The Last Shipment, or Conversations with a Barrel

Despite the grim events that led her here, Twilight found herself enjoying the quaint, sunny town on the edge of the Maredrid Continent, sampling their cheeses and wines when they were done chasing rumours and scanning beaches for any sign of their friend. The first few days had been terrible: like walking in the middle of a nightmare of banality, ordinary life continuing unhindered despite the fate of one of the strongest and bravest ponies of Equestria.

Twilight had not forgotten Applejack: not did she intend to, but the pain had since dulled. Her concern was now for another:

Rainbow Dash had not been doing well without her friend. She was often missing in the middle of the night, and Twilight worried for her until breakfast the next morning, where she discovered that the pegasus had been exploring the beaches for any sign of the wayward farmpony.

She had discovered nothing.

The survivors of the wreck were found quickly: they had remained together and had since regrouped in a small harbour town. It was from them that the news had come: that their ship had been crushed by a rogue twister.

It didn't help Rainbow Dash that it had been a twister intended for her own team, designed to clear massive expanses of leaves and debris and scatter it evenly across the area: a desperate and mostly unnecessary piece of weather that was to be kept in reserve.

Despite her lack of involvement, Rainbow Dash was quick to attribute any possible guilt available on herself. A strange attitude from a mare as responsible as a five year old filly, but Twilight reasoned that there was far more to the pegasus that met the eye.

She was currently staring into her glass, the thick red wine reflecting her morose face. She was apparently unable to enjoy anything, not even flight, a prospect that usually made the colourful mare giddy with delight. Twilight felt her pain: she imagined that all of the other girls back in Ponyville felt the same way. Losing Applejack in such an impersonal, faraway manner felt wrong, abhorrent. To find out in a letter... one that didn't even specify Applejack by name, felt cruel.

As if the universe had targeted them personally.

They both ate in silence. Twilight had learned early on not to try and engage her friend in any sort of conversation. Perhaps a few days ago she would have tried getting Rainbow to talk, but after several arguments, she decided to let the pegasus sort things out on her own.

This did not improve the atmosphere, however.

Twilight was actually happy when a stallion in uniform arrived at their table, interrupting their meal.

"Excuse me... are you Princess Twilight Sparkle?" he asked in the unmistakeable Maredrid accent. Twilight nodded.

"Yes, that's me. What's this ab-"

"We have found her." he blurted out quickly. Rainbow flicked her ears, immediately alert. She seemed to be processing the information as it took it's sweet time working through to her brain.

"You found Applejack?" she asked. Twilight found herself rather unable to speak. The stallion nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. We had to move her to Maredrir, though. Our facilities in the village we discovered her in were not sufficient to treat her."

Twilight frowned.

"Treat her?" she asked, with growing concern. The stallion nodded.

"Yes. You see, she wouldn't stop talking to that barrel..."

***

The trip to Maredrid had gone by in a flash, quite literally: Rainbow had almost broken the sound barrier as she shot towards the city at full speed. Twilight was hard pressed to keep up, nowhere near the master of the skies like her friend was. When they reached the city, however, Rainbow regretted giving Twilight a hard time keeping up: the impatient mare had forgotten to take down directions to the small clinic that Applejack was reportedly staying at, forcing her to wait for over ten minutes for the alicorn to catch up, all the while still stomping at the bit to get going.

After that infuriating delay, they continued onwards to the facility, a small, derelict building. Plaster was flaking off it's walls and the windows were stained. Not many ponies seemed to get admitted there.

Inside was a relative bustle of activity. When Rainbow Dash exploded through the doors, she was greeted with one of the most confusing sights she had seen: Applejack was standing, fighting stance at the ready, on top of that barrel they had sent her off with, and was fending off a small horde of doctors and nurses.

"Get back! Away!" Applejack exclaimed. One of the doctors made the mistake of getting a little too close, almost resulting in him having to go to the hospital himself. Rainbow Dash's mouth hung open slightly.

She felt elated that she was finally laying eyes on the pony she had sought out for a week: but she realized she hadn't quite finished her quest yet.

"Applejack!" she exclaimed, trying desperately to be heard over the din of battle.

Applejack ignored her.

"AJ! It's me, Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed again. Twilight entered the building, not far behind, surprise as apparent on her face as it had been on Rainbow's.

Applejack delivered a solid kick to a nurse, probably breaking her nose. Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Oh, buck it..." she muttered, her wings flaring. Twilight widened her eyes.

"What? Are you crazy, she might get you if you're not careful..."

"That's why I'm going to be plenty careful..." Rainbow replied, waiting for her moment. As Applejack turned, raising her hooves to kick another doctor away, she smiled.

Bingo.

***

"Okay, well done. So now Applejack is in the hospital for two reasons now." Twilight scolded. Rainbow Dash flicked dirt from her hooves nonchalantly.

"A lot more ponies would have been in casts if I hadn't stepped in." she commented. Twilight sighed.

One of the doctors, now sporting a black eye, limped towards the pair.

"Ahem... you two are friends of the patient?" he asked. Both mares nodded. The doctor adjusted his glasses. "We have seen... similar effects on ponies before. After learning she was the survivor of a shipwreck, well, it does not take a master physician to tell she is suffering from some form of post traumatic stress, heightened by prolonged solitude and dehydration."

Twilight nodded. She had already come to the same conclusion.

Rainbow also nodded. She didn't want to look stupid.

"And to think... if she had simply followed the coast she would have hit a harbour within a day..." added the doctor.

"So... what's with the barrel?" asked Rainbow. The doctor immediately perked up.

"Ah yes, quite fascinating, that. She associated the barrel, her only companion at the time, with the personality of somepony very close to her. In this case, we believe the father." he said. Twilight stopped herself from correcting his grammar: but she reasoned that in the middle of Maredrid, his language was very fine indeed.

"What makes you think that?" asked Rainbow Dash, confused. The doctor chuckled.

"Well, there were many clues, but the way she screamed very loudly: 'get away from my... uhm... Pa, I think it was, rather made me think this."

"And then she hit you."

"In the face, yes, this is true."

A momentary pause in the conversation.

"Well that's a load of horseapples." Rainbow commented furiously. The doctor nodded.

"Yes, but with a little rehabilitation, we think she will be fine."

Twilight looked over at the door that seperated them and the deranged farmpony. She frowned.

"I hope so, doctor."

***

As Applejack woke up, an intense pain in her head and eyes, she found she couldn't move. Her limbs were stuck... trapped against her sides.

And more alarmingly, Barrel was nowhere to be found.

"Hey! Hey, where's mah partner?" she asked the empty room. "Hey!"

The door opens. She feels she should recognize the pony who walks through, but she can't. She frowns.

"Hey, AJ... do you remember me?" she asks. Applejack scans the intruder. Pegasus, rainbow maned, sky blue coat. Suddenly she remembers.

"You're that mare who hit me!" she exclaimed, wrestling against her bonds angrily. "Let me at her!" she shouts.

"No, I'm your friend!" the mare replied, exasperated.

"Yer no friend of mine! Where's mah partner?"

"My name is Rainbow! Rainbow Dash? As in Rainbow Danger Professionalism Dash?"

Applejack seemed to stop at that. She furrowed her brow.

"Wait, what?"

Connections flickered to life in her mind, as if she had suddenly turned around to face the writing on the wall. The mane, the face, the attitude, the eyes... they all came back, as if they had never left.

"Rainbow? What in tarnation are you doing here?" she asked. Rainbow Dash brought her hoof to her face, collapsing slightly.

"We came to find you. You went missing, remember?" she asked. "Twi's here too. You remember Twi, right?"

Applejack looked utterly affronted.

"Course Ah remember Twilight! Who do you take me for?" she asked. Rainbow Dash's face remained utterly emotionless.

"You forgot me though." she said. Applejack stammered.

"Y-yeah, well, that's different. Yer' less memorable."

"Thin ice, AJ. Real thin ice."

Applejack paused. Mainly to gather her thoughts. It still struck her as strange that she was talking to her friend again. A friend she had forgotten, one she had doubted ever existed for what seemed like years. Which brought her to another, frightening thought:

"How long... how long have Ah been gone?"

Rainbow Dash looked at her hooves. Applejack braced herself for the worst. Years, probably. Decades, maybe. She might have left a young pony and be in her later years for all she knew...

"Just under a month." Rainbow confessed. "I'm so sorry we didn't find you sooner..."

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank Celestia. Ah was worried for a bit there." she replied, relaxing. Rainbow Dash looked perplexed.

"But- I was worried sick!"

"It's just a month, sugarcube. Anyway, where's mah partner?"

Rainbow Dash paused, her momentary breakthrough forgotten.

"You mean the barrel, right?"

"What's this about a barrel?" Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash sighed and turned, opening the door and shouted to some invisible pony.

"Guys! Bring it in." she shouted. Applejack heard the momentary struggle as, before her eyes, Barrel was brought before her. Yes, he was still battered, but she could tell he was fine. She broke into a wide grin.

"AJ! It's great to see you!" she exclaimed. Barrel chuckled heartily. "These clowns have been running interference for ages. You doing okay?"

Rainbow Dash groaned as the barrel was dumped unceremoniously on the floor, not far from Applejack and well within her line of sight.

"So this is what you meant..." she muttered. One of the doctors chuckled nervously.

"Ahem... yes."

"Hey there, partner! You lookin' mighty fine today."

Applejack felt strange. Barrel was right in front of her... but it seemed different. Like she was putting on a familiar shoe, only to find it didn't fit. She glanced around at the room full of ponies. They had to be the reason. She didn't know how, or why... but they were making her feel uncomfortable.

"Applejack..." Rainbow began. The farmpony glared at her, as if this was her fault. And it was: everything she said sounded strange, like something from a dream. Her vision was blurring. None of this felt real anymore.

Why was Barrel looking so uncomfortable?

"What?" she asked, suddenly far more irritable than before. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, but before she could go any farther, she stopped, her will drained.

"We'll get you better, I promise." she muttered. Applejack frowned.

"Ah'm fine, sugarcube. No need to fret for me."

Rainbow Dash's breath halted. After a brief moment, she made her way towards barrel.

Something broke inside Applejack. A truth she couldn't explain, like a memory implanted in her brain, as if from a dream. No explanation or facts she could do anything other than recall.

"RD, meet mah Pa." she said, happily. Barrel looked exited, but also... no. He didn't look exited. What was wrong with Barrel, all of a sudden?

Rainbow Dash tapped Barrel gently.

"Miss Dash, you need to be honest with her."  the doctor said. Unease began gripping Applejack more strongly than before.

Rainbow Dash sighed.

"AJ... this is a barrel." she deadpanned.

And just like that, the illusion was gone. Applejack looked over at the barrel in a new light: she couldn't remember it ever having a face, but she remembered herself seeing it. She closed her eyes, suddenly shocked at the realization that her world was wrong.

"Wh- so it is. But-"

Unanswered questions. Broken memories still unresolved. Applejack fought to put them together, but they wouldn't fit. She needed help. She opened her eyes again, and looked at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus almost flinched under her gaze.

"But if that's a barrel... where is mah Pa?"

***

Rainbow Dash looked over at her friend, concerned even after they had gotten Applejack to speak again. Twilight too, looked worried. It was as if their old concerns, their devastation at Applejack's loss, had been replaced with a new one: longer and chronic, like a disease. It hurt them almost as much seeing the evident turmoil within Applejack.

At first she hadn't believed the truth they told her. She had begun talking to the barrel again, but evidently it had lost it's charm. What really brought her back was Applebloom.

Even though the little filly was miles away, she had succeeded in bringing her sister back to the realm of reality.Rainbow Dash thought to herself that Discord would probably develop a rather powerful grudge against her for that: but on that note, Discord was scheduled to have cucumber sandwiches with Fluttershy, so he was probably as reformed as he could get at this point.

The pony they stood before was smiling with anticipation: memories of years ago were flooding through his mind as he waited for Applejack to open the barrel.

It would normally be quite simple: after all, opening the barrel, and breaking the seal, meant that their deal had been confirmed. Applejack would get the money for Applebloom's surgery, and the ambassador would get his Zap Apple Cider.

It felt like it should be the end of Applejack's troubles, but in reality, someponies mind doesn't get fixed as quickly as a few friends saying hello. It's the first step to getting back on your hooves, but time, and a great deal of talking, is part of the procedure. A lot of ponies who became insane never stopped. Applejack was lucky in that regard.

Applejack ran her hoof across the lid. The trouble with this, was that, according to Twilight, only Applejack could open the barrel. A protection against thieves, she said. But you couldn't open something if you didn't think it could be opened. It somehow became a rather defining moment for the three mares.

But despite the challenges she had faced, Applejack was stronger than most ponies.

She wrenched the lid open.

"Olay!" the entire crowd exclaimed, and the ambassador literally jumped for joy as the heady smell of cider hit his nostrils like a banana out of Tartarus.

Applejack took her bits with a smile and walked back towards her friends.

"Let's go. Ah've had it with this country." she grumbled, leaving the locals to their festivities, Rainbow Dash grinned. Twilight felt like admitting that she'd quite miss he wine.