Chapters AJ's unexpected adventure
Pain coursed through my head as ah slowly opened my eyes. Bright light caused me to flinch as ah accidentally looked into the bright light above me.
“Ugh, Where am ah?” ah ask as ah sit up slowly to to look around. My head ached for a second as ah brought sat up, causing me ta flinch an' nearly knocked somethin' over.
“AJ? Your awake!” exclaimed a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane. She looked tired as if she had been sleeping by my side in that chair.
Ah just sat there looking at her in confusion. Which earned me a slight chuckle from her. “What's wrong cowgirl? Cat got your tongue?”
Ah scrunched my face at her, “sorry ta ask but . . . who are you?”
The rainbow maned mare looked at me in disbelief. She was obviously offended, which ah hadn't meant ta do. Ah felt bad for what ah said, but it was true ah didn't recognize this mare.
Ah heard a clicking noise, and turned to see the door just across from me opening.
“I do hope she'll wake up soon. I really feel bad that-” A white unicorn with a curly purple mane an' tail was saying, but stopped as she noticed me. She had several other ponies with her, one was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane an' tail, another was a lavender alicorn with a dark purple main and two colored streaks in both her mane an' tail.
An awkward moment seemed to stretch out as ah seemed to become the center of attention.
“Hi . . .” ah say in an attempt to break the building silence.
Out of no where ah see a pink streak, an' suddenly ah'm being hugged by a pink mare with a wild mane an' tail, that seemed way to energetic an' happy.
“OHHH, I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOUR OKAY!” yelled the pink mare, she was huggin' me so tightly ah could barely breath.
Thankfully the lavender alicorn was able to pull us apart, allowing me to breath. “Pinkie you know what the doctor said.”
The pink mare looked at the alicorn with a smile, “I know but I was so worried because of my right eye, left eye flutter, and poof mane. That usually means something RE~EALLY bad was happening.”
“What in tar-nation . . .” ah shook my head trying to get my thoughts straight. “who are all ya'll?” ah ask feeling a little overwhelmed.
Everyponies reaction was almost instant. Each one of the mares looked at me as if they had just heard something unbelievable.
“Applejack?” the lavender alicorn asked, “what do you mean 'who are we?' we're your friends.”
Ah raised one questionin' eye at them all. “Ah, beg your pardon?” ah ask even more confused.
The rainbow maned mare, who ah had almost forgot was there, spoke up. “AJ you don't remember who we are?”
Takin' a moment to compose my thoughts I asked myself a few questions, 'who are these mares? Where am ah? An' an even better question WHO am ah?' Closin' my eyes ah turned shook my head in frustration, an' turned back to her “sorry, ah can't even remember who ah am.”
A gray unicorn stallion walked past the mares an' walked up to me, his mane an' tale black with white streaks, an' an image of a weird little device. He was holdin' a clipboard in his magic. “You my dear, are Applejack of the Apple family. Your friends here brought you in to the hospital late last night, after you were attacked by something in the Everfree forest.”
Ah blinked as ah looked at myself. Several bandages covered my hooves but nothin' else seemed injured. But the instant ah lifted my hoof to my head ah felt the bandages on my head.
“you had several cuts on your legs, relatively minor one, and a what looked like a large cut on your forehead.” He turned the page, “all non-lethal, but could have attracted some seriously dangerous beasts to you.”
Ah turned ta look at the girls who had moved ta their friend with the rainbow mane. “I guess ya'll saved my life by getting me out of there as quick as ya did. Thanks.”
“Applejack, deary, your our friend.” the white mare said, “Of course we would help you.”
“She's right Applejack.” the Alicorn said with a smile. “we'll always be there to help you then you need it.”
“Well,” ah said with a slight pang of guilt that I couldn't fer the life of me remember who these girls were. “I'm probably going to need it. 'cause I don't even know where my home is.”
The alicorn girl smiled, it was a warm an' welcomin' smile that made me feel like ah was in good hooves. “Sure thing, but first we're going to have to reintroduce you to everypony.”
She held out her hoof in an' gave me that same warm smile. “I'll start. My name is Twilight Sparkle, it's nice to meet you Applejack.”
With a smile o' my own a reached out and shook her hoof, “It's my pleasure Twilight.”
Author's Note
Please note I am not good with accented writing. I may change it so that AJ talks normally when describing her surroundings. I do not mean to be insensitive in any way. please don't hate me.
View Online
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 3: The Mare from my dream, and the doom she brings!
Ah ran through town, takin' in the partly destroyed town. Several homes looked partly torn down, while others appeared untouched. “Ah wonder what happened to this place?”
“AJ!”
Ah felt ah hoof grab my shoulder, as long heavy breathes were heard directly from my left side. That caused me ta turn right quick, my guard goin' up like steel wall.
Standin' right in front o' me was a mare. She had light pink hair with a lighter pink highlight runnin' down the center with curled tips, her tail, like most ponies, matched her mane. Her eyes were a slightly darker shade o' green, her coat was nice shade o' purple, and right on her flank was what looked like three flowers with smilin' faces on 'em.
“Applejack! I'm so glad to see you. I've been trying to find your sister all day.” She looked tired and worried, but ah didn't want to trust her for some reason.
“Why are ya' lookin' fer my sister?” The mare seemed ta be taken aback by the sharp tone in my voice. She looked notably confused about the fact ah had turned lookin' at her like ah didn't know her, which o' course ah didn't.
“Applejack?” She looked at me questioningly. “Applejack why are you acting like you don't know me?”
ah got the strong urge to turn 'round and buck her, but suddenly the marshmallow unicorn, with the purple mane, that met me at the hospital stepped in between us. Vaguely ah remembered that the mare called herself Rarity.
“Rarity, right?” ah ask just for conformation sake. The mare nods and turns to face the purple flower flank.
“Cheerilee,” she began. Ah took a mental note of the name and stepped forward. Rarity placed her hoof in front of me to keep me from getting' any closer. “Darling, Applejack has recently lost all her memories and couldn't even remember her name when she woke up. She doesn't recognize you at all.”
“Oh!” Cheerilee said as she lowered her head a little, “I'm sorry I didn't know Applejack.” She reached out an expectin' hoof and smiled at me. “I'm Cheerilee. Applebloom's teacher.”
Ah relaxed a little as an' shook her hoof cautiously. Ah still didn't feel like ah like this mare for whatever reason. “Nice ta meet ya'.” ah say, but even ah could hear the tension in my voice.
feelin' Rarity kick my back leg ah flinch slightly. She smiled at Cheerilee, “have a good day miss Cheerilee. Take good care of all the fillies, it is much appreciated.”
Rarity wrapped her hoof around my neck an' pulling me along in some other direction away from the purple mare.
After a while Rarity finally let go of me after we had passed a few fabric shops and walked inta less public area. “Applejack, deary . . .” she said lookin' at me with a little worry, “why were you acting like that with Cheerilee?”
Lookin' at her ah sighed realizin' ah hadn't been very nice to that mare. “Ah don't know, it's just somethin' about her was rubbin' me the wrong way.”
My eyes hit the ground in shame, ah had only just met the mare, an' we obviously knew each other before ah lost my memory. But ah still felt like ah couldn't trust that Cheerilee girl. Ah could feel a hoof slide on ta my shoulder. Rarity was lookin' at me with kind and slightly understandin' smile, her hoof was rubbin' my back gently almost like a mother.
“It's okay deary, we just need to take a step back and breath.” She made a simple gesture and of placin' her hoof to her throat, took a deep breath, lowered her hoof ta the ground as she exhaled slowly, an' smiled at me.
Ah repeated the motion an' felt a little better. The feelin' made me smile at Rarity, “Thank ya' Rarity. Ah probably needed that.”
“It's nothing Applejack.” Her smile turned really sweet, “what are sisters of the elements for?”
Ah was about ta ask what she was talkin about, when my head started hurtin' a little. I flinched slightly as an image of last nights horrifying figure flashed in my mind. Suddenly pain shot through my entire body, it was violent and fast. Every muscle was twitchin' and burnin'.
Fallin' ta the ground ah couldn't stop myself from writhin' in pain.
“Applejack!” Ah heard Rarity yell.
Suddenly ah felt weightless for a second, an' ah suddenly found myself enveloped in a light blue shimmerin' aura. “Hold on Applejack!” ah heard Rarity say.
In a flash of light ah found myself on a hospital bed, my body feelin' slightly stiff but normal again. Rarity was tryin' ta get the attention of a doctor, and bringin' him over ta me.
“Applejack?” the doctor asked, instantly ah recognized him as the one that first met. His salt an' pepper mane and tail were slightly more ruffled than the last time ah saw him. That weird little image was still on his flank. “What's wrong, you seem completely healthy.”
Ah tell him about the sudden pain and that it had already gone. He seemed convinced until I said ah had ta go see that Twilight girl. “you should probably stay a while longer Applejack, you obviously need more care then I first thought.”
“That will not be necessary doctor.”
ah recognized the voice long before ah saw the mare herself. She stepped through the door, her tall elegant figure takin' the breath out of everypony in the room. Her dark blue coat glistened just like her beautiful starry mane, that moon on her flank lookin' just as it had in my dream. “there is nothing you and your staff can do about what is happening to young Applejack.”
The words weighed heavily in the air as the alicorn mare walked carefully towards me. Her slightly darker blue magic enveloped me an' ah could feel myself being lifted out of bed an' placed on the ground. She walked up ta me so close that ah could almost make out every little detail of her coat an' wings.
“Applejack, thou must gather thy friends and travel to find the creature that stole your memories, there you must slay the creature, otherwise you will never get your memories back.” her voice was soft and carin' but still firm an' slightly commandin'.
“Princess Luna, why would we have to do that? We could still try to help Applejack get her memories back some other way.” Rarity didn't seem as intimidated by the mares presence as the doctor. But it was obvious that she held the mare in high regards. “Twilight is already looking into the problem as it is.”
The princess lowered her head slightly as if bowing to the marshmallow pony. “And if this were a regular case of amnesia, that would be the proper course of action. But this in not a normal case. Applejack has had her memories permanently stolen from her, and there are side effects that are deadly. The creature that stole her memories left a part of itself in young Applejack's mind, it will stay there doing what ever it can to continuously keep her from remembering what has been stolen.”
“Forgive me for interuptin'.” ah say gettin' everyponies attention. “But why is my life threatened by all this? It just doesn't make much sense.”
The Mare, Luna ah think her name was, looked at me in an understandin' way. “let us explain. Thou has lost more then just they memories, your nightmare last night has revealed that thou is dying slowly. Your brain and mind are slowly being distorted, and as a consequence they will begin to shut down.
“Oh dear.” Rarity says as she looks at me in a serous way, noddin' at as if she sayin' she will help.
“And lastly,” Luna says as she looks me dead in the eye. “You will start to become numb, not only emotionally, but also physically as well. At that point thous must find the creature before the next day, otherwise your entire body will cease to function, leading to cardiac arrest.”
“WHAT!?” Everypony yelled simultaneously.
“Applejack,” Rarity said, “we must go get the others as soon as possible!”
Ah shook my head in agreement, “Ya know the town, I'll stay and talk with the Princess. Go find the others.”
Rarity agreed with a nod and ran out the door like a mare on a mission, which ah guess she was. Ah turned ta the Princess, her regal features were sharp an' beautiful. “ah need ta know, how long do ah got?” ah ask knowin' full well that ah wasn't goin' ta like the answer.
“Truthfully, I do not know. Each pony is different, but based on the nightmare alone, you may have a week or two at most.” Ah felt my stomach turn inside out as the words hit me like a tone of bricks. “Thou must hurry Applejack, thou does not have time to waste.”
Noddin' turned to the door, but stopped ta turn back ta the princess “Thank ya kindly, ya sure as saved my life.” As ah ran out the of the hospital room ah couldn't help but notice the slight blush on the princesses face.
Author's Note
It's interesting that I am writing these chapters quicker than I have been expecting. that of course that doesn't mean I will be updating more frequently. besides I am starting to stumble a little with what's going to be happening next. I WILL finish this story, just expect some chapters to take an extra week or two. but other then that I guess i might have rushed this chapter a little. but please enjoy.
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 4: Our Journey Begins
The trees that surrounded me an' the others looked creepier an' creepier then the ones from my nightmare. They all seemed ta have faces with large teeth and crazy eyes. The branches seemed to be reachin' out like some sort of claws tryin' ta grab me.
Twilight was at the front of the group, Pinkie pie was right between her an' Rarity on her left. Rainbow dash stood by me and Fluttershy, who was to the right of Twilight. Each of us was carryin' a pack with a mark similar ta the marks we had on our flanks. Somethin' about this seemed kind of familiar ta me but I had this feelin' ah had to keep myself from tryin' ta remember, otherwise ah might start havin' an episode.
Takin' a deep breath ah started ta recognize where we are. The dark foliage of the trees brought me back ta the nightmare.
Twilight stopped and lit her horn and showed several marks on the ground. “Right about here was where we found you unconscious, Applejack.” Ah could see several claw marks across the ground along with several different markin's an' what looked like bits an' pieces of straw scattered across the ground.
“Can ya' tell where this dang creature went?”
Fluttershy stepped forward lookin' at the ground carefully. “Form what I can see,” she said in a low and cautious voice, but still it she was careful enough ta make sure we all heard her. “You struggled with what ever attacked you for quite a while, but as we all know it somehow won that struggle. From there the creature walked off in that direction,” she pointed a hoof off towards the north west, “we can all follow the tracks.”
Twilight took a moment to examine the tracks. Ah decided that it would be a good idea ta try an' memorize the track while ah could. It had a circular print at the bottom with five smaller circles all on one side of the larger circle and one triangular mark for each smaller circle. Twilight lifted some book out of her pack and started flipping through it's pages.
After a couple of minutes she closed the book and put it away. “No matches, whatever we're going to be facing off against it's not an archived creature.”
“Well no duh, egghead.” Rainbow dash dead pans. “even if you find it, you'll probably be attacked. Then have your mind wiped.”
Ah give her a quick glare, causing Rainbow dash ta flinch and lower her head in shame. “sorry.” was all she could say.
“Just choose yer words more carefully next time, please.” Ah scold.
“Girls.” Rarity said gettin' everyponies attention. “this is not the time. We must start tracking this creature as soon as possible.” Rarity was wearin' a rather interestin' outfit, a simple dress with a unique pattern that if ah had ta guess was suppose ta make her harder ta spot, but it wasn't that effective.
“She's right,” Twilight chimed in, “we have to get moving.” Her horn flared even more and a small sphere of light flouted out of her horn.
“Ooh, You learned a new spell Twi!” Pinkie Pie bounce at the purple alicorn, pocking at the little source of light.
The orb moved swiftly away from the pink mares reach, going high into the canopy. “Careful Pinkie! I can only cast that spell once a day, and the light is really fragile.” Twilight scolded.
The Pink mare just nodded her head and watched the orb carefully descend.
Gathering together letting Fluttershy take the lead this time while Twilight watched made sure the light was at the forefront of the group.
After being forced to walk through some precarious places, like a thin ledge on the side o' a cliff, an' some assorted bushes, some of which had thorns in them. Fluttershy came to a dead stop, causing everypony ta accidentally smack inta each other. “Uh oh.”
“Why'd you stop like that?” Rainbow dash asked, her tone sounded somewhere between upset, and confused.
Fluttershy turned around and apologized. “we may have a slight problem.” her voice was low and shaky making it hard ta hear at first, but we all seemed ta know what she meant.
“OH OH, Let me guess! The tracks just end here right?!” Pinkie yelled, making everypony turn ta look at her.
“no, they-” she didn't finish her sentence, instead she hid behind her pink mane and stepped to the side. What ah saw made my brain hurt somethin' fierce, instead o' one pair of tracks that lead in one direction, there were two.
“Pony-feathers!” Rainbow shouted as she noticed the diverin' paths. “what are we supposed do about that?”
“Only one thin' ta do,” ah say grabbin' everyponies attention, “we gotta slit up.”
Immediately everypony seemed on edge. Rainbow was the only one who didn't seem ta be all upset about it. But it was Twilight who spoke first, “that's the most logical course of action normally, But Applejack this is farther into the Ever-free forest then any of us have gone before. We don't know what's going to happen if we split up.”
Sighin' ah knew this was a failin' idea but it seemed the only way ta find the right path fast enough. Ah had no choice but ta try and convince the others we had ta split up so we could find the right path.
Just as ah was about ta say somethin' ah heard a rustlin' sound in one of the nearby bushes.
“Did ya'll hear hear that?” ah ask as every muscle in my body seemed ta tighten up in anticipation for a comin' battle.
All the others nodded and we all turned ta face separate directions. The rustlin suddenly seemed ta be comin' from everywhere all o' sudden. Wind picked up and the whole place seemed ta be closin' in us. My breathes became shallow and quick as my heart rate seemed ta speed up.
Out of nowhere a loud bang sounded behind me. Ah spun around ready ta fight for my life. Standing there right in front of the eyes of everypony was a horrible, terrifying . . . bunny?
Ah had ta blink several time, just ta be sure ah wasn't seein' things. A small white and gray bunny stood there with cute little eyes, an' long ears was little ol' bunny rabbit.
Everypony let out the breathes that we all hadn't realized we'd been holdin'.
“Well that was anticlimactic.” Twilight said.
“Your telling me deary,” Rarity chimed in, “I thought we were in trouble for a second.”
As if on cue the bunny began ta transform. It grew ta about 20 times it's size, it's teeth became razor sharp, claws grew out of it's paws, and the most terrifyin' thin' about it was that the gray an' white coat it had was turnin' black and shinin' with an ominous glow.
Before anyone could react, the creature swung a mighty big paw with razor sharp claws at Rarity.
Ah reacted without even a single thought and tackled Rarity out of the way. We rolled for a moment before comin' ta a stop.
Ah got up quickly an' saw everypony fightin' against the creature. Twilight and Rainbow dash were flyin' around, dash was physically trying ta beat the snot out of creature, while Twilight blasted it with bursts of magic. Pinkie, somehow, had found several stacks of pies an' was throwin' them at the creature, tryin' ta distract it. But understandably Fluttershy seemed ta be hidin' in a bush.
The problem was that the creature didn't seem ta be fazed by the onslaught, as a matter o' fact it only seemed ta be gettin' angrier. Ah could tell we didn't have a chance against whatever this was.
“Run everypony!” ah shouted as ah grabbed Rarity's hoof and helped her up.
The creature turned ta look at me an' ah could tell in that moment that it had one target, an' ah was it.
“Hurry, get outta' here!” ah shouted as ah turned away and ran for my life.
Author's Note
And we finally get to best parts the adventure. in summery for those of you who have read all the chapters:
Quick note: If you haven't read the story. . . why would you even be reading this? either way "spoiler warning if you haven't read up to this chapter."
so far AJ has been attacked by a mysterious creature that has stolen all her memories, this is causing her mind/brain to over stimulate itself, essentially overloading it, and causing it to shut down. with now with her life on the line, AJ and her friends are going to have to delve deeper into the Ever-free forest then they have ever gone before. Oh and AJ is going to have serious mental problems soon.
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 5: Three in two, where to now
“Celestia's Mornin' light you are some type of fool Applejack!” ah shout at myself as ah bob an' weave through trees running for my life, as some strange creature is chasin' me down.
Ah barely had time to look at my surroundin's as the creature chased me down. Intentionally ah had chosen a slightly narrow an' twistin' path. Ah figured that the creature would have a difficult time chasin' me down that way. At least that's what ah thought before ah started hearin' several of the trees behind me bein' smashed while the loud thumps an' roars could be heard only a few yards off.
Not trustin' myself ta look back an' not hit a tree, ah started runnin' faster. Dodgin' trees left an' right ah knew that if ah stopped for any reason my little adventure would end before ah could ever get my memories back.
Trees passed by without much of a care. It got more an' more difficult ta run as fast as ah could, more trees seemed ta be appearin' makin' it more difficult ta get through um. That didn't seem ta be botherin' the creature.
Finally ah broke through the tree line, only ta end up facin' a stone cliff side richin' high up. On my left ah see trees so tightly packed tagether that ah know ah couldn't get through them. Just ta my right a cliff side, and the ground appeared ta be at least a hundred or two feet down.
“Oh horse apples!” ah say knowin' full well that ah was not goin' ta make it.
As if ta emphasize the point, a loud crashin' sound blared behind me. Turnin' around ah could see the sharp pointy fangs of the creature that had been chasin' me. Gulpin' ah slowly back away from the creature. Ah keep backin up until my back hits the stone wall. Ah was trapped, there weren't no two ways around it. This was the end of my life and ah knew it.
With one deafenin' roar Ah knew my number was up. Ah couldn't bare to watch the end, so ah closed my eyes.
. . .
*Thud*
Openin' my eyes ta take a look Ah saw one o' the most amazin' sights o' my life, or at least that ah can remember. Right before my eyes ah saw the creature with a huge boulder smashed on it's head. Ah let out the breath that ah hadn't realized ah had been holdin'.
Slowly ah walk up ta the creature and tap the side o' it's arm lightly. Ah jumped slightly as ah heard the creature breath suddenly. Lettin' my heart rate settle slightly, ah realized the creature was only unconscious.
Decidin' the alternative was worse then findin' myself lost in the forest, ah start headin' back the way ah came.
For a while ah walked as straight as ah could through the thick forest tryin' ta find my way back ta the others.
Suddenly somethin' caught my attention, a sound o' some sort.
“Applejack?”
Instantly ah recognized the voice. It was light and melodious with a slight accent ah couldn't quite place. Ah was about ta respond when ah head another mare calling out my name, it was much quieter but still rather sweet sounding, and just like the other voice ah recognized it instantly.
“Rarity! Fluttershy! Ah'm right here!”
It didn't take long 'fore we finally found each other. Ah was so happy to have somepony else with me, this forest was rather creepy.
“Thanks fer findin' me y'all.” Ah look to Futtershy and Rarity, then try lookin' to find the others. “where are the others?”
Rarity was the first to speak up. “We got separated from the others.” She said slightly hidin' her face behind her wonderfully curvy an' purple mane.
My jaw nearly dropped to the ground as ah stared in disbelief. Ah was about to ask how they had all gotten separated when Fluttershy seemed to notice and spoke up. “W-well some trees began to fall, nopony got hurt, but Rarity and I had ended up on one side while Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie ended up on the other. Twilight told us just to go on and find you, they would work on finding a way to get back together.”
My nose scrunched up a slight bit as ah tried to think about how that could make any sense. They had to ponies that could fly, why not just fly over the fallen trees while they helped the other by carryin' her over?
Rarity interjected 'fore ah even try an' voice my question. “She told me that we had to get back onto the path, it would be a safer way to travel, most of the creatures do tend to keep from the paths. Twilight insisted sense you were in danger.”
A slight pang of guilt hit me 'cause ah had forced the group to split up just so they could save me. They were good friends to do somethin' like that just to help me. “Ah'm sorry ah worried y'all like that.”
Rarity reacted instantly. “Think nothing of it darling. You are our friend, and we all knew what the Everfree was like.”
*Mean while*
“Rainbow Dash, Pinkie pie, something feels wrong here.” Twilight says as she attempts to teleport some fallen trees out of the way, but for some reason the trees didn't seem to be affected by her magic. “I can't affect the trees, and I get this bad feeling that I can't get my magic to teleport me passed the trees either.”
Rainbow Dash crashed near into the huge mass of trees blocking her path. With a tumble and a groan she fell just to the ground just a few feet away from Twilight's feet. “Yeah and anytime I try flying over the dang thing, I suddenly lose all ability to fly. Way uncool.”
Pinkie pie being her usual self was jumping around on the fallen trees and bouncing around in a way that made her look like she was part mountain goat or something. She was generally just being Pinkie, but that could mean almost anything. She stopped then looked over to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “Well that would be because of the rune thingies, girls.”
“ 'Rune thingies'?” Twilight asked. “What are you talking about?”
Pinkie bounced down to the ground and pointed at a tree, “These runes silly, they're designed to block magic for all creatures, duh.”
Twilight inspected the trees more carefully and found what pinkie was talking about. Looking from tree to tree, Twilight noticed that all the trees had very old looking carvings on them, most of them she recognized from her when she had to learn about older styles of magic. That had been one of Twilight's least favorite subjects years ago.
Turning to look at Pinkie, Twilight looked astonished. “How did you know that Pinkie?”
“I read about them at your library, duh.” she said with a huge grin. Taking another look at the trees Pinkie examined the markings. “These were made intensionally to prevent anything from using magic of any type near or on these trees.”
For a moment Twilight felt slightly weirded out to be on the other side of a knowledge gap, usually she was the one who knew a lot about magic as compared to most others. “so we just need to remove the markings and we can remove these trees?”
Rainbow Dash finally got up and looked at Twilight, “I doubt it, besides that could take a couple of days, and we don't have that kind of time Twi.”
With a sigh of exasperation Twilight knew Rainbow Dash was right, they would have to move all the trees manually before they could even think about removing the runes so they could be moved. Climbing was a bad idea because of how precariously the trees had fallen on each other, and because of the fact any magic they could try to use would be unable to by the trees only made it harder to get to Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity.
“I don't think we'll be able to get to do anything from here.” Twilight says as a wave of dread and gloom hits her. “the best we can do is try and tell them to move on. We're all going to have to split up like this.”
Rainbow Dash's mouth dropped open. “You mean we can't do anything? Nothing?”
Frowning, Twilight looked Rainbow straight in the eye, “With the situation the way it is yes. We just have to wait for the others to get here and tell them.”
“That is so not awesome!” Rainbow cried as she folded her front hooves over her chest.
“I know Rainbow, but we have to keep moving, and that means we're forced to split up to move forward.”
Author's Note
I am sorry this update came later than some of you may have expected, but that is one of the consequences of collage life when you have two different projects that need to be made at about the same time. still i hope that you enjoyed this chapter. looks like the we know have two groups running through a deadly forest trying to help AJ get her memories back.
ps sorry about the chapter probably sounding off a bit, I tried to do my best to write a good chapter like the others.
View Online
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 6: The promise to Applejack, and the long road ahead
Author's Note
Sorry this Chapter took so long, but things just kept getting in the way. Finals week for the collage quarter hit, one of my friends was trying to get our whole group together, my mom's back problems were getting at her again, and my nieces who i haven't seen for months finally got to visit. over all an eventful couple of weeks and I have been trying to get back in the swing of writing and will now be trying to get chapters for my stories out more often.
that being said, enjoy the chapter and the craziness it contains.
if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments below.
Chapter 6: The promise to Applejack, and the long road ahead
Fluttershy, Rarity, and Ah where on our way to where Twilight and the others were supposed to be when Rarity stopped. “What's wrong Rarity?” Fluttershy asked as she bumped into her.
A moment later Ah looked at her a little worried myself. Rarity looked as if she was having some trouble with her face or something. Quite a few times she scrunched her nose, looked worried, she seemed highly surprised at one point, and then she was left with a very somber expression on her face.
Rarity turned ta face Fluttershy and me as soon as nodded for some odd reason. “Girls there appears to be a slight problem from Twilight's side of things.”
First thing ah did was look around ta see if Twilight was anywhere near by. Of course she wasn't which made me turn to look at Rarity in confusion.
Rarity obviously noticed as she flipped her mane to get it out of her eyes. “Those trees that separated us earlier appear to have had runes carved into them. The runes keep magic from physically affecting anything, and thus they couldn't remove the barrier. Thus making it unsafe and impossible to follow. Flying over isn't an option because the runes also seem to be affecting Pegasus flight.”
“Oh my.” Fluttershy said as concern obviously showed on her face. “How was Twilight able to contact you then?”
Fussing with her outfit a little, Rarity put on a slight smile. “She was quite clever like usual. She decide to test some things because we were taking longer than she thought it would. Once she got out of the range of the runes, she tested a few things. She found out that physical mean of getting a message out would be impossible. She tried sending us a scroll, only for it to reappear on the outer edge of where the runes field of affect were effective. So she tried something rather interesting.”
“And what was that?” Ah asked.
Lifting a hoof Rarity pointed at her horn. “She had been working on a spell over the past few weeks that worked off the principles of telepathy. She had taken an older spell and started modifying it. She hadn't gotten a chance to test it yet, but used it as a way to get in contact with me.”
“Tall-lep-a what?” Fluttershy and ah ask at the same time.
With a heavy sigh Rarity looked at us. “Telepathy is a way to communicate using your mind. Twilight was trying to make a spell that allowed ponies to do that. She used it to talk to me just a minute ago. The runes actually didn't affect the spell simply because, at least we think, she was sending out something non-physical and the runes weren't designed to block that.”
“Ahh, okay?” I say as tap a hoof to my chin.
“Either way,” Rarity said as she turned to look in the direction we had been walking. “It appears as though we have been separated indefinitely. We should probably find a road and follow it until we can find a way to meet up with the others.”
Ah bit my lower lip. This had not been what ah wanted to happen.
Suddenly something felt off. My head felt light and the rest of my body started to feel heavy. Falling to the ground ah blacked out.
Ah could feel my body twitching as the ground came close to my face. My ears caught the only sound that over took everything else in the forest. “Applejack!” ah heard both Fluttershy and Rarity yell.
Floutin' in darkness was the only thing happenin'. Ah was just floutin' haunted by images that were slowly dissolvin' all around me. Ponies ah seemed ta know an' things that made my heart ache ta see disappear all dissolved around me.
“Why . . . ?” I calmly asked myself in a low whisper.
“Cause ya made a mistake.”
Trunin' around in a fright, ah looked to see who had just answered me. But no pony was around. At least no pony ah could see anyway.
Ah could feel the darkness shiftin' and the world around me fade into somethin' new. The darkness was slowly replaced by green rollin' fields of grass. Hills in the distance helped to create a warm an' gentle breeze that brushed up against my coat, mane, an' tail. Flowers of all kinds were spreed out far from each other, yet they were always just a couple of hoof steps away.
The whole scene was beautiful, and there was just somethin' so calmin' about the place. “It really is somethin', ain't it?” A voice said behind me.
Movin' quickly ah looked deep into the lush green eyes of the last pony ah had expected ta see, me. She stood regally as he mane and tail swayed in the wind, an old hoof woven straw hat firmly held in place by one of her hooves. She had a small smile, but her eyes betrayed the saddened look she had.
My guard went up instantly. This had ta be some type of trick, Ah couldn't be standin' in two places at once. Taking a defensive position, ah lowered my head a little ta try and look threatenin'.
The mare lifted moved her hooves up in a mock surrender, “Wah, there par'ner, ah ain't lookin' fer no fight. Ah just want ta talk is all.”
Slowly ah lift my head, but keep my eyes open for any sign of hostility.
The mare sighs a little and chuckles a little, “Ah guess ah can't blame ya fer not trustin' me. Heck ah probably wouldn't trust me either.”
For a moment my guard drops and ah'm taken in by the hearty laughter of the mare that looked like me.
A smile spread across her face as she looked at me again. Her smile was gentle and welcoming, as was her saddened eyes. “There ya go.” she says as finally notice that my guard had fallen completely.
“W-who are you?” ah ask.
Closin' her eyes the mare sighed lightly. “Ya already know who ah am. Ya just haven't accepted the truth yet.”
Ah could feel my heart beatin' so hard in my cheat that ah thought it would burst out for a second. “you can't be who ah think you are 'cause it's just not possible!” I yell as fear begins ta creep inta me.
Before ah could even react, the mare in front of me jolted forward, right at me. My guard was down and ah had no way of reacting fast enough. In that one moment ah knew there was nothin' ah could do ta stop her.
Then ah felt it the warm embrace of the mare as she wrapped her hooves around my neck. Ah was stunned inta silence as the warmth of her body spread inta me. That's about when ah felt somethin' wet runnin' down my neck and onta my back.
Sobs filled the air as ah realized the mare was cryin'. My hooves moved up to embrace the girl in a hug. “ah'm so, so sorry 'bout puttin' ya through this. . .” she said as a sob brought her to a stop before she could take a breath.
“Ah got ya inta this situation, ah should be the one settin' it right, but ah can't.” She sobbed more as her feelings began ta overwhelm her. “Mah body is yers now, an' ah can't help ya beyond this point. But, ah can at least give ya an option.”
Slowly the mare let me go and stood back. Tears were still streamin' down her face as she looked at me with a determination that could be considered stoic. “Ya can have mah life.”
Ah took a step back, bein' both shocked and appalled.
She stood there as tears continued ta stream down her face. “Tell mah friends it's okay. They should understand that ah wouldn't want ta cause ya any pain, but ah also understand they wouldn't want me gone neither.”
Tears flowed more rapidly as her stoic expression began ta fall. “Take whatever time ya have left in that body oh mine an' enjoy yerself. If ya continue down this path, ya will fade out of existence no matter what ya do. Just, please do yerself a favor and live whatever life ya have ta liv-”
She stopped when ah finally wrapped my hooves around her neck in a tight embrace. We both stood there as still as statues, what felt like hours probably only passed by in a few seconds before ah found the right words. “Thank you for worryin', but ah can't rightly let you do that for me.”
In that one instant the mare began cryin' like a little foal, not 'cause she was in trouble, but cause she knew that somepony was fightin' for her and she knew what the price was going ta be. Ah knew then and there that this was the last refuge that my mind had to keep the me from before the attack had happened. This version of me was the one who rightfully owned this body and it should be hers, but this creature had a way to keep her from it, now it was my job ta get her home.
As soon as ah wake up she will be unreachable and ah will be in control of her body. Ah would remember this and fight like never before. Applejack, the real Applejack needed ta be saved, and ah knew there was only one way ta do so.
Ah pushed Applejack a little just so that we could be face ta face. “This will be goodbye. Ah realize what needs ta happen, now you just stay safe okay!”
The real Applejack's scrunched up as if she was about ta cry again but stopped herself. “Ya bet Ah will par'ner. Just be careful with that body oh mine, okay.”
Ah smiled at her, “Whatever you say, just don't let that beast get ta you before ah can get there on time okay!”
We both nod at each other, and ah couldn't help but notice the determination in them, a determination ta overcome this.
Our hooves lock together in an agreement we both knew the other would keep.
“-ack. . .”
“It's time fer ya get going.” Applejack said as she let go of my hoof and strong breeze came in. Ah watched as she blew away in a storm of leaves, the beautiful leaves of an apple tree.
“Applejack . . .” a voice called out, pulling me back from the rolling fields that were now fading inta shadows.
A single tear fell my eyes as the leaves vanished inta thin air and ah felt consciousness touch me. “Don't worry Applejack. I'll get you back in your body soon.”
AJ's unexpected adventure
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. AJ's unexpected adventure
chapter 8: A Wrong Turn, and Bad News
It was dark and scary, over whelming to say the least. The trees seemed to get more twisted and mangled as we walked deeper into the forest. Some of the trees didn't look quite right, like they were the twisted souls of some unlucky ponies screaming out for help. At least that's how it felt to me as Fluttershy, Rarity, and Ah walked through the dense forest towards are destination.
“Are you sure we're heading the right way dear Fluttershy?” Rarity looked more anxious to me then Ah was. You could just tell by the way she seemed to slow a little with each glance she took, only for her to speed back up again when she realized she was falling behind.
“Yes.” the simplest answer Fluttershy could give. She was walking along keeping her eyes trained on the ground as she walked. It was almost crazy how calm she looked. In the couple of days Ah had gotten to know her, it had seemed like almost anything could scare the poor girl out of her wits. But know she looked almost perfectly at easy in this dark and creepy forest.
Ah however had my mind on other things. Something was starting to bug me about what had happened over the past couple of days. First my attack, which had led to my memory loss. Then there was the fact ah had part of this creature stuck in my head, and it was trying to keep me from remembering things from my past. Next the creature that had attacked me and the rock that had knocked it unconscious, that had just seemed a little bit on the lucky side at the time, but maybe there was something more to it then that?
“Ohh . . . my . . .”
It was then that my train of thought crashed and Ah was pulled back to reality. Fluttershy had stopped along with Rarity right behind her. Both were looking ahead with disbelief and Ah understood why. There was fork in the road, leading to different ways and the tracks we had been following were going down both roads.
Just great, last time this happened we got attacked. But with a sigh I could only hope that maybe this wouldn't be as bad as last time.
“Shouldn't we just follow the freshest set of tracks, deary?” Fluttershy and Ah turned to look at Rarity in surprise. She took notice of our looks at her and looked at us as if she was a little upset. “What? Where you not expecting me to say something smart?”
Ah shook my head 'no' letting my mane sway back and forth before Rarity looked at me with an accusing glare. “Not at all Rarity.” I say with a smile, “Ah just didn't expect advice about this type of thing from you is all.”
Rarity turned her nose up a little, her lips turned down in a slight frown. “I have had to learn some tracking tricks to keep myself safe when it comes to my gem hunting.” Her accent was slightly thicker as she spoke in a frustrated tone. It was interesting hearing how think her accent was getting.
“Alright Rarity.” With a couple of steps ah moved closer to Rarity and placed one of my hooves around her neck. She tensed up a little as her eyes moved to look at me. “Don't forget. Ah lost my memory and ah couldn't have known that before today.”
“Oh . . .” came the deflated word as it escaped passed Rarity's lips. She looked down a little at the ground, obviously beating herself up about the fact she had forgotten. She had probably been to scared by the feeling that the forest had been exuding. “I'm sorry . . . Jackie.”
Ah pulled her closer and gave her a smile. “Hey you're doing fine.”
Slowly Rarity got a gentle smile to grow ever so sweetly. “Thank you . . .”
“Oh, that's so sweet.”
Rarity and Ah turned to look at Fluttershy, a sly smile was draped across her face. That made the heat seem to rush to mine, and before we knew Rarity and Ah had pushed each other apart awkwardly. “Let us never speak of this again.” Rarity said bluntly.
My face got hotter and the best Ah could do was turn my face away and hope it wasn't as red as Ah thought it was. “Agreed.”
My slight embarrassment was suddenly pushed to the back of my mind as Ah spotted something move between the trees. Suddenly Ah felt alert and my every sense was heightened to crazy degree. Although the air was cold their was cold, an almost chilling warmth had settled on the back of my neck. A slight moisture in the air was collecting on the trees and ground making everything slippery. And Ah could swear the iron like smell of blood was gently wafting through the air, it was subtle, but definitely there. That's about when ah heard the gentle chuckle.
Ah took a defensive position ready to bolt for it if ah had to.
“Jackie?” I chanced a glance towards the voice that had called out my chosen name. Fluttershy was looking at me worriedly and Rarity was starting to take notice as well. They were obviously concerned about my actions and sudden change of attitude. “What's wrong?”
Taking a deep breath to calm myself down a little, “I think we may have company.”
The affect was almost instantaneous as Ah saw the both of them change there demeanors. Fluttershy looked worried, and quickly to refuge behind me and Rarity who had taken up a position similar to mine. But something had caught my eye as Ah Rarity took her position. Her eyes seemed to have changed color from baby blue to emerald green, and back again. Ah ignored the odd little detail, Ah figured it was just a trick of the eye.
Shadows shifted behind the trees, setting my nerves on edge. There was more then one enemy this time and that didn't bode well for us.
Ah kept my eyes one the passing shadows, watching as they moved with intent. They seemed to be jumping from tree to tree, but one figure in particular was darker then the rest and almost familiar. My gaze kept jumping and following the figure as if there was some type of force was drawing it their.
Eventually Ah found my gaze locked on a pair yellow eyes, the same ones that had haunted my nightmare from before. They were cold, distant, shining bright with intelligent, and had a look that pierced my mind sending fearful shivers down my spine. The familiar feeling of paralyzing fear began to settle on me again.
Ah couldn't help it, the feeling of helplessness that began to take me over. My hooves began to buckle and fell to the ground with a hollow feeling hitting me like a burst of magic compressed into a tightly packed force filled beam aimed straight for my chest.
“Jackie?!” Ah heard Rarity yell. This broke me out of the feeling just as Ah felt my hope begin to die in my chest, and with a quick turn that hope that had just barely survived died in less then an instant.
As my eye met Rarity's ah felt the cold chill of despair rip through me. Her eyes had gone from their beautiful baby blue into the emerald green that Ah thought Ah had imagined, but the thing that terrified me in that moment was the golden yellow flames that were burning brightly from the corner of her eyes. It was unnerving and scary, in a way it was worse then seeing the yellow eyes because now both were cold and unnerving. But it was worse with Rarity because the gaze was coming from the mare Ah was trusting with my life, not from a dark and unruly beast that Ah didn't even know.
My body was shaking and the feeling of fear that surged through me was causing it to tremble. There were no conscious thoughts running through my mind and the feelings that were piercing me were forcing my body into action.
Rarity lifted a hoof towards me and Ah moved without a thought of what Ah was doing. Ah ran, just ran, the fork in the road had been just to my right and Ah took the first path that had been there. My emotions and the adrenalin that coursed through my system pushed me harder and faster then Ah could have normally done. The ground blurred and the trees seemed to fuse into walls, every moment Ah ran the world seemed to lose more focus.
The fear took over and my mind kick started into a tirade of thoughts and questions, that made me more and more afraid. Each passing moment blurred into the next until eventually the ache in my hooves began to burn until Ah couldn't run anymore. Slowing down into a stop Ah began to calm down, my mind was starting to relax and the rest of my body felt like collapsing.
“Where am Ah?” Ah ask aloud once Ah had calmed down enough to think rationally. My surroundings weren't as dark or frightening as before, as a matter of fact the trees almost seemed to be glistening with heart warming light, a field of flowers could be seen in the distance, and smell of roses began to gently float into the air.
My body moved almost automatically, pulling me towards the light, and it was in that moment that Ah some how found myself in beautiful field of tulips, daisies, and some type of dark green flower. The aroma was overpowering to say the least, each flower was producing a scent that mixed with the others. Roses surrounded the field forming some type of barrier between it and the forest. The suns light lazily drooped out over the mountains, painting a spectacular sunset, where on the other side of the sky the moon was just barely peaking out over the horizon with a few stars.
“Where am ah?” A wind picked up and Ah start feeling slightly woozy. This time Ah could feel the sensation starting to take me over, and Ah could even try to fight back.
It was however a losing battle. My consciousness was fading quickly and my body felt heavy. The sensation was overwhelming and forced my body to start collapsing. Ah hit the ground but Ah was still conscious. My eye lids were lazily hovering open as fought to keep myself awake.
A small patch of dark green flowers hazily floating in my vision, and an unfamiliar smell found its way to my nose. The scent was a light, and sweet, with very subtle hits of something that Ah could only describe as 'sour'. My breaths felt heavy and labored.
Something sounded strange to me all of a sudden. I could barely make out the sound at first, then the sound got sharper and sharper. My blood got colder as the sound drew closer once I realized it was the sound of hoof falls.
“Jackie?!” yelled a frightened voice. It was familiar but my mind was to clouded to realize who it belonged to.
Suddenly Ah felt weightless, and Ah realized Ah was being lifted off the ground in someponies magic. The subtle hints of a dark green aura surrounded my sight. Who was this?
Helplessly ah watched as the field ah had entered slowly became a distant memory. Whoever this pony was they were carrying me away from the field as if they wanted to be as far away from it possible.
“Jackie that field had Asphidil plants in them.” The voice said in sweet yet, knowledgeable kind of way. “They live in remote regions, like this forest, and exude a special form of gas whenever they feel threatened by some creature that happens to be passing by. The gas sends the body into a comatose like state, leaving the mind only partly active.”
Slowly Ah started to realize what the voice was saying. That plant had done this to me, but that didn't answer my question, who is this pony?
Before ah had a chance to continue thinking who it was that was helping me, ah felt the cool ground slowly press itself against my side. “You are lucky that we were there to help you.”
Slowly ah could feel my mind and body beginning to wake up again. “If it weren't for the fact we had been keeping an eye on you and your friends you might not have lived.” another voice said, this one was more masculine compared to the first, meaning ah had two ponies who had just helped me, one a mare, the other must have been a stallion. “The plant would have kept you in that comatose state for quite a while, even to the point that you would have died. They are rather unforgiving little things.”
“But,” The female voice said, and Ah could feel my mind starting to process things better. “You are lucky that the plants do not have a very strong scent, and that the gases effects fade rather quickly. On that note, we shall be taking our leave, but do remember Jackie. You'll have to look past what you see if you want to be able to move forward from this point on.”
My breathing became steady and the muscles in my body finally started listening to me. But before ah had the chance to even look at the two who had stayed out of my vision ah heard the lightest popping sound and Ah knew they were gone.
Ah got to my hooves as quick as ah possibly could, and ah felt as if ah had just woken up from a long rest. But my mind was still filling with questions, Who had those two been? How did they know about me and my friends? How did they know my name? And probably the most important question of all, what had that mare meant when she said 'You'll have to look past what you see if you want to be able to move forward from this point on.'?
Those questions kept running through my head like tornado. That is until Something at the back of my mind registered movement to my left.
Quickly Ah dove towards the nearest bush and hid myself from whatever was on it's way here. My breathing slowed and my whole body became as still as a rock. Slowly the sound of hoof falls started to increase, and a pair of voices started to make themselves known.
A heavy sigh escaped from one of the ponies, “what do you think happened to her Rarity?” One of the voices asked in a quiet almost hushed voice. It was obvious to me who the voice belonged to in that moment.
“I wish I knew dear Fluttershy. But something tells me that we will be hard pressed to find her if we don't do so soon.” The light accent ah had come to know as Rarity's tickled my ears, But ah remained still. The memory of what Rarity had looked like suddenly flouted to the top of my mind.
Rarity passed by the bush ah was hiding in and ah couldn't help but look at her as she passed. Her eyes were still the same shade of green they had been when ah had run from her not a few minutes ago. The flames yellow flames that were emitting from her eyes seemed to defy physics as they flowed outward in a horizontal direction either going to the left or right based on the respective side they were on. She had tied back her mane, probably trying to keep her hair from burning, the natural curl allowed her mane flow like a waterfall down her back.
Shivers ran down my back as she walked past, almost everything about her had seemed to make me scared out of my wits. “I just hope she's okay.” Ah hear Fluttershy say.
My line of sight moved from the frightening mare to look at Fluttershy only to feel an even more powerful fear hit me. Ah almost lost it, my whole mind went blank and the only thing keeping me from running for my life was the fact ah know that ah had to remain still if ah didn't want to be spotted.
There was Fluttershy walking along carefully watching for anything that might jump out and attack, but she didn't look like Fluttershy. Her normally flowing mane looked wild and mussy, the tips of her ears were pointed and split, her eye had gone from their usual light blue to an almost crimson red. Her wings had shifted in form to look more thin like skin, took on a web like appearance, and look much more bony. But the thing that caught my attention the most and had me scared was the fangs that seemed to glisten whenever she opened her mouth.
“Me to, deary. Me to.”
As they both waked past I was stunned, silent, and unmoving. This was dangerous, ah had to get out of here before they could find me. But as ah try to get up and run away from the pair that had just passed me by, something seems to be keeping me in place. 'Why is it ah can never seem to move when ah want to?!'
The thought fade from my mind as ah looked down to see that ah had a bunch of scratches all across my body. “What the . . . ?” It was in that moment ah realized that ah jumped into a thorn bush, Ah was scraped up like there was no tomorrow and several of the scrapes were just barely bleeding. But, ah didn't feel anything, not a single thing.
That's when what Luna said at the hospital came back to me. The signs that ah would be dying soon. The hallucinations that separated me from others, that was supposed to be the next thing to happen to me. “And it has!” Ah say suddenly realizing why Rarity and Fluttershy looked the way they do.
“Emotional and Physical numbness . . .” My body wasn't even registering that ah should be in pain. Ah had jumped into a thorn bush and was cut up, yet I was completely numb to the feeling.
This time when ah tried to move my body cooperated and ah was out of the bush. Ah still couldn't feel the pain as ah stepped onto the dirt path way, yet ah knew ah was supposed to be hurting. But ah still felt worried, scared, and most of all a little relieved. A light chuckle made its way up and ah fought to suppress the urge to laugh. Ah was still scared. That meant Ah still might have a chance here.
My eyes moved down the path that Rarity and Fluttershy had taken. That's when a cold chill hit me, they were heading towards the field!
Kicking it into overdrive ah ran so fast ah bet Rainbow dash would have been impressed. My hooves carried me quicker and quicker towards the other two. Until ah was standing outside the fields.
Both girls were looking up at the now star riddled sky, but they looked unsteady on their hooves. “Get out of there, quickly!” ah yell to them.
Both girls turned and spotted me, just in time for them to fall over.
'Dang it!' ah thought as solutions started to flow into my head, the best course of action seemed like the direct one. Ah just had to go in grab one of them and get back before the flowers could effect me.
That's when things went horribly, horribly bad.
Author's Note
Hello, Sorry this update took such a long time, but I have been sick and only recently got better! You may notice a slight change in the way I wrote this chapter, and I hope it was a good change, but it does make the story a little more in depth in my opinion. if you feel that this change is a little drastic, let me know. But if you feel the change was good, still let me know, because if it seems like a good change I may go back to the previous chapters and edit them so that they feel more like this one.
not to worry though, I will only go back and edit the chapters to be more like this after I finish the story.
But hey it looks like this are picking up and we may see something interesting happen in the next chapter.
I would really like to hear any theories you might have as to what you think is going to happen. I wounder if anyone will be able to guess the how this will all end?
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and have a good day!
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 9: Things get . . . Interesting
Celestia watched the Everfree forest and the sun she was carefully gliding into horizon. A strange feeling was starting to well up from inside her, one that filled her with a feeling of dread. Luna had informed her of the mission that was being undertaken by Twilight and her friends to retrieve young Applejack's memories.
But something was bothering Celestia greatly. Maybe it was just her imagination, or maybe it was the thought of the dangers that Everfree forest was going to be revealing on this venture. But either way, she could almost tell something big was going to be happening, and it would be happening very soon.
"Your highness!"
The cry of the guards caught Celestia's attention. Turning so that she could look at the guards, a surprising sight, something she hadn't known in a while over the years, caught hold of her. A pair of guards were escorting in a young unicorn filly. "This filly here was adamant about seeing you. When we told her to come back at another time she handed us this note."
Gently taking the note into her magic, Celestia brought the note into view so that she could read it. The merest modicum of a frown began to form as she read to the end of the note.
"Let her speak with me privately," Celestia commanded to her guards. "She may need to explain how this note came into her possession."
The guards saluted before leaving the room altogether. Celestia took her time before speaking again, she observed the filly. The filly was a light brown unicorn with a light golden mane that was tied into a single braid, a blue hair band keeping the front of her mane in check. Her eye were a soft, almost radiant, blue color, with an almost adult like shine of intelligence.
"Might I ask what your name is young filly?" Celestia asked once she finally finished scrutinizing the filly.
The deadpan tone in the child's voice came through as almost overconfident, or maybe even brash. "Let's not mince words Celly." Shock and surprise took over Celestia as the filly approached with a regal stride. "I'm sure you can already see past my spell, unlike those incompetent guards."
"I'm afraid you may be mistaken about me." Although it would normally be a bad idea to reveal ones hand like that, but under the circumstances felt no need to hide anything.
With a sigh the filly looked up at Celestia with obvious disappointment in her eyes. The fillies horn began to glow a wondrous shade of golden yellow, only a few shades darker than Celestia's own magical aura. The aura quickly enveloped the little fillies body and started reacting as if unraveling a complex spell.
A moment later and the unicorn filly had miraculously changed into an alucorn. Most would thing the filly had cast some spell to make it only look as though she had wings, but Celestia could tell that there was no such trickery. The feeling that touched her the moment the filly had changed was all to real. It was the feeling that all other alucorns have when close to one another.
"Well than," The filly said in a brash tone, "My name is Radiant Lining, and I am here to tell you that a second tier is going to be born soon."
If it weren't for the hundreds, if not thousands, of years of practice at maintaining a stoic expression Celestia probably would have let her jaw drop and her eyes pop out of her skull in surprise. She could only manage to ask one question out of the thousands of questions that were swamping her mind. "Who are you?"
With a simple smile and shake of her head, Radiant Lining turned to Celestia with a smile. "Just a messenger." was all she said before teleporting away in a flash of golden light.
Celestia dropped the note she had been holding in her magic the entire time and trotted out of the throne room. She had to get her sister and go, there was little to no time that could be wasted.
The thumping sensation that reverberated through my body sent chills down my back. It was almost like small little earthquakes were happening, but the feeling was kind of familiar. Ah couldn't exactly understand why the feeling felt the way it did, but it did.
That's when a beast emerged from the other side of the field. It was a large beast at least four times my size, and it's body was almost like the night sky, a somewhat clear dark blue with stars speckling it's body. The head had a long snout and large horns that curved towards the top of it's head. A star marked the spot right in the middle of it's brow. The whole body of the creature was muscular with long tail attached to it.
“What in tar-nation is that thing?” Ah ask as it looks through the field. Jumping just to the left of the entryway of roses, Just barely missing being spotted by the creature as it turned to look in my direction. 'Think before you speak Jackie!'
A loud puffing sound grabs my attention. Taking a quick light breath Ah peak around the corner of rose wall that separated the forest from the field.
Looking in the creature almost seemed to be looking in my direction, but Ah could tell it was looking more downward. Following it's gaze Ah felt my breath catch in my throat. Laying there right in between me and that creature where Rarity and Fluttershy, both were still unable to move because of the gases the flowers have been giving off.
'Not good.' Ah thought as the creature snorted and lowered its head. Pounding a hoof to the groundn, Ah watched as it took a stance and got ready to charge.
This was bad Ah had to do something, but what. How could Ah save them from a raging beast with horn that looked like they could impale me.
The beast charged forward with a look in its eyes that can only be described as a lust for the kill. Ah reacted without thinking and dove into the field, leaving behind the safety of my hiding spot. The beast didn't seem to take notice of my arrival immediately and that's when ah saw my chance.
It was a race to my friends and although the strange creature was bigger it certainly wasn't faster. Jumping into the air Ah leaped over my friends. The beast was only a couple of hoof steps away from the final blow to Rarity's life. Rolling into a tight ball Ah flipped into the air, then in a quick and almost blinding move, Ah curled and extended my hind legs to land on the creatures head.
Although there wasn't much weight behind it, the momentum behind the action forced the creatures head to plummet toward the ground and send the horns straight into the dirt. Ah could only hope that what Ah had done might save my friends lives because Ah didn't have the chance to watch and see what happened.
The follow through with the action came before knew what had happened. My body twisted back into a ball and rolled across the back of the beast. As if ah was possessed by something ah uncurled enough to hit my hind legs and launch me through the air.
A satisfying thud resounded as ah landed on all four hooves with a skid across the ground. Dust and flowers were flying everywhere as ah spun on my hooves to see if my friends were okay.
Ah watched as the bodies of Rarity and Fluttershy, who were falling to the ground after possibly being thrown into the air, landed with a thud a safe distance from the beast. A feeling of relief spread through me as they landed with soft thuds a safe distance away almost right next to opening.
Letting out the breath ah hadn't realized Ah'd been holding and turned just as the creature turn around to see what had stolen it's kill. Dirt was falling in clumps from it's horns, face, and snout. It's already blood red eyes looked even more blood shot and enraged as it noticed me.
In a flurry of rage it stamped it's hooves and charged forward with a lowered head.
Instead of executing the same move as before ah waited until the last possible second and turned on my left hind hoof, then rolled to the side. Unfortunately ah was just a fraction to slow, ah noticed when the bright red liquid was dripping onto the flowers below. Ah had been hit but judging from the blood lose not very deeply.
No pain, no feeling, just the frightening realization that ah was hurt. Ah was looking at the wound for a little too long and realized it almost to late. When ah finally registered the rumbling, grunting, and overall loud sound of the beast running at me. It was too late to get out of the way, the creature was only a few hoof steps away, and closing in fast.
My only chance was another turn and dive maneuver. So Ah readied for action as soon as ah possibly could in the split second ah could get before the beast hit.
It was a split second more than ah had. In one second the beast hit trying to dig its horns into my sides as Ah tried to jump to my right this time. The force of the impact was enough to send me flying into the air. If it weren't for the fact ah couldn't feel anything, Ah'm sure the pain would have been over whelming.
With a hard smack into into the ground and flower, ah realized that ah wasn't spreading around that much blood, only about as much as before the hit. Taking a quick glance at my left side, ah was just able to see the dark green aura the conformed around my torso.
Realization hit me like a tone of bricks. I turned my gaze and saw the beast was standing between me and my friends with a general air of contempt. But ah wasn't paying the creature any attention, instead ah was looking over to where Rarity was and noticed the dark green shimmer of aura surrounding her horn. She had used her magic to protect me.
A deep booming roar came from the creature as it started to trout in my direction.
Ah had to think of something, and fast. For some reason this creature seemed to be immune to the Asphidil plants affects, its strong, fast, and easily enraged. There has to be some way to beat this thing, but how?
That's when an idea suddenly hit me. It would take some work and a little luck on my side, but it may be the only way ah could defeat this thing.
As the beast approached ah readied myself for the battle to come, knowing that it would be a hard battle to win.
As the beast neared it lifted its front hooves and a readied itself to crush me under its weight. Ah took my chance and rolled quickly to avoid the deadly blow. As ah passed under the creatures under belly ah unfolded and bucked my hind legs right in between the beasts hind legs.
The creature let out a cry of pain and anguish. Rolling to my right ah ran towards the rose bush wall that surrounded the field. Ah didn't look back to see if the beast was following me.
As ah jumped through the bushes ah could barely see a thing, but my eyes were quick to adjust. attempting to ignore the slightly shifting shadows ah could see jumping from tree to tree, ah started running from the bush wall trying to find a good hiding spot.
Carefully ah tried my best to observe my surroundings. Clusters of trees were all over the place. My easiest choice was jump into one of the clusters and try and work my plan from there.
Just as ah jumped into one of the nearby clusters of trees the Beast burst forth in a raging roar. Thankfully it seemed to be unaware of my location and started searching for me in a rage. Staying as still as ah possibly could ah waited until the beast passed by me.
Carefully I scanned the area to find whatever ah could to help me. That's when ah saw the perfect cluster of trees right by the brushes that had one little detail that could very well be perfect for the plan.
The Taurus minor was getting more and more angry by the second as it searched for the pony that had caused it to become enraged.
"Hey you overgrown idiot!"
Turning to find out what the sound was, the Taurus became more enraged at the sight of the tan pony with a golden mane and tail, and bandages across its forehead, stood by the rose bushes with a stone in its hoof. "Come and get me you big galoot!" it yelled as the pony threw the rock.
The tiny stone bounced harmlessly off the Taurus's head, but the effect was still enough to send the beast into a focused rage. The pony jumped through the bushes.
Enraged by the ponies taunts the Taurus rushed through the bushes, only to see the pony in the center of the field. A slight bit of glee filled the Taurus, readied to charge in for the glory of the kill.
In a rush of adrenaline the Taurus charged forward, hooves beating into the ground. Knowing this pony was rather tricky and hard to kill, But not caring in the slightest because was too enraged to care. The Taurus just wanted to end this Pony's life by its using its razor sharp horns slice the fool to bits.
At the last minute the pony pivoted and dodged just to the left, rolling out of the way. The Taurus came to a grinding halt turned to see where the pony had gone. Now the pony was standing by the rose bushes again. giving a challenging look at the bull as if taunting it even further.
The Taurus flared its nostrils and pounded the front right foreleg into the ground, glaring at the creature like there the pony's life was forfeit. Smiling the pony jumped through the rose bushes again.
Charging forward the Taurus burst through to the other side of the rose wall.
Instantly the pain that rushed through the Taurus's skull was jarring, it couldn't even register what happened before it went flying through the rose bushes.
Now instead of feeling enraged, the Taurus felt a twinge of fear as the pony came walking out of the bushes looking confident. The beast had lived a good life and didn't want it to end here, so very quickly it decided to do the one thing that had never needed to be done before, run with its tail between its legs.
With a sigh ah thanked Luna's moon, who's light ah basked in, for the luck that gave me what ah needed to pull that plan off.
Walking over to where Rarity and Fluttershy lay unmoving ah picked up Rarity first and took her out the entrance where we had come from and placed her out of the flowers rang. After making sure that there wasn't something dangerous near by ah went back and retrieved Fluttershy.
When ah finally got back, Rarity was slowly trying to get up. "Jackie, darling," her voice sounded a little labored, and she looked tired, but the second she saw me she just about jumped to her hooves with worry. "What happened to you? You ran away from us and your cut and bruised all over!"
It was almost impossible to keep the light chuckle from coming out as ah laid Fluttershy down on the ground. "Ah'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet." ah say as ah explain everything that had happened and what ah had figured out.
. . .
"So it looks like maybe ah have a day or two left before ah could be dead." ah say feeling the weight of my own words hit home. The dark dread that felt like a tree hanging over my head about to crush me.
In the time it had taken to tell Rarity about what had happened Fluttershy had awoken and was now doing her best to treat the wounds ah had gotten from my fight first so that she could treat the worst of it.
"JACKIE!" Rarity yelled as she got up from the sitting position she had taken when ah had started telling her about everything. "I do not ant hear you talk like that again. We will get the horrid creature that has done this to you and right what has been wronged."
The burning flames around Rarity's eyes burned brightly as if ignited by the passion of her words. Flipped her mane causing her tied back hair to rest over her right shoulder. "You will live a long life if we have anything to say about it!"
Ah looked up at her in amazement for a second, something about Rarity in that moment made my heart race a little. She is so determined to save me that she looks like she would be willing to fight for me just to make sure ah got there. In that moment she looked so much more beautiful than normal.
"She's right Jackie," the soft voice of Fluttershy caught my attention. "We all will fight to help you, however we can."
A soft smile spread across my face as ah felt a warm feeling spread through my body, now more determined than before to see this to the end. The only sad thought that ran through my mind at all was the fact ah wouldn't be long for this world no matter how this ended.
Author's Note
Just to clarify the astrological word for the sign of the bull just keep eluding me. If someone decides to leave me a message on what the correct spelling is I would be most grateful.
Things are finally heating, but things also appear to be coming down to the wire for Jackie. Can the group come together in time and find the thing that started all this to begin with, and how exactly is this new character, Radiant Lining, who has Celestia all worked up? Let's see what happens next.
P.s. sorry about it taking so long to get this chapter up. My school work has been killing me these past two quarters, but hopefully I'll be able to make more chapters really soon.
*Edit* Thank you Twilightsparklefairy for the information, I also tried to make the chapter flow a bit better, as per your advice on getting rid of repeating words, as well. If anyone has any more corrections that they think might be of use to the story please feel free to let me know. I am always open to criticism actually find it pretty helpful.
One of the things that I find the most funny about myself is that I actually feel accomplished when I get a down vote or two, it lets me know I have something to work on.
View Online
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 10: Reunited, Trouble in Harmonies Shadow
After a time I had gotten used to the new appearances of my two closest friends. Rarity had seemed upset once I told her that her magic looked green to me now. She knew that it wasn't my fault, but I still felt a little bad about it. Even as we walked down back to the fork in the road that we got separated at.
After a time Rarity and Fluttershy had caught everypony up to date on what was happening. I stayed close to Rarity simply because I felt more comfortable around her than the others. I knew they were still my friends, but they all just made me feel almost scared.
Opening my eyes to the sight of cool gray and dripping water, instantly I knew where I was. Gently sitting up the surroundings of the cave filled my sights, only Rarity was sitting next to me and she was actually asleep. Her mane pulled back and tied, the flow locks carefully caressing her cheek as she breathes light pushed and pulled her barrel in and out. In the end I decided that she needed to be woken up.
Author's Note
Wow I am getting really distracted recently! I am SO sorry this took so long to get out to you. But I hope you enjoy the chapter, and the next one should the fourth from last. so we may be reaching the ending soon enough. Hopefully you will all enjoy the little surprise that I have planned for the ending.
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 11: Who is This Filly?!
“I think this has gone on for long enough.” A little filly says as she walks through the little group of ponies that only a moment ago had been acting like a bunch worried children. The young filly was light brown in color with a matching horn, her mane looked golden in color and was slicked back into braid held together with a bight blue band that matched the on on her head that looked like front of her mane in place. Her blue eye shone with intelligence that probably should be far beyond that of a filly her age. But the thing that caught me the most was that she had wings too.
Raident was leading the group through the cave. She seemed to know exactly where she was going. As a matter of fact she was avoiding a great deal of dangers that me and the others hadn't even noticed. Including a part of the floor that was ready to collapse on itself because there was another tunnel below that was being eroded by some type of underground river. It was probably part of the river that passed by ponyville and cut into the Everfree forest.
Author's Note
This was written in about half a day and might be a little lack luster compared to the last couple of chapters, but I wanted to get the count down to the last 3 chapters started. If anyone has any last minute theories they want to throw out there, go ahead an write them down in the comments.
Either way I hope you all enjoy the chapter and are excited for the ending. I know I don't have the best writing style but I feel that this was one of my favorite things to have done.
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 12 (short): Really?!
“Dang it Rainbow!” Raident yelled as she ran after the changeling. Rarity and the others helped me to my hooves before we followed. Our hooves clattered on the stone ground as we rushed to catch up. Rounding a corner every pony gasped in surprise, and I was to busy processing what was happening.
Author's Note
I am sorry this took so long to get out to you all, but I've been busy with school and just plain getting distracted. I am only human after all. For the time being I am going to put you all on a bit of a cliff hanger here, and the story may be put on hiatus for a month or two while I have to focus on school. This does not mean I am stopping the story. If anything It should mean I will have the ending chapters ready before the hiatus is up, and I have a bit of a surprise for you all when I get back. All I can say is that I've got a few New stories that may just be of interest to some of you.
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 13: The whos, hows, and whys?
Running full sprint straight foreword, with the wind whipping through my mane. I just knew this was going to be the end one way or another.
Author's Note
Hello and welcome back. Schools out and I'm feeling rather well rested. and with this chapter post I should be ready to get to the last chapter of the story. Be ready for a rather big surprise. Even my friends who know me really well didn't expect what I'm planning do for the end of this story.
If you like trying to guess the endings of a story, it would be best to make a guess now. Either way, I hope you liked my first story, and I'm rather happy about how the whole thing is going to be ending.
slight side note it could take a little while before the last chapter comes out I've got a project I have to work on with my friend.
AJ's unexpected adventure
Fluttershy was doing her best to do one of the only things she's good at in a fighting situation, hide somewhere. But do to the fact that there wasn't much cover in a round cavern, she was finding it a rather hard feat to accomplish. If nothing else she was at least able to hide behind Pinkie rather well.
Rainbow was flying around the larger Morphicon doing her best to distract it while Bolt flew almost like and expert, doing it's best to target some of the creatures weak points. But Both of them were starting to feel the exertion. As Rainbow was forced to continuously dodge and maneuver she could feel the strain on her body. Although she was an athlete, her best skills were in speed and endurance, and although she had decent maneuverability, it still became tiring rather quickly.
Twilight was still suspicious of Raident lining, but she wasn't going to let it get to her right now. With a quick glance she could see the progress her friends were making some progress. Fluttershy and Pinkie appeared to be trying to corral the rabbit beast, which appeared to be significantly smaller now. While Rainbow was fighting the Morphicon, her entire body surrounded in some type of aura field that appeared to be shaped like a dragon.
Rarity had me stuck in a bubble of her magic, forcing me to stay out of the fight. I was stuck force to watch each of my friends as they fight, but right now my focus was on Rarity who was fighting against Glinting, alone. Rarity was constantly having to split her focus to maintain the barrier, defend from his attack, and try to find a way to counterattack.
'I knew how this would all end in my death. We were tied together as one being after all.' Jackie thought as she floated through the ethereal plain. Her spiritual body was floating in a fetal position ever so slowly moving in liner pattern.
Celestia was just about to say something when all of a sudden a blinding light appeared at the top of the cavern. Slowly floating down, it dissipated the second it came to the ground, leaving body standing there.
The end
Author's Note
That completes my story, I hope the ending cleared up a couple things that happened earlier, and that you all enjoyed the ending. I really don't think anyone could have thought this would be the end.
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 0: Running out of time
As my golden mane blew through the rushing wind, ah knew ah was late. My hooves beat again the cold hard ground. Luna's moon was high in the sky, but only the littlest sliver of moon light shone through the crescent moon. Tomorrow was Luna's “new moon” as she called it. After a certain period of time Luna would have a small celebration with the town of ponyville as way to help her get to know her the people. All I knew was that was that quite a few Pegisai were saying that it helped them control the weather better.
The long dirt road beneath my hooves made an eerie crunchin' sound as ah ran from ponyville towards the Everfree forest. Very little light was able to pass through the thick canopy above, makin' this here dark an' spooky forest even more dark an' spooky. Shadows seemed to shift inta new an' more horrifyin' things with each step ah took.
Strange sounds came at me from all directions as ah felt my breath getting shorter and shorter. The path was starting to narrow a little as ah ran as fast as ah could. Ah had to get my flank movin', time was runnin' out an' ah needed ta get to the castle, the others were waitin' for me.
Ah came across a sudden fork in the road. Without thinkin' ah ran down the right path, not even stoppin' to take a breath. Soon ah started weavin' through the path ways, tryin' my darnedest ta get to the castle as soon as ah could.
Without warnin' the path suddenly ended an' I was surrounded by nothin' but bushes, trees, an' darkness. “ahh, horse-apples.”
A sudden rustle of leaves put me on edge. Somethin' wasn't right, an' ah had dealt with many things that hadn't felt right with me, but this feelin' of uneasiness was more scary then when Tirek had attacked.
Takin' close note of my surroundin's, light didn't shine through any of the canopy, makin' things darker, the ground was smooth an' soft, a complete contrast ta before when ah was rushing. The trees an' bushes seemed to be shiftin' and movin' because of the slight breeze, an' dark patches could be seen between the trees.
Strange sound could be heard as ah turned to see a pair of glowin' yellow eyes. Chills ran down my spine, my eyes were now locked on the pair of eyes. Ah couldn't seem to move, it was almost like ah was paralyzed with fear, but ah strangely felt calm, or maybe elicit.
Ah guess that's where the story begins, my name is Applejack an' ah have one heck of a tale ta tell ya'll about.
Author's Note
I will be continuing this story and trying to get it out there for people to read. If anyone could help me with editing please let me know by emailing me.
this story WILL continue to the end.
View Online
AJ's unexpected adventure
Chapter 2: Family, Nightmares, and the Adventure begins!
As ah walked down the road with pine trees on one side of me, an' apple trees an' white fence on the other, ah knew that this was goin' ta be awkward. I walked side by side with the yellow mare with a pink mane an' tail, ah think her name was Buttersly or somethin'. She didn't talk very loudly so I couldn't really tell. But at least she seemed to know where my home was.
Ah heard a pair of thunderous hoof beats a bit further ahead. Emergin' from the back of a hill was a big burly stallion with brown mane and tail. Even from this distance ah could tell he was big. His red coat seemed to sparkle as he ran. Which ah thought was weird.
Takin' a step ta the side ah decided it would be a better idea ta get out of his way, 'cause he looked like he was in a hurry.
Lookin' to Buttersly ah watched as she just stood there not even bothered by the fact the stallion was chargin' full speed in her direction. Ah was about to say somethin' when I noticed the stallion slow down and come to a complete stop right in front o' me.
Bein' only a hoof or two way ah could see that he was at least a head taller then me. His Strong defined muscles made him look like he was somepony you wouldn't want to mess with. Lookin' more closely ah could see that the reason ah had thought he was sparklin' earlier was 'cause he had sweat coverin' his cost.
“Applejack, yer okay!” He said in a deep voice that caused me a slight headache. I couldn't help the reaction of placin' my hoof to my head.
The big stallion looked at my forehead an' seemed ta finally notice the bandages on my head an' hooves. It felt awkward as he scrutinized every detail of my body. Ah didn't even know who he was, an' he was lookin' at me like ah was really precious to him. “Sorry fer askin' . . .” ah say as ah push him back ta get a little space. “but are ye' like my boyfriend or somethin'?”
The stallion back off, looking at me with surprise on his face. Ah turned to Buttersly, but she was turned around an' ah couldn't tell what was goin' on with her. Lookin' back an' forth between the two of them ah felt confused. “What? Did ah say somethin' wrong?”
The big stallion looked at me with confusion on his face, an' I heard some deep breaths from Buttersly's direction. Ah looked at the stallion as he nodded vigorously at me. “Applejack I'm yer brother.”
Ah turned right towards the mare to my right. “Buttersly? Why didn't you tell me he was my kin?”
“Buttersly . . . ?” the stallion asked questioningly as ah noticed him turn to face her to. She visibly twitched for a second, then we both heard a little chuckling sound.
Buttersly fell back laughin', not very loudly, but still laughin' none the less. Tears seemed ta be streamin' from her eyes 'cause she was laughin' so hard. She struggled to talk as she rolled on the ground, “I-I'm sorry.” She started ta calm down as she slowly got ta her hooves. “I-it's just that I was so caught of guard by the fact you thought he was your boyfriend. It was so funny I could barely keep myself from laughing. And to top it off you thought my name was 'Buttersly'.”
She started laughing again, but recovered rather quickly this time. “I was kind of nervous being with you Applejack. I didn't know what to expect when you lost your memory, so I guess you miss heard my name earlier. I'm Fluttershy, and that's your brother Big Macintosh.”
Takin' a few deep breaths the mare regained her composure and looked at us calmly. I could see the gears turnin' that head o' hers. What ever was goin' on in that mind ah didn't want to know. But she took a breath an' smiled at me. “I'm sorry I was so shy earlier, I just didn't know what to expect. I've heard some ponies change a lot because of memory loss, so I was nervous around you because I wasn't sure if I was going to be with the friend I knew and loved. But I can see that your at least still the type of girl who knows how to make ponies laugh.”
Big Macintosh stepped up to Fluttershy, “Not cool.” was all he said, but somehow that carried the wait of a full scouldin'.
Fluttershy's ears drooped a little as she let her mane cover half of her face. “I'm sorry, I just didn't get the chance to say anything before Applejack spoke.” My heart went out to the pour girl, she seemed so upset 'cause ah got her in trouble by accident.
“Ah guess she's right.” ah got a weird look from both my brother, and Fluttershy. “She didn't get the chance to explain the situation 'cause ah opened my big ol' mouth an' said somethin' strange. But ah probably wouldn't have said it if ye' hadn't been starin' at me like ya' was.” Ah turned ta Big Macintosh an' hoofed him one shoulder playfully.
“Ah greatly thank ya' Fluttershy, but I think My bro can get me home from here.” We smile at each other for a minute 'fore ah realized Big Macintosh was walkin' already. “See you later, Flutters!”
Runnin' to catch up to Big Macintosh was rather easy to do, it wasn't like he was runnin' or anythin'. His stride was simple yet powerful, yet he seem ta be makin' the slightest sound, the complete opposite of his thunderous approach earlier.
“So . . .” ah said tryin' ta strike up a conversation as we walked along the dirt path. “are you my only siblin'?”
“Eenope.” he said, almost strikin' the conversation down with a single word.
We continued to walk a little further, 'fore ah could think of somethin' to ask him, ah felt somethin' plow inta me. The force pushed me back a little, an' 'cause ah wasn't expectin' it ah was fell back, nearly hittin' my head on the hard ground.
“SIS'! Yer okay.” ah heard a slightly high pitched voice. Ah looked down at my chest an' saw a little filly wit a bright yellow coat, slightly curly red mane and tail, an' bow in her hair. She was a little less then half my size but still felt like she was heavier then she looked.
Her weight seemed to disappear as ah watched her get lifted off me by Big Macintosh and placed ta his side, placin' himself between us. “Applebloom. Be carefull.” he said makin' that same scoldin' tone from earlier.
Ah stood up an' moved over so ah could see the conversation. Big Macintosh was lookin' down at the filly, who ah guess is my little sister Applebloom, an' givin' her a look like he was being very serious. “Applebloom.” He said, “Applejack lost her memory.”
Turnin' ta him ah asked in a serious tone, “How'd ya' know ah lost my memory?”
Big Macintosh turned to me. “It was obvious when you asked if ah was yer boyfriend!”
“Oh, right . . .” Ah said feelin' like idiot. That had happened not a few minutes ago an' ah had almost already forgotten about it. Ah knew ah was blushin' 'cause o' the fact ah made such a huge mistake, an' that my little sis had just heard about it.
Lookin' towards the filly ah couldn't help but be a little confused when ah saw her smilin'. Her eyes gleamed with a deviant innocence which sent warnin' chills down my back. “What's that look for?” Ah ask her nervously.
“No~othin'” she said in a slightly sin' song kind of way. “Ah was just thinkin' 'bout somethin'.”
Before me of Big Macintosh could say anythin', Applebloom ran between us an' off down the road.
“That can't be good.” ah say feelin' as if that foreshadowed something rather scary.
Big macintosh's only response was one thin', “Eeyep.”
“We goin' ta stop her?” ah ask.
“Eenope.”
Sighin' ah figured that even if ah was to try to stop Applebloom from doin' somethin' ah would probably fail. Might as well just wait an' see what happens, ah'm probably powerless ta stop it anyway.
Turnin' around ah started walkin' down the road in the same direction Big Macintosh an' ah was goin' down earlier. Ah could hear Big Macintosh in close tow behind me
“So is there anyone else ah need ta know about?” ah ask as notice an archway breakin' the long picket fence inta two fences.
Turnin' into the archway, ah notice that to my right was a giant orchard of apple trees, that looked like it was stretchin' on for acres. Right in front o' my face was a big red barn with a picture of ah smilin' sun, farm fields, an' the pink pony that had nearly suffocated me with a hug at the hospital. And to my left was a plain two story home with a front porch an' a apple green elder pony sittin' on a rockin' chair.
“Eeyep.” Big Macintosh said as he walked past me an' over to the house, goin' straight up to the elder pony.
Ah decided to wait back just a little bit as Big Macintosh talked to her. Watchin' carefully ah noticed that the elder pony had stopped rockin' in her chair and she was startin' ta look sad, vary sad.
Guilt seemed ta over take me 'cause ah didn't knew ah didn't know who this pony was, but ah also knew that ah should know who they were.
Soon the Big Macintosh brought the lady over ta me an' we greeted each other with a smile. “howdy.” Ah said trying to act natural, even though ah still wasn't sure what was natural for me.
“Hello deary.” she said with a light tone, but ya' could still hear the shakiness in her voice as if she was upset. “My name is Granny Smith, but ya' can just call me Granny.”
“Sounds good.” ah say.
Granny Smith Smiled at me an' looked back to the house. “Ya' probably should go an' rest while ya' can deary.”
Ah nodded to let her know ah thought that might be a good idea, she then offered ta take me ta my room. She told Big Macintosh he could do what ever he need to do before dinner, then took me to my room up the stairs. It was surprisin' to see that she could traverse the stairs with such ease, especially since she didn't look like she was in such physically good shape.
My room was simple, just a bed sittin' in between a desk an' dresser, the desk of course was sittin' below a window so that ah could get a great view of the field and the sun which was settin' now.
Ah crawled inta my bed, coverined myself with the blankets, closin' my eyes and fallin' asleep with very little effort.
Ah was running. Just running through a dark and unfamiliar forest, but I moved with certainty in every step.
The shadows seemed to shift and move as ah ran on the dirt pathway, makin' the forest even creepier than it probably would have been. Ah could feel my heart beatin' in my chest, my breath felt short and stiff, and my whole body ached.
The various sounds that came from the woods made me scared of every shiftin' shadow and trees as ah past them. This was scary beyond belief.
Suddenly ah found myself with at the end of the path. Takin' in my surroundings ah couldn't help but feel like ah had been there before. A sudden rustle of leaves put me on edge. Somethin' wasn't right, but this feelin' of uneasiness was scary, yet familiar.
Takin' close note of my surroundings, light didn't shine through any of the canopy, makin' things darker, the ground was smooth an' soft. The trees an' bushes seemed to be shiftin' and movin' because of the slight breeze, an' dark patches could be seen between the trees. But still a set of familiar bells were ringin' in my head.
A strange sound could be heard as ah turned to see a pair of glowin' yellow eyes. Chills ran down my spine, my eyes were now locked on the pair of yellow eyes.
Suddenly the wind whipped up a mighty storm an' ah looked up to see the moon high in the sky, full and beautiful. A beam of moon light shot down in front of me. Strange speckles of moon light the glistened and glittered began to gather an' form the image of a beautiful mare.
The mare stood tall and elegant, her dark coat the color of the night sky. Her mane an' tail looked like a starry nebula flowing in a none existent wind. Her horn was protrudin' from her head in a powerful way, much the same way her wings made her presence seem more magnified. And on her flank was what looked like a crescent moon.
“Applejack . . .?” she said in a voice as smooth as velvet. She was obviously confused to see me, but was unconcerned about her surroundings. “Why are thou having a nightmare?”
“Wha-” Ah ask feelin' confused for a second.
Suddenly a coursin' pain shot through my head an' ah heard the wind pick up again. The pain was so intense that couldn't help grab at my head an' close my eyes to keep tears from comin' from my eyes. Ah barely held back a violent scream, the pain bringin' out my most primal of reactions.
The wind died down an' the pain in my head subsided.
Takin' a few deep breaths ah looked up to see the mare lookin' around in confusion, she was obviously distressed but ah couldn't tell why. She turned round an' round lookin' at the foliage. Her horn light up, but nothin' seemed to happen. She got increasingly worried as the light from her horn began to dim.
“Young Applejack,” she said, grabbing my undivided attention, “where are we?”
Ah shrugged my shoulders, not really knowin' the answer myself. “No idea.”
The mare turned on me, her eyes wide in surprise. “Thou should know. It is your MEMORY!” she said her voice becomein' more an' more forceful with each word.
Shakin' the ringin' out o' my ears ah looked at the mare, my temper risin' slightly. “Listen!” ah say, takin' the mare by surprise, she even back up a step. “Ah don't have any memories before this evenin'. Ah woke up with amnesia an' can't remember anythin' 'fore that!”
The mares eyes got wide as she seemed to realize something. She was about to say something, but was interrupted by a deep low growlin' sound.
We both turn to see a dark mist like shadowy figure with the same bright yellow eyes from before jumpin' at us.
The mare reacted quickly and with precision, she erected a force field that surrounded us for a moment of protection. The mare turned to me with a look of worry on her face. “Listen Applejack,” she said as she grabbed my shoulders, “This is a memory projecting itself in the form of a dream. It is one of the only forms of dreams I can not control. Tell me did you lose your memories after being attacked?”
Ah just nodded my head, not really payin' to what she was askin' or sayin'. The shadowy creature was walkin' around our little bubble of safty slowly.
“I feared that might be the case.” the mare said in a somber tone. “this may be the memory of your attack, which might mean only one thing.” she said forcin' me to look at her in the eyes by grabbin' my face in her hooves.
“Applejack,” her voice was commanding an' almost dark. A Moment of silence passed before the mare gulped, “just now I looked deep into your mind and found nothing, not even dormant memories. That can only lead me to conclude that some creature stole your memories. You must-”
A quick flash of light and a shatterin' sound caused us to flinch and fall away from the source of the sound. A small portion of the shadowy creature had broken through the force field that this mare had made. For a moment ah was afraid that it was goin' to seep in and drown us in darkness, but it backed off as if it had a limited reach.
The mare grabbed my face again, this time she was talkin' faster. “You must go search for the creature that stole your memories, otherwise you will eventually die. Only so many creatures can steal memories like this, you must talk to Twilight Sparkle and venture to find your memories Applejack, hurry.”
Ah sat bolt up, my body was in a cold sweat, my sheets where tossed all around as if ah had been strugglin' in my sleep.
But ah knew one thin' for sure, ah had to go find that alicorn and tell her about my nightmare, and maybe start trackin' down a creature that could be responsible for my possible death.
Author's Note
Wow this took a while to make, but it was so worth it! Hope you all enjoy where this story is heading. I will try to have the next chapter out as soon as I can get it made.