind of happiness or friendship or concern for thier families. Now, she herself had been all for making a profit back in her day, but that was always to make life better for her family. These three only seemed to care about making more money simply for the money's sake, not a means to an end. She even wondered how much say the two boys had in the work thier fathers 'volunteered' them for, and what she might be able to do to help make their lives easier...

"Those poor colts! Were you able to help them? What about Sweetberry?

"Well sugar cube, the opportunity to assist them came not long after. But it was not exactly the way I would have wanted it.

"Happy Birthday, Honeyberry!" Apple Pie exclaimed with a smile, handing her a carefully wrapped box. "Go ahead, open it!"

With a big grin on her face, the little filly quickly tore the wrapper off with her flexible hooves (a trait republic ponies have, which their Equestrian cousins do not), and eagerly threw off the box lid. As she gazed into the box, Honeyberry's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Oh wow, a diamond encrusted hairbow!" The little filly squealed in delight, fixing the bedazzled bow in her mane. "Thank you so much, Apple, I totally love it!"

"I thought you might." Apple Pie replied, a soft smile on her face. "it belonged to my little sister, it was one of her favorites."

"You have little sister?" The filly asked in surprise, looking back at the blue mare. "It musta been hard leaving her back in Equestria when you emigrated here."

"I actually helped bring her up, just like my big brother helped bring me up when I was a filly." Apple Pie replied sadly, looking away. "I really miss them both so much.."

As the two were celebrating the filly's birthday inside, Mr. Meadowsweet had just left Sweetberry off across the street, and she was walking back towards the bakery. But it wasn't her dear daughter's birthday on her mind, but rather a new business deal that was brewing in her thoughts that kept the mare busy.

"If I can just get my bakery advertised on PTV, I'll be up to my muzzle in customers!" She thought gleefully thought to herself. But it's going to cost a lot of jangles to get a television celebrity like Dazzle to promote my products-"

Her mind was so preoccupied with her business, that the mare never saw the swerving car barreling down the street towards her. She never saw the drunken stallion behind the wheel swerving at the last second to try and avoid her. The last thing that Sweetberry saw was the headlights of the speeding vehicle bearing down on her, and the poor mare was frozen in place before them.

*SCCCCRRRRRRRRRRREEEEECCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  CRASH!*

"Huh?" Honeyberry asked in confusion. "What was that that noise?"

"It came from outside." Apple Pie replied, as the two looked towards the door. "sounds like a car accident!"

The two ponies rushed outside, and were greeted by the sight of a red station wagon smashed up against an electric pole beside the shop. But as Honeyberry looked over towards the front of the car, she saw a familiar pink mane lying just in front of the wheel, with a small steam of blood leaking away from the wrecked auto, and flowing down the storm drain on the curb.

"Mama..." The little filly cried in terror, starting to rush over to the downed pony. "MAMA!"

"No, don't look!"  Apple Pie yelled, grabbing the filly, ad stopping her from running over to the grisly scene. "Don't look, sugar cube... you don't need to see that."

As pony bystanders gathered to gawk and sirens began to blare in the background, a lone filly and mare stood looking on holding each other and crying as the whole cold and unfeeling world around them seems to close in...

Interruption

Interruption

"She got hit by a speeding car?!" Baby Applejack whimpered. "That's terrible!"

"Yes suger cube, the poor little filly was heartbroken ." AJ told her daughter sadly, remebering the long-ago event like it was only yesterday. "And so with no one to take care of her, I just had to-"

"APPLEJACK!!" A loud scream came from AJ's door, accompanied by a lot of banging against the wooden entrance. "I know you're in there!"

Before the orange earth mare (who was right in the middle of telling her daughter the story of millennial lifespan) could even  respond, Cherries had slammed against the flimsy door so hard with her earth pony strength, that the wooden surface crumbled before the pounding blow of her hooves.

"Why don't you come in, Cherries." AJ commented calmly, as the remains of her door crumbled to the floor. "It's open."

"YOU!" The angry mare screamed, storming up to the earth pony in the rocking chair, and shoving a hoof into her face. "How could you mess up my big chance like that?!? How could you stick your stupid snout in where it didn't belong, and rip away my opportunity to make this year's celebration a Cherry carnival?!?"

Quickly moving Baby Applejack out of her lap, the earth mare stood from her seat, and rose to face the angry intruder into her home.

"As I recall, Cherries, it was both of us being immature that messed up our chances." AJ calmly corrected her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I was telling my daughter about my life for her school project." The older mare snorted. "Please prop the ruins of my door back up on your way out, so that the castle repair crew can fix it."

"Your life story!?" Cherries Jubilee asked in disbelief. "Ohhhh, you mean that little fairy tale of yours that you're the original Applejack that survived somehow!"

"That's no fairy tale!" Baby Applejack protested, standing in front of her mother protectively, "My mama was the element of Honesty!"

"Listen kid, you gotta stop believing all the lines your mother's been feeding you." The larger mare looked down at the little filly in annoyance. "I knew your mom when I was growing up, she's nothing but a washed-up migrant worker who goes from town to town in Ponyland, picking apples in exchange for room and board.  She'd still be doing that if she hadn't made friends with Twilight and her crew during that whole Cadence fiasco about a decade back."

"Cherries Jubilee, if you don't get out of my home..." AJ snarled in a warning tone, trying to be intimidating. While the orange mare was still physically powerful, but she knew Cherries Jubilee was stronger, the product of generations of barbarian pony blood mixed with the older Equestrian genetics- a mix that represented nearly all of Ponyland's present population. The shorter and stockier mare could easily knocked the old Equestrian-blooded apple-picker off her hooves... and probably out the window if she wanted.  "...I swaer I'll send you flying out of it!"

"Oh come now, Jack! You might have Twilight, the queen, and your little group of friends believing your nonsense, but the rest of Ponyland isn't buying it!"  Cherries retorted. "You're just trying to live off of the glory of your supposedly great ancestor, but you're family's always been good at lying about their greatness, hasn't it?"

"Is your family still upset about that stupid cherry machine my friends and I messed up at Dodge Junction!? I wish Spike had never told you all about that!" Applejack snorted. "Would you all please get over it?!? That was over a thousand years ago!"

"That's not the only time your idiotic family fouled things up for the Cherry clan!" The other mare growled, stamping her hoof so hard the floor shook. "If she really wants a story for her class, you should tell Applejerk junior here how your family screwed things up for my ancestor Cherry Blossom! Or Cherry Treats?! Or my own grandma, Cherry Sweet!" The angry mare turned,  and trotted towards the doorway. "After all, she should learn how to be a good troublemaker, if she's going to follow in the family tradition!" She looked back at the other mare. "But that's still not going to help her get the best report in her class."

"And just what's that supposed to mean?!" AJ growled, glaring at the rival mare.

"It just so happens that Baby Cherries Jubilee has the same report due to Miss Cheerilee's class, and I'm going to make sure she has a full account of our family's successes." She stepped back through the broken doorway, firing off a parting shot. "And I'll be sure to add how the Apples were responsible for all of our failures!"

"Why that miserable, no good, little..." AJ trailed off angrily, her face contorted in a look of rage. "...so she thinks she's gonna show the Apple family up, does she!?!"

"Mama. what's she talkin' about, you messing up things for her family?" Baby AJ asked, giving her mother a confused look.

"That's... that's a part of the story we'll be getting to very soon, Sugar Cube." The mare replied, sitting back down with a sigh, and picking up the telephone off the stand. "Now, why don't you just let me make this call to the castle's maintenance ponies, and then we'll pick up with what happened to Honeyberry..."

The Heart of the Pie

The Heart of the Pie

"So she didn't like you at first?

"Oh, she liked me well enough, Sugar Cube, but it was hard for us to connect after her mom's death. I moved into the bakery and tried my best to be there for her as I started running the business end of things. But I think she slightly resented me for taking Sweetberry's place even though she never let it show in front of me. Heck, I don't even think she realized it, herself."

Wow, that's so sad! Did she ever start to get along with you again? And did she ever get get over her mom's death?"

"Yeah Apple Blossom, she did gradually get over her sadness as the months passed, but there still seemed to be this distance between us that I couldn't overcome. Until one day when I was making some pies and cookies for an order, when a really clever idea struck me...

"Bon Bon, could you come over here?" Apple Pie called out to her assistant, using the cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the dough in front of her. "I need your help getting these cookies into the oven!"

"Coming, Miss Pie!" the teenage filly called back, stuffing another sweet roll into her mouth, before trotting back into the kitchen to help her boss. It was while those two were working on the latest order, that two young foals came trotting through  the Magic Kitchen bakery's entrance.

"Thanks for carrying my books home, Logan." Honeyberry thanked the school age colt accompanying her. "It was really nice of you."

"Awww, it was nothin', Honey!" The young pony, whom Apple Pie noted looked exactly like a smaller version of Mr. Barrington, replied sheepishly. "I'm glad to help you out anytime."

"Why hello there, you two!" Apple beamed, motioning them both back towards the kitchen. "Honeyberry, why don't you bring your little friend back here to try some of the chocolate chip cookies we've been baking?"

"Ummmm, no thanks, Miss Pie. I need to be getting home, I promised my dad I'd help paint the house."   He looked back at the little filly, and smiled. "Se ya around, Honeyberry!"

"Bye Logan! See you tomorrow!" The filly replied, waving her hoof sheepishly as the colt trotted back out the door.

"Well my my my, doesn't it seem some filly has a little admirerer." Bon Bon teased, resisting the urge to taste one of the unbked cookies on the tray she was putting in the oven. "I can't believe you got a crush on Mr. Barrington's son, Honey!"

"It's no big deal, Bon Bon, leave me alone about it." The filly waved a hoof in frustration ,at the older girl's teasing. "Miss Pie, I need to go up and get started on my homework early, if that's okay with you."

"Actually Honeyberry, I was wondering if you could help me with a pie I wanted to bake." Apple told her young charge, pulling out the recipe book.  "I could really use your help with the ingredients. "

"Couldn't you just get Bon Bon to help you?" The filly complained, not wanting to stick around the kitchen for too long. "I really need to start on my homework!"

Bon Bon has to run some errands for me, and this recipe is from your mom's personal book." The blue mare replied, waving her hoof at Bon Bon to  leave the kitchen. "I could really use your help, please?"

"One of... mom's old recipes?" Honeyberry asked, coming over to look at the cookbook. "Oh! the Nutmeg apple pie! Okay, mom used to make this when I was little! Here, let me show you what you need..."

"That was enough to get her to start talking to me again, and that was a step in the right direction. We started to get along better after that, me going to her school dance recitals, and hosting events for her filly scout troop. It was at one outing at the zoo, with Logan in tow, that she and I finally made a real connection.

"Hey, can you believe how weird this thing looks!?"  Logan laughed, standing on the rail at the odd looking creature's enclosure. "It looks like someone smooshed a chicken and an iguana together!"

"That's called a cockatrice, Logan. An animal brought here from Equestria." Honeyberry replied, pulling the colt back from the rail with her hoof. "If it hadn't had it's magic disabled, you'd be a granite pony sculpture just by looking at it."

"My my, you really seem to know your stuff, Honeyberry." Apple Pie remarked, coming up behind the two school friends. "Logan, could you go get the each of us an ice cream cone? Make Honey's and mine chocolate." The mare handed the colt some money. "You can keep the change for yourself."

"Sure thing, Miss P."  The colt laughed, trotting the long way down the boardwalk towards the refreshment stand. "Be right back, ladies."

The two other ponies sat for a few seconds in silence, before Apple Pie interjected. "Honey, listen, I know these past few months haven't been easy on you, and I'm really really sorry if my stepping in the way I did hurt your feelings. But I was just trying to-"

"No, Miss Pie, you've been totally kind to me in every way possible." The little filly replied, sounding far more mature than she should have at her  young age. "I'm really glad you saved my mom's bakery from getting closed down, and I'm really glad you saved me from a foster home. I'm sorry that I've been so mean to you when you've only been trying to help."

"You weren't mean at all, Honeyberry." The blue mare smiled, leaning over towards the little filly. "You know, you remind me so much of that little sister I told you about, the one who I left behind in Equestria?" Apple pie looked at the ground sadly, stuggling to say what was coming next. "I never told you this before, but... Apple Bloom's gone too, Honey. I really miss her, and I really do know  how you feel right now."

"Your little sister's... gone?" The little filly replied in shock, looking up at the older pony sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Miss Pie, I-I didn't know..."

"It's all right, little one. I didn't want you to worry about it." Apple Pie replied with a sigh, before looking up. "Oh , here comes your little friend back."

"Okaaayyyyy! I gots here one strawberry cone for me, and two chocolate cones for the fillies!" He exclaimed, holding out the two cones in his flexible hooves.

"Don't you mean 'filly and mare' Logan?" Honeyberry exclaimed, taking her cone from him, then trotting back over to nuzzle the older blue mare. "My big sister here deserves to be treated with a little more respect than that!"

"Big... sister? But you two aren't related!" The young colt asked in confusion, looking back and forth between the filly and the clearly perplexed mare, before shrugging. "Good greif, girls are so weird!"

So she called you her sister? Awww, that so cute!

Yep, turns out she always wanted a big sister, so I was kind of happy to fill in the role for her. We kind of had a bit easier time getting along after this, and I almost started to feel like I had a family again... almost. But  while I was trying to stabilize my new life with this little filly, forces were already in motion to upset the apple cart I had put so much time and effort in to righten itself..

"Excuse me, Miss Pie?"  Mr. Barrrington called out, as he and Mr. Meadowsweet came trotting through the bakery door. "We'd like a word with you."

"Oh, hello gentleman, welcome!"  Apple smiled, coming out to the kitchen to talk to the two of them. "Please, why don't the two of you have a seat? What can I do for you?"

"Well, you see, Miss Pie, we wanted to tell you that we are very pleased that you decided to keep our business arrangement that we had with Sweetberry going." Mr. Meadowsweet told her. "And we are also very pleased to see with how well you've kept the business running since the former proprietor’s passing."

"We are, however, here to speak to you about the future." Mr. Barrington stated bluntly, getting right to the point. "Under your careful guidance, the Magic Kitchen has not only thrived, but managed to grow it's business and expand it's clientele."

"Well thank you, Mr. Barrington. The only thing I can attest to that is hard work, and giving the customer what they want." Apple Pie replied proudly, taking his words as a compliment. "Oh, and the personal touch is always a big help, of course."

"That's all well and good, Miss Pie." Mr. Meadowsweet replied. "But we were wondering if you'd consider making your business more profitable by expanding it!"

"Expanding? But Bon Bon and I are already taking on a big workload as it is!" Apple considered, rubbing her chin with her hoof. "Oh, I guess we might be able to hire a few more ponies on staff, but-"

"We're not talking about expanding your business here at this location, Miss Pie." The other stallion replied. "We're thinking about franchising! Creating a whole chain of Magic Kitchen bakeries all across the Ponyland Republic!"

"A-a whole chain!?" Apple Pie asked incredulously. "My recipes, all over the nation?"

"We really think you should consider it, Miss Pie." Mr. Barrington added. "Sure, it may take up more of your time, managing a franchise and all, but there's a whole lot of money to be made here."

And unbeknownst to the three ponies talking downstairs, a little filly was hiding at the top of the step, listening carefully to a conversation that sounded like it was going to leave her feeling betrayed yet again.

Honesty and Lies

Honesty and Lies

"Mr. Barrigton, Mr. Meadowsweet... I'm terribly, awfully sorry. But I'm afraid I am going to have to decline your offer." Apple Pie told the two surprised stallions. "But what makes the magic kitchen's baked goods special cannot be replicated or improved upon by a machine or mass production. Every baked good comes from the heart, and sticking this bakery's name onto some shoddy line of  questionable product  is lying to our customers about what they are getting."

"But-but think of the royalties!"  Mr. Barrington pleaded, trying to get the baker to see reason. "Think of the profits!"

"Besides, properly running a franchise would take time away from raising my daughter properly." Apple replied, in a tone that indicated her decision was final. "And nothing's more important that bringing up my little girl."

And  even though she couldn't hear it, mere moments after Apple uttered those words a little filly went galloping up the stairs, weeping with joy that she would not be forgotten again.

"We have a lot of money sunk into this business of yours, Miss Pie." Mr. Meadowsweet told her, his voice no longer pleasant. "I believe you have made an unwise decision in rejecting our offer."

The mare's eyes went wide at what the stallion was implying, then she glared  at both of them. "Gentlemen, I believe our business is concluded for now." She pointed a hoof towards the door. "And now, if you will excuse me, good day."

The two indignant ponies stormed out of the bakery, Apple angrily slamming the door behind them.

Yay, you sure told those guys off! And you got to spend more time with Honeyberry!

Yeah, sugar cube, I shore did tell those stuffy stallions off, but it was somethin' I really payed the price for later. Anyway, that little filly was quite a hoof full to bring up, dealing  with hormones and youth rebellion. But every time I saw her smile- every time I saw Apple Bloom's young, hopeful eyes looking back at me- it made it all the hard days and worrisome nights worth the while.

That's so sweet! But what about those two troublemakers you had talked about?

Thanks to the two of them terminating all of our deals, business began to fall off for the bakery over the next few years. And I've never been the best at making financial decisions, and so the point came when I was going to have to make the hardest one I had ever made since arrving in the republic...

"Ae you absolutely sure about this, Bon Bon?" Apple Pie asked, as the two looked over the endless stack of bills on the mare's desk. "There's really nothing else that can be done?"

"Sorry, boss!" The mare explained, holding a past due notice in her hoof. "I'm no financial expert, but I think you're too far in the red to pull the bakery's flank out of this one."

"Then I'm afraid I have no choice but to take up Mr. Barrington and Mr. Meadowsweet's offer." Apple said with a sigh. "There is no way I can keep things going the way they are right now, all things considered."

"Ugh, I just can't believe those two jackals!" Bon Bon snorted, stuffing another muffin into her mouth. "This is all thier fault, pulling thier investments out of the bakery like that!"

"They're just being good businessponies, Bon Bon." The blue mare shook her mane. "My only worry is how I'm going to tell Sweetberry."

"Hey, Bon Bon! Hi mom! What's up?" The teenage Honeyberry blurted out, quickly trotting up the stairs as she came in from the school bus. "Hey, sorry I can't stay too long, but Logan and I have a date in two hours. I promise I'll be home by twelve-thirty, kay? Don't wait up for me!"

"Sweetberry, I need to talk you to later, if you can spare a moment."  Apple Pie told her daughter. "These's something important we really need to discuss."

"Huh? Oh, sure!" She trotted up, taking off the headphones from her walkman. "What's up mom, something happen?"

"Well, it's just that.... you see, we have to...." Apple Pie stuttered, tripping over her words as she tried to think of a way of telling this filly that she was going to have to sell her mother's- her real mother's- bakery. "Honey, I've decided we're going on a nice vacation! To visit the isle of Pony!" She sputtered out, thinking of a response on the fly. "You're ending your semester next week, and I can leave Bon Bon in charge of the bakery! Think you're up to a whole summer in the sun?"

"Wow, that's so cool!" Honeyberry galloped up to her mother, giving her a big hug. "Just wait until I tell all my friends we're going on a trip!"

As she went galloping out the door, Bon Bon looked up at her employer in shock.

"Apple... y-you lied to her!" The dumbfounded Bon Bon stuttered, not believing what she had just heard. "You lied to that little filly about the shop- her inheritance!"

You lied to her!? The element of honesty!? Oh mom how could you!?

"I didn't know what else to do at the time, sugar cube. How could I tell that filly that I had managed to alienate her mother's business partners, and drive the Magic Kitchen into ruin. But don’t worry Apple Blossom, this was only the beginning of my mistakes during my first time at being a parent....

The Isle of Pony

The Isle of Pony

"Wow! Mom, you gotta see this!" Honeyberry exclaimed, standing out on the deck and pointing a hoof at the shore. "the island looks so amazing from here!"

As the rocking ship pulled closer to the island, Apple Pie trotted up to the deck, and gazed at the gentle waves crashing against the rocky coast. It had been hive days since the two had finished up thier affairs in the republic, and they were quickly on their way to this northern, rainy isle. She had been unhappy leaving behind the only home her little girl had ever known, but it had been the only way she knew how to keep Honeyberry a new life, far away from the problems that had plagued her back in Coltonville.

"It's incredible, dear! The isle of Pony is looks even more beautiful that the brochures said it would be!"  The older mare replied, as the boat came in towards the dock. "I really think we're going to have a good time here!"

The two ponies disembarked, and made their way up from the docks towards the neighboring village.  There, Celtic ponies milled about the cobblestone streets,  bringing in and selling their catches of the day, and buying and selling and trading their wares at the open air markets. It reminded the baking mare of the quaint tourist postcards she used to see souvenir shops sell of old medieval Equestria... post cards that were in no way a semblance of the truth.

"This is so cool, like something out of one of my history classes!"  Sweetberry declared, staring at all of the villagers as if there were living museum oddities. "Ohh, I can't wait to try some of their local cuisines!"

"Excuse me, but are you Miss Pie?" A yellow mare with a blue mane and umbrella cutie mark asked, trotting up to the two new arrivals. "I apologize if I am in error, but you appear to resemble the picture I was given."

"Why yes... and this is my daughter, Honeyberry."  Apple replied, unnerved by this new mare's blunt forwardness. "And who might you be, if I may ask?"

"My name's Sunglory, royal servant to Princess Rosie." The extremely stiff mare declared, bowing before the two new arrivals just off the boat. "I am here, as per my mistresses' orders, to take you to the royal palace at once to meet with her."

"Wow mom, a royal visit! Can you believe it?!" Honeyberry exclaimed excitedly, not believing the fairy tale come true unfolding right before her very eyes. "How did you manage to pull something as awesome as this?!?"

"It was your pull with the two royal princesses' that got you a meeting with the isle of pony royals, wasn't it mom?"

Well, a request from one of the ex-harmony bearers to a pony kingdom's royalty as something that would hardly be ignored, now would it? Anyway, after my surprising identity had been confirmed by the equestrian royals, we soon found ourselves meeting, and rubbing hooves, with the upper crust of royalty...

"I am so glad you and our daughter could join us, Miss Pie." The white mare with the white rose cutie mark and  pink mane declared, trotting up to the two ponies sitting in comfortable chairs in the castle's drawing room. "We don't get many visitors on our island outside of the tourist season, so it's always good to see a new face around here."

The two ponies could only nod their heads silently in response. Royal Castle was clearly the largest structure on the small island, it's  pink exterior and  two elaborately designed turrets standing out amongst the  gray and drab little fishing village surrounding it. But the interior... washed pink walls, fine oak and cedar furniture, luxurious chandeliers and light fixtures...the inside of the royal family's home was decorated with a look of opulence and luxury Honeyberry had never seen before in her young life. Apple Pie had seen such regalness in her younger days, and to see it again brought back a flood of memories to the older mare.

"Wow, this is sooo amazing your majesty!" The teen filly told the older girl, bowing to her respectfully. "Bon Bon and her friends told me all about how you left Ponyville orphanage, and became a princess! It's like some kind of fairy tale come true!"

"And it's so good to meet you, Miss Honeyberry!" The young princess exclaimed, her tiara and mane glowing with an unearthly radiance. "Tell me though, how are things going back in Coltonville?"

As the two fillies began to converse together, Sunglory trotted up behind the older mare, who was watching her daughter and Rosy with concern.

"She's appears to get along with our princess quite well, it seems." The other mare told her in a quiet tone. "You have a lot of nerve coming here, Miss Applejack. You're either very brave, or very stupid."

"I am very well aware of the risk of my real identity being discovered, that's why I've been working hard to keep a low profile all these years. I am sorry if my arrival... complicates things for you and your kingdom." Apple Pie looked over at the royal servant apologetically. "Tell me, does Princess Rosy have any idea whom I really am?"

"No, the king and queen of the island believed it best to keep their daughter in the dark about your identity." Sunglory replied, in her usual dry and blunt tone. "Just as you choose to keep your own 'daughter' in the dark about the true nature of your visit here."

"Don't you dare try to lecture me on how I'm raising my little girl!" Apple Pie snapped angrily, scowling at the other pony. "Those two shady stallions had been making too much trouble for me back in the republic, and I had no choice but to sell the bakery!" The blue mare looked away. "A mother has to make sacrifices for her children, and until you are one yourself, don't presume to tell me how to  raise my own foal!"

"I hope you are right, Miss Pie." The royal servant replied coldly, speaking in what sounded like a warning tone. "I just hope you work up the courage to tell her the truth, before somepony else actually does..."

Uh oh, I'm guessing somebody else told her before you, didn't they?

Yeah apple blossom, they did. While I was to busy being indecisive, someone had come from the mainland to see my little girl...

Honeyberry and Rosy were going through the village, looking around at the various  trinkets and jewelry the pony merchants had for sale.

"Ohhh, that necklace is sooo pretty!" The teen filly exclaimed, a big grin spreading across her face as she picked it up. "Your island ponies really make all this stuff by hoof?"

"Why yes, it's one of our islands specialties, besides, catching fish and all!" Rosy replied with a giggle. "Here, why don't you try these earrings on, I'm sure they'll really suit you!"

As the two fillies were talking, a young colt who had been searching around the marketplace finally spotted them, and galloped across the street towards them. Before either girl had time to react, the young colt rushed up, and grabbed Honeyberry in a tight embrace.

"Yahhhhhh! What the -!?" The filly yelped in surprise. "You jerk, what do you think you're doing!?"

"Honeyberry, I'm so glad to see you again!" The colt exclaimed excitedly. "My dad didn't think I'd be able to find you when he sent me here!"

"Friend of yours, Honeyberry?" Princess Rosy asked in an amused tone.

Her eyes wide, Honeyberry could only stare on in shock.

"Logan, is that you?" The filly asked in shock. "What the hay are you doing here!?"

Confrontation

Confrontation

And here, my dear apple blossom, is where everything once again fell apart. I really should have seen the trouble coming, but I was too wrapped up in the moment to see the problem I had crafted with my own two hooves was about to explode in my face...

"Wow, so you're telling me Princess Celestia... and Sombra before he turned evil... were actually... lovers!?" Sunglory said in disbelief. "That-that's incredible! Are you sure you're not just pulling my hoof?"

"I swear it's true!" Apple Pie replied, with a grin on her face. "We had all heard that little yarn in Ponyville when we were foals!"

"APPLE PIE!!"

The two mares were sitting in the old castle's banqueting hall, trading what might have been tall tales back and forth, when the great wooden doors to the hall burst open. Before Apple Pie could even react, an angry teenage filly had galloped right up to her, and was staring the old mare right in the face.

"Honeyberry!?" Apple Pie asked in confusion and shock. "What in the world?!?"

"How could you not tell me you ran my mother's bakery into the ground and not tell me!"  The angry young filly demanded, stamping her hoof. "How DARE you hide it from me, and pretend nothing was wrong!"

Apple Pie looked back, and saw the form of Logan standing beside the princess, and she suddenly realized how her little charge had found out the truth.

"N-now Honeyberry, I was only trying to do what was best for you!" Apple Pie replied, getting defensive. "You're mother had died, I was trying to make ends meet, and I-"

"You what, did what was best for me by lying to me!?" The young spitfire howled at the older mare angrily. "That's how you've taken care of me, by lying!?! By selling off what little I had left of my mom's!?"

"Now you listen here, little missy!" Apple Pie snapped back, finally losing her temper. "I did what I had to to make sure you had a roof over your head, and made a lot of choices I didn't want to have to make! I've been alive a lot longer than you have, and if you think-!"

"I don't want to here any more of you're lies! That's all everything you've ever told me has been, a lie!" Honeyberry cried, turning away from the older mayor in tears. "I just want you out of my life, and I never wanna see your face again!"

"Now Honeyberry, wait..." Apple Pie replied, trotting up to the angry teenager. "Listen to your mother-"

And at that moment, the younger pony back-kicked the older mare, and she was airborne. Apple was sent flying back into one of the banquet tables on the far side of the room, breaking it in half and covering herself in the dishes and utensils that had been covering it. The blue pony simply sat there in silence, more shocked by what had happened that actually hurt.

"I will provide the means for which you may return to Coltonville with Logan, under our royal protection." Princess Rosy immediately replied, glaring back at the blue marveling on the broken table. "And I assure you no further interference from this troublemaking mare, as she was be our unwilling guest here on the island for some time."

And as the four of them trotted out of the room, the pony who was once again Applejack could only shed tears over the life pulled out from under her once again....

.....

"Honeyberry went back to the republic with Logan, and Mr. Meadowsweet adopted her." The old orange mare sighed, looking away from the daughter who sat on her lap. "I never did see my precious little baby again, but I heard they let her take over her mother's bakery again when she grew up, and she eventually married Logan and raised a family of her own." Applejack closed her eyes. "I just wish I would have been able to make up with her before she grew old and passed, and let her know how sorry I was for my mistakes."

"B-but that's so sad!" The little filly in her lap had tears welling up in her eyes, and was trying to keep from crying. "How could things have gotten so awful for both of you?"

"Motherhood doesn't come with an instruction manual, my little apple blossom." Her mother replied, sitting back in her rocker, and stroking the little filly in her lap's mane with her hoof. "Sometimes, a parent makes mistakes we are never able to make up for. All we can do is do what we think is right, and hope for the best."

They sat there like that for a few minutes, mother and daughter, as the rain slowly began to fall outside the window into the castle courtyard. Finally, Applejack opened her eyes, and looked out the window at the darkened sky.

"Come now, little one. That's enough of my story for right now." The orange mare replied, looking down at her little daughter with a smile. "Now, why don't we go to the Satin Slipper for some ice cream? I'm sure Fizzy has a chocolate milkshake with your name on it!"

Wiping the tears out of her eyes, the little filly nodded, and followed her mother out the door. As they passed the trophy shelf, Baby Applejack couldn't help but notice a faded photograph of her mother with another little filly, smiling over a cake they had baked together.

"Now, when we get back, I'll tell you about my time I was a saloon and dancing mare, in the rough and tumble Equestrian old west..."

Family Feud

Family Fued

It's not fair... it's just not flanking fair. That she could get away with something like this, ruining my special day... it's enough to make this mare buck in anger. Can you believe it!?! The whole castle is buzzing about that stupid apple bucker! Just because she made up some story about being the original element of honesty, and these stupid ponies lap up her lies like someone put sodas in their troughs. I spent a whole month getting ready for this years Cherries carnival, which is usually the talk of the castle this time of year, and now all of my hard work and planning is going to be overshadowed by this sudden 'revelation'. Is there nothing I can do that that Applejack won't mess up for me!?!

I really shouldn't be surprised, it's in that liar's blood to ruin things for the Cherry family. Ohhh, you want a family history for your class, baby Cherries Jubilee? Well, you sit right down there and listen to your mama! Cherry Jubilee, the great matriarch and founder of our clan, was the first victim of the Apple family. She showed a moment's weakness, bestowing kindness on the original Applejack, and what was her reward? Her Cherry works destroyed, many many years of running a successful business going up in smoke in a single moment because of the 'great hero' of Equestria! My ancestor's business was ruined by the cowgirl pony, and we've never forgotten this crime against our house!

You think we're bitter for carrying a grudge this long? Other generations of our family later suffered from her descendants, more than I can count on my four hooves. Cherry Treats, the great fashion model of Manehatten... she lost a wonderful fashion show, the pivotal point of her career, to an upstart little bimbo named Apple Jewel, who couldn't even sew her own dresses. Ever heard of Cherry Pie, the famous baker of Coltonville? That's because she couldn't compete with Apple Pie, and her Magic Kitchen bakery with it's fancy-schmancy apple treats! Cherry Sweet fell prey those accursed apples in the old west, and Cherry Blossom was their victim in old Ponyville after that!

Every few generations we are put down by an Apple, and forced it takes just as many generations to pull ourselves back up by our horseshoes. My own grandmother had her life ruined by an Apple a century before my birth. I had come back to Dream Valley, hoping to make a life for our clan here. I worked hard, spending many years of my life picking cherries, and working my way up the ranks to be in charge of the castle's entire cherry orchard. I married your father, and carefully built a life for our family here. My cherries were the most desired fruit in the entire valley, and I had finally achieved the success we had so long been denied!

But then... that apple bucker came along, and just like EVERY OTHER TIME the Apples had come in and ruined things for us! People stopped ordering cherry cola at the Satin Slipper, and her stupid cider became the drink of choice. Oh, she did have her bad luck over the years-  I laughed my flank off when she got turned into a dragon by Tirek, and was thrilled when she stayed behind when the rest of us moved to Paradise Estates.  But I just know she's going to wreck things for you and I at Dream Castle, kid, and we'll be rode out the the valley on a rail, just you wait.

Grrrr.... That stupid old nag, what does she know about farming? Oh how I hate Applejack, I hate the fake folksy wisdom, and the silly pony act. She always takes credit for the accomplishments of others, and  builds her glory on my misery. All of those acres she's wasting on apple trees could be used for a good crop of cherries, and it's an insult to us agricultral ponies that her grubbing in the dirt with her hoof is classified as 'farming' by other equines!

But don't you worry none, kid. We Cherries have stuck back at the apple buckers many times over the decades. It was a Cherry nurse at the retirement when an elderly Apple sold the family farm... who do you think it was that convinced the old mare to sign the papers she couldn't even read anymore? And Apple Jewel and Apple Pie's careers... don't think we didn't make life miserable for the element of honesty's descendants. This feud has raged for well over a thousand years, kid. And it's going to be up to you to make sure baby Applejack's life is made a living hell when the time comes.

What?!? That little brat said she wants to be FRIENDS!? Like buck I'm going to let you be friends with an Apple! No, I don't care if your father says it's all right, Tex and I don't exactly see eye to eye on stuff like this anyway! And don't you be sneakin' behind my back and try to be friends in secret, cause you bet your bottom end I'll tan your flank red if I find out you've been nice to her in secret! Look kid, I know I must sound harsh for saying all this about a little filly, but you gotta understand what that whole family has done to us. Tell ya what, kid... we'll go listen to AJ tell her brat her fairy tale, then after she's done, I'll tell ya what really happened. Then maybe you'll understand why we both hate each other so much.

Oh, and don't worry about your presentation to miss Cheerilee, kiddo... we'll give that old mare a show about the Fibber-jack family your whole class will NEVER forget!

Go West. Young Mare, Go West

Go West. Young Mare, Go West

There Apple Blossom, now wasn't that delicious? The Satin Slipper always has the most delicious of treats. Now, where was I in my story?

Your time as a saloon mare?

Oh, right! See, following the fallout with Honeyberry, I was left emotionally wasted. Princess Rosy and the royal family of the isle of Pony soon let me leave the island after I promised, under oath with Celestia's name, not to interfere in my adopted daughter's life anymore. Totally forlorn, I decided to return to Equestria, the land of my birth. But three hundred years had passed since I had lived at Sweet Apple Acres, and Equestria had become a much different place than in the age of harmony. And so, I decided to start my next life in a dusty desert town in which I had sought refuge in once before, a long time ago. See, I had decided if I was immortal, I was going to try out every kind of life this world had to offer... even some of the more unsavory ones...

The wind swept across the harsh and unforgiving southern desert, blowing sands across the lifeless dunes amidst the sweltering heat. Water was scarce in this this burning wasteland, which made any kind of life out here even scarcer. But a few ponies still managed to cling to life out in this harsh environment, a few small communities desperately clinging to life in this wasted inferno.

Dodge Junction... once a great and bustling community of the Equestrian frontier,  the drying up of most of the local wells had reduced the town to a small collection of buildings. No more than seventy or so ponies still dwelled in the once great frontier community- joined by those wanderers through the wastes who stopped off here- drifters, ner-do-wells, ponies who didn't want to be found- to rest, before returning to their endless journey through the burning sands.

At the center of this small town stood the Holiday Saloon- a broken down old wooden building with cracked plaster and peeling wallpaper. Inside, rugged and grimy stallions sat scattered around the bar, hunched over half-filled glasses of ale and hard cider, slowly washing their troubles away in an endless stream of booze. In the corner sat an old piano, its keys worn from decades of playing. And out in the center of the room sat a table covered in scattered playing cards, and reeking of the smell of spilled ale.

Behind the bar, a blue mare with blue and yellow mane and a mountain cutie mark cleaned and put away glasses, all the while keeping an eye on the bar around her. Clad in a pink dance hall mare's dress, Countryside divided her time between serving her customers, and making sure none of the ornery patrons tried anything funny. The middle aged mare had seen better days, much like the town, and it was getting harder and harder to keep up with these rough thugs, who kept filling her establishment every night.

"Hey, you little scuzball!" She snapped, rushing over and smacking an unshaven stallion behind the head. "Keep your flanking hooves out of the tip jar!"

With a sigh, Countryside was about to finish up her work, when she heard the sound of the saloon doors open behind her. Turning and expecting to see another drifter in a ten gallon hat, the old mare was shocked to find  young orange mare with a candied apple cutie mark step into the establishment.

"Hello, is anybody here?" The obviously greenhorn pony called out trotting past the horde of sleazy stallions who all had their eyes on her. "Excuse me miss, but is this the Holiday Saloon? My name's Candy Apple and I had read about a posting for a job..."

Looking the pretty young mare up and down, a smile suddenly crossed the older pony's face lit up. as she realized her prayers had finally been answered.

...

"Remember now, Candy, your job is to keep these stallions happy." Countryside told her, Adjusting the straps on the back of her dress. "Serve them drinks talk to them, make them feel special."

"Yes, I understand that." Candy Apple grunted, as the other mare pulled on the strings. "But does this thing really need to *urk!* so tight?"

Looking down at herself, Candy couldn't believe what she was wearing. The poofy saloon mare's dress was far too tight, the fishnets really made her legs itch, and these barely-covering tiny lace covered undies really rode up her flank. This outfit reminded Apple of the dance hall mare's outfit that Pinkie Pie once wore, although Apple's dress was a more somber brown.

"Candy, you need to understand... many of these stallions have been out on the trail for months, they haven't seen a mare in a long, long time." Countryside whispered coyly, as they trotted down the stairs towards the bar. "Your job is to relieve them of those hard earned bits as they guzzle booze and try to forget about the harsh world around them."

And Candy quickly found that's exactly what these ponies wanted. As she wandered from table to table, carrying trays of drinks balanced on her flank and  talked with the patrons. In the eyes of many of these stallions Candy saw an empty, hollow look... a sorrow that came from the cruel and unforgiving world Equestria's frontier had now become. One stallion was missing an ear, cut off during a skirmish with a hostile tribe of buffalo who took it as a trophy. Another stallion had a very obscene tattoo of Princess Celestia doing something risqué- such a thing would have gotten him arrested on the spot in Canterlot.

Is this what Equestria has fallen to since my day? Candy asked herself, looking around at all the burned-out patrons. Have these ponies fallen so far from the ideals of friendship and kindness, that now our kind are no better than pond scum?

As she trotted from table to table, Candy Apple did try to make them feel better. Laguhing at their jokes that weren't funny, enduring hoof slaps on the flank an other annoyances. If she could help these poor souls forget about life for awhile, Candy was more than happy to ease their burdens.

It was then that Candy noted a card game going on at the big table, between two stallions in cowpony hats. A small crowd had gathered around the two competitors, and the orange mare noted that both were a little cleaner and nicer looking than the other patrons, although just as rugged.

"Five card pick up, Butterfly Hunter." The blue stallion with a pink mane snarled, a foul grin on his face. "You gonna play, or you gonna fold?"

"I'll make my move when I'm good and ready, Curly!" The pink stallion with the blonde mane snapped back. "You just pay attention to your own damned cards!"

Seeing that another of Countryside's saloon mares had sat herself down next to the arrogant stallion named Curly, Candy trotted up and plopped herself down in the lap of the slightly more noble looking stallion named Butterfly hunter.

"Ya'll know, somethin, mister hunter..." She purred in a sultry voice, trying her best to emulate the tone she had heard Rarity talk to a stallion in once. "...a real Stallion always knows how ta cut the cards!"

It was a cheesy line, to be sure, but it appeared Butterfly Hunter was too drunk to notice. And so the card game went on and on, neither side seeming to gain an edge as the hours passed by. Getting bored, Candy began to grab drinks from the other mares for herself and Hunter, downing shot after shot as the night wore on. Candy Apple got more and more woozy, and it was hard to tell what was going on at that point. She remembered the card game ending... she remembered taking and giggling with Hunter after his victory... she remembered leading the stallion up the stairs to one of Countryside's upstairs rooms... and Candy Apple also remembered on of the longest and most passionate nights of making love a mare had ever experienced...

Later, Candy would learn that they other dance hall mares had failed to warn her not to drink the swill, an initiation prank they play on all the new saloon fillies. And while she was certainly angry, she couldn’t help but laugh when they told some of the stories about where they had each ended up on their first night.

“Don’t worry, Candy.” Countryside said with a laugh, “I think you’re gonna fit in nicely around here!”

Learning the Ropes

Learning the Ropes

“Ohhhh…. My head…” Candy groaned, sitting up in bed, rubbing her hoof against her head. “What the hay happened? I feel like I got run over by an apple cart.”

“Well, glad to see you’re finally up. You shore drank enough last night at kill a buffalo!” Countryside grumbled, putting some sheets away in the closet across from where candy lay. “You sure were a hoof full when Butterfly Hunter had to carry all the way up those stairs, and I had to put you bed!”

“Wait, last night…. didn’t Butterfly Hunter and I…” The mare hopped out of bed, blushing a deep red, realizing the whole thing had been an intoxication-induced dream. “Good gravy, that stuff pack far more of a wallop than I thought!”

“Well, you’d better get down stairs, Cherry Blossom’s gonna need some help cleaning’s up that mess from last night.”

Candy Apple nodded, and stumbled down the steps with the worst hangover in history. When she got down to the first floor, she groaned at the  sight of all the overturned beer mugs, filled spittoons, and the ashes of the loco weed the patrons had been smoking the night before scatted everywhere. The smell of the spilled booze was enough to make the poor mare choke.

“Ack, this is terrible!” Candy complained, as a blue mare with a red mane looked up at her from wiping a table down.

"Well good morning there, sunshine!" The pony with the brown cupcake with icing cutie mark greeted her. "Here, grab a rag. This place needs some serious scrubbing and wiping down!"

"All right, I'll be happy to help." She grumbled back, grabbing a rag and starting to clen. "Say, weren't you one of the other girls working the tables last night?"

"Yep, Name's Cherry Sweet!" The other mare exclaimed proudly, wiping off the underside of the table iwth the rag in her mouth. "Been here for three years, and there's no pony who can work those tables over like I do!"

"Huh, spunds like you really know this job." The apple mare replied, cleaning the undersides of the table. "So how long have you been working here?"

"Oh, about four years. Left home in Dream Valley a bright and starry-eyed filly with dreams of adventure, ended up working and living at this filthy dump." Cherry replied with a sigh. "It took a loooong time to get use to all the flank slaps and mare calls- but hey, it's a living!"

"So you must be really good at what you do." The older mare replied with a laugh. "I'll be sure to ask you if I ever have any questions."

"Yep, I'm the go-to pony at this place if you need any advice or pointers." Sweet boasted. "I'm the saloon's head dance mare, so just be sure to follow my lead with the customers, all right?"

"You say so, Cherry." The other mare rolled her eyes. "So, who was that blue stallion you were cuddling up to last night, hmmmm?"

"Oh, him?" Sweet responded. "That's Curly, he's the towns baking stallion... the closest thing this stinking privy of a town has to a wealthy stallion. That pink-maned hunk is goona be my key ta getting out of this one mule town, when the time is right!"

"Ah, I see. I'll be sure to leave him to you, then." Candy agreed, putting the rag she was holding down, and grabbing a broom and dustpan. "And that stallion I was dealing with?"

"Oh, Butterfly Hunter? He's a bounty hunter, a trader in flesh who brings back his targets dead or alive." The other mare shivered, at merely mentioning his name. "He's really quiet and keeps to himself, and so we don't bother him much. We all thought you were brave to go cozy up to that unkempt bag of filth, but then we realized you were just new."

"Hm, I dunno, he seems really nice to me." Candy Apple replied, putting down the broom, and picking up the mop. "Maybe he just was waiting for someone to come up and talk to him. I mean, he sure didn't seem to get mad at me when I tried to cozy up to him."

"Oh, my! Only one day here, and you seem to have already become an expert on our customer base!" Cherry sneered. "Maybe I should just retire, and let you take care of all those lonely stallions."

Oh no, another mean mare!

Yes Apple Blossom, I had stepped into her territory, and even I didn't realize it, she took it as a threat to her position in the saloon's hierarchy. You see, I didn't realize there was something of a power struggle between Curly and Butterfly Hunter, and my support for the bounty hunter put me on Cherry's enemy list. But things were only going to get worse from here, as this saloon mare was going to make my life REALLY miserable!

"All right girls, make sure to get that banner up there right!" Countryside yelled to Candy and Cherry, who were pulling the sign on ropes up over the door of the paradise saloon.  "I want that banner in place before the stallions bring the herds through the town for this evening!"

"Got it, boss!" Sweet replied, looking over at the other show mare. "Hey, Candy Apple! Could you be a dear, pull tighter on the ropes please?"

"Sure thing, Cherry!" She replied, pulling tighter on the cord she was hanging onto.  But as the apple mare pulled tighter, the other pony let go of her rope, causing Candy to unintentionally yank the banner completely free of the building.

"Whoooah-oaahhh!" The surprised mare stumbled backward, falling away from the building, and falling face first into an open privy.

"Apple! Now darn it, we're going to have to get your dress cleaned again!" Countryside sighed in disgust. "Why can't you learn to be more careful?!?"

"Aww, try to go easy on her, boss!" Cherry replied with a snide laugh. "After all, as a dance hall mare... she's just learning the ropes!"

A Butterfly's Bounty

A Butterfly's Bounty

And so, despite my discomfort and an unwanted rival, I pressed on at my duties at the saloon. Working tables, putting up with lewd and disgusting comments from cowponies no self-respecting stallion in Ponyville would have EVER hurled at a mare, and cleaning stuff on the tables I won’t even tell a little girl like you about, my little apple blossom.

But there were some things about the job I didn’t find particularly unpleasant… particularly involving a certain stallion…

Candy was just sitting one stallion’s drink on the table, when she and every other pony in the saloon heard a rough and tumble scuffling noise going on outside, accompanied by a lot of pony yelling and snorting. When the mare and several other ponies rushed to the swinging saloon gates, to see what all the ruckus was.

“Lemme go, ya stubborn ole fool.” A rough looking stallion in a cowpony hat spat and whinnied, as he was dragged along the ground, with his hooves hogtied in a lasso. “Imma tell you again, ya filthy saddle-sore varmint- I didn’t rob no eleven o’ clock stage coach!”

When everyone saw the stallion pulling him along- a tall pony in a long black leather jacked and wide brimmed hat- they knew what had happed. Butterfly Hunter had brought in another bounty, an outlaw who had robbed the stage, from the sounds of the angry stallion’s protesting. The bounty hunter dragged his quarry over towards the sheriff’s office, and after a few minutes inside, emerged carrying what was obviously a jangling bag of bits.

As the grim and silent stallion counted his money, the ponies in the saloon quickly realized that the shadowy stallion was trotting towards the saloon.

“Okay, he’s comin’ over here with his loot again!” Countryside yelled to the others, as all the saloon mares began to scramble around in a panicked frenzy. “One of you make sure to show him a good time, and get him to spend as many of his bits as you possibly can!”

“Uh uh, no way are any of my girls gonna warm up that walking corpse!” Cherry sweet protested, as each of of the other mares rushed to each grab another customer to concentrate on. “Have Candy Apple do it, she’s the newest one.”

“Fiiiine, I’ll take care of him again.” Candy snorted indignantly, stamping her hoof.  “good grief, he’s not nearly as rough and tumble as you namby pambys are makein him out at be!”

But all voices in the normally loud saloon  fell silent, as the  intimidating form of the bounty hunter stepped through the swinging doors. There were many rugged and crude ponies out here on this western frontier, but Butterfly hunter carried an utterly cold aura of death around him. Every mare and stallion gave this frowning pony a wide breadth as he trotted his way up to the back, his large black hat covering most of his face, save for the fierce scowl on his mouth.

“Howdy hunter, how y’all doin’?” Candy smiled, trotting up behind the bar, and pouring him a drink . “Havin’ the usual, I’m guessing?”

“Hello, Miss Candy, pleasure to see ya again.” His voice replied in an icy whisper. “An yes, that’d be mighty fine.”

Candy nodded, and poured a strange looking red liquid into the cider she had just poured, the glass then began to bubble and steam, the mixture inside being so volatile that it melted the spoon the saloon mare stuck in to mix the concoction. As Candy handed the bizarre mixture to the bounty hunter, she could only wonder what the hay was actually in that crazy drink.

“Ahhhh, that really hit the spot!” The stallion his as he downed the drink, eyes flashing odd colors, and snorting fire out of his nostrils. “Thank ya darlin, ahm always mighty obliged at y’all fer mixin’ it just the way ah like it!”

“Ahm glad y’all laike it so much.” Candy replied, smiling at him.  “Say , who was thait ornery critter y’al hauled into sheriff steelstar’s office earlier?”

“A nasty little number with a price on his head- robbed five stages, violently ended the lives of fourteen pony guards for those coaches.” He shook his head in disgust. “Scum like that is the reason scum like me exists.”

There conversation went as they always did, covering small topics fist, then slowly working their way to more important topics. He always had pleasant things to say to her, despite all the bad rumors and fear surrounding this stallion. Both of these troubled ponies drew a little pleasure from each other’s company, it what was an otherwise miserable existence out on this miserable frontier.

After the evening crowd had thinned out a bit and the stallion had had a few drinks, he opened up and talked a little about himself… something he rarely ever did, even to Candy Apple.

“My old man had bigger plans fer me than this Candy. He wanted me at work with animals… just like our ancestor Fluttershy did.” He told her, in a voice that sounded almost normal. "In the end, I did sort of end up working with animals... ponies who behaved like animals, anyway."

"Wow, I never woulda though that of you, Hunter." Candy Apple replied in shock. Could this dark and dangerous pony, a stallion who hunted other ponies for a living- really be descended from her old friend? It seemed so hard to believe, yet that eily farmiliar butterfly cutie mark...

It was just then, that the loud sound of a thousand galloping hooves could be heard qickly approaching the town, as the widows in the saloon all began to rattle, and the drinks in the customer's glasses all began to vibrate. The ponies present barely had time to wander what was going on, when a cowpony came busting through the saloon doors in a panic.

"It's a stampede!" The frantic stallion yelled, barely standing there for a moment, before barreling back out the door. "One of the ranchers left the gate on thier fence open!"

It was only an instant, before Butterfly Hunter had grabbed his hat, and galloped out the door. Narrowing her eyes, Candy snatched a lasso from one of the cowpony customers, and galloped out after the bounty hunter.

The two ponies found a large heard of Equestrian longhorns, snroting steam and angrily galloping towards the small town. Galloping out in front of the herd, they each twirled a lasso, and through the loop over one of the lead bulls horns. If Butterfly was surprised to see a saloon mare wrangling like a cowpony, he did a good job of not showing it. Instead, the bounty hunter merely nodded at the mare, and together they pulled the stubborn lead beast off to the left.

The changing of direction for the lead animal caused the rest of the herd to follow suit, and the sampede veered off just intime to avoid the town. Once, Candy Apple would've tried to reason with the panicked cattle, but that was no longer possible- like most of Equestria's talking animals, the herds had gone feral in the past two centuries. No longer gifted with speech, these poor dumb beasts had given themselves over to savagery, and had become... well, true animals.

After they had gotten the animals off course, it hadn't taken the two ponies long to tire the herd out, and get them to drop from sheer exaustion. Much later, after the pair had gotten the rampaging cattle back inside the saftey of thier fence, Butterfly Hunter took the time to compliment the mare on her work.

"That was some mighty fine cattle ropin' ya did back thar, m'mam." The stallion told her politely, tipping his hat. "Ah reckon you must have some Ranch experience wherever y'all come from."

"Oh, you're more raight than y'all think, sugar cube." The saloon hall mare replied with a smile, looking back at the now calmed herds. "Ah cain't believe the ol' rancher was careless enough ta leave tihs gate open laike thiat."

"Thait's just it, darlin... ah don't think he did leave his gate open." Butterfly replied, looking at a foricbly cut paddlock on the gate. "Candy, ah reckon some ornery critter started this stampede on purpose!"

Ohhh, a mystery! What happened then, mama?

Well now, you'll just have to wait an' find out, won't ya, apple blossom? You'll just have to wait and find out...

A sidewinder revealed!

A sidewinder revealed!

So anyway, Ol' Butterfly and I figured it must've been so no-good varmint who let those cattle loose on the town. For three weeks we investigated the circumstances of this crime, and I came to think it was some cattle rustlers. But Butterfly Hunter, her had a different idea about what was causin' the trouble...

"It's that old stallion, Curly... I know he's the  one who let those cattle free!" Butterfly Hunter snorted, pacing back and forth inside the bar after closing. "Nobody else had as much ta gain as he does from messin' up the cattle drive this year!"

"But Butterfly, that doesn't even make a lick of sense!" Candy Apple protested, wiping the bar down with a rag on her hoof. "Curly's the biggest business pony  here in town, what could he possibly gain from wrecking the town's economy?"

"Candy, let's face it, this town is dying."  The bounty hunter pointed out matter-of factly. "Every pony that can afford to do it is selling tier lands, picking up stakes, and moving back into Equestria. The buffalo tribes are peacefully reclaiming their lands along the frontier, buying up the ranches and homes as the  settlers leave."

"So if Curly speeds up the process and gets them to move out faster, he can buy up the land for cheap from the ponies who just want to get out, and sell it back to the buffalo for a fortune!" Candy realized, putting a hoof to her mouth thoughtfully. "But... the frontier used to be a booming place! How the hay did things come to this?!"

The stallion sighed, slumping into a chair by one of the tables. "Because we failed, Apple. We were given the gift of these wonderful lands and fertile soil, and we screwed it up, bad. Our fellow earth ponies, who were supposed to nurture the land and give back what it gave us, got greedy." He looked out the window, at the boarded up buildings at the edge of  town. "My momma told me this town once had two other saloons, a barber shop, and a post office. It had square dances, and town picnics. But the farmers and ranchers drained the land dry, and wore out the soil trying to make a fortune."

"So instead of bein caretakers of the land, they used and abused it." Applejack replied knowingly, trotting over to the window where he was standing. "Hunter, do you think there is anything we can do to reverse the damage selfish ponies have done?"

"It's too late for that, darlin'.The frontier is only good as sacred stomping ground for the tribes now." Her replied, putting a hoof around the saddened mare. "The only thing we can do, is make sure the pony departure from these lands is a fair experience for all those involved."

...

It was much later that night, when a loud noise outside woke Candy Apple from her blissful slumber. Looking over beside her, she saw that Butterfly was aready awake and out of bed, putting his hat and hoof boots on.

"Darlin', stay here." He snorted, trotting towards the door. "I thought I heard something outside."

"Hunter wait... come back to bed. " She moaned enticingly, rolling back over. "It's probably just the wind, or-"

But he was already gone, leaving her along in the dark and quiet room. With a sigh, Candy thrust off the covers, and galloped her way out the door after him. Racing down the stairs and out the door after Hunter, she never saw the shovel that smacked her in the back of the head, sending her crashing to the ground.

"AHHHHH!" Candy yelled, as she fell to the ground. Her shadowy attacker was on her in an instant, kicking and biting and trying to go for Apple's throat. Despite being stunned by the surprise attack, Candy put up a good fight, landing several hard hoof blows on her assailant's head.

"OW!" The attacker yelped, as she finally managed to subdue the much stronger mare. "Damn you, Apple! That hurt!"

"Cherry Sweet?" Candy yelled in disbelief, staring in shock as the other mare tied her up. "What the Hell!?!"

"Hiya, Candy! Betcha didn't see this coming!" The saloon mare said with a smirk. "I told you it was bad business to stick your nose in my business!"

"Hmm, I see you got her, very good!" The growling voice of Curly chuckled, as he trotted his way around the building. "I was afraid she's get away and snitch about our little plans!"

"Don't worry, she ain't going anywhere." Cherry chuckled, looking down at her helpless rival. "What about Butterfly Hunter!"

"That ornery Sidewinder got away from me, but don't worry, he ain't no threat." The stallion replied, blowing some smoke from the stogie in his mouth that he was puffing on. "That saddle bum'll just keep running, the only thing he cares about is himself!"

"So it was you two who were up to no good in this town!" Apple snorted angrly, looking up at the two conspirators. "What were you planning to do with the saloon here, that was makin' so much noise?"

"Countryside is stubbornly refusin' ta sell me this place, despite all the generous offers I been making her!" Curly explained, as they both lifted the tied up mare and began to carry her away. "And as long as she's keepin' this place runnin', she's keepin Dodge Junction alive on life support!"

"So we're gonna burn the whole place down, and take countryside with it!" Cherry Sweet continued. "With the saloon gone, this town will dry up and blow away in no time!"

"Of course, you won't be around to see it." Curly sneered, as the two ponies dragged her away. "Pity you're gonna have to meet such a messy end, but we can't have you warning Countryside or the sheriff, now can we?"

And as his mention of a 'messy end' turned over and over in her head, Candy apple noticed the two villains were dragging her towards the town's railroad tracks...

Damsel is Distressed!

Damsel is Distressed!

They had you tied to the tracks? Wow! How did you get free?!?

Well, I know it's gonna sound clichéd, apple blossom, but every cliché had it's start somewhere...

"I'm really sorry it came to this, Miss Candy..." Curly told her with a fake apologetic tone. "...But I just can't have you telling anyone about what I'm planning!"

"Save your breath, you ornery sidewinder!" Applejack spat angrily, as the two tied her down to the tracks. "You'd send your own mother to the glue factory for a hundred bits!"

"Aw, come on now, Candy!"  Cherry Sweet reapplied with a sneer. "Do try to show a little dignity for your last performance!"

"Why you miserable-!" Candy started, but was cut off as they slipped a gag over her mouth.

"Well, we're off ta make a fortune in the real estate business!" Curly chuckled, as the two ponies galloped away. "Hope you have a nice final trip!"

As her attackers disappeared into a dust cloud, Candy Apple struggled helplessly against the ropes. But no matter how hard she pulled against her bonds, the saloon mare just couldn't seem to break free. A thousand ideas raced through her head- from trying to bite through the gag and then the ropes, to somehow wiggling herself free- but they all ended with the same failure to be able to implement said ideas. I was then, as she struggled and strained with all of her might, that Candy Apple Came to a most terriflying conclusion;

For the first time in her long long life, after all the fights and battles and conflicts in which the apple bucker had played a part, she was helpless. One of the greatest heroes in all of Equestrian history, who had stood up to demons and darkness and Discord, now lay helpless on a railroad track, with nothing to do but wait for the 7:15 to splat her into something resembling mangled tomato paste. How her friend Rarity would be laughing at her now, unable to even raise a hoof to save herself.

It's wasn't too long, however, before she heard the faint whistle and felt the track vibrations of the  approaching train. Candy heard the chugging of the engine grow louder and louder, and she saw the large light on the front of the train grow brighter and bright as it bore down on her. Closing her eyes tightly as the mighty iron behemoth barreled straight,  the terrified mare braced braced herself for the end....

....only to feel a rush of wind, and hear the mighty roar of the train zoom harmlessly by her.

Finally opening her eyes, the mare stared up in disbelief at Butterfly Hunter, who held the rescued pony in his hooves.

"Are y'all right?" He asked, his soft blue eyes staring down at her. "Ah reckon you were lucky I was riding back this way!"

"I-I all say..." The flabbergasted Candy replied, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. As the bounty hunter untied her, the saloon mare told him everything about Curly and Cherry's evil plans.

Wait, you were rescued? Aww, that really kinda lame you couldn't save yourself!

Hey, you think I had a problem being rescued by a handsome stallion? Just because I got saved ONCE in my life does not make me a damsel in distress! Anyway, after he got me loose, the two of us raced back to the saloon...

In he darkness of the night, two ponies sneaked towards the town's saloon, carrying a stack of firewood and kindling. As Curly packed the scraps under the bar's main doorway, Cherry Sweet looked on with some reluctance.

"m really okay with destroying the saloon- good riddance to the place, I'd say." She asked hesitantly. "But are you sure we have to kill Countryside, too?"

"You know we have to get rid of her, or that stubborn mare will just rebuild after we burn it down." Curly snorted in response. "Don't worry darlin! Once we get this whole town sold, I'll let you buy a fancy place back east, where y'all can dance to yer heart's content!"

But just as the stallion was about to spark the fire with his lighter, a solid hoof slammed straight into his face.

"Shoulda stayed back east yerself, Curly!" Butterfly snorted, plowing into the other stallion. "Now, yer headin off to the hooscow!"

The two stallions began punching, stomping and kicking at each other- Curly landing a kick across the other stallion's face, and Hunter headbutting his opponet in the skull, as the two males brawled, Cherry snuck up towards the two fighters, raising a log from the firewood to stike one of the opponents over the head. But then she felt a hoof tap on her shoulder, and turned around in shock to see a familiar face.

"Now, you really don't think I'm gonna let y'all brain Buttterfly..." Candy snorted angrily, glaring at the mare who had tried to kill her earlier. "Now do ya?"

This time, it was Apple who got the drop on Cherry. Candy spun around and hit Sweet with a powerful back kick, sending her flying through the air, and smashing clean through the window of the saloon. The angry orange mare jumped through the broken window after her, and continued to stomp on her face again and again. By the time Apple was finished, Cherry sweet's face was a bloody, unrecognizable mess under Candy's strong hooves.

"Agrahhhhh!" The mare heard from outside, as Butterfly Hunter slammed Curly with a final, powerful punch. The other stallion went out like a light, just as another angry mare came galloping down the stairs of the saloon, carrying a candle in her hoof.

"Whut in tarnation is goin on down here?!" Countryside snapped angrily, scowling at Candy Apple as Butterfly Hunter tied the two rapscallions up. "Whay're you two rasin' such a ruckus at this late hour?!"

"Sorry about that, boss!" Apple told her with a sigh, wiping some of the blood off of her hoof. "Just clearing a pair of undesirables causin’ trouble out o the bar!"

Riding off into the Sunset

Riding off into the Sunset

"Amazing! I can't believe Cherry would betray me like that!" Countryside told the two other ponies, as they all watched the sheriff cart Curly and Cherry Sweet away. "And after all I done fer her, givin' her a place to work an' all!"

"What'll you think'll happen ta the two of them, Hunter?" Candy apple asked, as Cherry flashed her a look of anger back in her direction.

"Ah reckon Curly will swing fer what he's done, seein' as how all those ponies turned up dead when they wouldn’t sell ta him." The stallion snorted.  "As fer Cherry, I hear she's got connections back in her home country o' Dream Valley, so she'll probably only get about ten years er so, then be banished back ta there."

"Well, I can certainly tell y'all I'm not stayin here!" Countryside snorted indignantlyg, trotting back inside the saloon. "I've been thinkin o' retiring fer some time now, an' almost getting burned ta death is kind o' a sign that maybe that time is now!"

"But Country.... this Saloon the lifeblood of this heyah little town!"  Candy Apple protested. "What'll happen to it without the bar!"

"Child, I was thinkin' maybe I'd pass it on ta y'all." The old mare sighed, looking back at the old saloon with a lot of fond memories. "Let ya run it fer me, and send the money ta me back north."

"Well now, ah think that's a mighty fine deal!" Butterfly Hunter said with a smile, looking back at me. "What y'all think of that one now, Candy?"

"That- that's incredible!" Apple replied in shock, trying to keep herself from fainting. "I promise I won't let y'all down!"

Oh no... mama, did you run ANOTHER business into the ground?!

No, my little apple blossom, this time there was no competing business stallions out to ruin my business. The saloon continued to prosper for many years, serving group after group of thirsty cowponies diving those herds to market back in Equestria. But every year the herds got smallest and smaller, and every year more and more ponies left the town. Finally, all that remained was a bunch of crumbling, boarded up buildings... and an old saloon that had been too stubborn to die.

So what'd you do then?

Well apple blossom, it was about then that I realized Butterfly was starting to show wrinkles around his eyes, and I, as expected, wasn't getting any older. Now, that old bounty Hunter had stayed with me through thick and thin for many many years, stopping in at the saloon between jobs. But he was still young enough to easily catch the eye of a mayor back east, if he weren't attached to an old nag like me. So, when the opportunity came, I realized it was time ta finally put my western trip out ta pasture...

"So, yer finally closing’ this place down, huh?" Butterfly Hunter pushed his Stetson back, shaking his head sadly. "Mighty fine shame, but ah reckon there's nothing ta be done about it."

"I don't have a choice here, Hunter. The whole town's gone now, the last cattle drive came through two years ago, and all my girls done moved back North." Candy replied sadly. "The only customers we get out here is the occasional drifter, and now that I got word that Miss Countryside's passed away, it's time fer me ta move on with my life, too."

"So you'll be headin’ back north too, ah reckon." The stallion lowered his Stetson, perhaps to hide the tears that might be in his eyes. "It'll shore be a lot quieter with y'all gone."

"It's high time I head back to my old home town, back ta Ponyville. I been wantin' ta see if I still have some kinfolk alive there."  The mare replied, looking out over the horizon. "I was thinkin' Hunter... why don't y'all come with me?"

"Back north? Naw, my heart belongs ta these lands." He said with a sigh. "Besides, them buffalo... they're could use a couple a' stallions like me... as go betweens fer dealin’ with the pony traders an' merchants who come down here."

He took a step towards the saloon mare, and took her in his hooves. Before Candy even had time to react, he planted a warm kiss on theshocked mare's lips "Now y'all take care of yoself, ya hear?"

The stunned pony only nodded in silence, and could only manage a soft 'goodbye', as the rugged cowpony rode off into the sunset. Turning back to her work of bording up the windows, Candy Apple tried to hold back the tears that kept just kept leaking out of her eyes...

*sob* B-but that's so sad, mama! Why could you stay with him?

Because that wouldn't have been fair ta him, apple blossom. But butterfly hunter was the greatest stallion I ever met... well, next to your father, of course. But he and I had no future together, and it wouldn't have been right ta try and hold that wild western stallion down. Now, dry your little tears, and I'll continue my story.

Anyway, as I took that final train that was heading back east, I decided was time to return to my roots... to go back to being the apple pony I had been in my first lifetime. Taking inspiration from your late uncle Big Mac's color scheme and cutie mark, I had my coat dyed red, and  my mane colored green and yellow. Having a big red apple with a tablecloth under it painted on as my cutie mark, I decided that enough generations had passed that I could again use the name that I perferred above all other's...

Hey there, my name's Applejack!" The mare behind her exclaimed, startling the serving mare. "Can I get a bite to eat?"

The roadside vendor turned to face the newcomer, though she shouldn't have been surprised to see a mare at the first train station/rest stop coming into Equestria from the south. No, what surprised Pick-a Lily was how cheerful of a mood the red mare was in, considering the recent turn of events here in Equestria.

Oh, the red mare had seen the tarps of black crepe hung everywhere, and the mournful expressions of all the ponies she had passed since the train Passed over Ghastly Gorge, and arrived at the Froggy Bottom bog rail station, but the confused AJ hadn't really figured out what had happened yet. With a somber nod, the pink serving mare with the yellow, orange, and green cutie mark turned back towards her grill. "Sure, what can I get you?"

"Oh, I'll take a hayburger, with a side of oats, and an apple cider, please!" She then looked around in confusion. "Say, could you tell me why everyone seems so glum? I've never seen ponies in Equestria this down before!"

"Your.. not from around here, are you?" Pick-a-lilly asked, to which AJ silently nodded. "I thought so, another returning settler from the frontier I take it? Well, get used to ponies being sad, 'cause you'll be seeing a whole lot of it."

"Why is that?" Applejack asked in surprise, not believing the happy kingdom of Equestria was so sad. "What the hay happened here?!"

"Didn’t you know?" The pink serving mare snorted, turning back from her grill to face the older pony. "Our beloved Princess Celestia has passed away!"

Going Home

Going Home

The red earth mare simply stood there, totally dumbfounded by the news she had just been told.

"T-the Princess is dead?!" Applejack asked in disbelief. "But that's impossible, Celestia was immortal!"

"Maybe she didn't age, but she sure could die really well." Pick-a-lilly snorted in contempt, an anger in her voice clearly indicating the betrayal she felt over the Princess's passing. "Guess alicorns aren't everything everpony makes them out to be!"

By this point, AJ was almost shaking. "Tell me... please tell me how she died...."

"Discord, she died in battle with the trickster demon Discord." The other mare growled, loading up the plate with the food Applejack had ordered. "That both her highness and that lunatic died fighting each other... and I say good riddance to them both!"

Discord... Applejack had told hold back a howl of anguish, silently cursing that name of that deranged draconnequiss  whom she had once known so well. He had been nothing but trouble after his dear friend Fluttershy had died of old age, so much so that Princess Celestia and Luna had ordered him re-sealed in stone because of his mischief. It seems he had found some way to escape his rock prison once again, and began to torment ponydom as he had in the past. At least Celestia had managed to take the villain down, even if it had been at the cost of her own life...

I wish we had never tried to reform that bastard. AJ thought to herself. Then Princess Celestia might still be alive today!

"Wait a minute... if Celestia's dead, how can the sun be shining up there?!" The red mare asked, the realization dawning on her as she looked up at the glowing orb high in the sky. "It must take a whole lot of unicorns to raise and lower that thing, unless Luna's taken over the day now!"

"Boy, you really are out of the loop." Pick-a-lilly told her, putting the plate of food in front in front of the older mare. "Since Celestia died- the sun, the moon, the weather... they do their own thing now." She gave the silent AJ a harsh look, as the red mare gave the vendor her bits. For the first time, we ponies have lost control of our own world."

......

Having finished her meal, Applejack left to wander around the woods of froggy bottom bog in silence. Everything she knew, everything she loved... it all really was gone, now. The Princess who had been a living symbol of everything good in ponydom was gone, and nature and the very land of Equestria had turned against it's equine inhabitants.

As she passed a small roadside shine to Princess Celestia, the red earth mare had to avert her eyes as a bunch of ponies throwing ropes over the statue of the solar alicorn, pulling on the large sculpture and trying to tip it over.

"All right, everypony land a hand now!" A stallion's loud yell could be heard over the shouts of the pony mob. "Let us bring this blasphemy to the horsemaster DOWN!"

AJ closed her eyes, blocking out the loud crash of the toppling statue behind her. The world was changing... where was there left for a living relic like her to go to get in touch with the past? Luna was still around, though AJ was sure she was busy drowning in her own sorrows over the loss of her  dearly departed sister. AJ never knew Princess Cadence all that well, so it wasn't worth heading north to the Crystal Empire to find them.

No, AJ decided, if she was going anywhere, she was going home. It may not be the Ponyville she remembered, but by Celestia it was still the Ponyville she was born and raised in! Breaking into a sudden gallop, the old red mare followed the familiar path  north that still wound it's way through the bog, and took Applejack back towards the place she had once called home!

Even as she ran, the old mare's hopes were already starting to rise. Applejack had visions of Sugarcube corners, and town hall. She saw the Carousel Boutique, and the barns and houses of Sweet Apple acres. Oh, she knew all the ponies in her memories were long gone, but surely the ponies of Ponyville had kept all those buildings intact for their historical value! She just had to see the old town again, even if she didn't know anypony living there today!

The only thing AJ found unsettling, was that she felt a strange sensation as she passed out of Froggy Bottom Bog. It was like some kind of magical... barrier that she had passed through,  causing a tingling sensation to go through her body as she ran by. Still, this 'barrier' thing she had passed through had not stopped her, so she simply ignored it, and continued on her way.

It was when she was passing though some woods a few miles outside Ponyville, that Applejack heard some voices coming from a nearby clearing. At first, she just assumed it was a couple of Ponyville villagers out for a walk on the roads outside of town. But when the read earth mare heard several eerily familiar voices, saying some eerily familiar  that Applejack suddenly felt her blood run cold.

"I dunno, Rainbow Dash... you sure this extra-special plan for Rarity's extra-special birthday party will work? I mean, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be hard for her to find out about our little surprise!"

"Oh, don't worry so much, Pinkie Pie darling! I've asked Fluttershy not to tell anyone about our little surprise, and I'm quite sure she'll quite shocked to see what we have in store!"

Suddenly, Applejack stopped dead in her tracks, and had to keep her self from hyperventilating. Finally working up the courage to look out into the clearing, and nearly died from what she saw! Walking down the road was a familiar pink earth pony with a balloons cutie mark, and right beside her was a blue mare with a rainbow mane and tail that AJ knew all too well. The sight of those two ponies, the mention of names she hadn't heard applied to living mares in two hundred years... it was all too much for the old red mare.

" RAINBOW DASH! PINKIE PIE!" Applejack exploded out of the bush, and rushed up to hug the other two surprised mares, crying her pony eyes out. "I can't believe you're both here!"

She didn't know how her old friends were alive, nor she didn't care how or why... all the mare named Applejack knew was that she was finally home!

Disgust

Disgust

"Mom, that's enough." The little filly snapped, interrupting her mother's lengthy tale. "I don't wanna listen to any more of this."

As soon as her mother got to this point, Baby Applejack immediately hopped off of her mother's lap, and immediately trotted over and sat down to play with her pony doll. the little filly brushed her dolly's mane,all the while angrily glaring at her mother.

"What... what's the matter, Apple Blossom?" Applejack asked in shock. "Why don't you want to hear the rest rest the story?"

"No I don't, cause I know where this story is going!" Baby AJ snapped at her mom, trying to hold back her anger. "The big bad girly Ponyville ponies managed to magically brainwash the poor helpless tomboy, cause everything pink and girly is totally evil to you, isn't it, mom?"

"Now that's just not fair, sugar cube." AJ protested, looking at her daughter sadly. "The magic field around that town effected our minds! I was just trying to-"

"Oh, come off it, ma!  You just can't stand anything that reminds you that you're a girl!" The orange filly snapped back. "Or why else did you get me a toy seed shovel for my fourth birthday, when I wanted a 'little frilly princess' make-up set? Or every time I wanted to have a tea party and dress up in pretty outfits, you ran off and Aunt Glory had to play with me?!"  The little filly glared at her. "Face it mom, you think the fact I'm not a tomboy like you is horrible, and you wish you had been born a stallion!"

"That's not true at all! I don't hate the fact I'm a lady!" Applejack snapped loudly, making her daughter jump. "Maybe once, when I was younger and more pig-headed I hated bein' all fru-fru. But after fate smacked me around for a few good hundred years, I'm just as girly as Glory is now." The old earth mare just shook her mane. "Life literally beat the tomboy out of me.  And somewhere out there, I'm betting that old fashionesta is laughin' at me, for the way I acted as Applejewel."

Both ponies sat there in silence for a few minutes, looking away from each other. Finally, it was Baby Applejack who stood up and spoke.

"I'm sorry, ma... I didn't mean to insult you like that!" The apologetic little filly climbed back into her mother's lap. "Please, go ahead an' tell me what happened next?"

"Well, don't think I hated them being all feminine an' girly mares, I could've lived with- and even enjoyed- that. But these mares seemed to take it to an almost bizarre level. I mean, they never got mad at ANYTHING, they were always smiling and happy at everything!" AJ gave a shiver, thinking back on that point in her life with both fondness and revulsion. "As I said, the town's magical aura brought out the more childlike aspects of my personality I had always suppressed. And I was right there beside the others, sippin' tea and playing dress up and acting like I was five again."

"So what did you do in Ponyville?" Baby AJ asked curiously. "Did you get another new job while you were there?"

"Whelp. as I said before, Sweet Apple Acres was gone, so my cousin Apple Spice took me in. Pinkie Pie, Dashie and I made fast friends, and Pinkie even found me a job as the pony who put together the picnic baskets for the town's festivals and parties." Applejack replied, remembering those bygone days. "See, in the years after I had left, the whole town had become a giant live-in amusement park, and an enchantment had been placed over the entire town that made all the ponies act childlike. So I tried to just fit in in this new Ponyville as best I could, but I didn't know how more familiar faces waiting for me in this new age."

"Familiar?  You mean you met more ponies who resembled your old buddies?" Her daughter asked.

"That's right, sugar cube. The was still the Rarity and Fluttershy she has spoken about, and I'm sure there was a Twilight somewhere out there. But unbeknownst to me, there was a certain little dragon from my past, who was already living in the town before I had returned."

Applejack then trailed off from her story, and looked to the recently-repaired door to her room.

"It's okay, I know you're there, and you can come out now!" The orange mare called out to someone she obviously believed was standing outside her apartment, and listening to her story. "We're almost to the part of the story where you come in!"

Everything was silent for a moment, before the handle clicked, and the door slowly sung open. A small purple Dragon slowly stepped into the room, smiling sheepishly at the two orange ponies.

"Spike?!" Baby Applejack asked in disbelief. "What the hay are you doing here?!"

"Sorry ladies, didn't mean to disturb you." The dragon laughed nervously. "But I always love hearing about the story where I ran into Applejack again, after all those years."

"Wow, Spike!" The little filly exclaimed, her eyes going wide. "I didn't know you were there with my mama!"

"Why, indeed I was, Baby Applejack!" The baby dragon exclaimed, switching back to his posh personality he had back in the Ponyville era. "And if your mother will allow it, I should like to continue the story for you, my own self..."

Picnic Planner and Dragon

Picnic Planner and Dragon

"Okay, so you'll be staying here." Apple Spice told the red mare, a wide smile on her face. "You can make up picnic baskets for the ponies in town, and I'm sure they'll all love em'!"

Applejack was standing outside a giant, apple-shaped house in the middle of Ponyville park. Although some ponies back in her day would have thought this structure was gaudy and tacky, AJ would have had to remind them how cheesy and tasteless some of the buildings in old Ponyville had appeared.

"Wow, this place is sooo cool!"  The old red mare exclaimed,  looking around at the furnishings inside her little red abode. "I'm really gonna love living here, and making friends with all the different ponies here in Ponyville!"

"We ponies aren't the only creatures that live in this town, AJ!" Apple Spice replied with a giggle, looking down the path towards the entrance. "And here come one of those non-ponies right now!"

Applejack looked towards the direction her cousin was pointing a hoof, and saw a most odd little creature strolling towards them. It was a small purple reptile with a belly of yellow scales- a pygmy dragon, unless AJ was mistaken. He had a small tuft of pink scale-hair on top of his head, and was carrying a small pocket watch he was carrying on a chain, which he seemed to be twirling around as he hummed to himself. Although she was sure she had never met this newcomer before, Applejack could have sworn there was something oddly familiar about him....

"Ahhh, Apple Spice! So good to see you out and about on this fine day!" The dragon greeted the younger mare, bowing politely to her. "And who is this newcomer pony I see here before me? Is she a friend of yours?"

"Oh, hello Spike!" Apple Spice giggled, waving at the dragon as he approached. "No Spike, this is my cousin, Applejack! AJ, this is our dear friend, Master Kengrowth Gilspothum Heathspike, the dragon who lives in the town's castle, and knows everything about everything!"

Spike?! Applejack asked in shock, looking the newcomer over with some surprise. That was a name the mare knew from the dim past, but this funny little dragon didn't look anything like him. Sure, he was almost twice the size of Twilight's little assistant when she saw him last, but how in the world could little Spike have grown into this?

"Ahhh, so you're applejack, our new picnic planner!" The dragon said with a smile, shaking the elder mare's hoof. "Rainbow Dash has told me all about you! You popped up out of nowhere, and you turn into a swan whenever you're away from the lake- no, wait, that's that other lady..."

"And it's so nice to meet you, Master Heathspike!" AJ replied, trying not to laugh at Spike's mixing her up for a fairy tale character. "I never knew Ponyville had it's own honest-to-goodness dragon!"

"Oh, I've been asleep for the past thousand years ago, so it's no wonder you haven't heard of me." Spike replied with a chuckle, putting his pocket watch away somewhere on his scales. "But I just woke up recently, to help guide and protect the ponies of Ponyville whenever and however they need me!"

Well then, Applejack decided, that ruled out Heathspike being the dragon she had known... Spike wasn't even a few hundred years years old yet, let alone being over a thousand! Still, she couldn't shake the feeling she knew this dragon somehow... perhaps she had met him somewhere, and forgotten?

"Well, I hope you will be able to guide me with your wonderful advice too, Master Kengrowth." She replied politely, bowing again. "I'm sure your ancient wisdom could only benefit a poor little pony like me."

"Indeed! Now, I hope you are ready to do some basket a arranging, because we're having a tropical picnic on butterfly island next week!" The purple dragon smiled. " Knowing those Pegasus, I sure hope you pack a lot of ice cream!"

As the little Dragon left, Applejack shot her cousin a quizzical look. "Butterfly Island? What's that?"

"Oh, that's the tropical island you get to, through the passage under the waterfall." Apple Spice replied, trotting back inside the small house. "All the Pegasus live out there."

"The Pegasus all live separate?" AJ asked quizzically, remembering how she hadn't seen any winged ponies or unicorns since she had arrived in town. "That go for the unicorns, too?"

Yep, they all live in Unicornia!" Apple Spice giggled, helping her cousin move some boxes around. "We may live in different places, but we're all one big happy family!"

The two were working in AJ's small kitchen, setting things up and moving her in, when they both heard a loud vroom sound coming from outside.

"Wait, what's that noise?" Applejack asked, her ears perking up.

"I dunno." Apple Spice replied."But it sounds like it's coming this way..."

Suddenly, a large motorized scooter with two mares on it, came zipping up behind the house, and suddenly smashed through the window behind the house, and came smashing through the window.

"Look out!" Applejack screamed, as she and her cousin jumped away from the shattering window. "Aieeeeeeee!"

The scooter mashed down on the kitchen table, making a mess of everything around them. The two mares riding the thing groggily got off the bike, taking their helmets off.

"Minty, I swear I'm NEVER letting you drive again!" The orange earth mare grumbled, looking at the damage to her bike. "Sparkleworks is gonna be furious about repairing this thing again!"

"Awww, I'm so sorry, Scootaloo! I didn't mean to mess things up again." The blue mare looked around, her eyes going wide at the sight of the other two mares. "Ohmygosh, Apple Spice! We didn't know anyone was in here! Are you two okay!?"

"Yeah yeah, we're fine!" Apple Spice grumbled, helping her cousin up. "If you're gonna be driving that thing, you really should be more careful!"

"Sorry, I'll really try to be more careful next time." The ditzy mare then spotted AJ. "Oh, Apple! Is this a new friend of yours?"

"Huh. I've never seen you around before." Scootaloo noted, trotting around the other mare, looking her up and down. "My name's Scootaloo, you new to this crazy town?"

Seeing two ponies crash though her window out of the blue, along with how the other mares acted like smashing though a pony's window was an everyday occurrence, AJ responded the only way she knew how...

THUD!

"Ohmygosh! Is she okay?"

"Yeah, Minty... I think she just fainted!"

"Quick, Scootaloo! Go over to Rainbow Dash's and ask to borrow her fainting couch for my cousin!"

A Picture and a Story

A Picture and a Story

"Come on Applejack, try to keep up!" Scootaloo yelled back,as she and Pinkie Pie ran ahead. "We don't want to be late for Story Time!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" The older mare replied with a laugh, galloping after them at a quick pace. "I'm not as young as I used to be, ya know!"

"Aww, AJ! You don't look any older than the rest of us!" Pinkie replied with a laugh. "Besides, I'm sure Storybelle will wait for us to get there!"

"It's okay, Pinkie! Listening to stories isn't really my thing, anyway!" The red mare gasped, finally catching up to the other two. "But, why didn't we invite Rainbow Dash along? Apple Spice told me she's a member of story club, too!"

At that question, Scootaloo turned her head away, a scowl on her face. Stepping up, Pinkie Pie explained; "Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo... don't exactly get along very well. So when Scoots decided to come along to this weeks story club, Rainbow Decided to sit this one out."

"Oh, well, I'm really glad you decided to invite me along." AJ replied, trying to change the subject away from a subject that wasn't really her business. "It's been a really long time since I've been to a library, let alone had anyone read to me!"

The two mares led her towards a large lighthouse with a large pinwheel on top, making the whole place look like a windmill, on the edge of lake Ponyville (another addition to the town, added during her absence). Knocking at the door with her hoof, The three ponies were greeted by a pink mare with a multicolored mane, and the very building they had just come to for a cutie mark.

"Hey there, Storybelle!" Scootaloo greeted her, waving a hoof. "We're here for story club!"

"Ah, Scootaloo, so good to see you!" Storybelle replied, smiling. "And I see you've brought miss Applejack with you! Please, would all of you come inside for storytime?"

AJ followed the other two inside, and was taken aback by the Lighthouse's interior. Towering shelves filled with row after row of books, leading straight up towards the ceiling. Her old dear friend Twilight would've loved this place, Applejack noted, except for all the pink heart shaped furniture.

"Wow, this is amazing!" AJ commented. "I've rarely seen so many books all in one place!"

"Glad you like it, Applejack!" Storybelle giggled, as she started to trot up a winding staircase in the center of the lighthouse. "Now if you could all please follow me up to the story loft?"

AJ started to follow the others up the stairs, when she heard a soft *click* on the far side of the room. Turning to see the noise was, she thought she saw something dart behind the couch. Going over to look, she heard another *click* from beside a small table, and again when AJ turns, she swore she saw the figure dives behind a bookshelf.

This place is wierd She thought to herself. Shrugging the whole thing off, Applejack begins to ascend the steps, when she notices a giant dragonfly zip down from the story loft above, and flying right in front of her face curiously.

"Whoah, what a really big bug!" reflexively grabbing a book from the shelf, AJ swatted at the large insect, the book caught him by surprise, coming down on the rainbow-colored dragonfly with a loud *squish*.

"Ew, Storybelle should really get this place sprayed for pests." AJ noted. seeing the others had already made their way up to the loft, she raced the rest of the way up after them. When Appleajck entered the small canopied balcony halfway up the tower, Storybelle was already sitting in front of the other two ponies,  starting a song that AJ assumed was a ritual to start a meeting of story club off;

"Come on everybody, lend your little ears

gather round gather ground

I promise you, my dears

It's the most amazing story

you're ever gonna hear!

The most amazing storrryyyy..... you're ever gonna hear!"

"Than you all for coming this week, girls!" Storybelle exclaimed, looking over the other ponies. "It's really great to have you all here, and I'd like to welcome our newest guest, Applejack!"

"Thank you, it's really great to be here!" The red mare replied bashfully, scratching the back of her neck with her hoof. "So I guess you read everyone a story for story club?"

"That's right! Now, lets see what this week's story is going to be..." The mare looked towards the stain glass ceiling above them, while a wind suddenly picked up outside, and spun the large pinwheel outside the building. The enchanted wind then blew in though the stain glass somehow, swirling about Storybelle, and spinning the pinwheel on her cutie mark. This odd little bit of earth pony magic seemed to tell the librarian which of the great books she should read.

"Ahh! Today's story is called 'Under the Sparkling Sea, and it's about six friends who go under the waves to visit the Sea Ponies!" Storybelle then looked around, and started calling for her assistant. "Gossamer? Where are you, Gossamer? I need you to get this weeks storybook!" Storybelle tapped her hoof against the arm of her easy chair impatiently. "Gossamer! I swear, that dragonfly is never around when you need him!"

While the four mares waited, AJ again heard the soft *click* behind them, followed by a loud *whirrrrr*! Turning around, she was certain she spotted a pink form disappearing behind Storybelle's chair. AJ was about to say something to the others,when Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her lips, shushing her. The red mare was now sure the other mares had heard the noise, too.

"Actually, Storybelle, I think it's time we told you a story!" Pinkie called out in annoyance, "About a little earth pony, who pretends to be shy, but is really a peeping pervert!"

*Click! Whirrrrrr!* From behind the big seat cushion Pinkie was sitting on, before the figure darted away again.

"A mare who's special talent is snapping photos, but who uses her camera to hide and snap secret pictures of ponies all the time!" Scootaloo called out in angrily. "She has no consideration for other ponies's privacy, and has even shot pictures of the stallions in the Ponyville community pool shower room!"

*Click! Whirrrrrr!* Came again, as the pink blur zipped behind the wicker chair Applejack was sitting in.

"She was really annoying the ponies around her, who were starting to get mad at her dirty tricks!" Applejack continued, not knowing the pony they were talking  about, but joining in to help flush out this mystery stalker. "And they were getting ready to give that pain-in-the-flank mare a good pounding for her actions.

*Click! Whirrrrrr!* Came again, as the pink form dove behind Storybelle's chair. Reaching back quickly, the librarian yanked a pink mare with a purple and yellow mane out from behind the chair with her hoof.

"Fluttershy, I should have known!" Storybelle snorted, angry looks on her and the other two's faces.

"F-fluttershy!?" AJ asked in shock, seeing the slight resemblance between the shutterbug, and her old kind and gentle friend in Ponyville.

"H-hey girls...." The timid pony with the butterfly cutie mark whimpered. "J-just thought I'd stop in for story club... h-have you started yet?"

"Oh, I'm just about to get started." Scootaloo snorted, cracking her hooves. "You like shooting pictures, Fluttershy? Here, let me give you a few good shots..."

Outside the story loft, the ponies of Ponyville could hear the loud sounds of three angry mares pounding and kicking on another mare, and the loud screams that filled the air around them.

"OUCH...OW....OWWIE...OW.....AIEEEEEEEEEE!"

Seeking out Wisdom

Seeking out Wisdom

Thank you Spike, but I think I can take it again from here. Anyway, after that little incident, the other three tossed Fluttershy out of the Story Loft, and went back to reading. Not having been as thoroughly angry at the mare for her antics, I excused myself, and went outside to help her...

"Just what the heck were you thinking, Fluttershy?!?" Apple Spice asked her angrily, as she and AJ applied ice to the bruised mare's wounds. "We've told you again and again NOT to take pictures like that of ponies without asking them first!"

"I'm sorry, Apple! But you know I can't help myself!" The pink mare whined. "Whenever a pony strikes a picturesque pose, I just gotta capture the moment on film!"

The three mares were sitting in the kitchen of Applejack's small house, after the red mare had brought the beaten Fluttershy back here following the disastrous story club.  Even after talking it over with Apple Spice, the three ponies were having a hard time deciding  what to do about the situation.

"It's true... ever since she was a little filly, Flutters has had this obsession with documenting everything on film." Apple Spice sighed. "She even set up her dolls to re-stage important events here in town she missed, just so she could take pictures of them!"

"Yeah *click* I gotta say *click* it kind of comes naturally to me! *click*" The pink mare was zipping around the room, the flash of her camera going off rapid-fire. "Besides, what's wrong with *click* being a shutterbug? *click*" She spun around, aiming her camera straight at AJ's flank. "Ohhhh, I know a whole lotta stallions who would want this shot! *CLICK!*"

"FLUTTERSHY, STOP!" Applejack's hoof shot out, stopping the picture pony dead in her tracks. "Please, just... stop."

"Ooopsss.... sorry, AJ." The mare whimpered apologetically, as the red pony with the angrily twitching eye let her go. "I didn't mean to do that, I just couldn't help it!"

"We need to get you broken of that habit, Sugar Cube." Applejack told the pink pony, taking a sip of her apple cider. "You can't just go around stalking ponies and taking photos of them. Folks will start thinking you're some kind of creepy wierdo."

"Wait, I know!" Apple Spice exclaimed, smiling at the other two ponies, "we could take Fluttershy to the wisest pony in the land!"

"Yeah, she'd definitely be able to help me!" Fluttershy replied, nodding her in agreement. "perfecto!"

"All right then, let's go to see this 'perfecto!' Applejack agreed. "Maybe she can help you."

"Oh, you're such a silly pony, Applejack!" Apple Spice replied, giggling at her cousin. "We're talking about Kimono, the wisest pony in the land! She'll know how to help cure Fluttershy of her problem, just like she always help all of us with all of our problems!"

"Yeah, I've never heard of a pony named 'perfecto' before!" Fluttershy laughed, before asking "Oh, does anyone know where she lives? I'm dying to get a picture of her!"

"Applejack, I'm going to have to ask you to be a good friend, and go with Flutters to see the wisest pony in the land." Apple Spice asked her cousin. "I know you haven't been in town long, but if you could take a picnic lunch to Kimono, and try to explain why we-"

*click!* The camera shutter snapped from beneath the table. Apple Spice looked under the tablecloth, to see the camera lens pointed between her legs, right at her lower extremities.

"Ah hah hah... hi, Spice!" Flutters laughed nervously, putting the camera away as the other mare glared at her. "W-what's new with you?"

"BLAST IT FLUTTERSHY! I'M GONNA SHOVE THAT CAMERA STRAIGHT UP YOUR MARE HOLE!"

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRRRRRYYYYYYYY!"

Now, I had noticed how most of these ponies seemed very simple-minded, so I didn't expect much when Apple Spice wanted me to go and seek advice from their 'wisest pony'. But I felt I owed it to the original Fluttershy to help out her descendant who was in such desperate need. So when Apple Spice had to go to her Dance Practice at Twinkle Twirl's studio, it fell to me to escort my new friend to meet with Kimono.

Besides, it kind of felt... in a weird sort of way... that when I was around this Rainbow Dash, this Pinkie Pie... i was almost like being back among my friends again. I really think part of me hoped, if I could get Flutters straightened out, that maybe I could get the friend I had lost back in some way, too. Anyway, I decided to pack Kimono a picnic lunch, and journeyed to where she lived outside of Ponyville...

"Up there, Applejack!" Fluttershy exclaimed, pointing a hoof at the path that lead around Ponyville lake. "That's where Kimono lives!"

The red mare followed her around the stone path, which led to a tall circular gazebo with round columns.  Behind it stood a small mountain, with lovely waterfalls cascading down the sides. As the two ponies approached the Gazebo, AJ noticed a cave entrance on the other side, leading right into the rock face. As the two ponies approached the opening, the pink pony marched right into the entryway, without hesitation.

"Ummm, you sure we're supposed to go in here, Flutters?" The red mare asked, setting the picnic basket down at the enterance, and trotting into the cave after her. "I mean, it's not like I have a problem going through a dark and smelly cave, but I can't think of any pony that would live in -AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, the two mares were airborne. Something just beyond the entrance picked the both of then up, and hurled AJ and Fluttershy against the cave wall. The old red mare felt an intense pain throughout her whole body, and she wished the world would stop spinning so she could get off.

"All right, you two intruders, I-" A serious but quiet voice started to whisper. "Oh my word, Fluttershy! Are you and your friend all right?"

"Yeah, I'm all right." Futtershy replied, as the sound of her camera clicking filled the air. "But I think my friend over there took a nasty fall. Oh, I should get a snapshot of this!"

"Would you please put that camera away, and lend me a hoof in getting her up?" The voice called out again. "Honestly Fluttershy, you need to keep your priorities straight!"

At first AJ couldn't see anything, as the source of the voice had thrown her straight into the wall. But as the two ponies lifted her up, the red mare saw a serene, yet obviously strong earth pony, wearing the upper portion of a karate Gi, and sporting a purple mane and paper lantern cutie mark.

"sorry about that, my friend." The mare apologized in a voice barely above a whisper. "I was in the middle of practicing my self-defense moves, and mistook you for an intruder."

"That's all right." Applejack gagged, trying to get her breath back. Looking over the mare in front of her, the picnic maker couldn't believe the aura of maturity and wisdom she seemed to radiate, so different from the other ponies she had met in this town.  "You must be Kimono, right?"

"Yes, that is correct. I am indeed Kimono." The taller mare smiled, giving off an air of what felt like absolute serenity. "How may I be of Service to you?"

A look back....

A look back....

"Think back, my friends..." Kimono told the two quietly, gazing into the flames. "Let us peer back down the path you have trodden, so that we may glimpse upon what the road ahead holds in store for you."

The three ponies were seated in a circle before the fire, cross-legged and gazing into the flames. The fire in the hearth crackled as Kimono tossed some oracle bones onto the blaze, while Applejack and Fluttershy watched the heated bones cracked into a myriad of split and jagged patterns. The three awaited the arrival of the visions which the fire would grant them, giving them the insight to solve their dilemma at hand.

After Applejack and Fluttershy had explained everything, and introductions had been made, Kimono had suggested that they use an ancient divination technique to uncover a solution to Fluttershy's obsessive need to photograph everything.

"The problem," Kimono noted. "obviously lies in something that occurred in Flutershy's past. In order to rectify matters with any certainty. Therefore, we must peer deep into that past to see what mysteries it holds."

Kimono had prepared a large fire, so that they could tap into that primal Earth pony magic, which gave both Pinkie Pie past and present their abilities to foretell future events. Applejack was unsure of that this little bit of eastern 'hoodoo' would produce any solid results, but for Fluttershy's sake she was willing to give it a try.

"Concentrate on the flames... let your minds focus on that point in time we must look upon...." The oriental mare gazed into the heart of the fire. "Concentrate..."

It took only a few moments, before the flames roared upward, and from the smoke cloud above them images of the past began to appear...

Little Filly fluttershy was playing in the backyard, bouncing around and trying to get her mother's attention.

"Mommy! Look at me! Look at me!" The little filly yelled, hopping after a rabbit she had spotted in the bushes.

"That's nice, dear...." The older mare commented, never looking away from her garden work with her flowers. "Now please keep it down, dear. Mommy has a lot of work to do."

"So you're mom didn't pay attention to you as a filly, and she never noticed anything you did?" AJ noted sympathetically. "It seems sad that you didn't get enough attention."

"Shhhh, be quiet, AJ!" Kimono chided her. "You need to keep concentrating!"

The image in the smoke changed again, and the three mares saw a slightly older Flutters being given a camera as a birthday gift.

"Wow, daddy!" The little filly exclaimed excitedly. "Is this really for me?"

"Yes honey, and it's got film, a flash, and everything!" Her father told her, as the little filly hugged him. "It'll let you capture  everything going on around you, so you'll never miss a thing!"

"So, let me get this straight...  you're father got you a camera, and told you that it would help you 'never miss anything', and you had issues with mommy missing all the special things you did?" Applejack snorted sarcastically. "Yep, I can totally see where this is going here!"

"Applejack, that is really insensitive and rude!" Kimono snapped at the older mare angrily. "Don't you care about Fluttershy's feelings at all?"

"Awww, come on, Kimono! Isn't it obvious?" The red mare replied, shaking her head knowingly. "I've been around long enough to see mommy issues being the source of the problem is the issue here!"

"She-she's right, Kimono. I do think it might be issues with my mom that cause me to want to obsessively photograph everything." Fluttershy thought aloud, looking down at her own hooves. "I-I think my picture-perfect obsession might be a desperate cry for attention."

"Flutters, I think you've been reading too many of those self-help books." Kimono replied with a sigh. "And Applejack, I really think that you should-"

The image in the clouds changed again, and the three mares found themselves looking at as farm. An older orange mare is bucking a bunch of apple trees. Suddenly, a yellow Pegasus mare with a pink mane came trotting up behind her, and started whispering timidly.

"Uh, um.... Applejack? I'm sorry to bother you, but..." The Pegasus stuttered timidly. "B-but I was wondering if you could h-help me with some runaway rabbits..."

"Huh? Oh Fluttershy, it's you!" The yellow earth mare in the cowpony hat smiled.  "Of course I'll help you corral those critters, Sugar Cube. After all, what're friends for?"

The two mares embraced, clearly showing the three viewing ponies that these two were the closest of friends...

"Good gracious, what on earth was that?" Kimono asked in shock, standing up and looking at the fire in disbelief. "That didn't look like anything from Fluttershy's past. Was that vision yours, Applejack?"

"Ummm, well..." AJ began to look around nervously, as sweat trickled from her brow." Uhhh, well, that is..."

*click!*

Kimono suddenly spun around, casting a murderous glance at the mare who had just snapped an up-close picture of her flank.

"Ummmm, hi.... kimono." Fluttershy said sheepishly, putting the pink Instamatic camera she had in her hooves away. "W-what's up?"

"That does it Fluttershy!" The justifiably angry mare roared. "Apple Spice told me she warned you, and now that camera of yours has taken it's last picture!"

"Wait, Kimono... what are you doing? No, stay back, don't  put that- AIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Ouch, that looks painful..." A horrified AJ noted, her eye twitching from what she had just witnissed. "She's gonna have  a really hard time getting that camera outta there...."

Together Again

Together Again

"Applejack, Darling! Could you please hold it still?!?" Rainbow Dash complained, trying to get the red mare's measurements as she worked. "I know putting that picnic basket together is important, but so is getting your dress sewed in time for the annual Ponyville town picnic!"

"Sorry Dashie, but I gotta get these lunches put together before tomorrow!"  AJ replied apologetically, cutting several sandwiches and placing them in picnic baskets. "I already promised that I'd help Razaroo put those banners up in the park before the party tomorrow!"

The frustrated mare of fashion was at her wit's end in dealing with her busybody friend, who just couldn't seem to stand still long enough for a decent dress fitting. It had been several days since AJ had taken their friend Fluttershy to see the wisest pony in the land, and she had not taken a moment to rest, except for eating and sleeping, since then.

"Darling, you've been working day and night on those picnic baskets, without a moment of friends or fun, and that's not healthy for a Ponyville pony!" The blue mare replied in a worried tone, putting her tape measure down. "Why don't we go out to the beach or something, maybe you could build a sandcastle, or go swimming!"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I've got to out a picnic lunch together for each of the four hundred earth ponies who in this town," The red mare sighed, folding several red checked napkins and placing them neatly beside each sandwich. "And that's not even counting how many unicorns are going to be visiting from Unicornia, or Pegasus from Butterfly Island!"

"Oh, it will be nice to see some of the unicorns again, Darling! They are always so much fun to talk to!" Rainbow Dash replied, already changing the subject. "Especially Rarity, although that little filly can often be quite a handful!"

"Rarity? You mean she's only a little filly?" Applejack asked, surprised that her old friend's counterpart would be so young compared to the others.  "I mean, from the way the others talked, she didn't seen to only be a filly."

"Oh, I quite understand, darling! Rarity has done a lot of growing up during the course of our adventures, I will admit." Rainbow replied with a laugh. "But I assure you darling, she is still a little filly with a lot to learn!"

"Wow, you really think I'm grown up?" A childish voice suddenly called out, seeming to come from everywhere in the room at once. "Golly, it's really nice of you say that, Rainbow Dash!"

"What the hay?!?" Applejack looked around the room, trying to locate the source of the voice. "Is that your Rarity? Where the hack is she?"

"I'm over here!" A little pink unicorn filly with a yellow mane and heart cutie mark  exclaimed, trotting out from under the table. "And you must be Applejack, nice to meet ya!"

"H-hello..." AJ replied, looking at the little pony uncertainly. She had experienced many differences with the various descendants of her friends living in Ponyville, but this filly... already she could tell she had a rambunctious, playful look in her eye. And from the fact she had introduced herself by playing hide and go seek, the red mare could tell this Rarity was farrr different than her old dressmaking friend.

"Rarity, darling! So good to see you!" Rainbow Dash smiled. "I didn't know you had arrived from Unicornia!"

"Yeah, Cheerilee and Lily Lightly brought me in this afternoon!" The little filly giggled. "I wanted to meet the town's new Picnic maker, and maybe play a game of hide-and seek with her!"

"Oh my, that sounds like that would be so much fun! But, I've really got to work on these lunches!" Applejack replied sadly, filling another picnic basket. "But maybe we can play at the picnic tomorrow?"

"Oh, that'd be awesome!" Rarity squealed with glee. "Oh, could I ask Twilight Twinkle to join us? I'm sure Twi would just love to play some hide and seek, and run in the sack races with us!"

"But of course, Darling!" Rainbow smiled. "Now, you'd better get back to Cheerilee! You know how she tends to worry way to much about the little things, right darling?"

As the little filly happily trotted out the door, the wheels in Applejack's head were already turning. There was a Twilight, to go with the Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity she had already met. Visions of happier times, in a happier Ponyville, flashed through AJ's mind. The red picnic mare had believed that her life, with her old friends, was behind her forever. But, if there were all these familiar ponies around everywhere, then maybe there was hope.

Oh, there was the little issue of these mares all being different than their ancestors, Applejack realized. Pinkie was more level headed and practical, and Fluttershy had... issues. But all ponies changed over time, didn't they? Maybe, she could convince Rainbow Dash to be more of a Tomboy, and this Rarity was young enough, that she might actually be guided into being the girly mare her trend-setting ancestor was.

Why should I put the past behind me, after all? She thought to herself. Why, I actually might be able to build a new life for myself right here in Ponyville!

"Rainbow Dash, darling..." Applejack asked, batting her eyelids as she packed the last of the picnic baskets. "But do you think that after the party, we could arrange for a little sleepover. You know.. just you, me, Rarity, Flutters,  Pinkie, and this Twilight?"

"Well, darling, I suppose we could do that." Dashie replied uncertainly. "But I do think that might be a little awkward for Twilight..."

"Really? That's great!" Applejack replied excitedly, running out the door with her first stack of picnic baskets. "! It'll be sooo much fun, just us girls! We'll do each others manes, telling ghost stories,  playing truth or dare and dress up!"

"But Applejack, darling, you don't understand." The blue earth mare called after her. "Twilight isn't-"

"Oh don't worry, Rainbow! I know she doesn't know me yet, but I'm sure we'll be very good friends!" AJ called back, as she closed the door behind her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get these baskets to Pinkie's, bye!"

"Oh dear..." The fashioneista said to herself nervously. "I really don't know how Twilight Twinkle's going to take this..."

Sleepover!

Sleepover!

So, did you gals have the sleepover? Was it a whole lotta fun?

Well, Apple Blossom, we did have the sleepover. Buuuut things didn't quite turn out the way I intended.

Boy, did they ever not turn out right, you simply won't believe what-

Quiet, Spike! I'm telling this story again!

*KNOCK KNOCK!*

"Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie! So glad you could both make it!" Applejack beamed, opening the door for them. "Please, won't the two of you come in?"

The two ponies trotted into her apple-shaped house, each carrying their sleeping bag on their backs. And while AJ helped Flutters unload her pack, Pinks was already trotting around the house looking at all the furnishings the apple pony had used to decorate the house.

"Whoa, you did a really-extra-special job, at fixing up this very-extra-special-little house we gave you." Pinkie noted in her nasally voice, nodding her head in approval. "It's really, really awesome that you and Apple Spice could do so much, in so little time!"

"Thanks, Pinkie....I think..." The red mare replied uncertainly. "Say where is Rainbow Dash?”

But before the Pinkster could respond, another knock came at the door, and Applejack got up to answer it. A blue earth mare with a rainbow mane was standing there,  Behind her, was a wagon containing a massive load of board games, toys, makeover kits, and dresses of every shape, size, and color. The other three mares looked up at the towering mass of junk in shock, as it wobbled back and forth on the wagon like it was going to collapse.

“Sorry I took so long in getting here, Darling!” Dashie exclaimed,  as she started to pull bags off the stack. “But I just had to bring all the necessities for a proper sleepover!”

“Oh wow, it’s amazing how she’s got all of this stuff stacked!” Fluttershy exclaimed, pulling her camera out.  “I just gotta get this one for the scrapbook!”

“Good Grief Rainbow, we’re doing a  slumber party here, you’re not moving in!” Pinkie Pie grumbled, looking over all the junk the fashioneista had brought. “I don’t even think we’re gonna get to HALF of this stuff!”

“Well then, we’re just going to have to find out, now won’t we?” Dashie exclaimed, looking at the other three with a sly smile. “I say we should start with the makeover kits, Darlings!”

"Uh oh…" Applejack looked around nervously, realizing she had nowhere to hide. Sweat began to trickle down her face, as the other three ponies looked at her with goofy grins.

"Guess who's gonna be first, AJ?" The three mares said in unison, closing in on the defenseless Applejack.

The three suddenly exploded into a pony hurricane around her. Lipstick, mascara, combs, and curling irons went to work on the picnic planner, transforming the poor pony into what looked like a living doll. The next thing she knew, the other three had pulled a checkered green dress with lots of lace down over her head. Taking a step back, the other three then fell onto the floor, bursting out in a fit of crazy laughter.

“Applejack, I don’t believe it!” Rainbow Dash giggled, wiping the tears out of her eyes. “Darling, you look simply DASHING!”

“Ha ha, Rainbow! Verrrrry funny!” The red mare grumbled, as Flutters’s camera clicked as she took a picture of her. “Hey, what do you all say we do Fluttershy next?”

“Huh? What? Now, wait a minute!” The mare’s eyes went wide as she lowered her camera. “What are you- no, not the plaid dress! NOT THE PLAID DRESS!!”

The poor photographer quickly found herself shoved into a horrible looking outfit, and all the other ponies pulled out cameras, and snapped pictures of HER!

“That’s one for the scrapbook!” Pinkie Pie beamed, glad to finally have gotten back at the screwy photographer.

After the makeovers were complete, Rainbow Dash suggested a game of truth or dare. This quickly backfired on her, however, when AJ decided to make a rather cunning dare.

“Okay, my turn!” The picnic mare grinned evilly. “I dare Rainbow Dash to go five minutes without saying ‘darling’.”

“What? Oh, you can’t be serious with that, dar-” She suddenly turned red. “I mean, of course I can handle…this… dare. How hard… can… it … be… not to say… a w-word…” She gritted her teeth, unable to hold it back any longer. “DARLING! Oh drat, I’m no good at this!”

The others burst into laughter, and it wasn't long before Dashie gave up and joined in.  Looking around at these ponies, Applejack realized she was having a good time with them as is. Sure, it was weird having things like Rarity’s personality coming out of Rainbow Dash, or Flutters being a photo-shooting weirdo. But there were still traits of her old friends she recognized, like Pinkie Pie being a good cook!

The four of them were soon in AJ’s kitchen, working on a batch of cupcakes for their snack time. Rainbow Dash had mixed up the batter, while AJ had poured it into the cupcake tin. Pinkie heated up the oven, and placed the cupcakes inside. All four of them clustered around the oven window, to watch the cupcakes rise.

“Wait a minute, those cupcakes look all rainbow-colored.” Fluttershy looked back at the fashioniesta. “Dashie, did some hairs from your mane accidentally fall into the batter?”

“What? No way, darling!” Rainbow threw her mane luxuriantly. “I simply put in some food coloring to give the cupcakes some life! Everything is better with the color of rainbows, darling!”

“Good, cause’ I really wouldn’t want to make or eat Rainbow Dash-flavored cupcakes.” Pinkie stuck her tongue out , indicating her disgust at the notion. “Even the thought of that sounds all gross and icky, like something my little brother would come up with.”

It was at that point, that the cupcakes began to expand. But Applejack suddenly noticed, that they all seemed to be getting a bit TOO big!

“Ummmm, Rainbow? How much yeast did you add into those things?” AJ asked nervously, as a hissing sound started to come out of the oven. “you know you were only supposed to add a few tablespoons, right?”

“Oh dear…” The fashionesta muttered, taking a step back.

BOOM! The oven door suddenly blew open, as an explosion of dough splattered all over the four mares, and coated the entire rest of the kitchen. The group looked at each other in shock, their manes all blown backward in an ooey-gooey mess.

“Uhhh, Rainbow?” Pinkie Pie added, as half-baked batter dribbled down her face. “I think you might’ve but a bit too much yeast in there…”

It wasn't long before they had the whole kitchen cleaned up, when another knock suddenly came at the door. Licking the last of the batter off of her face AJ trotted over to answer it.

“Huh, that must be Rarity with Twilight.” The red mare exclaimed, opening the door for the other two ponies. “About time they got here!”

“Hey gals, sorry we’re late!” Rarity came bouncing in, giggling as she skipped across the floor towards the other mares. “It took Twi a little longer for Twi to get ready than it did me!”

“Hello there, you must be Applejack.” An unexpected voice greeted her, stunning the red mare into silence. “My name’s Twilight Twinkle, and it’s a real pleasure to meet you.”

It wasn't the pony’s purple coat and pink and purple striped mane that threw AJ off, because that was what she had been expecting. Nor was it the fact that Twilight was an earth pony instead of a unicorn- no, AJ had leaned to deal with such things from the changes to her other friends. No, what completely threw the picnic pony’s mind was the fact that the pony before her was not the mare she had been expecting.

In fact, Twilight Twinkle wasn't even a mare at all.

Much to AJ’s shock and dismay, her dear friend’s descendant was a stallion.

“Hey girls, long time no, see.” Twilight greeted the others, trotting in past the mare who stood there in shocked silence, her eye still twitching at this new revelation. “I’m actually surprised I got invited to this little party of yours, given how it’s a girl’s slumber party and all.”

“H-hey… Twilight…” Pinkie Pie stuttered out, her face turning a deep shade of red. “N-nice to see you again…”

“Pinkie Pie, how’s it going?” The boy pony with the glittering star cutie mark smiled, trying to hide his own blush. “Haven’t seen you since the last rainbow ball in Unicornia.”

As the two ponies started converse, Rainbow Dash trotted over to her to Applejack.

“You didn’t realize Twilight Twinkle was a stallion, did you darling?” The fashionesta inquired, nodding her head knowingly. “Try no to feel bad, darling. We all made the same mistake when we first heard the name for the first time, too.”

“I…what…where… how?!?” Applejack sputtered, on the brink of nervous collapse.

Dashie was about to make another point, when Fluttershy came trotting up to her, a nervous look on her face.

“Ummm, Rainbow? I really don’t want to be a worry wart, but something just occurred to me.” The photography mare spoke up. “Pinkie Pie is usually Minty’s handler, and she’s here right now, and everybody else was too bust to watch Minty tonight.” She looked out the window nervously. “You don’t think that crazy goofball would get herself into another crazy adventure, where we‘d have to go and rescue her again?”

“Oh come on darling, it’s just one night!” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof dismissively. “How much trouble could that little green pony possibly get into?”

….

WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Nice and cozily asleep in her bed, Minty was suddenly awakened by the sound of something buzzing outside her house. With a yawn, she trotted over to the door, and saw a bunch of strange lights spinning and glowing on a strange object hovering just above her front lawn.

“Ohhh, I’ve got visitors!” Minty exclaimed, trotting right up to the object without hesitation. “Hello there, it’s always nice to meet new friends!”

A small door slowly opened on the side, with smoke and steam coming out of the interior. Thinking this was a sign of friendship, the little green colored mare walked right up and trotted inside.

“Wow, you guys are sure some funny looking ponies!” Minty giggled, as the door slowly slid shut. “How do you socks with all those weird looking green things all over you?”

The large multicolored sphere suddenly rose up into the sky, and shot off into heavens.

Spin The Bottle

Spin the Bottle

"A… boy." The dumbfounded mare muttered to herself, watching all the other ponies laugh, joke, and play. "How could she be a boy?"

Applejack just couldn't believe it; all her careful planning, all that desire to somehow recreate the friendships and experience she's had in old Ponyville… oh, she had come around to swallow all of the differences between these ponies and their ancestors. But THIS?! This was a difference she hadn't counted on, and it was a difference that affected the nature their friendship in many, many ways.

"Hey AJ, don't you want to come over and talk to Twilight?" Rarity asked, hoping over to the uncertain mare happily. "You're the one who wanted to invite him, after all!"

Registering the little filly's words, the red mare realized that Rarity was right. It wasn't this Twilight's fault that he wasn't twilight sparkle, and it wasn't fair for her to hold that against him. She was just going to have to accept this Twilight for who he was, and make friends with him on those terms! With a sigh, she trotted over to talk to the newest arrival.

"Sooo, Twilight… Rarity tells me you're from Unicornia!" The red picnic mare noted, trying to strike up a conversation. "I thought all earth ponies around here came from Ponyville."

"Yeah, I know it's kind of weird, but that's the way I was born." The stallion replied sadly, this obviously being a sore subject with him. "My mom Cheerilee, didn't even know what kind of pony I was when I was born."

"We hadn't met the unicorns yet by that point, darling." Rainbow Dash explained. "Heck, we didn't even know Pegasus existed, for that matter!"

"Anyway, what exactly do you do, Twi?" Applejack asked quickly, trying to change the subject. "What's your special talent?"

"Oh, I take care of the lights and lamps in Unicornia, keeping the town lit up at night." The stallion gave a soft chuckle. "If it weren't for me, the unicorns would be left totally in the dark!"

Rarity and Pinkie Pie both laughed at the obviously unfunny joke, but the rest of the mares simply rolled their eyes. It was then that Rarity began leaping around excitedly, obviously bored from all the talking.

"Aww, come on, we came here to have fun!" The energetic little unicorn squeaked. "C'mon, let's play a game!"

"Yeah, great idea!" Fluttershy agreed "That sounds like it'd totally be a lot of fun!"

And so, the ponies jumped right back into playing slumber party games. Pin the tail on the pony turned out to be a lot of fun, although it did hurt a bit when the blindfolded Twilight stuck the tail right into Rainbow Dash's flank.

"YEWOUCH!" The mare cried out, rubbing her backside with her hoof. "Now that really hurt, darling!"

Hide and go seek went well, though Rarity kept winning, until AJ declared that unicorn magic couldn't be used in hiding.

"Awww, but that's what makes me so good at it!" The little unicorn pouted.

The little ponies and many friendly games together, but it was very close to midnight when Rainbow Dash suggested they play a very different sort of game...

"I say darling, since we have a stallion here, what would you all say to a rather smashing game of 'spin the bottle'?" The rainbow-maned pony smiled mischievously, staring over at the lone male. "One round, of course... Twilight spins the bottle, of course."

"WHAT?!" Applejack sputtered out, her eyes going wide. "Are you all out of your minds?!"

"Putting me on the spot 'cause I pinned you in the flank, huh?" The stallion groaned. "I really, really don't wanna do this!"

"Aw, com' on!" Fluttershy pleaded, pushing out her bottom lip. "Pleeease?"

"Yes, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "It'll be a whole lot of fun, darling!"

"O-ooh boy..." Pinkie Pie mumbled nervously, her face turning a shade of red. "I-I'm really not so sure about this..."

"Oh, all right." The stallion mumbled in defeat, as they all sat in a circle. AJ retrieved an empty bottle, and placed it on the floor. Twilight Twinkle spun the small glass container, sending it around and around, until it finally stopped spinning. The bottleneck ended up pointing at Pinkie Pie, who's eyes suddenly went as wide as dinner plates.

"Oh no, wait!" The mare pleaded. as the other ponies pushed the two of them together. "I really don't think we should-"

"Bottle landed on you, Pinkie Pie!" Rarity said with a giggle, her horn lighting up. "Pucker up, you two!"

The little unicorn shoved them together with her telekeniesis, and this lips met. Every mare at the slumber party except AJ let out a whoop and cheer as the two ponies kissed, and both suddenly pulled back with embarrassed looks on their faces.

"I...uh... eee..." Pinkie stumbled out, too embarrassed to form words. "Waguahhhh!" The pink earth mare quickly took off up the steps, disappearing into Applejack's upstairs rooms.

"Welp, that's one for the scrap books!" Fluttershy said triumphantly, holding her camera after having just taken a shot of the kissing couple.

"Oh dear, darling... I think we forgot about Pinkie Pie's crush on Twilight!" Rainbow Dash muttered, suddenly repentant for her dirty trick. "I'd better go up, and make sure she's all right!"

"Wait... what?!" AJ sputtered out, her eye twitching at this latest revelation. "Pinkie has a crush on Twilight Twinkle!?"

The red mare thought of her old friends... then she thought of the concept of a pony named Twilight, having a crush on a pony named Pinkie Pie.

Then she promptly ran into the bathroom, and threw up all those undercooked smores they had eaten earlier.

"Applejack?" Rarity asked, trotting towards the bathroom in concern. "Applejack, are you okay?"

It was at this time then, that a strange bunch of flashing light appeared outside the windows, and an odd humming noise was heard. The lights suddenly shot off into the sky, and an oddly-dressed Minty suddenly came bursting through the front door.

"Minty, is that you?!" Twilight Twinkle asked in disbelief, staring at the goofy earth mare. "W-what are you doing here? More importantly, why the flank are you wearing a fluffy feather headdress, and a golden metal bikini?!"

"Wow, Twilight! You wouldn't believe where I've been!" The green mare exclaimed excitedly. "These weirdo alien ponies took me to the planet Bongo, that was ruled by an evil pony called Mane the Merciless! He was gonna enslave me, but then this gorgeous Pegasus stallion named Flash Sentry rescued me- he said he was from our planet hundreds of years ago, and he hasn't aged cause they abducted him and took him out into space- anyway, Flash and I teamed up, and we overthrew Mane the Merciless and his evil armies! Then Flash asked me to marry him, but I told him I had to come back for my sock collection. So they dropped me off here again, and said they'd be back for me in another ten years! Isn't that great? I'm marrying a ponynaut hero!"

"Ohhhh, Minty, Minty Minty!" Fluttershy scolded the other mare, shaking her head. "Sometimes your wild stories are really out of this world!"

Something's clogging up the pipes!

Good gracious! That really must have hurt your plans for putting your old group back together!

Yeah, Apple Blossom, I did kinda have my hopes dashed by that one. But I was still really happy for the friends I made in Ponyville. I just had to accept that my new friends weren't exactly my old friends!

What happened in Ponyville after that?

Well, this was about the time, that we found out something nasty outside of Ponyville, and just started gumming up the pipes...

"Wow Applejack, you sure threw up back there really good! I've never seen anybody ever make a mess like that, even me!"

"I know, Minty."

"And I just couldn't believe it when you told me you got sick because Pinkie and Twilight reminded you of two of your old friends, and one of them was a girl! I mean, I've never even heard of a mare and another mare getting together like that, is it even possible?!"

"No it's not, Minty. But I threw up because of the under cooked smoores, not because of that."

"And isn't it so totally weird that the space ponies took me away on the same day that you had your crazy party that blew up in your face? I mean, what's up with that!?"

"MINTY!" The frustrated AJ snapped, spinning around to face the other mare. "Don't you have anything better to do than follow me around today?"

"Nope, Pinkie's off talking and hanging around with Twilight today," The mint green pony explained. "so she told me to come and keep you company. You know, so you won't be lonely!"

"Oh, lucky me!" The other mare replied, rolling her eyes.

The two ponies were trotting down the streets of Ponyville, talking about the failures of the previous evening's disaster, when they started to notice a surprising lack of other ponies on the streets of the town. The usual mix of mares roller skating, playing hopscotch, and dashing from one shop to the next were absent.

"Hey, Minty?" The red mare asked, looking around. "Is there some kind of Ponyville holiday going on today, that nobody bothered to tell me about?"

"No, not that I'm aware of." Minty said with a giggle. "Though that's not a bad idea, fill out that nasty old blank spot today leaves on the calendar!"

The two ponies looked around for answer, when suddenly a foul stench reached their sensitive female noses.

"Ewww, gross!" Applejack covered her nose with her hoof. "What in the world is that icky disgusting smell!?"

"I dunno AJ, but I think it's coming from over here!" The green mare trotted over to a large iron storm drain on the side of the road. "Why don't we just go down there, and see where this awful stinky stink is coming from!"

Aj was about to say something about the wisdom of going down an icky and dark hole, but the mint-green mare already had the grate lifted halfway off. With a sigh, she helped her goofball friend move the grate the rest of the way off of the hole, and the two ponies descended the ladder into the tunnels beneath Ponyville.

AJ lit a small flashlight she kept in her saddlebag, and the two mares trotted down the darkened tunnel way with a small river flowing through the side. Looking around at the gray walls and dingy appearance, the mare couldn't believe how colorful and alive the town and countryside above looked by comparison. So many green trees and colorful flowers,  so many sweet animals and gentle creatures that made the town and the surrounding countryside home. The town might even be more full of beauty and life than it had been in her day, and modern Ponyville might be one of the most pleasant places she had ever lived.

"Huh, this is weird, I've never been down here before," Minty noted, looking around at the slimy walls. ", and I've lived in this town my whole life!"

"This must be the town's sewer system, or it's water supply, considering how clean that water looks." Applejack peered down into the river. "Hey, wait a minute... what the heck is that gunk?"

So it was quite a shock to see a trail of icky green sludge come pouring down through the water, turning in an extremely nasty color. The foul smell filling the air only seemed to worsen, indicating that this poison was the source of the stench.

"Ewww, where is this disgusting goo coming from?" Minty asked, looking at the gunk in horror. "This stuff can't be any good for all the ponies and plants and animals!"

"No, it's not Minty." A voice came out of the darkness, as a blue mare with a flame over water cutie mark came trotting towards them. "This stuff is a vile poison, that could threaten all of Ponyville, and all ponies and animals that live there."

"Ahhh!" Minty yelled in a panic, before seeing the other pony. "Oh, Waterfire... it's only you! What a relief!"

"Wait, Minty... you know this pony?" Applejack asked in surprise.

"Yeah, she takes care of Ponyville's water supply, and fixes all the pipes under the town and stuff!"  Minty explained, as AJ looked the blue mare with an orange mane over. "I'm sure she'll be able to get to the bottom of this!"

The older mare noticed Waterfire had a... certain air about her, carrying a smell almost as strong as the foul poison in the water. patches of icky brown gunk were smeared all through the mare's coat and mane. And considering the pony was a sewer worker, it wasn't to hard for AJ to figure out exactly was those brown stains were.

"This green pollutant has been pouring into the Ponyville water reserves for the past few weeks." The mare grumbled, turning on the light attached to her yellow sewer hard hat. "My breezie work crews and I have been noticing a buildup of in in the tunnels over the past few weeks."

"Wait, you have breezies working for you down here?" AJ asked incredulously. "Isn't that kind of dangerous for such a delicate creature?"

"Hey, who're you calling 'delicate'?" An annoyed little pony with wings called out, her glowing body coming out of the darkness as she flapped up towards the three normal-sized ponies. "We can take care of ourselves, thank you very much!"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry..." Applejack replied apologetically, shocked to see a creature twice as large as the breezies she was used to. It was obviously from the genetically modified breed she and the other harmony bearers had encountered at Tambelon- a much stronger and sturdier subspecies that looked more like miniature versions of regular ponies, but with antennae and wings. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's all right, Miss Applejack, Knick-Nack is just a little sensitive to his size!" Waterfire said with a laugh, as several other breezies in miniature  hard hats came buzzing out of the other pipes. "I think if we're going to get to the bottom of this mess, we're going to have to follow the gunk trail back to it's source!" The blue mare tossed each of them a helmet painted with girly flowers like hers. "You two up for a little tunnel spelunking?"

"Sounds good to me!" Minty called out, slapping the helmet on her head. "Lead the way, Waterfire!"

"Wait a minute, you two!" Applejack wailed, galloping after the others as they quickly disappeared down the tunnel. "Are you really sure this is such a good idea!?"

...

That was quite the adventure, wasn't it, Applejack? I believe we should both tell it from here on out!

I do think you're right, Spike. Y'all were there for this part, after all.

So did you guys find out who was responsible for the toxic goop? Was it some evil wizard out to destroy Ponyville?

No, apple blossom, it wasn't like one of our problems we have here in Dream Valley. the pollution was actually coming from OUTSIDE the dome. See, more than just Ponyville had changed in the years I had been away. All of Equestria had gone through it's own changes, as economic growth and profit margins had become more important that the land ponies had once lived in harmony with. Industry and business had grown outside the insular bubble of Ponyville, and we were all about to founbd out just how horrible Equestrian greed and love of bits could be....

The Toxic beast

The Toxic beast

The three mares continued down the shaft, following the trail of poison towards it's source. As they tread deeper and deeper into the slime filled maze, the sound of a loud throbbing noise filled their ears, as if a great machine was running someplace far above their heads.

"What the hay is that?" Applejack asked, as the source of the noise became louder and louder.  "It almost sounds like some kind of wild animal!"

"I dunno," Minty replied, squinting her eyes as she looked ahead. "But I think I see some light up there!"

The three ponies came out in a small cave, and were horrified by the sight before them. A large, spherical metal behemoth, the size of a large castle, sat on the ground before them. Massive pipes and tubes stuck out of the over sized monstrosity, sticking into the surrounding ground and river, spewing out black poisons and filth into both the land and water all around them. To the horrified ponies observing the terrifying sight. it looked more life some kind of terrifying monster was sucking the life out of all the land around it, completely oblivious to all of the horrible damage it was causing.

"Oh no! What is that terrible thing?!?" Waterfire exclaimed, looking upon the abomination before her in utter terror. "Girls, we have got to find a way to stop this thing, before it poisons all of Ponyville!"

Applejack nodded her head in agreement, then began trotting towards the structure. Seeing that the coast was clear, she motioned for the other two ponies to follow.

...

"Spike, come quick!" The cry came from outside celebration castle, the small palace that the dragon had come to call home. "Something terrible has happened!"

Rushing out across the open drawbridge, where he found an anxious Apple Spice dancing and prancing about. The worried pony motioned for the little dragon to follow her, and the two raced their way over towards the town clinic. Spike expected any number of problems to have occurred here in Ponyville- from Scootaloo getting into a wreck and bumping her head again, to Minty getting her hoof caught in a peanut butter jar again. But the sight that greeted his eyes was one the little dragon had not expected.

"Oh my words!" The pygmy dragon exclaimed. "What in the world has happened here!?"

Mares and stallions were scattered all over the room, lying on cots and groaning in agony. Spring Fever, Ponyville's resident physician who operated the clinic, was putting a cold compress on Wysteria's head, while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie  ran around the floor, wearing nurse's caps and dresses.

"Oh, Spike! Thank goodness you're here!" Spring Fever exclaimed, pulling a blanket over a mare who had the hot and cold shivers. "All of these ponies have suddenly fallen ill, and I have my hooves full with all these patients!"

The dragon looked around in disbelief, staring blankly at all the patients with thermometers in their mouths, and sweat running down their bodies. "How... how did this happen?"

"It was the water, darling! Every pony  who's drunken from the town's water supply has gotten sick like this!"  Rainbow dash exclaimed, putting a bedpan down so Sunny Daze could throw up into it. "We were hoping you could find out what the cause was, and stop this bloody illness before it gets out of control!"

"I don't feel so good..." Sunny exclaimed, as her face turned a bright purple. "BLEEECCCHHHHHH!"

"Ew, Sunny!" Rainbow Dash shrieked, as the gunk spewed all over her face. "You got that gunk all over me and my dress!"

"Sorry, Dashie...." Sunny Daze replied weakly, her head falling back against the pillow. "I really can't help it..."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Darling!" Rainbow exclaimed, wiping the vomit off of her face. "You just try to rest there, and I'll go get you a glass of water!"

On the other side of the room, Pinkie Pie stood over the shivering form of Twilight Twinkle.

"Here, Twilight. Take some of this medicine. "Pinkie said sadly, trying to put a spoonful into the pony's mouth. "It'll make you feel better!"

The stallion weakly took the spoonful of medicine, before quickly coughing it back up onto the blanket that was covering him.  "Pinkie, I....Ugh...agh... hack!"

"Oh no! Twilight!" The pink mare exclaimed. "Try to not to speak, just try to rest..."

Spike looked over the whole scene, horrified at what was happening to his friends.

"I-I'll see what I can do." The small dragon replied. "I'll need to get a sample of water from the river, and see if I can mix up a cure."

The small blue dragon ran back out to the Ponyville River, only too see the foul and slimy brown goo gushing it's way through what had once been crystal clear water.  Seeing the dead flowers and plants all along the river bank, Spike realized that this filth was the cause of all the town's problems.

"Oh dear, I hope I can figure out what this poison is!" The dragon pulled out a small beaker, and dipped it into the polluted water. The small dragon had a limited knowledge of chemistry and the other sciences (all of which he had learned from Twilight Sparkle, oh so long ago). But he was determined to help these little ponies, who meant so much to him.

"Maybe I can find something in the castle's books to help me." The dragon shook his head worriedly. "Oh, how I wish Princess Twilight were here..."

...

"Ew, Applejack! This place is gross!" Minty exclaimed, looking around at the leaky pipes and grinding gears. "What do ya suppose they do here?"

Finding an open entrance in the back of the foul-looking building, the three ponies trotted their way inside. Upon seeing the grimy soot and heard the loud humming of the machinery, the three came to realize they were inside a large factory. Cable and wires ran all along the walls and ceilings, and strange lights blinked on unidentifiable consoles. As they made their way through the endless labyrinth on passages and ducts, they found their way into a large room with all sorts of machinery busily at work.

"Wow, this place really, really stinks!" Minty exclaimed, covering her nose with her hoof. "It smells like machine oil and rotten food!"

"Really? I don't notice anything out of the ordinary." Waterfire shrugged. "Smells fine to me."

"That's because you practically live in a sewer, Fire." Applejack replied sarcastically. "But I am wondering what they do make here?"

The three ponies looked over the conveyor belts, and noticed several white bottles being run along the assembly line, the machines squirting a white and bad-smalling substance into the small bottles, then screwing orange caps onto the bottles.

"A glue factory?" AJ said in surprise. "But none of the trees that make glue sap grow in this part of Equestria. Unless they're importing it, ow can they possibly make glue here?"

"Whhooahhh... whoaaahhhh!" It was at that point that Minty began to stumble around, tripping on a cable, and knocking into a half hidden door that was half hidden in the wall. The clumsy mare practically fell though the doorway, and fell onto the floor in the adjoining room of the factory.

"Minty, are you all right?" Waterfire started, as she and Applejack came through the door after her. "Honestly, you really need to watch... where... you're... going?"

All three mares ere stunned into silence, staring on in shock at the sight before them.

"Help me! Please help me!"

"Noooooooo!"

"Argahhhhhh!"

Up near the ceiling in the room, a long line of cages suspended by chains moved along the conveyor belt. In each cage was an unhappy-looking pony, and the moving cages were pulled along by a crane towards a large bubbling vat. As each cage moved over the disgusting looking liquid, the bottom of the cage opened up. The terrified pony was then dropped into the cauldron below, screaming in terror as they dissolved right before the eyes of the three horrified mares.

"Oh my B'zkere!" Waterfire exclaimed, trying not to throw up. "Are they... they can't be!"

"Th-they're making the glue..." A tearful Minty trailed off, unable to form the whole thought at the horror of what she was witnessing.

"..they're making it out of us!" AJ finished, feeling very ill herself.

"Hey, what are you three doing here!?" A deep and angry voice called out, as they heard a pair of bipedal feet came running down the stairs after them.

"Oh no! They found us!" Waterfire exclaimed. "Girls, make a run for it!"

But before they could even take a step, a whole swarm of the factory's guards quickly surrounded the three mares. The three ponies turned back to back, staring down the guards that were threatening them.

"I'd recommend not making any sudden moves, ladies!" One of the guards snarled, as several of his comrades pointed shock sticks at the three ponies. "Unless you want to be in a world of hurt!"

It was then that the three ponies discovered that the factory wasn't being run by ponies at all, as the guards who menaced them were clearly a very different sort of creature.

"Monkeys!?" Applejack sputtered in disbelief, staring at the bipedal primates surrounding her and her friends. "This place is run by MONKEYS!?"

"We prefer to be called gizmonks, pony!" One of the hairy beasts declared, pointing his weapon at AJ. "Now get you're hooves up, and get moving!"

In the name of Progress

In the name of Progress

“Get your stinkin’ paws off me, you damn dirty apes!”

The monkey guards pulled Applejack into the overseer’s office, having tied her up with up with a bridal and bit in her mouth. A bespectacled  primate behind the desk stood up, straightening his business suit and tie before walking over to where the security guards struggled with the red pony.

“It’s all right, I can see she is secured now.” The older monkey assured his blue suited security officers.  “You may return to your rounds, and let me know of any other intruders that happen to wander into my factory.”

“As you wish, Dr. Strangehate!” The gizmonks saluted in unison, before walking back out the door.

“You’ll have to forgive my subordinates, they can be rather zealous at their tasks.” The doctor told her, removing the bit from her moth. “I trust you are uninjured, my dear?”

“Not as injured as your going to be, you damned little hairball!” The older mare angrily spat. “Who are you, and what the hell are you doing in Equestria?!?”

“Wow, rather blunt and to the point, aren’t we?“ The simian adjusted his glasses. “Who I am is Doctor Amadeus T. Strangehate, scientist extraordinaire for the great Gizmonk civilization.  And what I’m doing here, is your own Princess Luna invited my associates and I to Equestria.”

“What? You filthy liar!” AJ protested, pulling against her restraints. “The princess would never-”

“Oh, but she did! She invited us in to help revitalize your nation's economy! To help your dear ponies to leap into the future, while your stubborn muzzles are stuck so far into the past."  He tapped his fingers together. "Of course, she doesn't know how we've been collecting the Ponyville ponies to be used as a resource."

"But... how can you do that?" A horrified Applejack asked, trying to hold back her tears. "How can you justify murdering these ponies, and polluting Ponyville and the surrounding area with the slime from your factory?"

"You mean these pathetic mutative degenerates living in the remains of an abandoned amusement park?" The simian asked, looking at the small heart in AJ's right eye. "The toxic side effects of the magic dome over the Ponyville region has caused any number of deformities to appear in their population. You only lived among them a short time, and your already are showing the same deformities that plague the town's equine population."

"But... how can you justify the killing of intelligent ponies?" The red mare asked, trying to restrain herself from leaping over the desk, and stomping the little primate into paste. "Does life really mean so little to you and your employees?"

"Oh, my dear Applejack, you are so wonderfully rustic and Naive." The gizmonk smiled. "The world has changed a great deal since you and your little friends traveled across the landscape, spreading your outdated message of friendship to your fellow ponies."

"What?!? You knew?!" The old mare asked in shock. "But how did-"

"My fellow Gizmonks and I are not stupid, Miss Jack. Our sources told us of your return to Equestria."  Doctor Strangehate walked over, and snapped a switch on a monitor. "And the Equestria you have returned to is a very different place than you remembered it. Here, have a look if you don't believe me."

The mare gazed upon the view screen, and as the primate fiddled with a dial, she saw depressing images and events flash across the screen. She saw housing developments grow and spiral out into the countryside around Manehatten and Fillydelphia, as ancient forests were cut down and cleared away. In Baltimare , she saw farmland bulldozed over to build smog-spewing factories that filled both land and sky with filth.  And in Hoofington, Applejack witnessed unicorn's losing jobs they had worked with magic, to computerized machines. It horrified the red earth pony to see such careless destruction of her home and culture.

"I-I can't believe it!" The mare said in shock, tears filling her eyes. "How could they just throw away tradition like that?"

"Unlike your woefully misguided generation, Miss Applejack, the modern pony lives not by the law of friendship, but by the law of supply and demand." The monkey replied gleefully, wringing his hands as he gloated. "All they care about now is competing to get ahead, and building fortunes is more important that building relationships with members of their own kind."

"NO! No no no no no no!" AJ wailed, refusing to believe the simian monster standing in front of her. "Friendship is in a pony's blood and soul! We would die with out it!"

"Maybe in Twilight Sparkle's time friendship was magic, but in the here and now a pony's special talent is a commodity to be bought and sold! Was it not one of your own mares, Diamond Tiara, who turned your beloved Ponyville from a town into a living amusement park solely for the acquisition of wealth?" The gizmonk gloated triumphantly, staring the mare straight in the eye. "The ponies of Equestria are tearing up their own natural resources, and sucking the land dry like parasitic leeches hungry for blood!"

He snarled at the ancient mare in contempt. "Once, your kind looked down on the rest of us, scorning the other races for our greed and materialism. Well, who's the monster now, pony? Who's leaving their poor to starve in the alleyways of Canterlot while the rich play?" He turned away from his captive audience. "Well, now the horseshoe is on the other hoof, isn't it?"

Applejack only glared at him in silence for several minutes, before asking. "What about my friends and me? And what about Ponyville?"

"After enough pollution and our pony hunters wipe out the population of Ponyville, we'll convince the Princess to tear down the dome and expand our factory onto the demolished Ponyville and Unicornia." Dr. Strangehate glared at her. "You I plan to dissect, to see if we can extract whatever it is that keeps you eternally young, and bottle it for sale. As to your friends, they are about to join the other mutated ponies we've captured in the glue vats, to be melted down into product."

AJ's eyes went wide, and she started to jump over the desk at the monkey doctor. But he quickly hit a button on his desk, and mechanical clamps quickly rose up, and clasped onto her hooves, holding the picnic planner fast.

"Well, my dear ex-harmony bearer, it appears that you won't be victorious this time." The cold-hearted primate told her. "Have any last words you want me to deliver to equine posterity, whatever form that may take?"

"You listen to me, you little poo-flinging primate!" The  mare snarled, struggling against her restraints. "I swear by Celestia herself that I'm gonna break outta these stinking hoofcuffs. And when I do, I'll bury you, your technology and your stupid progress under the glue encased ruins of this damned factory!"

...

Elsewhere in the factory, the scar covered Waterfire began to come back to consciousness. Her eyes flickering open, the bruised mare was slow in returning to consciousness, a result of the torture the gizmonks had given her and Minty with their shock sticks. As the mare's eyes slowly began to adjust to the bright factory lights, she found herself in one of the pony cages hanging from the factory ceiling.

"Minty? Applejack?" The dirty mare called out, her first concern for her friends. "Where are you girls?"

"Waterfire, help me!" The green mare wailed hysterically, from a cage farther up the line. "I don't wanna be turned into glue!"

It was then that the underground mare noticed that the factory line was moving again, dropping ponies into the globby mess  once more. And it was then, to their horror, that Waterfire noticed that Minty was only a few minutes away from being dropped...

Factory of Fury

Factory of Fury

"Minty, oh no!" Waterfire wailed, covering her eyes with her hooves. "Somebody, please help her!"

The cage wheeled in over the glue vat, and Minty covered her eyes and whimpered. But suddenly, the gears in the rails above her ground to a halt. The wires began to spark and sizzle, and the cage began to swing about wildly. The little green pony tumbled forward, as the door inexplicably burst open, and Minty was sent hurtling towards the ground below.

"Aieeeeeeee!" THUNK!

The stunned pony fell from the swinging cage just past the vat, hitting the factory's metal floor. Two surprised gizmonks, not believing one of their ponies had gotten out of it's cage, grabbed their shock sticks and raced across the floor to get to the dazed escapee.

"Minty, look out!" Waterfire called out to her klutzy friend. "Hurry up, and get to the control console!"

"Yieeee! Get out of my way, you wierdoes!" The green pony leapt out of the way of the charging monkeys, causing the unsuspecting simians to run into each other with their shock sticks.

"Agrahhhhhh!" Both monkeys screamed, electricity shooting through their bodies as they were both knocked out.

"Way to go, Mints!" Waterfire yelled. "Now hurry up, and get us out of here!"

Nodding, the green mare kicked the control panel, causing it to spark, all the cages to open. All of the ponies inside were dropped to the floor with a loud THUD!

"I can't believe it, Mints! Your bad luck actually paid off for us for a a change!" Waterfire told her with a smile, as she and the other ponies pulled themselves back up to their hooves. "Now, come on! Let's go find AJ!"

But before any of the ponies had time to react, two gizmonk factory workers came around the corner, coming back from their lunch break.

"Security! The ponies are out of their cages!" One of the sinister simians yelled. "We need help down here, pronto!"

"Oh no you don't! We're not going back into those cages!" Waterfire yelled angrily. "Girls, make a run for it!"

A horde of monkeys came swarming down the steps, racing towards the escape ponies with their electric prods.  But the ponies bolted back down the pathway, with Minty and Waterfire racing back towards the entrance to the underground tunnels they had first come in through. A few of the monkeys were able to catch up with the fleeing equines, but were quickly kicked away by Minty and Waterfire's back hooves. Getting back towards the entrance, the two lead mares began ushering them back down the passageway one by one.

"Hurry up, we need to get though and keep running!" Waterfire exclaimed, as they all galloped down through the icky and disgusting sewer tunnel. "They could catch up with us at any moment!"

And she couldn't be more right, as nearly two dozen of the hairy horrors came barreling after them- workers, security officers, and factory R&D scientists- all of the monkeys who knew that these ponies were their bread and butter, the source of their income. And for those gizmonks who traversed these tunnels to get to the Ponyville region to kidnap specimens, they knew there was a dead end ahead, and the equines had nowhere to go.

"Keep up with them!" One of the furballs called out, as the simian swarm poured along the pipes after them, moving on their knuckles with great agility. "There won't get very far!"

Down and down into the endless maze of pipes the ponies went, their swarm of pursuers hot on their hooves. All of the equines trusted Waterfire, the very mare who lived and worked in this stinky sinkhole, to guide them along the right path back home. But as the came to a particularly narrow pipe, it seemed their faith in her may have been horribly misplaced.

"Waterfire! Why did you bring us down this way!" Minty wailed, as the group of panicky ponies came to the dead end. "Now they're gonna catch us for sure!"

"Don't worry, girls, I know what I'm doing!" The blue mare replied, looking up at the hatch far above them. "You have no idea whose cave we're under at the moment, and who these idiotic apes are about to incur the wrath of!"

"Well well well... lookie what we've got here!" The gizmonk in front snarled, as several of the gizmonks raised their shock sticks. "Now, you stupid horses gonna go back to your cages nice and easy,  or we gonna have to get rough?"

"Actually, it's you who's about to get roughed up!" Waterfire called out, looking up and the hatch above. "KIMONO, WE'RE DOWN HERE! MONKEYS ARE TRYING TO KILL US AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!!"

Everyone looked around in confusion for a moment, before the monkeys began to advance again. but suddenly the hatch above them opened, and a purple blur shot down the hole. It all happened so fast...Kimono's karate tore into the unsuspecting gizmonks like a hurricane.   The purple pony punched, kicked, and tossed the surprised simians around, shattering their bones and breaking their skulls against the sewer's stone walls.  Even their shock sticks, charged witch crackling sparks of electricity, seemed to have no effect on the mare mistress of martial arts.

"Kimono! That... that was amazing!" Minty exclaimed, as the last of the gizmonks fell over dead. "You took out all those creeps without breaking a sweat!"

"Minty... Waterfire, what the heck are you and all these other ponies doing down here!?" Kimono asked, standing upwards on her two back legs, and taking a fighting stance. "And where did all of these mad monkeys come from?"

"Kimono, we need to go save Applejack!" Waterfire exclaimed, as the mares  behind her started to climb the now-lowered ladder towards the hatch above. "Come on, Minty and I'll explain on the way!"

Unglued

Unglued

"Come on, you two! Hurry up!" Kimono called out, running along the walls, and leaping from surface to surface. "We must save Applejack, before it's too late!"

"We're coming, we're coming!" Waterfire called out trying to catch her breath. "Good grief, how in the world does she MOVE like that?"

"Guess we shoulda taken those karate lessons like she did." Minty replied, galloping along as fast as she could. "Hey Kimono, wait up!"

The three hurriedly ran from room to room, With Waterfire tampering with the locks to open the different doors, and Kimono taking out the remaining gizmonks  with several well-placed kicks. But the factory was a large building, and they couldn't seem to find their missing friend anywhere.

"Keep looking, girls!" Minty yelled, galloping along and peering into every doorway she passed. "AJ's gotta be in here somewhere!"

.....

Meanwhile, the mare in question that they were looking for, was currently strapped to a table in a laboratory on the second floor. All around her the lab gizmonks fiddled with dials and buttons on all sorts of consoles and strange machines.

"Uh, look, guys?" Applejack asked nervously, struggling against the restraints that kept her strapped down to the table. "You sure we can't talk this over?"

"I am afraid not, my dear Miss Jack." Dr. Strangehate replied coldly but politely, as one of his assistants flipped a switch on one of the devices. A huge buzz saw lowered down towards Applejack's midsection, it's sharpened blade spinning so fast it looked like a metal blur. "Now, let us find out if that wonderful immortality, also grants you any degree of invulnerability, as well."

It was at that exact moment that the door exploded inward, and three mares came barreling into the room. Kimono sent the three assistant monkeys flying into the wall, while Minty dove onto the table where her friend was strapped down.

"Applejack, noooo!" The green pony cried out, putting herself between the lowering blade, and AJ. "I won't let you hurt my friend!" Surprisingly, the blade miraculously stopped spinning mere inches away from the two ponies.

"W-what the hay just happened?!" Applejack whispered in disbelief, looking up at the sparking cutter hanging mere inches just above the mares. "Minty, are you all right?"

"Fascinating... it appears the green pony's presence caused the blade to malfunction. I wonder if she has some kind of probability manipulation ability." The monkey speculated, even as he was running for the door. "I'd love to stay and test that hypothesis, but this untimely pony rescue tells me it is time for a hasty retreat!"

Oh no you don't!" Applejack snarled, pulling at her restraints like a mad pony. "Waterfire, get me loose, quick!"

"Okay, I'll give it a try..." The other mare hit a few buttons with her hoof, and the restraints came loose. "but what are you-"

"Get back here, you damned little monster!" Applejack howled, galloping after the fleeing primate. "I'm going to rip your flanking head off!"

"Now what in the world was that all about?"  Minty asked in confusion, hopping down off the lab table. "She didn't even stop to say thank you!"

"I'm sure Applejack has her reasons."  Kimono said, looking around at all of the terrible lab machines of torture and death. "Ugh... say, Waterfire? You know all about all the dangerous chemicals and toxic fumes in your sewer, right?"

"Yeah, but why do you ask?" Other other mare replied, puzzled.

"Is there a way you could, I don't know... fiddle with a gauge here, pull a lever there, let some chemicals loose, and BOOM?" The oriental pony asked.

Waterfire stood silent for a moment, before her eyes went wide in realization. "You-you want me to blow this place up, don't you?" The blue mare nodded her head slowly. "It could be done, but shouldn't we get everyone out of here first?"

"Agreed. Minty, go make sure the factory's clear, then get AJ and meet us at the exit." Kimono told the clumsy mare that was with them. "We're gonna make sure the gizmonks get a really big bang outta this one!"

...

"Hold it right there, you filthy little poo thrower!" Applejack screamed, finally cornering the sinister simian on the catwalk. "You're not getting away, after all the innocent ponies you turned into paste!"

"Don't you dare try to lecture me, you four hooved oat-slurper!" Stangehate, snarled, looking back at the mare with contempt. "I was simply making use of the resources I had on hand- namely, a bunch of degenerated pony who don't even count as sentient beings!"

"My friends are not a commodity you can just use like that!" The red mare snorted, stamping her hoof. . "You going to pay for your stupidity and greed!"

"I came here under Princess Luna's personal request, and I am under her personal protection!" The bespectacled primate warned, taking a step backward. "If you so much as lay a hoof on me, I'll make such a diplomatic stink at the court at Canterlot, that all of Equestria will never live the shame down! Your ruler will have no choice but to burn Ponyville to the ground to save your citizenry from the dangerous 'mutants' who attacked my factory, and killed my workers!"

"Who says you're going to get anywhere to cause any kind of stink, Strangehate?" AJ asked coldly. Before her opponent could even react, the red earth pony charged forward, smacking into the gizmonk, and sending him tumbling off the catwalk.

"Progresssss!" Strangehate howled as he plunged downward, before landing in the vat of hot and sticky glue with a loud blorp! Applejack stared down at the disgusting swirling mess of white glue and fur with contempt, feeling no sense of satisfaction with her deed.

"Well, at least it looks like the monkey... has been spanked."

"Applejack, thank goodness I found you!" Minty called out, running up to her friend on the catwalk. "We gotta hurry up and get out of here, Waterfire's about to make this place blow!"

"Lead the way, Mints!"  With a nod, the two ponies want galloping off the catwalk, and raced for the exit below.

.....

It was a bizarre sight, for the ponies of Equestia- to see the ground to the northwest of the Ponyville suddenly explode into a strange gushing fountain of glue, sewage and dirt. although the mighty blast was heard as far away as Baltimare, it was surprisingly not massive enough to cause any damage to the nearby Ponyville itself. The massive gaping whole it left behind, however, had reached downward deep into the earth, and hot boiling magma rose to the surface to fill it in. Generations from now, after natural magic and the elements had reshaped the landscape, ponies would come to call this place the crater- and later the volcano- of gloom.

But for now, all that mattered was that a crime against ponies the rest of the kingdom had all but forgotten about, had finally been brought to a halt. And as three mares celebrated their victory as they made their way back towards Ponyville a fourth very angry red pony was planning on having a few very angry words with a certain alicorn princess of the night, who had allowed this evil into their midst...

Confrontation

Confrontation

"Wow! So you girls took out the whole entire factory by yourselves?"

"Yep apple blossom, and Spike here helped whip up the brew that made all those ponies in Ponyville feel better!"

"Uh, no offense AJ, but could I tell this part of the story? I'm in it, after all..."

"All right, Spike... I've checked over  the ingredients you told me to put in the mixture quite carefully."  Spring Fever, Ponyville's town doctor asked the Dragon, busily working away at a mixture with her mortar and pestle. "Are you certain this concoction will flush the poison out of their systems?"

"That's what it said in one of the herbal remedy books I found in the castle." Spike replied uncertainly, as the pink pony doctor mixed the powdered medicine packets into warm cups of tea. Taking them out onto the clinic floor, she began administering them to the sick mares and stallions one by one.

"Here, Sunny, drink this." Spring Fever offered a steaming cup to the visibly ill mare, who picked it up in her hooves and began to sip it slowly. "You'll feel better soon, I promise!"

"Thanks, Springs..." The normally cool mare replied weakly, and Rainbow Dash fluffed her pillow. "... you're the best."

Nodding, the doctor pony then trotted over to where Pinkie Pie was standing next to Twilight, and offered up a another cup of the steaming hot liquid.

"Here, Pinkie... now give this to him slowly." Spring Fever cautioned, as Pinkie took the cup from her. "If Twilight swallows it too fast, it could burn the poor stallion's throat!"

"Ok, thank you so much, Dr. Fever!" The pink earth pony up to the stallion's mouth. "Here you go, dearest, let's take it nice and easy."

As the worried mare slowly gave the drink to the sickened stallion, the pony physician trotted her way around the clinic, passing out more cups of the warm liquid. As she worked her way around the room, the mare noticed that many of her patients were already starting to look a little better. Rushing back over to where Spike stood, the small dragon notice a smile spreading across Spring Fever's face.

"Spike, your cure actually seems to be doing something!" The medical mare beamed excitedly, looking around at the quickly recovering ponies. "I've never seen anyone recover from a disease this fast!"

"That is usually the way with magical cures, they tend to work faster than normal medicinal remedies." The dragonling replied smugly. "But I would still give them about a week or so to recover, before giving them a clean bill of health."

"I'll make sure to keep them under observation." Spring Fever agreed, before remembering something. "Say, Spike... have you seen Kimono or Applejack? Minty and Waterfire were in here earlier, and they said the two were away from Ponyville to deal with some kind of problem."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about those two much." The dragon replied thoughtfully. "I heard A.J. saying something about touching base with an old friend, I'm sure she and and Kimono are just fine!"

...

Canterlot Castle had changed very little over these past few years, save for a darker atmosphere more befitting a rulership of the former princess of the moon. The surrounding city had undergone major renovations however, the poorer and middle class sectors of the city having been demolished to make way for more high-priced real estate that the rich and powerful to live in. Some say that the rich and powerful now live in isolation here, untroubled by the concerns of a growing unhappiness throughout Equestria as a whole. There were even some who said that when Princess Celestia had died, the true spirit of Equestria had died with her.

In the throne room. A group of royal guards knelt before the throne of Princess Luna, giving their reports to the alicorn who now sat on the throne.

"And so, your majesty, we still have no idea what caused the gizmonk facility in the valley to explode, though royal investigators are certainly looking into it." The Captain of the guard told her, taking his helmet off. "Also, there is some murmurs of discontent among the commoners, which my soldiers are having a little more difficulty hushing up than usual."

"Make certain that it is quieted up, commander." The regal winged unicorn upon the throne replied coldly. "I'll not have the Equestrian wealthy fearing for their safety, just because for the mutterings of a few uppity malcontents."

"So that's how you view your subjects now, Luna!?" And angry voice filled the room, seeming to  come from everywhere. "All they are is a few angry rebels, just because they don't agree with you?!"

"Who dares speak to the Princess of Equestria in such a manner?" Luna shouted, switching to the royal Canterlot voice as the guards snapped to a defensive position. "SHOW THYRSELF, INTRUDER!"

Suddenly, a red pony and a purple purple pony appeared from nowhere, and the guards charged at them, weapons in hoof. The pair of mares moved like lightning, one moving with a flurry of karate hoof chops and spectacular flips, while the other relied on good old fashioned farm pony blows from Bucky Mcgillcutty and Kick Mcgee. Several quick blows sent all of the guards crashing to the ground, knocked unconscious (Kimono and Applejack were careful, so as not to harm any of the guards while taking them down.)

"Princess Luna," Applejack stated coldly, all of her former respect for alicorn royalty clearly gone. "we have to talk."

"I have nothing to say to would be assassins!" The Princess leapt up from her throne, taking to the air, and firing a powerful energy blast from her horn at the two mares. The blast hit Kimono dead center, sending the unsuspecting mare flying back into a pillar. "Your kind will not take me, as you did my sister!"

"Umph!" The earth pony mare groaned in pain, as her back slammed into solid marble.

"Luna, ENOUGH!" The red mare yelled out, nearly jumping up into the alicorn's face. "It's me, Applejack!"

"F-fair Applejack, the farmer?" The princess asked in disbelief, powering down her horn as she noticed the red coat on the farmer pony was a dye job. "What are you doing here? And why didst thou seek to come into my presence in such an extremely violent manner?"

"Your guards weren't exactly willing to let us in, 'you majesty'." The red mare snorted, looking back at her friend. "Kimono, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I've been hit by worse from Minty." The purple mare groaned, rubbing her hoof against her sore rib. "That actually hurt, you alicorns really do pack a punch!"

"Princess Luna, how could you just let those Gizmonks into Equestria like that?!" Applejack demanded, getting straight to the point. "Those ornery critters were pollutin' Ponyville's whole ecosystem! To say nothing of turning Ponyville Ponies into glue!"

"What?! Impossible! Doctor Strangehate did assureth me that all of the ponies inside of Ponyville were long deceased! That is why I did let him build his factory to help improveth Equestria's declining economy!" She stared at the ancient earth mare for a moment, before narrowing her eyes.  "Saaay, art thou certain that thou art not just trying to stand in the way of progress because thou art a pony farmer? My development of the land doth be good for all of the kingdom!"

"Wait... you're taking the word of a sneaky simian over one of your own subjects?" AJ snorted, stamping her hoof angrily. "This isn't just about farm land being turned into factories, your own subjects are being ground up into paste!"

"So this is the great Princess of the moon, huh? The pony that let my friends get ground up into guacamole?" Kimono asked, looking at the winged alicorn in contempt. "Guess she's not as regal and noble as all the stories said."

"ENOUGH!" Luna roared in the Royal Canterlot voice, her eyes glowing. "WE WILL NO LONGER LISTEN TO ANYPONY'S BASELESS ACCUSATIONS! BEGONE FROM HERE, THOU FOOLISH PONIES! WHILE I STILL ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE UNHARMED!"

"They were right, Princess Celestia's death has changed you." Applejack said in a saddened voice, the last of her faith draining away in the betrayal before her. "You are not the pony you once were... and your not half the pony your sister was!"

"I'm not scared of all your yelling, you stupid alicorn!" Kimono took a fighting stance, a glow forming in her right hoof. "And I'm certainly not scared of YOU!"

The earth pony mare jumped at the royal princess, who shot another energy blast at Kimono. But this time, the earth pony's hoof punch cut straight though the blast, smashing into the surprised Luna's face, and sending her slamming back into the wall behind her throne.

"Aieeeeeeee!" The former princess of the night wailed, as she hit the wall with an audible CRACK, before sliding down into her throne, unconscious.

"You-you just took on an alicorn's magic, and won!" Applejack noted in utter shock. "How the hay did you do THAT?!"

"Earth pony chi, AJ, focused through my martial arts." Kimono snorted, cracking her hooves as they stared down at the unconscious princess. "Most other pony types forget we earth ponies do have our own special type of magic. All it takes is my life energy directed in the proper spot, and I cut cut through even the most powerful magical attack like a hot knife through butter." Kimono shook her head. "Sorry about your royal princess there, but I just couldn't stand there and let her tell me my friends who had suffered and died didn't exist."

"Don't worry about it, Kimono. She's not my princess, not anymore." The mare replied with a sigh, as they both galloped for the door. "C'mon, let's get back to Ponyville before her royal brattyness there and her guards wake up!"

Turning Point

Turning Point

"Kimono, Applejack, there you are!" Minty called out, running to her friends as they came up through the pipes. "We were so worried you two were goners!"

"Oh, you know us!" Kimono replied with a laugh. "A.J. and I would never take on more than we can handle!"

All of the ponies coming out of the clinic hugged the two returning mares, and AJ took a good look around the crowd. Most of them had recovered, thanks to Spike's cure, and it looks like Ponyville would soon recover from the gizmonk's atrocities. She was here, with her friends, in Ponyville. True, these were not the friends she remembered from an earlier time in her life, but they were still friends who loved and cared about her.  And seeing this Rainbow Dash smiling and this Fluttershy snapping pictures, of this Twilight and this Pinkie Pie standing together, holding hooves... well, it made the old red mare happy to be the ponies they were, instead of being what somepony else expected them to be.

"Hey Applejack! Why you standing over there by yourself?"  Rairity called out to her, as the other ponies crowded in to celebrate her and Kimono's safe return. "C'mon in, and join the party!"

With a small smile, the old earth pony trotted over to join the circle of her little Ponyville friends, reveling in their warmth and sheer joy in just being the ponies they were.

....

"Wow! Your oriental friend actually took down Princess Luna?!" Applejack's daughter asked in utter shock. "That's so incredible!"

"Well, apple blossom, them alicorns may look tough and have some really powerful magic, but that doesn't mean someone can't knock em' down a peg or two if they have the right skills and know-how."

"Luna really didn't deserve what the two of you did to her, though.  Considering you kind of just hit a mare grieving over her sister with a rather nasty accusation like that." Spike grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest in an accusing manner. "The one good result of your barging in, was that she turned around, and started working hard to be a good ruler again."

"That she did, Spike. Luna severed diplomatic ties with the Gizmonk corporations, and even welcomed the ponies of Ponyville back into the kingdom with open hooves when the dome came down."  A.J. sighed at the memory. "She even went out of her way to look for me afterward so we could talk things out, and she could apologize. I made sure that her guards were never able to find me, though."

"So what happened next, huh?" Baby Applejack asked excitedly. "Did you become a tailor in Tall Tale? Or a blacksmith in Baltimare?"

It was at that point, that both Spike and Applejack looked away from the little filly, closing their eyes at the painful memories the question brought into their minds. The little girl could only stare in confusion at the two adults for several minutes, before her mother finally looked back at her daughter, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes.

"What happened next, Apple Blossom.... what happened next was the darkest moment in Equestria's history." Applejack sputtered out, trying to keep her composure. "After I lived out my friends' natural lifespans in Ponyville, I moved back out into the much larger world of Equestria. I watched the lava demons attack and destroy the Crystal Empire, I saw the goblins and trolls and changelings level every city they came across, and saw ponies running for their lives from... from... from..."

The older mare buried her hooves in her face, and Baby Applejack knew at once what her mother was talking about. She had heard of these times not only in her school classes, but also in all the books she read and stories she had heard since the earliest days of her childhood. It was the event that changed pony history forever, and burned away the kingdom of Equestia in it's violent and ferocious flames.

"The Grogar wars...."  Going over and putting her hoof on the orange earth pony, Baby Applejack rested her head against her weeping parent. "Oh mama, I'm so sorry, I never thought about how remembering that would affect.... look, I have enough information for my report, you really don't need to tell me anything else, honest!"

"Baby Applejack, please... you need to understand, those years were a horrible time to live through." Spike finally brought himself to say. "Grogar... well, if Tirac was the embodiment of evil, Grogar was the embodiment of hatred. He hated friendship, hated happiness and joy, hated everything you ponies spent all of your whole history building. Other villains wanted to conquer Equestria, and that animal... that sick, savage horned animal wanted to destroy everything." The little dragon clenched his claw in anger. "And he did, little A.J., he did destroy everything our generation had cared about."

"You and mom suffered a lot through those times, huh Spike?" Baby Applejack sighed,  putting her hoof around her mother. "Like I said, it's okay,  you  guys don't have to tell me about what happened if it hurts so much!"

"...No, my little Apple Blossom, that won't do at all." AJ replied, finally pulling her face out of her hooves. "This story does finally need to be told, little one. i can't bottle up forever what I saw and heard back then. I need to tell you ... but not right now." The older mare took a deep breath. "Give me a little while to prepare myself, sugar cube, and I will tell you how Grogar the terrible destroyed all of Equestria."

Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers

Oh come on, mom! You can't just drop into the middle of the story like that! How did you first meet Chocolate?

Huh? Oh all right, apple blossom! See, it goes something like this...

A gray sky hung overhead, as the weary old mare trotted her way along the road between Manehatten and Filldelphia. She could have taken a train- or even rented an automobile!- in order to reach her destination. But no, this old mare preferred doing things the old fashioned way. As she walked along the paved roads, pulling the cart carrying all her worldly possessions inside of it, the cars passed her going this way and that. On either side of the highway, she could see housing developments and factories rising on either side of the road,  cutting into the natural landscape and helping to bring about a 'Modern' Equestria. Turning her head away from all of the 'progress', the mare soon discovered she had suddenly gained a companion on her trek.

"Hello there, stranger! Looks like you could use some company." A voice called out from behind her, as a pony trotted up from one of the few remaining pockets of actual woods. "The name's pinwheel. Mind if I join you along the road for a time?"

AJ looked over at the owner of the voice, and saw a pink unicorn mare, with a six-pinwheel cutie mark. None of that was unusual, of course. But what caught the ancient mare's eye, was her fellow pony's flowing rainbow colored mane, that seemed to move as if it was alive. Shocked at first, AJ thought for a moment that she was in the presence of Princess Celestia, returned somehow, but then the pony remembered a rumor she had heard about the horsemasterist ponies, and their mysterious and mystical clergy.

"You're a Rainbow Pony monk." The earth mare snorted, looking her new companion over indignantly. "Well, you're more than welcome ta tag along with me for a spell, preacher mare, just as long as you save yer preaching for the pulpit."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, my little pony." The mare assured her, nodding her head back towards the pack on her back. "I am no preacher. Merely a pilgrim to the road, following the horsemaster's will, wherever it takes me."

The orange earth pony nodded, and the two trotted along in silence together for nearly a half an hour, until the older mare finally spoke up.

"So, Pinwheel, where are y'all from?" Applejack asked, trying to break the silence. "From the sound of your accent, I reckon you're from Baltemare. What got y'all to become a pony of the cloth?"

"Yes, I was once from that great and noble town, though the whole world is my home now." The mare replied with a smile. "I was once a business mare, my head filled with facts, and figures, and profits... didn't do much to make me happy, ya know?"

"So you instead decided to renounce everything, and live by going from place to place, and bumming off your believers." The mare grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Sounds to me like a pony who stuck a crown on her head, declared herself a princess, and got everypony to worship her just because she thinks she is a goddess."

"Ahhh, a disgruntled and disillusioned alicornist, now are we?" The rainbow pony commented, smiling at her traveling companion. "This is the last thing I thought would be coming from the last of the harmony bearers, fair Applejack."

"Well now, I don't- HEY, HOW THE FLANK DID YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" The orange mare yelled in shock, turning on the other pony. "Are you one of Luna's agents?!"

"My dear A.J., if Luna's agents knew where I was at the moment, I would find myself being barbecued on a stick for blasphemy against an alicorn." The mare shook her head. "No, your condition is well known to those of us in tune with the spiritual world... and you also pretty much look exactly like all the statues of her in the museums. Do not worry though, I have no wish to make your secret public."

"Well, I'm mighty grateful for that, Reverend Pinwheel, but I'm still thinkin' yer wasting yer time if y'all thank I'm gonna convert and follow yer 'Horsemaster'." The orange mare looked downward. "Ah've been betrayed by religion altogether."

"So much anger and rage, from one who has been forced to live so many lifetimes." The unicorn sighed, shaking her head and shifting her constantly moving mane. "All of your experiences all the ponies and places you've loved... are you not pleased with all of the gifts that providence has given you?"

"Yeah, ponies and places that your 'providence' has also taken away from me. I can't even trust the alicorns My Granny Smith always taught me would look out for a pony and her family." The angry mare looked away, trying to hide her tears. "The one thing I've always believed in was home and family. Now, I don't even have those."

"Ahhh, so it is the longings of attachment that torment you." Pinwheel replied knowingly, nodding her head at the other mare's words. "The pain of passing has piled up far too much for a caring and loving heart... even one as strong as yours, noble Applejack."

"Is that what your going to feed me? That 'you need to cut all earthly attachments' bull?"The other mare snapped at her. "My attachments are what are important to me, preacher mare! They anchor me, and make me who I am!"

"I'm not telling you to forget the ponies you've lost, Applejack. They with always be with you in your heart and mind." The rainbow-maned monk told her truthfully. "It is your inability to move on of the pain of their passing, that is causing you such utter grief." She stopped, and up her hoof on the other mare. "We all lose those we care about, my little pony."

"But so many friends and family? Over the generations, over and over and over again?" Applejack pushed her hoof away, yelling right in her face. "Why... why do other ponies keep dying, and I keep living out my life, right on through the pony generations? Does your horsemaster have a reason for cursing me so?"

"Almighty B'zekre works in mysterious ways, Applejack." The monk replied simply. "The horsemaster has a path set out for you, it's just you haven't yet found that path."

"That may be so, preacher mare, but this is the point in the path that you and I part ways." The old earth mare snorted, turning off on the road at the Manehatten exit. "I'm thinking about staring up a new life here in Manehatten again... who knows, maybe I could be a business mare this time."

"Applejack, wait... is this what you really want? Jumping from lifetime to lifetime, never facing your pain and your past and overcoming your demons?" The rainbow maned mare quickly teleported in front of the other pony. "Come with me, good Applejack, and I will assist you with the answers you seek."

"I told y'all, Pinwheel!" The irritated mare snapped. "Ah have no interest in convertin' ta-"

"I'm not talking about converting to anything, A.J.. I'm talking about going somewhere to help you clear your anger, and decide upon your path." The mare nodded towards the road the road ahead. "My brother, Chocolate, owns a chalet just outside Baltimare. I'm sure you could get some rest and rejuvenation there."

The older orange mare though for a moment, then trotted back to follow the rainbow monk along her journey. Little did the last Harmony bearer realize, how this fateful decision would change her life, forever....

A major mistake

A major mistake

So she took you to meet her brother, Chocolate?

That's right, apple blossom! Though what happened after we first met, probably wasn't what the Rainbow pony monk exactly had in mind...

"Hey there, big sis! Good to see you again!" The smug stallion greeted his sister, as she and AJ came trotting through the door. "And who's this fine little filly you have with you, there?"

The rainbow pony monk's home was a modest brown wooden cabin, tucked away in one of the few wooded areas Equestria still possessed. Applejack couldn't believe how humble and simple the place looked on the outside, with quaint curtained windows and a homely looking roof and chimney. But it was something that was inside that took the ancient mare by surprise... and it wasn't the pine wood furniture or matching curtains and tablecloth that caught her eye.

He was a rather handsome looking stallion, as far as appearances went- AJ had seen a number of well-built males in her time, and dated a select very few  of them over the centuries- but this one had a certain fire in his eye, a rebellious ember that burned bright hot as he stared at the new mare standing before him. The orange earth pony was shocked, for she had thought no Equestrian stallion carried such a passionate fire in their spirits anymore, and the flame that once made Equestria strong had given way to a lazy complacency surrounded by the soft life of modern conveniences. But this pony seemed like an archaic throwback, and this intrigued the fellow earth pony standing before him greatly.

"Chocolate, this is Applejack, she'll be staying with us here for awhile." The rainbow monk declared, as she hung her cloak up on a hook near the fireplace. "A.J., this is my brother, Chocolate!"

"A pleasure, Miss Jack." The tall, dark, and gruesome stallion greeted her, kissing the mare's hoof. "It's a pleasure to meet such a rare example of classical Equestrian beauty in this day and age."

"Aw, shucks... yer just sayin that!" The mayor replied with a grin, obviously amused with the miserable flirting attempt. But Applejack discovered that the monk's brother was a very good conversationalist, as he was able to hold her attention all throughout dinner.

"So your sister raised you after the two of you's parents died?" The orange mare asked, as she took another sip of the orange juice her hostess had poured for her. "It musta been really hard, growing up!"

"Well, it wasn't really as bad as it sounds, actually!" The stallion replied with a chuckle. "There were always ways for my friends and I to enjoy ourselves."

"Yeah, this ornery colt was always getting himself into some kind of trouble I'd have to bail him out of!" Pinwheel laughed, setting down a plate with two hay sandwiches on it. "You wouldn't believe how many times I had to talk to the authorities about him spray painting a bridge, or throwing rotten apples at a royal guard. This bay was quite a hooful!"

"So y'all were a bit of a troublemaker, huh?" AJ asked, looking the rouge over with a smile. "Yeah, ya don't find ponies that ornery around no more these days."

"Ugh, don't remind me! Equestria is such a soft and easy place to live in this day and age, nopony wants to get up and do anything exciting anymore!" Chocolate replied in annoyance. "I would have liked to have lived in more exciting times, when ponies were real ponies, and not just little weaklings!"

Chocolate was indeed a rebel in this modern world, a throwback to a time before cell phones and computers, when stallions were stallions. Over the next few days Applejack found herself spending more and more time with the stallion, showing him lasso tricks, and chatting about the old wild and free days of Equestria.

"It must of been incredible, when you and your friends were going on adventures." Chocolate commented, watching the mayor jump through a lasso hoop. "Back before Equestria was noting but suburbs, and high rise apartments."

"Yeah, I do kinda miss those days now, apple buckin' and goin ta preform in the rodeo." The orange earth mare sighed, waxing nostalgic for happier times in her life, now long gone. "It's funny, a while back I was tryin' ta get away from my past, and live a new life, but now... I almost kinda miss it!"

Applejack quickly found out what Pinwheel planned to do with her, as the rainbow mare slowly began to teach her older mare companion. Pinwheel taught her the secrets of the followers of the horsemaster; their belief in one supreme creator, their faith and hope in the future their beliefs gave them, despite how had the world had become. It was a philosophy based on love and family, rather than on the important bonds of friendship alicornisim had relied on. Still, it was a concept that the family-oriented applejack could relate to. And besides, weren't friends a lot like family, anyway?

"You seem a little bothered by my sister's teachings," Choclate noted one day, hen they were each having a mug of cider on the veranda. "don't worry, there are a lot of the rest of us who don't agree with her, either."

"But... I thought you and your sister were both horsemasterists!" Applejack replied, surprised. "You mean you don't take her message seriously, ethier?"

"What, you mean all that stuff about 'the prophet Zorypontha teaches balance in all things' and 'everyone has a special destiny?' Oh please!" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I know my sister isn't forcing you to listen to her message or convert, but I can't believe you actually want to sit there and listen to the junk!"

"A lot of what Pinwheel is saying is making sense, Chocolate." The orange mare replied, looking away. "It explains a lot of the chaos I've been experiencing in my life, too."

"Look, A.J. ... I know you've been through a lot, but I can't believe the great Applejack is giving into all this mumbo jumbo." He snorted in disgust. "The world is screwed up 'cause ponies don't care anymore, not because we aren't horsemasterists or alicornists or whatever other -ist ya wanna slap on at the end of a word. Ponies out there don't give a damn about anything anymore, so why should we?"

The former element of honesty was taken aback by these words, she had always believed in something. "Chocolate, w-what are you suggesting?"

"You said you missed the excitement of the rodeo and performing, right?" The stallion asked, a great big smile forming across his face. "Well, I just happened to know how to get in touch with a few ponies from the rodeo circuit, and get you back to doing what you do best." He looked back into the house, where his sister could be heard upstairs praying. "Unless you'd rather fall asleep listening to another sermon from her high and mighty holiness?"

Applejack looked back towards the house, than looked back at the stallion before her, before closing her eyes and nodding her head.

And that's how I turned my back on a mare who had done so very much to help me, and proceeded to make one of the stupidest mistakes of my life!

Wow, you were acting goofy back then! So did Pinwheel come looking for you and her brother?

That she did, apple blossom. But by the time she found us, ohhh boy had the situation in Equestria changed! Which leads us back into Grogar's invasion...

Invasion Frustration

Invasion Frustration

It was a quiet day in Fillydelphia, the ponies going about their business to and fro. Stallion read through their newspapers as they road the train on their daily commute, while mares attended their business meetings, showing power point presentations for their co-workers. Everpony was going about the very important modern pony business of making money, with no time for things like friends or fun. It was into this world of very serious industry and profit-making, that Grogar the cruel descended.

"Troggles, attaaaaack!"

The goblins hordes poured into the city like a swarm of locusts- pillaging, looting, and burning everything in their path. Presiding over the whole macabre scene, was the tall and dark figure of a tyrannical goat, standing on top of a nearby skyscraper as his followers destroyed the landscape. As he snarled at the scorched landscape beneath him, a quivering donkey crawled up behind him, whimpering.

"Master? Is everything okay, master?" Bray, Grogar's pathetic little underling, whimpered. "The troggles were wondering if you wanted to come down and help butcher some of the prisoners."

"I'm depressed, Bray... very, very depressed." The large horned goat replied with a dissatisfied sigh. "My return to Equestria wasn't supposed to be like this."

"Depressed, master?" The servile donkey asked in shock. "You not happy with our attack on the city?"

"It's not just the city, you sniveling equine!" The towering goat snapped, turning and growling at Bray. "I spent five hundred years in that hellish dimensional prison, patently awaiting the day when I could return and destroy the land of pony friendship! Instead, I am left to slaughter descendants of the ponies I hated- these cowering, greedy whelps who only care about themselves, and barely put up a fight! It feels like such a... hollow victory." Grogar replied, his voice almost sounding almost disappointed. "There is no satisfaction in slaying ponies as wicked as I am!"

It was indeed unsatisfying for the tyrant- once, he had been on the verge on conquering all of Equestria with the power he had obtained. Until the day those infernal harmony bearers and their mates sent his city of Tambelon into the dark dimension, trapping him and his armies for centuries. He swore when he returned that the Royal princesses and whatever ponies inhabited Ponyland would suffer dearly for his defeat. But the world he found upon his return had been so very different from the world he had left behind. Princess Celestia was long dead, and the Equestria that the Harmony bearers had so loved had faded away in the ages he had been gone.

There was nothing but a hollow revenge for him... and it made the heartless goat feel even more empty inside.

"Awwww. master sad because there no harmony bearers or Celestia to slay!" Bray snorted, trying to cheer his boss up. "Don't worry master, Luna still there to kill! Oh, and changeling spy told me Applejack pony is still alive! Maybe we hunt her down and kill orange pony, too?"

"What!? Applejack lives!? But how-" The old goat's eyes went wide in shock. But then he remembered the day the harmony bearers had banished him... and a dark smile suddenly spread across his face. "Of course! Do you remember, Bray? She was caught in the phase field when Tambleon was pulled out of this dimension! She must have been partly pulled out of phase with this world along with the rest of us!"

"Crusty old mare probably hasn't aged a day since we disappeared from Equestria, huh master?" Bray giggled fiendishly. "We send out troggle platoon to find her, master?"

"No, I have got a better idea with what to do with that belligerent mare." The goat motioned for a pony slave to come over, and take down a message he was about about to dictate. "I want you to send word to the jewel wizard of the purple mountains- tell that cantankerous old gnome I have a new mare for him to work in his jewel mines. Applejack can suffer down there in the cave of jewels, until she goes blind like the other pony slaves!"

"Ohhhhh, very good, master! Me tell jewel wizard!" Bray replied gleefully, prancing around. "What about the rest of Equestria? Princess Luna has many advanced modern weapons that could hurt us!"

That will not be a problem, whelp!" The fiend snapped angrily, losing his patience. "My ally Tirek has informed me that Tambelon's return has permeated the entire planet with a powerful surge of magical energy- magic so powerful that it has left most advanced technological devices without the ability to function. The playing field has been leveled, and thanks to an unintended side effect, these ponies and every other race on this miserable will be trapped forever in a medieval society, ripe for the taking!"

"Ohhhh, that very good, Master!" The sniveling donkey agreed. "All of Equestria defenseless before us!"

"I want this city burned to the ground, Bray ... tell the troggles to leave no stone standing on another." Grogar bellowed, as he turned to the cowering slave. "I'm going to send a message to the rest of our allies throughout Equestria, the changelings and diamond dogs and lava demons, and tell them to destroy every written record, every book and scroll and text and tome!" He looked down at the trembling mare who was writing his words. "I want no written record left that any such place as Equestria even existed! When we are done here and the ponies have to rebuild their civilization, it won't be the hated Equestria that rises from the ashes!"

"Ohhh, very good master!" Bray grinned from ear to ear. "What we do next?"

"Next, we finish up our destruction here, and then we march on the capital!" The old goat snarled, walking towards the other side of the building to beginning his descent. "At least I will enjoy the smug satisfaction of ending the life of the Princess of the night!"

Captured!

Captured!

"Fillies and gentlecolts, I give you the incredible western pony duo, Green Apple and Chocolate!"

The announcer's voice boomed across the large stadium, as the mare and the stallion bowed to the wildly applauding audience. The two of them trotted towards the steps, as the audience clapped their hooves, cheered and threw roses onto the stage. Both Chocolate and Green Apple were certain that these satisfied customers would pass on stories of her wonderful rope tricks, and his amazing acrobatics, drumming up even more business for the two show ponies.

What happened next, all happened so terribly fast... the skylight overhead imploding, goblins descending the ropes, and ponies pointing their hooves and yelling. Most of it would be a blur to Green Apple later, though she could remember screaming ponies running in every directions as the little green bipedal monsters chased after them. Green Apple remembered rushing at them furiously, kicking the invaders away this way and that, until their numbers finally overwhelmed the strong mare. Their clubs and sticks beat down upon her head, pounding and beating until the mare passed out .

"Hey! Lemme go, ya filthy varmints! Get offa me! Chocolate! Anypony! HAAAALP!"

Green knew only darkness for several hours, until she awoke to find herself hog tied, gagged, and stuffed int on a large burlap sack. The earth mare felt herself carried by a muscular goblin out of the city, the sounds of terrified shrieks and smashing glass reached her ears... though she could see nothing. It wasn't long before the horrific noises of the destroyed city faded behind her.

From her burlap prison, the earth pony did not see the torn up roads and destroyed cars they passed on the highway. She didn't see the stacks upon stacks of pony remains, stripped clean by the monsters and left to bleach in the sun as the scavengers picked over them for remaining morsels of flesh. The mare inside the bag, so wrapped up in her own short-term happiness these past few months, didn't realize that this was the end of Equestria. When next she saw freedom. Green would learn to her horror that out of the two hundred million ponies who called this kingdom home at the start of the the Grogar wars, only four million would survive to see it's end.

A pitiful end, to a once mighty land.

But none of these things mattered to the captive pony right now, as she suddenly felt the bag she was in being carried out of the sunlight, and into a very dark place. Suddenly, the goblin carrying her opened the bag, and dumped it out onto the cold stone floor of a cave. The ugly bat eared creature them removed Green's gag, and the mare began a tirade of angry yelling.

"Why you ornery critter! Where the hay am I? What's going on here? You better tell me, or I'm gonna-"

Her ranting was eyes slowly adjusted to the eerie natural light of the place, and the mare could not believe what she saw.

Crystals... crystals everywhere. On the ceiling, on the walls, hanging from or sticking out of every surface. Crystals of every color, shape and size, glowing in the darkness. It was obvious to Green Apple, that they were somewhere in the northern latitudes of Equestria, near the lands of the Crystal snow pony tribes. It was only after staring at the beautiful gemstones for several minutes, that the mare notices the hideous-looking goblin guards standing throughout the room. It was then she spotted the bizarrely odd figure, sitting at the very center of the chamber....

He was dressed in a blue, ornamental garb... glittering gemstones covering every inch of his garb. It was a wizard, unless Green Apple missed her guess at his strangely-adorned wardrobe. A-a... what had Twilight once called the creatures? A gnome, that's it! The gnome wizard was sitting upon a throne made of pure crystals, almost laughing at the mare sprawled on the floor before him.

"So, this is the famed harmony bearer of honesty, hm?" He asked quizzically. "Well, she looks strong and healthy enough to join her fellow mares in the mines."

"She will serve you well, o great Jewel Wizard of the north!" An all too familiar voice called out, causing the earth mare's heart to sink in her chest. "Now, where is that little reward you promised me?"

"Quite so, and you have earned that reward!" The gnome chuckled, motioning to a pony on the far side of the chamber to come over to him. Applejack's heart nearly broke in two as she saw Chocolate step forward, and claim a bag of gold from the gaudily dressed wizard. "You did well in all your earning of the harmony bearer's trust,  and ensuring the ease of her capture."

"Chocolate..." The still tied up mare whimpered in disbelief, trying to hold back the tears. "W-why? Ah-ah thought we- why?"

"Hey babe, I told ya I'd show you a good time." The stallion replied with a chuckle, smiling as he trotted towards the entrance of the cave. "Sorry Green, but the asking price was just too good!"

"Awww, poor little betrayed pony, you must feel so hurt and alone right now!" The wicked wizard snapped his fingers. "Guards, have her fitted with a chain and collar, and take her down to work in the mine with the other mares." A small chortle escaped his lips. "Let 'honesty' be reunited with her fellow ponies!"

"At once, my lord!" The commander of the goblin guard saluted, as two of his underlings moved to take the sobbing mare in chains away. "Shall we put her down in solitary along with your rebellious nephew?"

"Yes, an excellent idea!" The jewel wizard beamed, agreeing with his monster guard. "Let that rebellious gnome try and convince a harmony bearer about his crazy ideas about friendship and peace!"

...

He betrayed you to the Jewel Wizard?! How horrible!

Yeah, apple blossom, he did. But I learned an important lesson that day... and it would be long before I would soon meet the gnome that would one day become Dream Valley's greatest friend...

Misery in the mines

Misery in the mines

"All right, you miserable Mare!" One of the guards yelled at her, pushing the heartbroken earth pony along. "Get a move on, we don't have all day!"

As the goblin guards led Green Apple down through the maze of tunnels, she could see the forms of sever other miserable ponies toiling away in the mines. Earth ponies chipped at the cave walls with pickaxes in their mouths, while unicorns used gem-finding spells to locate gemstones within the rock. As she sullenly trotted past all of the captive mares and stallions with neck and hoof shackles, Green happened to notice something all of the prisoners had in common.

"Their eyes..." The beleaguered mare asked, looking around at her fellow prisoners. "What happened to their eyes?"

"Hah! they've long since gone blind, from workin' in these caves!" One guard replied gleefully. "Besides, they don't need their eyesight ta work!"

"Don't worry... after a few years down here, I'm sure you'll be just as blind as they are!" The other guard chortled in agreement. The two brutes finally brought her to a large rock, attaching her chain to a neaby bolt secured in the ground.

"'Ere's your new home, missy! I suggest ya get used to it!" One of the guards went over and smacked a strange looking little gnome, chained up to the rocks and working like the ponies, on the back. "Hey Edgar! Got a new friend down 'ere for ya, we did! And she's a mighty lovely pony, too!"

"Be sure an' show her what to do, an' keep er' out of any trouble!" The other guard growled, poking the mare with a spear. "We don't need another escape attempt... like last time!"

"You barbarians wouldn't know lovely if it came up and smacked you on the face." The diminutive figure replied, looking up from where he was working. "Now I suggest you get out of my face, so that I may return to my work."

The two goblin brutes went off chatting, leaving the gnome to look over the newly arrived pony. "Are you all right, my dear?"

The gnome was a small fellow.... dressed all in green, with a slightly off-shade tunic and cap. Bending over to examine the still-shaken mare, he ran his hands across her roughed-up coat.

"Well, no bad bruises or broken bones." The gnome....Edgar... said softly, a look of concern in his eyes. "Did they harm you very badly?"

"N-no, I'm okay...." The mare merely mumbled, clearly still in shock. "H-he betrayed me... how could he betray me?"

"Look, I know this must be a terrible time for you, but you need to pull yourself together and start working!" The young gnome advised, gently stroking the pony's mane. "My uncle will not stand for a pony slave who won't do their share of the work!"

"O-okay..." Green Apple muttered without thinking, taking the pickaxe in her mouth. "W-what am I supposed to do down here?"

"It's very simple. See, as a Gnome, I am very in tune with the earth and the minerals inside of it." The blonde-haired and blue eyed youth told her. "I shall locate the gemstones in the rock face, and you chip them out with your pickaxe! Here, let's give it a try!"

Edgar put his hand against the rock face, and closed his eyes. Suddenly, small spots inside the cave wall began to glow, and the gnome pointed towards them.

"There, dig in those places." The young gnome exclaimed. "That's where you'll find the gems!"

Green nodded, and quickly went to work on several places in the wall. Soon, she had knocked several of the gems free, and she and Edgar soon had a cart overflowing with them.

"Very well done! That's the way to do it!" Edgar told her with a smile. "Seems like we make a pretty good team, huh?"

...

It went on like that for many, many days... Edgar searching out and finding the gems, and Green Apple chipping them out of the cave walls. Green learned the harshness of this underground life -between the sting of the goblin captain's whip and the constant dangers of a cave in- but for a mare who had already survived so much, Green was still able to endure. The guards were pleased with the massive load of riches Green and Edgar had managed to find, and even gave them and extra five minutes on their rest breaks.

For Edgar, the harsh and brutal treatment was simply life as usual. But for Green, the sting of recent events were still far to fresh in her memory. The shock of Chocolate's betrayal had given way to anger, and a red-hot thirst for vengeance burned in the mare's mind. Edgar was this, however, and really wanted to do something to help the poor pony. Partnered together for most of their work shifts, the two digging partners had little time to talk. But in those brief periods when they could exchange words, the pair did manage to find out a bit about each other.

"So you came from an apple farm, huh? Sounds very nice and cozy." Edgar told her with a sigh, as he illuminated a wall full of gems with a touch.. "I'd love to live in the country myself sometime, maybe get a nice little Mushromp outside of Dream Valley."

"How did you and the Jewel Wizard get to Equestia anyway, Edgar?"  Green asked, cipping away to get one of the diamonds. "And why did he throw his own nephew in with the slaves?"

"Oh, Grogar invited us to come here from our homeland, to help him, in his takeover of Equestria." Edgar explained, wiping some of the sweat from his brow. "He put my uncle in charge of these mines, but when the Jewel Wizard started using captured ponies slave labor, I just couldn't stand by and let him do it!"

"And your complaining got you thrown down here with the slaves... I understand." Green snorted, shaking her head. "You have a good heart, Edgar... at least one better than the pony who left me to rot in this pit! Ohhhh, I'm going to bust him up real good when I get out of here!"

"Ohhhh, my my my! Green, you shouldn't let your anger and desire for revenge take you over!" The young gnome sighed, shaking his head. "It could come back to bite you in the end!"

So you made friends with Edgar! Did the two of you start planning an escape?

Well, not right away, appleblossom, but the idea did start to creep into our minds. And boy, when we did start ta plot our getaway, it turned out to be far bigger than anything we had ever imagined...

The way out....

So, how did you two plan your escape from the mines?

Well, apple blossom, this is how it went down...

CRACK! "Get back to work, you worthless ponies!" A goblin called out, hitting a mare with a whip. "We need to jewel shipments up to the surface!" CRACK!

The loud crack of the lash came down on a mare's back, creating a new scar as it came down upon her back. On the other side of the mine, another mare dropped over from exhaustion... a mistake she only had a moment to regret, before the horrid goblin guards descended upon her like locusts!

"N-no, please! I can still work! I can still-AIEEEEEE!"

The helpless earth pony barely had time to scream, as the green-skinned horrors turned her over and gutted her with a sword, slicing a clean cut from head to flank. The poor pony's entrails spilled out upon the mine floor, as the goblins dipped thier hands down, and greedily lapped up the fluids and innards.

"Mama! Noooo!" A little filly nearby wailed, trying to run over towards the mare who had just fallen. "MAMAMAAAAAAAA!"

Back ta work, ya little urchin!" One of the goblins bellowed, striking the little filly across the face with a whip. "Lest ye want ta join yer mum in Tartarus, ya little blighter!"

Green Apple watched these events with horror, not believing what was before her very eyes. Equestrian ponies had been enslaved before, and had suffered abuse, but this.... these goblins had no pity or mercy, and seemed to revel in the misery they caused others. She had watched them work ponies nearly to death, then rush up to devour them when they grew too weak to continue. In there eyes, she saw no pity or mercy or compassion- no, the only thing that stared back at her was raw, unadulterated hatred.  Was this to be the emotion that would govern ponydom's future from now on? Was their nothing for these mares, having gone totally blind in this horrible darkness, to look forward to in their futures?

But the thing the troubled Green even more was the look of hopelessness and despair she saw in the eyes of her fellow mares. At least a flicker of hope had remained with them in their dreams, where visions of happier times came to them in their precious few hours of sleep. But even that had been taken from them, as the dreams of everypony had degenerated into hellish nightmare these few weeks past. None of the other mares could tell what this meant, but Green figured out the cause of it all to well.

Something had happened to princess Luna.

Now, both of the alicorn sisters were gone... ponykind was own it's own from now on. That suited Green just fine, she had come to rely only upon herself and whoever were her friends at any given time these past few generations. And if everything went correctly with what she and Edgar were planning- well, she had her fellow equines would soon be tasting their vengeance upon the very villains  who had enslaved them.

"Edgar, are those crystals ready?" Green called out, as the gnome worked over a column of jewels that rose from the mine floor. "Those guards are going to notice we're up to something soon!"

"Almost got it, Greenie!" The gnome wizard declared, as energy flowed from his fingers into the gems. "Just need a few more minutes...!"

While working in a newly dug corner of the mine, that had found a cache of gemstones charged with a particularly violate form of magical energy. Deciding to hide their find from the goblins, The two had concocted a scheme to charge the magically explosive gems with enough magical energy to overload them totally.  But that plan seemed to be in danger, however, as two guards came running up towards their section of tunnel.

"Hey, what are you two doing up there, you bloomin' troublemakers!" One of the guards called out, as they rushed up, and pointed their spears at the two. "Get away from there, or we'll skewer ya!"

"Now Edgar, hurry!" Applejack cried out, kicking one of the guards away. "This is our only chance!"

The gnome poured on the magic, causing the column to glow an eerie color...

... and everything happened at once.

The column of jewels suddenly exploded outward, showering the multicolored gemstones all over the mine. The goblins only shielded their eyes, trying to block the sharp flecks of crystal from getting into their eyes. But as the shards went flying into the blinded of of the mares they enslaved, something totally unexpected started to happen.

"M-my eyes..... I can SEE!" One of the mares called out in shock, as her now-seeing eyes twinkled with a jewel like glow. "The magic gems restored my sight!"

All of the enslaved mares only stood their in shock for a few moments, before everything went totally berserk. The slaves suddenly revolted, snapping their chains, and lunging at their captors. Biting, trampling, and kicking at the guards who had held them prisoner, the angry mares tore the goblins who had tortured them apart. The surprised guards fell quickly at first, but soon grabbed up their spears, and began to fight back. The mines descended into total anarchy, as blood was spilled on both sides.

"Hurry up, Edgar!" Green called out, galloping up towards the cave entrance. "Let's get out of here before-"

"My mine!" The jewel wizard yelled in anger, appearing as if from nowhere. "You two shall pay for destroying the order of my mine!"

The evil mage put his hands in the air, and began to make the whole cave shake from his magical power. Edgar immediately jumped in front of Green Apple though, his own hands beginning to glow.

"I'm sorry, my uncle!" The angry gnome called out. "But I cannot let you hurt my friend!"

Green Apple watched in horror, as rock and earth-shaping spells were thrown back and forth within the mine. Boulders and rock slides were thrown back and forth, as stalagmites dropped from the ceiling as they tried to crush each other. Edgar tried to sink his uncle in a shifting sea of quicksand, while the wizard tried to kill his nephew  by opening a yawning chasm beneath him.

"Green, get yourself out of here!" The small gnome declared, dodging one of his uncle's deadly spells. "Don't worry, I'll hold him off!"

The uncertain mare looked back and forth between the two gnomes, before taking a hesitant step towards the bright light of the outside. But looking back at her friend who had done so much to help her, the earth pony made a decision to not abandon him.

"Hey, Jewel Wizard!" Green Apple yelled, galloping straight at the distracted mage. "Have a nice trip, see you next fall!"

Distracted by his spell battle, the jewel wizard was caught off guard as the earth pony mare plowed right into him. Kicking upwards the earth mare sent the evil wizard tumbling down over a cliff, and into the bottomless abyss below.

"AGAAHHHHHHHHHHH! You stupid ponnyyyyyyyyyyyy!" The villain wailed, as he vanished away into the mists.

"Green, you did it!" Edgar called out, falling to his knees in exhaustion from all his spell casting. "We're finally free, and it's all thanks to you!"

Goodbye Equestria, Hello Ponyland

The morning sun was shining down upon them, as several of the now-liberated mares trotted out of the cave, and gazed upon the warm light coming from above. They saw the world through new eyes- twinkle eyes, one of the mares had called them- which had been formed from the shattered shards of the crystal that had showered all over the mine.

Most of the goblins who has served as the equines' slavers had breathed their last in those mines, and even now two of the earth mares were kicking the boulders overhead, and sealing up the entrance. The horrible mine that their captors had forced them to work in,  would now serve as those same captor's final resting place.

"So, Edgar... where will you go now?" Green asked the gnome mage, as they were sitting on a nearby rock face, overlooking the others. "I don't think there's any place in Equestria for you at the moment, with this whole war still going on and all. Besides, I think there might be some ponies out there who would love to get some revenge on the nephew of a known pony slaver."

"Well, I heard some of the mares have decided to head to Dream Valley, though I might try my luck by going with them." The gnome replied with a chuckle. "And thee are ways I can avoid being recognized; maybe I could grow a beard, or start simply going by my family name- Moochick- instead of my first name!"

"Mister Moochick? Really?" The mare replied with a chuckle, raising an eyebrow. "Now I see why you just stuck with Edgar!"

"What about you, Green?" The gnome asked her, stroking his chin as he thought about the beard he might one day grow. "Where will you go, now that you are free?"

"Edgar... all that's left for me at this point, is revenge." The mare rose to her hooves, snorting angrily. "I'm going to hunt down that ornery critter who betrayed me, and give him a one way trip to the glue factory!"

"Well, while I can't condone your mission of revenge, I can at least respect you for it." The young gnome told her, giving the mare a hug. "Goodbye, my dear equine friend! Who knows, perhaps one day, we shall be lucky enough to cross paths again!"

Wow, I didn't realize that Edgar was Mister Moochick! That so was cool you were able to team up with him, and rescue those ponies!

Yep Apple Blossom, I sure did make a good friend in those mines, even though I would not see him again for centuries. Now my next step was to try to get myself re-acquainted with the outside world after being gone for so long. But hooo boy was I in for a shock, after discovering how much the world had changed in such a short span of time...

A wasteland.

That was the only way Green could think to describe it, traversing a countryside totally barren of life or activity- a wasteland. As she wandered the pathways of the outside world once more, the earth mare simply couldn't believe how empty and quiet the landscape had become. She passed dozens of abandoned cities, filled with roofless buildings with young saplings growing up through the houses. Nature was reclaiming what the ponies had built, and in a few years these places would be claimed by the rapidly expanding everfree forest.

She met very few ponies along the way- most of them on their way to places called Hoofkaido, or Misty Mountain- new names, Green Apple would learn later, for places she already knew. Most of them looked weary and shell shocked, and the angry and vengeful mare felt a pang of pity for these poor souls who had endured so much. Few of them were willing to talk much, almost afraid this lone mare traveling by herself in such a dangerous place was a Changeling spy or some other fiend. But Green Apple did find a few who were willing to talk here and there.

"Chocolate? Yeah, I've heard of him... he was one of the Shady ponies running a black market operation outside of Fort Rainbow Dash. The carousel guard corps broke that up pretty quickly though... Ponyland's new rulers don't put up with that kind of crud like Princess Luna did in the old days!"

"Fort... Rainbow Dash? I know a pony who's ego would explode from knowing there was a city called that! But anyway, ya'll know where he'd be heading now?"

But the other mare only shook her head sadly. Green continued her wandering for several days, passing the caravans of refugees streaming in every direction. There was once a time that the apple pony would have stopped, and done everything she could to help these poor equines in need. But now, only thoughts of vengeance burned in the elder mare's heart, and she was blind to the misery and suffering of the ponies with starving bellies, bandaged limbs, and deep scars she passed by.

The truth was, that green had become just as hard and brittle as the countryside she now passed through, her mind fixated on getting even with the stallion who had broken her heart and betrayed her. It was this single mindedness that finally brought her within reach of her goal, however, when she finally met somepony who had come across her quarry.

"Chocolate? Yeah, he was a bit of a shady character." A stallion told her, when Green was trotting near the ruins of Manehatten. "He was on one of the Burial details sent out from the royal paradise about a month ago, heading out into the countryside to help with the initial cleanup."

"Burial detail?" Green asked in confusion, not understanding. "What in the hay is that for?"

"Missy, I don't know if you haven't noticed, but there are thousand upon thousands of... deceased ponies littered across the countryside." The stallion replied grimly, trying to keep his disgust at the thought of it in check. "We've been trotting around the landscape, shoveling  the heaps of bodies into mass graves... it's the best we can do to give them a decent burial."

"But do you know where Chocolate might be headed?" Green insisted. "Do you know where I might be able to find him right now?"

The stallion stared at her for a minute, horrified by her lack of concern, before sighing. "Well, I suppose you could find him in the ruins of Ponyville, helping with the clean up there...."

Green Apple's eyes went wide for a moment, before she thanked the stallion and galloped off. So, this whole thing would end where it began, she thought to herself, as her old hometown would be the sight of her revenge.

At long last, a large chapter of her life would finally be coming to an end...

Ghosts of Vengance

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A change of heart, and the Coming of Humans

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First Meeting

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A Change of Form, part one

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A Change of Form, part two

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Interlude: Forging Animosity

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Life among the humans

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Facing the Margrave

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Deliberations

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Meeting the humans

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Trouble A-brewing

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The last stand

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Awakening

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Dragon issues

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Night of Ghosts

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Day of the Dragon

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Fury of Fire

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The Rescue... wait a minute....!

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Fallout

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World-Weary

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Reconciliation

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Family Apprecation Day- the announcement

Family Appreciation Day-the announcement

"C'mon AJ, hurry up!" The blue filly exclaimed, galloping down the hall at top speed. "Or we're gonna be late for miss Cheerilee's class!"

"I'm hurrying! I'm hurrying!" The orange filly with the yellow mane exclaimed, trying to keep up with her friend. "I can't believe we both slept in this morning!"

Rushing along though the hallways of Dream Castle, Baby Bowtie and Baby Applejack were desperately trying to reach their classroom before the bell rang. They had just made it into the schoolroom, as their teacher started ringing the school bell, and were barely in their seats when the teach finally came back down the steps from the bell turret.

"All right, students, class is about to start!" Cheerilee declared "Please play attention!"

The rowdy group of fillies and colts finally came to attention, and fixed all of thier eyes on the teacher at the front of the room. Cheerilee trotted forward to the front of the class, and sat down at her desk.

"Now class, being as how we've been studying the importance of the family to Ponyland society this semester, I've decided that we'll be having a 'family appreciation day every Monday." The pink mare explained. "Every week, one of you will  bring a member of your family in to speak to the class about what they do for Dream Valley. But I also want you to prepare a report on your family's history, and what contributions they've made to equine society."

As the teacher with pigtails looked down at her papers, the students began discussing things amongst themselves.

"I know who I'm inviting!" Clipper declared proudly, tapping a hoof on his chest. "My dad Fireball! He's a general over the whole Dream Valley army!"

"My dad's a Pirate captain, so I don't think miss Cheerilee would like that much." Baby North Star looked down. "Blimey, I guess I'll have ta invite me mum, to talk about her exploring adventures."

"Ohh, this'll be sooo nice!" Baby Posey declared, a smile on her face. "I'll invite mommy Posey in, and she could tell  the class all about pretty flowers!"

"I'm sure that'll be great!" Baby Surprise declared, silently pulling a pair of cymbals out of her desk in the chair behind Baby Posey. "And I'm sure the class'll get a BANG out of my guest!"

"Hey AJ,  who you thinking about inviting to your family day?" Baby Bowtie asked her friend, sitting in the desk next to her. "Maybe your dad could come in and tell war stories?"

"Nah, dad's helping out in the orchard picking apples." Baby Applejack sighed, shaking her head. "I'm gonna need something really special to really wow em'!"

"Ohhh, I know!" The blue filly beside her exclaimed, a grin spreading across her face. "What about your mom?"

"What? Are you crazy, Bow?!?" The filly gasped. "The crankiest and most sarcastic mare in all of Ponyland?! In here talking about picking apples?"

Baby Bowtie just shrugged. "Hey , couldn't hurt anymore than Mama Surprise coming in here and talking about  exploding whoopee cushions, right?"

"I guess you're right..." Baby AJ admitted, as behind them Surprise lifted the cymbals high over Posey's head unnoticed. "I'll go ask my mom tonight if she'll-"

CLLLAAAAAANNNNNNNNG!

"AIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"What in the world!? Baby Surprise, where did you get those cymbals?!?"

"Miss Cheerilee! Baby Posey isn't moving!"

"Oh dear.... Class dismissed, early everyone! Tic Tac Toe, Quackers, help me get Posey to the infirmary!"

....

Elsewhere, the adult ponies of Dream Valley were dealing with their own issues. And as usual, they were about as serious and immature about things as their foals

"So how many stitches did Baby Posey need again?" Bow Tie asked, as she and Buttons trotted through the Dream Castle courtyard. "Six?"

"Seven." The pink unicorn replied, shaking her mane in disgust. "If you ask me, both mother and child Surprise should be thrown into the loony bin."

"Well, I still hope Posey's little girl is going to be okay." The blue earth pony replied, as the approached the stage that stood outside the castle. "Oh look, Applejack and Cheeries Jubilee are already here!"

Up on the giant pink stage that resembled a baby's bonnet, the two earth pony mares were glaring at each other. It was well known throughout the castle that the two resident fruit pickers did not really like each other, and the fact that both were the final two candidates for the pony who would decide the theme for this years parade of costumes... well, that only made their rivalry all the more intense.

Cherries was dressed in her red flamenco dress, showing her off as the carnival queen most ponies believed her to be. And AJ was dressed in her usual formal attire- the pink and green dress with white polka dots- an ancient Rarity original, given to her by her fasioneista friend in another time and place. Both had clearly gotten all dolled up to make their presentations, but the question was if they could stop growling at each other long enough to actually make thier proposals.

"Hello there, you two!" Buttons greeted them ith a smile. "Okay, hit us with your ideas for the Parade of Costumes gala."

"All right girls, picture this." Cherries stood up on her back hooves, shaking the maracas in her hooves. "A Cherry carnival, with banners and bows and streamers in a lovely cherry red!" She danced a step, and clicked her hooves together. "Picture it! The festival can have a cherry-themed dance, cherry juice tasting contest, and-"

"Actually, ladies..." Applejack smiled, bumping Cherries with her flank, and sending her flying off the stage. "I believe apples would be the better theme for the parade of costumes!" She flipped her elegantly coifed mane, her green dangly earrings and hair gem glistening in the light. "Imagine, cider of all flavors at the Satin Slipper, a dance filled with all sorts of apple decorations. It'll be a glorious apple-tastic celebration of-"

"Why you old fossil!" Cherries snapped, storming back onto the stage. "It should be cherries that are the starring fruit of the festival!"

"Why you little brat!" AJ snapped back, snorting steam from her nostrils. "It should be apples!"

"Cherries!"

"Apples!"

"Cherries!"

"Apples!"

The two mares stood on stage, screaming at each other, while the two mares sitting down in the seats only shook their heads.

"This is ridiculous, they're acting like two children again." Bowtie sighed. "Why don't we just go with Posey's tulip theme this year?"

"Sound better than all this bickering." Buttons agreed. "C'mon, let's go tell Glory we made a decision, and go get a pizza from the Satin Slipper."

The two mares got up and trotted away, with the two arguing earth ponies too busy screaming at each other to notice.

Adoption

Adoption

"You don't have to worry, Miss Pie. Seeing how she had no other family, we'll see to all the funeral arrangements." Mr Barrington sighed, looking at the sobbing filly Bon Bon was trying to comfort at the other end of the Bakery. "I'm certain you can handle things here with the bakery."

"What about the child?" Apple Pie asked, nodding back towards Honeyberry. "Is there anyone who can take care of her?"

"She'll have to go to the Coltonville orphanage, I'm afraid." Mr. Barrington replied, trotting his way back out the door. "I'm certian the two of you can handle it, Miss Pie. Have a pleasant day!"

"Mama's gone... my mama's gone!" The little filly wailed, crying her eyes out as Bon Bon held her. "Mama, please come back! I promise I won't be bad anymore! I won't get in your way!"

"Apple, we can't just leave her like this!" Bon Bon protested, looking up at Apple Pie pleadingly. "I'd ask my mum and dad to take her in, but we've got a full house already!"

AJ looked back at the sobbing little filly, and once again saw her with a red bow sitting there and crying.  Apple Pie closed her eyes for a moment in thought, before finally coming to a decision.

"She's not going to any orphanage, Bon Bon." The blue mare declared, going over and picking the teary-eyed little filly up in her hooves. "I'll adopt her for my own."

"Huh? Are you kidding me?" Bon Bon asked in disbelief, reaching for the nearest bag of doughnuts. "Do you really think they'll let an immagrant just off the boat from Equestria adopt a little filly? How in the heck do you plan to support her?"

"I'll take over Sweetberry's bakery, and run it myself."  Apple Pie replied, whispering to the filly, and trying to calm her down. "I'll still need you around here, of course, and we'll keep making those sweet treats Coltonville loves so much!"

"Oh yeah? And just how are you going to afford a store like this?"  The teen filly retorted, scarfing down another doughnut. "Sweetberry had a huge mortgage on the Magic Kitchen, how in the world would you get it paid off?"

Apple Pie though for a moment, then a small smile crept across her face.

"Oh, I think I may have a way, Sugar Cube." Apple Pie trotted her way out the door. "Keep an eye on Honeyberry, I'll be back soon!"

But how did you afford to buy a whole bakery? Did you go to the princesses for help?

Not quite, Apple Blossom. See, I had a few souvenirs  left over from my time in Equestria, that could easily pay for something like a bakery. So, I decided to stop by the Meadowsweet Family's farm, and see if I could make a deal...

" Excuse me, Mr. Meadowsweet?"  Apple Pie trotted up to him, while the farmer pony was working on his tractor. "I was hoping to talk to you, if you weren't too busy."

"Oh, hello Miss Pie! So good to see you again!" Mr. Medowsweet looked up from his work on the engine, his face covered with black grime and oil.  "So sorry to hear about Miss Sweetberry, so very, very tragic. "He wiped the dirt off of his face with the handkerchief  in his hoof. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I had heard Sweetberry had mentioned you had a brother who works in a museum," The blue mare replied "and I was wondering if you'd be interested in a business proposition."

"Hm? Are you still interested in keeping us Sweetberry's deal? I'd be happy to do that if you've taken over the bakery." The farmer pony replied. "But I really don't think that would involve my brother."

"No, although I would like to continue the deal Sweetberry set up with you and Mr. Barrington,  I was talking about selling a very valuable antique that I possess."  She said with a smile, reaching into her saddlebag. "It's a precious been passed down through the Apple family for many, many generations."

"Well now, Miss Pie, I'd have to call my brother in to look at any antiques you may have, but I-" The pony suddenly stopped dead, as the mare pulled an old brown stetson out of her saddle bag. "Wait, your name is Apple... is that... what I think it is?"

"I see they do teach about important figures in farming history in the earth pony agricultural school." She replied, holding the hat up with her hoof. "I've got a certificate of authentication from the Equestrian historical society, along with photographs of my ancestor wearing said hat. So... think the museum might be interested?"

"Let me- let me get my brother on the phone." The Mr. Meadowsweet declared, slowly trotting his way into the house. "I think we can make a deal."

Looking back at the hat in her hooves with regret, Apple Pie could only think to herself. "That hat was the last piece I had of my past. But I can't just let that poor little filly end up in some orphanage." She looked towards the horizon. "I was always taught me that family was the most important thing in the world. Well, now it's time to start a family of my own."

You sold your hat? But... you told me that was your favorite posession!

Sometimes, Apple Blossom, you gotta let go of the past, to build a better future. And the hat not only sucseeded in paying for the bakery, but also cleared all the red tape in adopting a sad little filly. But that didn't make things any easier for either of us.

It was evening, and Apple Pie was trotting up the stairs to Honeyberry's room. The little filly had barely come out of her week since the funeral, and the mare was extremely worried about her.

"Honeyberry? Are you in there?" Apple Pie asked, knocking on the little filly's door. "Sugar cube, I need to talk to you."

When no response came, Apple pushed the door open, to find the little filly lying on her bed, and staring out the window at the rain pouring down in silence.

"Sugar cube, you sure you don't want to come down and get something to eat?" The mare asked hopefully, holding up a steaming hot tray. "I made hot cheese sandwitches and apple pie,  your favorite."

The little pony merely sighed, and didn't even move.

"I know it hurts, Honey. And I know how much  you want to crawl away somewhere and hide." Apple Pie whinnied in an understanding tone. "But I know what you're going through, I lost my own daddy and mama like you did. It'll only hurt more if you keep it bottled up inside."

Still the filly did not respond, and continued staring at the raindrops.

"I'll just leave your supper here for you, then."  Apple Pie sighed. "But if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for ya."

Apple Pie slowly closed her door, and left the orphaned filly to her own misery.

You're among friends, Darling!

You're among friends, Darling!

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, darling!" Rainbow Dash said apologetically, taking a step back from the surprised earth mare. "But I think you must have mistaken us from somebody else!"

"Yeah, I think Rainbow's right." Pinkie Pie agreed, speaking in a voice that was far too nasally to be something that AJ would associate with Pinkie. "I know most of our extra-super-special friends in Ponyville. And I really don't recognize the extra-super-special pony that is you!"

A horrified Applejack suddenly realized that these two ponies, whom she had simply rushed up and hugged out of the blue, were not the mares she had known so long ago. She should have recognized the fact that the pony she had thought was her old tomboy friends had no wings, and Pinkie Pie actually stayed in one place for more than five minutes. Her face turned an embarrassed red, as she realized just how forward she had been with two total strangers.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry...." The red mare lowered her head, and began to apologize profusely. "I-I didn't mean to embarrass the two of you like that!"

"Oh, it's all right, really!" The mare called Pinkie Pie replied with a giggle. "We always like making new friends!"

"Indeed we do, darling." Rainbow Dash agreed, shaking the new pony's hoof. "And since you seem to know our names somehow, may we have to courtesy of yours?"

"Applejack..." The red pony replied,  looking up and offering the other two ponies a half-hearted smile. "My name is Applejack."

For being total strangers, these two ponies were the nicest mares I had ever had the pleasure of meeting. They took me back to their town, and started introducing me to all of their friends... all without even asking how I knew their names. But I was to discover just how different these girls were from my old and dear friends, as well as how different the place they called home, was different from the Ponyville I'd once known...

"Oh, and over here's the Windmill Library, darling! Storybelle runs the place." Rainbow Dash told her with a smile. "Be sure to stop by there, if you ever need a book!"

As the two ponies showed the surprised mare around Ponyville, Applejack couldn't help but be amazed at how different Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were from her old and dearest friends. Dashie was much more like Rarity than than her tomboyish Pegasus ancestor, a fancy and frilly fashionesta  the fru-fru dressmaker would've been proud of. And Pinkie Pie... well, this Pinkie Pie was actually SANE! No random phrases, no silly nonsense that didn't make any sense...the more serious, take-charge mare before her resembled her ancestor in name only.

As to the other mare in Ponyville, Applejack realized there were many diffrences between this and previous generations of Ponyvillians. The old red mare noticed that there were small heart shapes in the eyes of each pony present, an odd physical trait that the Ponyvillians must have developed in the years since she left, AJ reasoned. As the two mares led her into a small restaurant, the Cotton Candy Cafe, the two ponies began to introduce her to all of their friends there.

"And this, dear Applejack, is Razaroo!" Pinkie Pie told her, pointing a hoof at a purple mare with a white mane and cutie mark. "She's the holiday gift pony that keeps track of all the special days here in Ponyville!"

"That's me, Razaroo, yes yes yes!" The pony with the gift box cutie mark exclaimed, a wide grin on her face. "I remember birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays without fail!"

So nice to meet you." Applejack replied, still dumbfounded by everything she had seen and heard. It truly amazed her how much Ponyville had changed in the past three hundred years; pink and pastels colors everywhere, girly ribbons and pretty lacy trims on every building and surface. Oddly constructed houses, like a giant teapot and a large treasure chest, dotted the landscape. And the only building AJ recognized was Twilight Sparkle's old castle... and even that had been lowered to ground level, and painted pink!

Wow, the stallions must die of embarrassment from living here! Applejack thought with a silent chuckle. It was then that the red earth pony spotted an eerily familiar yellow mare, with a purple and red mane. Trotting over towards the strangely similar pony with an apple cutie mark, Applejack decided to introduce herself to the newcomer.

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but notice your Apple cutie mark, and I was wondering..." The ancient pony asked the other mare nervously. "...but, would you happen to be a member of the Apple family?"

"Eyup! Oh, and I notice you are, too!" The yellow mare replied, noticing AJ's cutie mark. "My name's Apple Spice, and wow, we must totally be, like, cousins or something!"

The other mare hugged the newcomer she had just met tightly, and AJ suddenly saw Big Macintosh in her mind's eye. Somehow, she knew that this disturbingly familiar pony came from her big brother. Apple Spice must've felt it, too, as she started to talk to AJ like she was an old an dear friend.

"Ohhh, this is so amazing! Meeting a new family member I never even knew!" Apple Spice giggled in an exceptionally girly manner. "I know! We need to have a tea party to celebrate!"

"Yeah, a Tea Party!" Pinkie Pie giggled, smiling happily. "We can hold it at the castle, and I'll bring the tea and cookies!"

"What a fabulous idea, darling!" Rainbow Dash agreed, smiling and prancing about. "I'll bring my makeup set and some of my dresses, and we can give each other makeovers and play dress-up!"

At first, Applejack was taken aback by how silly and immature this fully grown mares were acting, but then her head suddenly started to hurt. Closing her eyes with a groan, a struggle began to take place in her mind. Slowly, what was left of a tomboyish and rugged cowpony was annihilated from existence, letting out a silent scream as she was engulfed in frilly girlishness. Finally, Applejack opened her eyes once more, the same small heart-shaped marks the other mares had, glowing inside her eyes as well.

"Yaaaay, a tea party!" AJ giggled, hopping up and down with the other girly girls. "And lets bring our dollies! I just love dollies!"

Like a rhinestone cowpony

Like a Rhinestone Cowpony

Well, apple blossom... Since you had asked, I suppose it's time to tell you exactly what happened in the last days of Equestria. See, after my time in Ponyville, I took a few decades to prepare for my next life. I eventually took a new identity, and settled down as a stage pony in the town of Baltimare."

You were a stage pony? But mama, I didn't know you could act!"

"Naw, I was on stage doin' cowpony acts for Bufflo Bill Pony's wild west show- performin' lasso tricks, and wearing goofy outfits fer the payin' audience. Made  whole bunch of friends, and got along with everybody! Well, here I thought I would finally get a life free of trouble or drama. Booooy, was I in for a terrible surprise...

"Ladies and Gentleponies, please put your hooves together for the little lady of the rodeo.... Miss Green Apple!"

The white hot lights shown down on the stage, and all eyes in the theater were on the mare standing front and center. A fully pink mare with a pink mane stood there, her pink mane and tail simply glowing under the spotlight. Ignoring all of the eyes on her out there in the darkness, the pony with the green apple cutie mark pulled the lasso out of her pack.

The sight of the luscious equine in the red stetson, rhinestone saddle, and  pink leather bottoms barely covering her flank already had every stallion in the audience drooling. But when she began to twirl that rope with her tail- gracefully jumping back and forth through the lasso hoop, twirling the rope endlessly as she leapt around like a graceful pony ballerina. Twirling the lasso over her head, spinning it around under her hooves... the crowd clapped their hooves and cheered as she pranced around on stage under the lights.

"And now, for your entertainment and amazement... Miss Apple will jump through a hoop encircled by flames in a death defying stunt for the ages!"

Taking a deep breath, the mare took a step back as the two stagehand stallions lit the big hoop on fire. Galloping forward, she jumped straight through the flames, even as the crowd let out a collective audible gasp. Apple went sailing through the circle of death, landing gracefully on the other side, without even so much as a hair on her coat singed. The crowd suddenly exploded into applause, as the mare on stage struck a pose on stage.

"How about that, ladies and gentleponies? Let's have a round of applause for the queen of the rodeo!"

...

After the performance, Green Apple was backstage, signing several autographs, and dealing with several dozen crazed fans. It was not the most amazing experience that the cowpony had to deal with, but it  certainly was one of the most interesting.

"Ohhhh! Ohhhhh! Apple! Over here! You were soooo awesome out there!"

"I wanna be just like you when you when I grow up!"

"Apple Green, I want you ta have MY BABY!"

The pink mare slowly made her way back towards her dressing room, zipping behind the door, and quickly slamming the door in their faces. But as soon as she looked up, Green Apple noticed a purple stallion with a pink mane was already there, and waiting for her.

"Another magnificent performance, Green! Beautiful as always!" The pony with the chocolate cake cutie mark exclaimed. "You wowed them out there today, just like you wow them every night with your amazing shows!"

Chocolate Delight- a cowpony Green had met a few years back when she had been wandering around Equestria, he turned out to be more of a gentle-stallion than all the other cowboys who Apple had performed with. Chocolate had eventually ended up as her manager, and the two earth ponies had managed to grow close in the months since.

Very, very close....

"Yeah, another great 'show'." Green grumbled, slumping down into her chair in front of her dressing room mirror, and trowing her stetson up onto the rack. "Sleazy stallions drooling over me, and making lewd comments, and mares with daggers in their eyes who are grumbling about wanting to do me in!"

"Well, we could always take your act to another city in Equestria!" Chocolate offered, even as he massaged the weary mare's shoulders. "Last week, we received an offer from Manehatten that you just wouldn't-"

"Yeah, wonderful idea! Trade one city of pony vermin for another!" The pink mare snorted in anger. "There was a time when ponies watched my act because for the spectacular feats I would perform! Now, those horndog stallions of this generation just want to see wave my flank in the air!"

"Good grief, darling! With all that complaining, you sound like you're two hundred instead of twenty-two!" The stallion's hooves went slowly lower, gently massaging her lower back and barrel of her body. "Well, don't worry about it, darlin! They'll always be a group of ponies who still love your performances." He smiled down at her. "And I'm one of em!"

"Awww, Chocolate, your just as sweet as the sweet as the candy yer named after!" The mare giggled, leaning back and rubbing her head against his chest. "You know what? I'm happy to just stay here, and not worry about what's happening in the rest of Equestria." She began to lick his coat. "Let Princess Luna worry about the rest of the kingdom, I'd rather just relax in your hooves, instead."

The two ponies began to kiss, gently caressing each other with their hooves. Green Apple pulled the stallion tighter, pressing the area between her stifles in between his lower flanks, as the two began to-

Ummm, mama? Why'd you trail off after telling me you went back to your room? What did you do there? And why is your face turning all red?

Uhhhh.... I'll tell you about that when you are older, Apple Blossom. But while I was busy, um, enjoying myself, someone else was already preparing to return to Equestria...

A dark cloud began to form over central Equestria taking even many of the best equine meteorologists by surprise. Not many ponies gave it much thought, but many ponies could've swore they saw some kind of... city... forming out of the clouds, and slowly descending towards the planet. Nopony was expecting a horror from five hundred years earlier would come back to haunt the modern world.

So nopony was prepared, when that city of Tambelon touched down upon the hills of the rambling ridge. And nopony was ready when a swarm of horrifying goblins came pouring out of it's walls.

"Now, my minions! Go forth!" A large horned, goatlike form roared. "Make these ponies bleed, and make their land burn!"

The cities of  Equestria would soon learn, that a great destructive evil would soon be in their midst once more...